Competition
William and Julia had been happily married for 10 years. They had a son who was 8 years-old and two adopted daughters who were 7 years-old and 5 years-old. Julia had returned to work as a pathologist 7 years ago. Working together again had kept the Murdoch's close, and their relationship was vibrant. This was probably aided by the fact that they could afford a nice house and servants – Eloise who prepared their meals and Claire-Marie who was a nanny to their children.
On this particular day a new Inspector was showing up for his first day at work at stationhouse #4 after Inspector Brackenreid had been promoted. Everyone (except probably this new man) knew that Murdoch should have been promoted to Inspector but was passed over because he was Catholic. When Inspector Jack Robinson showed up that morning he was greeted by the constables who introduced themselves and started to fill him in on the usual routines and daily life at stationhouse #4. Inspector Robinson asked after Detective Murdoch and was told that Murdoch had received a note when he first walked in and had taken off on his bicycle to follow-up on whatever the note had said. He was informed that generally the first place to look for Murdoch if he wasn't in the stationhouse was over at the morgue, mostly because that is where his wife, Dr. Ogden, worked. Inspector Robinson was surprised to learn that their pathologist was a woman, and even more surprised to learn that his top man was married to a woman that he had to work with every day. The constables told him that the couple probably made the best crime-fighting team in history as they had great success, and further, that their relationship was, well, as one constable put it, "delightful, full of flirtation and teasing that provides much entertainment." He deduced that both Detective Murdoch and his wife, Dr. Ogden, were greatly loved here at stationhouse#4, even though he had not yet met either of them.
Around lunch time, Inspector Robinson decided to see if Murdoch, who still had not returned to the stationhouse, was over at the morgue. Upon entering the morgue he heard Julia's music playing, smiling to himself as he recognized how it helped lift the atmosphere of the place. Julia heard the big, morgue door slam and thought to herself that it might be William. She looked up to see Inspector Robinson, hat in hand, round the corner and come down the steps. (It must be noted that Inspector Jack Robinson is quite attractive. He is 5'11" tall, with brown hair, gorgeous, big blue eyes, and a nice build. Probably more importantly, his mannerisms project a man who is quite in control, confident, focused, and a bit … stiff. If this sounds like anyone else you know, it wouldn't be surprising. The point is, he is Julia's type). The moment she saw him she felt her body react – her breath caught, her mouth opened, her pupils dilated. Inspector Robinson had a similar reaction to the sight of her.
"You must be Dr. Ogden. It's so nice to meet you. I'm Inspector Jack Robinson, "Robinson said approaching from the other side of the body than the one Julia was working on.
Julia picked up a rag to clean the blood off of her hands and smiled a little, "Yes, yes I am. It is very nice to meet you. We've heard such wonderful things about you. Welcome to stationhouse #4, Inspector." She offered her hand to him over the body and he lifted it half way up to his face with a slight bow. The moment was awkward as he did not really know how to greet a colleague who was a woman – and he found this woman particularly attractive and he was trying to hide that fact, and he could be a little … uneasy in such social situations anyway. "What brings you to the morgue? Did you come just to meet me?" Julia asked tilting her head and holding up her skirt as she walked around to his side of the body.
Robinson felt his heart pounding in his chest as she approached closer to him and he was working at trying to sound nonchalant. He found himself fiddling with his hat and somewhat trapped in her eyes. He cleared his throat and said, "Well of course I did want to meet the pathologist I would be working with, but I was also looking for … your husband, I believe, Detective Murdoch. Some of the constables told me he could often be found here."
The mention of her husband shook Julia a little – bringing her back closer to the ground and reminding her of her situation. "Oh yes, of course. William … umm, William is often here, but he's not right now," she said looking around the morgue.
"Yes, I see that," Robinson said. There was an uncomfortable pause before he said, "Well, I guess I'll let you get back to your work, Doctor. It was nice to meet you," and he once again took her hand and raised it towards his mouth with a nod.
In a breathy voice Julia said, "Yes, yes it was … umm I mean it was nice to meet you too Inspector." With another nod, Robinson turned and left. Julia tried to wait until she heard the big, morgue door close before she steadied herself by placing a hand on the gurney with the body. Her mouth was agape and she felt stunned. She placed her hand over her heart which was beating too fast and said to herself, "Oh my, I think we've got a problem."
Robinson noticed a bicycle parked outside the stationhouse as he returned. He hesitated slightly to observe it, remembering that he had been told that one of the …odd – or unique … things about Murdoch was that he rode a bicycle everywhere and in all sorts of weather. He thought to himself, "My God, what a lucky man … What an amazing woman. I'm going to have to keep a handle on this." He exhaled sharply through pursed lips in an attempt to calm himself down and regain control before he entered the stationhouse.
Murdoch was speaking to a constable in the bull pen, giving him instructions to take a picture of the victim down to the docks and ask around. Robinson took another deep breath and approached the detective. Reaching out with his hand he said, "Detective Murdoch I presume."
