Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jean was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at her hand as if she hadn't seen the ring that graced her finger before. She'd been wearing it for almost a year and yet somehow it didn't seem real. Matthew and Lucien were already off to work – some poor person needed justice just the day after she and Lucien had returned from their honeymoon.

The honeymoon – four months of just being a couple. No work, no distractions, and no drama. Just the two of them enjoying a trip around Europe learning a few new things about each other and somehow behaving like teenagers at times. There had been some apprehension on her part – not because she didn't love Lucien – far from it. She never thought that the hole left by Christopher's death during World War II would be filled. Well never completely filled - her first husband would always hold a special place in her heart. They had a good life and two sons, that was something that would never go away. Lucien filled a need that she hadn't even realized existed.

After Christopher's death she didn't really date because on some level, it felt like betraying her first husband. Maybe that was silly – it wasn't like there was an affair. Christopher would never come home – not in the true sense. His body was somewhere in the South West Pacific theatre. She'd had the headstone at their joint plot carved with his date of death and she often visited it, when she wanted to talk to him. It was the only way she could feel connected to him. After his death, she had to sell the farm and most of their belongings to pay off debts and because she could not work a farm by herself. Her boys had no interest and despite his father's death, her older son, Christopher (named for his father), joined the military. Jack… well he was all over the place, something that Jean blamed herself for.

So that first time that she and Lucien had shared a bed, Jean was nervous. Silly, maybe, but she was out of practice and had suddenly become self-conscious. Lucien had seemed to sense her concerns and did not push. What resulted was one of the most sensual, sensory overloading nights either one had ever had. After that, they could barely keep their hands to themselves and even this morning, Matthew almost whacked Lucien with his cane to get his butt moving after breakfast.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and Jean quickly shook the thoughts away before heading to answer it. Lucien did not have any patients scheduled today and the house was all hers since Danny had joined Matthew and Rose was off to work at the paper. Charlie had returned to Ballarat, a full-fledged detective, but there wasn't room at the Blake's house so he'd ended up at the boarding house for the time being.

"Mrs. Blake?" The man at the door asked. He was with a young woman.

"Mr. Clay?" She smiled at him.

"That's me and this is my assistant, Miss Powell. You wanted some help with redecorating and furniture, right?" He asked.

"Indeed, come in," Jean smiled and let them into the house. She led them to the studio. Lucien had taken a long while to unlock it, his mother's death was too painful. Now, it stood to be repurposed, the cause of his mother's death solved and the revelations that came with it.

"So, you want to convert this room into a master bedroom? Does the house not have one?" Mr. Clay asked. He was tall and lanky; his black broad rimmed glasses made his bright blue eyes stand out. Jean figured that he was her age though as he had grey hair starting to mix in with his brown hair.

"It does have one, but we have let our good friend Matthew take it. The room allows him to move around better with his cane. The other bedrooms are small once the beds went in," Jean explained. She left out the part that Lucien wanted no part of that room – somehow unable to see himself in the same room his parents once slept in and his father died in.

"Oh, that would do it. So, we're needing something to act as closet space. I'm not thinking you want this wood paneling removed for that though?" Mr. Clay wondered.

"Wardrobes perhaps? While we might be using it as a bedroom, I imagine that it won't always stay that way," Jean admitted. She did not want to think about her and Lucien not being able to be at home together but whoever would be selling the house years from now would probably want to turn it back into the amazing room it was now.

"Hmmm… so two wardrobes – same number of dressers?" He asked.

"To start with," Jean nodded.

"Queen or King sized bed? A complete set, yes?" Mr. Clay wanted to know.

"Queen please and yes we'll need frame and mattress," Jean said.

"Ok – what is the intention for the couch?" The interior designer looked at the leather, marveling that it seemed in good shape, given its age.

"Honestly, I have no idea. It was barely used prior to the room being shut up so I'll have to check with Lucien," she admitted.

"Not to worry. Did you want to make the decision about furniture selection together? I imagine the Doctor is pretty busy and I know some husbands just let their wives handle these kinds of things," Mr. Clay said.

"We're a team and he would like to be included in the selection. If you could get a few ideas together though that would be appreciated. We've not picked out furniture before," Jean said.

"Totally understandable. A couple of days and I'll have options together. Now, were you thinking about the curtains and carpeting?" He wondered.

"Yes please," Jean smiled.

"We just need to take some measurements and then we should be good to go," Mr. Clay smiled back.

"Excellent," Jean said as she heard the phone ring. She quickly excused herself and ran down the hall to the phone. Taking a note from one of Lucien's patients, she returned to the studio.

"I did forget to ask about the doorway. We can make sure that you can lock that the normal way. I'm guessing sliding doors for a bedroom…" he trailed off.

"Good plan. I'll be sure to mention that when Lucien gets home tonight," she tried not to blush, though she noticed that Miss Powell was blushing.

"Great. I'll give you a call in a few days," Mr. Clay smiled and Jean showed them to the door. Once they were gone, Jean went upstairs to her old bedroom. Danny had taken it over for the time being, but the poor boy was living out of his suitcase. She fetched a few items from the closet and the dresser and then headed back down to Lucien's room. Well, their room for now. Once they vacated, Charlie would take the room so he could get out of the boarding house. Somehow, despite not having children of their own, their house was full.

"Maybe we need to think about adding another bathroom," Jean said to herself. The phone rang again and she huffed before heading to get it.

"Jean?" It was her beloved.

"Yes Lucien?" She asked.

"I'm afraid I won't be home for lunch. We've got to make a run out to one of the farms outside of town," he told her.

"Appreciate the heads up. You will be home for dinner, right?" She wanted to know.

"Definitely for dessert," Lucien teased.

"Doctor Blake…" Jean chuckled.

"I'll see you later," he promised.

"See you later," she promised.

Chapter Text

Lucien had been true to his word and was home for dinner. Matthew had not said anything when the doctor told him that it was time to knock off for the day. They were at a stopping point anyway and the Chief Superintendent wasn't going to argue because it meant the Police Surgeon wasn't out running around when he wasn't supposed to.

"We haven't had dinner like this in a while," Jean admitted to the group. Rose and Danny had walked in a few minutes after the older men.

"No, I guess we haven't, but someone was off on their honeymoon," Danny teased. He has been seconded down to Ballarat with Charlie in detective training. When Charlie had been sent back down to Ballarat, Danny was told to stay as the police detachment was now short a constable. Matthew had been surprised but did not argue as it meant he wouldn't have to be chasing down bad guys anymore.

"Did you have a good day darling?" Lucien asked her.

"I did. The interior designer stopped by and promised to have some furniture ideas in a few days. Also, I took a note for you from one of your patients," she told him as she set the roast down on the table. Danny had grabbed the potatoes and carrots from the stovetop.

"Oh good. I can't wait to see what he comes up with. As for the patient note, I'll make sure to call them back after dinner," Lucien said.

"Really?" Matthew gave him a look with regards to picking furniture.

"Of course! It has to be something that both Jean and I can live with for the next forty years or so," his friend said.

"Besides, we can't have Charlie staying at the boarding house for too much longer," Jean said.

"I'm sure he would appreciate that. He mentioned something about home cooked meals the other day, but I suspect he meant Jean's cooked meals," Matthew teased.

"Well, I miss his help," Jean smiled as she took her seat. The group quickly served up their plates and tucked into their meals.

"So, what did you end up doing for lunch?" She asked after a few minutes.

"We missed your sandwiches, but the malt shop helped us out today. Might want to pack some lunches in the morning. I have a feeling that tomorrow could be a long day," Danny admitted.

"Oh?" Rose perked up.

"Well, the farmhouse search didn't help as much as we hoped. We're getting help from the cadets tomorrow to search the property," Matthew let her know.

"Who passed away?" Rose asked.

"Arnold Beaucaire. He was found by his Aboriginal head farmhand, Reginald Bridge," Lucien said.

"So not natural causes," Rose figured.

"Regrettably not," Lucien nodded.

"Oh dear," Jean frowned.

"Indeed. Alice was sampling a few things for examination that might help figure out what happened. I offered her to come to dinner, but she said that she had plans," he told the group.

"Plans?" Matthew's interest piqued.

"I didn't pry. I figured that something must have developed whilst we were away," Lucien raised an eyebrow.

"Speaking of plans, Rose and I have about thirty minutes to get to the cinema," Danny spoke up.

"Oh geez," Rose looked at her watch.

"Big plans for the evening?" Jean wondered if her nephew had taken more than just a friendly interest in Matthew's niece.

"Just taking in a film," Danny smiled but said nothing else. Jean noticed that he'd practically inhaled his dinner. Rose had managed to get about halfway through hers, but it was twenty minutes to the cinema so the two were off and running for Rose's car.

"Ah to be young again," Matthew chuckled as he continued to eat his meal.

"Indeed," Lucien smirked. The rest of the meal was a good mix of chit chat and enjoying the food.

"Another fantastic meal Jean. I'll help you clean up," her husband said about fifteen minutes later.

"You and Matthew should have a drink. I can handle this," she said.

"Point is you don't have to. Besides, I need to get off my leg and be rested up for tomorrow. Danny wasn't kidding about the day being long," Matthew admitted.

"Have a good night, Matthew. Let us know if you need anything," Jean smiled at him. He smiled back before leaving the table and making his way down the hall to his bedroom.

"Was that on purpose?" Lucien asked.

"Might have felt like a third wheel but you had better call your patient before you get helping me with dishes," Jean said.

"Right. Thank you, Jean," he smiled, kissed her temple, and headed off to his surgery to fetch the note and make a phone call. Jean began clearing the table and packing away Rose's leftovers separately from the others. With the dirty dishes in the sink, she began to get water and soap where they needed to be.

"I'm going to have a script made up for Mrs. Dunwoody. She's going to pick it up in the morning," Lucien announced a few minutes later as he walked back into the kitchen.

"She didn't need to come in?" Jean was a little surprised, but she didn't turn around, staying focused on the dishes. Suddenly, she felt arms wrapping around her waist and lips with a scratchy beard on her neck.

"Lucien…" she warned, not wanting to break the dishes.

"I have been wanting to do that all day," he admitted, untangling himself, leaving her missing his warmth.

"Help me with the dishes and then maybe you can help wash something else in the bathtub," Jean smirked.

"Very naughty Mrs. Blake," he said before going to quickly help her with the dishes.

Chapter Text

The next morning came early and the men were out the door in a hurry leaving Jean to make sure that Mrs. Dunwoody got her prescription. The patient of her husband was due in at ten-thirty, so Jean made sure that breakfast had been properly cleared and dishes cleaned. Then she started seeing if she had enough supplies to bring more sandwiches out to the farm. The men had each taken one this morning, but she wondered if the cadets had enough to eat or if it was going to be a long day maybe dinner would be a sandwich too.

"Short on bread and meat," Jean frowned.

"Hey Jean, I'm heading out. Do you need anything?" Rose asked.

"I think I'm all set. I have my shopping list and I have the prescription for Mrs. Dunwoody. You have a good day. See you for dinner?" Jean wondered.

"Wouldn't miss it," Rose smiled and scooted out the front door. Jean smiled and looked at her watch. There wasn't enough time to run to the store, so she made a quick sweep of the house, making sure that nothing was in a major state of disarray.

Her sweep led her to the door of the studio and she paused in the doorway. Everything that Lucien had been through started with some of his best memories of this room. Now they were going to turn it into a room where they could make new memories.

Memories were a weird thing. When they had gone out to the farm that had once been hers and Christopher's, her mind noted the things that the Dempster's had changed. She caught herself judging them for their decisions – which she knew was wholly unfair. It wasn't her house anymore – it hadn't been for years. Somehow it was made worse to find out that the next owners had not made their own happy memories there. Instead, it had been filled with lies, deception, and eventually murder plots.

The sound of the doorbell shook her from her thoughts and she headed for the front door. Opening the door, she found Mrs. Dunwoody. Jean let her in and told her to wait just a second.

"Here you go," Jean smiled.

"Much appreciated. I forgot to ask for a refill and now I'll be out of medicine in a few days," the older woman smiled back.

"Happens to the best of us. If you need something more, let us know," Jean told her. She could sense that something was bothering her husband's patient, but she wasn't sure if she should press.

"Please pass on my thanks to Doctor Blake," Mrs. Dunwoody said before she turned around to go.

"Are you all right?" Jean couldn't help herself. The woman stopped in her tracks but slowly turned around. Inwardly Jean cringed that maybe she'd overstepped. However, she was met with a woman in tears.

"Oh Mrs. Dunwoody," Jean pulled her into a hug and then helped her into the living room. They took a seat on the couch and Jean tried to comfort her, handing her a handkerchief.

"I'm sorry…" the woman apologized.

"No need to be sorry," Jean told her.

"I went to get that assessment Lucien suggested I get while you were on your honeymoon. It's not good news," Mrs. Dunwoody admitted. Now Jean had no idea what she meant – Lucien took his patient's privacy very seriously.

"Have you talked to Lucien about this?" The doctor's wife wanted to know.

"No, I just got the bad news yesterday afternoon," Mrs. Dunwoody said.

"Let me make a phone call," Jean said. The woman nodded and Jean quickly called the precinct hoping that Lucien was there, or someone knew how to get ahold of him. The constable who answered told Jean to wait and he'd radio Matthew's car. An exchange occurred and the constable got back on the line with Jean.

"Doctor Blake says for her to go to the hospital and see Doctor Harvey. He's going to call Doctor Harvey from the farmhouse," the constable let her know.

"Thank you," Jean said before hanging up. She quickly placed another call – this one to Rose at the paper. She quickly explained that she had to help Mrs. Dunwoody and that the sandwiches were in need of assistance as far as getting made and getting delivered. Rose promised to help out as soon as she spoke to her new boss and the plan for the day was set.

