Chapter 3: Monday, August 4, 1913

The Inspector, George, and Murdoch shared a carriage to the courthouse. William found his eyes down on all of the men's shoes – They were quite muddy. Each of them had splashes of mud on the bottom of their trousers as well. The thunderstorms last night had left the streets a sloppy mess. He sighed, thinking that they would probably be late as the horse struggled to drag the fully loaded carriage through mucky the streets. George was explaining to the Inspector how his idea for a suit a man could wear to protect him from a bomb would work. As expected, the Inspector was growing impatient with the man's fantasies. "And what would protect the man's eyes Crabtree? Glass would shatter. If the bomb didn't kill him he'd be blinded!" the Inspector roared.

George looked somewhat defeated, "Well yes, I see your point sir. But perhaps in the future scientists will invent a type of glass that would not shatter, with bullets or bombs, sir." He said, holding on to his dream.

Eyes still focused on the shoes, Murdoch said, "A bigger problem would be the massive weight of the suit. It would need to be made of very heavy material. I believe the man in it would not be able to walk."

"Well there are still some problems to be worked out," George said with a shrug.

"You and your crazy ideas Crabtree," the Inspector growled, shaking his head.

William reached for his pocket-watch to check the time remembering, as he felt its absence, that he had given it to Julia. Turning his gaze to the window, he entertained memories of sitting on their porch last night during the storm, imagining he was with her, and expecting that she was doing the same back at the prison. "Bittersweet," he thought again. He recognized that his stomach was in knots. He sighed again, attempting to push the worry away. He did not think he could cope with Julia being sentenced to a year in prison, and yet, he knew he would if he had to.

The Inspector had noticed Murdoch's distress. "Try not to fret Murdoch. We'll know soon enough," he said, trying to comfort his star detective and his friend.

William found himself remembering the teachings he had given their children about surviving thunderstorms. "Tall things are most likely to be struck," he had explained. His mind imagined Julia protesting against the restrictions on contraception, sign held up high in the air. "She stood tall for what she believed in – and she got struck," he thought. "Of course, it wasn't the protesting that got her convicted, it was the actual teaching of how to use contraceptives, but the protesting got the adversary's eyes on her…" he reasoned as the carriage pulled up to the courthouse.

The place was a madhouse of activity – protesters for legalizing contraceptives were trying to outshout protesters against their legalization. The press was all over the place. The carriage was not able to get right up to the front. They disembarked and walk the extra distance through the mud.

Mere seconds later, the press recognized him and swarmed them. "Detective Murdoch, how does it feel to be back in the same place where your wife was sentenced to hang?" one reporter called out. Cameras clicked from all directions. Another asked, "Detective as a representative of the Constabulary, did you knowingly turn the other way while your wife broke the law?" All three men ducked their heads and picked up the pace, indicating they would not be addressing the press.

They had to join the slow march up the center of the steps as both sides of the steps had been taken over by protesters. They seemed to have formed camps, those supporting contraception on their left, while those against it stood on their right. A woman called from the left, "Tell Dr. Ogden she's our hero!" however she was nearly drowned out by a man's voice from the right. "They should have hung her first time!" William hesitated ever so slightly as he felt his temper rising. George looked over at him and said, "Come on sir," encouraging him to continue on up the steps. Near the top of the steps, a man held out a bible and said, "You are a Catholic man. How can you support what your wife has done?" William sighed, "You'd never understand," he thought.

Their eyes met the moment he walked in the courtroom. She had been looking for him. He rushed past the artist soon to be sketching his picture. Standing on opposite sides of the barrier they shared a quick kiss. "Ready?" William asked.

"Yes," she said, sounding calm and strong, "I know what to say… But I am so anxious about the final sentence."

He took her face in his hand. He noticed her bruises … and that she was beautiful. He held firmly to her eyes and said, "No matter what the sentence is, we will be alright, Julia. We are strong."

