CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

12:15 am, Wednesday June 28th, 1922

Gooderham and Worts Distillery Complex

Dark clothing, silence and timing. Both of them knew the basics of not being caught after years of sneaking in and out of their parents' home and university dormitories. Julia and Ruby exchanged heels for slippers after Julia parked her car on a Corktown side street, on the northeastern edge of the Gooderham and Worts distillery. Julia tore some paper money in half, promising the other half to the lad who was watching her car to make sure it remained unmolested.

Dressed in an outfit which gave her some freedom of movement, she carefully walked three blocks south on Cherry Street, making sure no one observed their progress. Ruby skulked along next to her in black pantaloons and a beret covering her too-bright hair. Julia expected the area to be deserted at this hour, so it surprised her how many people were out and about, slowing them down while she tried to avoid them. The night was hot and humid with no breeze, no relief from the daytime temperatures. Noise from the residential and commercial area carried well into the warehouse complex, hopefully masking their footsteps. It was not as easy as the man who gave Ruby the information said it was going to be, but it was exactly as exciting as Julia imagined.

Gooderham and Worts was a maze of brick buildings and streets comprising nearly thirteen acres, centered around a huge windmill and wharf operation, parts of which ran twenty-four hours a day, even now despite prohibition. Their destination was No. 48, the denaturing building, one of the twenty-foot-high rectangular brick buildings between Mill Street and the tank lanes. Julia checked the numbers in the ambient light: number 50 was at the end, which made the third building in their destination. They paused in the shadows, timing workers or guards making trips between buildings or on their rounds. Julia only saw one uniformed man rattling doors, just like the constables still do in some of the Wards. Hiding behind an adjacent building, she waited with Ruby, her heart pounding, until the night watchman turned the corner, before slinking to the door, Ruby right behind her. Using a set of small tools from her pocket, Ruby picked the door's lock and they quickly slipped into the building. Julia had no time to be amazed at her sister's criminal skills. She closed the creaky door softly behind her, knowing they were going to have only a little time before the lock was checked again.

Building No. 48 was where chemicals were added to distilled alcohol. According to Ruby's source, this building was allegedly where barrels of the denatured alcohol sometimes went missing, and where it was whispered an illegal redistilling setup might be supplied with raw materials. The structure, identical to five others at the east end of the complex, was dark and quiet at this time of night, with illumination coming in through small high windows near the sloping roof line.

Julia let her eyes adjust so she did not trip over anything. Ruby hissed at her to follow. She walked rapidly amongst the large tanks, barrels, boxes and crates, looking for supplies of brucine or methyl alcohol or evidence of diversion, making a mental note of the labels on chemicals as she went. Ruby led her in a loop through the room, and was about to head to the catwalk above the main floor so she could see better, when Julia heard footsteps coming their way down the metal stairs.

Damn! No one was supposed to be leaving the building! Her heart now raced right into her throat. Why did I let Ruby talk me into this one? What if they saw us?

Dismayed, she immediately pulled Ruby back to hide in the shadows between a pair of large wooden shipping crates near the door, hoping they'd blend in and readied a story if they were caught, perhaps something about looking for her drunken lout of a husband…

This whole thing was a bad idea.

She tried to get her lungs to work slowly, straining to hear the footsteps, suppressing a sigh of relief when the footfalls headed away from her location and towards the door, which opened and closed leaving only silence again. Beside her, Ruby exhaled with a soft laugh. Grateful to escape being caught, Julia rose from her crouched position, emerging between the crates feeling a little giddy, when a hard hand over her mouth and nose snatched her backwards. Two strong arms easily lifting her off her feet, dragging her between the crates. She struggled with all her might, but his arms only gripped tighter, pinning her down. To make matters worse, another man was manhandling Ruby the same way. She could hear her sister's angry whimpers.

Oh my God, Ruby! Her heart was pounding in fear and lack of air, so she sank her teeth into the hand which prevented her from screaming - or breathing. The man did not even flinch, although he did drop his hand an inch, allowing her to inhale some air through her nose.

