Longest chapter so far. I had this in my head ever since I started writing the story.
Chapter 25
Two days later in the early morning William was sitting in his office, staring blankly at the case files in front of him and sulked. He and Julia still hadn't made up and therefore he had used his 'free time' to sit in his office and throw himself into work.
Julia and he had never had a fight like this before. Sure, they had argued before and one or the other had been angry, but it hadn't been as obvious because they had never spent as much time together. Now he had to lie alone in his own bed and knowing that he couldn't sleep anyway he decided to stay in his office.
Julia hadn't talked to him since she had gone swimming. He had tried later that night on the ride back to talk to her, but other than snide remarks, he hadn't got anything out of her. Problem was, he was still thinking that he was right, her dress had been too revealing and he didn't care that fashion columns in newspapers said differently.
Ruby had teased him merciless that night and had pointed out that she was wearing knickerbockers that were even shorter than the ones Julia wore. However he wasn't interested in what Ruby wore, but in what her sister was wearing and doing.
He missed her, two days without really talking to her, not to speak of holding her or kissing her, was simply too long. William had hoped that he would catch a case and would see her so she had to talk to him at least for the job, but the cases he was working on had no dead bodies and so the time without the pretty coroner dragged on.
"Murdoch, what are doing here already? Spent another night here?" Brackenreid's voice startled him and he looked from the papers and tiredly rubbed his eyes.
"Yes, Sir. I felt like I was mere moments away from finding out how they got into the houses, but it seems the moments took all night and I am still not closer to solving the case," Murdoch sighed and stretched his arms over his head.
"You still haven't talked to Dr. Ogden? You should really apologize and if it's only for peace sake. Can't tell ya how often I did that with the Missus," the inspector droned on.
"We have no body, Inspector," William tried to play dumb, but he had the feeling that Brackenreid knew what he was talking about.
"I'm not talking about a dead body, but about the bloody knickerbockers. Crabtree told me you two got into a fight over it. You better get over it, my old mucker, or you will be fighting with her for the rest of your days. She's a cheeky one, you always knew that and also a tad too modern if you ask me," his superior shrugged and offered more of his unasked for advice.
"Ah yes, I will talk to her, once I find out who is behind these robberies," he said and hoped to change the topic back from his private life to work.
"Tell me when you've got something," the inspector nodded and finally left his office. William let out a breath and relaxed in his chair. Why couldn't George for once keep his mouth shut? Why did he have to share his private life with Brackenreid of all people? He knew that the two sometimes talked about him and Julia, after all they had been the first ones to admit to his face that they knew and observed the mounting tension and feelings between him and her. Brackenreid had given him advice before, always unasked for, of course, and George had made no secret about it that he thought William and Julia belonged together.
"Detective?" George interrupted his thought once more. Speaking of the devil, William remarked in his head.
"What is it George?" William asked in a rude tone and the young constable looked taken aback, because he couldn't know that William had just learned about him gossiping with Brackenreid.
"There has been another burglary. This time at a pig farm just outside the city," he reported.
"How far outside? Will we have to take the horses or will the bikes do?" he asked him and got up, straightened his shirt and put his jacket back on.
"I think the bikes should do," Crabtree decided and followed William out of his office.
"I'm acting detective Murdoch, this is constable Crabtree," William introduced themselves to the famer who had been robbed the night before.
"Ya really have to see what these bastards did," the man started ranting agrily. "They didn't only take the money, but they also stole my chicks and tried to steal the piglets. Two dropped dead from shock and another one is injured. Will have to put the poor thing down before it's two months old. Little bugger is screaming in pain," the farmer reported but didn't look sympathetic. He seemed to be sorrier for the money loss the killing of the animal would cause him.
"Can you show us everywhere they were?" Murdoch asked, knowing he needed to see the crime scene.
"'Course," the man nodded and led them first into the small shed where he kept the chicken. Most of them were sitting apathetically in the house, just two walked around outside and picked at the sparse grass.
