What if's and might have beens

by NancyMay

I am not the biggest fan of Rose, and (spoiler alert) having thought she was pregnant, I got to thinking what she would have done, and really, would Charlie have been so remiss as to not use some protection against getting his girlfriend in the family. Warning, this is a very dark story.

2. Chapter 2

Breakfast was a quiet affair, there was a dark cloud still hanging over the house after the previous day's happenings.

Charlie had decided, overnight, that he could bury himself in his work, prove to the boss he was a good man and worthy of his belief that he could rise through the ranks. He had no plans to see Rose, he wasn't sure he would be able to contain his anger at what she had done.

Matthew said that as soon as Blake could rouse Rose he wanted to know who her contact was, they were going to investigate this, even if it wasn't his patch, but he still had some friends in Melbourne on the force, perhaps they could pool resources.

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Lucien read through the notes from the night staff. Rose had been given her medication, her vital signs were steady so he felt he should try to bring her round. The last dose of sedation would be beginning to wear off, he called in a couple of nurses to be on hand as she rejected the breathing tube, and to help him keep her calm and administer some pain relief.

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She felt as if she was in a dark tunnel, muffled sounds were around her and there was something choking her. She tried to cough, to clear her throat. She gagged on the tube and pushed with her tongue until it slid out and she took an enormous breath. She opened her eyes and looked straight into Lucien Blake's. His eyes were always so kind, they always twinkled when he talked to her, but now, they were just blue and sad.

'Hello, Rose.' He said quietly, shining a light into her eyes, which hurt. 'How are you feeling?'

'Bloody awful,' she managed to croak.

'Pain?'

'Uh huh.' She sucked in a breath. She supposed she deserved all the pain her body was experiencing.

He sent the nurses out, what he had to discuss with Rose was not for their ears.

'I'll give you something for that, but I need to know who did it.' Lucien kept his voice even and soft.

'I can't.' A single tear rolled out of her left eye towards her ear. He didn't wipe it away, usually he would.

'Rose,' He held the syringe with her pain relief, 'other girls could go through what you have gone through. I am well aware of the various methods to deal with these 'little problems', too many are fatal. I nearly lost you on the table, twice, you will never be able to have children, ever. Tell me your contact.'

He knew he was being hard, but Rose could be so bloody stubborn and he wasn't going to let her hide behind loyalty to a so-called friend.

'Elizabeth Morton.' She looked at him, waiting for more, 'her husband is Alexander Morton, he works at the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne.'

Lucien nodded and gave her the pain relief which he realised he had been holding back, not something he wanted or planned to do.

He wrote out his fresh instructions, some pain relief could be administered in another six hours.

'I'll call in later.' He handed the notes to the nurses waiting outside and gave instructions that if she woke she could try some water, that she was to be made comfortable but left to sleep. 'Usual checks, four hourly, now.'

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The investigation into Elizabeth and Alexander Morton would have to be kept between Blake, Lawson and Davies. Everybody else, apart from Jean, was told that Rose had been attacked when she was in Melbourne at the weekend and was being treated for her injuries by Dr Blake. The investigation of the attack would be taken up by Superintendant Lawson with the Melbourne force.

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Matthew visited his niece at official visiting times. He tried not to be judgemental, he didn't have to, Rose was judging herself. She spent a lot of time tearfully apologising to him, for being so stupid, for not confiding in him. He could only hold her hand and explain what Lucien had done for her, to save her life. He also told her that the Morton's would be investigated, so would the hospital. Any women that had been through their hands would be found, interviewed, not stone would be left unturned.

She could see from his face how hurt he was, she didn't dare ask about Charlie and as the week wore on and he didn't visit knew she had damaged their relationship completely, totally, irrevocably. She had to understand she would, in all likelihood, never see him again, not even in passing.

