It was late October, as Julia was putting the finishing touches on Susannah's Halloween costume, she called out for her, "Susannah, can you come to the dining table?"
"Coming Mommy" Susannah calls out
As she was slowing walking, holding onto her teddy bear, Julia noticed she was limping a bit.
"Susannah, darling, why are you limping?"
Susannah tries to straighten herself out and winces, "I'm not mommy"
Julia makes a face, "ok, well…want to try on your Dorothy costume?"
"I don't want to go out for Tricks or Treats"
"What? You always have looked forward to it since you were 1. Remember the baby bat costume your daddy made you."
"I just don't feel like it, this year, ok. Can I go back to my room" she said in an angry voice and takes off limping again
Julia stands up, "Susannah Elizabeth Mary Murdoch, you come back here this instant"
"Oh no, middle name" Susannah grumbles as she lumps again towards Julia
Julia hunches down to her level, with a calm voice, "what is the matter? You haven't been yourself these last few weeks."
Susannah tried to walk away, as she says, "nothing mommy"
"Susannah, sweetheart, if there is something going on just tell me. You won't get in trouble, I promise"
Susannah turns around, pulls down her bloomers and pulls up her dress and shows a big bruise she had on lower back and legs.
Julia gasp, as she places her hand on her mouth, as she gently touches the bruise, "ouch, mommy"
"Sorry, love, just checking your muscles and bones," as she grazed over the bruises, "what happened?"
"I fell down the stairs at school"
Julia knew she was lying, as she continued looking at the bruises, "darling, these bruises…they look more made by a wood paddle, not stairs"
Susannah pulled back, "mommy, I fell down the stairs! Enough, please! No, Halloween, either. Just leave me alone" as she grabbed her teddy and did a limp run to her room
"Sus…" as she heard her door closed, and Julia began crying in her hands. She never cried so much since she miscarried Mary.
She felt helpless knowing her little girl was getting hurt and she wouldn't say what had happened.
It was later that day, Julia was still at the dining table in tears, having a cup of tea, when she heard William come home, "Julia, Susannah, I'm home"
Julia looks at him, with her puffy red eyes, "Julia, what's wrong? Where's Susannah?"
She got up, "she's in her room, but William, something is wrong with her."
"What do you mean?"
"Have you noticed how quiet and thin she has gotten since going to school?"
"Actually, I have. But she says she is loving school and she is ok."
"Well, she refused to try on her Dorothy costume and that she doesn't want to do Tricks or Treats this year."
"How odd, she always loved doing that with little George and Jordan."
"I agree. But William, well…I noticed she was limping and she told me it was nothing."
"I thought she was limping. She told me I needed glasses."
"Well, I had to be tough on her and have her show me her backside, and well…follow me and I'll show you the bruising"
"But how are we going to see it, with her being a light sleeper, if she won't show it?"
"Before you came home, I gave her a glass of warm milk with a small amount of landaum."
"You drugged her to sleep?"
"William as you said, she's a light sleeper and we really need to examine her backside. She claims she fell down the stairs at school."
"You don't believe it?"
She shook her head, "I have seen bruising caused my falling down the stairs before and what she shown me, wasn't it."
William follows Julia to Susannah's room.
As they opened her bedroom door, she was completely passed out, laying on her belly, snuggling her teddy.
They turn on her night stand lamp, remove the blanket off and lifted up her nightie, as they examine her backside, "tell me, that's not falling down the stairs bruising?"
"You're right. I actually have experienced a bruised like this in the orphanage, made by a paddle…and the way the bruising is doesn't match the width of the stairs of the school"
"What kind of paddle, could cause bruising like that?"
William thinks, "there's a drawing of one the same in a book, I have" as he waves her hand to follow him.
She pulls down Susannah's nightie, covers her with the blanket and shut off her lamp and follows William down the hallway.
William goes to the bookshelf, finds the book and goes through the pages as he finds the drawing, "here, this matches the bruising"
She looks at the drawing, and sees it does match Susannah's bruise, "it looks more like a torture device.
"In the orphanage, you got light taps, that caused redness. But her bruising, it seems like either a nun or the Father of the school, did this too her, did it as a severe punishment and in anger"
"But which one of them did this?" Julia said tearing up
He grabs her face, in his hands, "that's what we're going to find out"