Murdoch shook his hand and said, "Inspector Robinson, it's nice to meet you sir."
Robinson said, "I was just over meeting your wife, Dr. Ogden. She's quite an impressive woman."
"That she is sir," Murdoch said. There was an awkward pause as Murdoch thought about bringing up the case he was working on with his new boss.
Robinson looked around the stationhouse and said, "The constables here tell me you two are quite happily married… any children?"
Murdoch's brain felt a small jolt – this was not the way he had expected the conversation to go, and his gut was telling him something wasn't right. Murdoch took a moment to hold the Inspector's eye, looking a little puzzled before his face settled and he answered, "Yes, we have three." Murdoch wanted to shift the conversation away from himself and Julia so he asked, "And you?"
"Me? No, not lucky enough to have any children. I was married, but I'm divorced now," Robinson replied, recognizing now that he felt uncomfortable talking about his personal life only moments after having met the detective.
Murdoch nodded and said, "Oh." Again there was an uncomfortable pause before Murdoch asked, "Would you like to know about the case we're working on?"
Demonstrating that he was competent and observant, Robinson added, "Yes. I hear it involves questioning people from the docks – sure can be a tricky area, huh?"
Murdoch agreed, "Yes, certainly," as he turned towards his office. I have the file in here …" Robinson followed Murdoch into his office and indulged himself in looking around at all the gadgets and things Murdoch had spread all about.
"Tell me detective, why not a picture of your wife and children?" Robinson asked after he had perused for a few moments.
That did it. Murdoch found himself consciously aware that Robinson was dangerously interested in his wife. And he was worried that she might be attracted to him too – Robinson was her type. His ears started ringing and he felt his breathing quicken in response to the threat. He knew he needed to sound calm and he forced himself to unclamp his fists. Using a deep breath to provide oxygen to his now hurried brain, he said, "I find that when questioning people in here it is better for them not to be able to know too much about me. It keeps the focus on matters at hand."
"Hmm, I never thought of it that way. That makes sense," Robinson agreed as he leaned over the desk to inspect the file Murdoch had opened up. The two of them talked about the case. Each of them impressed the other with their thinking. If they could work out this "love-triangle problem," they would probably make a good team.
Finally alone in his office, Murdoch sat at his desk, resting his chin and mouth on his fist, deep in thought. He normally reacted to jealousy by getting angry. There had been plenty of times that men had come on to Julia and he had wanted to kill them, of course he kept such urges under control, and even though he knew it wasn't Julia's fault that they found her attractive, he often felt mad at her. They had actually discussed this in the past, acknowledging that their lovemaking after such encounters tended to be much rougher than normal. Murdoch's degree of worry now though suggested a different problem. From what he could tell Robinson had probably not out-right flirted with Julia. It was, he thought, probably more of a case of mutual attraction that both of them knew they would work not to act upon. His stomach was in a knot. "This is definitely a problem," he thought.
Back at the morgue, Julia had been talking to herself all day. She was also worried. Her mind would drift back to her experience earlier with … "Jack," … She had tried not to let herself think of him with his first name, but she had failed. She would feel the stirrings in her lower body, sometimes giving in to the urge to slightly gasp, as she felt her gut flip over with excitement and arousal. Then she would work to call up an image of William – to remind herself how attractive and wonderful he was. It would work for a while, but inevitably the images of Jack would reappear. Julia knew she needed to act in a way that supported her marital relationship with William. She was struggling with whether or not to tell William about her attraction to the Inspector. If she told him, he would probably get angry. Most husbands would beat their wife and probably the potential lover as well. William wouldn't beat either of them – she knew that, but she did not want to deal with a furious William. Even worse, knowing she found another man attractive might undermine William's confidence in himself. Their relationship, particularly their romantic one, would probably become awkward and strained. But if she didn't tell him it would become a big, dark secret – the kind that rots a relationship from the inside out. She had never kept anything important from him before, and she didn't want to give in to her fears now either. Julia decided that it was best to talk to William about her feelings, though it made her feel sick even thinking about doing so. She headed home with the plan to tell him. She would be home early. "Good," she thought, "I'll be able to get the children settled in downstairs in the playroom before William gets home. We'll be able to talk together for a while before Eloise has dinner ready." As she hailed herself a cab she noticed William's bicycle outside the stationhouse. Her reaction to the sight of it encouraged her – she saw his bicycle and before she could even have a conscious thought she felt her heart fill with love … There was no doubt that her love for William could ever be shaken. "We'll work it out," she thought.
Murdoch finished up his work for the day on the case. Before he headed home he decided to devise a plan. The problem was that he was not certain that Julia had felt the same way for Inspector Robinson as he had for her. That uncertainty meant that he would not be able to directly ask her about it. However, he knew he would need to ask her about it, albeit somewhat indirectly. But then what to do if his fears were true? … He felt he only had one choice – fight for her. Not in a physical confrontation with Robinson – actually it seemed that Robinson really had nothing to do with this at all. He would need to fight to win Julia's attention. He would have to be irresistible – winsome and charming. Murdoch conjured up thoughts of times that he had felt confident and caring with Julia. To be honest, there was an abundance of memories to choose from. This recognition served to strengthen his bravery. "I can do this," he thought to himself as threw on his coat and hat and headed out the door.