She nodded, "Yes. I know we are." She reached into the pocket of her blue dress and pulled out his watch. He opened his hand. They both watched as she tenderly laid the watch in his palm, coiling the chain into a neat pile above his fingers. "The thunderstorms seemed like they were just for us," she said, intimately, close to his ear.

He found her eyes, "Yes," he agreed.

The court was called to order. William, joined by the Inspector and George, sat two rows back behind Julia and her lawyer. William looked around, noticing a few friends among the standing-room only crowd. He nodded at Dr. Tash. He spotted Paula Gail and her boss, he forgot his name. Ms. Gail was a good friend of Julia's, fighting for the same causes. He also knew her – she was the head of the women's basketball team that was involved in a case a long time ago. She and her boss had supplied women with contraceptives – Julia taught them how to use them. Julia had never given the names of contraceptive suppliers to the authorities. Her reluctance to do so would likely be a factor in the length of her sentence. He spotted Meyers standing in the back. "Just a little too interested in my wife if you ask me," he thought, pushing down the feelings of jealousy the man's presence had riled.

When the judge asked Julia to stand, and whether she would like to address the court, she replied, "Yes, Your Honor." She took a deep breath and reminded herself to speak loudly. There was a hush in the room, making the pause seem even more pregnant. Julia's voice seemed to echo with an air of importance as she said, "I pleaded guilty to breaking the law. This is because I did so." She paused to take another breath, "Although I now regret my decision," Julia paused, hoping her admission to feeling regret would be noticed, "It is because I have come to see it differently. At the time I saw both, a law that I believed to be unjust, and many women, as well as their children and families, suffering as a result of that same law. As a doctor I was called to help those that were suffering, and that meant breaking the law. However, I now see that, as a citizen, I am called to uphold the law, even if I feel it is unjust, for if anyone who believed a law to be unjust broke that same law, there would be mayhem. Thus, as a citizen, I am called to follow the law, and that requires allowing the suffering I see. As a good citizen, I will uphold the law while I work to change it. Thank you Your Honor." Julia remained standing.

The crowd rustled into a rumble. One newspaper reporter named Julia, "Citizen Ogden," as he was so touched by her speech.

The Judge banged his gavel on his desk. "We are not finished here," he lectured the crowd. Not only did silence ensue, but it seemed that people held their breath. William saw Julia, however, take a deep breath. He followed her example and took one as well. "There are many factors, besides your statement to the court, that I must consider when determining your sentence," he explained. The Judge took a deep breath and started with one of those factors. "Dr. Ogden, you appear to have several injuries. Were these injuries incurred while serving time in the Don Jail?" he asked.

Firm and loud, her voice rang out, "Yes, Your Honor."

"I have a letter here from the Warden of the Don Jail. He states that another prisoner attempted to kill you – that she had a weapon. Now, I ask you Dr. Ogden, why were you targeted by this woman? Was she a religious zealot, unhappy with your illegal, and in her eyes, immoral actions?" the Judge inquired.

Julia stood up a little taller and said, "She did not inform me of her motives. However, she had been investigated for her involvements in her crimes by my husband …"

The Judge sat back a little and raised his hands up in recognition, "Oh yes, your husband, Detective William Murdoch … He has the highest arrest and conviction rate in Toronto, actually, in all of Canada, does he not?

Coaching herself to sound humble rather than proud, Julia responded, "Yes, Your Honor."

The Judge returned his attention to the Warden's letter and said, "As a matter of fact it says here that there are currently no fewer that eleven female prisoners serving time at the Don Jail who were put there by your husband …" he lifted his eyes to Julia.

"Well yes," she said, "And many partially by myself as well, as I would have been the coroner working most of the cases."

The Judge dropped the letter down on his desk and rested his head in his hand and said, "Now I find that remarkable, that a female prisoner could be expected to be safely housed in a jail in which a dozen of her fellow inmates are in there as a result of both her own, and her husband's, actions. Just remarkable…" He picked the letter back up, looked at it and then said, "The Warden of the Don Jail argues that he cannot guarantee your safety if you are to interact with the other inmates."

