Author's Note: The characters belong to Maureen Jennings.
I know you're as tired as I am of waiting for Leonard to get his due. Thank you for continuing with my story and for all of your support! Please know that this isn't the end of the story although it may feel like it. Ha!
Please read, review, excuse any spelling/grammar issues and enjoy!
Pistachio the Murdog: An Unlikely Love Story – Chapter 17: Day Starts to Dawn
"Are you telling me that the man who entered my home and attacked my husband and dog has escaped from constabulary custody?!" Julia stood in disbelief staring at a panicked Henry Higgins who thumbed his helmet, his knuckles white from tension.
Might as well tell her everything. "That's not all, Dr. Ogden."
Her pointer and thumb now framing her brow, Julia took in a deep breath to prepare herself for what Henry had to tell her next. "What do you mean, Henry?"
"Well, Warwick escaped from the hospital…"
"Which hospital?!"
"This one."
"WHAT?!" Without thinking, Julia approached a now frightened Henry Higgins her blue eyes fraught with worry and panic. "He was in this hospital without my or the detective's knowledge?! He tried to kill, William!"
"He tried to hang himself in the wagon so we had to bring him back to the hospital to ensure he stood trial for his actions, doctor." Henry took a step backwards, not wanting to be the next victim of Julia Ogden Murdoch's infamous temper. Ever since that day he and some of the lads watched from a station house window as Julia and William argued about his behavior toward the late Dr. Darcy Garland, Higgins had been weary of her. It was also then that he realized how much the two of them truly loved each other. Despite the troubles the couple had, in his own way Henry would do anything to help ensure that the two of them would be together. Although he had to admit he found their quarrels quite silly at times, there were no two people more suited than Detective William Murdoch and Dr. Julia Ogden. "We'll find him, Julia. I promise you."
She softened at his honesty and concern. "I know, Henry. I'm just…worried for William. How can I keep him safe if his attacker is on the loose?" Never mind her own safety, it was William who mattered. "I don't know what to do…"
"Well, I'm here to help in whatever way I can. Would you like me to stand guard outside of his room?"
"Oh Henry, I can't ask you to do that. Besides, William wasn't who Warwick ultimately wanted." Holding herself with crossed arms, the willowy woman looked beautiful even with the bags making themselves comfortable under her eyes. No wonder Murdoch's face was filled with reverence when he saw her enter a room, the woman was unbelievable. Despite her constancy and belief in her ability to handle whatever came her way, her normally put together outward appearance revealed just how fragile she actually was.
"What do you mean, doctor?"
Julia locked eyes with a semi-confused Henry Higgins. "He, Warwick, wanted me. William just stood in the way of him getting to me. Where is the Inspector?" Why didn't he inform me of what happened when I called…
"The Inspector is who sent me, Dr. Ogden. He wanted me to inform you of what happened and to not leave your side."
"So that's what he was trying to tell me, I had to go because of William's seizure."
"The last thing I heard, the Inspector and John were headed to Warwick's father's home to see if he was hiding himself there."
The tall, dirty blonde haired teenager had seen him in the window. "Damn!"
Leonard knew that he'd be pushing his luck if he again tried to leap out of another tree, so he looked about himself for some kind of weapon. If he couldn't get to her in the way he originally planned, he'd do it another way. Digging around the attic, the clerk eyed a tool box in the corner and fumbled through it looking for a suitable weapon. Fatigue was quickly taking him over however and he knew he only had a matter of time before he collapsed from blood loss.
Eventually, he found an old bag filled to the brim with dental supplies from at least 100 years prior. Reminding himself that Adrienne's family on both sides were dentists and had been for generations, he breathed a sigh of relief when he grabbed the most rusted but lethally sharp dental scaler. This would have to do.
John Brackenreid pounded on the back door of the Burke house, a scullery maid running to open the door for him. "Father, he's in the attic!"
The Inspector turned to the two women before him. "Where's the entrance?"
