Thunderstorms

by Romantic Nerd

Thunderstorms come sweeping though one's life from time to time. William and Julia must cope with a series of crises that threaten everything. They will need to solve multiple crimes and save their own necks under highly stressful situations. Fortunately they are incredibly strong when they work together.

15. Chapter 14 Part 2

Thunderstorms – Continued

Chapter 14: Friday, August 15, 1913 (PART 2)

One of Harry's pigeons brushed against William's office window, drawing the couple's attention and prompting them to break off their kiss. As they both turned to the window, Julia said, "It's not bad enough that Constable Crabtree or Higgins constantly interrupts our romantic moments, but now we have to put up with Harry's pigeons too." She was rewarded with a tiny chuckle from William for her joke. Then she remembered that William probably didn't know what had happened to his father. She explained that he had been taken into the neighboring factory by one of Brogan's men during the Constabulary's raid. He was missing. William noticed that one of the pigeons had a message. Julia caught it, and they read the note. It said that Harry's captor had run off once the shooting had started. Harry was going to go to the children – he wanted to protect them from any potential danger. William took a seat in his chair. He looked worried.

"Do you think the children are in danger William?" Julia asked, still holding the pigeon.

He sighed and replied, "Brogan escaped, as did many of his men. And by all accounts, he is a vicious, ruthless man." He wrinkled up a corner of his mouth, he paused waiting for her thoughts.

Julia answered, "There doesn't seem to be any evidence suggesting he has learned where they are … And any chance of him having a place to run his business has been wiped out. He's on the run now. Do you think he would risk capture to try to find our children?"

The image of Jane, so brutalized, insulted and degraded, flashed across William's mind. He frowned and said, "I don't think the man is sane Julia. Look at what he did to Jane." Nausea crept up in William's gut. It was spurred by fear, and William knew if he was going to get a handle on the emotion, he would have to chase after the thought that incited it. "The most dangerous criminals are the ones who don't care if they themselves die," that was it, that was the thought that frightened him so. He explained to her, "Julia, when someone lacks the instinct of self-preservation, you can no longer predict what they will do. Such people are truly the most dangerous adversaries one can have." Their eyes met, but by the time they had, Julia believed she saw anger in his eyes rather than fear. He exhaled, working to calm his emotions. "You are right, though. It is very unlikely that Brogan has, or ever will, come to learn where we have hidden them. And, at least for now, he is probably busy trying to ensure his escape." He took another deep breath, the nausea had passed, as had the urge to clench his jaw and draw his fingers up into fists. "I think they are safe," he concluded with a nod.

Julia's worry appeared to be eased – she trusted no one more than William. "That's a relief," she said. Her eyes dropped down to the pigeon. William's eyes followed. "Do you want to send a message to Harry?" she asked.

William had been thinking about how Harry had redeemed himself throughout this ordeal. He was considering giving him a chance. "Maybe it's still too soon," he thought.

Julia read his thoughts. She saw a softening in her husband. She considered suggesting they offer Harry some sort of kind, appreciative gesture – but her body reacted nervously to the thought of bringing the idea up to William. It had been a pretty big fight between them. "It really needs to be his idea," she thought. She just smiled at him.

He sighed. "I was thinking, um, perhaps we could invite him over to the house sometime, once all this mess is sorted out," he said. He lifted his big brown eyes to hers, his pupils wide, trying to read her reaction.

Julia's heart did a little jump for joy. William's resilience, willingness to hope and expect goodness – even in the face of so much awfulness, always amazed her, warmed her soul, soared her spirit. In so many ways, he really was a marvel, a marvelous marvel. Her face took on a playful, loving look and she said, "If I weren't holding this pigeon, you would be in quite some trouble – I'm not sure I could keep my hands off of you, William Henry Murdoch."

They sent the pigeon with a message, even though they were unsure Harry would ever get it. It was an invitation to Sunday dinner – as soon as the family was safely back in their home. Julia released the bird out the window. "Whew," she declared once it was gone. She bumped menacingly into William's shoulder and admitted, "I was terribly worried it would soil your office. I don't know why …

"Did she just wink at me?" he thought.

She razzed him, continuing, "But I do believe you would have blamed me."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and forcefully pulled her body to his, bending her lower back into an arch, and sending some of her dangling curls into a breezy sway. "Well, you are the 'pigeon whisperer' between the two of us, are you not?" he asked, but did not give her a chance to reply, for he took a tender hold of her head with his other hand and seized a kiss – a slow, deep, magnificent kiss. He so loved the feeling of having her become weak in his arms, dropping and growing heavy. She wrapped her arms around him, needing to steady her swirling world.

Predictably, there was a knock at the door … They stopped their kiss, sharing a roll of their eyes up to the heavens with each other. William kept his arm around his wife as they turned to face Constable Crabtree at the door. Murdoch asked, "What have you George?"

