Two Mysterious Ladies
On a spring day in 1902 Toronto, Murdoch investigates a few crimes. During the course of the day, he notices the same two ladies in the crowd at each crime scene. Is it a coincidence? ... or something more?
A robbery
It was a bright spring day in Toronto during the year 1902. At a store selling jewelry, an armed robbery had just taken place. The armed robbers had managed to escape before the police arrived. As a crowd stood across the street, the police started investigating the scene.
"What do we have, George?" Detective Murdoch asked as he arrived on the scene.
"According to the employees, two armed men came in and robbed the store at gunpoint" Constable Crabtree answered.
"That's correct" a man said as he walked up.
"And you are?" Murdoch asked.
"Miles O'Shea, the owner of this store" the man answered.
"I'm Detective William Murdoch of the Toronto Constabulary" Murdoch introduced himself. "What did the armed men take?"
"They smashed open the display cases, and cleaned out my stock" O'Shea reported.
"Do you have an inventory of what was in the cases?" Murdoch inquired.
"Yes" O'Shea answered as he handed Murdoch a clipboard.
"George, make sure you write down a copy of this inventory" Murdoch directed Constable Crabtree. "Meanwhile, I'll go outside and see if anybody in the crowd saw anything of interest".
"Yes, sir" Crabtree acknowledged.
Murdoch walked out of the store, and soon found himself across the street where a crowd of onlookers were gathered. Murdoch scanned the crowd, and noticed two 21-year-old ladies among the crowd. The one lady had red hair, while the other lady had black hair. Murdoch wasn't sure why he was drawn to the two ladies, but something inside him suggested they might be of some help.
"Good morning, ladies" Murdoch greeted as he approached the two ladies. "I'm Detective William Murdoch of the Toronto Constabulary".
"Good morning, Detective" the red haired lady answered. "I'm Sofia Milledtion, and this is my sister, Lucy".
"Nice to meet you, Detective" Lucy smiled.
"I was wondering if the two of you witnessed the armed robbery that occurred at the jewelry store across the street?" Murdoch inquired.
"Just the last part of it" Lucy answered.
"We were walking along when we noticed two men running out of the jewelry store over there" Sofia started. "They each had a pistol in their hand, and ran down the street".
"They ran around the corner, and that's the last we saw of them" Lucy added.
"Could you give me a description of the two men?" Murdoch asked Sofia and Lucy.
"The one was a bit stocky, and was about five feet four inches" Sofia reported. "He was wearing brown trousers, a white shirt, and was wearing a mask".
"The other one was thinner, about five feet six inches" Lucy added. "He was wearing black trousers, a white shirt, and was also wearing a mask".
"And their ages?" Murdoch inquired.
"Both were in their mid-thirties" Sofia answered.
Murdoch then got some basic information from Sofia and Lucy. It turned out the two were visiting from the states, and were staying in one of the better hotels in Toronto. Murdoch thanked the two for their time as he moved on to other witnesses.
As Sofia and Lucy walked away, they started talking to each other.
"Well, Sof, that went well" Lucy commented with a smile.
"Exceedingly well" Sofia smiled back. "A good start to our mission here".
As Murdoch went through the crowd, he looked at Sofia and Lucy walking away.
"Milledtion" Murdoch thought to himself. "Seems like I've heard that name before, but where?".
A jealous rage
Later that morning, Murdoch found himself being summoned to an apartment building. A constable directed him to a first floor apartment.
"Sir" Crabtree started as Murdoch walked in, "we have a murder of a woman here. The woman's husband has already confessed to the crime. Turns out his wife was having an affair, and he went into a jealous rage".
"I come home, and what do I find?!" the man barked. "A man in bed with my wife! I would have gotten him too, if the coward hadn't jumped out the window!".
Murdoch walked over to the man, who was being restrained by two constables, then looked back at Crabtree. "And where is the murder weapon?" Murdoch inquired.
"Over there, sir, on the bed" Crabtree reported. "As you can see, he's apparently good at using it".
Murdoch walked over to the bed, looked at a bloody pipe wrench, then looked at the body of the woman who had been severely beaten to death. "I see what you mean, George" Murdoch remarked. "Since we have a confession, have our murderer taken to the station house for processing, and have the Medical Examiner summoned to take charge of the body".