Julia had arrived home early and took time to play with William Jr., Katie and Chelsea. Eloise was already working on dinner and Claire-Marie went up to take a shower before going out with friends for the evening. Eventually Julia left the children in the playroom downstairs and went upstairs into their bedroom to change into something more comfortable.
William walked in the door of their house to find the smell of spaghetti filling the house. He realized that he hadn't eaten all day. As he hung up his coat and hat he wondered why his children weren't jumping all over him with their enthusiastic hellos. He lifted his eyes up to the stairs and saw Julia coming down the stairs towards him. Particularly with the events of the day he was a bit startled at his normal, yet lustful, reaction to her. She really did take his breath away – always had.
"Our children are happily entertaining themselves in the playroom," Julia said as she reached the bottom step and walked over to William. "I thought it might give us a little time together before dinner," she said, placing her body close to his with his back up to the wall. She had felt contractions of arousal from atop the staircase when her eyes had met his beautiful, brown eyes. Maybe she'd tell him later – just convince herself and him that their love for each other was strong first. Julia reached up and placed one hand behind his head to stroke his hair and the other hand on his tie, working to loosen it. She stepped in very close to him, pressing him against the wall. Their eyes were locked – desire sparking between them. They could both feel his penis growing in his trousers as she kissed him, open, soft, full of passion. "I've been thinking about you all day," she whispered in his ear.
"You've been on my mind as well," he responded, sliding his hand into the small of her back and pulling her up into a deep kiss. They walked up the stairs into their bedroom hand-in-hand.
After he closed the bedroom door, William kept his back to her for a moment. "Julia, you know you drive me crazy with need for you," he said into the door. When he turned to look at her she was nearly half undressed. With a hungry look in her eyes, she moved into him, pushing him into the door. They undressed each other with desperation. Finally naked, they kissed each other while wriggling, sliding and writhing their bodies together and apart in a sensuous dance. William lifted Julia up and spun her around to put her back against the door. She grabbed at his penis, trying to direct it into her. He smoothly gathered up her hands, while his eyes held hers, and lifted her arms up above her head. Placing both of her hands in one of his hands and fixing them to the door, he slid his other hand slowly down - fingers touching her face, neck, … turning his head to the side to reach in and kiss, suck, and nibble on her neck …while his rough, calloused hand captured her breast and tortured it with kneading and soft pinches. Julia's moan drove him wild. He released her hands, held on to her by her hips and dropped his body down low enough below hers to press up into her, penetrating her. He felt her wet warmth as he entered, moaning uncontrollably as he slowly pushed in deeper and deeper. Julia raked her fingernails across his back, stopping to dig them in, clamping herself in place. "So smooth, so soft," he thought as he started to thrust hard and slow into her. His effort evoked small grunts of effort from him and each thrust seemed to pull a gasp out of Julia's throat.
Eloise was ready to serve dinner and had climbed the stairs and prepared to knock on their bedroom door when she heard the door bang. It was followed by smaller, rhythmical bumps and she could hear the gasps and groans the couple was making on the other side of the door. She quickly ascertained that they were making love against the door and pulled her hand back before she had touched her knuckles against it. Although she was accustomed to her employers' active love life, she could not help but blush. Her eyes met those of Claire-Marie who was walking down the hall towards her from her room, readying herself to go out with a friend for supper. They whispered a giggle and headed down the stairs together, Eloise saying she wished she had had a marriage like that.
Back on the other side of the door, Julia was nearing her orgasm, just hanging off the precipice, only needing the slightest more pressure from William to fall into ecstasy. "Don't stop William. Please don't stop," she pleaded. William had no intention of stopping – he was sure he couldn't even if wanted to. He felt her warm muscles clamp and ripple around him. Her rhythm quickened and the enticing moan he felt echo in his ear pulled him over the edge as well. Pleasure filled them as they melted, spun and floated together. William knew she would want him to stay inside of her while their hearts slowed to a normal pace and they blew breezes of their breath on each other's sweaty skin. Julia was crying – a sure sign of the intensity of their lovemaking.
"My God, I love you so much," William said as peppered her with light kisses before letting her hold her own weight and sliding out of her.
"I don't think I can speak yet," Julia said, evoking a cocky chuckle from her husband.
They went into their bathroom to clean up. William washed in the sink while Julia used the toilet. Julia walked back to the door of the bathroom and leaned on the open door to watch William dry himself off with a towel. He asked, "So, why were you thinking about me all day?"
His question caused Julia's heart rate to shoot up. She had completely forgotten about her plan to talk to him about … Jack. William noticed the worry overtake her. He was unable to hide a slight frown as he recognized that his fears about her feelings for Robinson were likely true. He stepped closer to Julia and reached up to play with one of her curls – somehow her hair had managed to stay up through all they had just been through.