"I don't permit you to search my home!" Katherine Burke screamed, a vein in her forehead prominently showcasing itself. Standing in front of the stairs to the upper part of her home, the middle aged woman blocked the Inspector's way.
Tom Brackenreid was almost at his wits end with the woman. "Madam, if you don't move out of my way I'll move you myself."
"I'd like to see you attempt to. If you touch me, you'll never work in this city again I assure you."
"Mother, please! Just move out of the way!" Adrienne cried out, pulling her mother to the side and letting John sprint upstairs. "I'll show you."
"Adrienne! Stop this at once!"
Ignoring the woman's calls, Adrienne Burke followed John to the top of the stairs, the Inspector not far behind. "The door to the attic is in the back room there."
"John, stay here," the Inspector said, cane still in his hand.
"Father, you cannot go in there alone."
"Do as I say, John. I'll not caution you again. Keep an eye on Miss Burke here." The two younger people watched on as Thomas Brackenreid slowly approached the back room.
Hearing the commotion downstairs, Leonard decided to meet them half way by traveling down the attic stairs as the Inspector entered the room. "Leonard Warwick, I'm re-arresting you for the attempted murder of Detective William Murdoch as well as stalking and breaking and entering."
"Attempted murder?!" Adrienne shrieked. "What is he talking about, Leonard?"
"I never meant to hurt you, Adrienne but I have to do what I have to do." The clerk held the dental scaler in his good hand behind his lower back. Stepping forward, the young woman looked upon her fiancée with tears in her soft hazel eyes.
"Don't do this, Leonard. Please. I beg of you."
"Miss, stand back!" John cautioned.
Ignoring everyone else in the room, she continued to approach the terrified young man she thought she knew so well. "Leonard…"
Having finally managed to climb the stairs, Katherine Burke exploded into the scene, her migraine now debilitating. As the group turned to Mrs. Burke, Leonard used the opportunity to plunge the scaler into the Inspector's arm, blood pouring from the wound.
"Father!" Screaming, John reached for the Inspector who cried out in pain.
"Leave him be!" Leonard was now hysterical. "Bring me Dr. Ogden, NOW or I'll finish him off."
"Let him go, Leonard!" Adrienne said, her mother pulling her back behind her in an effort to protect her daughter.
"I swear to all things Holy, Warwick…when I get freed…"
Leonard stabbed the Inspector in an upper part of the same arm. "You'll do nothing! Bring me Dr. Ogden now, or I'll slit his throat."
"NO! Please!" John felt hopeless and turned to the two women. "Where is the telephone?"
Adrienne wept openly in her mother's arms, pointing toward another room. "My father's study is there. Oh Leonard, how could you? I thought you loved me…"
Warwick's resolve fell only momentarily. "I do…in my way, Adrienne. I'm sorry…but Dr. Ogden is my destiny."
John's hand shook as he screamed into the receiver. "I need to speak to Dr. Julia Ogden right now! It's an emergency!"
Julia paced the hospital hallway, Henry feeling at a loss of how to help. "Dr. Ogden?"
The two turned to face Nurse Cecilia. "You have an urgent call."
"An urgent call, from who?"
"He said his name is John Brackenreid?"
Both Julia and Higgins looked at one another before they both took off down the hall.
"John?! What is it?!"
"Dr. Ogden, please. We need you here!" She could hear the panic in his voice and yelling in the background.
"John, calm down, I can barely understand you. What has happened?!"
"I'm on the phone with her now!" The young man yelled to someone in the background. "Dr. Ogden, we need you here! Leonard Warwick has my father!"
"What?!" Clear as a bell, Julia heard the Inspector speaking.
"Doctor, its Tom. Please come."
"Oh my God, what about William? I can't leave him here." She said aloud, Higgins' brow now drenched with sweat.
"You can't go on your own, doctor!" Henry said, pleadingly. "I'll accompany you."
"Tell Dr. Ogden I'll only speak with her and that she has to be here!" Warwick cried.
