Axiom Tilt Chapter 5
This chapter steps back in time to a little after Phryne dropped Jack off at City South at the end of Chapter 2. The next two chapters are his side of the story.
"Where have you been, Collins?" Jack looked up as his Senior Constable knocked on the door entering the office.
"I delivered the nebulizer to Dr. MacMillan as you asked, sir… and then she asked me to go back to the flat and find the medicine for the nebulizer," he took out his note book, "uh-dren-uh-len clor-ride."
Jack nodded at him.
"Dr. MacMillan told me when I delivered it that she had found," he looked at his note book again, "Hi-dro-floor-ick acid in the nebulizer."
"Very good, Collins," Jack tapped his fingers on the desk, "have you had a chance to look into Rebecca Isaacs for me?"
"Ah… yes, sir. Rebecca Isaacs graduated at the top of her class in the nursing program two years ago, and started working at Royal Melbourne Hospital. She was dismissed with references six months ago, but I haven't been able to determine why." Hugh reported.
"Dismissed? She didn't resign?" Jack asked for clarification.
"That's what the file said, sir. I wasn't able to find anyone who would talk about it, however."
"What about family?" Jack asked.
Hugh flipped through his notes while sucking in his upper lip, "Let's see… she doesn't have any, sir. Orphaned… at…fourteen. Was in state care in a group home… but was bright enough to receive sponsorship to a nursing school."
"Have you found any record of how her parents died?"
Hugh smiled briefly, "I thought you'd ask that, sir," and then his eyes got sad again, "apparently, a house fire killed her parents and two sisters."
There was a knock at the door.
"Yes?" Jack barked at the intrusion.
Constable Blalock stuck his head in, "Inspector Robinson sir, you have a telephone call."
Jack rolled his eyes and picked up the phone, "Jack Robinson here"
Hugh got up and left the office to let him have the conversation in private.
"Hello, darling."
His hard expression and voice softened immediately, "Miss Fisher? I didn't expect to hear from you until later."
"Jack, I'm with Rebecca Isaacs. She's received threatening notes and someone has broken into her locker at work and her room at the boarding house to deliver them. Can you send someone to the boarding house? I'll check for prints, but I'm not optimistic."
Something about Phryne sounded off, Jack thought. She was always excited on a case, but she was speaking… faster? He shook his head. Perhaps he was imagining it.
"I… of course… do you need me to come?" Jack asked.
"No, no…" Phryne assured him, "I'll do an initial search for prints and secure the scene, but then I want to keep Rebecca at home with us."
Jack was starting to have some doubts about Rebecca Isaacs. It was quite possible that she was just an unfortunate girl who'd had a tragic life. He hadn't met her yet, of course, so he didn't really have a feel for her personally. But it seemed like a lot of tragedy following one person. Of course, the same could be said about his own Miss Fisher. The love of his life. She had terrible tragedy in her childhood, and death seemed to be stalking her. If everyone were as suspicious of her, where would she be? He really did owe it to her to at least hear her…
"Jack?"
"Right… not, um… yes, I suppose… that… makes… sense. How long will she be with us?" Jack asked.
"At least until we figure out this mess, Jack," Phryne said, "We have plenty of room."
"Of course, it's not the room," Jack still had his doubts after Hugh's report, but Phryne was usually right, "It's… a fine idea… I'm sure. I'll send Blalock over to gather evidence. Where are you?"
"Wonderful! We're at her boarding house near Barkly Gardens in Richmond… the Swan's Nest?" Phryne reported.
"I know it. I'll send Blalock… Phryne?" Jack swallowed in worry. Something was nagging at him.
"Yes, Jack?" She chirped.
"Please be care… Just don't do anything foolish," he begged of her.
"I love you, too, Jack. I'll see you this evening, darling."
The line went dead as she hung up the telephone on her end.
"I love you, Phryne," he said to the dead line.
"Yes sir… he's just on the telephone... if you would like to wait a moment, sir," Jack heard Hugh on the other side of his closed door trying to slow an oncoming intruder. He stood to prepare for what he suspected was coming through the door. As it opened a tall, square-jawed man with greying hair that still had hints of ginger strode through the door.
"Commissioner Starling. How can I be of service?" Jack stood with hands on his hips and a polite smile as he greeted the man.
"Robinson." The man entered the room with his hat in his hand. Jack gestured for him to sit but he silently shook his head. "I've just gotten a call from Joe Florey at Royal Melbourne Hospital. He said you and your Miss Fisher paid him a visit today?"
"Uh… Yes, sir… we were following up on the Marjory Murdockson case. We've found evidence that her death was, in fact, a deliberate murder… and a fairly calculated one at that," Jack offered.
"I thought we agreed that you would clear Miss Fisher's involvement on cases with me?" Starling narrowed his eyes at Jack.
"Yes, sir. Of course, sir… I didn't see that the cases were actually connected until I returned to the office and got the confirmation of deliberate murder. Miss Fisher was investigating another matter and…"
"And yet you interviewed subjects together," Starling finished for him.
