Over the next two days, I kept coming up with some small reason to go see William. Had they any more leads, was there anything else I could look for on the body to give them clues, anything so that I could talk to him. Yet, each time I went to the station, he was either talking with the Inspector and Mr. Tesla, or was out finding another clue on his own.
The second day, I went to the station, the Inspector said he'd gone to question Sally Pendrick. I stiffened at the mention of her name, not too visibly, I hoped.
"Is anything the matter, Doctor?" the Inspector asked gently. For the gruff policeman he was on duty, he was remarkably kind and gentle when he needed to be.
I forced a smile. "No, thank you, Inspector, I'll come back later." I left before he had a chance to stop me.
I worked the rest of the day, wondering why William hadn't come to see me, if only to ask about the body. I had finished with my report, however, and there was no need to examine it any further. Still, William usually had some excuse for coming to visit me, even if it was to ask how my day was going. His generosity, kindness, sweet thoughtfulness, and gentle demeanour constantly made me think that I was being a complete idiot for leaving, and then I remembered my larger reason and it brought me back to reality with a harsh snap.
I decided to try once more and headed over to the station. On my way, I bumped into George.
"Doctor," he said cheerfully. "I do hope your evening is going better than ours," he chuckled.
"Why is that George? Has something happened in the case?" I asked, concerned. Maybe George would be able to fill me in, since no one else seemed to be taking the initiative.
"Yes, indeed, Doctor," he said, clearly excited at telling me their latest endeavour. "Detective Murdoch went to Sally Pendrick's house to inquire about some business that Mr. Pendrick had been involved in of late. He found plans of a warehouse there that led him to believe that the microwave death ray was being held there. The Inspector, Detective, Mr. Meyers, and Mr. Tesla and I all went down to the warehouse to confiscate the weapon when we heard it charging up, ready to fire again. Detective Murdoch and Mr. Tesla told us all to get into the troughs of water that were in there and the next thing I knew, it was like I was a potato boiling in a pot of water!"
"Oh my goodness, George! Is everyone alright?" I asked.
"Oh, yes, Doctor, we're all fine. It felt like a rather nice hot bath on a cold day," he smiled.
I smiled back. Leave it to George to find the silver lining. "Is Detective Murdoch in now?"
"Yes, I believe he's questioning Mr. Pendrick in the cells at the moment, but he should be finished soon," he answered.
"Thank you, George," I hurried away, hearing him call goodbye after me.
I ran through the door, finally seeing William walking towards me.
"William! I just heard what happened. Are you alright?" I asked, breathlessly.
"I'm fine," he assured me.
Now that I was standing in front of him, I was nervous. "You've been avoiding me," I said, afraid of what the answer might be.
"No, no, I haven't," he tried to sound convincing. "But… I do have to go."
I looked down at our feet, dejectedly as he confirmed my fears.
Suddenly, he brightened. "We could ride together, I could drop you round to your house," he suggested.
I felt a wave of relief wash over me. "I would like that," I smiled.
"Wonderful," he said gently and offered me his arm. I took it and let him lead me out of the station to an awaiting carriage.
While we sat in the carriage, listening to the sounds of passers-by and the clopping of the horse's hooves.
"I wish I understood, Julia," he said softly after a long silence. "I just don't know what is making you leave."
"It was no one thing," I replied. "A cumulative effect perhaps. The realization that I only ever work on dead people; my hands heal no one," I said honestly. That was exactly part of it.
It was the botched hanging of Mr. Dillard that made me cringe more than I had for any victim I examined. Perhaps it was because of the sheer incompetency and eagerness of Gideon Catchpole that disturbed me about my profession. I began to question myself then and what it was I was doing with my life. There were so many other avenues of medicine in which I could be useful and as much as I loved assisting William and Station House No. 4 in their investigations and bringing murderers to justice, was it making me happy? Was my life being fulfilled?
"But why not simply apply at a hospital here in Toronto? Why go all the way to Buffalo?" he asked.
"Because no one is offering me anything here," I said, speaking of the medical profession, but I knew that I also meant William. If he would give me some indication that he needed and wanted me to stay with him forever, I would.
"That could change," he said hopefully. He didn't catch my implication.
"Do you really believe that, William?" I asked, daring him to actually believe that the medical associations would offer anything to me anytime in the near future.
"Whoa…" the cab driver slowed the carriage and I looked out the window, catching the glow of well-lit homes across the street.
"We're here," William stated.
I turned to him, and he leaned into my arms, hugging me to him gently. A clink of metal drew our attention away from each other as we looked down and saw that my locket had been drawn to his badge.
"How odd," I said, wondering if it was cruel irony.
"My badge must have become magnetized when the magnetic field was distorted," he proposed.
I smiled inwardly at his scientific and ever practical explanations for the things that happened. Or, I thought to myself, maybe it is fate.
I put my hand to his cheek and kissed him gently. "Be careful, William," I whispered. Turning to the door, I got out hesitantly. It might be the last time I saw him before I left. I did only have two days left. I wasn't sure I could say goodbye to him and I wasn't sure he'd come say goodbye to me.
