Chapter 4: The response
Later that evening, Inspector Thomas Brackenreid was relaxing at home with his family, reading the evening newspaper after dinner, when the phone rang.
"I'll get it." Margaret said as she went for the telephone.
"This is Margaret Brackenreid." Margaret answered.
A pause.
"Oh, Inspector Brackenreid?"
A pause.
"Yes, I'll get him."
She then put down the phone and went to her husband. "Thomas, it's an Inspector Davis on the phone. He needs to speak with you urgently."
"Oh, I'll see what Davis wants to talk to me about." The inspector replied as he got up and went to the phone.
"Hello, Davis. It's me. What is it?"
A pause.
"What?"
A pause with a look of shock on his face.
"Bloody h*ll. Where is he?"
A pause.
"Alright. I'll get there straight away." He then hung up.
As Thomas hung up the phone, Margaret came to him. She then saw a somber look on her husband's face.
"What's the matter, Thomas? What did Davis told you?" She asked.
Looking at his wife, Thomas replied urgently, "I need to telephone Murdoch, then we head to the General Hospital immediately. I'll explain on the way."
He then grabbed the phone and dialed another number.
At their hotel suite, Detective William Murdoch and his wife Doctor Julia Ogden were enjoying the evening. Both of them were reading, with Julia reading a medical journal while William was reading the evening newspaper.
Their silent evening was interrupted by the ring of the telephone.
"I'll go get it." William said as he stood up.
"Detective Murdoch." He said as he answered the phone.
A pause.
"Oh, what is it, sir?"
A pause.
"What?"
A pause, with a look of surprise on his face.
"Good lord!"
A pause.
"Alright. Julia and I are on our way." He then hung up.
"What's the matter, William?" Julia asked when William turned to face her and saw the somber look on his face.
Trying hard not to let his emotions get the best of him, William said. "George has been shot."
As it turned out, a constable from Station House Three (The park is located within the jurisdiction of that station house) was patrolling on the nearby street when the gunshots rang out. Immediately, he raced into the park and in spite of the darkness, he soon saw a figure hiding behind a bush.
Judging that the bush was the source of the gunshot, the constable immediately blew his whistle before shouting "Hey! You there!"
The figure saw the approaching constable and took off running when he saw another constable responding to the whistle he had just heard from his colleague.
However, in the panic of trying to flee from the scene, the figure crossed the nearby frozen creek and fell through the thin ice!
"I'll check the bush while you go get backup and try to help the man in the frozen creek." The first constable shouted to his partner, who nodded and raced away to get backup.
The constable then raced to the bush, where he saw a man lying on a woman trying to get up.
"Excuse me, madam. Are you alright?" The constable asked as he approached the woman.
"I am, constable, but Constable Crabtree here needs help!" Dr. Grace, who was trying to get up when George pushed her to the ground before taking the bullet, replied urgently.
The constable looked at George. He was bleeding at the shoulder, and he doesn't seem conscious.
"Help is on the way." The constable replied urgently upon seeing that the man on the ground is his fellow officer of the law and seeing more constables arriving.
As the constable went to the creek to help the man with another constable, Emily got a clean cloth and used it to bandage the wound George got.
Taking a look at his wrist, Emily was relieved to see a pulse. It was weak, but it was a sign that George is still alive.
"Stay with me, George. Please!" Emily whispered as she applied first aid as one of the arriving constables shouted, "Call for an ambulance!"
Soon, George was carried off to the hospital on an ambulance with Emily accommodating him while the constables handcuffed the man they had rescued from the frozen creek and confiscated his pistol.
As the man looked blankly at the pistol one of the constables was holding in front of him, the constable that initially responded to the shooting said to him, "Taking a shot at an officer of the law, will you?"
The man did not answer, as he was still shivering cold from the water.
"You better hope the constable, soon to-be detective, survives, or you will soon be facing the noose!"
As the constables loaded the man onto the patrol wagon, one of the other constables asked. "How did you know that the constable that was shot was promoted, Greg?"
"I remember seeing him at Inspector Davis' office the other day, for the interview for our station house's detective." The constable named Greg replied. "Then, last week I heard the inspector saying Crabtree's name while telephoning Station House Four. The lad that was shot is from Station House Four, and the doctor that was at the scene when he was shot referred to him as Constable Crabtree."
"I see." His partner said.
"Speaking of Inspector Davis, we better inform him that our new detective has been shot, Lawson." A third constable said.
"Right. Let's go." Constable Lawson quickly said.
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