Julia's eyes darted around, not able to hold contact with his even though they seemed to try. "Nothing in particular. It just seems to happen sometimes," she said, losing her nerve.
William pushed for more, "Well, in particular, today, what happened that made you think about me?"
Julia's stomach flipped over with fear. She took a deep breath and warned herself that if she started to say it she wouldn't be able to take it back. She lifted her eyes the inch necessary to meet his and said, "The new Inspector came into the morgue today looking for you…"
William's heart sank – it was definite now. He glanced away from her and tried to coach himself into believing that he could bring her back into that place where she knew only of her love for him. He kissed her. The kisses grew in intensity. Soon their passions were aroused and it seemed likely that they were on their way to making love again. But William caught himself. He knew that engaging in sex right now was just putting off the problem and that the problem would only grow bigger if they didn't deal with it. Julia knew it too, but her fear was winning out over her hope. William abruptly stopped and stepped back. "You were struggling to explain why you thought about me all day today," he reminded her.
"Yes, but if you keep kissing me like that I can't think, let alone explain things," she said, sounding out of breath.
William smiled and said, "I am glad that my kisses have that effect on you, but I think it is important to figure this out right?"
He watched as Julia tried to get up the nerve to tell him what he already knew – To tell him that she was attracted to another. He said, "Julia, remember the time we had been fighting about your troubles divorcing Darcy and we had a long heart-to-heart talk?" Julia shook her head yes. "We learned some important things from each other during that talk – and I guess lots of other talks too," he continued. She nodded her head in agreement again. "I remember learning that telling the truth in the face of fear was the hardest thing to do, but that it really seemed to be the only thing to work," he encouraged.
Julia looked off into the distance and said, "And that assuming you know how the other will react, or what they will think, doesn't work because you might be wrong and because it's better to trust in the truth and let them feel and think what they will."
William used his hand to bring her gaze back to him and asked, "What did Inspector Robinson coming to the morgue have to do with you thinking about me all day?"
Julia realized that his question probably meant he had already figured it out – That he already knew that she found another man – his boss no less – distractingly attractive. She knew William might, after all, he was the smartest, most observant man she'd ever known, and he knew her really, really well. She thought for a moment about just directly asking him if he already knew. Maybe that way she wouldn't have to figure out how to tell him. She squirmed a little against the bathroom door. He wasn't going to let it go, that was obvious. She'd felt this way a few times in her life – like right before she dove into a freezing cold lake. She just had to make herself do it.
"I found myself attracted to him," she said, "and I spent the rest of the day reminding myself how much I love you."
"Oh, I see," William said, stepping back to lean against the sink countertop.
Julia felt the distance between them grow exponentially as he moved away. It scared her. She tried to read his eyes – was he hurt? … Angry? … She couldn't tell. She reminded herself that this is William's way when dealing with stressful, shocking news. If he was in control, as he seemed to be now, then he wouldn't be able to think of anything to say for a while. He instinctively reacted to the shock by pushing emotion away, trying to hide it. It would take time for him to allow the feelings to flow and then react to them. She wished she could just go hold him, but somehow that didn't feel right either. It was amazing that he felt so far away when only moments ago they were locked together more intimately than she had ever been with any other human in the world. Julia looked back at William, hope and enthusiasm spreading across her face. William noticed the change and his face lightened…
"William," she said, "Just a few minutes ago …" Julia looked out of the bathroom towards their bedroom door. "We've been married for ten years, and you just brought me to heights of passion I had never even dreamed possible before I married you… We did the same thing this morning before I'd even met Inspector Robinson. I was not a virgin when I married you, I know you know that, and I am sure that what we have together is rare, strong, … extremely special William. My body's reaction to just a look from you, or when you step close to me, continues to surprise me with its intensity." Julia paused, took a moment to feel her body – breathing, heart rate, temperature, and said, "Come here."
William leaned forward to stand from where he was leaning against the counter, took a deep breath and walked the two steps to stand in front of her. He felt his insides stir in response to being close to her – his eyes showed this change, dilating and seeming to pull her in.
Julia reached down to lift his hand to her heart, "Feel this … it beats stronger and faster the closer you get." With that, William leaned against her to press her back into the door, lifted his other hand to tuck it into her curls, brushing across her ear before cradling the back of her head, and caressing her bottom lip with his thumb. Julia moaned, the sound just barely louder than their breathing. They tilted their heads and placed their lips just out of reach of each other's and Julia said, her lips occasionally touching his as they formed the words, "Feel it pounding now …" William closed the gap between their mouths. Their kisses built, blending soft tongues, supple lips, and surprising nips. Julia spoke as William shifted to nibble and suck on her neck, "That little spark I felt with him doesn't stand a chance against this, William." Before dizziness enveloped them, William lifted Julia up as she wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck, and he carried her to their bed. Only moments later he was inside her once again, once more they were occupying that one perfect spot where there was no one else in the world but them and nothing else in the world but their love.