It took Jean every bit of strength she had to go and see her. She had collected her night clothes and toiletries and taken them to the hospital out of visiting times. She chose to do this knowing she wouldn't be allowed to stay, she could just pass over the clothes, toiletries and a bottle of cordial to flavour the water, and maybe not even see the girl she had almost begun to think of as a surrogate daughter.

As she put the clothes in the locker, Rose spoke.

'I'm so sorry, Jean,' she whispered to the top of her head, 'I have disappointed you in ways I can never hope to understand.'

Jean stopped what she was doing but didn't look up, Mattie had said a similar thing to her, once, but Mattie had not disappointed her, Rose had.

'I think you do understand, Rose.' She stood up and looked down, 'you know how I still grieve for my lost daughter, and you did it deliberately. I'm sorry for you, for your decision, for the fact you didn't think I would listen. If you need anything let the nursing staff know.'

She inhaled and left the room, knowing she had probably surprised Rose with her coldness, but her warmth was for Charlie and the lost child.

Outside she leant against the wall and allowed herself to cry, in public.

'Mrs Beazley?' A nurse stopped, 'are you alright?'

'What? Sorry,' Jean took out a handkerchief, 'I was just...' she turned towards Rose's room.

'Care for a cuppa?' The nurse knew Jean was engaged to Dr Blake and probably knew Miss Anderson well.

'Thank you,' Jean sighed, 'I would.'

They drank their tea in silence in an empty office. Jean was grateful the nurse didn't ask questions, questions she couldn't answer.

'That was very kind of you,' Jean finally put her cup down.

'Well, she has been through a lot.' The nurse stood up, 'it must have been a bad fall to do that much damage.'

'Yes, Dr Blake said as much.' Jean would not be drawn. 'Thank you again, for the tea. I better be going, lots to do.'

Jean thought about the nurse's comment and thought she'd head to the station to speak to either Lucien or Matthew. They needed to know that somebody was suspicious.

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'Thank you, Jean,' Lucien smiled, 'I'll go and see her. May have to keep her dozy for a while, for everybody's sake.'

Matthew grunted, 'Until we find out what is going on. Rose has got to keep quiet about what she did, for now.'

'She's unlikely to tell exactly.' Lucien perched on the edge of the desk, 'she would be in even bigger trouble, seeking out an abortion is illegal to start with.'

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Matthew put in a call to Melbourne, just to say he had suspicions that there was an illegal abortion ring operating in the city. He said he had information about a certain doctor in a particular hospital who was facilitating the procedure for young women who asked for it, and probably those who did not want another child or who had been assaulted and become pregnant. He knew he would have to give more detail, but for now they would have to make do with that. He suggested he and his police surgeon, who was involved in damage limitation for one of these girls, meet and discuss the situation.

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Lucien went back to see Rose. He had to make sure she understood what would happen if she told any of the nurses why she was really there. She would be in trouble for obtaining an abortion, he could lose his licence to practice for not reporting what he knew.

She was propped up against the pillows, wearing her own pyjamas and staring into space.

'Rose,' he picked up her charts from the bottom of the bed. 'How are you feeling?'

'Sore,' she admitted, 'tired, stupid.'

At the last he raised an eyebrow. 'Hmm.'

'What happens now, doctor?' She didn't think she could use his first name, not now, she'd broken that too.

'Now, you get well.' He looked at her, 'After that it's up to you. But one thing you can't reveal, at least not yet, is what you did or that I tidied you up.'

'Why?'

'Because I have not reported it.' Lucien looked at her, normally so bright, 'I am legally bound to report an abortion, or if I know of someone carrying them out. At the moment it states on your notes that you had a fall that brought on a miscarriage, resulting in such damage that I had to remove your uterus in order to save your life.'

'I see.' She murmured. 'you said, 'not yet'. What do you mean by that?'

'Matthew and I are going to Melbourne to talk to Senior Police Officers about this. You won't have been the only one, nor the only one who has been damaged, but you will be one of the few who has survived. Your procedure was clumsy, probably less than sterile.' He leant on the end of the bed, 'You have been reckless, thoughtless. You should have come to me, talked through your options. You certainly didn't have to be alone in this.'

