An idea

by NancyMay

What if Jean never went to Adelaide? What if Lucien had a better idea?

27. Chapter 27

With no ongoing cases Matthew had time to indulge in a little private detective work. While Alice settled Paul in at school, mornings only to start with and went back to work, he set about searching for Paul Elliot, using his contacts in Sydney, Alice's home city. It was a whim, she was still eaten up with losing her friend, and it had probably gone a long way to making her the person she was. It was easiest to do from the office where he could hide any paperwork or notes. The details he had were sketchy and he didn't want to alert Alice to what he was up to, so he relied on passing over her date of birth and schools she had attended and hoped. He did ask that nobody approach her family, it wasn't, he felt, necessary.

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Alice and Lucien had few interesting autopsies to do until Paul had been settled in school for a month, and was now happy to go and spend the whole day. Alice was relieved that he seemed to be finding his feet and was more likely to chatter on the way home instead of sitting in silence. True, there had been some rocky days, especially when he had a Religious Education lesson, and she asked that he be allowed to leave such classes when he became upset. The headmaster had been most understanding and helpful and found him a little task to do when this happened.

A woman's body was brought into the morgue one morning. She had been found in the trees round Lake Wendouree, well dressed, no apparent injuries, handbag not ransacked but no identification.

Cleaned up, the mud and forest floor washed away, she was a pretty woman, somewhere in her mid thirties, they thought. Well nourished, neatly manicured nails, modern hair style. No wedding ring or indication she had ever worn one.

'It's a puzzle, Alice.' Lucien scratched his head. 'Well, I suppose we'd better see if we can work out how she died, preferably before your wedding.'

'Mm..' Alice mused, she and Matthew were due to make their relationship more acceptable to society, though it was perfectly acceptable to her. They could then legally adopt Paul, so she supposed that was what mattered.

'You ok?' He looked at her, obviously in her own little world for a moment.

'Hm? Yes, fine.' She blinked back to the real world, 'just thinking, we haven't actually told Paul we will be his parents, do you think he'll understand?'

'Well, he's a bright kid.' Lucien told her, 'he might find it a little confusing at first, but you could tell him it just means he's special, not everybody gets to choose their children.'

'Right, I'll bear that in mind.' She turned her attention to the case in hand and put Paul neatly into that part of her mind she always kept him in.

Lucien made the incision and peeled back the skin, he cracked the sternum and lifted out the rib cage to examine the heart and lungs. They weighed and examined each organ in detail but could find no evidence of illness or damage. It appeared that the heart had just stopped, but Lucien couldn't, or wouldn't, believe it. They finished checking all the internal organs and Lucien closed up the incision.

'I'll ask Matthew to put a photograph in the paper, to try and find out who she is, when I take the report up,' he smiled, 'now you'd better head off or you'll be late picking Paul up.'

He watched her leave and turned to look at the body. 'Well, miss, what have you been up to?' He took a syringe and drew some blood to be sent for testing, drugs, alcohol, disease, anything that would point to how she died.

He wiped the spot he had just drawn his sample from, then wiped it again, thinking he had left a mark. He put the cotton wool in a kidney dish and took up his magnifying glass. There appeared to be another puncture mark in the crease of the elbow. He checked the other arm, nothing. Lucien spent the next hour looking over the body with his magnifier until there was a knock on the door.

'Come,' he didn't look up.

'Blake?' Matthew stood in the doorway, 'what are you doing, I expected a report hours ago.'

'Hm..? Oh, Matthew.' He looked up and put the glass down. 'I found a puncture mark when I drew blood for testing. I was just looking to see if there were any more.' He stood up and rubbed his neck, which he realised was rather sore from bending over for so long.

'Are there?'

'No.' Lucien shook his head and covered the body, leaving the head showing for Matthew to take a photograph. 'I'll see if there are any drugs in her system, before I pass judgement.'

'So,' Matthew clicked the shutter on the camera, 'I suppose I'll have to wait for the report?'

'Afraid so.'

Matthew nodded that he had finished and he and Lucien pushed the body into the morgue fridge.

'Right, well I'd better get off, before Jean sends out a search party.'

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Jean was in the kitchen when Lucien arrived home. There was no denying, now, that she was pregnant, her dresses didn't hide the growing bump. He stood looking at her through the hatch, Amelia was in her high chair eating some pieces of fruit while she put the dinner back in the oven. The radio was on, just how he liked it when he came home, calm, domestic bliss. Jean sensed he was there and turned and smiled.

