The Blake Adventures: Time Heals All Wounds
August 1960
It was an ordinary day in mid-winter. Lucien Blake was still delighted beyond belief to be a newlywed. Though perhaps eight months was too long to be considered newly wed. He fell asleep holding his darling wife in his arms and woke up in bed beside her each and every day. Such regularity and routine may have been abhorrent to him once. But certainly not anymore.
For how could anyone become bored by being married to Jean? Perhaps it was just because he loved her so very much, but Lucien found her endlessly fascinating. Everything she did was elegant and lovely. Everything she said was witty and kind. Sometimes it nearly boggled his mind that this woman was his wife.
"I do wish you'd stop staring at me," she barked, something she found she'd had to say at least once a week.
Lucien's attention went back to her. He had been lost in thought, not realizing that he'd let the newspaper drop from his hands and his gaze fix upon his beautiful wife. "I am sorry. I got a bit distracted."
"Distracted by what?" she asked. "I'm only dusting. Hardly an alluring task."
"I find everything you do to be alluring, Jean," he replied with a smile.
She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Silly man."
Lucien knew it did no good to sit there gawking at her. They didn't have the time to do anything about it, after all. "Will you want to change before we go to the bus station?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Do you think I should? I wasn't planning on it," she replied, frowning down at the dress she wore.
Lucien smiled. "No, I think you look lovely. And you know Matthew won't mind."
Jean's expression brightened. She was very much looking forward to seeing Matthew Lawson again. He'd been doing rehabilitation in Melbourne for the last nine months after he'd been hit by that car and Lucien had performed the surgery to save his leg. Lucien had spoken to him on the phone a time or two, and they'd all exchanged letters in the intervening months. But they had missed him. Matthew was one of the few people Lucien was still close with from his childhood, and even though the working relationship with Chief Inspector Carlyle was a very good one, it was different when Lucien had gotten to work with his dear friend. It also was a dark cloud on their wedding that Matthew had not been there to see Jean and Lucien get married.
It was about an hour later that Lucien drove them both to pick up Matthew. He'd be moving back in with his sister, Vera, for the time being. But Vera was a widow and worked fulltime, so she wasn't able to take time off to meet his bus. Lucien and Jean both jumped at the opportunity.
The bus arrived about two minutes after Lucien had parked the car. A sea of people exited, and among them was a very slow, grumpy cripple. But as soon as he looked up and saw his friends there to greet him, his dour face broke into a brilliant grin. "Hey there, you lot!"
Jean rushed over to embrace Matthew and kiss his cheek. "Oh you look wonderful! It's so glad to have you back," she gushed.
Lucien hugged him as well, masculine expectations be damned. "Welcome home, Matthew," he said softly.
"Good to see some friendly faces. But let's get out of the way. I don't want to be nearby the other passengers," Matthew said, his expression souring quickly.
"Did something happen on the bus?" Jean asked.
Matthew grunted. "Nancy."
Jean's eyes went wide. Lucien frowned in confusion. "Nancy who?" he asked.
The three of them made their way toward the car, Lucien carrying the luggage. Matthew didn't respond until they were out of the crowds. "Nancy Donnelly," he spat.
"I can't believe she's here," Jean said.
Lucien was beginning to get a bit frustrated. "Who on earth is Nancy Donnelly and what's she done to make you both speak of her like the ghost of Christmas bloody past?"
Jean looked to Matthew to be the one to answer. With a healthy dose of irritation in his tone, Matthew explained. "Nancy Donnelly is an absolute cow of a woman and the long and short of what she's done, Lucien, is that she divorced me."
"Oh," Lucien said, mildly stunned. He knew, of course, that Matthew had been married and that it had not worked out. He'd not been married when Lucien had left Ballarat to study in Edinburgh, and the divorce was long past when he'd returned to see his dying father. And now that he thought about it, Lucien knew absolutely nothing about Matthew's failed marriage. Now, at least, he knew the ex-Mrs. Lawson was named Nancy.