Chapter Text

"Mrs. Dunwoody, Doctor Blake filled me in and Doctor Kluk gave me his assessment. I don't want you to worry. Between the three of us, we will get this sorted but what I need from you now is permission to disseminate your medical information with Jean in the room," Doctor Harvey said. The three ladies were in one of the private exam rooms down at the hospital. Mrs. Dunwoody sat on the examination table, while Jean took one of the empty seats next to it.

"It is your right to your privacy. I do not need to be here," Jean told her husband's patient. She reached out and took the woman's hand.

"I don't have anyone left. My husband…" the woman stopped herself and squeezed Jean's hand. Jean looked at Alice. Neither one of them knew what had happened to her husband.

"I lost Christopher in the war. I know that handling things on your own can be overwhelming, but I also know that if you had wanted to stick your head in the sand, you could have done so. You went out and went to doctor's appointments all by yourself but you're not alone now. You're amongst friends," Jean told her. Mrs. Dunwoody heaved a sigh and said,

"Please go ahead Doctor and please call me Phyllis."

"All right Phyllis. Now, your diabetes had been relatively controlled on the insulin, but it seems that your kidneys are not functioning as well as they could," Alice started. There was a knock on the door and Alice looked confused, but she went to open it.

"Doctor Blake, talk about timing," the pathologist said.

"I got Danny to drop me off. They can handle the crime scene for a bit without me," he winked at her.

"I do have some information that may help you with that later. Phyllis said that Jean could listen in," Alice told him.

"Excellent. So, Mrs. Dunwoody, have they been taking good care of you?" Lucien asked.

"They have. Doctor Harvey was just about to go over a few things," Phyllis smiled.

"Well then let's hear it," he smiled and sat down on the second empty seat, next to Jean.

"As I was just telling Phyllis, her kidneys are not functioning as well as they could be. Doctor Kluk suggested dialysis, but as he noted it's really only a short-term solution," Alice was little blunt about it. Admittedly, she wasn't used to handling live patients.

"Indeed, but an excellent one to start with," Lucien tried to reassure his patient.

"What would a long-term solution be?" Phyllis asked.

"A kidney transplant. We would need to find a suitable donor so until we do, the dialysis will have to do. Of course, we will continue to treat your diabetes as well," he explained.

"Have you done one of these transplants?" Phyllis wanted to know.

"No, I have not, but the Americans did it in nineteen-fifty-four and I've been reading up on the procedure. I'll put a call into Doctor Kluk, so he knows what we have been discussing," Lucien told her.

"This is a lot to absorb," Phyllis admitted.

"Yes, it is. Do you have somewhere you can go to be with some friends?" Lucien wondered.

"My sewing circle. We're supposed to meet this afternoon," she told him.

"Excellent. Now, if you have any questions, you can call me or if I'm not answering, you can call here to reach Doctor Harvey. We will help you get through this. Alice, could you get the first dialysis appointment made, while I call Doctor Kluk?" Lucien asked.

"Yes of course. Phyllis, we need to head downstairs. I'll introduce you to the staff down there," Alice smiled and helped the woman down off the exam table. Phyllis thanked Jean and left with Alice. Jean followed Lucien down to the morgue.

"How bad is it? A transplant sounds…" Jean started as they walked into the thankfully empty room.

"It's not great. Phyllis had one kidney that didn't really work well before she was diagnosed with diabetes. I thought originally that it might come to something drastic, but I had hoped we'd have longer," Lucien frowned as he headed for the phone. He did not like to share his patient's information and there were laws against it, but Phyllis had agreed to allow his wife to listen in, so he felt he could answer Jean's question. His wife placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from picking up the receiver.

"You've done what you can do for her and you made sure that she got a second opinion. I know it doesn't help but sometimes I think you forget that you're human," she said. He turned around and pulled her into his arms.

"You remind me every day that I'm human. We have our faults, but being able to love is not one of them," Lucien told her. He leaned in and Jean met him for a kiss. There was that heat again that welled up between them. It was over almost as soon as it had started though. There was business to attend to. Lucien held onto Jean's hand while he dialed Doctor Kluk's number.

Meanwhile, Rose pulled up to the farm that Jean had given her the address of. Matthew saw her and gave her a look before heading over to her car. She quickly explained that Jean had put her in charge of the sandwiches.

"That was nice of her. The cadets are overheating and we're taking a break," her uncle explained. Rose could see the cadets in the shade of the trees.

"It is a sweaty one out here today, isn't it?" She commented as they both moved into the shade with the picnic basket full of sandwiches. Rose handed them out as an Aboriginal man approached with jugs of water in his hands.

"Thank you, Reginald," Matthew smiled.

"Anything I can do to help," he smiled back.

"Reginald, this is my niece, Rose. She took some time off of work to bring sandwiches. Would you like one?" The Chief Superintendent asked.

"Much obliged," Reginald nodded and Rose handed him a sandwich. That's when a lady, not much older than Rose, exited the house.

"I can't find any paperwork. I could have sworn that Mr. Arnold said it was in his desk," she announced to the police with a sigh.

"Mary, this is my niece, Rose. Would you like a sandwich?" Matthew asked.

"Oh yes, thank you," she smiled.

"No paperwork?" Rose asked.

"Mr. Arnold always promised that we'd be taken care of if something happened to him. He knew that he was struggling with his health. He was worried about the future of the farm," Mary explained.

"You work the farm?" Rose was surprised considering the fact that Mary did not have any sort of tan.

"I cleaned house for Mr. Arnold," Mary clarified.

"Arnold didn't have any relatives, did he?" Matthew asked.

"No. He viewed us as his family. Though I cannot say the same for the Wagner farm," Mary had a look on her face that told Rose all she needed to know – there was a dispute between neighbors.

"I sent Detective Davis over to the Wagners with Constable Benson. We'll see what they come up with. Would Arnold have let one of the Wagners into the house?" Matthew wanted to know.

"No, but then they know not to come on the property," Reginald spoke up.

"They do?" Rose was a little surprised. Matthew knew what was going on, but he could tell that Rose did not.

"They don't like people who don't look like them, do they?" The Chief Superintendent asked.

"Let's just say that Arnold told them a few choice words when they had a few choice words for me and the others," Reginald admitted. Almost all of the twenty farmhands were Aboriginal with a few Asians, children of those who had fled the Japanese invasion during World War Two. Australia's policies of the time were not what could be called enlightened. Old policies in place since the turn of the twentieth century meant that people of color struggled to find a foothold.

"Arnold sounds like a good man," Matthew said.

"He was," Reginald nodded. Rose looked at her uncle. Could Arnold's wishes for those close to him have gotten him killed?

Chapter Text

Lucien had called to the station only to find that the cadets and all other police personnel had returned to the precinct. He told the constable on the phone that he was heading over with something that Alice had found on the body of Arnold Beaucaire. The constable promised to warn the Chief Superintendent and that was the end of the phone call.

Jean promised to give Phyllis a ride back to their home as her car was still there but first, they'd have to drop Doctor Blake off at the police station. Phyllis was more than happy to do that as her sewing circle wasn't due to start for another hour. Jean pulled up to the station and Lucien gave her a peck on the cheek before promising to be home for dinner. Admittedly, the roast Jean had been planning would take too long now so she was going to have to improvise. She might end up back at the shops after all.

"I'm glad to see him happy," Phyllis said as Jean pulled the car away from the station.

"What do you mean?" Jean asked as she watched the traffic.

"When he first came here, I could feel like he had a weight on him. At first, I chalked it up to dealing with the death of his father and having to deal with everything that comes with it. I saw it shift and change a little at a time but the smile I see now was not a smile that I saw before," Phyllis admitted.

"Oh, yes. His first wife… well things had gotten complicated because of the war," Jean said, not wanting to tell a story that wasn't entirely hers.

"I wish I could say that, which I'm sure sounds awful, especially since you lost your first husband," Phyllis admitted.

"It's been a tough couple of days for you, hasn't it?" Jean wondered as she stayed focused on the road.

"A tough five years," Phyllis heaved a sigh before continuing, "My husband left me for his secretary."

"Oh Phyllis," it upset Jean to hear something like that, especially since Phyllis was sick.

"It was apparent that things were not working for us but… well you know how the church looks on divorce. I wasn't interested in dealing with that but when I confessed to the priest that my husband was cheating on me… well I didn't get the answer I was hoping for," Phyllis admitted.

"The church wouldn't let Lucien and I get married there. He was divorced and well the splash in the papers did not help," Jean said.

"What they printed wasn't true, right?" Phyllis asked, worried about her new friend.

"As I'm sure you know, the courts will only accept certain reasons for a divorce. Mei Lin did not want him to sully his reputation, especially given what had happened, but Lucien could see no way out of it. He sent off those wholesale lies to let Mei Lin have her own life and to let us have ours," Jean admitted.

"So, you went ahead with everything, just so you could be happy," Phyllis nodded in understanding.

"The judge heading up the proceeding refused to believe what had been turned in and even had the paper admonished for publishing it. Our friend, the Chief Superintendent, had sent him a letter explaining the whole story and even providing a copy of the police report. The judge granted the divorce due to extenuating circumstances," Jean gave her the quickest, cleanest version of the story.

"My lawyer was able to prove to the judge that the divorce was through no fault of my own so that part went smoothly but… well getting my alimony has been difficult," Phyllis told her.

"How are you supporting yourself?" Jean was concerned as she pulled into the Blake home driveway.

"I do a little bit of everything. I help out at the library, I sell sewing projects at the farmers market, and I clean offices at my lawyer's office. My parents left me some money when they passed so it could be a lot worse," Phyllis tried to downplay it as Jean shut the car off.

"Well, if you ever need anything, you come to us. Anything at all," Jean said.

"You've all been so helpful already," the other woman said.

"We have to stick together. Have fun at your sewing circle," Jean smiled. Phyllis smiled back and exited the vehicle before climbing into hers. Once she was sure that her new friend was off safely, Jean retreated to the house to figure out her next steps.

Meanwhile, Lucien was busy explaining to Matthew, Charlie, and Danny what Alice had found. The three were also explaining what they had found. All of them were hoping that they were making progress.

"So, Alice showed me the bruising that showed up, but Arnold's blood tests are more interesting," Lucien started.

"Mary said he was unwell," Matthew said.

"Right. We found a tumor in his lungs during the autopsy, but we didn't expect to find was arsenic in his blood," Lucien told them.

"Who tries to kill a guy who is, more than likely, already dying?" Charlie asked.

"They were not sophisticated in the use of the arsenic which is why I'm guessing the large oddly shaped bruise showed up on his chest. Whatever hit him, broke a rib, and drove it into his good lung. It's a terrible way to die – as someone who almost experienced it can attest," the Doctor said.

"Why hit him in the chest? Why not the head?" Danny wanted to know.

"Maybe he was coughing and the person wanted him to be quiet? Lung tumors often leave the patient short of breath and more likely to cough. Coughing is the body's way of clearing the passageways to try and let more air in. The problem is, you can't cough up a tumor," Lucien explained.

"The paperwork that Mary couldn't find," Matthew said.

"Paperwork?" Lucien asked.

"Mary said that Arnold had paperwork drawn up so that the farm would pass to the farmhands and not the state, since he had no family left," Matthew explained.

"I'm guessing it's missing," Lucien gave him a look.

"You are correct. Reginald gave me a card from the lawyer that Arnold used. I think it's time to pay him a visit," the Chief Superintendent suggested.

"Agreed," Lucien nodded.

"I don't think we can let the neighbors off the hook. They are…" Charlie had a frown on his face.

"They don't like the farmhands, do they?" The Doctor wondered.

"How did you know?" Charlie asked.

"Mei Lin dealt with some people being less than civil. I can only imagine that having Asians on the farm was something that some of the neighbors didn't agree with. This country has not done itself any favors by fostering these kinds of attitudes," Lucien frowned.

"They don't like Aboriginal people either," Matthew told him.

"Well rounded horrible people then," Lucien heaved a sigh and shook his head.

"Look into the neighbors better. Also, see if anything we collected contains arsenic in it," Matthew told his officers before heading out with the Doctor.

Chapter Text

"Chief Superintendent Lawson, Doctor Blake, to what do I owe this visit?" William Hayworth asked as he shook their hands before offering them seats in the chairs in front of his desk. He was the lawyer that Arnold had hired to work on the missing legal documents.

"We have some bad news. Arnold Beaucaire was murdered and now his copy of his will is missing," Matthew got right to it.

"That is awful. How did it happen? His will is missing?" William looked confused and hurt all at once.

"We're still working on the how but, according to Mary, she cannot find the paperwork. You have to understand, once we release the farm as the crime scene, the state will have an interest without the will," Matthew explained.

"Yes, and that is why Arnold had me file it immediately. I'm guessing you found out he was sick," the lawyer said.

"Do you know how long he'd been ill? A colleague of mine has been trying to find his medical records and for some reason they are missing," Lucien gave him a look. William was taken aback.

"He told me that he didn't have a doctor, such as yourself, and had been going to the hospital for his treatments. The cough he had was quite nasty and you could hear him coming. He used to joke that he couldn't go hunting anymore because the rabbits would hear him coming," the lawyer explained. Lucien nodded. Someone, somewhere at the hospital, had to remember that.

"So, you filed the paperwork and it's on record at the court," Matthew asked.

"Yes. I even have a copy of it. The farm is secure," William promised and went to his filing cabinet. He pulled out a stamped copy of the will, indicating that it had been filed by the court.

"Can we have a copy of that for our files?" Matthew wanted to know.

"One for Reginald Bridge too please," Lucien smiled at him.

"Of course. I know it might sound silly but I always make six copies – half of them will be stamped by the court. So, in the end, we have two for the court, two for the client, and two for me. You'd be surprised how many times I get calls about missing copies or misfiled paperwork. It's a lot of typing for my secretary but we don't have money for those fancy Xerox machines they have in Melbourne," William explained.

"I have seen those. Quite a fancy thing. I imagine that being able to make as many copies of paperwork as you want will become a big thing in your business," Lucien said.

"I'm sure my secretary would appreciate it. Now those are the only stamped copies I have left," the lawyer smiled and handed them two copies of the will, stamped that the court had received it.