"I'll be right there."
She could hear John audibly release his breath. "Thank you, doctor! Thank you! Warwick, she's coming! Don't hurt my father any further!"
"John, what is the address?" Julia said feeling around her pockets for money to pay for a cab.
"I'll secure a cab!" Higgins said turning from the room and sprinting down the hallway.
John hung up with Dr. Ogden after informing her of the address to the Burke home and cautiously approached the young man who held his weakening father hostage. "Warwick, she's coming. I promise you that."
Leonard's eyes were wide and frightening. "If she isn't here in the next 20 minutes, I'm finishing your father off. Stay exactly where you are."
"Father, please stay awake!" John shouted to his father whose head began to drop slightly, the pool of blood underneath them growing. "Fight it, father!"
"John…Bobby…" the Inspector groaned, his heart rate slowing. "Margaret…"
Sprinting into her husband's hospital room, she approached the now sleeping Murdoch and kissed him gently on his lips. Removing her necklace, she placed it into his palm, curling his large hand around it. Since his outburst, a nurse was required to stay with him at all times. "Please watch over him?"
"Of course," the Nurse said, smiling with concern.
Standing at the door way, Higgins watched how tender and loving Dr. Ogden was with Murdoch. "Let's go, Henry."
"The cab is waiting."
The Burke house was at a standstill and since Warwick was able to keep an eye on everyone at once from his vantage point in the back room, nobody wanted to push the Inspector's luck if they decided to move for any reason.
"Margaret…" the Inspector intoned, unable to keep his head erect for more than a few seconds.
"Father, stay awake, please!" John pleaded once more.
"Where is she?!" Warwick roared into the otherwise silent household as John was becoming angrier by the moment. He discreetly held onto the pocket knife he brought with him. All he needed was the opportunity. John had never killed anyone before, but that wasn't going to stop him from saving his father if he needed to.
"She has just left apparently. I assure you, she'll be here."
Adrienne eyed her mother who had begun to groan in agony as her migraine increased its hold on her skull. "Leonard, Mother needs to rest."
The Inspector still in his grasp, Leonard took a step to ensure that he could see Katherine Burke and she indeed did not look well. "Have her lay in here. If you try anything, I'll kill him."
"We won't, Leonard." Adrienne said quietly guiding her mother to the guest room which the clerk had made his home base. "Rest now, Mother. I'll just close the curtain-"
"NO! Just let her lay down."
"Why are you doing this, Leonard? This isn't the man I fell in love with."
"That's because I never showed you who I really was, but it doesn't matter now."
The young woman approached her intended with care. "It does matter. I want to know who you really are, Leonard. We'll never be able to live a life together if you don't stop this madness."
"Step away, Adrienne. Now."
Not fifteen minutes later, Henry and Julia alighted from the cab. Feeling her heart race, Julia sprinted to the Burke front door and pounded as hard as she could. "Hello! John! Inspector!"
"It's Dr. Ogden!" John exclaimed, beginning to run to the door.
"DON'T MOVE!" Warwick cried out his sudden movement bringing on a new wave of pain for the Inspector who was beginning to look paler as time went on. "Bring her up here to me in Adrienne's bedroom. If you try anything, I'll make sure your father won't have use of his arm ever again. John nodded and went downstairs.
Slowly and cautiously John opened the door for Julia and Higgins who held his truncheon at the ready. "Where is he?" Henry whispered to the younger man.
"He's upstairs, with Father. Dr. Ogden, please help my Father I think he's lost a lot of blood."
Julia gently touched John's arm. "I'll see to it, don't worry John. Your mother will never forgive me if something happens to you, please be careful."
"WHERE IS SHE?!" Leonard bellowed from upstairs.
"I'm here, Leonard." Julia said instinctively looking up to where the sound of his voice came from. The joy in his heart and soul overflowed within him.
"Please, come up Dr. Ogden. You and you alone."
