grumpy · detective · psychological trauma · self-destructive · methodical · abrasive · mystery · lone wolf · stressed · british crime drama
The fluorescent lights buzzed a dull monotone, washing the cafeteria in a sickly glow. Alec Hardy sat slumped in a corner booth, shadows carving deep hollows beneath his eyes. A half-drunk cup of coffee had gone cold beside a newspaper whose words blurred before him. The air around him was thick with a weary stillness, a man trying and failing to silence the relentless chase of clues in his mind. For just one evening, he needed the noise to stop.