Chapter 5:
The detective felt his… lover? jumped and pulled away from him so quickly he almost felt his skin burning where she had had her mouth a second before. He himself had felt his heart rebound violently in his chest at the questioning.
He first looked quickly at the French window from where he could see the living room light beaming through. Then he turned back to Mrs. Brenks who was staring at him with wide eyes full of panic. She brought her hands to her mouth with a gasp as she continued to stare at him. William took a step towards her, his mouth open in shock at the realization of what had just happened in that garden. But the young woman signaled to him with her right hand not to continue to advance.
She turned her head towards the French window and took a deep breath.
"I'm in the garden, Ethan." she said in a voice so composed, that William could almost have thought that nothing had just happened between them.
"We're leaving!" he shouted back.
Then William watched the young woman give him one last look before fleeing to the French window of the Brackenreids' house. William remained planted under the plum tree his face bewildered. His head was empty. And he felt at the same time the void left by the young woman who had been close to his body. He had felt so many things that he thought he felt his heart explode. Why was this woman married? Why did she have children? A family? Why did that stupid doctor have the right to touch her? To see her and kiss her every day. Waking up next to her every day must have been amazing.
They had kissed… What more to say? He had dreamed of this woman since he had met her, and it seemed that it was the same on her side. How could he be happier?
William walked slowly towards the Brackenreids' living room, his head lost in thought. After all, he did not know this woman. Maybe she was used to having lovers. Maybe he was just a little vegetable in a soup. The thought made him shiver. He hoped so much that was not the case. He hoped that she, too, had never felt something so strong and intense in the presence of anyone. He wished he could talk to her before she left the garden. He did not know when he would get to see her again. After all, it had been days since they last saw each other.
How could the passion have been so explosive when they had only seen each other a few times? How could they have such a connection without having been around a lot?
William was sitting at his desk, lost in thought. Julia Brenks and him... He kept thinking about it. He could not concentrate on anything. This evening at the Brackenreids had already taken place two weeks ago. And since then, he was in the West. Investigations piled up but he was unable to solve them. He had a blockage. He no longer saw the scenes in his head. He could no longer grasp the details, or the secrets of the bodies found. He could not think of anything but the smell of her skin, her face, her mouth, her lips...
"Murdoch!"
William jumped and looked up to see his superior watching him with a strange expression.
"What's going on, sir?" William asked wearily.
Thomas frowned, walked into Murdoch's office, and closed the door behind him. He sat down in front of the young man's desk and looked at him for a few moments.
"Sir?" William asked hesitantly as the silence between the two men dragged on.
"What are you doing, Murdoch?"
"I work. I was trying to find the…"
"No, I mean, what's happening to you there?!" the inspector got a little carried away.
"What do you mean by that?" William leaned back in his chair uncomfortably.
"You are completely somewhere else. You have been constantly lost in thought for weeks and, frankly, we are not making progress in the investigations. They accumulate."
"Yes I... I'm sorry, sir. I'm doing my best…" the young man tried to apologize.
"Murdoch, stop apologizing!" his superior snapped once more, suddenly getting up from his chair.
He wandered around the office a bit and peered through the blinds to see his men hard at work. Then he turned to Murdoch and took a deep breath. Thomas was far too sanguine. He used to speak impulsively and not mince his words. But its best detective – the one thanks to whom their Station was most known and in demand – seemed elsewhere. All his colleagues had noticed. At first, he had not taken seriously the remarks of George Crabtree who kept coming to tell him that the detective seemed not to be feeling well. Or at least, that he was not equal to himself lately.
"What is happening? Do you have any worries?" Thomas asked gently in a voice that did not sound like him.
Despite his gruff ways, he had long considered William a son. He was very intelligent but also very reserved. He never confided. Brackenreid knew he had no family. His only family and friends were at Station 4. He was a wildly successful man with women, but for some reason he never seemed to care about them. He knew he had been in a relationship with a woman a long time ago who had broken his heart. Maybe that had put him off women? Because Thomas knew that any woman would have killed to have the chance that his former partner had had to be in a relationship with him. Margaret told him enough.
"No, no, I don't have any worries..." answered William disconcerted in the face of his superior's interrogation.
"Murdoch." Brackenreid sat back in his chair and scanned William. "Please be honest. At least for the benefits of our Station. Investigations stalled."
Thomas Brackenreid used this line to try to crack his detective. He knew that using the job to get him to reveal what was happening to him in his private life would be more effective than confronting him directly.
William sighed. How could he tell the truth to his superior? That Julia Brenks – the wife of Doctor Ethan Brenks, mother of two children – was driving him crazy. That he had such strong feelings for her that he could not think anymore. That they had only seen each other a few times but had literally jumped on each other in the Brackenreids' garden. That he only thought of her and that he missed her terribly.
"Come on Murdoch…" Detective Brackenreid nudged him gently, sensing he was about to break down.
"I…" William hesitated. He saw the inspector nod his head encouraging him to continue. "I met someone." he finished in a single breath.
Thomas remained silent, a look of incomprehension on his face.
"Have you met anyone? What?"
William stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Inspector Brackenreid considered him so solitary and unloving that he did not understand his answer.
"I met a woman." William said with almost confidence in his voice.
After all, yes, he had met a woman. An incredible woman. It was the truth. He did not have to reveal her name.
"You have met… a woman." Brackenreid repeated stupidly, looking bewildered.
Detective William Murdoch had met a woman who was able to stop him thinking? How could this be possible?
"You met a woman! But!" Brackenreid laughed. "William Murdoch has met a woman! I cannot believe it."
He approached William and gave him a big pat on the back which almost propelled him to his desk.
"How is she? She must be wonderful for her to put you in this state. Hey, old man?"
William did not answer. Although he wanted to confirm the words of his superior.
"Ah go my old man! You must get over it for the good of the Station." Brackenreid patted his back again with a huge smile on his lips. When he would tell that to his guys…
"You would introduce her to us. Don't you, Murdoch?" insisted his superior before opening the office door again, laughing and leaving without another word.
Note: Brackenreid… Always discreet and full of tact.