"Shhhhhh!" he hissed in her ear. Enraged, she shook her head "no!" and continued to kick and dig her elbows into him, because she was unable to get her hands up to gouge his eyes.

"Oomph. Doctor. Be quiet!" the voice whispered urgently, waiting for her to agree, and even then, only releasing her enough to point to two men entering the door to No. 48. Julia could see the hand torches and pistols they carried. Oh God. We'd have been sitting ducks! But who the hell are these thugs?

Too infuriated to be scared, she stopped protesting. Next to her, Ruby was also gagged with a hand across her mouth. Ruby nodded and the restraining hand fell away from her too. With a last 'shush', the men set them down and stepped back, pushing them quietly to the exit and out into the blackness towards Cherry Street, not giving her or Ruby time to turn around or protest.

At the end of the last building, the man who captured her turned on her, keeping his tone low. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Dr. Ogden?" the familiar voice rasped while the man pointedly flexed his hand. He had not worn gloves and consequently, now sported a set of nicely crescent-shaped teeth marks in the meat of his palm.

In the dim light she immediately recognized his profile, mostly by his dark hair and eyes. No one else she knew had eyelashes that thick. "Detective Murdoch! How dare you! You had no right!" she spit at him.

"Shhhh! Neither did you, Doctor. I could've shot you," he hissed back. "Or those two could have done us all in." He pointed again to where the hulking figures had disappeared into the warehouse door. "What are you doing here?!"

Ruby flung off the hand which was restraining her. "None of your business. I am here on a story. The Fourth Estate has to do your job when the authorities either can't or won't!"

"Well, Miss Ogden, since I was here and it was you who interfered with a police inquiry, I'd say your accusations are unwarranted. What you two were doing was breaking and entering, Miss Ogden, Doctor."

"Well, I didn't break anything!" Ruby insisted.

"Not the point! You could have been killed!" The detective bit back.

Ruby drew herself up. "It's not the first time I've been out in the big, bad world, Detective. My sister was in the war too, you know," she shot back.

"Well, if either of you had actually done any fighting instead of gallivanting around you'd know that you never go into enemy territory alone," jerking a thumb at a man Julia now recognized.

"Constable," she said, unmollified.

Crabtree tipped his black cap. "Doctor. Miss Ogden."

The detective's demeanour was hard. "Constable Crabtree, please escort Miss Ogden while I discuss matters with Dr. Ogden."

The constable was confused but offered his arm to Ruby. Her sister tossed her hair and pouted but followed along.

The detective tried to take her aside. In response, she raised her hand to slap him, but he quickly caught her wrist with a firm grip and released it, allowing it to fall back at her side, which only made her angrier. "You don't know what I did in the war...you know nothing about me. I was no camp-follower or coffee girl…"

Detective Murdoch remained obstinate. "What are you doing here? If your sister has information about a crime, why didn't you or she come to the authorities with your findings or concerns where they could have been properly evaluated?"

"Don't you dare patronize me!"

His head jerked up. "You clearly don't know me very well either, Doctor. I never condescend. Believe it or not, I would hate to see anything happen to you," he replied, his eyes glittering at her, standing nose to nose so close she smelled his scent. They stood that way for a long minute. She wasn't certain who blinked first, then Detective Murdoch motioned to start moving.

His words had shocked her almost as much as him scaring the tar out of her in the warehouse. She hurried to overtake Ruby and Constable Crabtree, deep in conversation of their own. They were a block away from the distillery complex when Julia started to reconsider her actions. Another block passed before she started to reconsider the detective and hung back to approach him. It might have been the adrenaline, but she hoped a certain comradeship was developing between them. Then she remembered she bit him. "I'm sorry about your hand. Human bites are prone to serious infections. Please let me tend to it. I would hate for it to become infected." She tried to make it a peace offering.