Jack pressed his lips together and closed his eyes in defeat, "Ah… yes, sir."
"Look, Robinson, I understand that you two are a great team… I do. I need only look at your case history before your... leave of absence... when she was consulting with you to see that. Despite what my secretary and wife both think, I'm not an idiot."
"I know that sir… I don't think…" Jack tried to defend both himself and the commissioner. Starling was a good man. And in Jack's experience, a very smart man. He gave Jack his job back… the same precinct… the same title… the same office… and he didn't have to. Jack appreciated the change in the world since returning to Melbourne. Things were tough all over. There weren't any jobs for anyone. That he could walk back into his job relatively unscathed was a minor miracle. But Starling had conditions. One of those conditions was that he be notified first before Phryne Fisher was brought on the case. Commissioner Starling liked Miss Fisher. He respected her and thought she was a damn fine investigator. But her methods were not his methods, and in this different world, the methods had to be beyond reproach. Hers were not.
"I wasn't finished, Robinson," Starling continued, "I know there are times that you will be crossing paths in your investigations before you can inform me... I'd prefer that not happen, of course, but I'm a pragmatist," he pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing, "But when I receive complaints about her behavior as an assumed official member of the Victoria constabulary... that really takes the biscuit!" The older man's face had turned red.
Jack gaped at him. "Complaints? From Dr. Florey?"
Starling nodded, "And one of his top men, Dr. Gilbert – who is the nephew of a councilman. Tread carefully, Robinson."
Jack touched his fingers to his forehead trying to recall the whole of the encounter with both doctors, "What... uh... what were the complaints? Sir... if I may ask?"
Commissioner Starling turned the brim of his hat over in his hands, "To be honest, it didn't sound like your Miss Fisher. They said she was abrasive and... accusatory. They asked if we were looking to pin a murder on them."
"Well, we can now confirm it is murder," Jack said in Phryne's defense, "She may have been a little overzealous, but she was right about it being murder... she was right for us to investigate further."
Starling sighed, "Be that as it may, she can't go around accusing prominent doctors without evidence. Try to keep a tighter rein on her, Robinson."
Jack smirked slightly, "So, does that mean she gets to stay on the case?"
Starling put his hat back on his head and turned to leave as he walked out he merely said, "Tighter rein."
Jack bit his lower lip in thought for a moment.
"Blalock!" He bellowed.
"Sir?" The younger constable jumped up and came to the threshold of Jack's office.
Jack was writing something down on a sheet of paper. "Blalock, I need you to get to the Swan's Nest boarding house in Richmond, straight away," he handed him the slip of paper with the address, "Miss Fisher is there now securing the scene of a break-in. Finish collecting evidence. Take your lead from her. She's officially on the case now."
"Yes, sir," Blalock exited quickly.
Jack sat back in his chair and considered the case before him. Phryne said that Rebecca Isaacs had received threatening notes. Blalock would take those into evidence and he'd have a look at them when he returned. "Collins!"
Hugh appeared at Jack's door quickly, "Yes sir?"
"In the search of Marjory Murdockson's flat, were there any threatening notes found?" Jack asked?
Hugh pulled out his note book and started skimming through it, "Uh... Not that we recorded sir... what kind of threatening note?"
Jack sat silent for a moment, "I'm not entirely sure, Collins," he jumped up, grabbing his coat and hat, "Let's go, I want to have another look at Marjory's flat."
Marjory lived—or rather had lived—in Carlton, very close to Royal Melbourne in a tiny little flat above a cobbler's shop. There was, in theory, separation between the cobbler's establishment and the flat, but the whole place smelled of leather and boot polish.
The flat consisted of two rooms. One room was a small washroom with lavatory, toilet, and shower. The other was everything else. It had a small cooker, a single bed, a table, and a dresser.
It was very tidy. Marjory Murdockson had been a fastidious person. Everything was neat and orderly. Jack went to a stack of books near the bed and started leafing through them. There were nursing texts and a couple of romance novels. No threatening notes. In the drawer of the table next to the bed, he finally found something worthwhile. On the outside, it looked like another romance novel, but when he thumbed it open he found something worth reading. A diary. "Aha."
He pocketed the diary for later study. There really wasn't anything else here. It was a very spartan room. For good measure, Jack and Hugh looked under the mattress and pulled the drawers out of the dresser. With very little room to maneuver and nothing else to find, they left the flat.
They were only a few blocks away from the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Jack wanted to have another look around there. It was a warm day, but there was a nice breeze.
"Collins, I'm going to walk Miss Murdockson's route. Bring the car and meet me at Royal Melbourne," Jack directed.
Hugh trotted off to the police motorcar and Jack strolled down the street toward Royal Melbourne. It was a working-class neighborhood. Two-story buildings with shops on the ground floor and flats above were tightly packed in with one-story bungalow houses, all an arm's length from the street. Most of the shops were closed now. A few remained. The cobbler under Marjory's now vacant flat was still in business. There was a small grocer along the route. An apothecary closer to the hospital. Most of the stores seemed to have been closed within the last year. The crash had been heard and felt around the world.