William's heart began to pump faster, "Maybe she won't have to serve any time at all!" he thought. Julia too felt a surge of optimism build within her.

The Judge once again put the letter back down. He sighed and said, "Now here's the problem, Dr. Ogden, you broke the law. You even admit to breaking the law … And breaking that law calls for up to a two-year sentence in prison." The Judge paused and seemed to turn to address the crowd. He took a deep breath and continued, "The Don Jail was never meant to house women. And as it is, it is overcrowded. That's why we had a women's section built in the Kingston facility. I am told that now the construction is finished. Dr. Ogden, you, and all the other women, will be transferred to the Kingston Penitentiary in about 2 weeks – you will be safe there. Until then, I see your husband has made arrangements with the Warden of Don Jail to keep you relatively safe there without putting you in isolation."

William's heart sunk. How could it be, that doing something as essential as protecting his wife from harm could be what ended up costing her years in prison? "Truly, sometimes I seem fated to suffer, no matter how hard I try, and unfortunately, it is often Julia that seems to suffer the brunt of that fate," he thought as he dropped his head in despair and regret.

The Judge had continued talking, explaining that Julia would serve her time with only the next two weeks at Don Jail and then the remainder at the Kingston Penitentiary. The hope had drained out of her. She worked to stay in control of her emotions. William's attention returned to the Judge's words, but there was a buzzing of fear in his head that made them hard to hear.

"There is one final factor I wish to address before I lay down my sentence," the Judge stated, looking out into the crowd standing in the back. (The Inspector noticed that the Judge caught Meyers' eye). "You have served the city of Toronto well, as a coroner and, currently, as the head coroner. Further, I have been informed that you, Dr. Ogden, have acted heroically in the past in protecting Canada's interests. Now that needs to count for something," he said, turning his eyes on her. The Judge turned in his chair, faced directly forward, sat up taller and laid down his sentence, "Dr. Julia Ogden, I sentence you to serve sixty days. Due to the passing of the 3 for 1 law, and your service to date of eight days, it is considered that you have already served 24 days. You have 36 days remaining, 14 or so of which will be served at Don Jail, and the remaining 22 or so to be served at the Kingston Penitentiary." He slammed the gavel down and a bustle of commotion spread through the courtroom.

Relief flooded through Julia. With the Inspector and George close on his heels, William rushed down to hug Julia, having to reach over the barrier to take her in his arms. Dr. Tash joined the group as well. William pulled back to look his wife in the eye and declared, "I think we can live with that!"

Excitedly, big smile on her face, she replied, "Yes!" and took William's lips in a kiss. Breaking off the kiss and looking behind him, she noticed the other men. "Oh, Inspector, George … and Isaac," she said, "Thank you so very much for your support." Then she saw Meyers come up behind them. "Terrence!" she called out, opening her arms to him.

William stepped back and turned to see the man Julia was addressing. "Terrence?" he repeated, eyebrow raised. They watched as Meyers and Julia hugged. William's eyes were riveted on Meyers and his wife. His blood was starting to boil, dampened only by his utter shock. The Inspector was talking to him and he had to make a major effort to understand what he was saying.

The Inspector leaned close to William, George stepping closer to hear what he had to say as well, and said, "I saw the Judge and Meyers share a look, and Meyers nodded to him. I think Meyers got ten months pulled off of her sentence." This news started to seep onto William's brain.

As soon as Meyers and Julia separated, Julia asked, "Was it you, uh … Did you speak to the Judge about my heroic service to Canada?"

"No. No, I just made sure the right people were made aware that Canada owes you a debt," Meyers said, minimizing his role.

"Thank you," she said, reading through the lines and letting him know she understood what he had done for her.