"Sorry sir," George uttered, though after years and years of interrupting them, his apologies had become less heartfelt. "The Inspector asked me to tell you that the warrant to search the premises of the Wheat Shaft Tavern has arrived. And Constable Townsend has brought in the bartender as you requested. He's in the interview room," he finished.

"Thank you," Murdoch replied. Crabtree went back to his desk. "Duty calls," William said to Julia.

She reached up and stroked her hand across the muscles of his chest, "Until later then, my love," she whispered. She picked up the newspaper from his desk and caught his eye to let him know she intended to take it with her back to the morgue. He nodded.

During the interview, the bartender admitted that Brogan did rent the room upstairs, but only for the last few weeks. The bartender himself had lived there prior to that, but when Brogan said he needed a place, the man had agreed to stay with his mother until Brogan no longer needed to use his place. Brogan paid him – cash, and, as the apartment was included as part of his pay, he was pocketing the extra money. He had no idea there was a woman staying there, although he did confess to hearing moaning, at times from upstairs and he acknowledged, from the back area as well. He was sickened by his own behavior. He wanted to know if the woman would be alright. He wanted to let her know he was very sorry for looking the other way. Brogan intimidated him, and he had not had the courage to do the right thing.

Back in the morgue, Julia called Judith's number, hoping to speak with the children. She missed them terribly, and felt guilty that they had to spend so much time without their parents. Judith answered the phone. The children were outside playing under Claire-Marie's watchful eye. Before she went to get them, Julia asked her if William's father had come to her house. She said he was there. He was staying out in the old barn. She said that Harry watched over the place, often up higher on the hill, from the woods. She said he had a rifle that he carried with him. She had not seen any evidence that he was drinking – no discarded bottles of alcohol, and his behavior seemed sober. Julia was relieved after William had just sent him a note via pigeon, offering him his trust, inviting him back into their home, into their family.

She spoke with each of her children. They no longer cried when they spoke with her, seeming to have adjusted somewhat to the situation. Their biggest compliant was boredom, having left all of their toys, bikes, and even their neighborhood friends, back in Toronto. They were enjoying playing in the country environment as much as possible – tree climbing and exploring. Katie had fallen out of a tree yesterday and had gotten a concussion. She seemed proud of the story, especially after she learned her father had just withstood the same injury.

After Julia hung up the phone, she focused on the newspaper. Her story about being forced into having an abortion made front page news. "Well, at least it has awakened people to the possibility that there may be circumstances to consider when prosecuting the crime," she thought, "That accounts for something."

Murdoch brought Detective Gulliver and Constable Crabtree along with him to search the bartender's apartment. William noticed that there were a few of the now-familiar black shoeprints on the floor in the apartment. Gulliver said he himself would likely have had similar prints on the bottoms of his shoes from walking near the inking machines in the factory, except that the wet ground outside, from the rain, washed the ink away. Murdoch's mind ran a memory that still bothered him – seeing the black marks in the visiting room a t the prison. Brogan could not have been visiting Webster – she had already escaped, taking Miss Ward's identity. "Who could he have been visiting?" he thought. "Perhaps the …"

"Sir," George called, pulling Murdoch away from his thoughts. He had found a trunk full of weapons, mostly guns and rifles, but there was also a battlefield light and a few grenades. There were marks on the floor suggesting a similar-sized trunk had been removed. Murdoch speculated Brogan couldn't take both in his rush.

"Let's take them back to the station and check for fingermarks – the trunk too," Murdoch decided. In a dresser drawer, they found some newspaper clippings. They took them back to the station as well. Most of them seemed to be about Constabulary members, all the recent events such as attempted killings – even Julia's ordeal with the abortion charges. Brogan had likely spent the night there as recently as last night.

They decided to also investigate the typewriter factory and the toilet paper factory because Brogan had only been staying at the bar for a few weeks – reportedly he had stayed at the weapons building facilities prior to that. The fire had damaged much of the evidence in the typewriter factory. In what was most likely Brogan's room, William found Chelsea's stuffed bear in the closet. Somehow, the sight of the little toy tugged at his heart more than he had expected – its survival through such an ordeal reminded him of the little girl suffering without it, without them. He wrinkled his mouth at the internal thoughts. As he lifted the stuffed animal, he became self-conscious, realizing there was really not a manly way to hold such a thing. Concerned about it, his eyes glanced abruptly up to George's. The warm smile returned to him by George reassured him. William took the little bear under his arm and continued looking through the other items in the closet. They also found some of Jane's things. They took them along with them to the station, planning to have a constable bring them to her at York General Hospital.

There was evidence that another man also lived in the room with Brogan – two different sized shoes in the closet and two different brands of cigarettes in the ashtrays. Gulliver remembered that there were two men who escaped with Brogan in a boat, when Murdoch had been thrown unconscious off of the pier. "Perhaps one of the men is particularly close with Brogan, a mate, a brother, maybe a lover?" Gulliver suggested.