"Yes, sir" Crabtree acknowledged as he motioned the two constables to take the man away.
Murdoch walked out of the apartment building, and looked into the crowd that was gathered across the street. In the crowd were Sofia and Lucy.
"Well, if it isn't the sisters Milledtion" Murdoch greeted. "Fancy meeting you here".
"We were just on our way to get an early lunch" Sofia smiled.
"We hear there's a man in the square a few blocks up who sells pizza pie by the slice" Lucy added.
"Yes, I've met him" Murdoch commented. "My friend Constable Crabtree is a regular customer of his".
"If you don't mind us asking, what's going on across the street?" Sofia inquired.
"A domestic dispute that turned into murder" Murdoch answered.
"Oh, my" Lucy exclaimed in mild shock.
"If you'll excuse us, we should be on our way" Sofia said as she and Lucy started to walk off.
"A pleasure meeting you ... again" Murdoch smiled as he started walking in the opposite direction.
Lunch ... and a purse snatching
In the square, Sofia and Lucy had found the man selling slices of pizza pie. The man was wearing a hat surrounded by a round pizza tray. Sofia and Lucy were about to each buy a slice when Constable Crabtree walked up.
"Hello, ladies" Crabtree greeted. "Here for the pizza pie?".
"Yes" Sofia smiled. "We've heard it's quite good".
"We thought we would get ourselves an early lunch" Lucy added with a smile.
"You'll find it's quite delicious, ladies" Crabtree remarked. "Oh, let me introduce myself. I'm Constable George Crabtree of the Toronto Constabulary".
"A pleasure to meet you, Constable" Sofia smiled. "I'm Sofia Milledtion, and this is my sister, Lucy".
"We're here on vacation" Lucy added.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, ladies" Crabtree smiled back.
The three then each bought a slice of pizza pie, and started walking down the street.
"How are you enjoying your visit to our fair city?" Crabtree inquired.
"We're enjoying it very much" Lucy smiled.
"In fact, we're going to recommend Toronto to our friends" Sofia added.
At that moment, Crabtree noticed a suspicious man out of the corner of his eye. "If you'll excuse me, ladies" Crabtree said as he quickly walked off toward the man. Before Crabtree knew it, the man raced up behind a woman, snatched her purse, and started to run off. "Stop that man!" Crabtree yelled at the people gathered in the square.
The man started running toward Sofia and Lucy. Just as the man started to pass Sofia, she raised her foot and tripped the man. As the man fell, Crabtree raced up and tackled him.
"Now, now!" Crabtree exclaimed. "That's quite enough! Your under arrest for purse snatching".
The woman whose purse had been snatched ran up. "Oh, thank God! You got my purse!" the woman exclaimed with happiness.
"If you'll come down to the station house with me, we'll make out a full report, and book this thief" Crabtree said to the woman.
"Of course, Constable" the woman agreed.
"Thank you for your assistance" Crabtree said to Sofia.
"Anytime, Constable" Sofia smiled. "Do you need us to go with you?".
"That won't be necessary" Crabtree remarked. "We have the thief, and this lady's purse. All I have to do now is to get a victim's statement from this woman, and book this man".
As Crabtree, the purse snatcher, and the woman walked away, Lucy turned to Sofia. "You took a risk tripping that man, didn't you?" Lucy questioned.
"According to the file about this incident, the purse snatcher was stopped when a woman tripped him" Sofia answered. "How do we know I wasn't that woman to begin with?".
"Good point" Lucy remarked.
At the station house
Crabtree marched the purse snatcher into the station house with the woman following behind. Crabtree then had another constable lock up the purse snatcher in a holding cell.
"If you'll have a seat at that desk over there, I'll be with you in a few minutes" Crabtree directed the woman.
As the woman was walking to the desk, Murdoch walked up. "What have we here, George?" Murdoch inquired.
"A purse snatching, sir" Crabtree answered. "He would have gotten away too, if it hadn't been for a red haired woman tripping him at the last moment".
"This woman's name wouldn't have been Sofia Milledtion, would it?" Murdoch asked.
