6.

(NOTE: apparently I have been spelling BEAZLEY and TYNEMAN wrong - will make sure it is correct from now on, but cannot be fagged going back and resubmitting earlier posts- also noticed I am reverting to 'Lucien' rather than 'Blake' - so back to 'Blake' in third person mode. I am on a roll and if I don't get this down now I am going to lose momentum. The following scenes happen after where I left them last afternoon/night and into the next day)

Jean looked over at Blake and saw he was watching them both. She arched an eyebrow at him in silent query.

'Ann,' Blake softly spoke to her, 'Don't worry about this, I will contact him myself. Any medical records, if they were properly kept, will help me determine exactly what happened to you.'

'Thank you, Lucien, thank you.' Ann was relieved, but still anxious, 'Please, don't tell him where I live now - he will soon work out I am in Ballarat, but I don't want him telling Alan my address'

'I promise to be discreet. I will say nothing about your situation here.' Blake looked at Jean again and in in silent agreement they both began to talk of other things. Blake wanted to know about the style of art that Ann created, where she had exhibited, her training, who were her favourite artists? Jean talked of her garden, asked Ann what she was planning to plant at her place and could she offer her some cuttings of some of her best begonias? It was not long before Ann was smiling again and comfortable in their company. When Rose breezed in, home from work at 5, Ann rose to leave.

'Thank you both so much for your help', Jean gave Ann a hug and escorted her to the door. As they walked down the hall Blake heard Jean making arrangements to visit Ann in a couple of days, help with the garden and bring her those promised cuttings.

...

With Rose arriving home and dinner time fast approaching, Blake and Jean had no time to discuss Ann together. Blake retreated to his study. Jean cleaned up the tea things, shooed Rose out of the way and bustled about in the kitchen starting dinner preparations. Then Charlie came home and began to tease Rose about not helping Jean, so they were both put onto potato peeling duty. Soon Lawson was struggling in the door, his cane thumping down the hallway. The table set, dinner ready, Jean called out 'Lucien!' and they all gathered for the evening meal. TV followed, a glass of sherry for Rose and Jean, a scotch for Blake and Lawson and a beer for Charlie. Rose tried to wheedle information about the baby in the garden out of Lawson and Lawson did his 'talk but say nothing' thing. Charlie argued with Rose about the merits of the latest game show on TV. Then the scurry of cleaning up, washing dishes, 'good nights' and the group disbanding for bed - it wasn't till after 10 when Jean finally had a moment to herself that she noticed that Blake had disappeared sometime in the evening back into his study.

Approaching the open door to the study she saw Blake at his desk deep in thought surrounded by open medical journals a glass of scotch at his elbow.

'Lucien?' she said softly from the doorway. Blake looked up, distracted, then focused a smile on Jean, bekoning her to come in and sit next to him with a wave of his hand.

'What are you doing?'

'Research' he replied. 'I had to check if I was right about Ann's doctor. His name is Stefan Jacobs. I knew him slightly when I was in medical school'

'He was at Edinburgh with you?' Jean was surprised

'No, not really 'with me' he was a year or two ahead. He was an arrogant ass. We weren't friends, but we spoke a few times at lectures. I saw him around and he had a reputation.'

'Really? What sort or reputation?'

'There were rumours about him. Talk that he 'helped' out young women in trouble'

Jean was shocked. 'What happened to him? How on earth did he get his medical degree?'

Blake sighed, 'Nothing was ever proven, it was only gossip. And the war was coming, they needed all the doctors they could get. I heard he served with the Australian forces in Europe for a while, then came back to Melbourne after the war and set up practice in Balwyn.'

'But why all of this?' Jean indicated the chaos of medical journals and papers scattered across the desk and floor and clucked her tongue disapprovingly.

Blake chuckled. 'Sorry Jean, I will clean it up before I go to bed. But I remembered reading something about Jacobs...' he shuffled through the mess 'look, here, this small section - a notice about a pending malpractice suit against him 3 years ago,' and Blake handed the magazine to Jean.

