Considering the inner turmoil he had been in before laying down, he got to sleep surprisingly easily. Murdoch attributed this mostly to the extreme comfort of the bed. He had never slept on anything like it in his life. It did not creak every time he moved, nor was it lumpy in places. Every muscle in his body was able to relax with no strain whatsoever. To him it was akin to being back in the womb or sleeping in a zero gravity environment, as if he were in space. In short, it was wonderful!

In the morning he investigated under the sheets to find it was made of some sort of absorbent material that molded into the shape of his hand while pressure was applied but sprung back into apparent solidity when it wasn't.

Miraculous!

Mind you, this investigation did not happen immediately upon awakening. For you see, when he first opened his eyes, it was to find a bare arm across his chest. Cocking his head to the side, he found Julia in a rather skimpy negligee, sleeping soundly. The rise and fall of her half exposed bosom distracted him for several minutes until he felt familiar stirrings down below and finally snapped out of this pleasant hypnosis. Then he spent another few minutes just concentrating on her face, thinking back to a vivid fever dream he had underwent two years ago.

The Julia of his dream or more precisely his own subconscious, told him that they could not be together because they wanted different things out of life. Well, now he was in a whole new world and things were very different and yet they were clearly together. If it were possible here in this time and place, why not back in the Toronto of 1898? What was really preventing them from starting over there? The engagement?

Though he considered himself to be a gentleman in most respects and would honour whatever decision she had made, the truth of the matter was that the engagement was hardly an insurmountable obstacle to climb. No, what had been much harder to get past was his damnable pride. She had left him hurting for a long time after leaving for Buffalo. The only thing that got him through such tough times was the knowledge that it hadn't been easy for her either. But when they next met, she had clearly moved on, as if what they had had together had been nothing special, and this revelation more than anything else had ripped his heart to shreds all over again. The wounds still hadn't healed fully, but they were finally on the mend.

Being in this serene moment with her by his side put things into perspective for him and he felt like he could finally forgive her and prevent her from making a terrible mistake, effectively ruining both of their lives forevermore.

Unfortunately he was in no position to stop his Julia from being wed! Dismally he wondered if it were even possible to get back to his time. Then his bladder roused him back to the present and he gingerly removed her arm, afraid to awake her, lest she decided to pounce on him again, and then shuffled into the water closet to relieve himself.

It took a few moments to figure things out in there but his mission was almost silently accomplished regardless. Beside the sink was some sort of clear vertical tube and he supposed it must be the source of the falling rain. Murdoch stuck his head in and warm water immediately splashed him in the face! He sputtered for a moment and then collected himself. Nervously he glanced back into the bedroom. Julia had not been disturbed.

Phew!

Murdoch dried his head and upper torso with a very fluffy towel for longer than he needed to.

Cautiously he investigated the mattress and then went exploring the massive complex, shoeless. The room directly across from this one contained men's hats. That was it, just rows and rows of hats! Walking along them, he occasionally picked one up and put it on, observing himself in the central mirror each time. Most looked absurd on him he thought, particularly the large cowboy hat, but there were a few that suited his fancy and it was no surprise to him that they were the only homburg hats of the bunch. Since it made him feel more at home and at peace with himself, he left one of those on.

The room beside this one was similar to the one before, in that it only contained one item of clothing. This time it was shoes. About three quarters of them were of the type he had been wearing last night, that is to say, fine Italian loafers. However, the rest of them were much more incomprehensible to him. Not only did they have brightly coloured, garish designs, but their top portions seemed to be made out of nothing more than a flimsy piece of cloth! If they hadn't been more flexible than the shoes he normally wore, there would have been no merit to them whatsoever.

There was nothing much of interest to him in the next few rooms, just more bedrooms larger than his entire loft had been. Further down the hall, closer to the elevator, he came across a wondrous sight. A massive room full of bicycles! At least, he thought they were all bicycles. Some of them had more than two wheels and others had their seats very low to the ground. He lifted a regular looking bicycle off of its hook and was astounded at the lightness of the materials. All told it couldn't have weighed more than a few pounds!

Across from this room was a gymnasium. The only things he recognized were the hanging black punching bag, the dumbbells and a stationary bicycle. Everything else in this room was a mystery to him. So in typical Murdoch fashion he felt compelled to investigate. The first thing he approached was a contraption with a horizontal and vertical component. He pressed some inlaid buttons on the console until one of them responded and the device hummed into existence. Suddenly he started to move backwards! Alarmed, he grabbed hold of one of the protrusions and jabbed at more buttons hoping to make it turn off. Instead he only succeeded in making it go faster! Before long he was jogging on the spot. After his initial bewilderment passed, he found it to be most pleasing. But then it just seemed to pick up more and more speed and with only a pair of socks on, he slipped and just about smashed his face into the console! Finally his senses returned to him and he jumped off to the side and pulled the plug manually.

Devil machine! he thought, glaring at it with contempt.

The impulse to try out the other machines in this room vanished in a flash.

With that examination at an end, he headed over to the main space that he had originally entered and took another view out of the grand windows. The scene before him wasn't nearly as beautiful in the daytime but it was still quite the sight to behold. Now it seemed as though he could see for miles, as if the whole city was his kingdom. The feeling it inspired was identical to that which he experienced with Julia in the hot air balloon.

Working up his courage, he peeked downwards and felt his stomach drop unpleasantly. He closed his eyes and tried again after a few moments. This time the vertigo was less and he was able to focus on the sights. Miniscule figures scurried this way and that. Horseless carriages covered the streets in close proximity. Electric trams moved along either side. Poles with lights on the tops changed colours periodically. Everyone and everything seemed to be slave to them. It was bizarrely fascinating to him and he stood there mesmerized by the erratic dance for some time.