"They must have had an ax," George stated when they saw the door of the shed. The wood was splintered and it looked like the burglars had walked right through.
"Did you hear anything?" Murdoch turned to the farmer.
"No, I didn't hear nothing," the man shook his head. "I was out late and had a little bit too much, if you know what I mean," he admitted and Murdoch only nodded. He really couldn't understand why men who had barely enough money to put food on the table for their families went out every night and spend their money on drinks that had them too wasted to function properly in the morning. Some of them even got into a foul mood and started laying on their wives and children.
"Can you show us the sty?" he asked him then.
"Sure, right this way," the farmer nodded and with every step they took the stench got worse. When they reached the other small shed they found three pigs and several piglets in the wooden shed and the stench was so bad it made it robbed them of their breaths for a moment. Still they had to walk in to take a look at the damage and in the middle of the room lay a small piglet, screaming so badly that William got goose bumps. It was like one could hear the pain in the voice of the animal. Another bigger pig was standing beside it, gnawing at its tail and it's ears were bloody and halfway gnawed off already. Shocked William stared at the scene and forgot the crime scene and the evidence over it.
"He's the weakling now and nature isn't too kind to them," George offered while William still stared. Then however he started moving again and pushed the other pig away from the injured one with his foot.
"Shoo, shoo," he said as he pushed it aside.
"Didn't have the time yet to whack him one. I will have to chop it up right after in this heat or the meat will go bad," the farmer shrugged.
"Isn't there anything that can be done? It looks like its foot is broken," William turned to the farmer while he kept the pigs away from the injured one with his feet.
"Was the weakest one anyway and these bloody bastards must have stepped on its leg. No sense in spending money on it," the famer remained practical and unfeeling.
"How much will you make if you kill it today?" William asked him.
"Not much if anything at all. Not much meat on it," the man replied.
"I'll give you twenty five cents for it," William decided after he had checked how much change he still had in his pockets. It wasn't much, but more than nothing.
"Sir, you're going to buy a pig?" George asked disbelievingly.
"Can't let the poor thing be eaten alive here," William replied with a nod. "Do you have a piece of cloth I can wrap it up in so I won't get my shirt all bloody?" he asked the farmer. Mrs. Kitchen would wash Saturday at the earliest and it was only Tuesday. He couldn't walk around with a bloody shirt that smelled like pig for the rest of the week.
"Sure, here," the famer said and handed him an old and dirty blanket that hang on a wall. He looked at William like he had lost his mind. The detective didn't let that stop him though and he leaned down and gently wrapped the piglet in the blanket, then lifted it up in his arms. At first the poor thing squeaked louder than before, then however it stopped and just looked up at him.
"George can you process the crime scene and take note of everything important? I will go over to Dr. Tasch's house it's just round the corner and see if he's willing to treat a patient that isn't human," William informed the constable.
"Of course. See you later at the station," George nodded and watched the detective leave with the piglet under his arm.
It turned out to be quite the struggle to carry the piglet under one arm, while he was holding his bike with the other hand. Luckily the animal stayed still and didn't struggle too much against his grip. People on the streets were looking funny at him but he didn't care. He just couldn't see the poor thing suffering and not do anything. Standing by while it was partially eaten alive by the other pigs wasn't an option either.
While he had cycled to the farm earlier he had passed the house of Dr. Tasch and had remembered the last time when he had been by and the doctor had told him that he was conducting abortions, but had refused to elaborate on the nature of Julia's visit. Back then he had been really sure that the two of them had been lovers at one point and that Julia had warned him and talked to him about the case.
Now he knew that that hadn't been correct at all, but still he felt a bit angry at the doctor. He knew he should be grateful to him for saving Julia's life and he should have a more positive attitude towards him, considering that he was about to ask him for an unusual favor- but he just couldn't.
The fact that he was giving abortions and thereby killing innocent lives, he just couldn't get over it. It was a sin and it was forbidden by the law, so in his books it was still wrong.