'I couldn't have a child.' She sniffed, 'what would I do with it? I didn't want it, I didn't want to be pregnant.'

'Then you should have used something.' Lucien grunted, 'whoever was the father, who also should have been told, should have shown some common sense. Then you wouldn't have been in this situation. I could have fitted you with a diaphragm, there are condoms, Charlie admitted he uses them, I thought you were an intelligent girl, perhaps I was wrong.'

He didn't like saying what he said, but it had to be, he had spent too many times sparing with her in the kitchen, at a crime scene or over dinner. How little he knew her, and how much she had hurt those around her, Matthew, Charlie, Jean.

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Lucien decided to do a little bit of digging before he and Matthew headed to Melbourne. He wanted to know a little bit about this Morton chap, where did he study, how long had he been at the Royal Women's? He thought, perhaps he would call him, say he had a patient who might benefit from his expertise. But not state the problems the imaginary patient had, see what assumptions he would make. His story, if he asked, would be that she had trouble falling pregnant, and when she did was unable to carry to term. That should pique his interest.

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Mr Alexander Morton, consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician and the Royal Women's Hospital was more than happy to talk to Dr Lucien Blake of Ballarat. He was sorry to hear about the patient, it could be any number of things he suggested and there was also the chance that she didn't want to be pregnant and was doing something to cause the losses.

'You could have something,' Lucien mused, thinking fast, 'it always seems to happen after a visit to Melbourne. She says she has a sister there. You don't suppose... no, you wouldn't know of such practices.'

'I do know of them, sadly,' Mr Morton sighed, 'but it is a dangerous practice. Prevention is best, don't you think?'

'Indeed. I lost a patient recently, through such a procedure. Tragic really, a young girl, bled to death.' He sighed, 'We had a saying when I was training in Edinburgh that it was best to keep it covered.' He gave a, hopefully, wry sounding laugh.

'Similar here in Melbourne.' Morton guffawed. 'Sorry to hear about your patient.'

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Lucien wasn't sure what to make of Morton over the phone, but he could now check with the Medical School as to whether they had a record of a past student by the name of Alexander Morton.

It didn't take long for the university to find and confirm that he had indeed studied there, and was an excellent student. A flair for obstetrics, he lectured, occasionally, had an interesting collection of preserved foetuses he used. Lucien shuddered at this, wondering how he had managed to collect them. True miscarriages he hoped, but maybe illegally, too, though that would mean keeping the girls in the hospital until everything had left them. Still, he may pay them, or do it for free, just to get the foetus.

'When is his next lecture?' Lucien had an idea. 'I'd like to sit in, if that would be alright.'

Of course the university would be happy to have the doctor listen to Mr Morton and furnished him with the next two dates.

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'I think Alice should join us,' he told Matthew, 'a pathologist's eye.'

'Doesn't that mean telling her why?' Matthew worried.

'In part, yes.' Lucien agreed, 'but she only needs to know we have heard of illegal abortions being carried out on a couple of my patients. She doesn't need to know who, though knowing Alice, she'll guess.'

Matthew hummed and frowned.

'Matthew, we need as much evidence as we can get,' Blake urged, 'to pin this on him. After the lecture I'll try and get a tour of the hospital, say I would like to improve our maternity services. Perhaps meet some of his team.'

'Where will that get us?' Matthew couldn't see what he was getting at.

'A feel,' Lucien looked at him, 'Alice and I will be able to tell if any of his 'exhibits' were natural losses, just by looking for any injuries, cuts, bruises, distortions.'

'I suppose so, but the hospital tour?'

'I can tell if there are any strange looks, worried patients or staff.' Lucien may not always appear to read people correctly, but actually he was choosing not to, he read people rather too well. 'I'll get a feeling.'