"Why, yes" Crabtree answered. "She's visiting Toronto with her sister, Lucy".
"Interesting" Murdoch said to himself. "This is the third crime today the two of them have been witness to".
"Begging your pardon, sir" Crabtree started, "but could they be part of that appreciation society who follow your exploits?"
"Possibly" Murdoch pondered. "The only thing is that these were three random crimes, pretty much committed on the spot. Our two visiting sisters would have to have known about the crimes before they happened. What is the probability of that?".
"Quite small, actually" Crabtree pointed out. "Perhaps an odd coincidence?".
"Perhaps, George" Murdoch answered. "Perhaps".
That afternoon
It had started off as a quiet afternoon. However, that quickly changed when an armed bank robbery took place. The gang of bank robbers were able to make their escape shortly before the police arrived on the scene.
As Crabtree and some other constables were interviewing witnesses inside the bank, Murdoch stepped outside to see if the bank robbers had left any evidence behind. After a few minutes, it was clear that there was no useful evidence to be had. At that point, Murdoch looked over to a crowd that had gathered across the street. In the crowd was ... Sofia and Lucy.
As Murdoch started walking across the street, Sofia and Lucy started slowly walking away.
"I don't know what you two are up to" Murdoch thought to himself, "but I think it's time I found out".
Murdoch followed Sofia and Lucy for a while from a distance. The two ladies then turned down an alley.
"Now I have you" Murdoch thought to himself. "That's a dead end".
In a few moments, Murdoch walked into the alley to find ... nothing but two puffs of grey smoke that were disappearing into the wind fast. Murdoch carefully checked the only door in the alley which led to a storage shed, and found it locked from the outside with a padlock. There was absolutely no sign of Sofia and Lucy, and there was no logical way they could have left the alley without him seeing them.
"Well, ladies" Murdoch thought to himself in amazement, "there's more to you two than meets the eye".
An evening at home
Murdoch arrived home after work, and was greeted by his wife, Julia.
"Have a good day, William?" Julia asked as she kissed her husband.
"You could call it an interesting day, Julia" Murdoch remarked.
"How so?" Julia wanted to know.
"At four random crime scenes, the same two women were always showing up in whatever crowd had gathered" Murdoch reported. "They don't appear to be involved in any of the crimes, but them showing up in the crowd at four crime scenes seems to be more than mere coincidence".
"I would agree, William" Julia commented. "Did you get their names?".
"Yes" Murdoch answered. "Sofia Milledtion, and her sister, Lucy. They are apparently visiting from the states".
"Milledtion" Julia remarked. "The name sounds familiar, but I can't think from where. Maybe it will come to me during dinner".
Murdoch and Julia walked into the dining room of their house where a hot meal was waiting. As the two ate, a thought suddenly came to Julia. "I'll be right back, William" Julia said as she went to her study. In a few moments, Julia returned with a book. She then opened the book, and stopped near the middle of the book. "I thought the name of Milledtion sounded familiar" Julia remarked as she handed Murdoch the opened book. "Maybe this will help solve your mystery".
Murdoch read the page that Julia had opened the book to, and was amazed to see drawings of Sofia and Lucy. There was also a detailed biography of the Milledtion family. As Murdoch read the detailed biography, he was taken off guard by what he had learned.
"This can't be" Murdoch thought to himself in amazement. "If this is true, then Sofia and Lucy would be ...".
The next day
In the hotel suite that Sofia and Lucy were staying in, the two were sitting down when a knock came at the door. Lucy got up and answered the door, to find Murdoch standing there.
"Detective Murdoch" Lucy smiled. "To what do we owe this pleasure?".
"If you don't mind, I'd very much like to talk to you and your sister" Murdoch answered.
"Of course, Detective" Lucy agreed as she let Murdoch in. "Sofia, we have company".
"Ah, Detective Murdoch" Sofia smiled as she got up. "This is an unexpected pleasure".
"Pardon the intrusion, ladies" Murdoch started, "but ...". Murdoch then noticed two suitcases on the floor that were packed. "Are you leaving?".
"Yes" Sofia smiled. "Our vacation has come to an end, and we have to be returning home. We had a wonderful time here in Toronto. We plan to visit again at some point".