"Come along, Matthew, we're taking you to lunch at the Colonists'," Jean insisted, prompting the men to get into the car. Nancy Donnelly was not a proper subject of conversation. Jean knew better than most that Matthew wanted only to forget about the woman's very existence.
Lucien drove them in silence. Jean chatted pleasantly with Matthew, but Lucien was lost in thought. What sort of woman had Matthew Lawson married? What circumstances had led to the divorce. There were only a handful of possibilities; insanity and incest were highly unlikely, which left adultery, cruelty, and desertion as the only candidates. And Matthew said it was Nancy who had divorced him. That would have required proof. Surely Matthew had not committed adultery or abused his wife? Such things were entirely impossible, to Lucien's mind. Matthew Lawson was an honorable man above all else. But the mystery remained.
"So Vera's got everything all ready for you?" he heard Jean ask.
"Yes, I'll be moving in to Rose's old room, actually."
"Oh how is Rose?"
Matthew smiled. "Clever and difficult, as usual. She was kind enough to visit me every week in Melbourne. She's young and busy, of course, but she's a good girl. I'm lucky to have a nice niece like her."
"Well, she's lucky to have a wonderful uncle like you," Jean replied.
Over lunch, Lucien put his curiosity about the Lawson divorce out of his mind and engaged in happier conversation. He and Matthew each had a beer, while Jean opted for seltzer. Cec had the kitchen prepare a special roast chicken in honor of Lawson's return. People came by their table to greet the former Chief Superintendent.
"I was never this popular when I was ordering arrests," Matthew grumbled as yet another well-wisher left them.
"People are glad to see you," Jean said.
"Tell me about my replacement," Matthew asked of Lucien.
Lucien was happy to discuss Frank Carlyle, a man who was a worthy successor to Lawson. Though, to be fair, anyone would have been better than Munro. That was a sentiment Matthew agreed with whole-heartedly.
"And what do you think of him, Jean?" he asked, cutting off Lucien's discussion of Frank's cardplaying skill.
"He's a good copper," Jean said approvingly. "He gives Lucien and me a bit more leniency than you used to, but I don't know that he's learned the lesson yet," she teased.
"Lucien and you?"
Jean couldn't help but smile proudly. "I'm a bit more involved than I used to be."
"About one out of three calls, I bring Jean along," Lucien explained. "She's a great help to me, though sometimes we get frowned upon because my wife is technically a civilian."
"If she had a medical degree, she'd be the one hired instead of you," Matthew grunted.
Lucien just grinned. "Quite right."
Jean blushed furiously.
After an extended afternoon, it was finally time for Matthew to get to Vera's. She'd be home from work by now, and Matthew was eager to see his sister. "Thank you for lunch. It really was good to see you both. Marriage certainly suits you," Matthew noted.
"I quite agree. Marrying Jean is the best thing I think I've ever done," Lucien proclaimed.
Matthew nodded. "Of course it is. You'd be twice the idiot and probably dead if it wasn't for her."
"I'm very happy too, thank you very much," Jean interjected.
The men both gave a little chuckle. Matthew kissed Jean on the cheek as he prepared to make his way into his sister's house. "Your happiness is the most important part. I'm glad he finally got his act together," he told her in a low tone.
"Me too," she answered, just as quietly.
Dr. and Mrs. Blake drove back home after seeing their dear friend to the door. They were both in such a good mood after having seen him. But Lucien's mind was wandering again.
Jean could practically hear him thinking. "Just ask me. I know you want to," she said finally.
"Matthew's wife…"
"Her name is Nancy Donnelly. After the divorce, she took her maiden name back. I never knew her very well. But she certainly did a number on Matthew, poor man," Jean lamented.
"Do you know the grounds for divorce?"
A small smile played on her lips. "It's been bothering you, hasn't it?"
"Well, yes, if I'm being honest."
"She left him. Matthew says she divorced him, but he was the one who had to petition. Desertion, I believe, is the technical term."
"Why did she leave? Do you know?" Lucien asked.