"I'm on my way." Eyeing both John and Henry, Julia climbed the stairs as calmly as she could calling upon every ounce of training she'd had at the asylum. He was no different than her patients and she'd help him just like she tried to help the others.
"Leonard?"
"In this room, Dr. Ogden…or should I say, Selene?"
Adrienne watched the obviously beautiful Julia approach the main landing of the staircase, locking eyes with her. "Leonard?" the younger woman inquired, scared beyond her comprehension.
"Escort her to me, Adrienne. I want the two of you to meet." Having fallen out of its pins and comb, Julia's hair flowed around her petite shoulders. "Your hair, Selene. It is most beautiful." Smiling as sweetly as she could, Julia walked along the upstairs hallway of the Burke home, a frightened Adrienne behind her.
"Thank you, Leonard." Once at the door of Adrienne's bedroom, Julia's eyes widened at the Inspector who was barely conscious. "Oh my God, Tom!" Making to go toward him, Leonard held onto the older gentleman's injured arm, another wave of pain causing the Inspector to faint. "Leonard, this man needs care as soon as possible. He could die. You know this isn't what I would want."
"Oh, but it is, my goddess. Just like that man from the park. It's all been for you."
"Man from the park? Wait…Mr. Irving? You-"
Adrienne looked at both utterly confused. "Mr. Irving? Who is Mr. Irving?"
"Yes, Alectrona, my Artemis, my Thetis…I did as you asked. Hic senex de proxumo."
"T-the old man?" Julia sussed from her early instructions on Latin in primary school.
"Yes, my darling. You must know how I feel for you."
"Leonard, you must let the Inspector get help. If I switch places with him, will you let him go?"
"Adrienne, take the man downstairs to his son and remove everyone from the house. I want no one in here but me and my goddess."
The young woman tried to reason with her former husband-to-be, "Leonard, please…"
"GET OUT!" He said, shoving the Inspector toward her and replacing him with Julia who willingly let herself be taken. "Everyone in the house has five minutes before I slit her throat!" Now rushing and screaming at everyone to vacate the house, Adrienne practically handed John his father while she scrambled to get her own parent out of the guest room.
"Finally, it is just you and I, your highness. Numquam mori pro dilectione mea." Releasing her, Julia fully entered the room standing in the middle of the ornate pink rug.
"My love for you will never die."
"Never, my Thetis."
"Leonard, listen to me…my husband-"
The young man slammed the door to Adrienne's bedroom shut, locking the door. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR HUSBAND!"
Julia instinctively backed away from him. "Of course, I do apologize." She knew that if she wanted to survive this ordeal intact, she'd have to play along. "I shall never mention him again."
Turning toward her, a maniacal smile overtook his weathered face. "Good."
Henry helped the Inspector and Katherine Burke into the cab. "John, stay with your father. I'll get Dr. Ogden. Miss Burke, in you go."
"No, I'm staying."
"Adrienne, don't you dare stay with that maniac! Get into this cab!" Mrs. Burke said the color coming back to her cheeks a bit.
"No, Mother. I'm going to help Constable Higgins. Come, I know a secret way to my bedroom."
"Higgins…" the Inspector intoned weakly.
"Sir, conserve your energy!"
"Be careful, lad."
Obviously touched, Higgins cleared his throat and secured the cab door instructing the cabbie to go to Toronto General as John watched Henry through the small window in the back.
"Let's go," Henry said following Adrienne to the side of the Burke home.
"What is it that you want, Leonard?" Julia watched the young man begin to painfully remove his suit jacket which was drenched with his blood. "You're seriously injured…"
"Never mind that. It was worth it, all for this moment. To be with you." Unbuttoning his now soiled shirt, Leonard moved toward the object of his obsession, lust overcoming him. "I want to become one with you, dearest Artemis. I must have you. We've come so close in my dreams…"
Julia's stomach lurched. "Leonard, this is not the way to go about this. What about Adrienne? She so obviously loves you."