Matthew harrumphed, but he had been doing some digging of his own. He had a friend in Melbourne, who had been sacked after making some wild accusations about some high level officers in the force and even a couple of ministers. He'd been lucky to keep his pension and now made a living, quite a good one, as a private detective.

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Physically Rose made good progress, psychologically Lucien wasn't sure. She was certainly much, much quieter than she ever had been, which was understandable. After two weeks in hospital Lucien looked for somewhere for her to convalesce. Any other illness she would have been invited to stay with them, but Lucien didn't want to put Jean through that. She still saw to the girl's laundry, arranged for her to have some fresh fruit by her bed and kept the cordial topped up, but she didn't visit for a chat or to cheer her up. She'd tried, but Rose closed off from her, and she really had little to say to her. So she would pass the time of day when she delivered clean nightwear, answered any questions she had about what was going on town and left it at that.

'Do you think she could stand the journey home, to her mother?' Matthew asked one evening. 'Only Vera said she would let her stay, until she knew what she wanted to do.'

'Well, getting out of Ballarat is a good idea.' Lucien agreed, looking at Jean to see what she thought. She nodded.

'I think,' she sighed, 'that if her mother will have her then let her go there. Being here, in Ballarat, is not going to help her. The only people she sees are those that know what she did.' She looked at Matthew, 'I'm sorry, Matthew, I'm finding it difficult to come to terms with what she did. When she told me she thought she was pregnant I told her about the baby I lost. She knew it hurt, so when she said it was a false alarm... Then to find out it wasn't and she didn't confide in any of us...'

'I understand Jean, really,' Matthew half smiled at her, 'but she didn't, she just thought she could sort it out herself. I suppose if it had been done better, then none of us would have known and life would have carried on as usual.'

'But it was a botched job,' Lucien sighed and refilled their glasses, 'she is the one who is paying for it, and will do for the rest of her life. You're right, Jean, she needs to get out of Ballarat. I hope she can find peace, and learn to live a life again.'

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Rose looked at her uncle and the people she had once called family one last time before she boarded the train away from Ballarat.

'Your mother will meet you at the station, Rose,' Matthew held her hand, 'what you decide to do, when you are fully recovered is up to you. There are a couple of things I would ask you to do; don't look back on your life here, find something you want to do and do it well. Try to like yourself, because I know at the moment you don't much. Talk to people, listen and learn. Keep in touch with me, please, I will miss you.'

'Thank you,' she whispered, letting tears run down her cheeks. 'I'm sorry for hurting you,' she looked up, 'all of you. You were such good friends and I let you down. I won't forget you, any of you.'

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Lucien, Alice and Matthew alighted from the train in Melbourne.

Rose had been gone a week from their lives but Matthew had heard from his sister that she was settling in and because nobody knew why she had gone home she could walk in the town without getting nasty looks. Vera had just said she had been badly hurt, attacked, and was recuperating.

Charlie had thrown himself into refereeing the football at the youth club and was working hard at proving himself to be the officer Matthew knew was inside him.

Jean had been told by Lucien she was not to blame for her feelings and banned her from going to confess she had been uncharitable.

'No you haven't, Jean.' Lucien held her one evening, 'you are you and I doubt Rose would want you to change for her. I don't think she realises how much you would have supported her if she had gone through with the pregnancy. If you want to write to her, Matthew will give you her address, but don't feel you have to.'

So now they could get to the bottom of things.

Drs Blake and Harvey were due at the university to listen to Morton lecture on obstetrics, while Matthew was going to see his contact, who had called to say he had rather a lot of interesting facts to pass on.

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The lecture was well attended. Morton spoke intelligently about the causes of miscarriage, today's topic.

He showed slides of foetuses with abnormalities, babies that were nearly at term but died in the womb. The hall was quiet as he continued on about problems with the mother that meant they could not carry. He finished his lecture with an invitation to look at the rejected babies he had in the preserving jars.

Alice was most interested in this part of the lecture, though Lucien had remarked some might find it rather gruesome.