Jean held her hands in her lap in the car, staring at her fingertips. "I don't know anything for certain. Matthew and I weren't very close back then. But there were rumors."
"What rumors?"
"Rumors that she was unfaithful. I don't think he ever came out and accused her, but everyone in town seemed to know. Matthew wasn't Chief Superintendent then. Just a sergeant. And for a while, he was viewed as a rather pathetic creature. Pitied, really."
"How awful."
Jean nodded in agreement. "He keeps to himself for a reason. I don't know that Matthew Lawson ever had a proper friend before you came back."
Lucien was quiet for a moment, thinking. He himself had had a number of close friends through the years. Wherever he went, for most of his life, Lucien had been able to connect with people, to use his natural charisma to attract others to spend time with him. At school, he'd earned the admiration from his classmates for being a bit of a clown and troublemaker. As he grew, he'd been rather popular with the young ladies, garnering praise and respect from his peers. In the army, of course, he'd had his fellow officers to share his company, and his family in Singapore. It was not until after the war when he'd been liberated from the prison camp that Lucien had become something of a recluse. His charm had always been borne of levity and fun, and when he'd been overwhelmed by pain, he kept it to himself. A sad, drunk, broken recluse. It was thanks to Jean and Matthew, probably in equal measure, that he had been able to crawl out from those depths.
Matthew Lawson, on the other hand, was more of a mystery. Lucien remembered him from their childhood. Matthew had always been a bit small. Loved sport, been reasonably clever. A very average boy, never standing out in any manner. Lucien had known him and liked him, but they had not been particularly close. Perhaps it was the sense of loss they both silently shared that had helped bond them together over the last few years. Lucien had never really asked Matthew much about himself. Neither of them was ever very open about their pasts. An error on Lucien's part, he realized.
"Lucien, I'm going to see to the washing. Would you like a cup of tea first?" Jean asked as they parked back at the house.
"No, darling, thank you, I'm fine for now."
Jean didn't like to see him distracted like this. It never seemed to bode well. "Do you have something to occupy you till dinner?" she asked warily.
"I need to update patient files from my appointments yesterday," he answered.
She nodded in satisfaction. "Let me know if you need anything." Jean hung up her coat and immediately set about the laundry she'd been neglecting.
"Jean?" Lucien called to her as he removed his hat.
"Yes?" She turned back and paused in the middle of the foyer.
Lucien took two long strides and wrapped her in his arms, kissing her soundly. He pulled back to tell her, "I love you very much."
Jean was a bit dazed by the sudden onslaught of attention. "Oh. Goodness. Yes, I love you, too," she answered with a slight stammer.
It was in Lucien's mind to try to promise Jean that they wouldn't ever end up like Matthew and his Nancy, that he would love and protect her as best he could, that he would never give her cause to leave him. But the words died in his throat; giving voice to such fears would only serve to make them just a bit more real, and that wouldn't do them any good.
Thankfully, Lucien was saved by the ringing phone. Jean offered to get it, but he told her to see to the laundry. He answered it in the kitchen.
Jean did not go to her laundry, waiting instead to see who had called. Lucien was off the phone a moment later.
"That was Charlie," he told her.
She frowned. "A body?"
Lucien nodded. "A body. Apparently there's already a suspect, but I'll need to attend."
"Of course. Do you need me to go with you?"
His expression softened. "Can the laundry wait?"
"It can wait."
And so the Blakes got themselves back in the car and drove to the address Charlie had given. When they arrived at the public shop, they found Ned and Charlie managing the crowds. Frank Carlyle was kneeling beside the body. Bill Hobart was standing and talking to a very elegant woman, about middle-age, with perfectly coifed blonde hair and immaculate red lipstick.
Jean stopped and grabbed her husband's arm. "Lucien!" she hissed.
"What is it?"
"That's her!"
"Who?"
Jean knew it was rude to point, and she didn't wish to draw attention to them by doing so. She spoke quietly, telling Lucien, "The woman talking to Sergeant Hobart. That's Nancy Donnelly."