"We think that someone killed poor Arnold over the farm. Did he mention anything to you?" Lucien wondered.

"Have you been out to the farm?" William asked.

"Yes, extensively," Matthew told him.

"Well then you noticed that everyone who works on the farm, lives on the farm. If the property falls to the state, they'd be kicked out while the government makes up its mind about what should be done about it. Arnold surrounded himself with people he trusted but also people he wanted to help. You see, Reginald's father, David, joined the service to fight against the Japanese. He ended up in Arnold's unit and the two became friends. They both survived the war but unfortunately not long after David got sick. Wanting his friend to not worry about his family, Arnold had them move to his farm, promising his son a job, and a safe place with access to doctors. David died almost fifteen years ago and Arnold kind of became a second father to Reginald. I don't know about the rest of the folks but if Arnold thought he could help, he would. I know he views… viewed the country's policies with disdain," William told them.

"His neighbors not so much," Lucien said.

"So, I've heard. What I also heard is that the neighbors want the land. You see Arnold owns the corner that is bounded by the road and is basically surrounded by the Wagners. The Wagners' property is basically like a large rectangle with a corner missing – that forty-acre corner being Arnold's. Had a will not been filed with the court, the land, most likely, would have gone up for bid. That would allow the Wagners to purchase it and kick all of those living on it off. The land has been well tended and would be easy to plant crops on it. More crops, more money," William explained.

"There's no way that Arnold would let the Wagners onto his land, right?" Matthew asked.

"No. They were like oil and water," William shook his head. That's when they were interrupted by his secretary, Betty.

"Phone call for the Chief Superintendent," she announced. William allowed Matthew to use his phone. He wasn't on the line long before promising whoever it was, they'd be right there.

"Reginald has been shot. They're bringing him to the hospital," Matthew said.

"Bloody hell. Let's go," Lucien told him.

Chapter Text

Lucien rushed into the emergency portion of the hospital to find they were just preparing Reginald for surgery. He offered his assistance and the surgeon on duty, Doctor Bart Sullivan, took it. That left Matthew to speak to the ambulance crew and Sergeant Bill Hobart, who had followed them down to the hospital.

"What happened Bill?" Matthew wanted to know as the two stood outside the hospital in the side parking lot. He'd already gotten a bleak picture from the ambulance crew. The bullet has possibly nicked an artery and that there had been a lot of blood.

"We got a frantic call from Mary that Reginald had been shot in the shoulder. She was doing the best she could to stop the bleeding. So, I rushed out there while the ambulance was called. When I got there one of the Chinese farmhands had managed to get the blood flow to slow. The other farmhands wanted to go out and find the shooter, but Charlie managed to convince them otherwise. I don't think we have to look far for the suspects though," Bill admitted.

"The Wagners?" Matthew suggested.

"There's no one else out there. I doubt that one of his fellow farmhands did it," Bill said.

"We've got to pull the family into the station. I want them all formally questioned. Blake is in there trying to save Reginald's life, so I'll speak to the head of the Wagner family myself," Matthew told him.

"You got it," Bill nodded. The radio inside his car crackled to life and the Chief Superintendent answered it.

"Constable Benson to Chief Superintendent Lawson," the voice said.

"Go ahead Benson," Matthew told him.

"Charlie is bringing Mary into the hospital. She insisted that she be there. Meanwhile, he told the other farmhands to remain at the farm for questioning. Sergeant Parks and a couple of cadets are down there now, over," the constable said.

"All right. Sergeant Hobart and I will wait for Charlie here before heading to the Wagners, over," Matthew let him know.

"Very good sir, over," with that the radio call ended. It wasn't long before Charlie's car came into view. He'd barely stopped the car before Mary jumped out of it and ran into the hospital.

"What if we're looking at this wrong?" Matthew suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" Bill was confused.

"People who have been near Mary get hurt," the Chief Superintendent pointed out. Mary lived inside the house with Arnold. Arnold had been killed and now she was standing near Reginald, who'd gotten shot.

"You think they're after her? She doesn't have much money or own any property. Why try and hurt her?" Bill wanted to know.

"I'm not sure but you make sure you're not standing too close to her," Matthew told him. The sergeant nodded as Charlie walked up to them.

"We've got some Wagners to round up. Ready?" Matthew asked.

"Let's go. The farmhands had some interesting information for us," Charlie told them.

"Oh?" Matthew gave him a look.

"Robert Wagner was a sniper in the War," Charlie said.

"Well then, he didn't miss. He wanted Reginald to suffer. Come on," the Chief Superintendent said. The three quickly got into their individual cars and headed back out to the Wagner farm. There were some questions that needed to be answered quickly before anyone else got hurt.

Meanwhile, Lucien and Bart worked to save Reginald's life, the nurses were rounding up blood from the hospital's supply. Things were not going well and in the back of Lucien's mind, a little voice told him so. Still, he'd seen too many good men die and he wasn't willing to give up, not now, not ever.

Chapter Text

"Thank you for calling me, Alice," Jean smiled at the pathologist. Alice had met her in the hospital parking lot. It was past dinner time and when only Rose had shown up for the meal, both women grew nervous. They mostly just pushed dinner around on their plates, though Jean made a point of saying that they needed to put some nutrition in. The older woman knew why she was nervous, but she had not yet figured out what was worrying Rose. Sure, Rose's former boyfriend, Charlie, hadn't called, but he wouldn't normally call for her anyway anymore. That's when she wondered if maybe Rose was worrying about her nephew Danny. She'd seen how they looked at each other and how quickly they'd run out to the cinema. That's why Rose ended up heading to the police station once she dropped Jean off at the hospital.

"Of course, Jean. I found him passed out in a chair and figured he might like a bed at home," Alice smiled as they entered the hospital.

"What happened? He never called and I began to worry…" Jean stopped herself short. Both women knew what she meant. Lucien's punctured lung had resulted in a phone call, long after it had happened.

"Reginald, from Arnold Beaucaire's farm, had been shot. Lucien helped our on-duty surgeon, Doctor Sullivan, save his life. It was messy, but I think the worst of it is over," Alice admitted as they moved down the hall to where Lucien had fallen asleep. She knew that it wasn't exactly protocol but given that Lucien was the man who operated on him, Alice figured it was fine. It wasn't like she'd given any personal information away. The newspaper would more than likely report the attack and the arrests made by the local police.

"Good God. What did that poor man do to deserve that?" Jean shook her head.

"Nothing that I can think of. Though one rarely deserves something like that," Alice figured.

"Yes of course, you know what I mean. I just can't understand why there is so much violence over a piece of property," Jean admitted.

"Yes, I do know what you mean. Between you and me, it's a man thing," Alice told her before stopping in her tracks. Jean gave her a look.

"He was right there…" Alice pointed to a now empty chair.

"You check the morgue and I'll find a nurse," Jean said. Alice nodded and scooted down the hallway while Jean headed back to the nearby nurses' station.

"You haven't seen…" Jean didn't even get the words out.

"Dr. Blake is on the second floor, checking in on his patient," the nurse smiled.

"Much obliged. Can you call down to the morgue and Doctor Harvey? She went looking for him down there," Jean smiled back.

"No problem," the nurse said. With that Jean found the staircase and headed up to the second floor. It didn't take long to find him as the room was near the stairwell and she could hear him talking to someone. Not wanting to intrude, Jean stayed in the hallway, taking a seat on a nearby bench.

"Mary, does Reginald have any family left?" Lucien asked.

"His father died before I met him. His mother went back to their ancestral home, though where that is, I do not know. He doesn't have any siblings," Mary admitted.

"Why would his mother leave?" Lucien was a little confused given that they had a home on the farm.

"He never writes to her. I think it was code for something else. I don't press. It doesn't do much good to," she said. Lucien nodded. Families could be complicated; he knew all about that.

"How long have you two been dating?" The doctor wanted to know.

"Dating?" Mary gave him a look.

"Mary, you're obviously attached to him. None of the farmhands came running. You did. You'll get no judgement from me. We don't have a viable emergency contact for Reginald. He had Arnold on his records," Lucien said.

"It's not much of a secret on the farm, but you know how people are," the woman told him.

"I do. We'll put you as his contact. Now, he won't be up for a while and if the charge nurse finds you in here after visiting hours end, we'll both be in trouble. Can you stay in town for tonight?" He asked.

"I don't have anywhere to stay and I don't have enough money for a hotel," Mary admitted. That was all Jean needed to hear. She went up to the doorway and knocked.

"Jean, it is good to see you," Lucien's face lit up. She knew that he wanted to say more but not in front of the woman whose boyfriend was currently unconscious in a hospital bed.

"Alice thought I should check in on you since you were sleeping in a chair," Jean smiled at him.

"I know our house is a little full at the moment, but do you think we could help Mary out for the night?" Lucien wanted to know.

"Absolutely. Dinner is in the fridge and we have a couch available. We just need to find your car. Rose dropped me off here," Jean said.

"It's at the police station," his shoulders slumped a little. He was much too tired to walk down there.

"I'll make a phone call and be right back," his wife promised.

Chapter Text

The morning came early but Jean did not want to disrupt the moment. Lucien had passed out cold once his head hit the pillow and she had snuggled up next to him, her head on his chest. She was so glad that he hadn't been harmed but also sad for Mary and Reginald. They had not received any phone calls during the night, so she took that it was a good sign for the younger couple.

"Jean, I can hear the gears grinding," Lucien said just above a whisper before kissing the top of her head. She moved so that she was looking down at him.

"So, I'm a fine-tuned machine now?" She gave him a look.

"You have a big, beautiful brain and I'm glad that you use it. Though admittedly, I'm not thinking about your brain at the moment," Lucien smirked. Jean's move had caused him to feel the loss of her warmth and feel something else.

"Doctor Blake, are you thinking naughty thoughts?" She smirked, knowing full well that he was.

"Mrs. Blake, how could you think such a thing?" He teased.

"Because I'm having those thoughts as well," she said as she leaned down over him and kissed him. Before she knew it, he had rolled them over, so he was above her, without breaking their kiss. His hands moved to her nightgown when the phone rang.

"Save those thoughts for later," Jean heaved a sigh.

"Of course, Mrs. Blake," Lucien chuckled and the two managed to get out of bed and get some robes on. When they reached the hall, they found Mary speaking on the phone. She was taking notes and they did not interrupt her.

"Thank you. I'll pass along the message," Mary said and hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Jean asked, causing Mary to jump as she had not seen them standing there.

"I'm so sorry. I was worried it was the hospital," Mary immediately apologized.

"No need to apologize. Who was it?" Lucien gave her a smile.

"A Doctor Kluk from Melbourne. He says that you should call him back regarding your shared patient," Mary said. Lucien quickly grabbed the phone and called him back at the number that Mary had written down. Jean takes Mary into the kitchen, and she starts getting the kettle on.

"Did you want to go get cleaned up first? I'm sure that Lucien could give you a ride to the hospital. He was planning on going there before the police station," the older woman said.

"I don't want to disrupt anything. I know you weren't planning on a guest," Mary said.

"This house is slowly becoming a hotel. Guests are always welcome," Jean teased her.

"Sounds like Doctor Blake is a lot like Arnold," Mary smiled.

"Your Arnold sounded like a good man," Jean smiled back.

"He was. We're a bunch of misfits but we'd do anything for each other. I'm sure that if Bao Shen wasn't a doctor, Reginald wouldn't be here," Mary told her as the kettle whistled. Jean quickly took the kettle off the heat and made some tea.

"Mr. Shen is a doctor?" The older woman asked before handing the woman a full cup on a saucer.

"He was in China. When he escaped the Japanese invasion, he couldn't get a job here as a doctor. Arnold met him at the market and offered him a place to stay and work. Bao was the one who told him that he needed to get to a hospital," Mary explained. She wrapped her hands around the warm cup.

"It was good that he could convince him," Jean said. Mary nodded, seemingly lost in thought. Jean was about to press but didn't get the chance as Lucien came into the kitchen.

"Doctor Kluk has been putting out feelers for my patient. He says that the procedure would have to happen in Sydney," he said, almost forgetting that Mary was there.

"Oh dear. Did he find what the patient needs?" Jean asked.

"Not yet but the doctors in Sydney have all the required equipment and have performed the procedure more than anyone else in the country. Doctor Kluk thinks that my patient needs to move to be closer to the doctors," Lucien frowned. Jean could tell that he was not thrilled with this idea given Mrs. Dunwoody's condition, but a transplant was not an everyday procedure and not every doctor could perform it.

"That sounds awful. Seems we have all been having a run of bad luck," Mary frowned. She still hadn't tried her tea.

"Why don't you get ready for the day and then I'll take you to the hospital? I need to see Alice anyway," Lucien smiled at her. Mary nodded and scooted off to the bathroom.

"I'm surprised that the phone hasn't woken anyone else up," Jean said.

"I'm not sure that Danny or Matthew came home last night. Matthew's car is not in the driveway. Rose is around though," Lucien gave her a smile.

"Mary mentioned that the Chinese man who helped her with Reginald was a doctor in China. His name is Bao Shen," Jean told him.

"I'll mention that to Matthew," he said right before his stomach rumbled.

"Breakfast is in order. That's what you get for going to bed with no dinner last night," she teased him.

"I didn't even get dessert," he teased before getting a playful slap on the arm.

Chapter Text

"Any new developments Alice?" Lucien asked the pathologist as he entered the morgue.

"Good morning to you too," she teased him before looking up from her microscope.

"Sorry, yes, I should have led with that," he admitted. Alice left her microscope and turned to face him.

"A good morning for Reginald. He's doing well considering what he went through yesterday," she said.

"Yes, he is, and I couldn't be more grateful. Though it does make me worry," Lucien frowned.

"What do you mean?" Alice asked.