There were several men along the way guarding the doorways of these closed businesses with their sleeping bodies. More and more of Melbourne was becoming like that. Even St. Kilda was not immune to the increasing specter of Depression.
Jack wondered if Marjory Murdockson wandered these streets alone. It seemed more sad than sinister in the brightness of day, but nurses keep odd hours. Would she have had an escort? If so, who? Who could have had access to the medicine to poison it? Was it done in her home or at her work? He really wanted to bounce these questions off of Phryne. He knew he was a damn good investigator himself, but as always, they were better together.
As he was nearing the hospital, Jack spotted Dr. Joseph Florey exiting the building. He picked up his pace to cut him off.
"Dr. Florey! Dr. Florey!" he called. The man stopped and turned at the sound of his voice. He waited while Jack trotted up to him, "Dr. Florey, thank you for waiting. Could I have just a moment?"
Dr. Florey looked around with annoyed huff, "Is that woman with you?"
Jack also looked around. Needlessly he knew, but he also knew that it didn't hurt to check when it came to Miss Fisher. "Uh… No. No, she's not. Look, Dr. Florey, I'd like to apologize if Miss Fisher or I caused any offense earlier…"
Dr. Florey narrowed his eyes at him, "Jim Starling talked to you, I take it."
Jack stood with his hands on his hips and dropped his head, "Um, yes. Yes, he did, sir. But that's not why I'm here. I am sorry if you felt Miss Fisher was too abrasive, but Marjory Murdockson was deliberately murdered."
Dr. Florey said nothing just looked Jack in the eye for a moment trying to process the information. Finally, he raised his eyebrows and looked away, "I see."
"I need to speak to her immediate supervisor and anyone else she worked with again."
Dr. Florey nodded absently, "Yes, of course. Speak with whomever you need."
Jack nodded, "One more thing if I may, sir. Earlier today, Miss Fisher asked you about Rebecca Isaacs," Dr. Florey stiffened. "Why were you concerned about us asking about her?"
The head of Royal Melbourne Hospital, normally quite puffed up in his own importance, deflated slightly.
"Rebecca Isaacs was complicated."
Jack waited for Dr. Florey to expand on this.
"Nothing was ever proven. We never had evidence… but her supervisor suspected she was mistreating her patients."
Jack looked at Dr. Florey in disbelief, "If she was suspected of mistreating patients, why was she given references?"
Dr. Florey exhaled closing his eyes, "Because compelling evidence implicating another nurse with the same patients was found, and that nurse was dismissed and charged."
"So, why was there suspicion on Miss Isaacs?" Jack pressed.
"The head sister still felt she was untrustworthy and begged me to find her posting away from here," Dr. Florey shrugged, "She claimed Miss Isaacs unnerved her. I couldn't lose my head sister, so…"
"So, you arranged to get Miss Isaacs out of the way?" Jack guessed. Dr. Florey nodded.
Dr. Florey begged leave as he was late for a meeting across town and Jack thanked him for his time.
Jack was thinking over the question of Rebecca Isaacs when Hugh caught up to him. He was increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of her in his… their… Phryne's house. He bristled internally at that line of thought. Phryne had declared that he should live there and the Collins family should take his bungalow. It seemed to make sense with the toddler-induced lack of sleep, but it wasn't really discussed. It seemed like in the last eighteen months, there really hadn't been a whole lot of "discussion", lots of "declarations". For the most part, it didn't bother him. He agreed with her on a great many things, and the little things didn't seem worth fussing over. The house was starting to bother him a little because he no longer felt like he had a space of his own. Wardlow was her home, even though she welcomed him to it with open arms and heart. He didn't feel like much more than an ornament there. He had no right to anything. His name wasn't on any deed or lease. If she tired of him, he had nowhere to go. He let out a deep sigh. Jack was suddenly dimly aware that Hugh had been talking and blinked his way out of his melancholy.
"What was that, Collins?" Jack turned his attention to his Senior Constable.
"Nurse Fletcher, sir. The head sister? She is available if you want to talk to her," Hugh repeated what he'd told his boss. They were walking toward the mother's ward in search of the woman as they spoke.
"Right. Thank you, Collins," he nodded absently at Hugh.
Hugh looked at his boss, mentor, and of late—friend—with raised eyebrow, "Pardon me for asking, but are you alright?"
Jack shook himself out of his internal thoughts, "Uh…yes, sorry, Collins… Hugh. It's been… things have been a little off… lately."
"The paradox of the modern woman, again?" Hugh smiled at him.
Jack laughed lightly, "I suppose so."
Hugh took a deep breath and nodded with him, "I know what you mean, sir. Dottie has suddenly taken up the position that men should be forced to understand the unpleasantness of pregnancy and the pain of childbirth. It's all she talks about at home."
Jack gaped at him. "Dot? That doesn't sound like her."
"Pregnancy does strange things to a woman," Hugh said sagely.
Jack absorbed this, "Does it? It's still hard to imagine Dot being anything short of an angel."
"Oh, she's an angel. Sometimes she's an avenging angel… but she's an angel."