'Hello darling,' he came to join her and kissed her cheek, 'how was your day?'

'Nothing special.' Jean smiled and returned the kiss, 'Amelia and I went into town, round the market. You?'

'Dead woman, found in the trees by Lake Wendouree.' Lucien started to set the table, 'Charlie in tonight?'

'Yes.' Jean watched him, 'so how did she die?'

He put out water glasses and filled a jug. 'No ID, no injuries, but a puncture wound in the elbow, injection, possibly. I've sent a sample for testing.'

'Photo in the paper, then.' Jean drained the vegetables and put some aside to crush and cool for Amelia.

'Yes,' he sounded low.

'Lucien, you can't heal all the world's ills, you know.' She stopped what she was doing and went over to him, 'you can only do so much, and that is a lot. You'll sort it, you always do.'

Jean put her arms round him and kissed him, rather more deeply than she would when putting out the dinner.

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Alice put Paul to bed then went to help Matthew wash up.

'I hope this case is cleared up before our wedding, love.' Matthew mused as he tipped the water out, 'I want to take you to away for a few days.'

'What about Paul?' She looked at him,

'I realise he will have to come with us, he's not ready to be left, so it won't be a honeymoon as such, but we would be away from here.'

'Hmm...' She pursed her lips, 'not planning on seeking out my parents I hope?' He'd recently asked if she had informed them of her impending marriage.

'No, that would be a job for you,' Matthew put his arms round her waist and pulled her close, 'if you don't want to see them that's fine by me, but I do think you should let them know you have a family now.'

'Maybe,' she leant her forehead against his chest, 'Oh, Matthew,' she sighed, 'you've been so good never asking about them, even though I know you want to.'

'I know you have a brother, and your parents are still alive.' He ran his fingers down her spine, making her shiver, 'you obviously don't have a good relationship with them, but I won't pry. If you don't want to tell me that's ok.'

'I don't want to be the same as my mother was with Paul.' Alice led him to the couch in the living room. 'I want him to believe in himself, I want him to know I believe in him, not tell him he can't do something or have him follow a path I set out for him. My parents didn't choose university for me, or a career in medicine, I chose it, they would have been happy with me working in a factory, bringing in a wage then marrying and having a family and looking after them in their later years.'

'I can't see you in a factory,' Matthew handed her a whisky, 'you'd have murdered someone just to relieve the boredom.'

'They thought universities were places of wild, drink fuelled sex parties.' Alice smiled, 'mum was convinced I'd be home within the year, pregnant and unmarried.'

'She obviously didn't trust you.'

'No,' Alice suddenly laughed, 'she tried to talk to me about sex, but was so embarrassed I realised I knew more than she was prepared to tell me. Not that I had any practical experience at that time...'

'Parents, particularly those of our generation are not good are they?' Matthew grinned, 'my father was pretty useless, too. It makes you wonder how we came to be born in the first place.'

She laughed, 'Instinct?'

'Mm...' he looked thoughtful then smirked, 'my instinct is that there is a lovely woman sitting next to me...' He slipped his hand behind her back and pulled her close.

'Matthew, what am I going to do with you?' She let him run his tongue over her lips then parted them, tasting his whisky, and melted into his kiss, long and slow.

'I have a few ideas which would be better carried out in the bedroom.'

'I see.' She looked into his eyes, noticing his desire and held his gaze as he stood and offered her his hand.

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She stood facing him in their bedroom, having checked that Paul was asleep first, she had smiled to see him curled up with his fingers in his mouth and the other arm round a teddy bear that had been found in the bottom of the toybox.

'So, Superintendant, your ideas..?'

'Well, I thought we could start here,' he kissed her and pushed her cardigan off, letting it fall to the floor, 'then perhaps...' he indicated his shirt, the tie having been removed when he got home. She smiled gently and undid the buttons, pushing that garment to the floor. He pulled her to him, and reached round to unzip her dress and unclip her bra at the same time; 'of course, that might lead to...'

Her hands slipped down his sides and across the waistband of his trousers, feeling his arousal...and after that all 'ideas' went out of their minds and they fell onto the bed, shedding clothes, touching, kissing, sucking then joining; rising, falling, bucking and releasing; gasping for air.

