William looked at Julia. They had been playing verbal chess all evening and William had never enjoyed himself as much as he had tonight. He had a momentarily twinge of guilt as he thought of Liza, but Julia's question quickly distracted him:

'Shall we William?" Julia was pointing to the small dance floor located in the corner of the intimate Italian restaurant she had brought him to. He lifted an eyebrow as he looked over at the dance floor already filled with several couples.

"I doubt we shall be able to practice our newfound skills on such a small space Julia."

She coyly looked at him: "Perhaps we can…" She paused for a second. "….improvise William?"

William swallowed, got up and extended a hand. She took it as he guided her to dance floor. The crowded space forced them to dance much closer than normal. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted another couple coming their way. He applied pressure on her back to steer them clear of a collision. Julia allowed herself to be led, their bodies touching as he guided them. William was glad he has mustered the courage to ask her to dinner…..

….

William put the finishing touch on the Houdini case report. He was happy the young magician had turned out to be innocent. He had liked the young man from the start and had not shared his Inspector's belief of his guilt.

As he had worked on his report, he had kept glancing at the brown folder sitting on the corner of his desk. He knew it was wrong, but he had not been able to stop himself from requesting the file. He leaned over, picked it up and started reading it. A smile came on his lips.

William walked outside Station Four. He noticed a light was still on at the morgue. He hesitated for only a second before walking over.

"….might you discuss it with me? Over diner?"

Once she had agreed, he had been at a loss as to where to bring her. As they stepped outside the morgue, he prayed that divine intervention would guide him. He felt awkward. He knew that Julia was used to frequenting the best restaurants in town. The workers' tavern he occasionally ate at, just would not do. In the end, she had come to the rescue. Julia had suggested a small restaurant in the Italian quarter. They walked in and she was immediately greeted by the owner. They were guided to a table and William politely pulled a chair out or her. He looked around with interest.

"You have been here before Julia. They seem to know you?" he asked

"Yes I have." She answered. "I developed a taste for Italian food from my years in Europe. I spent some time in Florence."

For most of the time, William managed to ignore the class difference between Julia and him, but sometimes the odd comment like this, brought it to the surface. She had traveled and seen places he could only dream of.

He pushed those feelings aside: "You spent time there then?" he asked.

"Yes. Yes I did." Answered Julia. "Bishop and McGill were great universities, but I developed in interest in pathology, and unlike here, it's considered a real science in Europe. So I spent several years studying there, and in my spare time, travelling. "

She looked at him: "You would love Florence William. ….." William sat back and listened to her. She was not fooling him. He knew she was trying to steer the conversation away from her youthful indiscretion. After all, it had been the excuse he had used to talk her into this dinner. He let her go on for a while and when she stopped talking for a second to take a sip of her wine, he saw his opening: "So Julia, tell me all about this midnight swim."

Julia made a production of putting her wine glass down. William noticed her looking over his shoulder, making eye contact with someone. She was just about to start talking when the waiter walked over, interrupting her. He did not need to be a detective to realize that she had silently called the waiter over. William smiled. Good move. Getting the details out of her was going to be an immensely enjoyable challenge. It had gone on like that all evening. He would patiently wait for an opening and just when he thought he had her cornered, she would deftly evade him. Yes Julia Ogden was a worthy opponent. An opponent he was enjoying crossing swords with.

…

The accordion player played his last note and William lifted his head. Even though they were the only couple left on the dance floor, they had still been dancing close to one another, their bodies touching, her head on his shoulder.

Julia lifted her head: "It's late. We should leave."

William did not want the evening to end, but she was right. It was late. Soon they were outside, enjoying the beautiful summer evening as he walked her home. William had enjoyed playing this verbal game with her all night long but now was the time to make his move:

"You know Julia, I have done dozens, no hundreds of interrogations. I can recognize evasion tactics when I see them, and you have been evading my questions all night long."

Julia leaning on his arm looked over to him: "Really William? You actually want to know about that?"

William smiled back at her: "Yes really. I do want to know."

Julia was silent for a second. "I'm not sure what else there is to say William. I was young and enjoying being young."

William who had not had the leisure of being young, urged her on, enjoying as much as her this recollection of her youth.

"….and it was such a hot day William. You cannot imagine how good that cool water felt…"

The young woman was leisurely swimming, her reddish blond hair floating on the calm lake. The full moon lighting her naked body…..

"It was a hot day. I'll grant you that." William, lost in his fantasy, played the worst chess move of his life by divulging a detail he should not have known. Julia stopped dead and looked at him with a glint in her eyes. Checkmate. The chess game was over. She had won. Well to be honest, it was not so much that she had won as much as he had lost it. The vision of her swimming naked had distracted him and he had lost his focus.

"William, whatever your middle name is, Murdoch! You commandeered my arrest report! You read the file! "She was the winner of their little game and to her the spoils. She set out to enjoy them by teasing him: "Now, now Detective, I'm sure this qualifies as abuse of power."

William, blushing, could not deny it: "Yes. Yes I did." He smiled looking bashfully at her. "Do you mind terribly?"

She leaned over squeezing his arm: "No William. Not at all."

They continued walking and soon they were at her house. They went up the steps and turned to look at each other. William spoke first: "I had a wonderful time tonight Julia."

Her eyes were dark and her voice breathy as she responded: "As did I William."

William may not have been the most experienced of men when it came to women, but he had realized a while back that women did find him attractive. While he rarely responded to the signals the fairer sex sent his way, it did not mean he was unaware of them. Julia Ogden was signalling tonight. Maybe the game was not over. Maybe he had one move left. He deliberately and slowly stepped closer to her. He was so close he could hear her breath shallowly. She whispered: "William."

William slowly brought her hand to his lips. He let his lips linger for a second longer than it should. He looked at her directly in her eyes.

"Goodnight Julia." He turned and walked away, a smile on his lips. The checkmate was his after all. William walked home a happy man.