Glancing at his hand, he shrugged. "All right. Probably not a bad idea. Besides, I would've been more concerned if you hadn't fought back." He surprised her again with a smile. "Since you want to work this case with me, Doctor, why don't you tell me more about why you were here, what you were looking for, and I'll give you my thoughts."

"Walk me back to my car, and I just might."


Murdoch kept up with Dr. Ogden as he and Crabtree followed to the Ogden sisters' vehicle, having a lively debate in his head about what to make of either of the ladies and what to do since his investigation was blown up for tonight. Losing this opportunity was going to set him back, since this "meeting" tonight happened only once per month and he desperately needed to know who those two supposed Rocco Perri operatives who entered No. 48 were. He had hoped to catch them in the act of arranging to siphon off alcohol from G&W for the illegal market.

The last person in the world he expected to have to contend with tonight was an investigative reporter and the brand-new city coroner. Ruby Ogden nosing around might be understandable given her occupation.

What the devil was Dr. Ogden doing here? If she didn't quit because of the workload or get fired for her unorthodox appearance, she was going to get herself killed, and maybe me along with it!

He was still arguing with himself when Dr. Ogden halted on the sidewalk right in front of him. In order not to bump into her he stopped abruptly then Crabtree slammed into his own back. Miss Ogden sashayed around the pile up to a parked motorcar.

The doctor handed something to a nervous young man who had been lounging by the vehicle and who quickly took off. Walking around the back, she grabbed her kit from the boot while he stood there gaping at the motorcar. Miss Ogden lounged against the car door, watching intently - particularly Constable Crabtree.

Crabtree ran his hand tenderly on the rear fender, oblivious to Miss Ogden, bending to see the chassis and leaning in to appreciate the leather seats. "My goodness, Doctor. A 1922 convertible coupe Sunbeam motor car. Marvelous!"

"Nice car," Murdoch murmured, as he took the magnificent machine in. It was cherry red. Of course, it is. "What model is it?" he asked, as she readied her supplies, his hand forgotten.

"It's a 16/40. My father promised me whichever car I yearned for if I returned to Canada."

Miss Ruby Ogden looked put out at not being the center of attention. Murdoch was unsurprised Crabtree was completely enthralled with the machine, closely examining the chrome, the wheels and sleek lines and giving a running narration as he did so. "She has a 3016cc four-cylinder overhead valve engine with a Claudel Hobson carburetor and semi-elliptic suspension. How fast have you opened her up, Doctor?"

"Well, Constable, the city speed limit is twenty miles per hour and the posted rural speed limit is 25 miles per hour…"

At that moment Dr. Ogden dumped alcohol on his palm. His hand remembered, he hissed out loud in pain as she cleaned the wound and examined it in the streetlight, calmly discussing her car with Crabtree.

"But Jules could hit eighty, easily, on a smooth track," Miss Ogden finished for her sister. Crabtree continued to smile besottedly at the vehicle, ignoring the younger woman.

Murdoch cleared his throat. "Are you done?" he asked about his hand as Dr. Ogden tied the bandage off.

"I don't think it will require stitches, Detective, but promise me you'll let me look at it again in the morning. Infection is always a risk."

"I promise," he shook his hand out and flexed it, interest was once again drawn to the motorcar bathed in the streetlight glow. Crabtree looked like he was in love with it.

"Well, will you at least let me take you for a spin, Detective?" she asked with a grin. "I am sure my sister will be in good hands with your constable."

Murdoch could not quite believe what he just heard. "I…. I cannot," he stumbled. "We must retrieve our police vehicle. Constable Crabtree..." He had his investigation to get back to, and Crabtree would kill him if he didn't get the first ride. He silently appealed for rescue.

Instead, Crabtree was no help at all. "Go ahead, sir. I can take the patrol car to deliver Miss Ogden home, and even type up our findings for you to review in the morning."