"Well, I'm glad to know you found our city to be enjoyable" Murdoch commented with pride. "It was a pleasure meeting you, ladies. Or, should I say ... Princesses?".
"We've really got to get an alias for these trips" Sofia pointed out to Lucy.
"How were we to know that anybody would know our last name here?" Lucy pointed out.
"Normally, it would seem like just another name" Sofia commented. "However, we are dealing with one of history's greatest detectives".
"One of history's greatest detectives?" Murdoch asked, taken off guard.
"Well, it looks like you have us" Sofia smiled at Murdoch. "I think an official introduction is in order. I'm Sofia Amanda Balthazar Milledtion, and this is my sister, Lucinda Chloe Magwin Milledtion - two Princesses of Enchancia".
"Then it's true" Murdoch said in amazement. "But, if the two of you are the real Princess Sofia and Princess Lucinda, you would have to be elderly ladies by now. Are the two of you playing some kind of joke at my expense?".
"You've obviously done some research on Lucy and I" Sofia started. "I think we can prove to you that we're telling the truth. Perhaps we could show you our most precious royal possessions?".
"If they are what I think they are ..." Murdoch agreed.
Sofia and Lucy unbuttoned the top two buttons of their collared blouses, and each brought out an amulet which each woman let hang from her neck freely.
"The Amulets of Avalor and Tlara" Murdoch observed. "However, these could be clever copies".
"Would copies be able to do this?" Sofia asked as she and Lucy waved their hands over their amulets. The amulets then started lightly glowing. Sofia and Lucy then once again waved their hands over their amulets, and the amulets stopped glowing.
"My God!" Murdoch exclaimed. "You are the Enchancian princesses! But how can you be here when the two of you are only young women?".
"Should we tell him, Sof?" Lucy asked Sofia.
"Well, in for a penny, in for a pound" Sofia pointed out. "I think once the detective knows the situation, he could be trusted to keep the information to himself".
"What information?" Murdoch inquired, intrigued.
"We've better sit down" Sofia requested as she, Lucy, and Murdoch sat down on chairs. Sofia then continued. "The simple fact is that Lucy and I belong to an organization of time travelers".
"That's impossible" Murdoch pointed out. "There's no such thing as time travel".
"Actually, there is" Lucy stated as she and Sofia each pulled out a silver pocket watch shaped device with a "V" stamped on each cover.
"And, we would be willing to give you a practical demonstration" Sofia added.
"I'd like that" Murdoch agreed, not sure if he was buying the idea of time travel.
A brief trip through time
Sofia opened the cover of her device, revealing a series of dials, a small globe in the middle, and a small red light and a small green light above the dials. The green light flashed on. Murdoch, having a keen interest in technology, looked at the device with interest.
"It's called an Omni" Sofia informed Murdoch. Sofia adjusted the dials, then turned to Murdoch as she took his arm. "Ready?" Sofia asked.
"I suppose" Murdoch answered.
Sofia pressed a button on the side of the device, and the two disappeared. Before Murdoch knew it, he was flying with Sofia down some kind of vortex. Sofia and Murdoch reached the end of the vortex, and reappeared in a quiet area of a park near the hotel where Sofia and Lucy were staying.
"What was that?" Murdoch asked in amazement.
"A time vortex" Sofia answered. "You can be glad we've improved the technology. Now, we just appear out of thin air. In the old days, we'd come out of the vortex, and literally fall out of the sky. I've heard it was a major pain".
"So, where are we?" Murdoch wanted to know.
"Five minutes into the future" Sofia informed Murdoch. "Lets focus our attention on the street, shall we?".
Sofia and Murdoch looked at the street. A wagon pulled by two horses came into view. The horses, spooked by something, suddenly bolted. It took everything the driver had to bring the horses under control.
"We've better be getting back" Sofia said as she took Murdoch's arm once again. Sofia readjusted the dials on her device, pushed a button, and the two disappeared. Sofia and Murdoch passed through the time vortex again, then reappeared in the hotel suite about a minute after they had left.
Back in the present
"That was fantastic!" Murdoch exclaimed in amazement.
"Want to relive what just happened?" Sofia asked Murdoch.
"Yes, please" Murdoch agreed.