They lay together, sweating, panting, heads still spinning. As soon as Julia's breathing had recovered sufficiently she whispered to him, "William, if you want to help fix this then remind me often of what we have and how wonderful it is. Trust me – Trust our love."
"I will… I do," he said.
William and Julia joined their family at their smaller table in the kitchen for dinner about a half-hour late. Eloise served their plates once she saw them come in. "Sorry we're late," William said, taking his seat on the opposite side of the table to Julia, "We had a problem we needed to work out."
"What problem, Daddy?" Chelsea asked.
William served himself some spaghetti and answered, "Well, it seems I have some competition for your mother's romantic attention." Julia looked surprised that he would disclose the issue.
"What do you mean?" Katie asked.
"Your mother felt attracted to another man today – she has eyes for someone else besides just me," he said.
William Jr. quickly checked for clarification, "You mean she wants to kiss somebody besides you Daddy. Doesn't that make you sad?"
Alarmed, Julia sent a warning look at William and said, "William, you're going to upset them."
He held her look and reassured her, "It will be alright," then he turned to William Jr. and explained, "I really am fond of having your mother's attention and her kisses, but don't worry, I have a plan." William took a mouthful of spaghetti to give himself time to think. All eyes were on him, even Eloise who was over at the stove preparing their deserts had shifted to be able to see. Looking at their son, but darting a quick glance towards Julia he said, "Life has taught me that when the competition increases you have to up your game."
"What does that mean," he asked.
William shifted his glance to his wife and explained, "It means that you have to make yourself better so you can win. For instance, I'm going to start lifting weights to make my muscles stronger – I know your mommy likes big, strong muscles"
"You do Mommy," William Jr. seemed surprised.
Julia consoled her 8 year-old son, "Yes, but on men not on children."
Chelsea suggested joyfully, "Daddy you can lift us up each day!"
With that, William got up and began lifting Chelsea high into the air. As everyone watched Chelsea giggling and bouncing up and down her father said, "Great idea! This definitely will make my muscles get stronger - 10 times for each of you per day." After a few more lifts William sounded strained and said, "Let's make that 5 times each per day," evoking a round of laughter throughout the room.
William returned to his seat and added, "I am officially courting your mother … that means she gets more flowers and I'll have to write lots of love notes."
Katie asked her mother if she still loved Daddy. Julia turned to look lovingly at William and said, "Of course I do, more than words could ever say. And your father's kisses are most exquisite. It's just that he is not the only attractive man on Earth and I found myself attracted to another man as well – It's like you love that pony Cinnamon who you usually ride, right, but you might also like Dandy Lion too. But when a person is married, like your Daddy and I are, then you only love and kiss the person you're married to – and even though I like this other man, I will only be loving and kissing your Daddy. So, don't worry, O.K?"
William Jr. asked, "Then Daddy you don't have to court Mommy because you're married to her?"
William took a deep breath and said, "Oh but I do, because I don't want her to feel like she's settling for second best when she's with me … I want to make your Mommy happier than any other man in the world could."
Julia reached across the table and took William's hand, "You already do, but I sure wouldn't mind a bit more of those muscles, and flowers, and love notes. I guess I could be even happier." Raising her eyebrows seductively at him she continued, "I'm really looking forward to it."
William Jr. asked his father, "Daddy, have you ever wanted to kiss another woman besides Mommy?"
Julia put her fork down and turned to focus her attention more directly on her husband. She knew the honest answer to this question would be yes, but she didn't know whether or not William had repressed his lustful feelings to such a degree that he wasn't consciously aware of them. This would be interesting…
William took a drink of water – stalling for time to think again. He couldn't remember a particular woman that he felt aroused by since he'd been married, but he was also pretty sure there had been some. He said, "Yes, I believe I have. But there is an important difference because I don't them every day like your Mommy and I will see the man we're talking about, because he works with us."
"Oh," said William Jr.
Eloise had made coconut cream pie (William's favorite) and apple crumb pie (Julia's favorite) for desert. William grimaced when she offered him some saying that he should decline as he was trying to work on his physique. Julia talked him into having a very small piece. After all were finished with dinner, the kids hurried down to the playroom, expecting their parents to join them in some fun and a little school work too. William and Julia hesitated in the foyer – Julia rested her back up against the wall and pulled William to her. William started to apologize for disclosing too much. Julia placed her index finger over his lips and said, "I'm completely charmed, William, by your reaction to … this, - but also a little embarrassed. It helped that you admitted that you have also been attracted to others – like that Egyptian archeologist … I guess you have a type too." She ran her fingers behind his neck and pulled him into a kiss. The children came back up the stairs looking for their parents to find William and Julia kissing once again. Julia released William's lips and ran butterfly kisses across his face and down to his neck. This time the children did not complain, but rather were happy to see their parents loving each other. Katie said, "Look, Mommy is making lip prints all over Daddy."
