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Phryne stomped into the house, handing her coat and hat off to Mr. Butler and throwing her head back with a groan of frustration.
“A difficult case Miss?”
She sighed, pulling her gloves off one finger at a time while making her way into the parlor. “No. Not at all. It was entirely too easy. Mrs. Wentworth’s diamonds were not, in fact, stolen by the maid. The daft woman lent them to a friend and forgot to ask for them back.” She collapsed onto the chaise. “I don’t know how many more of these inane requests I can stomach.”
Mr. B hummed, bustling around the room and fixing her a generous two fingers of whiskey. He brought it to her and she accepted it was a look of intense gratitude.
“Have you considered, perhaps, making a change?” Mr. Butler asked gently.
Phryne raised a delicate brow. “A change?”
“I would follow you of course, if you would have me miss. But, perhaps, a change of scenery would help?”
Phryne’s eyes widened briefly in understanding. “Oh no, Mr. B. It may have crossed my mind in weaker moments but…no. I can’t. Not yet.” She ducked her head. “I just need to wait a little longer.”
“Of course Miss. I understand completely. Can I get you anything else?”
She met his helpful gaze guiltily. “I am feeling a tad peckish. Could I trouble you for something to nibble on Mr. B?”
He smiled kindly. “Of course Miss.”
Mr. Butler left the room and Phryne picked up Lady Chatterly’s Lover just for something to do. She wound up reading the same paragraph three times straight, but at least she wasn’t staring at the wall.
The last several weeks had been a dismal kind of existence. The most unpleasant since her return to Australia and that included the catastrophe with Foyle.
Jack had extricated himself from her life in the most sudden and irrevocable manner possible and ever since a sort of listlessness had settled into Phryne. She had tried to respect his wishes, avoiding any and all cases involving murder no matter how they exhilarated her. If Jack needed time and space away from her well, she respected and cared for him enough to provide that.
But that meant she’d been forced to confine herself to the truly mundane requests of her Aunt Prudence’s many acquaintances. Anything that could not possibly require a police presence. The restriction was starting to chafe.
And she missed him. Desperately so. More than she thought she would. Jack had integrated himself into her life so easily and without her noticing that to have him gone was like a physical ache.
She missed their banter. Jack was excellent at witty repartee and their exchanges only got more exhilarating as he grew more confident and comfortable with her.
She missed talking about cases with him, both of their minds racing quickly towards the truth. That he understood her leaps in logic was incredibly gratifying. That he respected her input, even more so.
She missed his hat and coat hanging in her foyer, she missed his hands holding a glass, she missed the smile on his lips and in his eyes when he saw her.
Phryne sighed, setting her book aside in disgust and sprawling into the chaise. So much for not thinking about Jack.
When Mr. Butler returned it was with a tray of scones and jam, a glass of tea, and the paper. “You are a blessing Mr. B.” Phryne praised, accepting the tray. Mr. Butler inclined his head graciously and left to begin preparing supper.
Phryne spread jam on a scone, taking a bite and opening the paper. The headline she saw had her dropping her scone in shock.
DETECTIVE INSPECTOR SHOT IN THE LINE OF DUTY
Her hands trembled, making the words difficult to see, but she read on.
Detective Inspector John ‘Jack’ Robinson of the City South Police Station was shot this morning while in pursuit of a suspect. The Inspector was rushed to Melbourne hospital where he is receiving treatment. His attacker is still at large.
“Dot!” Phryne exclaimed, her eyes suddenly burning. “Dot!”
Dot ran into the room, Mr. Butler on her heels.
“What is it miss? You sounded dreadful. Is everything all right?” Dot asked worriedly, brushing flour from her apron.
Phryne wordlessly held out the paper. Dot read quietly, Mr. Butler peering over her shoulder. When they saw the article they both gasped.
“Oh my goodness! I hope the Inspector is all right.”
“You hadn’t heard anything about this? Hugh didn’t say anything?”
Dot shook her head. “No miss. I haven’t heard from Hugh since early yesterday. He did mention he and the Inspector were working a case though.”
“I have to see him.” Phryne decided. “Dot, get your coat.”
“Right away miss.” Dot said determinedly.