"Well, whoever this is, they are very disorganized. Arnold's will is on record. So, the property was already taken care of – killing Arnold, doesn't help. This person wouldn't have known that until they stole the will from Arnold's house. Still, to poison him with arsenic, you'd have to be close to him. The next person in line for the property gets shot – our shooter, fully expecting that Reginald wouldn't have a will," Lucien said.

"That makes sense. Given his age and the fact that prior to Arnold's death, he would not have had any property to give to others," Alice figured.

"Right, but given that the police are already involved, the property would not change hands without a judge getting involved. A suspicious death would put everything on hold. If it was found out that the murderer would benefit, then the property would go to the state. Arnold's will did state that Reginald could not sell the property without the majority of the farmhands giving their approval – which doesn't help if Reginald is dead," the doctor explained.

"Are we looking at this wrong?" Alice wondered. Lucien gave her a look and she continued,

"Usually someone who poisons, does so because they want their victim to suffer or because they do not want the cause of death to be obvious. Let's not kid ourselves, poison doesn't leave a mess, and it doesn't leave fingerprints."

"True. Poison indicates patience. Yet someone lost their patience and hit Arnold with some sort of object, which killed him," he nodded.

"Still – who kills a man who was already dying?" Alice asked.

"Good point. Arnold's lawyer said that Arnold used to joke that he couldn't go hunting anymore because the rabbits would hear him coming. Anyone who had a cough like that, everyone else would know they are sick," Lucien admitted.

"Maybe what I have will help clear things up. I found Arnold's records. He was seeing the pulmonologist here, Doctor Damien Ashkin. Damien had sent a copy of Arnold's records to Melbourne for their opinion, citing that he didn't think it was a good idea that Arnold travel there," the pathologist explained.

"Smart. I doubt a train ride would have been a good idea. Going over bumpy roads in a car for almost two hours wouldn't have been good for him either," the doctor agreed with the assessment.

"Yes, well Melbourne confirmed Damien's suspicions. Arnold only had about three months left, if he was lucky. Surgery would have been difficult and could have killed him sooner," Alice said.

"Mary said it wasn't good, but I don't think she knew the time that Arnold had left would have been that short," Lucien was surprised by that number.

"Honestly, Damien was surprised that Arnold was doing as well as he was. He chalked it up to all the fresh air in the country and taking it easy. There was no amount of medicine that was going to help," she told him.

"Did Damien know about the arsenic?" Lucien wanted to know.

"No, but I think I know why. Come look at this," Alice brought him to Arnold's body. She pointed to Arnold's feet. Lucien looked at the skin and noticed that a sample had been taken from the skin. He also noticed something else. Without her even saying it, Lucien moved to the microscope.

"Hyperkeratosis – thickening of the skin," he said.

"Exactly so. I was reexamining the body because the poisoning was bothering me. I noticed that the skin seemed thickened on his hands. Being a farmer, that isn't too surprising, so I checked his feet. This man would have worn shoes almost his entire life. The skin on his feet shouldn't be so thick. I went to his fingernails. He's got light colored bands on them. They weren't very visible before due to the blood loss and the paleness of his skin, but I stuck a nail file under one of his nails to create a contrasted background and then you could see them," Alice showed him the one nail.

"Unusual but well done. He wasn't poisoned in large amounts. It was done slowly, so slowly that he might not have even noticed. Alice, the arsenic could have caused his cancer," Lucien said.

"That could mean he was being poisoned over years. It would explain why his liver and spleen were enlarged. I assumed it was because of cancer. I wasn't thinking that it could be because of the arsenic," she admitted.

"The enlargement of the liver can mean so many things. Whoever was doing this had a hatred of Arnold. They were poisoning him. You are right. We were looking at this wrong. There are two killers. Worse still, there may be more deaths. We need to check all of the farmhands. Someone could be trying to make them all sick," Lucien told her.

"Contamination of the groundwater from agriculture," Alice's eyes went wide.

"Bloody hell. Rush upstairs and check Reginald and Mary. I'll call Matthew. We have to get out to the farm. We're going to need a lot of Dimercaptosuccinic acid, if I'm right," he told her as he went for the phone. Lucien didn't want to admit that the acid was their only shot to help their possible patients. While it could not undo the damage done, it would remove the arsenic from their systems. Alice quickly left the room and rushed upstairs. She was going to need blood samples from both Mary and Reginald.

"Matthew we've got a situation," Lucien said.

"Is it Reginald?" The Chief Superintendent asked.

"It could be all of the farmhands. We need to get out there with vehicles to transport everyone to the hospital. They all need to be tested for arsenic poisoning. We need to check all of the water at the farm to find the source," Lucien explained.

"Do we need to be worried about ourselves? My men and Rose were out at the farm," Matthew said.

"No. Short term exposure at small amounts won't have much of an effect," the doctor reassured him.

"Good. I'll round up the team and we'll swing by the hospital to pick you up," Matthew promised.

Chapter Text

Jean had not heard from her husband all day. She had not heard from Danny, Charlie, Matthew, or Rose either. Not wanting to waste the roast that she'd cooked but unsure if anyone but herself would be there to eat it, Jean called the hospital and asked to speak to Alice.

"She and Doctor Blake are very busy," the nurse explained.

"Good God did something horrible happen?" Jean asked. She worried that maybe Mrs. Dunwoody or Reginald had taken a bad turn or worse some sort of mass casualty event.

"It's not good, Mrs. Blake. I'm not sure how much information I can give you," the nurse admitted.

"Don't get yourself in trouble, I'll come see for myself," Jean told her before quickly hanging up. She had no car and the walk to the hospital was a little long. She picked the phone back up and called for a taxi.

"So how are we going with the bloodwork?" Lucien rubbed his forehead. He could feel a headache coming on.

"All farmhands' blood samples have been collected and sent to the lab. I've checked our supply of Dimercaptosuccinic acid. We do not have enough to treat everyone if they need it," Alice heaved a sigh. They were down in the morgue trying to run some tests of their own. All the farmhands had been checked into the hospital. They argued that if the farm was abandoned that someone might try something. Matthew had understood their concern. Arnold was dead and Reginald had been shot. While the Chief Superintendent had not been able to get the Wagners to crack, he knew there had to be something that they could dig up to arrest them with. So, Matthew promised that he would have a few of his men stay and patrol the property. It was a possible crime scene now anyway.

"What about Melbourne?" Lucien asked as he looked at a label on a container of water.

"Melbourne promises to send some our way, first thing in the morning. It's dark out now and as I was told – 'the Roos are out on the road.'," Alice told him.

"Yes, kangaroos love the lights on cars for some reason. Much better to have the supply safe on its way here than to have the poor driver have an accident. Besides, we don't even know if we need it. As confident as I want to be, none of the farmhands seem to be exhibiting symptoms. Or at least ones that we can rule as specifically arsenic poisoning," Lucien admitted as he set down the container and looked for the next one.

"The water samples from the farm – where do you want to start?" Alice asked, not even bothering to question the Police Surgeon's beliefs. He'd been right before and even if the farmhands did not have arsenic poisoning, the blood tests and wellness checks could help them in the long run. Alice figured that most had not seen a doctor in a long time.

"Let's start with the well that serves the farmhands' homes. I know we had samples collected from all the faucets but if it's in the well…" Lucien trailed off.

"It's in the faucets," Alice finished his sentence and nodded. That's when they were interrupted by the morgue door opening.

"Lucien…" the man looked up.

"Jean is everything all right?" He immediately grew concerned. She normally did not visit him at work.

"I'm fine but I could not reach anyone. Dinner was ready but I was the only one home," Jean admitted. Lucien noted the basket in her hands.

"I am sorry. I should have called. Charlie and Danny are out at the farm guarding the property. Matthew is at the station, trying to get some direction as to who to call about the possible contamination we're dealing with. Admittedly, I do not know where Rose is," he said.

"Well, I made sandwiches with the roast. I figured you wouldn't be eating properly," Jean gave him a look.

"I've heard these sandwiches are famous," Alice said.

"Plenty for us to all enjoy," Jean smiled before continuing, "Why are Charlie and Danny out at the farm?"

"We think the arsenic may be in the water supply out at the farm. We had to pull all the farmhands in for testing and possible medical treatment," Lucien admitted. He quickly grabbed a chair for each of them so they could all take a seat.

"How is that possible?" Jean was only picturing rat poison which seemed like an odd way to do it to her. She quickly handed each of them a sandwich, which she'd wrapped in foil. Next came the pitcher she'd brought of tea. She couldn't reheat it but at least they'd have something to wash down their sandwiches with.

"Arsenic is used in pesticides. When it rains the pesticides are washed off the plants and into the ground. The water in the ground helps to move the arsenic into areas where water collects – like wells. The farm is outside the municipal water system so they count on wells and rainwater for their homes and watering the crops," Lucien explained.

"So, crop dusting would be the best way for large amounts of arsenic to land on crops. I believe that Sergeant Hobart was checking with the Wagners to see if they crop dust. He's also supposed to be getting us water samples from their well," Alice spoke up.

"That would mean the poisoning would be accidental, wouldn't it? I mean once the pesticide was sprayed, you couldn't control where it went," Jean said before taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Yes, but since we believe that Arnold's cancer could have been caused by the arsenic. Since the main farmhouse is served by one well and the farmhands' homes by another well…" Lucien trailed off.

"Someone could have been dosing Arnold's well," Jean's eyes went wide.

"Right now, we're not seeing any outward symptoms to suggest that the farmhands have as much exposure as was possible for Arnold to come in contact with," Alice admitted.

"So, the arsenic caused the cancer but who killed him?" Jean asked.

"I'm guessing someone who didn't know he was being poisoned. The bruise on his chest still makes me wonder," Lucien shook his head.

"I think you'll find that it was a wrench," Alice said. That made the doctor stop and look at her.

"I wanted to tell you earlier but things got out of control, fairly quickly." Alice told him. She put her sandwich down on the counter and took a sip of her tea. After that, she went to the body storage unit. Pulling Arnold out of the drawer, she showed Lucien the bruise.

"Why do you think that's a wrench? It looks more like a pole," Lucien said. The bruise was not very wide but it wasn't as long as a pole, which is why it had him stumped.

"The length of the bruise bothered me – as well as the ability for it to fully break a rib. A pole this skinny would hurt but there'd have to be more force behind it to break a rib so it broke into pieces. I think we got a little caught up in the length but look at the indent in the chest," Alice said. Lucien bent over so that he could look at the body from the side. There was a distinct pattern from the force of the blow but the broken rib made it look deeper than it seemed. Alice placed a shifting spanner or crescent wrench over the bruising and it fit almost perfectly.

"We need to go back to the crime scene and see if this was handy or if our killer brought it with them," Lucien said.

"I'll handle the water samples. Why don't you and Jean take some food to Danny and Charlie?" Alice winked.

Chapter Text

"Danny, Charlie, how goes it here?" Lucien asked as he and Jean exited his vehicle and walked up to the two. They were sitting on chairs outside the farmhouse and were due to make a round of walking the property soon. Really, the two of them were not enough, but their car and the lights from the farm being on helped it seem like there were more people there.

"Well so far everything has been quiet but Bill has been up at the Wagners for a while," Danny admitted.

"I don't think the Wagners would be dumb enough to try something to Bill. Didn't he take someone with him?" Lucien wondered.

"Constable Benson," Charlie spoke up.

"Well, how about you have some sandwiches I made while Lucien looks for the possible murder weapon in the farmhouse?" Jean asked. They thanked her and she set the basket down on the chair that Danny vacated. She passed out sandwiches and a couple of cups and tea.

"You figured out what it was Doc?" Charlie gave him a look.

"Alice figures it's a shifting spanner. Seems to fit the bruise pattern. Now, I was wondering if someone brought it with them or…" Lucien was interrupted by Danny.

"I'm pretty sure we would have tripped over a toolbox when we searched the home earlier. Still, it couldn't hurt to check under the sink. We know whoever hit him took paperwork. They were in the house for a bit," he said.

"Very true. Excellent Danny," Lucien smiled.

"Doc, shouldn't Mary have been in the house with Arnold? Why is she not sick?" Charlie wanted to know.

"We don't know that she isn't. What had been happening to Arnold was long and slow. Mary hasn't been on the farm for as long as the rest of the farmhands," the doctor explained, hoping that he wouldn't have to expose Mary and Reginald's secret. A car coming up the road made them all turn to see it was Bill and Constable Benson.

"Hey Doc, I have those samples you asked for," Bill said after he climbed out of the vehicle with Constable right behind him. Benson handed the doctor a box with little jars in it.

"Excellent! Get anything we can use?" Lucien wondered as he carefully deposited the box into the trunk of the car.

"The Wagners do have their crops dusted but they claim to not know what's in the pesticide. Bernie Pitzen does the dusting so we'll check with him in the morning. Meantime, we'll be joining Davis and Parks here at the farm," Bill told them.

"Well, you two better have the last two sandwiches and tea then," Jean smiled and handed the foil wrapped sandwiches to the men.

"Thank you, Jean," Bill smiled slightly.

"Thank you, Mrs. Blake," Benson smiled and quickly tucked into his sandwich. The basket emptied of food and drink; Jean left it with Danny so he could bring back the teacups and pitcher.

"We'll check out under the sink and get out of your hair," Lucien promised.

"Sounds good. The cadets will be here at dawn and Chief Superintendent Lawson said we could go home and get some sleep," Bill let him know.

"An excellent idea. Do you have any water that isn't from the taps here?" Lucien wanted to know.

"I have a jug in the trunk," Bill said.

"As do we," Charlie nodded.

"Good. Last thing we need is you getting dehydrated out here," with that Lucien and Jean, ducked into the farmhouse. The blood that stained the floor of the hallway was still there and Jean tried not to look. They made it into the kitchen and checked under the sink.

"No tool kit," Lucien frowned.

"Christopher and I used to keep the tools in the shed but we always had a set of screwdrivers and wrenches in the house, in case of emergencies," Jean said.

"Where did you keep those?" Lucien asked.

