CHAPTER 1:
A few hours earlier...
When William finally arrived at the reception being held at the Weston's, an influential and wealthy Toronto family, he sighed. The evening had already started for a good hour, but he had been delayed by the difficulty of finding a carriage to take him. Finally, he had taken his bike, as usual. He was starting to regret coming to the party anyway. He did not know anyone, no one knew him, and he felt uneasy. As if he had nothing to do here. As if he had no place in the middle of this great social reception.
He walked over to the bar and asked for a glass of apple juice with sparkling water. The bartender looked at him with judgmental eyes and William decided he really had no business here. He did not drink alcohol. This detail alone seemed to make him look totally different from the others.
"An apple juice with sparkling water…"
William turned to the right of the bar, attracted by the sound of a female voice. He saw a young woman with golden blond hair sitting on one of the stools. The first thought that came to the detective's mind was that she was gorgeous. His second thought was to try to remember what she had just said to him.
"Is it a rather particular choice?" smiled the woman with the captivating green-gray eyes.
"Yes… I don't drink alcohol." William replied mechanically.
He swallowed hard and sat up himself feeling suddenly dizzy. It was hot in that reception room, right?
"That too is not common." laughed the woman again before taking a cocktail handed to her by the bartender. "I've never known a man who doesn't drink."
"And... is that a good or a bad thing, do you think?" the young man questioned subtly, trying to sound less clumsy than he currently felt.
"In your opinion." the young woman gave him a wink before retrieving a second cocktail, giving the bartender a slight nod, getting up and walking towards a group of women near the appetizer buffet.
William watched her for a long moment, as if hypnotized, until he noticed the women who accompanied his previous interlocutor staring at him, giggling.
The young detective turned his head hastily, feeling completely lost. This woman had been so nice to him, and she had looked at him in a way that had given him a cold sweat. He did not know if she was just making fun of him or if she really wanted to approach him. Who was this woman?
"It's Doctor Julia Ogden." a man suddenly spoke as if to answer his inner question.
Did he speak out loud? Was he crazy now?
William turned to a man in his fifties, half white and gray hair but bright blue eyes. He had a small mustache that stuck out on either side of his face, and he wore a black suit that was certainly very expensive.
"I beg your pardon?" William asked automatically, although he had heard the man's words very well.
"The young woman you were chatting with." he nodded subtly towards the woman who was also wearing a beautiful long blue dress that showed her off perfectly. "It's Doctor Julia Ogden."
"Oh..." William just nodded in a way he hoped was completely neutral although his brain was racing. A female doctor… Incredible…
"And she's single you know... She's been talked about a lot. I mean she's not like all women. Doctor, very intelligent and very beautiful." insisted the man, pressing his gaze on William.
"Why are you telling me that?" the detective suddenly asked, frowning in annoyance.
"Excuse me." the man held up his hands in reissue. "It's just that I saw you staring at her with shining eyes. And it seemed to me that she was also interested in you…"
"Who are you?" asked William almost abruptly, desperately wanting to change the subject.
This man was not mean, and he had nothing against him, but he did not know him. He did not want to talk about this kind of subject with him. Plus, thinking about the fact that this woman might have been interested in him and all he could find to say to her was, "Yeah, I don't drink alcohol" was driving him crazy.
"Oh, forgive me, I'm lacking in my manners." he held out a green-gloved hand to William. "Alfredo Villari. I'm an accountant at the Toronto hospital."
"Pleased to meet you sir." William grabbed Mr. Villari's hand and shook it vigorously.
"And you, young man? What is your name?"
"William Murdoch. I'm a detective at Station 4 in Toronto."
"Unbelievable! I've always been fascinated by this sort of thing. What type of surveys do you deal with the most?" Alfredo asked with bright eyes.
"Criminology."
"Well!" he laughed before taking a sip of his whiskey. "We don't have to worry then. If we get attacked, we'll be safe with you."
William laughed politely and watched Monsieur Villari get up from his seat, his glass in his hand.
"Good! See you later Mr. Murdoch. Perhaps we will meet again during this charming evening." he laughed again and called out to another grey-haired man who was drinking quietly in his corner.
William watched him start a discussion with this man who seemed rather willing to stay quietly in his corner and he thought with amusement that he was going to need some courage.
Note: So?! What do you think of this small beginning and the first meeting of William and Julia? Rather banal at first sight, isn't it ?