Her eyes found William's. She stepped over and reached out to take William by the elbow and pull him to her. Everyone watched and listened as she looked at him suspiciously and asked, "William … Are you jealous?" He looked stunned and quickly glanced over at Meyers, but he could not deny it. "Oh, please don't be," she said, wrinkling her face with concern. She took a deep breath. Her eyes dilated and locked to his, her voice was deep, stirring a sense of awe as she disclosed, "William Henry Murdoch," lifting the palm of her hand and pressing it over his heart, "With every beat of my heart, every drop of my blood," her hand slid over to lie on his chest – over his lung, "With every breath I take, and every cell in my body…" her hands wrapped behind his neck, nails tenderly raking through his hair, "With all of my soul, and the very essence of my being," leaning her body close to his, "It is you that I love." She pulled him in, brought her lips close to his and said, just above a whisper, "You," before she kissed him, deeply, slowly, but strongly, for she wanted him to feel the warm, fated love flow between them.

Although the wooden barrier was between them, William deliberately wrapped his arms around his wife tightly as the kiss grew in intensity. When the kiss broke off, Julia dropped her head and giggled, trying to hide her blush. She reached up and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and then glanced quickly at the four other men staring at her. Her eyes returned to meet William's.

Meyers said, "If there is anyone who should be jealous here Murdoch, I do believe it would be me. You are a very lucky man."

William took a deep breath. He did feel better.

All eyes turned to the Inspector when he cleared his throat. "Well Mr. Meyers, giving the good doctor here a hug after her sentence had been so drastically reduced was probably noticed," he said, "Might it not have drawn attention to you … Wouldn't that be a problem for a man in the spy game such as yourself?

"I do believe you are right Inspector," Meyers answered. "Fortunately most of these reporters don't know who I am, and I have a plan through which I intend to leave undetected," he explained.

At that moment the guard came to take Julia away. She looked back and said, "William, you come see me. Terrence, Inspector … You let him come see me while I'm here in the Don Jail. He won't be able to, as much, once I'm in Kingston." They nodded their agreement. Julia's eyes fixed to William's once again for her last moment and then she was gone.

William stood still, looking at the vacant space where she had just been. He felt so many emotions, their accumulation overwhelming him. George and the Inspector stepped around him, the Inspector placing a hand to his shoulder. "Exciting day, hey me ole'mucker," the Inspector said. William nodded and smiled, still looking down.

George said, "Well, I guess there's no way to avoid those reporters, or those … protesters, sir." William sighed and then put on his hat and turned to go.

Meyers was gone. They looked to the door and caught sight of two men standing near one another – from the back they were almost indistinguishable, either one could be Meyers – same height, same build and general clothing.

William said, "He's the one without the top hat I would wager." All three men laughed.

The moment they exited the courtroom, Dr. Tash first, a reporter approached, notebook in hand. "Dr. Tash, you are a good friend of Dr. Ogden's are you not? Helped her with the birth of their son?" he asked.

Isaac made the mistake of answering him, "Yes." Quickly he was surrounded by more reporters.

William, the Inspector and George used the distraction to their advantage, quickly zigzagging through the crowd, hoping to be overlooked and make their escape. (Meyers had relied on a similar distraction, but was wise enough to hold back a moment longer, knowing the men would fail to pass through unnoticed). From far across the room a reporter called out, "Detective Murdoch, tell us what you think of the Judge's sentence!" All eyes turned towards where the man's voice had been projected. William was amazed how quickly he heard the camera shutters clicking. He felt the Inspector shove him towards the steps. "Go Murdoch!" he barked. William shoved past a reporter and continued down the steps. They got in the closest carriage.

All three of the men sighed with relief as the carriage pulled away from the courthouse. William's mind drifted to imagining Julia being escorted back to the Don Jail – Being locked in the tiny, narrow cell, only a small bed, bucket and window besides the concrete walls and bars. It was only 36 days, but they would be very hard days. Then he thought of the children, reminding himself to call home with the news as soon as they got back to the station.

George drew his attention, "So sir, your middle name is Henry then?"

William chuckled. "Yes George, I see you were listening," he replied. A part of him was thrilled to know that they had seen how much Julia loves him - it seemed to win out over the part of him that would normally feel exposed and embarrassed.