William whispered in Julia's ear "Lip prints across my heart."
William pulled back suddenly, tilted his head to the right and stared off into space. Julia knew this look – he was making a breakthrough on the case. After giving him a few moments to think it through she asked, "What have you figured out about the case William?" (William had figured out that you might be able to use lip prints to identify a person much like you can use fingerprints. There was a glass without any fingerprints from the scene of the crime – the murderer was likely wearing gloves – but perhaps they could get lip prints from it).
"I do have an idea, but it can wait till tomorrow," he answered. William softly gave Julia another quick kiss. The couple scooped up a few of their children and the family headed downstairs to enjoy the rest of the evening.
The next day at work, Murdoch had gathered multiple samples of lip prints from the constables and had determined that the lip prints were able to be used to identify an individual. He had also been able to lift a lip print off of the glass from the scene of the crime. Julia had provided a lip sample from the victim's body in the morgue, but they were not certain that the print did not change as the body decayed, though they suspected the degradation was minimal. Julia had brought the lip print over to her husband and was with him in his office.
William was seated at his desk with Julia sitting next to him on the desk, her legs crossed at the ankles and dangling to William's left. They were looking at the different lip prints spread out on the desk. William reached up under Julia's skirt and slid his hand up and down the back of her calf. He was pleasantly surprised by his body's strong lustful response to the sensations of the caress. "Just lovely," William said as he continued to lightly squeeze her calf… Why are your calf muscles so … developed?
Julia tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, "William, really?" William looked at her, puzzled.
"You really don't know?" Julia asked.
William replied, "Well, by your reaction I guess you use them when we make love?"
Julia placed her hand to cup and fondle his face, leaned down closer to his ear, and said, ""Yes, William – much like your gluteus maximus muscles and hamstrings benefit from our vigorous love life, so to do my gastrocnemius muscles."
"Oh … I find them very titillating," William said, having trouble controlling his grin.
Inspector Jack Robinson knocked on Murdoch's open door as he entered the office. William smoothly removed his hand from under Julia's dress as Julia turned to look at the Inspector. Julia explained, "William needed me to help gather some data for an experiment for the case and, thus, I have graced William's office with my lovely presence."
Robinson bowed his head slightly to her as he said, "You do so very well, I must say."
Julia got up off of the desk and said "Thank you Inspector," as she went to sit at one of the stools at the work table.
William, knowing that he could be quite a showman when explaining a case at the chalkboard, asked the Inspector if he would like to be brought up to date on the case. William added the new information about the glass from the crime scene with the lip print to the board and explained that the lip print from the victim did not match it. He had constables out right now gathering lip prints from suspects, and he believed they would have the evidence they needed to solve the case very soon. The inspector was very impressed and said so. He then asked, "What does the word "lilac" next to the sister's name mean?"
William explained that once the body got to the morgue, Julia said she smelled lilac. "I smelled it too, but even if I didn't, I would still have trusted Julia's sense of smell – it fluctuates some, but when it's on, it's amazing. Further, I also noticed when questioning the sister that she wears a lilac-scented perfume – certainly not enough to convict her but worth noting," he remarked.
A smirk grew on Robinson's face as he joked, "What you say Murdoch sure does make a lot of 'scents'."
Julia chuckled but William made an annoyed grin and said, "Oh, I see 'sense' and 'scents'… Very good sir."
William's reaction made Julia laugh even more.
William rolled his eyes and said, "Oh great, now I'm going to have to put up with these irritating jokes from both of you."
Julia laughed again and turned to Robinson to explain, "William's sense of humor is … unique. I believe he finds many of my jokes lacking, but I keep telling them because they're guaranteed to get a rise out of him even if he doesn't find them funny." Julia shifted her gaze to William and added, "And I do so enjoy getting a rise out of my husband."
William teased Julia with a threatening look. Inspector Robinson smiled, laughing inside.
Inspector Robinson complimented Detective Murdoch on his innovative and highly effective methods. He hesitated before he walked out of the office and said, "I am very much looking forward to working with you both."
William said, "Likewise."
Julia nodded in agreement and said, "Have a good day Inspector."
Julia stepped in close to William and said, "I think your new boss was quite impressed with you William," as she stroked his tie.
"I wasn't trying to impress him … I was trying to impress you," William said, reaching up to play with one of her curls.
"Oh," said Julia. Moving her lips closer to his she said, "Well I think you impressed your wife too." William slid his other arm behind the small of her back and pulled her to him, taking her lips in a kiss.
Inspector Robinson re-entered the office, lightly knocking on the door as he came in. William and Julia instinctively separated and the Inspector said, "Oh yes, the constables warned me about that with you two. Sorry."
Murdoch responded, "No need to be sorry sir. Is there something else?"
"Yes. I was wondering - did you find lipstick on the glass? I mean doesn't your suspect, the sister, wear lipstick?" the Inspector asked.