'Oh it is,' Alice had admitted, 'but how are we to learn. Besides, Lucien, we cut up dead bodies for a living.' She'd raised an eyebrow at her last remark which made him smile.

She picked up the jars in turn. Examining the contents with her analytical eye, musing and pursing her lips, at particular things she noticed. Developmental anomalies which were obviously the cause of the miss. But there were two or three she looked more closely at and drew Lucien's attention to.

'Here,' she pointed with her little finger, 'look, this one is twenty weeks.'

'Looks perfect to me,' Lucien whispered. 'what is it that you see?'

'This,' she adjusted her hold on the jar, 'now, I don't know about you but...'

Lucien wiped his finger down the glass as if clearing away a speck of dirt, but it didn't go away. He peered closer, the distinct mark over the chest like a cut. He hummed, looking out of the corner of his eye at Morton, discussing something with a student. He picked up another that had caught Alice's attention, the foetus also had damage from a scalpel or something sharp. Only something that an experienced pathologist would see.

He hummed and put the jars down.

'He's looking at us,' Alice murmured, looking over his shoulder.

'Let's go and get acquainted,' Lucien smiled, as if she had said something romantic, 'and no mention of why we are here.'

'I thought we were here to listen to a lecture and see if we can get a tour of the Royal Women's,' she smiled, innocently.

'Mr Morton,' Lucien held his hand out, 'Dr Lucien Blake, my colleague, Dr Harvey.' He indicated Alice at his side.

'Dr Blake, I had no idea you were here,' Morton shook their hands, 'a pleasure, Dr Harvey.'

'I asked the university if I could sit in on any lectures on obstetrics, after our conversation.' Lucien smiled, 'hope you don't mind. Dr Harvey is just as interested.' No need to say she was a pathologist, just in case he went on the alert.

'Well, I'm flattered.' Morton smiled, 'and how did I do?'

'Very interesting,' Alice nodded, 'especially the evidence. I suppose you have to get permission from the mothers to keep their...'

'Children, we refer to them as children,' he replied, 'and yes, we do. They don't always agree, but for the most part, because they don't want to see them, it is easier.'

'I don't suppose we could have a look at your hospital,' Lucien asked, before Alice got too enthusiastic about the pathology, 'I want to make some recommendations to our hospital, if we ever get the funds.' He gave a hollow laugh, the board were unlikely to listen to him.

'I'd be delighted to show you round.' Morton walked out with them, 'I am doing my rounds this afternoon, you are welcome to join me.'

Lucien looked at Alice, who nodded, and they accepted, arranging to meet at one thirty.

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Matthew in his turn, had had an interesting morning with his old friend. Sitting in a smart office, he really was doing well, they went through case files brought along by a trusted serving officer. Many open cases of unexplained deaths, all signed off by the pathologist as straightforward, but when George had questioned a retired doctor she had expressed dissatisfaction with the autopsies and had re done some of them.

'These ones are the most likely connected to your investigation,' George pushed six or seven files towards him, 'all young females, all with severe blood loss, all with damage to their reproductive organs.'

'What did your doctor say?' Matthew started to read the top file.

'Botched abortion.' George stated flatly, 'Mac was horrified at the butchery in some and disappointed in the careless nature of the procedure.'

'Where were the bodies found?' Matthew turned his attention to the next file.

'In the docks, floating in the river, places like that.'

Matthew shuddered, that could have been Rose. 'Would Mac? be prepared to talk to us?' Matthew asked, 'I don't mean testify, just talk to Dr Blake.'

'I expect so.' George mused, 'I'll ring her.'

George left Matthew to read the files while he tried to contact the retired doctor. There was more than autopsy reports in them, details of the girls life styles, families, known associates, which he found very interesting. A lot of the information had been denied, usually by the associates.

George returned with a smile on his face, 'She says she'll see you tomorrow, her flat. I'll take you round.'