George tried to explain his interest, "Well sir, I think Higgins would enjoy knowing you share his name."

"I do not think it has much significance, but you can tell him George," Murdoch agreed.

The conversation died down and William's mind replayed the image of Julia calling out so affectionately to Meyers, even using his given name. He heard Julia's voice in his head, "Terrence!" It stirred anger and jealousy in his gut once again. He even seemed to smell Meyers' offensive cigar – remembering smelling it on Julia the night she returned from Russia. But then another image took center stage in his mind, that of seeing both, the Judge, and then Meyers stop by their table at the Club. Then the Judge's words replayed, "Further, I have been informed that you, Dr. Ogden, have acted heroically in the past in protecting Canada's interests." "Meyers definitely was instrumental in helping Julia," he thought, "When I get a chance I will have to thank him." He sighed, grateful that the feelings of anger and jealousy were gone.

William's mind drifted again to remembering his teachings to their children about surviving thunderstorms. "If you are stuck in a thunderstorm and there is no way to get to safety, lay low," he had advised. And so now it seemed that that is exactly what Julia must do. Surviving depended on staying out of sight, locked away and waiting it out. The carriage arrived at stationhouse #4. William sighed, "Only 36 days left," he thought.

In the Don Jail lunchroom, much later than all of the other prisoners ate dinner, Julia sat eating dinner with three other inmates. One of them, a larger than life Russian woman, Countess Fausta, seemed to be doing most of the talking. Julia was grateful for the company, but felt awkward because the Countess knew her. They had met when Julia was working on a case long ago in which a woman had died after procuring an abortion. Countess Fausta had been brought in for questioning as the Inspector knew her to have had such dealings in the past. William would have had no way of knowing she and Julia had spoken back then while the Countess was locked up in the cells. Their conversation all those many years ago still stuck in Julia's mind. Fausta stated that Julia would have no way of understanding what it was like to need to have an abortion, presumably because Julia was a TOFF. Julia had told her that her presumptions were wrong, that she had had an abortion. Fausta helped Julia determine that the cause of death for the woman's autopsy had been ingesting Penny Royal oil. Very soon after that Julia and William parted due to their differences over Julia's abortion. She could not tell if the Countess remembered her. She hoped not.

Pulled out of her thoughts by laughter as the women enjoyed one of Fausta's lively stories, Julia leaned in to draw the attention of her dinner companions and said, "I am so grateful for your company. Please let me know, however, if any of you are unhappy with the arrangements – I want no one to be inconvenienced or unhappy on my account."

"It is quite nice to dine without the threat and racket of all the others," stated the woman Julia had never met previously, Angie.

Countess Fausta said, "Now don't you worry dearie, us rebellious types need to stick together, help each other out." The third woman, Caroline, nodded in agreement. She had already shown her loyalty to the political cause of women's rights, and thus Julia as one of their champions, by defending Julia earlier when she had been attacked by Beth Tipton and the other woman.

Julia smiled and graciously said, "Well please know how very grateful I am to each of you." Soon after they had finished eating the guards took them each back to their cells.

Julia stood at the window, watching the moon illuminate the world through the bars. Only last night thunderstorms roared in the skies, electrifying their plans to connect at 10:00. Tonight, they had not made a plan to share the view, and yet she imagined William sitting on their porch with his eyes glowing in the moonlight. "There truly could not be a greater love," she thought. After a while, she sighed. She would try to sleep.

Moonlight spilled into the tiny cell as Julia slept on the prison bed's lumpy mattress. She was awakened by a sound. Startled, she rose up on an elbow to see if someone was there. Warmth surged through her heart, her body reacting to the familiar sight of him before her brain could even register his name. "William," she said, her voice filled with joy. Her husband, her lover, her soul-mate, stood before her wearing his red pajamas and barefoot – her second favorite outfit.