His shirt now on the floor, Leonard continued to approach. "Not like you. She'll never be you. I just want you." Just as Julia was about to move, the clerk suddenly punched her sending her flying into the corner. "See what you made me do?! I didn't want to do that!"
Shaking her head in search of clarity, Julia did her best to stand but stumbled slightly until she felt an arm around her waist. "Let me kiss you…" Struggling against the young man's iron grasp, his arm obviously overcompensating for the loss of the other, Julia was having trouble keeping him from doing just that.
"There!" Adrienne said pointing to a latticed fence that traveled all the way up the side of the house and into a window where pink sheer curtains billowed out into the air. "That's my bedroom window, if we climb-"
"We'll get to them. Right. I'll go first. Stay here." A scream surprised them both. "Oh no, Dr. Ogden!"
"I've got to stop him from hurting her!" Adrienne picked up her skirts and ran toward the front door.
"No, Miss Burke!" Henry said reaching out for her. Unsure of what to do, he made the conscious decision to climb and hope he wouldn't kill himself on the way up.
Adrienne re-entered her house, traveling up the stairs two by two until she reached the landing.
Holding her face still, Leonard pressed his face against Julia's, their lips mashing together. The smell of blood and sweat filled Julia's nostrils, causing her eyes to water. Once he had kissed her, he nuzzled her neck still managing to pin her against the wall now with the help of his legs.
Running into her father's study, Adrienne opened a well-worn copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles, breaking the lock and removing the small pistol from inside. Ensuring that the gun was loaded as her father had taught her, she dropped the hallowed out book and went to stop Leonard from hurting anyone else.
Her legs forced apart suggestively, Leonard whispered into Julia's ear, telling her what he wanted from her. Kissing her again, he then crushed her against the wall making sure that she could feel his desire for her against her lower abdomen. Struggling with all of her might, Julia tried to fight the clerk remembering his injured arm that he kept well away from her.
"Toronto Constabulary!" Henry shouted practically leaping through the bedroom window. "Leonard Warwick, release Dr. Ogden!" Spinning her around with her back towards him, Leonard began to back up, the dental scaler against her neck.
"You come any closer, I'm stabbing her."
Practically dragging Julia through the room and to the door, Leonard instructed Julia to unlock the door which she did as quickly as she could. As soon as the bedroom door was open, there stood Adrienne Burke, her eyes overflowing with tears and her father's pistol in her hand. "Let her go, Leonard."
"Adrienne, get the hell out of my way!"
"No. Let her go. NOW." Cocking the pistol, Adrienne's hand shook violently but her resolve was firm. Shoving Julia to the floor, Leonard lunged for Adrienne who began to trip over her skirts. Unable to stop the forward motion of his movement, the clerk slammed against Adrienne who then felt the banister beneath her crack with their combined weight. Attempting to move away, Leonard pushed Adrienne further into the weakened wood and with the force caused the banister to break apart, sending the two of them to the stairs below. Henry reaching for them managed to only get part of Warwick's undershirt before the younger man slipped through his fingers.
Julia watched in horror as the two people fell over and landed on the stairs with a sickening thud. Adrienne screamed in agony but was soon gone, her neck and back not having withstood a fall along with a grown man on top of her. "Oh my God, Miss Burke!" Julia and Henry flew down the stairs in order to assist in whatever way they could but stopped mid stride when they saw how Leonard Warwick met his end. Covering her mouth, Julia saw one of the spindles from the banister jutting from the neck of the young man who had caused so much turmoil in her life the last few weeks. Feeling his wrist for a pulse but finding none, she moved over to Adrienne Burke who had clearly broken her neck, her eyes still open in shock. Julia's head fell, her heart breaking with each moment. "She died…trying to save someone she didn't even know…someone her fiancée was obsessed with…oh God…dear Miss Burke…"
Doing his best to assist a visibly shaken and upset Dr. Ogden, Henry sat her on a nearby chair while he called for assistance.