'Thanks George,' Matthew nodded, 'now these names...' They went over the great men of Melbourne, who appeared rather often in the notes. Families, parents, had said that their daughter had been rubbing shoulders with commissioners, politicians and the like. Those named professed to be happily married and had no knowledge of the girls, finding ways to say they were elsewhere.

George reached down to a box file under his desk, 'Thought you might find this interesting...' He passed it over. In it Matthew found photographs of these men with the girls, George had labelled each and every one.

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Alice and Lucien found a small cafe to have a bite to eat before meeting Alex Morton at the hospital.

'So, what do you think?' Lucien asked while they waited for their order.

'I think he knows his subject,' Alice folded her arms, 'he does not strike me as a man who would do the procedures. I really don't think he was personally responsible for the damage done to Rose.'

He gasped.

'I know who you are doing this for, I know why you and Matthew are so hell bent on pursuing it.' She reached over, 'Rose has been ill, as a pathologist I get the organs, don't I? I'm the one that examines and dissects. I saw the damage, after you had removed the uterus.'

'I thought you might work it out, but...' Lucien leant forward, 'we couldn't say anything.'

'I know,' She smiled sympathetically. 'And I shan't, either.'

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Neither Alice nor Lucien could find anything to worry them at the hospital. Alexander was interesting to watch. He spoke gently to the patients, his explanations of their care was clear and easy for them to understand. He showed them the operating suite, the wards, how they were careful to keep any women who had lost a child away from those who had successfully given birth. So, if Morton was arranging the abortions he certainly wasn't doing them at the hospital. There was a large staff of consultants, junior doctors and nurses all of whom were apparently as enthusiastic as Morton.

They met some of the more senior doctors, who were obviously highly trained, spoke with the nursing staff and were even invited to watch a caesarean through the window of the theatre door.

'Twins,' Morton told them, 'we thought a caesar would be safer as she has a history of losing. She is thirty six weeks, but needs to deliver now, if the babies are to survive.'

Alice had never performed this particular procedure herself but Lucien had, so when he and Alexander turned away to discuss the merits of early intervention in such cases, she kept watching. The first child was lifted out and passed to a midwife who slapped it's backside and nodded when it cried. Though Alice thought she had been a bit heavy handed and she would have cried if she'd been slapped so firmly. Perhaps it was because the mother was under anaesthetic which would have transferred to the babies. She turned her attention to the second child and watched as it too was lifted out. The surgeon looked around, nobody was watching him, he didn't know Alice was, and what she saw made her gasp,

'No!'

'Alice...' Lucien turned to see his colleague opening the door and entering the theatre, grab a towel and take the infant. She held it as she had seen the midwife and slapped it, a little more gently, and was relieved to hear it cry.

'Alice, what are you doing?' Lucien stood between her and the surgeon, while the assisting doctor began to finish off the operation.

'Lucien,' she turned to him, handing the baby to the midwife, 'he covered it's face with his hand.'

'What?' He turned to the surgeon.

'Heinrich?' Morton looked shocked, 'did you?'

'I was clearing the airway,' the surgeon hissed, in a thick German accent, 'too much mucus.'

'That's not how you clear an airway,' Alice snapped, 'you deliberately held your hand over the face and pinched the nose.'

The midwife confirmed that both babies seemed fine, and were breathing well.

'My office, Heinrich.' Morton snapped, 'now!' He looked up at the other surgeon, 'you can finish off, can't you?'

'Yes, sir,' he nodded.

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Alice and Lucien waited outside the office but the voices were loud enough for them to get the gist of the conversation.

'What the hell were you thinking?' Morton was saying, 'not in the hospital, you know that. And she wanted those babies, desperately.'

'She said to me, before the procedure started, before the anaesthetic, she didn't know how she would cope.' Heinrich hissed, 'so I make it easier.'

'That's not what we do.' Morton grunted, 'only out of the hospital, we agreed.'

'Who are the people with you?'