Murdoch wanted to see if there was any evidence left behind on the pier. He also wondered if it might spur his memory, as this seemed to be the only part of the day he had not regained memories from. There was a trail of blood, likely from whatever wound had injured Brogan in the right leg. At the far end of the pier, where the boat that the men used to escape had been tethered, they found a few scuff marks on the wooden floor.

George leaned against the railing and looked over at the water. "My, that is a long drop. Did Dr. Ogden really dive into the water from here?" he asked.

Still impressed, Gulliver replied, "It was amazing. She handed me her shoes, stepped up on the railing and just … dove off. I couldn't really believe it!"

William joined them, leaning his head over to see the distance down to the water. The leap into the water truly had been great, his stomach flipped over just imagining doing it. He still could not remember any of it. "Well," he added, "She is quite a remarkable woman. That is the second time her expertise as a swimmer, and then as a doctor to resuscitate me, has saved my life."

Gulliver said, "You know sir, I don't think you give the power of her love for you enough credit. I do believe she would have done anything to save you. In many ways, that's what I find remarkable." The three men were quiet for a moment, each was thinking about the truth of Gulliver's words. Then Gulliver switched the location of his gaze and pointed out the boat he had used to get Murdoch's body out of the water. It was still up on the shore over by the side of the building. The moment William saw it there, he remembered struggling with the slippery mud as he climbed up the embankment. He was excited to recover at least some part of the experience.

The stationhouse was still bustling, even after the usual time that most of the men would have headed home. They sensed they were close to catching Brogan, and they were charging full-speed ahead to try to ascertain who Brogan's boss likely was. One constable looked through records of Murdoch's old arrests, trying to find anyone who had been arrested with a .12 caliber gun. Others searched for matches to the myriad of fingermarks pulled from the guns taken during the raid on Brogan's illegal weapons business and the new trunkful of guns found in his room over the bar. The Inspector had gone to visit Jackson, Higgins and Shaffer in the hospital.

Julia sat at William's worktable, now cleared of much of the evidence he had been working with, taking it easy, reading through the rest of the paper while William worked. They had decided it would be safe enough now to spend the night in their own home, and she was waiting for him. She was coming to realize, however, that it might be a very long wait. Looking at their packed bag of dirty clothes, and the now recovered Berry Bear, she asked if he thought she should head home to get some clean clothes for tomorrow, and they would just spend the night here instead. William so very much wanted to go home. He asked her to be patient – he would try to finish up for the day soon.

Julia found an advertisement for the Hot Air Balloon Show in the paper. Excitedly she interrupted William's reading of the files of his past arrests and exclaimed, "Oh William! Wouldn't the children love this – Reginald Poundset's Hot Air Balloon Show. It's this weekend… just outside of town. I'm sure he would be willing to let us go up in a balloon!"

William felt a happy tingling all over his body. His wife's enthusiasm always had this effect on him. He didn't want to dampen her hopes, but he didn't think they should bring the children home until Brogan had been caught. Julia argued that they may never catch the man – should their children remain in hiding for months, or more, if that's what it took? William was running the various scenarios through his mind when Crabtree knocked at the door.

George looked excited. "Sir, it turns out that many of the fingermarks on the weapons confiscated from Brogan's men match those of the dead O'Shea brothers," he said.

Julia watched as William's face shifted from puzzled to electrified. "Now that seems like more than a coincidence!" he declared as he stood to look at the list of weapons in George's hand. "And one of the O'Shea's had their marks on the rifle Isabel Webster used too," he added. There had to be an important connection between the O'Shea's and Brogan somehow.

Just then, the Inspector came in the front door of the station. He had barely crossed the bullpen when he called out for Murdoch. He joined Crabtree at Murdoch's door. His energy had drawn the attention of everyone in the stationhouse. "Well, me old mucker … Thanks to Higgins' bullet wound to the shoulder, I have figured out why you can't find anyone who you arrested who had a .12 caliber gun," he started.

"Oh?" William asked.

"Because you were not the arresting officer – I was!" he exclaimed.

"But sir," William protested, "It was my print on the gun, not yours?"

"Oh, you were there… I even remember that it was you who picked up her gun," he said, pausing to see if Murdoch would get it on his own.

The detective's mind was racing. Everyone watched, recognized the introspective look he was now so famous for. After a few moments, his eyes refocused on the Inspector's. They sparkled with excitement. He held up a finger, asking the Inspector to wait – to let him say who the owner of the gun had been. "Cecily McKinnon! Of course… Of course!" he declared. "It explains my fingerprint on the gun – she had shot you with it. And all of the O'Shea fingermarks on Brogan's weapons – they had handled those same guns when they worked for her … Even Brogan's shoeprints in the visiting room at the Don Jail – He was visiting McKinnon! Cecily McKinnon, she's the one behind all of this …" Murdoch declared, "The weapons deals and the attempts on our lives," he explained.

"Crabtree," Brackenreid said, "We need Cecily McKinnon's file."