Murdoch walked over to the glass and lifted it up (there did not appear to be any lipstick marks on it), "I was wondering about that too, but I figured we would rely on the lip print results to see – I mean it is certainly possible that she wasn't wearing lipstick at the time."
Julia drew their attention, "Gentlemen, I do think we should consider the time of death. Our victim was killed at two A.M. in the morning. Most women would have taken their make-up off by then and she would have been very unlikely to put it back on to go see her brother, especially at that time of night."
Inspector Robinson and Detective Murdoch both nodded. The Inspector said, "Yes, yes. I guess time will tell. Thank you both." He nodded to them and left.
Julia headed back to the morgue after she and William agreed that their relationship with the new Inspector felt like it was going to work out well. When she returned to her desk she found a dozen roses of the different colors of the rainbow with this card:
Our Colorful Love-Story
Blue liquid rising.
Green fairies dancing.
Violet "I-Think-of-You"s re-calling
Orange & Yellow balloon soaring
Red caboose leaving.
Red Jell-O returning
Brown coffin opening.
Red-dress fireworks exploding.
Black and white dominoes playing.
Green-dress framing
Beige empty-noose swinging
Black homburg floating
Yellow roses wedding.
She turned right around and went back to William to tell him how much she loved his courting gift.
Julia stood at William's office door, roses in hand, watching him work with the suspects' lip prints, admiring him from a distance. Inspector Robinson noticed her return and watched her from his desk in his office. He found himself marveling at the couple. Images of his prior love interest danced across his mind. They had had a similar relationship in many ways. As a matter of fact, he thought that his attraction to Julia was stirred by her similarities to Phryne. Julia entered Murdoch's office and he decided to get back to the job at hand.
William was standing at the work table deeply focused on the evidence he was examining. He had removed his jacket, allowing Julia to notice for the millionth time that he cut a nice physique dressed in a vest. "Gorgeous and brilliant," she thought to herself. "We really have been through so much together," she remarked to herself, followed by a deep breath that intensified the feelings of satisfaction and love she was feeling. She cleared her throat to let him know she was there.
He turned enough to see her, his hands still full of lip print slides, and smiled brightly, "Julia!"
She walked up behind him, placing the flowers and note down on the work table where he could see them. Julia wrapped her arms around William's waist and whispered in his ear from behind him, "I love the flowers and I'm very touched by the note, William." She then began to nibble on his ear.
"Good," William said, noticing his body reacting to her with quick arousal.
They remained this way for a few moments, until Julia shifted her attention to the lip print evidence he was examining. "Did you get the sister's lip print?" she asked.
"No. She refused to provide it. She's been placed in the cells. Before we question her … I was hoping you would interrogate her with me (Julia nodded yes) … I wanted to make sure none of the other suspects had a matching lip print. Perhaps she can be talked into complying."
Julia lifted one of the lip print microscope slides, "And …"
William found a particular slide and held it up to the lip print taken from the glass, "This one seems close, but I don't think it could be considered a match. Do you?"
Julia inspected both lip prints and replied, "Agreed."
William put the evidence down and put on his jacket. "Well, let's question her," he said. William asked a constable to bring the suspect to the interview room and he and Julia stopped in to tell the Inspector that they were about to question the suspect. Inspector Robinson was pleasantly surprised to find out that Julia was also a certified psychiatrist. He called her, "remarkable."
While William and Julia interrogated the suspect, Inspector Robinson went to Murdoch's office to return a file. He saw the roses and note on the work table. He decided to read the note. He quickly figured out that each line was a particular shared memory and that they were likely in chronological order. His curiosity was piqued! Some of the lines seemed easy to decipher, like "Yellow roses wedding," and probably "Green fairies dancing," – although he had been told Murdoch didn't drink, so he might be wrong about assuming they had endulged in drinking absinthe." He found himself both admiring the couple and feeling terribly jealous of Murdoch. He made an effort to push away his covetous thoughts and returned to his office.
Murdoch stopped by the Inspector's office after their interview of the sister. "Good news, sir," he said, "She signed a confession. Also, she admitted to drinking out of the glass at the crime scene. I asked her if she would comply with our request for her lip print to test our theory and she agreed. I'm going to go make the print and compare it to the glass now."
"I must say, detective, very well done," Inspector Robinson said. Standing up from his desk, the Inspector asked if he could join Murdoch while he completed the test. Inspector Robinson noticed that the roses were no longer on the work table in the detective's office. He asked, "Did Dr. Ogden head home?"
William thought, "Still too interested in Julia." He responded, "Yes." William determined that the sister's lip print matched the one from the glass and asked Inspector Robinson to concur. He agreed, expressing admiration of Murdoch's ingenuity. William got to work on writing up the report, hoping to get home in time to join his family for dinner. He was only a little late.
