"What is he doing?" Julia asked herself, looking out the window of the dining room.
She had been waiting for him for over two hours now. Their lunch was cold on the table and worry was creeping in her mind. William had left for church earlier in the morning, telling his wife that he would be back right after mass to share luch with her before she had to go to a charity engagement. But he still hadn't come back and that was not normal. If anything had happened, he would have called her, she was sure of it. She paced the house for another hour before deciding that something was really wrong. She left the house and walked to the church, hoping that there was some sort of celebration that William had not told her and that he was still there. She knew it was not true but she refused to lose hope. When she arrived at the church, she saw that everything was closed. She sat for a few minutes on a bench nearby, trying to control the panic that was rising in her. Maybe something had happened and he was called into work? She decided to walk to the station house. She was too edgy to wait patiently for a carriage to drive her there. When she arrived, she rushed into her husband's office, only to find it empty. She stopped dead in her tracks, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Doctor Ogden, what are you doing here?" George asked when he saw her.
"Have you seen William?" she asked, drying her tears with her hands.
"No I haven't, he is not on duty today."
"I know that George. Did someone call him into work?" she asked, eyes full of hope.
"I'm sorry no. What has you in such a state?" George asked, guiding her to a nearby chair.
"He didn't come home. He left for church and … he didn't come back. I've looked everywhere he could have been but I didn't find him. I thought maybe he was here but he is not and … I think something happened to him." Julia said, her voice breaking on the last part.
"I … I will call the Inspector." George said, leaving her to reach the telephone.
When the Inspector came in, Julia could see that he was worried too. He made her tell him exactly what had happened since they had woken up over and over again, making sure she was not forgetting anything. When it was clear that there was absolutely no reason for William not to have gone back home, he knew something had to be done.
"I'm going to get some constables to ask around town if anybody saw him." the Inspector said. "You should go home Doctor, he will be worried if he happens to come back to an empty house."
Julia simply nodded, getting up slowly and walking out of the office as if in a trance.
George and the Inspector watched her walk out.
"What do you think Inspector?" George asked.
"That something must have happened to Murdoch. He would never have left his wife without any news for so long if nothing had happened. Gather a team of constables and patrol the city. Ask around for him. He MUST be somewhere!"
"Yes Sir."
It had been a week. A full week without her husband. Something very bad must have happened to him, he would never have left her like that. She could not help but think about their life together, their happy and less happy moment, their wedding day, all their milestones. But she couldn't help but imagine what could have happened to him as well, and these images were not helping calm her anxiety. She had barely slept since he had disappeared, everytime she saw his dead body hidden somewhere. She could not stop crying every time she thought about him, her eyes had been puffy for the most part of the week. She was at the morgue today, having decided that she could not stand staying at home with nothing to do. She was brought out of her thoughts when she saw George enter, his helmet in hand.
"Doctor, a body was found in a field behind the Dectetive's church. Given the description we have ..."
"I'll be right with you." Julia said, getting her medical bag.
George could see that she was not doing good, even if she tried to act brave. He had seen the look in her eyes when he had come into the morgue, he had heard her voice quiver. And now he could see her walk reluctantly to the body that was lying face down in the tall grass.
"It's not William." she declared before she approached the body.
"How can you know from so far away?" the detecting replacing William asked.
"I know my husband Sir, and I'm telling you, this man over there is not my husband!" she almost yelled at him, marching to the body to examine it.
When she had finished everything she had to do, she walked away and fainted. The Inspector caught her just before she hit the ground and sat her in the grass, trying to bring her back. After a few seconds, her eyes opened, she seemed completely lost.
"What happened?" she asked, trying to get up.
"You fainted. When was the last time you ate Doctor?" the inspector asked.
"I don't know. This morning?"
"You don't seem sure." the inspector smiled. "Come on, I'll bring you home."
"No, not home, please." Julia pleaded, tears gathering in her eyes. "I can't go back there, not without him. I … I can't."
"Alright then, you'll come back the the station." the inspector said, helping her on her feet and never letting go of her arm until they reached the carriage.
Once they arrived at the station house, Julia walked into William's office and sat at his desk. She opened his drawer and searched for his picture frame. She smiled when she found it. It was a picture of the two of them that someone at the station had taken one time when they were working in William's office. They were looking at each other, smiling. Love was clear in this photograph. When she saw it Julia wondered if they ever fooled anyone during the five years they had to pretend not to be married and even not to be in love with each other. She put the frame back in the drawer, she knew he didn't want to put in on the desk so that any suspects who came in here could not use it against him in any way.
She was brought out her thoughts when she heard Constable Higgins yell in the station.
"Inspector! Detective Murdoch is alive!"
She ran out of the office to meet him.
"Where is he?" she asked.
"I don't know Doctor." Higgins said. "All I know is that a man matching his description boarded a steamship last week. And it's certain it's him, we showed photographs of the detective and the workers are certain it was him."
"Oh thank God!" Julia exclaimed, sitting on George's desk.
"Where was the steamer headed?" the Inspector asked.
"The man in charge said he had to look in the register of the departures. George is still there, waiting for the answer. I came here as soon as I knew he was alright."
"Good work Higgins." The inspector said, looking at Julia who had a huge smile on her face. "We're going to bring him back." he told her.
Later that day Julia heard that her husband was in Bristol, England. She felt so relieved that she kissed George on the cheek when he told her the good news. She learned by the Bristol police that he had been chased by murderers, lost his memory and saved the queen and one of her men from a certain death. It seemed that even when he didn't know who he was, William Murduch could not help but save people. He would be home in a few days and that was all that mattered.
The Inspector had refused to let her go to meet the steam ship. He had insisted that she wait for her husband at tha station house. She had been waiting for a couple of hours and she fell asleep on his desk. Since she had learned William was alive and well, she had felt all the sleepless nights crash on her and she spent most of her time sleeping. She was awaken by applause and cheers. She stood up and walked to the door of the office, almost afraid of what she would see. What if it was not him? What if this was just a dream? What if he his memory hadn't come back and he didn't remember her? Them?
When she saw him and looked into his eyes, everything else was forgotten.
"Oh William." she whispered before running to him and throwing her arms around him.
For a few seconds, nothing but her husband existed. She hugged him, kissed him passionately, vaguely hearing the cheers from the constables around them. When Julia let go of his lips, she saw the station house blur and everything went black.
When she opened her eyes, she was lying in the Inspector's office, on the couch. The first thing she saw was her husband's eyes.
"You're really here." she said, tears gathering in her eyes.
"I'm really here." William said, smiling at her.
They stayed there, looking at each other in silence for a few minutes.
"You should take your wife home Murdoch." The Inspector said.
He did not need to be told twice. On their way back home, in the carriage, Julia never let go of his hand, her lips rarely leaving his. When they entered their house, for the first time in almost two weeks, Julia was not assaulted by memories of her missing husband. Instead, she was assaulted by her returned husband. Assaulted with kisses and caresses. She let herself go in his arms, enjoying a feeling of love she thought she had lost forever. He took her in his arms and carried her up the stairs to their bedroom. Slowly, he undressed her.
"You were my first memory, Julia. The very first thing I remembered was you face." William said, covering her face with kisses as he pushed her slowly towards their bed. "From that moment on, I only wanted one thing. Come back to you." he continued, lying her down gently. "Before I even knew who I was, I knew I loved you. And I knew that I had to come back to you."
"You came back to me William." Julia said, pulling him on top of her. "Now show me that you are really here with me, that it's not all a dream."