The small doubts in his mind about this matter and the view of the church and the law added to his anger. It was as if the more he doubted the law, the more convinced he tried to be that it was correct.
However he couldn't stop his own thoughts from registering in his mind. Now that he knew intimacy and passion and he knew just how hard it was to stop he had a new understanding how unwed women could get into this situation. The prostitutes who had introduced him to sexual relations back when he had still worked at the wood camp as a young man, what about them? What if he had go one of her the family way? Or what about Eliza? They had been lucky back then when all control had left them. What would she have done, what would they have done back then? They wouldn't have had the money to marry, at least not in a way that would have made it obvious why they would have married so hastily.
Julia couldn't have a child, not anymore after what she had been through, so there was no risk now. If they ever got carried away there wouldn't be any consequences for them. Young, healthy women usually weren't that lucky when it came to pre-marital relations. Most of them were naïve and uneducated on the subject of sexual intercourse. The young men used it to their advantage and promised them heaven and earth, only to run as soon as they had what they wanted. And then of course, there was the problem of them women who had been forced. He had encountered more than one maid or young woman who had been forced by her employer or some other man with more power and had found herself with child afterwards. These women were ruined for all times and no decent man would marry them. If there was no child however, there was no proof of their sin. One life destroyed for one life saved.
William was glad when he finally found himself in front of the large house Dr. Tasch was working and living in. e slowly lowered his bike to the ground and tried not to loosen his grip on the piglet which started to struggle now that it sensed some change in his movements. He saw the door to the house open and the thankful feelings for Tasch, he had talked himself into, vanished instantly.
William felt like he was stuck in a time vacuum. He had been in this situation before, only this time the scene in front of him was even more intimate than the last time.
Isaac and Julia were talking on the porch while they walked outside, but instead of a hand squeeze Julia hugged the other doctor and held on to him. He didn't seem to mind and William felt the bile rise in his throat. He wasn't even allowed to hold her hand in public and here these two were embracing outside in broad daylight for the whole world to see. Julia had her head on Dr. Tasch's shoulder, while he had his arms wrapped around her shoulders and held her tightly. William could see that he was whispering in her ear, but he couldn't make out her reaction because she was facing away from him.
He didn't realize that he had been tightening the hold on the injured animal until it gave a heart wrenching little squeak of pain and he was reminded why he had come. He purposefully walked towards the house, where the two were still standing wrapped in the intimate embrace.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said after he had cleared his voice loudly. To his greatest shock Julia and Isaac didn't jump apart or seemed embarrassed. They just looked surprised to see him and not the slightest bit guilty. He set his jaw and straightened his shoulders, intent that he wouldn't let them see how angry he was.
"William, what are you doing here?" Julia asked him friendlier than she had last talked to him. He however was so upset he didn't consciously realize how good it was to hear her voice again. She still had a hand placed on Tasch's shoulder and William's eyes stared at it as if they wanted to burn a hole in his arm.
"I'm here to see Dr. Tasch," he pointed out the obvious and then turned away from Julia and faced the other doctor. "I know you're not a veterinarian, but could you take a look at the poor creature?" he asked him and reminded himself that he should stay civil because he wanted something from the doctor, not the other way around.
"Uhm , of course. What is wrong with it?" Isaac said after he had exchanged a sideward glance with Julia.
"It seems to have broken its foot and the others started gnawing at his ears and tail. The owner would have just let it lie there, but I couldn't stand the cries of pain. They made me nauseous," William admitted.
"Oh, poor thing," Julia gushed and came forward to pet the pigs head.
"Please come inside and I'll take a look. Julia would you mind helping me?" Isaac asked.
"Of course not, not at all!" she shook her head and looked lovingly at William who still carried the piglet in his arms When their eyes met he looked away and avoided her eyes. Out of the corned of his eyes he could see that Julia's small, loving smile changed to a painful expression like he had slapped her and then to as neutral as possible.
Quietly they followed Dr. Tasch into the building and William was glad when he could finally put down the piglet. It might be small, but it was still heavy if you carried it around for a while.