"We used the bottom of a small linen closet in the hall," she told him. They searched the pantry in the kitchen and found nothing. Moving to the hallway, there was a closet, but it contained boots and coats, no tools. They moved from room to room, methodically, checking all the closets.

"There they are," Lucien smirked when they opened the cabinet under the bathroom sink.

"No shifting spanner though. Still, I doubt the killer come here to grab a wrench," Jean frowned.

"Quite right. The front door wasn't locked so getting in wasn't the issue. The paperwork would have been stashed in the office so coming out of their way to the bathroom would have been odd," her husband nodded. The bathroom was off the main bedroom. There was a half bath off the hallway and Lucien figured that Mary liked staying with Reginald since she wouldn't have to go through her employer's bedroom to bathe in her employer's bathtub.

"Anyone who brought their own wrench would have cleaned it by now or threw it out," Jean said as they made their way back to the front door.

"Agreed. We may never find the murder weapon but if we can prove that the wells were poisoned, then the poisoner could still be charged with murder. We're missing something though. If the Wagners were going to be patient enough for the poison to work, why come here and kill Arnold? Whoever killed him, took his will, not realizing that there were more copies of the will. Yet someone took a shot at Reginald," Lucien frowned.

"I think we can work this out at home. This house is…" Jean involuntarily shivered.

"It was nice house, until you see the dried blood. Come, I'll drop you at home and then head over to the hospital to give Alice the water samples," he told her.

Chapter Text

"Lucien!" Jean welcomed her husband home the next morning. He'd spent all night at the hospital helping Alice sort out the water samples. They'd come up with some interesting results and the doctor wanted to continue to do more but Matthew told him to go home and go to bed. The Chief Superintendent was heading to Bernie Pitzen's house to question him on the crop-dusting chemicals. The cadets were keeping an eye on the farm. While Matthew wasn't keen on leaving cadets on their own, it was probably better than making an exhausted Sergeant Hobart or Detective Davis watch them.

"Hi Jean. I'm guessing that Danny is catching up on his sleep," he said as he took off his coat and hat and put them on the hooks by the door.

"Yes. He went to bed a little while ago and made sure that I had dishes to wash from our sandwich picnic. Anyway, I'm supposed to get him up at noon," Jean told him.

"Sounds good. Was I supposed to see any patients today?" Lucien asked.

"I moved your appointments to tomorrow, where there were gaps. Go get some sleep, unless you haven't had any food in a while," she gave him a look.

"Bed. Food when I get up," he smiled at her.

"Of course," Jean gave him a quick kiss and the doctor went to their bedroom. She did not tell him that the interior designer, Mr. Clay, had called and wanted to make an appointment. They were ready with some of their options for the studio. Jean explained that she'd meet them at their office later that afternoon to go over the options, but that she'd have to bring them home for her husband. Mr. Clay was fine with that and reassured her that things like this could not be rushed. Certainly, they would not want to waste money on something that neither of them liked.

It almost seemed like his head had just hit the pillow when suddenly Jean was waking him up. She had gotten Danny up first before heading to her husband. The young man promised a quick bath so the doctor could use the bathroom. Lucien opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Sleeping without you in bed is not something I care to repeat," he told her.

"It wasn't much fun for me last night either," she said as she pulled a clean set of clothes out of his dresser and closet.

"Let's try not to do that again," Lucien said as he managed to pull his tired body out of bed.

"Agreed. You go take a bath and I'll get you some food," Jean smiled as she laid the clothes out at the foot of the bed.

"I think we need to upgrade our bathroom. I hear showers are all the rage now," he said.

"They were much quicker when we were travelling. It could also offer some interesting opportunities to bathe together," she smirked. Lucien pulled her close.

"Why Mrs. Blake, are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" He smirked.

"Maybe Doctor Blake," she chuckled.

"Ask that interior designer about that, please. The sooner the better," Lucien said.

"I will. Now off you go. Plenty of time to play later," she winked, and he headed out of the bedroom door. Jean could not help but think how different their lives had become since the wedding. She wasn't a prude, but she'd always prided herself on keeping public displays of affection to a minimum. This was common for the time they lived in, though that was changing. Once they were married, the two of them almost behaved like they were in their twenties again and could barely keep their hands to themselves. It was fun. It was exciting. It was good to feel what she'd felt with Christopher again. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed it.

"Matthew, how'd it go with Bernie Pitzen?" Lucien asked when he walked into the station close to one pm. The Chief Superintendent was at his desk.

"Arsenic is one of the ingredients in the crop-dusting chemicals, but he claims that he's never heard of it being enough to poison someone. Well outside of the usual ways someone would use arsenic. He says that he mixes the chemical powder with water to make it spray from the dispersal system in the plane," Matthew explained.

"Then I think it's safe to say that someone was dosing the well that fed the farmhouse. The water from the farmhands' well had small amounts of arsenic, but not high levels. The well that Arnold had been using was… well it wasn't good," Lucien's play on words was not lost on his friend.

"So does that mean Mary is sick?" Matthew asked.

"Yes, she is. She had what she thought was the stomach flu about a week ago. Since Arnold was sick and she didn't want to get him sicker, Reginald had her come stay with him. She seemed to recover but she was bothered by headaches and some cognitive impairment," Lucien said.

"She didn't feel like she should mention this?" Matthew gave him a look.

"Honestly, from the outside, these symptoms wouldn't seem connected. Mary and Reginald figured that she was dehydrated and needed to get her diet back to normal. Her symptoms had improved because she wasn't drinking the highly tainted water anymore. Treating the dehydration helped because it was flushing the arsenic out of her system. The problem is that if it were as simple as rehydrating, then we wouldn't need the medicine to treat it," the doctor explained.

"So how bad is it?" Matthew wanted to know.

"Alice was sending her for a battery of tests. As for cleaning the water at the farm, we can put filtration on the farmhands' well, but the house well will need to be abandoned. A new one will need to be dug and then filtration put on that one," Lucien said.

"No point in doing that until we catch the poisoner. We need to get this sorted Lucien. Melbourne is demanding answers," the Chief Superintendent told him.

"We need to run it all down. Where is Charlie?" The doctor wanted to know.

"Getting a ride in from Bill. They should be here soon," Matthew said.

Chapter Text

"Ok so someone was poisoning the well that fed Arnold's house," Matthew said. Charlie, Bill, and Danny were gathered near the Chief Superintendent's desk. Lucien had taken a chalkboard and wrote down all the facts they knew, hoping that something would jump out at them.

"It caused Arnold's cancer and it made Mary quite ill. Alice told me that she won't have the full results from the tests until tomorrow. Meantime, she's being treated with IV fluids and Dimercaptosuccinic acid. The other farmhands have checked out fairly well," the doctor let them know.

"So, this person – whoever it was – wanted to target Arnold," Bill said.

"Yes, but this person was not in a rush. It can take years for cancer to develop from the doses of arsenic. First Arnold's body would rebel against the amounts in the water but at some point, it would tolerate them enough that he would probably ignore slight symptoms," Lucien explained.

"Having spoken to the Wagners, they don't seem like the patient type," Bill admitted.

"I would have to agree though that is odd considering that Robert Wagner was a sniper. Being a sniper is all about patience," Matthew said.

"A sniper has to be methodical. Poisoning like this fits that bill. Put too much in the well and Arnold gets rushed to the hospital and dies fairly quickly. Put just the right amount in and Arnold suffers like he was. A quick death would have been to shoot him, but that's not what happened," Lucien pointed out.

"No, someone shot Reginald instead. As far as the Wagners go, Lisa, Robert's wife, seemed very submissive. She would not speak unless asked a direct question and she never expounded on her answers when we did ask her questions," Charlie said.

"So, if her husband told her to do something…" Lucien gave him a look.

"She'd do it without question. I have a sneaking suspicion that you don't talk back to Robert," Charlie told him.

"What about the children?" The doctor asked.

"Well, that's just it. They aren't children anymore. I would say that Bobby is almost twenty-one and his sister, Rebecca, is nineteen. I don't get the impression that they got much schooling or left the farm much," Bill spoke up. It was an interesting comment from Bill, given that he was very much the old school policeman of the bunch. He had graduated high school and went straight into the police academy.

"Like they can't read or write or…" Lucien trailed off.

"They speak like rough back country folk. I find it hard to believe that Lisa raised those two kids alone and did the farmwork while Robert was serving in the Pacific," Bill admitted.

"Ah so she had help but from who?" Lucien asked.

"I took the liberty of contacting Melbourne for a better background check on the family. Lisa has a sister that doesn't live too far away. As for Robert, he was discharged from the Army after he punched his commanding officer. Apparently, he didn't like being told that he wasn't going home until the Army said he could. Just because the war was over didn't mean there wasn't more work to do," Danny broke into the conversation.

"How did he ever become a sniper?" Lucien gave Matthew a look.

"Robert was drunk when he hit his commanding officer. He was coming off quite the bender from the witness statements. Part of the reason we know about this is because Arnold reported Robert for beating Lisa. The Chief Superintendent at the time made sure to get Robert's army records and add them to the file. Robert served two months in lockup until Lisa refused to speak in front of the judge against her husband," Danny said.

"So, the war changed him but only for the worse it would seem," Lucien frowned.

"The Army records show that he volunteered for sniper duty and that prior to the punching incident, his record was clean," Danny admitted.

"I think it's safe to say that if Robert wanted Arnold gone, he'd find a way to do it. None of the farmhands have a record and I can't see wanting to kill their benefactor," Matthew figured.

"Something that we learned in detective training was that women more likely to poison themselves when committing suicide. Couldn't the same be said for murder?" Charlie asked.

"No one in the family seems to be trained in the art of using chemicals, but I do take your point Charlie. The poisoning was clean – very often, women who harm themselves, do not want to leave a mess. Poisoning often does not involve leaving a mess. The striking with the shifting spanner – was all about mess," Lucien said.

"The person who used the wrench, either lost patience, or didn't know the man was being poisoned. The house was not trashed but they went looking for the will and found it. With Arnold dying in the house, the person had to know that Mary wasn't there," Matthew said.

"Agreed. Is there anywhere nearby that Arnold's house could be surveilled from?" Lucien couldn't remember seeing a structure nearby that someone could hide in to snoop on the farm with.

"You're thinking someone knew that Mary was not in the house. We need to talk to Reginald. It's possible that he told someone at the farmer's market not even realizing that someone was listening in," the Chief Superintendent said.

"Excellent point," Lucien nodded.

"The Wagners have a stand at the farmer's market," Bill said.

"I have to get to the hospital, so I can speak to Reginald," Lucien offered.

"Charlie, go with him. Bill, Danny, go to the farmer's market. See if Mary not feeling well was common knowledge. Ask around and find out if anyone noticed a shifting spanner missing. If the Wagners didn't use one of their own, they may have "borrowed" one. Constable Benson and I will go visit Lisa's sister," Matthew ordered.

"We can't arrest all four of them. How are we going to narrow down who did what?" Charlie asked.

"I have a plan for that but I want to see what we can find out first," the Chief Superintendent told them.

"Shall we Doc?" Charlie asked.

"Your car or mine?" Lucien smirked.

Chapter Text

"Reginald, you're looking much better. How do you feel?" Lucien asked his patient.

"In some pain but much better. How is Mary?" Reginald wanted to know.

"She's getting treatment and according to Doctor Harvey, she's improving," the doctor gave him a smile.

"Can I see her?" Reginald asked.

"I don't see why a trip to her room would be out of the question. In a wheelchair though. No walking about just yet. We need to build your strength back up. No one wants you passing out and hurting yourself in a fall," Lucien told him. Reginald nodded and that's when Charlie spoke up.

"Reginald, did people at the Farmer's Market know that Mary was sick? That she was staying with you?" The detective wondered.

"She usually used our trip to the market to get our supplies in town. So, I'm sure someone noticed that she wasn't making the weekly trips but I made no mention that she'd moved into my place. At any rate, Bao Shen's wife, Yawen, offered to do the trips. Her English has come a long way and she knew what Bao was looking for to help Mary," the patient explained.

"Yawen didn't end up having any trouble, did she?" Lucien was surprised that she offered.

"Not that I know of. She never said anything," Reginald told them.

"I think we'll need to talk to Yawen, just to be sure," Lucien gave him a wink before promising to track down a wheelchair for him. Charlie took the opportunity to ask another question or two.

"I know that there has been a lot going on but you don't remember seeing anything off at either the Farmer's Market or at the farm, do you? A car that didn't belong or someone listening in on conversations?"

"I hadn't thought anything of it at the time but Arnold had been saying we needed to get some dogs. We had cats around to keep the rodent population down so I asked him why he wanted a dog. If it scared the cats away…" Reginald paused.

"You think that he felt something was up?" Charlie wondered.

"I don't know. I wasn't sure that it wasn't the pills the doctor gave him. Still a dog might have been a good thing given what happened," Reginald heaved a sigh. Charlie nodded as a nurse with a wheelchair and Lucien came back into the room.

"Your chariot awaits. Charlie, shall we check in with Yawen?" Lucien asked.

"Thanks Reginald. Come on Doc," Charlie smiled and they headed out of the hospital and down to the police car. It did not take long to get to the farm and the cadets welcomed them. When they asked where Yawen was, an eager cadet named Eric Harris pointed out the house that belonged to the Shen's.

"Detective Davis, Doctor Blake, it is good to see you. I hope Mary is doing better," Bao Shen let them into the house. He gave the medical man a smile and shook his hand before shaking Charlie's. The Chinese man had picked up Australian customs as quickly as he could but still had a bit of an accent when he spoke.

"She is. We hope we aren't intruding but Reginald said that Yawen took up the weekly trips into town when Mary couldn't," Lucien said.

"She did. Yawen," he called to his wife, who quickly came out of the kitchen. She had just finished cleaning some vegetables for dinner. They had grabbed some clean water from town, since the filtration of the well wasn't ready for use yet.

"Doctor Blake and Detective Davis have a few questions. I'll help translate, just in case. Yawen's English has gotten much better but there are still some words that are a bit tricky," Bao said.