'Hm..' she sighed, 'I like your ideas, perhaps we should repeat the experience, again.' she whispered as he wrapped his arms round her and she cuddled down against him, closing her eyes, being a working mother was quite tiring sometimes. She loved Matthew more than she had loved anyone, but the bedroom was not everything to her, just being with him, the day to day workings of their relationship meant so much to her. He made fewer but more intense demands on her than her previous lovers, theirs was a partnership based on respect, desire, a depth of feeling she had never experience before, and even she struggled to describe it to herself.

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Alice dropped Paul off at school the following day, rather thankful she was due at work and didn't have time to answer any probing questions. She may be almost a mother but the chatter in the playground was a little too much for her to contemplate just yet. She watched him run into the playground and up to his teacher, then turn and wave. She waved back then hurried off to see what the test results were and if any bruises had developed. The photograph had appeared in the paper that morning but she hadn't had time to read the article with it. She hoped it would at least bring forward a name.

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Lucien was already looking at the body, the file of results in his hand, he looked up as Alice entered and exchanged her fawn raincoat for a lab coat.

'Morning,' he smiled.

'Good morning,' her tone more formal but with a hint of humour behind it, 'anything new?'

'No more bruises,' he stood up, 'got the blood screen results.'

'Interesting?'

'Well, not interesting as such.' He opened the file and showed her, 'an overdose, but I wouldn't say she was a habitual user.'

'Oh, why?' She read down the findings, morphine a lot of it.

'Only one puncture mark,' Lucien pointed out, 'a habitual user would have more than one.'

'None anywhere else on the body?' Alice scanned down the file, 'you think she was murdered don't you?'

'Or possibly trying something and it went wrong. We need the syringe that was used.' Lucien swapped his lab coat for his jacket. 'I'm going to see Matthew and see if he'll let me have Charlie to go to where she was found.'

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Half an hour later, Lucien and Charlie were conducting a fingertip search in the trees round Lake Wendouree. They started at the spot where the body had been found then ranged round in spirals, lightly scuffing over the leaves and natural leaf mould. Lucien stood up for a moment and stretched, he took half a step forward and heard something crack under his foot which he withdrew instantly.

'Charlie, here.' he called the sergeant over as he went down on one knee and started to carefully move the leaf litter about. There it was, cracked from Lucien's shoe, but still in one piece, a syringe and needle. He pulled a glove on and picked it up, holding it into the light for anything to show. Let's get this back and see if we can pull any fingerprints, at least see if hers are on it.'

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It took some doing, to clean off the dirt but they managed in the end to get a partial print. It was not hers.

'Bugger,' Lucien hissed, 'now we're looking for a murderer.'

'Great,' grumbled Matthew. 'Well, people, get out there, find out who she is. Move!'

Everyone scattered, Lucien grinned, it was so close to Matthew and Alice's wedding and the formal adoption of Paul he could understand the man's frustration.

'Nothing from the paper, yet?' He asked, mildly. 'You at least usually get the time wasters.'

Matthew was about to make some sharp comment when Alice appeared,

'Morphine,' she held up her analysis report. 'High concentration, almost pure, lethal in small doses if you're not used to it, even if you are.'

'Even better.' Matthew couldn't raise a smile, not even for her.

'Right,' she looked at him, 'I'll go and pick up Paul. See you later, dear.' This last was emphasised.

'What, oh, yes, sorry.'

'Bloody hell, Matthew,' Lucien quipped, 'what does she see in you?'

'Need to know, Dr Blake,' Alice called back, having heard the remark, 'need to know. And you don't.'

Lucien looked at her, a sense of humour, well, well well.

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Paul had never been to where Phew worked, or Liss, but Alice didn't want to wait with the chatter she had heard while waiting for Paul to come out of school. She had asked those 'gossiping' to go and speak to the superintendant, but they all just looked at her as if she had grown a second head. She had huffed in annoyance and left with Paul as soon as he came out to her.

He looked round, wide eyed and open mouthed and hung onto Alice's hand as she headed for the office.

Matthew looked up in surprise when they appeared at his desk.

'Alice, Paul?' he pushed his chair back and let the little boy climb up on his lap.