Jean scanned the article, then looked up at him in astonishment, 'Lucien, this is about Emily McCaffery! The medical board was accusing him of disrepute with his female patients! And Emily is named as one of complainants!'

'Yes,' said Blake grimly. 'But nothing happened apparently. Lack of evidence, the suit was dropped. There is another notice in the edition 3 months later'

'Oh my, what will you do? Should you ask for those records knowing this?'

'I think I must Jean. I will play ignorant and ask for Ann's medical history. Jacobs never thought I was terribly bright anyway, so I will just play the simple, caring country doctor routine'.

Jean smiled at him tenderly, leaned forward and gave him a swift kiss. 'But you ARE the caring country doctor!

Blake held Jeans hands and brought them to his lips in a kiss. 'Don't worry Jean. I'll sort it out'

'Well, see that you do! But please, be careful. Jacobs sounds like an evil man.'

Jean stood up, before the affection could progress further into dangerous territory. She smiled down at Blake, 'Good night Lucien, please don't stay up too late.' Blake watched her greedily as she left the room, then turned back to his desk with a sigh to write the request so it could go out in the mornings' post.

...

Blake was at the morgue early the next morning. But as early as he was, Alice had still beat him in.

'Morning Lucien. Oh! I do love a good jigsaw puzzle!' She looked up at him from the examination table with an excited gleam in her eye. Alice had laid out all the bones carefully on the table like an anatomy textbook diagram.

Lucien looked on in astonshment . 'What have you found so far Alice?'

'Most of the small bones are missing, the Phalanges and Metacarpals of the hands and feet are gone. Several ribs missing, or broken. Appear to have been snapped after death, teeth marks on ribs bones, and the long bones of the Tibia and Humerus ecetera.'

'Organs are gone. The bones are very clean as well, not much soft tissue left,' she mused.

'That'd be the ants' remarked the Doctor.

'Yes, well they did a fine job. But it makes our work difficult.' She leant forward and took a small sample of remaining flesh from around the pelvis and put it in a speciman jar. 'Maybe we can get some blood typing from this. With luck we might also find remaining marrow in the long bones.'

'I took soil samples from around the body before collection as well,' replied Blake. 'We can get those analyzed as well for remnant traces of blood'.

'No obvious evidence of trauma anywhere.' She continued, 'The skull is complete. Apart from the postmorteum damage the animals have done there seems to be be no broken bones. Nothing to indicate a death blow.'

'Hmmm' Blake looked carefully at the bones.'From the small jaw and the broad scatic notch in the pelvis I'd say our victim was female.'

'Yes. And all bones are fused, so a mature adult not a teenager or juvenile. As well, there is slight ossification in the joints which would indicate she was well over 25 years old. It is fairly advanced in the knee joints. She had the beginnings of arthritis. At least in her late 30's or early 40's.

Blake looked carefully at the skull. 'Wisdom teeth as well. Alice, we need xrays of the teeth. Hopefully dental records will identify this woman.'

'And Alice, look here' said Blake pointing to the pelvis area. 'There seems to be small pockmarks on the inside of the pelvic bone'

'Yes, what can that mean?'

'It would have been caused by the tearing of the pelvic ligaments in childbirth. I'd say this woman was a mother - I cannot say for sure, but judging from the look of them not old marks. Maybe she was a recent mother, 6 months or so before she died?'

'Maybe' said Alice doubtfully. 'But really, it is a guess'

Blake stood back from the table. 'The bones are well preserved. Ballarat is a warm, arid climate on the whole, and the soil around the diggings was seemed quite dry and acidic. Again, I am guessing, but the fact that there is very little flesh left on the bones, and we know the rate of decay, I'd say that she died between 2 and 4 years ago.'

Alice looked at Blake. 'I'll start the report, but we will have to wait for the lab results from the samples and dental records for any real conclusion. And we cannot say if she died from natural causes or not'

'No, scientifically we cannot say. But it isn't natural Alice. Not natural at all.'