"Of course, totally understandable. How is the water filtration unit coming?" Lucien asked as they all took seats in the living room.

"The installers were here first thing this morning. They said that we didn't have to pay, which I was surprised at, but an agency out of Melbourne is covering the cost. Seems like this is not the first time this has happened. Our neighbors on the other side of the Wagners promised to dig a new well for the main house once the case is wrapped up," Bao explained.

"That is great to hear. Were people nice to you when you went into town Yawen?" The doctor wanted to know.

"Yes. Most stores near Farmer's Market know our standing orders," she smiled at him.

"That's good. Anyone seem overly interested in why you were there instead of Mary? Maybe seem a little too interested?" Charlie spoke up. Yawen paused and spoke a few words in Chinese which Lucien understood, but he let Bao translate.

"The man at the hardware store," he said.

"Mr. Vaughn," Charlie filled in. Yawen nodded and said,

"He ask why Mary wasn't picking up the order. We don't go to hard…ware… store too often, but the shed needed a new coat of paint. There were a few loose boards too."

"Arnold's name was on the order, right?" Charlie wondered.

"Yes. He has account there," Yawen said. Lucien wondered how this man fit into all of this but he wouldn't have to wait long to find out. The Chief Superintendent was having quite an interesting conversation with Lisa's sister just a few miles away. The pieces of the puzzle were coming together.

Chapter Text

"I see your talk was more fruitful than ours," Sergeant Bill Hobart said to the Chief Superintendent from his desk as Constable Benson assisted Lisa's sister, Shirley, to an interrogation room.

"Nothing huh?" Matthew asked him.

"No one at the market seemed to know that Mary was staying with Reginald. When we explained that she did not want to get Arnold sick and that Reginald was helping her, they all seemed to agree that it made sense. Reginald would feed stray cats and dogs so they could see him helping someone who was sick. They could also see Mary not wanting to get Arnold any sicker than he already was," Bill admitted.

"So, no help there," Matthew figured.

"Boss, we have something," Charlie said as he and Lucien walked back into the bullpen.

"What?" Matthew asked him.

"Carl Vaughn, who works at the hardware store, was asking Yawen Shen questions as to why Mary wasn't picking up Arnold's order," Lucien stepped into the conversation.

"Well, that is odd, especially since Shirley's last name is Vaughn," the Chief Superintendent said.

"I think we should check up on why her husband was so interested in Mary," Lucien said.

"I agree, but first I need Bill and Charlie to head back to the Wagners. The hospital gave the slug from Reginald's shoulder to Doctor Harvey, who identified it as a thirty-thirty, so that means we're looking for a Winchester Model Ninety-four. I know it's a popular gun but if the Wagners couldn't part with it, then they'll still have it. Danny and Benson, see if the Vaughns have one as well. I have a sneaking suspicion that Shirley and Carl are in this up to their eyeballs as well," Matthew told his officers. They quickly filed out of the station while the doctor and Chief Superintendent caught up for a moment.

"I spoke to Shirley about what was going on at the Beaucaire farm. She denied being a part of anything going on there, but we found pesticide under her kitchen sink. She claims that they have an ant problem in their garden," Matthew told him.

"The instructions on the box don't tell you how to poison a well," Lucien said.

"No, but Shirley works at the pharmacy so she might know what to do with the poison," his friend said.

"Indeed, she could. Shall we?" Lucien asked. The two headed down to the interrogation room, where a female officer, Kim Chambers was keeping Shirley company.

"Mrs. Vaughn, this is our Police Surgeon, Doctor Lucien Blake. Now we have some more questions for you and we're hoping that you'll be straightforward with us," Matthew said.

"I told you before we left my home, I've had nothing to do with everything going on at the Beaucaire farm," Shirley said.

"Then why was your husband so interested to know where Mary was when she didn't show up at the farmer's market? Why cover for Robert? We know that he mistreats your sister. We can't get her to admit it, but I'm guessing he's not very good at covering it up," Matthew pressed the woman.

"I told Lisa that she should leave him, but she won't do it. You can't help someone who doesn't want it," Shirley said, completely ignoring the part about her husband.

"Not very compassionate for a sister. Of course, if you're poisoning the Beaucaire farm you aren't about compassion in the first place, are you?" Lucien gave her a look.

"No matter what I do, Lisa will not leave Robert. I begged her to get out when he first came back from the war. She told me that she was trying to help him. It's been over fifteen years and it's obvious that there is no fix for him. If I was going to harm anyone, it would not be Arnold and his farmhands," Shirley admitted.

"I believe you, problem is, the person who poisoned the main house well at Arnold's farm, knew what they were doing with the chemicals. You see the farmhands' well had arsenic from the runoff of the crop-dusting chemicals. Arnold's well… there was too much arsenic for just runoff. Someone was dosing the well and you work in a pharmacy and had pesticide under your kitchen sink," the Polic Surgeon pressed.

"My husband sells that pesticide at the hardware store. He knows how to use it…" Shirley heaved a sigh. Her life was about to blow up into a million little pieces and there wasn't much that could be done about it. She could not go down for something she didn't do. They still had the death penalty in the state and just because they hadn't used it since nineteen-fifty-one that didn't mean they wouldn't use it.

"What does your husband get out of killing Arnold?" Matthew wanted to know.

"I don't know. All I know is that he and Robert aren't what you call open minded," Shirley didn't know how else to say it.

"So, they disliked Arnold's policy of giving everyone a chance to work on his farm. Why not just shoot Arnold? Why the poison?" Lucien asked.

"I don't know. I do know that Arnold and his farmhands mettled in Robert's affairs more than once. Arnold didn't like what Robert was doing to Lisa and the kids and Robert's reputation suffered. He'd lost a contract to provide vegetables for the local schools and an even bigger contract in Melbourne. Now only the prisons still take his crops," Shirley admitted.

"The poisoning was taking too long, wasn't it? Someone got impatient and beat Arnold to death, even though he was already dying," Matthew said.

"I don't know. I thought Carl was just over speaking to Robert, but he was still gone when I went to bed. I figured they got to drinking," Shirley said.

"You'll be held here until we can verify your story," the Chief Superintendent told her. Lucien and Matthew exited the room while Kim escorted her to the holding cells. As quickly as they could, the two made their way down to the radio in the bullpen. Matthew made a call to Danny and Constable Benson who responded that Carl Vaughn had gone home from the hardware store, so they were heading there next. Matthew told them that they were to wait until he and Lucien met them there. The last thing the Chief Superintendent wanted was one of his men getting hurt. Danny promised they would wait and the two older men left the radio and hopped into Lucien's car.

Chapter Text

"Carl Vaughn! Open up!" Danny banged on the front door of the Vaughn home with the Chief Superintendent. Benson had gone around the back and Lucien went with him.

"His car is here," Matthew frowned.

"Open up or we're breaking it down!" Danny threatened. There was still nothing from the inside and the younger man was about to break the door down when they heard Lucien shout from the backyard. Danny took off and Matthew tried to keep up.

"What happened?" Matthew asked as he saw Carl Vaughn lying on his back in the grass near a swing that was in a tree.

"He's been shot in the head. Rigor hasn't set in yet and the body is still warm," Lucien told him.

"Suicide?" Matthew wanted to know.

"Unlikely sir. I don't see a weapon," Benson spoke up. That's when a shot rang out and Matthew yelled for them to take cover. Lucien grabbed Benson and they ducked behind the tree while Danny took cover behind a small shed, where Matthew joined him.

"That has to be Robert Wagner!" Lucien called over to the others.

"Trying to clean up his mess! We need to nail down where he's hiding!" Matthew told them. Unlike the Beaucaire farm, there were plenty of places around the Vaughn home to hide. Trees, homes, and barns offered good places for a shooter to conceal themselves. A few more shots were fired and then there was silence.

"You think he's done?" Danny asked Matthew.

"Too long to just be reloading. Don't poke your head out though. Stick your hat on the end of my cane and stick out into the line of fire," the Chief Superintendent told him. Danny did as he was told and nothing happened.

"I think he's taken off. He knows we know though. We have to get back to the Wagners before something really bad happens," Lucien told them.

"Agreed. Carefully move to the vehicles," Matthew ordered. They moved and nothing happened but when they got to their cars they found another problem.

"Two of our tires are flat," Danny kicked one of them.

"Ours too. Radio for backup and have backup sent to the Wagners. Bill and Charlie are there now," Matthew said. Danny got on the horn trying to reach out and he finally reached someone at the station.

"They're sending a tow truck here and a radio car to get us. Bill and Charlie are not answering their radio. The cadets are being dispatched to the Wagners from the farm," Danny said.

"Damn it!" Matthew was not happy. Two of his officers could be in trouble and there was no way for them to get there. Lucien tried to calm his friend, but he knew that he was concerned too. Bill and Charlie had no idea that someone could be coming for them.

Bill and Charlie were struggling to get answers out of Lisa, Bobby, and Rebecca. None of them wanted to help find the guns that they owned despite the Sergeant reminding them that they were already in trouble. Suddenly a couple of cadets came bursting through the front door with some of Arnold's farmhands in tow. They were all armed.

"What are you doing?" Bill gave them a look.

"Carl Vaughn is dead. He was shot in the head in his back yard. The Chief Superintendent wanted to get you back up since the tires on their cars were flattened," Cadet Waverly saluted.

"Good God. Take these three down to the Beaucaire farm and detain them. I don't want anyone else getting killed," Bill told the cadet. Lisa tried to object, but Waverly and two other cadets took them into custody and got them out of the house.

"How are you with that rifle Bao Shen?" Charlie asked.

"I can peg a rabbit at fifty yards," the man said.

"You're hired," Bill told him.

"Robert Wagner is a sniper. No one goes out that front door unless we know that he's down," Charlie told the others. There was another Chinese man by the name of Guo Kwan, one Aboriginal man, Ronnie Winmarti, and one Aboriginal woman, Dolly Flynn.

"He thinks he's the best, but Dolly is better," Ronnie spoke up. Charlie and Bill gave him a look.

"She won't admit it, but she can peg your hat off your head at almost one hundred yards," the man explained.

"He tells the truth. No one will ever get into a shooting contest with her," Bao chuckled. Charlie noted that Dolly seemed to be shy about her skills.

"Then she can be our sniper," Bill smirked and shook his head. They didn't have much time for anything else as Robert Wagners' car came speeding into the driveway. Dolly approached one of the open windows and knelt down at it. She put the barrel of her rifle into the window opening. Charlie called out to Robert, who had exited his vehicle,

"Robert Wagner it's the police! Get on the ground and put your hands on the back of your head!" The older man froze.

"Do it now!" Charlie barked at him. Bill saw the man move his hands toward the small of his back. Before anyone could say anything, a shot rang out, knocking the man's Akubra hat off his head.

"Better do as we say, or the next one will be a little lower!" Bill barked at the man. The sounds of the other two rifles cocking could be heard. Robert Wagner paused and Bill whispered to Charlie,

"He's taking too long." Charlie agreed but they had no way to tackle him, so the detective yelled,

"Drop to the ground now!" They gave him a few more moments, but he still stood there, as if he knew that he had them in a stalemate but then the sounds of sirens could be heard coming up the road. Robert turned his head toward the noise, he knew that his goose was proverbially cooked. Another shot rang out and the man screamed. Dolly had taken out his kneecap. Charlie and Bill rushed out to the man and quickly took him into custody. Bao Shen came out to render medical aid despite the man's behavior.

"Don't touch me you Chink!" Wagner bellowed. Bao Shen ignored him and looked at his wound. Then he quickly tied a bandanna around his leg just above the wound.

"That'll do until you get him to the hospital," the man smiled at Charlie and Bill. The sirens grew close, and a car pulled up, and out popped the four who had been at the Vaughn's.

"Doctor Blake, he'll need your expertise," Bao Shen gave the man a smile.

"And yours," Lucien smiled at him. Wagner went to open his mouth again and Charlie punched him, knocking him out.

"That should help you treat the patient until the ambulance arrives," the detective said.

"Much obliged Charlie," Lucien chuckled.

Chapter Text

Lucien opened the front door of the house and was met with the sound of heels on the floor before he got a picture of his wife entering the hallway. She could tell by the look on his face it had been a long day.

"Are Matthew and Danny going to be late?" She asked.

"The paperwork is going to keep them for a bit. I told them to call before they left the precinct and I told Charlie and Bill to come by if they wanted. It's over," he gave her smile before he shrugged off his jacket and hat. Jean came up to him and pulled him into a hug. Lucien was glad that she was there and that they did not have to hide their feelings anymore as he slowly shifted the hug into a kiss.

"I am glad that I have someone to come home to that is so smart and sexy," he said when they parted.

"Oh?" Jean gave him a look.

"A lot of lives have been messed up because of this case. We've had a bumps and bruises but… thankfully nothing like that. Besides, you would have put me in my place before things had gone that far," Lucien winked.

"Is that fair to Lisa Wagner?" Jean wondered.

"No, but it says something when even her own sister had given up on her. Nothing good, mind you," he said as they moved into the living room and sat down on the couch. Jean had already put out the scotch decanter and a few glasses on the coffee table before he had gotten home.

"So, what happened?" She asked as she poured them some drinks.

"Robert Wagner shot and killed his fellow poisoner, Carl Vaughn, before taking pot shots at us. He also gave us two flat tires," Lucien started.

"He was shooting at you?" Jean immediately grew concerned.

"No one got hurt – except our tires that is. The auto shop managed to get me two new ones and put them on. I think he thought that we hadn't figured out what was going on," he said.

"But of course he was wrong," she smirked.

"Of course. Shirley Vaughn told us that her husband knew how to use the poison which ended up in the Beaucaire wells. Seems Carl and Robert were of similar minds," Lucien explained.

"So, you have your poisoners," Jean said.

"Indeed. When Lisa was confronted with the evidence and the fact that her husband would not be coming home any time soon, you would think she would have breathed a sigh of relief. Instead, she asked for a lawyer," he told her.