Murdoch continued his thoughts, "She was running the whole thing from within the prison." He re-connected his look with that of the Inspector, "I wonder if she ever really stopped running the harbor underworld after all?" he asked.

"Perhaps not," Brackenreid acknowledged. "I am surprised she could yield such power though, having been sentenced to life inside," he added.

Julia jumped into motion. She remembered something. The pages of the newspaper turning rapidly, she said, "William! I think, um … Here it is – right next to the advertisement for the Balloon Show – The women are being moved from the Don Jail to the new Kingston Facility …" she paused, skimming the news story. "Tomorrow!" she announced, lifting her face, finding his eyes. "Do you think …"

William finished her thought, "She is planning to escape!" Murdoch urgently looked at the Inspector. "All of this … mayhem – It was meant to throw us off our game. To ensure her successful escape!" he impelled.

Crabtree knocked hurriedly on the door. He held McKinnon's opened file in his hands. "Sirs!" he insisted, "Guess what Cecily McKinnon's full name is?"

The Inspector raged, "Bloody hell Crabtree! Get to the point man!"

George paused, for dramatic effect, then slowly read the name out, "Cecily Brogan McKinnon," he said, nodding as if he had shared a shocking secret.

Julia said it out loud first, "Brogan is her brother!"

Murdoch grabbed the phone and said, "We need to alert the warden. Brogan is still out there – he has plenty of men. They are probably going to try to pull-off the escape tomorrow, during the transit!"

All eyes watched as Murdoch spoke with the warden. His eyes bugged out of his head as he listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, "What?!" he yelled. "Tonight!" he repeated. "We think they have planned to execute an escape while McKinnon is being transported to Kingston…" Murdoch nearly gasped as he listened to the warden's reply. "What!? … How many Paddy Wagons? How many guards?" he demanded. "Yes, yes. Send more after them! We'll rush out now," he said, and then hung up the phone.

"Bust out the armory, lads!" the Inspector charged. "All men – Get every horse and carriage we have," he added.

Murdoch suggested, "Sir, I think we'll need the paddy wagon. They are transporting over twenty women tonight."

Constable Townsend called out to the Inspector, "Got it sir!" and rushed to the stables.

William noticed that Julia stood at the ready to join them. All eyes turned to her as he said, "Julia! You can't go."

She looked taken-aback. "William!" she began to argue.

"Your parole – You have to stay within the confines of Toronto city limits," he explained.

She dropped her chin, exhaled sharply, reminding him of a bull about to charge, and discerningly answered, "Be careful William … This is a "sleeping-on-the-couch" decision."

If the air were not so charged with drama, the Inspector might have laughed at the man's predicament, but they were in a hurry. "I guess the good doctor is coming along then," he suggested, his fatherly eyes on Murdoch. William nodded.

The sky loomed vast and dark as dusk overtook it. There would be no moon tonight – visibility would be a factor. Two Constabulary carriages galloped down the main road towards Kingston, trying to make up for lost time. About a mile back, the paddy wagon hurried forward as best it could. The second carriage was cramped, holding Brackenreid, Murdoch, Dr. Ogden, Gulliver and Crabtree. Even with Dr. Ogden sitting on her husband's lap, Gulliver and Crabtree had to sit at the edge of the seat to fit. Murdoch filled them in on the warden's description of the prisoner transfer plans. There was a carriage of guards at the front and at the rear of the convoy. In between these carriages were two paddy wagons with about 10 women each inside. There were three guards traveling atop of each paddy wagon – the driver and two armed men with rifles at the ready. The precautions sounded fairly secure, and by changing the planned time of the transit to be earlier than advertised, they hoped that Brogan would not even know to make his move tonight.

Dr. Ogden had an arm around her husband's neck, and he had both arms wrapped around her and his hands clasped in her lap. They sat next to a window. She found it odd to be outside with him when he was not wearing his hat. She realized, as they headed into a new danger, that she didn't know how he had gotten the bullet holes in his trusty homburg. The other men seemed engaged in conversation, so she turned her lips to William's ear and asked how his hat had become damaged so. She could tell by his worried look and his hesitation in answering that his life had been in danger, and that he didn't want to worry her. "William," she said, with a slight warning in her tone.

He took a deep breath and answered, "It happened when we were in the process of investigating a crime scene and apprehending Miss Webster." She held his eye and waited, expecting more. He shifted in his seat, moving her about some in the process. Looking uncomfortable he said, "Let's talk about it later?" and he wrinkled up a corner of his mouth, asking her to be patient.

She sighed, letting off some of the steam of her frustration. Julia gazed out the window. They passed the sign for the Balloon Show. It was very dark, but a few of the huge, inflated balloons could be seen at the ready for the opening tomorrow morning. It was too dark to be able to make out their colorful patterns, but still, her insides felt a twinge of excitement at the memory of flying in the bright orange and yellow balloon so many years ago – flying with William, being reunited with William. Her lips floated over his ear again to tell him, "We just passed Reggie's Balloon Show…You know William, I don't think I had ever wanted anything more in my life than I wanted you to jump in that balloon with me."