'Drs Blake and Harvey, from Ballarat.' Morton told him how he had first spoken to Blake over the phone about abortions, via a conversation on how to prevent miscarriage. 'I have a feeling that's why he's here. The hospital has a reputation to keep up. The other work is request only.'

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'Wonder if Heinrich is the one doing the abortions, and Morton is the one sending the women to him.'

'That would make sense,' Alice nodded, 'he is very approachable, has a good bedside manner I could see him being very sympathetic to a tearful young girl who had got herself pregnant.'

'Or discreet to a high flier who was looking to hide his philanderings.' Lucien whispered. 'Perhaps I should ask Matthew to ring Rose. Maybe she can tell us if the doctor was German.'

'I think that's a good idea.' Alice agreed, 'she will be able to describe him too, given her writing experience.'

'I hope it doesn't upset her,' Lucien mused, 'but first we need to say goodbye to Morton, not give him reason to distrust us.'

They sat and waited until Heinrich finally came out of the office and glared at them. Morton stood in the doorway, looking worried.

'I'm sorry you witnessed that,' he looked at the two visitors, 'of course he will have to go, and I suppose I will have to report him for his other practices.'

'You will,' Lucien stood up, 'but for now we shall leave you to it. Thank you for the tour, it was most interesting.'

Morton shook their hands and watched them leave wondering if their visit was totally innocent. Sacking Heinrich would not take away the fact that he was the one sending women and girls to him, paid by ministers involved and high ranking police officers.

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They met up with Matthew and George and spent the evening discussing what they had seen and heard, and how Alice had prevented infanticide.

'But how?' Matthew gasped, 'if there were other medics in there.'

'The midwife was dealing with the first baby, the anaesthetist was checking the patient, nobody was watching the surgeon.' Alice detailed.

'Except you.' Matthew grinned.

She coloured, 'Well, it's not often I see a procedure on a live patient.' She sniffed.

'You know, this could make the case a lot easier,' he carried on, 'a witness, and an extremely credible one at that. Coupled with the files George has and Mac's statement...'

'Mac?' Lucien looked confused.

'Dr Macmillan, retired doctor.' George supplied, 'she used to do the autopsies and well as work at the Royal Women's, still does a bit now and again. Brilliant doctor, high up friends too.'

'Really?'

'Hm... Retired Commander of Police.' George smiled, 'incorruptible. Very highly thought of.'

'So do we go through him, then?' Lucien asked.

'Get me irrefutable evidence to go with what I've got and I'll give it all to him.' George said.

Matthew thought that now was the time to hand him something he had kept a closely guarded secret, not even Lucien knew.

'Shortly before my contact,' he meant Rose, but had promised to try to keep her name out of it, 'left for pastures new, she gave me this. It is an account of her dealings with Morton and his abortionist.'

Lucien gasped but with a look from Matthew closed his mouth without saying anything. Alice touched Matthew's arm and smiled, gently.

'George opened the envelope and read, in silence. 'Phew!' He whistled, 'she was lucky. She writes well, eloquently, and is not too emotional, which can't have been easy. This is damning evidence, and her description of the doctor that did this, phenomenal.' There was a smaller envelope addressed to whoever was in charge of the case. George opened it,'

'To whom it may concern,

I, Rose Anderson, am the person concerned in the attached document. I know if you reveal my name I will be charged with procuring an illegal abortion. What I did was a desperate and fundamentally stupid act, for which I will pay for the rest of my life.'

Matthew bit his lip, he had no idea she was prepared to be named in the case, in spite of the consequences.

'I won't use this, unless I have to.' George held her declaration up, 'I will pass it to the Commander just for his information, but I doubt he will use it either.'

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The only thing left to do was to see and speak to Mac the next morning.

She opened the door of her flat and grinned at George, holding an offering of her favourite single malt,

'A peace offering, Mac.' He grinned.

'A bit early, even for me.' She laughed, a small woman with fading red hair, dressed in trousers, shirt and waistcoat, Lucien took an instant like to her.