"She knew who hit poor Arnold with the wrench," Jean figured.

"Exactly so. Seems her daughter, Rebecca, didn't have the same wish – to remain silent that is," Lucien said before taking a sip of his drink, letting it burn all the way down.

"Did she do it?" Jean was a little horrified to think so.

"No. Rebecca admitted that Bobby has a crush on Mary. She told Charlie that Bobby was angry that Mary would stay with Arnold and would not date him," Lucien let her know.

"So, Arnold was not dying quickly enough," his wife gave him a look.

"Exactly. When Bill got Bobby into an interrogation room and demanded to know why he killed poor Arnold, it all spilled out. Bobby had gone to the house to confront Mary, even though it was the middle of the night. See he didn't want his father to know he was heading over there. When Bobby found Mary's room empty, he assumed…" Lucien paused.

"That she was in Arnold's room and got angry," Jean shook her head.

"Arnold, being not well, comes out of his bedroom into the hallway to get a drink for his coughing fit and Bobby hits him with the wrench that he'd taken from his father's collection," the doctor explained.

"Then why was a wrench missing from Arnold's toolbox?" His wife raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it seems that Bobby was worried that his father would notice the missing wrench, so he stole Arnold's to replace it. Bobby searched the entire house and found that Mary was not there. That made him angry so he went looking for anything that might give him a clue to where she was. Of course, he didn't find anything but got a tad sidetracked by finding the box where Arnold kept his paperwork," Lucien paused to take another drink.

"That's how he knew that Reginald would be getting the property along with the other farmhands," Jean said.

"Exactly. So, Bobby took the paperwork home to his father. Robert apparently didn't ask any questions when his son handed the will to him. He was more consumed with figuring out a way to get the property from its rightful owners," her husband shook his head.

"So did Robert shoot Reginald?" Jean asked.

"Nope. Bobby admitted to that. He saw Reginald speaking to Mary out on lawn while they waited for the police to show up and they made the silly mistake to hold hands," Lucien shook his head again. It was all so absurd.

"Bobby saw that and he lost it," Jean nodded.

"Yes. He waited for the police to clear out and tried to get Reginald. Reginald is very lucky that Bobby was not a better shot," he said.

"Agreed. So where does that leave Lisa and Rebecca?" Jean inquired.

"Nowhere I suppose. Once they pay the lawyers, I don't see how they could keep the farm. Although Matthew is trying to sort out if Lisa or Rebecca should be charged for their actions," Lucien admitted.

"What do you mean?" Jean gave him a look.

"Well, there is no way that Lisa didn't know that her husband was poisoning the wells. Rebecca had to have some inclination that something was going on in the household given the fact that they suddenly had a copy of the will. They knew and did not call the police. Maybe Carl Vaughn wouldn't be dead right now," Lucien said.

"They just stood by and it let happen because they were afraid of Robert," Jean said.

"Could be. Lisa has been making excuses for Robert's behavior for years. She may have thought she had no choice. Rebecca may have felt the same way. Though she did not seem to have a problem with throwing her brother under the bus as it were," he told her.

"A mess to be sure," Jean heaved a sigh.

"Yes," he nodded and then his stomach grumbled.

"Time to warm the leftovers. Come on," she smirked at him before standing from the couch. Lucien stood up and asked,

"Leftovers?"

"Well, no one came home and I had made dinner – assuming people were coming. So, I ate and then put the food in the fridge," she admitted.

"I am sorry. We should have called," he said. That's when they heard the front door open.

"I'm home!" It was Rose. They came out to the hallway and the three headed for the kitchen.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Lucien was up seeing patients. The usual complaints, a few that needed some extra attention, but nothing serious. Jean had made him promise to leave his lunch hour available so they could discuss the options for the studio. They never got to lunch though as a phone call came in from the hospital. Lucien quickly donned his coat and was out the door after a quick kiss for Jean.

"Lucien, we've run out of time," Alice told him as he met her at the front door of the hospital.

"It's that bad?" he asked her.

"Mrs. Dunwoody came in for her appointment. As they usually do, they checked her general health. She's got a fever and a cough that doesn't sound good," she said.

"We're sure that it's related to her diabetes?" Lucien wanted to know as they made their way to the nurses' desk.

"We can't be sure that it isn't. The lab is running a blood test but I'm willing to bet that her white cell count will be elevated," Alice shook her head.

"She could have a cold," Lucien said.

"In the summer?" Alice gave him a look. Lucien heaved a sigh. Phyllis' file was on the nurses' desk and he looked it over.

"How could this happen?" He asked.

"We knew the dialysis was not going to work forever. I've put in a call to Dr. Kluk, but I worry that our bigger problem is…" Alice didn't want to say it.

"That she might not be healthy to make the long journey to Sydney, never mind have a major operation. So, we need to narrow down what is causing the issue and see if it really is related to her kidneys and diabetes," Lucien shook his head.

"Some of the other doctors are offering their assistance," she said. Lucien disliked asking for help in a situation like this, but he respected Alice too much. She was outside her wheelhouse dealing with live patients but doing everything she could to help a woman that she just met, one of his patients to boot. She had a good heart and she cared and that was what mattered most to him. He had no doubt that if her path had not been derailed by the hospital, she would have been able to accomplish much more. He was lucky to have her as not only a colleague but also as a friend.

"Good. We need a few more brains on this," he gave her a smile. Alice smiled back and quickly went to get the other doctors. The phone at the desk rang and the nurse answered it before telling Lucien it was for him.

"Doctor Blake," he said.

"Lucien, it's Doctor Greg Kluk," the voice on the other end of the line said.

"Greg, I wish I could say it was good to hear from you, but our shared patient is not doing well. Phyllis has a fever and a cough. We're running tests but…" Lucien heaved a sigh.

"You think we're running out of time," Greg said.

"I don't know how this could have happened so fast. I'm hoping I'm wrong and it's just a cold or something but if it isn't… I don't know if she's going to be able to make it to Sydney," Lucien warned him.

"Keep me posted and I'll make some calls. If Phyllis can't come to Sydney, maybe Sydney could come to her," Greg said.

"I certainly will. Thank you, Greg," Lucien told him and with that the call ended. Alice had arrived with a couple of other doctors and she held a stapled packet of paper, which had been folded multiple times.

"The lab results already?" Lucien asked.

"I wish. Doctor Chase read this article that a colleague mailed him a few weeks back. It's about kidney transplants," Alice smiled.

Chapter Text

"I think we can do this here, but we need not only the equipment but also a kidney," Lucien figured after reading the article that Doctor Chase had given Alice. The group had moved into the morgue for some privacy and hopefully a phone call from Doctor Kluk.

"I don't disagree. Did we have a match for a kidney yet though?" Doctor Chase asked.

"Therein lies the rub. We haven't been looking for very long," Alice spoke up.

"No match and no equipment. Transporting Mrs. Dunwoody all the way to Sydney doesn't sound like a good plan," Doctor Anderson shook his head.

"I agree but how long can we assume the dialysis will last?" Doctor Wilson wanted to know. Lucien shook his head. Pumping Mrs. Dunwoody full of antibiotics, may buy them some time but if the fever was due to her failing kidneys, it wouldn't be enough.

"Well, we have to hope that her lab results give us better news," Lucien admitted. There were a lot of shaking heads and frowns. The phone rang and Alice picked it up. She wasn't on long before she thanked the person on the other end of the call.

"White count is elevated. The nurses have started antibiotics to bring the fever down along with IV fluids. They'll have to wait to start the dialysis," Alice told them.

"Is there some way we can find a donor kidney here in Ballarat?" Doctor Chase asked.

"Right now, our best bet is a living donor, but the person would have had to be in good health and the blood type would need to match Phyllis' blood type. A bigger issue is that we'd have to get the person to consent to such a thing. For some it goes against everything they understand to donate a body part. I worry that even that might not be enough," Lucien admitted.

"The rejection of the kidney," Alice figured.

"Indeed. Her body could reject it, even if it shares a common blood type with her. If she had one good kidney, I'd just remove the bad one, but we aren't that lucky. Certainly, trying a procedure like this with her having a fever is not a good idea," he told the group.

"Well, we should start a local search. I have no idea how they'd transport a kidney from Sydney and have it still be viable," Alice shook her head.

"Yes, they'd have to bring the person here, which adds to the difficulty. Start asking people around the hospital for their blood type. Let's see if we can find someone who would be of a mind here before we move to go outside the hospital. Gentlemen, I appreciate your assistance with this. We'll need to keep a close eye on Mrs. Dunwoody in the meantime as well," Lucien heaved a sigh.

"We'll see what we can find. Please let us know if you need us for anything else," Doctor Chase clapped Lucien on the back before he left the room. Doctors Anderson and Wilson agreed and said that they could be called in at any time to assist.

"What can we do to keep her stable?" Alice wanted to know.

"I want more information. We need to know for certain that her failing kidneys are causing this. What is her kidney output? What is causing the cough? I want to run some more tests," Lucien said.

"I'll help. Do you think Jean could get people to volunteer a kidney?" She wondered as the two moved out of the morgue and headed back for the nurses' station.

"Jean's network of people has shrunk considerably since we got married. She left the church based on their position regarding our marriage. I know she still has her sowing circle. Maybe she could still get people to help from the church, despite everything," Lucien said.

"Do you feel guilty about her leaving the church?" Alice was surprised at his comment. Not that the Doctor was a religious man, but she knew that Jean had used the church to help her after the death of her first husband.

"No, she is still religious, she just doesn't go to church. One can be religious without attending services. I'm pretty sure God doesn't need you to be there every Sunday to prove your devotion. I do know that it wasn't an easy decision for her and that some see our marriage as some sort of confirmation of our sinning," Lucien rolled his eyes. Jean would never be the other woman. She broke off what had barely started when Mei Lin arrived. Anyone who truly knew Jean would have known that she would never break up a marriage for her own benefit.

"Ah I see," Alice nodded as they stopped at the nurses' desk. They quickly told the nurses what other tests they wanted to run and then Lucien made a call to Jean.

Chapter Text

"How are you doing Lucien?" Jean asked him when her beloved finally got home hours later.

"I'd be better if we'd found someone that was willing to give up their kidney. Although that isn't entirely fair," he huffed as he took off his jacket and hung it up. Throwing his hat on the hook above it, the two moved into the kitchen. The rest of the house had eaten dinner hours before.

"No one was willing?" Jean was a little surprised but at the same time understood where her husband was coming from. This was a new procedure and a complicated one. Things could go wrong for the donor as well as the recipient.

"We had a few who were willing and matched blood type but one was pregnant, one was coming off an infection, another has a family history of kidney stones, and finally the other was too old," he heaved a sigh and plopped down into the chair at the table. Jean had heated up some of the leftovers and made him a sandwich. She also poured him a drink.

"Too old?" Jean gave him a look.

"None of the procedures performed so far have been on someone older than forty. Everything I have read suggests not taking someone older than that, as they don't heal as well as younger people. Now, Phyllis is older than forty but she doesn't have a choice. She needs a kidney or…" he shook his head not wanting to acknowledge the alternative.

"Do you want me to reach out to people?" Jean asked.

"We need to figure out a way to keep Phyllis' name out of it. Her privacy will be completely shot if we post in The Courier," he said.

"Maybe Rose can help us? She can put an article together explaining the process and that one person here in Ballarat needs help. I'm sure neighbors will be willing to come forward," Jean figured.

"You think her new boss will be all right with that?" Lucien wondered.

"I'm not sure. Susan sold The Courier and Rose has been pulling some long hours lately," Jean admitted, mentioning the former Mrs. Tyneman, who had become a widow not long before the couple at the kitchen table had gotten married.

"It can't hurt to ask but in the morning. Hopefully by then we'll have some good news on Phyllis' stability and from Doctor Kluk. Enough about me though, how was your day?" He asked.

"Good and I know that this doesn't seem like the time to be talking about the studio…" she started.

"Bloody hell… I'm sure that Mr. Clay wants to know where our brains are at. I do apologize. We've been trying to sit down to discuss that but life… well it's always going to find a way to interrupt, isn't it?" Lucien gave her a smile before tucking into his sandwich. His stomach had been wondering when he'd get around to that and he realized that it had indeed been a while since he had eaten.

"I fear it is. It's very rare that we get to sit and enjoy around this house," Jean chuckled.

"We shall have to remedy that," Lucien smirked before eating more sandwich.

"Yes, well we get to enjoy just not on the furniture in the public areas of the house," she smirked.

"Mrs. Blake…" he chuckled.

"Am I wrong?" Jean asked.

"No, but now I'm already thinking about breaking in the new furniture," he teased.

Chapter Text

"Doctor Blake," Rose knocked on the door frame and poked her head into the hospital room around ten a.m. the next day. Lucien was checking up on Phyllis. The woman seemed like she was in a good mood despite everything that was going on around her and with her. Phyllis had made it through the night and her infection was under control enough that Lucien was debating if they should restart dialysis. Admittedly, the physician had not gotten a lot of sleep during the night, worried that his patient was in dire straits.

"Ah Rose, good to see you. Phyllis, this is the young lady who is going to try and help get the word out," Lucien introduced them.

"I can't thank you enough for doing this. I have to admit I was a little uncertain about it but Doctor Blake says you can keep my name out of it?" Phyllis asked.

"Yes. All the pertinent details only. My boss, Sherman, was more than happy to have a story run regarding the process of donating and the current need," Rose smiled at her and the two shook hands.

"Excellent. Which edition will this be going out in?" Lucien asked.

"The evening edition and we'll be reprinting it in every edition until a kidney is found," Rose promised. Phyllis had tears starting to trickle down her face and Rose grabbed the tissue box and handed it to her.

"I'm sorry," the older woman apologized as she wiped away the tears.

"For what? I can imagine that all of this is quite overwhelming," Rose said.

"Rose is right. Nothing to apologize for. I only hope that this is enough to get us what you need," Lucien told her. There was a knock on the door again and they all looked to find Alice standing there.