'Matthew, the parents were discussing the picture in the paper.' She came straight to the point, 'they were all talking about how they knew her for walking around the lake. They kept their children away from her, but, Matthew, I don't understand, she was well dressed, she didn't look like a tramp or...'

'Perhaps she was just different enough to unnerve the general population.' Matthew mused, 'I'll take Paul to school in the morning, talk to some of them. But I also might remind them that withholding information is actually hindering an investigation.'

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Lucien, mindful of the fact he had been rather miserable the previous evening had called by the florist's on the way home and bought Jean some flowers. He didn't do this often, she usually cut from the garden, but there was a rather lovely bunch of roses and baby's breath. The roses were a deep pink, almost the colour of his favourite lipstick for her; so he purchased them and headed home to his wife and daughter with more of a spring in his step, odd, when he considered they still had an unknown body in the morgue and no idea why she was there.

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'Thank you for the flowers,' Jean kissed him for the umpteenth time that evening. Charlie and Mattie were out at the cinema, Amelia was asleep in her cot, it was just them.

'You deserve them, and more,' he returned the kiss, 'I'm sorry I was rather morose.'

'Lucien,' she sighed, 'you care. I love it that you care, but...you said I deserve more than flowers...' the invitation for explanation hung in the air.

'Did I?' He wrapped his arms round her. 'Well then...'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxIn the bedroom he continued kissing her, running his hands up and down her back until she lost the battle to stay upright. He felt her lean her whole weight against him and her breathing quicken. He grinned wickedly over her head and pulled the zip of her dress down.

He loved her pregnant body, love the feel of the new life moving inside her and as he slowly and sensitively undressed her he touched the bump and felt the little kicks. She lifted her head and smiled, feeling desire course through her as she pushed his shirt off him and leant forward to kiss his chest distracting him with the light breaths she blew through the light spattering of hair so she could undo and push his trousers down, and run her hand over his arousal. She hummed seductively, then smiled as she heard his breath hitch at her touch. He pulled her back towards the bed and sat down, lifting her onto his lap, facing him, astride him. She wore nothing now, Jean in all her glory, to him, glorious, sensuous.

She pouted, he still wore his shorts, and they were in her way. She reached round to the back of the waistband and pushed them under his bum, then lifted the front to free him. He smirked then slid his hand between her legs and began to work her to a near release then lifted her over him and let her guide him in, moving in a rhythm that was almost lazy, but she raised her arms above her head, moaned and gulped as the heady culmination of their love threatened to send her backwards off his lap. She called his name and he caught her, his hands on her waist as he filled her with his love. She didn't stop, placing her hands in his shoulders she kept going, releasing again and digging her nails into his skin. He thrust into her for a final time and then held her until she put her forehead on his and grinned, taking gasping breaths until she fell against him and they both giggled as the baby kicked against them.

They finally got under the covers and lay cuddled up together, his hands tracing over her belly. The baby was quite active when she wasn't, which meant it took her sometime to fall asleep these days, but lying like this with her husband and lover was just as good.

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Jean slept through the sunrise, it was rare, but did occasionally happen. Amelia didn't, so when she started to call Lucien went to her.

'Now miss,' He kissed her messy curls, 'shall we go and get mummy a cup of tea?'

He took her into the kitchen and sat her in her high chair. He poured milk into a pan and heated it enough for her to have in her cup. She picked it up, took a sip, looked at her daddy and sat it back down again with a loud tap and a 'Aaah!'

'You drink that while I make tea,' he smiled at her, she got more like Jean every day.

Amelia was happy to gurgle away in her chair while Lucien boiled the kettle and laid the tray. She was too big for him to carry as well as the tray but she was crawling so he hoped she would crawl after him when he took the tray through.

'Right, let's put your cup on the tray,' he did so and lifted her out, 'now you can crawl to mummy, ok?'

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Jean was awake, lying on her side facing the door. She laughed to see her husband carrying the tea tray with Amelia at his ankles, and pushed herself up against the pillows.

'Good morning,' Lucien grinned. Amelia crawled up to the bed and pulled on the covers, 'sleep well?'

'Better, thank you.' She nodded, 'can't think why?' She smirked.

'Me neither.' He put the tray on the dresser and poured their drinks.

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He left her with a longer kiss than the rushed ones that happened when he was in the middle of a case.

'See you later,' he gave Amelia a kiss to the forehead and headed out.