About a month later, Julia and William had agreed to invite Inspector Robinson over to their house for Thanksgiving, figuring that he didn't have any family in Toronto. He joined the Murdoch's along with Dr. Grace and her partner, Lillian Moss. They had enjoyed a wonderful meal and all were settled in the parlor talking while sharing drinks. When it came time to tuck the three Murdoch children into bed, William had agreed to take on the job, leaving Julia to converse with their guests. There had been quite a bit of thundering footsteps from the upstairs, accompanied by much laughter and occasional screaming. Julia had complained to the guests that if William kept playing with the children so, then they would have trouble getting them to go to sleep.
William Jr. ran down the stairs and into the parlor, with Katie and Chelsea close on his heels. William Jr. dove under the couch that Emily and Lillian were sitting on. Katie and Chelsea barely had time to hide behind the opposite couch which Julia was sitting on before a quite disheveled William burst around the corner. His vest had been removed, his sleeves were sloppily rolled up, he was soaked in places with water, and his tie was a mess – likely from the children having pulled at it repeatedly. "It seems the game has switched from "Daddy Monster" to "Hide-n-Seek … No?" he asked.
Julia said through her laughter, "Yes my love." William inched closer and closer to the girls hiding behind the couch, pretending to talk to adults about mundane things like, "be sure to save me some of those cookies," as he moved. Once close enough, William dove on the two girls capturing them both down on the floor behind the couch as they exploded into giggles and screams.
"Now it's up to teeth brushing and bed," he declared triumphantly. The girls protested, clearly enjoying the whole experience abundantly.
Julia shifted to turn and kneel against the back of the couch, facing the action. She rested her elbows against the top of the back of the couch and peered down at William and their daughters below. Chelsea escaped while Katie cheered for her to run away and hide. Julia caught William's eye and said, "You need to declare a time limit for when this game will end or they'll never get to sleep … And believe me, you want them to sleep so we have time for a few "games" of our own.
William rose up on his knees while still holding a struggling and giggling Katie in one arm. Julia reached her head down to meet his lips. She wrapped her fingers around the back of his neck, holding him to her and they kissed.
Katie called out to the other children, "They're kissing again!"
Little Chelsea could be heard from the other room, "Oh no. Not again!" Julia and William broke off the kiss and rolled their eyes.
William sternly and loudly called out, "Five minutes and then every one of you needs to be in that bathroom and after that bed!" He got up and left the room, carrying Katie under his arm as she wriggled with the effort of trying to escape. Luckily for William, he was able to also re-catch Chelsea and carry her upstairs to complete the rituals of going to bed.
Sensing he was safe for a while, William Jr. asked his Aunt Emily to hand him a few cookies. The adults' conversation switched to focus on Inspector Robinson. Sitting from the reclining chair next to the couch Julia was sitting on, he described his native Australia. From under the couch William Jr. asked if it was true that kangaroos really box. Inspector Robinson started to answer when William came back into the room.
"So," William said loudly, "Where is that son of mine?" All were quiet. William spied a trail of cookie crumbs on the floor near the couch and tilted his head sideways in contemplation.
Julia called out, "Freeze William … Inspector, see that look on William's face – that means he's figured something out! You'll come to love it because if you see it then he's about to solve a case … William Jr. - Your goose is cooked."
The boy ran out from under the couch and was quickly caught by William. William threw the boy up into the air and caught him again, evoking uncontrollable laughter from him. After William threw the boy in the air again, Julia complained, "William, since you've been working out you have been throwing them too high. It's too risky!"
William Jr. begged for more and William threw him one more time.
Julia warned, "Keep it up William and we will have to have a talk before our "games" tonight, which might even be cancelled.
William Jr. begged for more, but William said, "Nope kiddo, Mommy wins. Daddy definitely does not want to be sleeping on the couch tonight." William carried William Jr. out of the room using a fireman's carry. William Jr. bid the guests goodnight just before he was seen disappearing out of view.
The guests worked to convince Julia that there was merit to William's side of the "too much risk" argument, declaring that children need to have fun too. When William joined them later he was pleased to learn that he was not in any danger of spending the night on the couch. Quite the contrary, Julia nestled up cozily beside him until it was time for their guests to leave.
The next morning Inspector Robinson stopped by the morgue to thank Julia for the nice evening. He was aware of the fact that he still found her to be very attractive, however he had come to accept that he would never act on these feelings. He disclosed that he used to covet Murdoch's wife, but after last night he has found that he covets it all – his wife, his family, and his home. Julia asked him about any women he had cared for in Australia. He said there was one – a lady private detective. "Like you and your husband, we worked cases together. She left to England. Before she left she told me to come after her. I didn't. I wish I had," he shared.
Julia told him about William's not sending her his telegram with his proposal after she had left for Buffalo. Inspector Robinson thought of the words, "Red caboose leaving," from William's love note to her with the flowers. He realized that he and Phryne had also had a very colorful relationship – Maybe it wasn't over. Julia encouraged the Inspector to re-connect with the lady detective. The Inspector said, "After seeing what I could have last night I think I will." He bid her "Good day," and headed over to the stationhouse. His mind was inspired to work on writing his own love note about their colorful love-story – His heart was hopeful. He noticed that he was whistling. "Hmm," he thought.