She could feel him raise an eyebrow as he nodded, and easily finding her ear near his mouth, he replied, "I'm glad I made it."

The carriage slowed as the driver yelled back, "There's something in the road up ahead… Something is on fire!" The Inspector and Murdoch shared a look. "It's going to be Brogan," the Inspector said. The road in front of the convoy had experienced an explosion, leaving a gigantic hole which blocked the two paddy wagons and the rear carriage from advancing forward. The first paddy wagon was in flames, seeming also to have had a small explosion in the front, where the driver sits. The horses were missing, likely freed as the explosion severed them from the harness. There were five or six dead guards scattered about. According to Dr. Ogden, two of the men had been shot in the head, while the others had a mix of injuries, likely from the explosion, and from being shot as well.

Both paddy wagons had been broken open and were empty. The sounds of guards yelling to each other and occasional gun fire rang out from the surrounding darkness. "We need to be able to see!" Murdoch shouted to the huddle around him. Suddenly his face lit up. Instantly they knew he had an idea! "Gulliver … George – are the battlefield lights and the grenades still in the other carriage?!" he asked.

"Yes sir, I believe so," George answered as he rushed to see. Excitedly he called out, "Yes sir!"

"Good," Murdoch said. He turned and focused on Julia. It was clear she was somehow at the center of his plan. "Julia!" he said as he took hold of her by her shoulders. She nodded. "Do you think you can still fly a balloon? The wind direction is right, and it is blowing fast…"

"Yes, of course," she replied before he could finish his thought. "Do you think that I could set-off a battlefield light from a balloon?" she asked. William nodded. He showed her how to set-off the light and Dr. Ogden and Detective Gulliver took the constabulary carriage, already loaded with the battlefield lights and grenades, and dashed back to the Balloon Show. They would fly a balloon over the prisoner escape area and ignite one of the battlefield light flares. They brought all of the arsenal along just in case.

The rest of the Constabulary, except for the Inspector and Murdoch who stayed at the central location of the disabled convoy, spread out to try to help re-capture the prisoners. The Inspector found two women's prison dresses in the rear paddy wagon. "McKinnon," was all he said to Murdoch. She would no longer be wearing a prison uniform.

Murdoch thought for a second and then said, "Most likely dressed as a guard sir, to make her less noticeable as she tried to escape."

The Inspector held up the other dress, "She's not alone," he added. A few guards and constables started to return, having captured some of the escaped women. They loaded them in the paddy wagon, expecting the warden's back up team to arrive soon.

Silently and suddenly, a magnificent light brought the whole area into view. "She's done it!" Murdoch thought. He looked up at the sky for Julia's balloon; all the men present did the same. She was not as high as he expected, but still, he was unable to make her or detective Gulliver out in the basket.

The Inspector stood next to him and quietly said, "Your wife is quite something me old mucker."

"That she is sir," William proudly replied. With the new illumination, they found three women hiding in the bushes near the convoy and caught them as well. Soon eleven women were back in captivity. But then things turned. Crabtree was hit by a bullet, and it was suddenly apparent that Brogan's men were out there as well. Immediately the Inspector ordered his men to drop and check their surroundings. His command was yelled from man to man. All quiet, everyone laid low, looking, listening. Murdoch had no idea how much longer the light would enable them to see. The same wind that carried Julia to them so quickly was also rapidly carrying the parachute holding the flare away as well. Bringing Brackenreid and Murdoch great relief, four carriages showed from the Don Jail. There was also another paddy wagon close behind. Some of the guards had blood hounds to help locate the escapees. If Brogan's men were still about, they likely took off, now clearly outnumbered.

Up in the balloon, Dr. Ogden and Gulliver relaxed a bit after having accomplished their mission and illuminated the area. The wind was carrying them where it would, but Julia had lowered the blower, planning to start their descent back down to the ground. She asked detective Gulliver what had happened to William's hat.

"Oh," he replied, "I guess things have been so crazy he hasn't had time to tell you."

"Perhaps," Julia thought. "The young man has come to be quite loyal to William in the end," she added to herself. "Yes, it has been quite a busy past few days I must say," she agreed.

As he looked in her eyes, he realized that, at least up here, the battlefield light created a light almost as bright as day. She looked beautiful. "No wonder he loves her," he thought. Gulliver cleared his throat, working to dislodge some of his discomfort with disclosing information Murdoch might want kept quiet, and said, "Miss Webster set a trap for him once she read that you were missing. She um, placed a fake body in a lake and called it in to the station. Of course, by the description given, everybody thought it was you …"

"Oh my God," Julia thought, "William thought I was dead!" Her heart raced with fear for him. "Did he think ..."