Jean watched him go, hoping they would have a breakthrough in the case, then turned back into the house,

'Come on, young lady,' she sighed, 'let's get you bathed and dressed, how you managed to get your breakfast in your ears is beyond me.'

As she bathed the child she made a mental shopping list. Groceries, of course, an outfit for Amelia to wear to Alice's wedding, she didn't have the time or energy to sew something this time, and she better start thinking about adding some baby layette things to the mix. She would need extra nappies, for a start. Baby Blake kicked as if agreeing with her.

She left Amelia to play on the floor in the living room and went to tidy the kitchen and throw the previous day's paper in the trash. She never got the chance to read it these days, Lucien would tell her if there was something she might be interested in, the rest of the news was word of mouth. If she wasn't careful she would get out of touch.

She was moving quickly around the house, with one eye on the baby, and as she swept the paper off the counter she flicked through the pages. The usual news, council meetings, planning decisions, hatch, match and dispatch; she was about to head through the sun room when a picture caught her eye and a headline, 'Do you know this woman?' Must be the body in the morgue, she thought. She opened it wider and gaped. Of course she knew her, from years ago, but still recognisable, Marnie Roberts. She'd left Ballarat about ten years ago, nobody knew why, though some of the gossips speculated.

'Come on, Amelia,' She scooped the child up, 'we need to go and see Uncle Matthew before doing the shopping.'

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She was greeted with smiles in the station and 'Morning, Mrs Blake's', as she carried Amelia through to the main room.

'Jean,' Matthew had heard the hum and stood up to greet her. 'What can we do for you?'

'I know the woman in the morgue,' She sat in the chair, 'Marnie Roberts, she left Ballarat about ten years ago.'

'And you know her, how?'

'She was a patient of Thomas', not a frequent visitor, just the odd time.' Jean settled Amelia on her knee, 'I expect I could find her notes if you want them.'

'Any idea why she left?'

'No, but there was plenty of speculation,' she rolled her eyes and he knew what she meant. 'She wasn't married, that I do know, and I don't know if she was seeing anyone, though there was a rumour she had an affair with your predecessor.'

'Doug Ashby?'

'No, Doug was an Inspector at the time, no, it would be a Superintendant Carlton, didn't last long, caught in bed with a suspect!' She shook her head. 'By his wife.'

'Nobody has ever mentioned him,' Matthew sat back, Jean's information was never wrong.

'Why are you surprised? He brought the force into disrepute, sexual favours for getting let off.' Jean tutted.

Matthew smiled, 'I'll have the dynamic duo look into whether or not she had ever had children, that will put the rumour to rest. I took Paul to school today because Alice said there were a lot of mother's gossiping but refusing to come into the station to give over any information, so I politely informed them they were withholding evidence and that was a criminal offence.'

Jean laughed at the description of her husband and Matthew's fiancée, 'So they're lining up to gossip to you, now?'

'I'll say!' He joined in her laughter and walked her out, 'thanks for dropping by, Jean, it's really helpful.'

'My pleasure, Matthew,' she smiled as he kissed her cheek, 'I'll see you later, you're dining with us, tonight.'

'Looking forward to it, it will do Paul good to eat somewhere other than home.'

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Most of what information the mothers gave was hearsay, conjecture, and none of them had a name, so Jean's information was the best of the lot. Matthew decided it would be a good idea to see if they could find out what happened to Carlton. He thought he'd try Melbourne, perhaps they would know something, where he had gone, if he was still alive. First he needed to call the morgue and ask Lucien or Alice if Marnie Roberts had ever had a child.

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'Dr Harvey,' Alice answered the phone while Lucien finished closing up a body from the hospital. A massive heart attack had taken off a patient who had hitherto given no indication of heart trouble. From the autopsy he had lied about his symptoms to his GP so the angina wasn't picked up. 'We'll have a look, Superintendant, but I don't recall noticing any signs. I'll let you know.'

She turned to Lucien, 'Matthew wants to know if our mystery lady ever had a child. By the way, it's Marnie Roberts, according to Jean.'

'Oh, well, skeletal scarring on the pelvis will tell us that.' He pushed the body he had just finished with into the fridge and pulled Marnie Roberts out. 'Wonder how Jean knew her?' He mused.

'Probably someone who left the town and came back?' Alice considered, Jean was usually the first person he went to when he had a question about a resident.