"Marvelous! I accept!" Ruby Ogden declared, putting her arm through Crabtree's. "I'd love to get the constable's take on current affairs."

Crabtree's eyes got big and dark, then he laughed. "Go, before I take the Doctor up on her offer," he added.

"Well," he began. "I uh…" Surely there was some reason he shouldn't go - but he could not think of one. He loved speed and had a genuine yen to see this car. Shrugging, he opened the passenger door to get in.

Looking satisfied, Dr. Ogden, quickly stowed her kit in the trunk and hopped into the car herself. "Don't worry Constable, I'll bring your detective back in one piece." She waved to her sister, who stepped away from the vehicle.

"Are you ready for the full force of 16 horsepower, Detective?" she laughed.

He gripped the side of the car. "I am."

Turning the ignition, she put it in gear, let out the clutch, nosed the motor forward then immediately shifted into a higher gear picking up speed, heading up Cherry then turning right towards the suburbs. The car's gears moved smoothly to accompany a deep roar of the engine. Murdoch understood Dr. Ogden was well acquainted with her motorcar and was showing off both the car and her driving of it.

With the top down and the wind blowing through his hair, he soon forgot himself, his troubles evaporating into the beautiful summer night, They were quickly out of the city to the east and north, speeding down country roads through tunnels of arching trees and along miles of rich, flat farmland. He was almost as carefree as he was on those rare nights when he took his Indian on these same roads and opened her up. He did not want it to end. Soon, she came to a stop at an overlook on the rim of the Don Valley, having circled back west. No moon meant the stars had the full arc of the sky to display their glories.

Murdoch took his eyes from the stars...and saw her.

Eyes reflecting the bright and sparkling sky and her hair blown asunder, she was a sight to behold, lips parted and panting with exhilaration. Blinking, he wasn't sure what to do when she laughed again and got out of the car.

The inspector would have called him gobsmacked. He sat there in silence as her laughter continued. "Surely you hope for a chance to take her for a spin yourself, right?" she asked as she walked over to his side of the car and waited.

It took a few seconds to get his tongue working. "Yes, I believe I would." He slid over on the bench seat, drawn by the allure of the machine's power.

He turned the car around to leave the overlook as he familiarized himself with the gears and controls, taking it slowly until he was comfortable enough to feel one with the machine. He forgot all about the wound on his hand. If he was carefree before, he was invincible now as he took sharp country turns at full speed and pushed the car as far as it would go. Rather than shrink back in fear as Liza would have done, Julia Ogden had her arms out over her head and her eyes closed with her head thrown back in glee as he drove another loop through the country lanes before making their way back to the city.

Eventually, he pulled in front of the station house. They had barely spoken a word the whole time. With her eyes laughing, Dr. Ogden took her flask out of her purse and knocked back a swig.

He had an urge to kiss her, right there, in front of his job and the whole world, before he drove that distraction from his mind as foolish - and dangerous.

"Finally! Someone who knows how to drive! This was a great deal of fun, Detective. I dare say I hope we could do it again," she exhaled as she offered him the flask.

She is incorrigible. He shook his head, astonished and amused by her in equal measure.

"Thank you. That was… that was more fun than I have had in a long while," he agreed, giving her a grin.

"You? Having fun? Then we shall have to make sure you have more, won't we?" she teased, sliding over the bench seat as he got out of the car.

"Thank you again. Tomorrow, er...later today I guess, let us compare notes, shall we?"

"We shall, Detective. Good night." She shifted the car into gear and took off.

"Good night," he murmured to the car's tail lights, shaking his head at his own utter ridiculousness. His wristwatch told him Crabtree was long gone. Despite the hour, there was work to do and he'd have to deal with everything in the morning, but instead of going to his desk inside the station house, he went around to the station house's stables-turned-garage, got on his motorcycle and roared off into the night himself.

Once he got home, he shucked his clothes and immediately fell asleep. He did not awake until his alarm, only then realizing Dr. Ogden never told him why she was there with her sister.