Gulliver's eyes widened, taking in her reaction, as he said, "He was panicked. He ran to the body – It was in the water at the end of a small dock. And he jumped in to uh, to … well, on some level I think he thought he might save you, but on another level, I'm pretty sure he thought you were dead …" He stopped midsentence – a carriage was down on the road ahead, galloping away from the convoy at top speed. Gulliver declared, "Do you think that's McKinnon getting away?!"

Back at the site where the convoy was disabled, two of the hounds were presented with the discarded women's prisoner uniforms the Inspector had found. The dogs quickly found the scent on the opposite side of the explosion in the road, but then the trail died out. Just then, drawing everyone's eyes up to the skies above – over the road farther away – towards Kingston, the skies exploded into brightness with a second battlefield light flare.

"Julia's spotted McKinnon!" William screamed out. "She must have escaped in the front carriage… She's getting away!" he exclaimed. He rushed to one of the horses that was hitched up to a Constabulary carriage and began to unbuckle the harness. "Can anyone else ride without a saddle?" he yelled out as he prepared his mount. Unable to get a carriage to the other side of the road because of the damage done by the explosion, it would be necessary to go on horseback. Two other constables would join him, but they would have to catch up, Murdoch had already mounted up and galloped down the road towards Kingston, towards the light, towards McKinnon, and towards his wife.

Wanting to stop McKinnon from escaping, Detective Gulliver figured they could throw some grenades down towards the carriage as they passed overhead. Julia knew, from throwing the grenade in the typewriter factory, how to use it. She explained that it would likely explode before it reached the ground. They decided to try anyway. The first grenade blew up about twenty feet above and behind the carriage. The explosion spooked the horses and they bolted forward. However the next grenade blasted in front of the horses, and only about ten feet above the ground. The horses nearly halted, reared, and then turned off the road to avoid the explosion. The carriage wheels caught in a ditch to the side of the road, and the carriage flipped. The harness broke, and even though the horses fell down, they quickly got up and bolted off.

As William galloped his horse down the road, he saw and heard some explosions up ahead. He had to hurry. He clicked to his horse and leaned forward as he urged him on. As he first caught site of a disabled carriage ahead, adrenalin pumped through his body. It had overturned and the horses had run off. Although he had heard explosions, there was no evidence that one had occurred here. "Perhaps Julia dropped some grenades that exploded in the air and spooked the horses," he thought. He dismounted, and just as he was about to check to see if there was anyone inside the carriage, he heard gunfire – and it was coming from above, from up in the sky. In the illumination of the battlefield light he could just make out a hot-air balloon and … "What is that?" he thought. "Oh my God – It's the dirigible! And it is in pursuit of the balloon. It's firing on the balloon… Julia!" he panicked. He mounted back up and took off in the direction of the balloon. The balloon was hit! And it was losing altitude – quickly!

Up in the hot-air balloon, Dr. Ogden and Detective Gulliver had two problems. The first one was that, much to their surprise, someone, probably Brogan, had attacked them with a dirigible. There were some bullet holes in the balloon. Julia was coping with that problem by increasing the heat released from the blower under the balloon and decreasing the amount of venting with the flappers. Although the balloon was still descending too quickly, she had managed to slow its descent significantly. They were going down, but the landing would likely be pretty soft, or at least survivable. However, the second problem was more worrisome. The dirigible was still in pursuit and appeared to be gaining on them. If one of Brogan's bullets hit a propane tank, it would explode and they would surely die. Gulliver had placed his body between Julia and the approaching dirigible, stating that Murdoch would kill him if he let anything happen to her. Selecting a rifle, he had taken focused aim on the section at the bottom of the dirigible where he believed the men were located. The bullets had seemed to come from that area during the attack. He fired! Unsure if his attempt had hit anyone or not, he decided to continue to fire. The dirigible never returned any fire, but it continued to get closer and closer. A mid-air collision seemed imminent, and their balloon would likely be badly damaged by the impact.

William's horse was tiring, but he had caught up to the balloon. It was quite low now. Continuing along under it, his horse was finally permitted to slow to a trot. William watched from the ground as the bottom of the dirigible crashed into the balloon, puncturing the side. The balloon began to drop rapidly. He hoped they would be alright – they were already pretty close to the ground he had thought. He sent the horse forward in pursuit, a heavily wooded area up ahead. The dirigible continued on its way, soon to disappear out of sight.

Gulliver and Ogden watched below, preparing for the crash landing. They were going to hit trees. First they heard the slapping and cracking sound of the leaves and small ends of the branches as they caught against the basket. The basket suddenly tipped. Detective Gulliver had plastered Julia tightly to the side of the basket with his body and the held on tight to the ropes on the sides, being cut and slashed by the pieces of the trees as they brushed by. Then just as suddenly, the basket righted itself. Abruptly, the basket halted. The balloon had caught firmly in the trees. They were merely a few feet from the ground. Their hearts pounding, out of breath from fear, they realized they would live. Gulliver jumped out and then reached back to give the good doctor a hand. The battlefield light still illuminating the area, they found themselves in a small clearing in the midst of the woods. They saw her clear as day running through the trees– a woman dressed as a guard, an escaped convict. Gulliver pulled his side arm and aimed the gun at the running woman. He cocked the gun, yelling for her to stop or he'd shoot. She stopped and turned, putting her hands up. The escaped prisoner, Sally Smoot, stood before them. She was quite a bit older than Detective Gulliver had expected.