'Mmm...' He murmured.

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Matthew grimaced, 'So no children,' he looked at the report Lucien handed him, 'all I have to go on now is ex-superintendant Carlton and his wife.'

'How will you find him?' Alice sat in the chair Lucien usually occupied, 'especially if he left under a cloud.'

'Just waiting to see if Melbourne can locate him.' He looked at the both of them, 'all we have is...'

'...died due to an overdose of morphine, administered by person or persons unknown.'

'The fingerprints are small for a man though a young man could give similar results, so my guess is a jealous woman, that could point to the wife, or another girlfriend, if, and only if, it is tied to Carlton.' Matthew sighed. 'Other than that, your guess is as good as mine.'

'I just don't understand why she let them do it.' Alice commented, 'there are no defensive injuries, it's as if she just lay down and let it happen. I know a lot of mothers were talking about keeping their children away from her because she wandered about, moaning and crying. It's a heck of a puzzle. There was no evidence of recent sexual activity, really, Matthew, doctor, I am at a loss.'

'She's right,' Lucien nodded, 'if I hadn't drawn blood I would never had noticed the injection site. I would have asked for drug testing, and probably put it down to an accidental overdose.'

'Wish you had,' Matthew muttered.

'No you don't,' Alice pursed her lips, 'you don't like unanswered questions, you know you don't.'

He grinned at her, she knew him well.

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Over dinner that evening they discussed the case. Paul had a book to occupy him and he was quite happy to sit on Alice's knee.

'With that precision,' Jean put a piece of almond tart in front of Alice, 'perhaps it is a medical professional.' She passed the cream over. Lucien looked at her, she had something there.

'What did Carlton's wife do?' Matthew asked.

'No idea.' Jean shook her head, 'all I know is she caught him in bed with another woman who was suspected of some crime or other. It was some years ago, I'm not an encyclopaedia, you know.'

'Oh, really?' Lucien grinned, 'and here's me thinking you knew everything about Ballarat past and present.'

'That couch is uncomfortable to sleep on, Dr Blake.' She looked from under her brows at him.

'Yes, dear,' but he still smiled at her.

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Matthew carried a sleepy little boy out of the house, 'I'll get Charlie to ask around the hospital tomorrow, some of the older members of staff, nursing sisters. See if anyone remembers Mrs Carlton nursing there.'

'Good idea.' Jean and Lucien watched them put Paul in the car and head off home.

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Charlie headed for the Matron in the hospital. He had asked Mattie who would be the best person to talk to and she had said that Matron had been there long enough.

'Quite a time ago, Sergeant,' Matron Betley smiled, pouring him a cuppa. 'A lot of nurses have come and gone, to marriage, other hospitals...'

'I know, and I'm sorry but,' he sipped the tea, 'we have Marnie Roberts body in the morgue and the only thing we can think of is that she, possibly, had an affair with Mr Carlton.'

'You think that his wife may have something to do with this?'

'She may not, but until we find her and ask her, then we don't know.' Charlie put his cup down, 'given the way Marnie was killed we think it was somebody with a good deal of medical skill.'

Satisfied that this was not a witch hunt for one of her former nurses Matron Betley admitted that Mrs Carlton had been a nurse at Ballarat Hospital before she married the then Senior Sergeant Carlton.

'She was a good nurse, very good,' Matron sighed, 'but she changed. Of course we saw her, a lot. Social events, the birth of their two children, then...Oh, really, Carlton was a complete idiot. He started to play around. Pat was tied up with the children, they were hard work and he didn't help, so she was always tired. I suppose if he wasn't getting his marital pleasures then he thought he could find it elsewhere. Pat was humiliated, but never more so than when his mistresses strutted around town. He rose through the ranks quickly and the women thought that being associated with a high ranking copper was a feather in their caps. I don't remember any of their names, nor did I recognised the picture in the paper. Pat, as far as I know, still lives in Redan, Darling Street. She said it was ironic, he never called her that. That is all I can tell you, officer.'

'Well, Matron,' Charlie stood up, 'thank you for your time. Now I will need to go and see if I can find Mrs Carlton.'

'I hope she didn't do it,' Matron stood and held out her hand, 'she was a lovely girl, a great nurse.'

Charlie smiled and left to pass on the information to the boss and then head out to Darling Street.