He leaned down to her, "Shh," he said, finger over his lips, "I couldn't sleep without you." He lifted her sheet and crawled into the bed next to her. As his body slid across hers, her insides tensed with anticipation, her head began to spin. She felt his breath pour over her ear. He whispered, "I knew you couldn't sneak out to come to me, so I had to sneak in to get to you." His lips caressed her ear, her neck.

Matching his secrecy, she whispered, "But William, you will get stuck in here," her worry telling her to send him away to ensure his safety. But as she spoke, her arms enclosed around him, took him. She so wanted him near.

He rolled on top of her, the weight of his body both grounding her and sending her into flight at the same time. "Shh," he whispered again in her ear. "Don't worry, I have a plan," he explained while he settled between her legs and slid his fingers into her hair. The French braid he had laced into her hair just over one day ago was already loose, setting the edges of Julia's face on fire with wild, unruly curls. He kissed her, softly crossing the boundary of her lips with his tongue. She moaned, finally feeling the agony of her empty longing for him become filled with the teasing promise of his presence. Wanting the feel his skin, she searched for the top button of his pajama top. She popped it open. William pulled away from her, rising up on his knees. He hurriedly pulled the top over his head. As he let it drop down onto the bed, their eyes met. He froze. Julia sat up, dropping her eyes to soak in the lunar enhancement of the ripples of the muscles across his chest, his shoulders, down his arms. She pushed back against his chest, "Sit," her breath commanded, as she nudged him to lean back against the wall. She delighted in her feeling of contentment as he acquiesced, such a strong man giving her control. With his back against the wall, his legs extended out in front of him on the narrow mattress, he reached for the constraining row of buttons down the center of her dull, gray prison frock. He pinched at the top button.

Julia shifted her position, curling her legs underneath herself to rise up on her knees. She took over the unbuttoning of her dress, he watched. She watched him watching, waiting to see his eyes grow darker with lust as her naked body was gradually revealed to him. His eyes pooled with black and she felt her breath catch, her insides flip over, her head swim deliciously in a fog. Still a few buttons left, she reached down to take hold of the lower portion of the dress and pulled it off over her head. She removed her bloomers as well. Now before him completely naked, she straddled him, climbing into his lap. "I want you," he said, sending a jolt of excitement through her. She lifted herself up higher, rising to her knees, bringing her bosom to dangle close to his face. She leaned forward ever so slightly, marshmallowing William's face in her bosom. William's breathing hurried. His hands firmly pressed against the backs of her thighs, moved to her buttocks, and back again, treasuring the luscious curves. She was not sure she could fight gravity any longer as weakness flooded through her, wanting only to surrender to him. "Oh, William… I have missed you," she said, breathless, desperate.

He swept her down on to the mattress. Covered her. Julia's head spun so that she felt the room whirlpool around her. Her nostrils flared, frantic for oxygen. She rushed to find the string of his pajama bottoms and pulled it to set him free. William rose to his knees to slide the bottoms down, then quickly covering her once more. Sparks flew between them as he locked his eyes to hers and began to make love to her. He buried his face in her neck, pounding her ear, her brain, with his hot breath. Her moan was loud, strong urgent. "Shh," she heard him whisper, "We'll get caught."

"Please William," she begged, unable to withstand waiting for him to rock her to her core. Rushed, he powerfully made love to her as they moved together. The tension broke – she waited knowing the flood would come.

"Mmm," his voice rumbled from his throat as pleasure soared within them, quickly bursting and exploding sending warm, volcanic flows spreading throughout their bodies.

Afterwards they lay still together. Then, dizzy, she felt his butterfly kisses draw the tears from her face. "I love you Julia," he whispered as the room slowed down. She was still unable to speak, only the weight of his body securing hers, holding her from floating away. Once nearly recuperated, she heard him gently tell her, "I have to go."

Julia suddenly found herself awake. He was gone. She touched her cheek – Finding it was wet with her tears. "It was a dream," she thought, amazed at her ability to feel both deliciously satiated and sad with longing at the same time. She told herself, "Only 36 days," before she rolled over and tried to call back sleep.