"Countess Fausta!" Julia cried out.

Her chest heaved with exhaustion. Her eyes focused. Surprise covered her face. Out of breath, she struggled to speak, "Oh my God, Dr. Ogden… Dear, please tell him not to shoot," she said. Gulliver looked at Dr. Ogden, his eyes asking for explanations. The countess lowered her hands to put them out in front of herself – in a praying position. She begged, "Please let me go. You know how awful it is in there and I didn't really do anything wrong … Certainly nothing to deserve to spend the rest of my days in such a horrid place as a prison cell."

Julia's mind was going a mile a minute, and her heart was beating even faster than that. She felt such compassion for the countess, having just faced the same possibility, or even worse, for a similar "crime." That's when it occurred to her – crossed her mind as the best explanation for it all… "Countess," Julia asked, "Was it you who had my files stolen from Dr. Tash? Was it you who tried to have me killed by informing the press of my abortion?"

The countess put her hands back up in the air, anticipating anger. "Now sweetie, I never wanted to hurt you – noth 'in personal. In the end it came down to you or me… I just couldn't take it anymore, and tell 'in what I knew about your abortion was the only way I could see to get out," she explained.

Julia shook her head, fighting the bitter taste of betrayal. "You did it because you resent me – for having wealth, for having a silver spoon up my arse. That's why!" Julia shouted.

Having reached a point in the woods that was too dense for the horse, William dismounted, tied up the horse and ran on foot towards the last place he had seen the balloon. Only a few minutes in he heard someone yelling. "That's Julia's voice," he thought. Hope surged through him and he bolted towards the sound.

The countess dropped her hands again, feeling more confident, and answered, "You have to believe me – I told about your abortion because it was the only way I could be included in the escape – she wanted to get to you … and I had a way she could. It worked out alright in the end, didn't it? All's well that ends well, hmm?"

All eyes turned as a twig cracked in the brush. William emerged out of the shadows, the battlefield light still sufficiently illuminating the dark night, his eyes met and held those of his wife. His chest rose and fell dramatically; he was winded from the chase. Relief flooded his face, except for a few cuts, Julia looked to be alright. "Julia," he called out.

She rushed to him, wanting to be in his arms. "William!" she cried.

The countess quickly snatched her from behind before she could get to William, and put a knife to her neck. She stepped backward towards the black-enveloped brush, dragging Julia with her. Although Gulliver had the gun, Sally Smoot knew it was really Murdoch who was in charge, and her eyes focused on him as she said, "Let us go or she dies." Murdoch caught Gulliver's eye and nodded. He lowered his weapon and the two women disappeared into the dark.

Once they were out of sight, the countess lowered the knife and whispered, "Please let me go… PLEASE."

Julia heard a twig crack under her feet; she knew William would hear it too – he would know which direction to go to find them. Indecision and conflict filled her. "Run!" she declared with a whisper. Without turning to see, Julia rushed forward, back towards William, knowing that when she found him and dove into his arms, the action would be helping the countess, a convicted prisoner, to escape.

Only mere steps later, she found him with Detective Gulliver. Every cell in her body reacted to the sight of him. They had survived so much – she ran to him, throwing her arms up around his neck, hearing the soft thud as their chests collided. "William," she whispered in his ear.

"I've got you," he whispered back. She squeezed him harder. "When I saw the balloon get hit … I …" She stopped him with a kiss. When they broke off the kiss, Gulliver was gone. William softly explained, "He's gone after her." He brought her back to his horse and they rode back towards the others.

Once they got back to the overturned carriage, the Inspector and many other men were already there. McKinnon had been knocked unconscious in the accident. Brackenreid asked Dr. Ogden to take a look at her. She had regained consciousness. William stood behind Julia as she examined McKinnon.

Cecily McKinnon noticed Murdoch. She looked him up and down, remembering how attractive she found the man to be. The irony that this would be the second time the handsome detective was directly involved in her arrest was not lost on her. "So detective," she slyly said, "We meet again."

"Mrs. McKinnon," William replied.

"I see your fiancée finally got around to marrying you after all… Pity really," she continued.

Dr. Ogden stood up and said, "She has a broken arm. Otherwise I believe she is fine." The couple stepped out, leaving McKinnon with an armed constable. Eventually, the Constabulary and the prison guards had recovered fourteen of the twenty-one escaped women. Countess Fausta managed to escape, as did one of the other women who had shared meals with Julia in the prison. They also captured a few more of Brogan's men, including the other Obannon brother. Brogan had escaped in the dirigible.