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Pat Carlton opened the door to a tall, handsome police officer. That took her back years, Phillip had been just such an officer when she first met him.

'Mrs Carlton?' Charlie smiled, and when she nodded, 'Sergeant Davies, Ballarat police. May I come in?'

She stood to the side and allowed him across the threshold.

'Mrs Carlton,' he looked at her, she must have been pretty once, her hair was now grey, tightly permed, her face lined with worry and she was rather thin. Her clothes had seen better days, but had been carefully repaired. 'We are looking into the murder of Marnie Roberts.' He waited for a reaction, but there was none, too tired to care, he thought. 'I believe you knew of her.'

'It wasn't her fault.' Pat sighed, 'Phillip straying. He could charm the birds out of the trees, and at least she didn't crow about it. I know what everybody thought, in Ballarat there are no secrets. She left when he was killed, in a bar room brawl, but he'd had to leave the police before then, he...'

'I know, about the 'favours' he did, Mrs Carlton,' at least he could save her having to talk about that.

'Adam, our eldest lad, he was wild, hard to control.' She ushered him into the living room, a tired place with shabby furniture, 'me and Phil couldn't do anything with him.'

'How old is Adam now?'

'Twenty seven.' She smiled, 'he got himself together after we sent him to a stricter school. He's studying pathology in Melbourne. He qualified as a doctor but wants to work with dead people. So he stayed at university.'

'Your other child?'

'Saul passed away, meningitis, when he was seven.' She looked down, 'I should offer you some tea,' she stood up and went to the kitchen, not waiting for his acceptance.

'I'm sorry,' Charlie followed her.

In the kitchen he watched her fill the kettle, her hands shook. As she prepared the tea he noticed this wasn't because the kettle was heavy, they shook constantly, there was no way she could have administered an injection so precisely.

'Mrs Carlton, have you seen Adam lately?' He touched her hands and took over making the tea.

'No, he rarely comes home.'

He sat for a while with her, drinking tea and letting her talk about the past. He learned no more but she seemed grateful for the company.

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'So, it looks very much like Adam Carlton could be the murderer.' Matthew sighed, 'he'd have been seventeen when Roberts left, so probably well aware what was going on.'

'But Mrs Carlton didn't blame her.' Charlie reiterated, 'she said he could charm the birds from the trees.'

'See if Adam is at University, Davies,' Matthew stood up, there were calls he had to make to Sydney that had waited too long, 'if he is, you can go and interview him, if the local force will let you.'

'If they won't?'

'Go and observe while they do. I want this cleared up.'

'Boss.'

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Of course, Adam Carlton didn't know how good the pathology team in Ballarat were. He thought he could get away with it, not reckoning on the keen eye of the police surgeon on the wit and wisdom of his wife. He sat in Melbourne East police station answering questions about his latest visit to Ballarat. At first he had denied it but the more they talked about his father's dalliances the more tense he became, until he finally gave in. But he blamed his mother's illness, Parkinson's disease, on the women his father had been with, the last being Marnie Roberts. He had lured her back to Ballarat, after finding her working as a waitress in a small cafe near the university, with a story of his father having left her something in his will, and how he had searched for her since his death. He had arranged to meet her in the trees round the lake and made her feel good. Told her his father had really loved her, it had been easy. She was, in his words, 'loopy', too lost in her own world to realise he was playing her. He knew that she would wander and cry, because that is what she was known for, she would get a name for being odd, and then he could offer to give her something to help her nerves.

Rather than take him back to Ballarat, to be transferred back to Melbourne, Charlie suggested they keep the paperwork he had brought with him and have him made ready for trial. He would be the one to tell his mother.

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Over the few years that Pat Carlton lived after her son was hanged for the murder of Marnie Roberts, Charlie visited her every week, checking she had enough to eat, Mattie would go with him and make sure her health was as good as could be.

'Why, Charlie?' She asked once, towards the end of her life, while Mattie made her a meal and she played with their baby daughter, ' why do you do what you do, for me? Not that I don't like it but...'

'Because, if you were my mum, I would hope that someone would look out for her.' He smiled.

Pat Carlton died five years after Marnie Roberts, almost to the day. The only mourners were Charlie and Mattie. They arranged a headstone that simply gave her name and dates, and the inscription, 'Such sweet sorrow.'

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I promise a wedding and a surprise in the next chapter. Munchkins permitting.