As the Detective and the Doctor arrived at the station, George met them at the door.
"Good morning, sir."
"Yes George, a good morning indeed", he replied with a smile directed at Julia.
"I need you to look into some of the Inspector's past cases, and anyone recently out of prison. In the meantime, the doctor and I have a stop to make. "
"Yes sir."
As they arrived at their destination, William knocked and soon after, Mrs Margaret Brackenreid answered.
"Hello Detective Murdoch, Doctor."
"Good day Mrs Brackenreid", Julia said. "How are you faring?"
"As could be expected, I suppose. Come in, of course." She led the Detective into the parlour and Julia followed her into the kitchen. As the women left, William turned into the parlour and gasped. In front of him, sprawled across the couch, lay the bloody and bandaged body of Inspector Brackenreid.
Before William could react, a man walked from the other side of the room with a needle in his hand and injected the inspector.
Enraged, William leaped at the unknown man and pinned him up against the wall. "Who are you? What did you inject him with? Why are you trying to kill him?", he yelled.
"Detective Murdoch! It's me, Dr Isaac Tash!"
As William released his strong grip, the women rushed into the parlour to investigate the noise.
"Isaac! What in the world are you doing here? And William, why ever did you hit him?", Julia accused.
"Pardon me, Julia. I'm the doctor assigned to the Inspector as he recovers. And no, his attack was warranted. I should have spoken with him first", Tash replied.
"Quite right", William huffed. " I apologize, Doctor Tash, I thought it was you who was attacking the inspector. What did you inject him with?"
"It was morphing. He's been in an induced coma for the past two days, and I suspect that will be the case for some time."
Mrs Brackenreid's muffled cries became more obvious and she excused herself from the room. Julia followed her friend.
"I suppose I won't have his help for the case then."
Doctor Tash ignored William's remark but continued.
"Unfortunately, the inspector is in a very delicate position. Most of his ribs have been bruised that caused one of his lungs to collapse. There is deep bruising all over his body. He has a concussion and his left ankle is twisted. But most seriously, there is significant damage to his back. The spinal cord had been compromised in the small of his back."
"What is it you're trying to explain, doctor?", William asked.
"I regret to inform you, Detective, that Thomas Brackenreid will never walk again."