George introduced his friends and let them talk and show the new evidence. She was incredulous at Alice's statement about seeing Heinrich attempt to murder a new born, still attached to its mother by the cord.

'Jeez!' she whistled, 'how low could he go?'

'Precisely,' Alice nodded.

'Well, folks,' Mac breathed in, 'I'm going to show this to my old friend, and we'll take it from there. I'll suggest that Rose's name is kept out of it, as she says, it was fundamentally stupid, but desperate women will do stupid things.' She turned to George, 'this should help us end this. Power corrupts, they say, and in this case it certainly has. I'll see to Morton. He's a good doctor, but if he is any way involved in this then he will have to go. The trouble is, these doctors, who are struck off for unacceptable practices go underground and cause even more deaths. It's stopping this we will have to go on to do, but that will be a long job and I fear I shall be long gone before that happens.'

Lucien stood up, in his mind something was at last going to be done so he would no longer have 'Roses' on his operating table, 'Thank you doctor.' He held out his hand, 'I have no doubt that you and your friend will have quite an impact on this.'

Mac stood up and took his hand, 'We both know that this will not be the end of it, but it will go some way to bringing it out into the open and showing that nobody is above the law.'

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The journey home was quiet as all three thought about what they had seen. Alice in particular had, at first, dealt with seeing the surgeon try to smother the infant, but it did bother her that someone could be so callous. She voiced her concerns to her friends.

'We are the kind of people who spend our lives trying to fix things, but there are some that see other ways out of a situation not too their liking.' Lucien leant forward in his seat. 'A chance remark, not meant to mean anything other than she may need some help, lead to Heinrich thinking she didn't want both children. He didn't listen, he heard her words, but didn't understand what she was saying. I'm sure she will love her babies as best she can, after trying so hard to have them.'

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Over the following weeks George kept Matthew updated, things were progressing well, questions were eventually asked in the Victorian Parliament, and ministers were brought down with the evidence. Mac contacted Lucien to say the medical evidence had been overwhelming and there were many shocked people in the city. Women came forward to say what had happened to them and how it had been arranged. Morton, she said, was complicit, he had passed the girls on to Heinrich to be 'helped with their little problem' but was not aware how many women had been killed or rendered infertile through his careless procedure. They had also found out that Elizabeth, Rose's friend, was also using Heinrich to help her friends and had said nothing about those friends not appearing at various social gatherings ever again, or complaining that after marrying they couldn't conceive.

George also pointed out that there was corruption in the force and without the retired commander's tenacity, and that of his wife, they would be at a standstill. But they weren't, and four months after Rose had collapsed in Jean's arms, Heinrich and Morton were jailed for twenty years, Elizabeth for ten years and the corrupt police officers and ministers were stripped of their positions .

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Jean and Lucien sat together on the couch, the paper thrown on the coffee table.

'All over.' Jean sighed and sipped her sherry.

'For now,' Lucien sighed and pulled her close, 'I'm sure there will be more instances of corruption, but at least there is some justice for the Roses of this world.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxMatthew turned over the small parcel in his hand.

'Oh for heavens, sake,' Alice nagged, 'will you just open it.'

'I just wondered who, apart from Lucien and Jean know to send my post to your house.' He cut the paper and unwrapped a book.

'Notes from a Small Town, by Rose Anderson.' He raised his eyebrows. There was a note inside the cover.

'Well, Matthew, ' she had written, 'I decided that all I can do is write so I've gone into fiction which, as we know, should have some fact behind it. Rose.'

He read out the dedication,

'Dedicated to Matthew, Lucien, Jean, Alice and Charlie, without whom such things would not be possible.'

'Blimey.' He whistled.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxThere are no prizes for spotting the cross over characters. This was a difficult chapter to write and I'm not as happy as I could have been with it, but if I don't publish it now I'll forget the epilogue, which is going round in my head. Thoughts?