"Is everything all right?" The pathologist immediately grew concerned.

"Yes, I'm off and running back to The Courier. I need to finish the article so it goes out tonight. I just wanted to let Phyllis know what was going on so she wasn't surprised," Rose smiled.

"Excellent, well add this into the story – Doctor Kluk was able to convince Sydney to send the equipment we need to perform the surgery. Now all we need is that kidney," Alice couldn't help but smile back.

"That is excellent! When should we expect it?" Lucien was almost giddy.

"Doctor Abernathy is coming with the equipment to assist in the procedure. He's coming by train. It seemed the safest way to get here. There was some concern about securing it on a plane. He should be here tomorrow," Alice explained.

"I really have to go then! It was nice to meet you, Phyllis. I hope that you'll be on the road to recovery soon," Rose smiled and then left the group to hurry back to the paper's offices.

"I'm exhausted," Phyllis admitted.

"Get some rest. We'll check in later," Lucien promised. He shooed Alice out into the hallway. Once the door was closed, he brought her up to date on Phyllis' condition.

"If we start dialysis too soon all the antibiotics will be filtered out of her system. It could cause the infection to worsen and even become resistant to medication," Alice was concerned.

"I know but her kidney output is distressing. The nurse noticed blood this morning and the quantity is less than it should be," he pointed out.

"So, if we don't do something, she might not live long enough to get that kidney," Alice frowned.

"What about peritoneal dialysis instead of hooking her up to the machine?" Lucien floated.

"It might be our best shot. I'll find Doctors, Chase, Anderson, and Wilson. I need to tell them about the equipment anyway," she told him.

"Good. I'll go see if we can't get the equipment together," he said. The two quickly split up and got to work.

Chapter Text

"Doctor Louis Abernathy, this is my wife, Jean, Chief Superintendent Mattew Lawson, Sergeant Danny Parks, and Rose, who helped get the patient's story in the paper," Lucien introduced the medical man to the group at the Blake kitchen table. He had offered the man a meal at the Blake household given his incredibly long trip from Sydney and Jean made sure to add the leaf to the table to accommodate the larger crowd. Louis was glad to accept and he was admittedly glad that he'd get more time to pick Lucien's brain. There was a knock on the door and Jean ducked out to get it.

"Ah Alice, I'm glad you could join us," Lucien gave her a smile and directed her to the empty seat next to Matthew.

"Thank you for having me," she gave a slight smile in return.

"You didn't tell me that we were having such a crowd tonight," Doctor Abernathy was feeling self-conscious.

"Well, everyone, except for Alice, lives here. Though admittedly, I should have warned you, I do apologize," Lucien said.

"No apologies, I just hope I'm charming enough company. The train ride was more tiring than I had imagined," Louis explained.

"I bet. Do you have a place to stay while you're here?" Jean asked as she brought the roast to the table. Danny offered to help carve and she let him do so.

"Oh yes. Doctor Chase has offered me his guest room, since I do not know how long I will be here. He is with the patient right now," Louis smiled.

"Good. I hope that Rose's work will get us someone willing to try and help. We've had a few but they didn't turn out to be good candidates," Lucien said as he accepted the plate passed down to him.

"Doctor, how do you get training for this?" Matthew asked.

"Well, the Americans did one successfully in nineteen fifty-four. They shared their knowledge with the world, but the Brits did not have a successful transplant until nineteen sixty. We had the equipment built and received written instructions so that we could practice on cadavers like you do in medical school. Though as you can imagine, working on a live body is different than a cadaver," Louis said as he accepted a plate of food from Danny.

"Yes, I can think that it would make things different. The first live patient had to be nervous," Alice spoke up. Everyone was letting Jean's food go cold as they listened to the doctor and his experiences.

"Well, I must admit those nerves were buoyed as the British doctors came here to show us how to do it. We were all able to watch the surgery and that helped immensely," Louis explained.

"How did the patient fare?" Jean asked.

"They are doing well. Much better than prior to the surgery. There are things that they need to be on the lookout for, but they check in with the hospital every couple of months," Louis told them.

"So, you've done the procedure yourself then?" Danny was curious. He couldn't imagine doing this himself but was glad that there were people out there who could.

"Yes, and I intend to show the doctors here how to as well. I hope that our efforts will be helpful to not only the current patient but any down the line," the doctor smiled. The conversation fell off as everyone finally tucked into their food, much to Jean's relief.

"I must say, a rather excellent meal, Mrs. Blake. Thank you," Louis said as he finished up his food.

"Thank you," Jean smiled.

"Shall we adjourn for a drink?" Lucien asked him.

"I'm afraid that'll do me in for the night. I do hate to eat and run as it were, but I could use some sleep," Louis confessed.

"Of course. I'll get my keys," Lucien promised. He stood and went over to Jean who was loading the leftovers into a better container.

"I'll be back before you know it," he said, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Safe travels," Jean gave him a smile and then watched him head for his coat. That's when the phone rang and Lucien picked it up.

"Blake residence." Everyone looked toward him, hoping it wasn't bad news. Lucien didn't say much as the person on the other end was relaying news. Jean looked closely at him to see if she could gauge his reaction.

"Thank you very much. See you in the morning," finally Lucien ended the call.

"What is it?" Alice asked, almost worried that the news would not be good.

"The news article seems to have worked! We have four people who have made appointments in the morning to get checked out to see if they could donate!" Lucien was all smiles.

"I think I'll take that drink now," Louis said.

"Coming right up!" Jean was beaming. Phyllis may just get what she needed and that was a relief.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Lucien arrived at the hospital just in time to see Alice getting dropped off by none other than the Chief Superintendent. He was a little confused as Alice usually beat him to the hospital, especially since she was employed by the hospital. Basically, Lucien used the hospital facilities, but he typically didn't work with them unless he had a patient like Phyllis. He made a mental note to ask Alice about it later.

"So, who is our first appointment?" Lucien asked the nurse at the nurses' desk.

"I've got Christopher Wellington in the first curtained spot there," she pointed as she handed him a folder which contained the questionnaire and the doctor to contact for his medical records.

"Thank you," Lucien smiled as he did a quick look at the paperwork but stopped in his tracks. The nurse was confused and quickly asked,

"Is everything ok Doctor?"

"Yes, yes of course. Just surprised is all," he gave her a quick smile and headed over to the curtained spot about ten feet away.

"Mr. Wellington, I'm Doctor Lucien Blake," the older man gave the younger man a smile.

"Nice to meet you sir," Christopher smiled. He sat ramrod straight on the exam table, his hair was cut short.

"When did you get out of the service?" Lucien wanted to know as he listened for any concerning sounds in the younger man's breathing.

"Last year sir. I did my four years and then I decided to try civilian life again," Christopher explained once Lucien was done with that. The young man was only twenty-three, but it put him in the age range they were looking for. He was a young, fit, healthy young man and that would go a long way to help make the transplant work.

"Just so you know, if you are selected, you won't be able to join back up. If you thought that was ever in the cards," Lucien told him as he checked the younger man's pulse. Kidney donation was still quite new and many were not sure of the long-term effects so being physically fit for service wasn't allowable.

"I understand sir. I just felt like I could help and I thought that it might give me some purpose," Christopher admitted.

"Purpose?" The doctor raised an eyebrow.

"I've been searching for a calling since I got out of high school. At first, the Army seemed like a good fit but after a while, I just wasn't sure. I've never been especially good at anything, but it always felt like I could do more," the younger man explained.

"This is a commitment and you have to be sure because it can't be undone," Lucien explained.

"I know. It just feels wrong to not try and help," Christopher acknowledged.

"Did you ever think of a career in medicine?" Lucien wondered.

"My folks couldn't afford to send me to university. That was part of why I went into the Army. They hoped I'd find a trade that I liked," he told him.

"I see. Well, I'd say that your questionnaire looks good. I expect that we'll get your medical records from the Army later today. I have a few more interviews and medical records to look over so I'd ask you'd stay close and make sure the nurses have a phone number to reach you at. We could be doing this quite quickly once we find a good match," Lucien explained.

"Understood, sir. Thank you, sir," Christopher gave him a smile and hopped up off the table. He grabbed his personal items and left the space. Lucien heaved a sigh. He'd known a Wellington while he was in the service. He didn't dare mention it to Christopher as he had no way of knowing if they were related. Deciding that he would call a friend of his, Lucien exited the curtained area only to be met by the next appointment. The call would have to wait.

Chapter Text

The next afternoon, Lucien collapsed into a chair in the hallway as Phyllis was wheeled out of the surgery suite and into recovery. The other doctors followed suit. It had been a long day which first started with the removal of the kidney from the donor to then implanting the new kidney into Phyllis' lower abdomen. It was easier to connect the blood vessels and bladder to that location rather than trying to remove a kidney and reconnect there.

Phyllis' surgery was a little different as the one non-functioning kidney was removed. According to Louis, it was unusual to remove the existing kidneys as it led to a higher chance of dying from the procedure. However, given that one was not functioning anyway, he saw no point in leaving it in, voicing his concern about it causing problems down the road. He did not know how right he was until the team started to remove it. Not only did the kidney have a suspicious looking spot on it, but it was also later discovered by the lab to be the cause of Phyllis' fever. The spot was an abscess which had formed around a damaged part of the unhelpful organ.

The other doctors had questioned why they did not put the new kidney in its place but Doctor Abernathy worried that it might be more than just the kidney that did not function. They tied off the blood vessels and then traced the connection to the bladder. Further down the smooth muscle tube they found a blockage and the entire length of now unused ureter was removed. The bladder was repaired and then they closed her up.

"Normally, I'd suggest we see how Phyllis would stand up, but we did a lot more than I was anticipating. I think it best we try for that tomorrow," Louis spoke up a few minutes later.

"Do we have to worry about her body rejecting the kidney?" Doctor Chase asked.

"There are medicines that are being developed for that but since that development is not finished, we're on our own. Rejection is a worry. The good news is that she has a whole team of doctors and nurses keeping an eye on her. I'll stay for a few more days. Don't forget, we got someone who had her blood type and who was young and healthy to donate that kidney. If we could have had a family member, that would have been better, but given the family history of diabetes, we're giving her the best shot at living," Louis reminded them.

"I agree. We all need a stiff drink and a good long nap but I'm going to check on the donor," Lucien managed to get to his feet, despite the fact that they ached. They'd been standing on their feet for almost eight hours, which he used to be able to do without much trouble. To admit that he couldn't do it anymore well… that wouldn't be happening today. He walked down the hallway and a nurse pointed out to him where the donor was recovering.

"How are you feeling young man?" Lucien asked as he sat down next to the bed of Christopher Wellington.

"It hurts but then again something worthy often does," the young man smiled slightly.

"Do you need more medication?" Lucien was a little concerned.

"No, it's better than it was before. How long do you think I'll need to stay in the hospital?" Christopher wanted to know.

"A few days at least. We want to make sure you're functioning just fine and don't have an infection. Lots of bed rest but also some physical therapy to make sure your muscles don't get too used to laying around," Lucien explained.

"Can I have visitors?" He asked.

"Tomorrow for sure. Anyone you want me to call?" Lucien wondered. He had been able to make his call, but his friend was still digging into it.

"Just my folks," Christopher said.

"Ok, I'll get on that. You keep the nurses informed on how you're doing. Your kidney recipient is doing well," the doctor smiled.

"Excellent," the young man smiled back.

Chapter Text

"Lucien, you seem distracted," Jean pointed out a few days later at breakfast. He was just not his usual self and it bothered her that he was internalizing rather than talking to her.

"I do apologize. I am a bit distracted," he admitted.

"Is something wrong with your patient?" Rose grew worried.

"No, she is doing quite well. Doctor Abernathy left on the morning train. He was quite confident that everything was under control," Lucien reassured her.

"It's not the donor, is it?" Jean asked.

"He's fine as well… I just… I knew a relative of his during the war," Lucien finally admitted. That got Matthew's attention and he looked up from his toast.

"Is that allowed?" The Chief Superintendent gave him a look.

"I wasn't sure until last night. I had reached out to a friend of mine and he was finally able to confirm it," the doctor explained.

"Who was it?" Danny spoke up.

"Turns out it was his uncle. When I was sent to Singapore, he was sent to Borneo. Records indicate that he was killed during the fight to take the island back. The donor said he was searching for a purpose and at first, I didn't really tie it altogether but now that I know the bigger picture…" Lucien heaved a sigh.

"The donor feels like he's missing something and the path that might have been clear in the beginning is not so clear anymore," Matthew nodded.

"Exactly. I only wonder if I should try and help or let him continue to wander," the doctor admitted.

"Maybe you should talk to his parents first. It might bring them some comfort to know that the uncle is remembered by someone other than themselves," Jean suggested.

"I do have to check up on the donor, make sure everything is going well. I appreciate it everyone," Lucien smiled at the group.

"Well, we better get going," Matthew said.

"We have a patient coming in in about twenty minutes. See you all for dinner?" Jean wondered.

"Provided nothing sinister happens today," Matthew gave her a wink. Danny chuckled a little and gave his aunt a hug before heading out with his boss.

"I better get a move on as well. Thanks Jean!" Rose smiled and then was out the door right behind the two police officers.

"So, we have time to look at the furniture then?" Lucien wondered.

"I promised Mr. Clay that I'd drop by around eleven. You do have a full slate of patients so if you think we can look at the options…" she trailed off as she headed into the living room and grabbed the folder of information. Lucien had pushed the dishes aside and she laid out the options that Mr. Clay and his assistant had come up with.

"Oh my," he said as he started looking at the paperwork.

"I know. Mr. Clay said that they could have workers here two days after we make our decision. The room would need to be prepped and work done before the furniture was moved in," Jean said.

"Married life certainly has been interesting," Lucien smirked.

"It'll be more interesting later this evening," Jean teased him.

"You're going to be the death of me Mrs. Blake," he chuckled.

"I do what I can," she winked.

The End