He put it on the examining table and held onto it when it tried to jump off and run away. "Oh stay here, stupid thing or you will break your other legs as well," he said annoyed. By now he was angry at everyone in the room, even the injured piglet.
"Isaac, do you have some linen cloths here so I can clean the wounds?" Julia turned to her colleague.
"Look in the cabinet over there," he replied while he tried to get a hold of the injured leg. Julia opened the drawers of the cabinet and found the cloths she was looking for. She wet them with water and applied something reddish before she started to dab at the wounds. Immediately the pig started the scream in pain and panic and struggled even more.
"William, could you hold it a bit tighter," she requested when it tried to bite her.
"I'm trying. It's not as easy as it might look," he replied sharply and slightly out of breath from the struggle with the animal.
"The leg is definitely broken. I guess all I can do is wrap it tightly and hope that it won't gnaw the bandage off," Dr. Tasch concluded and left the room to get the necessary things so he could splint the leg.
"What will you do with the pig, William? Where will you keep it"? Julia asked him softly once they were alone. She was still cleaning the wounds at the pig's ears and didn't look at him.
"I don't know, I didn't really think about it," he admitted. "I might have to bring it back," he shrugged and kept his eyes fixed on the animal.
"If you would built a shed and put a fence around it you could keep it in my backyard if you want. I doubt Mrs. Kitchen would approve of it sleeping in your bed," she offered with a small smile and looked expectantly at him.
"I guess I could do that.. I don't know," he retreated back to sulking.
"Look, William, in my opinion you have no reason to be cross with me. I should be the angry and hurt one, because of the way you treated me on Sunday," she was sick of the awkward mood between them and was once more the one who spoke out loud what was going on.
"And that's why you sought shelter in the arms of Dr. Tasch?" he accused her and startled the pig by raising his voice.
"I won't even grant this with an answer. You have obviously lost your mind," she told him and he just wanted to apologize when he saw the hurt in her eyes, but just then Dr. Tasch came back.
"So, let's see if this works," he thought out loud and obviously decided to ignore the tension in the room. Quietly he bandaged the piglet's leg and Julia looked after the other wounds. They exchanged some medical gibberish from time to time that Murdoch couldn't understand. He stood idly by, holding the pig and turned and twisted the thoughts and ideas in his head. He desperately wanted to make peace with Julia, but at the same time he was still convinced that he had every right to be upset. First she showed up in an indecent dress and then he found her embracing another man. Just thinking about the scene on the porch made his blood boil again.
"All done," Isaac finally announced and they were all glad it was over. The pigs ears and tail were somewhat orange now by whatever Julia had applied and the left front leg was stinted.
"How much do I owe you?" William asked him and hoped that he still had enough money with him to pay for the treatment.
"Nothing," Dr. Tasch replied. "I couldn't possibly charge the future husband of my best friend." William did a double take. Had he really just said what he thought he had said?
"You told him?" wide eyed he turned to Julia. Her own father didn't even know yet, but she visited Isaac Tasch to tell him?
"You know that Isaac is a very dear friend of mine," Julia shrugged and petted the piglet's head.
"I hope this will turn out successfully and the wounds won't get infected," Tasch broke the awkward silence that spread once more.
"I will keep an eye on it Isaac. Thank you… for everything," Julia said and William had the impression that there was more going on than he knew about.
"Take care Julia and don't be a stranger," the doctor smiled at her and the two of them hugged briefly yet again before William wrapped the piglet back in the cloth and carried it outside with Julia following him.
"You want to take me up on my offer now or not?" she asked him impatiently once the door had closed behind them. The gentleness that had been present when she had said goodbye to Dr. Tasch was gone now.
"I don't think I have another choice," he admitted helplessly, knowing that bringing the piglet back to the farm would be its death sentence.
"Then see you at home," she said and then walked to the street where she called for a carriage and was gone before he had arrived at his bike, the piglet once more tugged under his left arm.
TBC