Then he wandered around the immense open space, eyes trailing along the never ending bookshelves, confused by most of the titles and subject matter. Off to the side was a large glass tank full of water and a variety of colourful fish swimming around in it. Despite his vast lexicon, he didn't know what any of them were called and the sheer immensity of it made him long for simpler things, like Julia's goldfish in an Erlenmeyer flask.

When he glanced up at the painting beyond this tank, he did a double take. It was identical to the one Sally Pendrick had given him last year! The same colours, same shapes, same...landscape.

Curious, most curious!

In the centre of this space there was a small rectangular device sitting on a glass table. There were a host of buttons littering its front. Considering how things went with the device in the gymnasium, he shouldn't have fiddled with it but he found he couldn't help himself.

Pressing the button labelled power, he jumped in surprise, dropping the controller, as the entire wall before him burst into life! After a few more seconds he understood that the larger than life people weren't actually there but were instead being projected from somewhere else, somewhere unseen. A moment later he recalled a conversation he had had with Tesla...about modulating electrical waves so that sound and images could be broadcast wirelessly.

What had Tesla called it? Television?

Vastly impressed, he picked up the controller and hit the channel buttons. The scene on the wall changed and was now a flowing river. Each time he pressed the channel button, the scene changed without any effort on his part, no reel to change, no crank to turn, no nothing. Most of the time it was just more inappropriately dressed people talking, kissing...or worse. Once in awhile they were shooting at each other, and Murdoch was annoyed at how inaccurate the report of their weapons was. On a few channels some really scantily clad women were gyrating oddly and...singing. At least, that is what he thought they were doing. He didn't much care for the 'music' or their movements and quickly changed the channels whenever they appeared.

Then he came across a scene that seemed to be straight out of his own life and he stood gaping.

What on earth? he thought, as he watched a properly attired man writing on a chalkboard, creating a suspect elimination list just like he would do. Two men stood nearby looking puzzled as the first man explained his reasoning. A female who looked a bit similar to Julia entered the office and enquired how the gentlemen were getting along and then informed them that she had a new clue for them to ponder. The two men left, leaving the woman and man alone. Without any explanation or apparent reason, they were now in each others arms, madly kissing, apparently intent on eating each others face!

Understandably, Murdoch's head began to hurt and he turned the television, or whatever it was called, off. Somehow he doubted this is what Tesla had had in mind when he first postulated the idea.

Rubbing his temples, he plopped down on one of the black leather sofas and instantly regretted this decision. A horrible racket rocked through his frame, throughout the entire complex and he jumped back to his feet, hands covering ears, heart hammering wildly.

Where was it coming from?

A few moments later Julia stormed into the room. Her mouth moved but he couldn't hear what she was saying. She marched past him, pulled a cushion away to reveal yet another rectangular device and pressed a button. The thumping noise ceased.

"What the hell, Will?" she barked at him, gesturing angrily. "It's not even seven!"

"Sorry," he muttered, looking mortified.

Julia rolled her eyes. "I swear, sometimes you are the dumbest genius I have ever met!"

He supposed now was not the time to ask her what that noise had been all about.

"God, I need some coffee!" she exclaimed and headed to the other side of the open space, an area he hadn't explored yet.

With trepidation he followed her lead and found himself in a large kitchen. As usual, there were many things he had never seen before and consequently didn't know the names of. Everything gleamed though and looked to be very expensive.

Julia took some sort of packet and stuck it into the coffee brewing machine and a little while later her mug was full of the steaming stuff. Hungrily she breathed in its aroma and then looked up to see him staring at her.

"If you want some," she grumbled, "you better make it yourself. I'm sure as hell not going to do it."

"I do not like coffee," he said without thinking.

Julia made a face at that. "Since when?"

"I just meant...," he gestured vaguely, "I did not want any right now."

"Whatever."

She sat down at the table and picked up a newspaper. Murdoch was pleased to know that those at least still existed, and in much the same format he was accustomed to. Almost immediately she scowled and tossed it aside.

"Is something the matter?" he asked, cautiously.

"It's just this damn case!" she lamented, head in hands. "It's driving me up the walls!"

Murdoch picked up the paper and goggled at it for two reasons. Firstly the date said it was September 18th, 2013! He hadn't expected it to be a new millennium! This revelation was almost more staggering than anything else so far. And the other reason he goggled was due to a rather curious headline:

The Kissing Bandit Strikes Again!

It was no surprise to him that the reporter listed was none other than Paddy Glynn! This was the exact case he had just finished up with before coming here.

He smiled. "I believe I can be of assistance in this matter."

Her head whipped up and she gazed at his sincere expression. Then she burst into snorting laughter. Murdoch was taken aback and frowned at this unexpected reaction.

"Thanks for the laugh, Will!" she gasped out, punching him in the arm. "I really needed it! Almost makes up for your rather unwelcome rousing strategy!" She glanced at him coyly and stroked his hand. "You know, there are far more agreeable ways to get me up."

Murdoch didn't like the look in her eyes so he cleared his throat and changed the topic back to the case. "I assure you, Julia, I can help you locate this kissing bandit." Smugly, "In fact, I already know who he is."

Julia made another face. "How? You haven't even been in the country for the past two weeks!" She looked at him suspiciously. "You got some illegal big brother network I don't know about?"

Bewildered he nevertheless replied, "No, nothing like that."

"Then what?"

"I cannot tell you," he mumbled, wincing peremptorily.

"Like hell you can't!" she yelled, jumping up. She poked him in the chest. "I thought we promised not to keep secrets from one another?"

Murdoch gulped under her furious gaze. The last time he attempted to tell her the truth, she was all over him. This time she would likely become even angrier with him. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

Out of ideas he blurted, "Please excuse me, Julia, but I must go relieve myself now!"