They walked into the station house that morning, planning on going to the morgue as soon as William had collected the finger marks kit.
"Oh Sir, there is someone waiting for you in your office. She said she knew you and she was rather distressed so I made her wait in your office." George said.
"You know women in distress, William?" Julia asked, a smile on her face.
"Apparently." William said, walking to his office, knowing that Julia would follow.
The woman was sitting in front of his desk, her back to him. He put his hat and jacket on the coat rack. The noise must have alerted the woman because she turned around right at that moment and he recognized her instantly.
"Anna Fulford!" William said, a smile growing on his face.
"Oh William!" Anna said, getting up and running to hug him.
"What are you doing here?" William asked, hugging her back.
"William, are you going to introduce your friend to me?" Julia asked.
"Oh sorry, Julia this is Anna Fulford, the woman who helped me and saved my life in Bristol. Anna, this is Julia, my wife."
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Julia. When I met William he didn't remember his own name but he knew yours. Now that I see you I understand that he couldn't forget you."
"Uh … thank you." Julia said, blushing.
"What brings you here Anna?" William asked.
"I have a problem and I didn't know where else to go. I don't know anyone here and ..."
"You did the right thing. Come and sit and tell me everything." William said, leading her back to the chair where she had sat before.
He pulled a stool from under the work table and made Julia sit in his chair.
"It's my fiancé. We've been here for a couple of days. We live in New York and he decided to surprise me with this trip."
"Well, congratulation on your engagement and your … new life I suppose." William said.
"Thank you. But the problem is that he didn't come back from his walk last night. He went out for tabacco after dinner and he didn't come back. When I woke up this morning he was still not here and I got worried so I came here."
"You did the right thing. What can you tell me about your fiancé, what does he look like? I will have one of the constables draw a protrait and show it around town."
As Anna was describing her fiancé, Julia and William kept throwing glances at each other. She was describing the man they had found dead in the train this morning.
"You should come with us Anna." William said. "We … we need your opinion on something."
"That's very nice of you Julia but really, it was not necessary." Anna said as the entered the Murdoch residence.
"Not necessary? William told me that someone tried to kill you this afternoon, we couldn't let you be at the hotel, even with a constable at your door. You will be much safer here." Julia said, taking her coat.
"But you will be in danger and ..."
"Don't worry about us, Anna. We all be much safer here anyway. William has invented what he calls a scrutiny camera that takes pictures without being seen. He said that he will put one on the front door and one at the back door. If someone tries to get in we will know who it is. And every night he installs some sort of ringing system on the doors and windows so that we know if someone is trying to get inside."
"Well, he seemed a resourceful man when I met him, now I can see I was right." Anna laughed.
"That he is." Julia said. "Now follow me, I'll show you your room. You can rest for a while, I will have to prepare dinner. William shouldn't be much longer."
Julia got Anna settled and went back down to the kitchen.
When William got home, he found the two women laughing in the kitchen, Julia at the stove, Anna sitting at the small table.
"Well, good evening ladies, what is so funny?" William asked, walking to kiss Julia.
"We were talking about you actually." Julia said. "I was listing all the inventions you made."
"Binoculars to spy on your wife when she is getting dressed, really William?" Anna laughed.
"Julia!" William exclaimed, blushing deeply.
"Oh don't be embarassed William." Anna said. "Put to better use, this invention could prove very useful."
"Thank you. Now, is dinner ready? I'm starving!"
The three of them ate in a joyful atmosphere, Anna telling them how she had met her fiancé, Julia sharing some funny facts about their cases, often related to George. After some tea, William went to set up his cameras and bells to secure the house. When he was finished, Anna had retreated to her room and Julia was sitting in the living room, reading a journal.
"How is she doing, really?" William asked, sitting down next to her.
"She is worried but she is strong. I know what she is going through and she is much stronger than I was." Julia said, putting the journal next to her and cuddling in his side.
"You're the strongest woman I know Julia."
"Well, you didn't see me when you were missing. I was a ghost. The Inspector had to bring me to his house before we knew you were alright because I couldn't sleep and I didn't eat and ..."
"Oh Julia. It's alright now, that was a long time ago." William calmed her, catching the tear that had rolled down her cheek.
"I'm really glad you found Anna when you were over there. She is a very good woman. I'm glad she was there to help."
"Me too. She made sure I was alright before sending me back to you." he said, kissing her deeply.
"Let's go to bed, tomorrow will be a busy day. You have to find what happened to her fiancé." Julia said, taking his hand and getting up, pulling him after her as she turned off the lights.
It was time to say good bye. Julia didn't accompany them to the train station, she had been called to the morgue. She had hugged Anna and thanked her for the millionth time in the three days she had known her for saving William in Bristol before she had kissed William and left for work.
William explained to Anna what was going to happen and that she could never come back to Toronto.
"In this envelop you have everything you need to start a new life." he said, giving it to her. "A new name, a new past … keep to it Anna and please, please be careful. Stay safe. I … I'm sorry I couldn't find your fiancé before it was too late, I would have loved to help you find him back like you helped me find Julia again."
"It's alright William. You found who killed him, I couldn't ask for more. And you are giving me a new life. It's not going to be simple but at least I won't be in danger so thank you. And thank Julia for me, she was a great hostess, you're very lucky to have her and I'm glad I helped you get back to her." she said, hugging him before turning and walking away.
William watched her leave. When she was out of sight, he realized how sad he was to see her go knowing that he would never see her again. She had saved him, she had given him his life back and he felt like he had failed her. He let out a sigh and walked away. He needed to go and see Julia. Right away.