Sofia and Lucy took Murdoch to a window that faced the street. Murdoch looked out the window, and saw a wagon with two horses traveling on the street below. The horses then bolted, with the driver using everything he had to bring the horses under control. It was the same scene Murdoch had witnessed earlier.
"Amazing" Murdoch exclaimed, impressed, as he witnessed the sight from the window.
"Convinced?" Sofia asked with a smile.
"Indeed I am" Murdoch smiled back. "When you went down that alley yesterday, did you use your devices to disappear?".
"Actually, we used our wands" Lucy pointed out as she and Sofia each pulled out a sterling silver wand.
"Ah, yes" Murdoch observed. "I read that the two of you were the royal sorceresses of Enchancia".
"We won't be that for much longer" Sofia announced. "I'll be getting married to Prince Karl of Mornera, and Lucy will be getting married to Prince Merrick of Ladarvia".
"Ah, the great transition period" Murdoch remembered from the book he had read. "A time of ...".
"Sorry, but we have to ask you not to tell us anymore" Sofia quickly requested. "Knowing too much about our own future could disrupt the time line in some way".
"Understood" Murdoch agreed. "If I may ask, what brought the two of you to Toronto to begin with?".
"We time travelers sometimes take what you would call ... historical vacations" Lucy answered. "And the two of us couldn't resist seeing you in action".
"Seeing me in action?" Murdoch asked, puzzled.
"Let's just say you are well known in law enforcement history" Sofia pointed out. "It was a pleasure seeing a professional in action".
"Well ... thank you" Murdoch smiled, flattered.
Sofia and Lucinda adjusted the dials on their devices, then they each picked up a suitcase.
"Well, we've better be on our way" Sofia smiled at Murdoch.
"We would appreciate it if you didn't tell anybody here what you learned about us" Lucy requested.
"Who would believe me?" Murdoch pointed out.
Sofia and Lucy smiled at Murdoch, then looked at their devices. The green light was lit on each device, indicating that everything was normal with the time line. Sofia and Lucy then pushed a button on each of their devices, and disappeared into thin air. A few moments later, a strange sound filled the hotel suite. Murdoch looked up to see a blue police box appear out of thin air. The doors opened, and out stepped a thin man wearing a fez.
"Hello" the man introduced himself. "I'm The Doctor. Have you by any chance seen my friends Sofia and Lucinda?".
"They just left" Murdoch answered, taken off guard.
"Well, we'll catch up with each other sooner or later" The Doctor smiled. "They are quite busy now that their Voyagers. Since I'm here, would you care for a ride?".
"In that?" Murdoch asked, pointing at the police box.
"It's called the Tardis" The Doctor answered. "Why not take a look inside?".
The Doctor and Murdoch stepped inside of the Tardis, with Murdoch exclaiming "it's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside".
The Doctor smiled, having heard that comment from so many others in the past. As for Murdoch, he rapidly suspected that this day was going to become even more interesting.
Author's notes
For more about how Sofia and Lucinda became sisters, and became the royal sorceresses of Enchancia, see my story "The Newest Princess".
For more about Sofia and Lucinda being Voyagers, see my stories "Lockdown", "A Royal Rift", and "A New Power".
In regard to Sofia and Lucinda's last name of Milledtion, the "Sofia the First" area of the Disney Wiki once mentioned that Milledtion was the last name of the royal family of Enchancia, and I've gone with that in my stories.
Omni, and Voyagers, are from the "Voyagers" TV series.
Prince Karl of Mornera, and Prince Merrick of Ladarvia, are from my story "Changes" (Merrick also makes appearances in my multi-part story "Witch Tales").
Sof, and Lucy, are nicknames that Sofia and Lucinda have for each other beginning with my story "A Scarlet Evening".
The Doctor, and the Tardis, are from "Doctor Who".
The Doctor seen in this story would be the Matt Smith Doctor from "Doctor Who". For more about how Sofia and Lucinda know The Doctor, see my stories "A Day in Dunwitty", "The Storm", and "Helping The Doctor".
The man selling slices of pizza pie, as well as the appreciation society who follow Murdoch's exploits, are from past episodes of "Murdoch Mysteries".