Finding the dirigible, and thus finding Brogan, became the Inspector's major initiative. "How many places could he hide such a thing as a dirigible?" he had asked Murdoch. Murdoch explained that they had already looked in all the places he could think of – that even with advice from James Pendrick, they had not been able to find where he was hiding it. All they knew was that it was south of downtown Toronto. Murdoch had an idea though – perhaps they were storing it on boat – a really big boat. Lake Ontario is south of Toronto; that could be where it had been headed. Brackenreid planned on calling the navy tomorrow to determine if such a thing were possible. For now, they decided to call it night and all head home. It had been an amazingly long and stressful day. They would leave the rest of the work of re-capturing the women to the warden.

However, as soon as she stepped up into the carriage to head back down the road towards home, Julia remembered something. "Oh, William," she started, "We have to tell Reggie about the balloon. He probably needed it for the show tomorrow."

"Yes, of course," William answered. He stepped back out of the carriage and asked some constables to go cut the basket out of the trees and try to recover as much of the balloon as possible. The basket was relatively light; they could probably use a team of horses to get it to the road and then put it in the paddy wagon. He asked them to drop it off at the Balloon Show site. He would call Mr. Poundset once they got back to the station and explain what had happened. If need be, Julia and William would reimburse him for the cost of the balloon – it was William's idea after all, and Julia was the one who actually took it.

Dr. Ogden and Constable Crabtree headed over to the morgue so she could treat his bullet wound. He had been hit in the upper arm. Fortunately, it was diagnosed to heal up well. Once they were finished, they headed back over to the station. On the short walk over, George shared with her how awed he was at seeing the lengths to which she had gone to save her husband's wife. And not only that, he had explained, she had saved all of them by sneaking around behind Brogan and throwing the grenade, and just now she had flown a balloon, of all things, to make it possible to re-capture most of the prisoners – particularly the mastermind behind all of the attacks on the Constabulary! Hearing him list all of these feats, and realizing they had all happened just today, and many more thrilling events as well, took her breath away. They entered the stationhouse feeling both amazed and exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to go home and have a shower and a drink, and fall asleep in William's arms.

Before William and Julia headed home they called Claire-Marie and the children. They told them they would be coming to get the children tomorrow, but to stay put until they got there. They spoke with the children. Everyone was excited for tomorrow to come.

On the way to their house, the couple sat together in the carriage, Julia tucked under William's arm. He told her that he had promised Reggie Poundset that they would come by the balloon show tomorrow morning. They were to speak on stage about Julia's adventures in the balloon. They agreed that it was the least they could do given the circumstances. Julia suggested that they pay for the balloon anyway, and William agreed.

She rested her head down on his chest and took a deep breath. "It's so hard to believe that it was this morning that you got knocked unconscious twice, and then nearly drowned William!" she said, letting her hand softly rub along his chest. "How do you feel?" she asked.

He leaned away from her and tenderly took her chin in his hand, bringing their eyes to meet. "I am thoroughly exhausted … And very relieved. I only wish Brogan wasn't still out there," he answered.

Julia remembered that yesterday he had thought she was dead and had nearly been killed by a bullet to the head, and he had had to arrest her for having had an abortion, and then they had argued … It really was overwhelming to think of how much had happened to them in such a short time. Of course they were exhausted. She sighed, not wanting to acknowledge what he had said about Brogan – she was just too tired to worry anymore. "Don't you think that, now that his sister has been recaptured and transferred to the Kingston Penitentiary, and most of his men have either been arrested or have abandoned him, and he no longer has a place to oversee his business, and he's on the run, don't you think we are safe from him now William?" she asked. Holding her eyes, he nodded. "My God, he's beautiful," Julia thought, being drawn in by his warm, chocolate brown eyes. A smile grew on her face, preparing him to be teased. She tucked herself back in his arms, nestling in against his chest, and said, "Hopefully, our biggest adventure tomorrow will be buying you a new hat."

"Oh," he replied with a cringe of pain, "I loved that hat. She gave him a squeeze as she giggled. He was succumbed to join her – just a little.

Once they got home, they did exactly as Julia had imagined – showered – together, making love against the shower wall. Then she had had a glass of whiskey, and to her astonishment, William had had one too. And, finally, they fell asleep slept together, naked, in their own deliciously comfortable bed. Tomorrow they would be with their children. Tomorrow, life would get back to normal. Sleep came quickly – and they were each there to comfort the other as … (And it was inevitable that this would happen) … as the nightmares came.

William and Julia had done more than weather the storm – they had chased after it, and they had caught it! And they had devised ways to survive it, and even to use its powers to their own advantage. Just remember, a year ago, when they had been caught in a thunderstorm up at the lake-house, and they had run through the woods, heading for the clearing to be safe from the lightning … remember that Julia had wanted to slow, for they were almost there, but William surged forward, pulling her along even harder, for he knew that you are the most vulnerable when you think you have made it to safety, but you haven't actually done so yet. Thunder still rumbled. Perhaps they were too tired to hear it.