Within minutes they were out the door. Phryne broke every traffic law between St. Kilda and the hospital. Poor Dot clenched her teeth and held onto her hat. Jack would’ve been appalled. He probably would’ve arrested her but she couldn’t find it in herself to care.
All she could imagine was Jack, alone on a case, chasing down some shadowy figure in an alley. Muzzle flare and a deafening crack and then he falls to the ground with a bullet in him. Was he scared? Was he in pain? She should have been there! If she had been there, she could have helped.
Her determination buoyed her all the way to the front desk, through the corridors, to Jack’s door. However, when they arrived, all her confidence left her in a rush. Oblivious to her employer’s discontent, Dot rushed onward but Phryne was left frozen outside his door. She stood in the shadow, one hand resting on the doorframe and the other covering her red lips. Her breath was stuck in her chest.
She couldn’t go in there. What had she been thinking, coming all this way? He wouldn’t want to see her.
This was a monumental mistake. All she wanted to do was turn around and leave but she couldn’t leave Dot behind and she couldn’t realistically collect her without alerting Jack to her presence.
It was too late now. Dot was already inside the room and talking to Jack. Phryne would just have to be quiet. Hopefully Dot would exercise her usual intuition and ask the questions Phryne wanted to know the answers to. Phryne would have to content herself with the sound of his voice as her only reassurance.
---
Jack was reclining in bed, bored out of his mind. The painkillers provided were doing very little to stem the constant ache that emanated from his side. The bullet had missed anything vital but the wound still hurt.
He had sent Collins off some twenty minutes ago to go and fetch some reading material, no longer able to stomach the boy’s nervous energy. Hugh was a promising young police officer and fiercely loyal, but that meant he blamed himself for Jack’s condition and was determined to make himself useful to his superior in any way he could. At first Jack had been touched, but after the fourth hour of intermittent pacing and questions about Jack’s health, well, he’d had enough.
It was times like these that he missed Miss Fisher. If she had been privy to this case she would have been here with a picnic basket and a thousand diverting anecdotes to keep him entertained. He would say this for her, he had never been bored when she was around.
“Inspector!”
Jack looked up in surprise to see Hugh’s fiancée racing into his hospital room. “Miss Williams?”
“Oh, we came as soon as we heard! Are you all right?”
Jack looked around Dot but there was no one behind her. “We?”
Dot whirled around, looking confused. She turned back to him. “Uh…I-I meant…me. I. I came as soon as I heard. I saw the announcement in the paper.”
Jack was puzzled. “While I appreciate your concern Miss Williams, I didn’t realize you cared so much about my well-being. No offense intended.”
“Oh, well…” Dot looked momentarily perplexed, “Hugh!”
“Hugh?”
“Yes! Hugh just looks up to you so much. I had to check on you. For his sake.” When Jack still didn’t look convinced, Dot held up a brown bag. “I brought you biscuits. Freshly baked.”
Jack immediately perked up and Dot couldn’t keep the satisfied smile from her lips. Men and their stomachs.
She handed the bag over and Jack immediately dug in greedily, surfacing with his prize and biting in with gusto.
“So, Inspector, how are you feeling?”
Jack swallowed his mouthful, looking slightly sheepish at his abominable manners. The food was just awful here and Miss William’s baking was outstanding. Aside from Phryne and everything to do with her, the food was one of the things he missed most about the Wardlow.
“Quite well, all things considered.”
“What exactly happened?”
Jack sighed. “I was clumsy, and perhaps a tad recklessly overconfident. He got a lucky shot in, hit me in the side. I’ve had worse though and the doctor says there won’t be any lasting damage.”
“Well that’s something I suppose.” Dot said, sinking carefully into Hugh’s vacated chair.
“Yes.” Jack agreed, starting in on his second biscuit.
“I do hope you’re planning on saving some of those for Hugh.” Dot said.
Jack raised an eyebrow. “I thought you brought these for me.”
“Father Grogan says selflessness is a cornerstone of a good heart.” Dot said primly.
Jack sighed, grudgingly placing the bag aside, though not before snagging another biscuit.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, Jack happily munching and Dot wracking her brain for what questions she could ask to help Miss Fisher. She didn’t know exactly what had happened between the Inspector and her employer, but she knew it wasn’t good. Miss Phryne didn’t smile as brightly as before and it didn’t take long to notice the circles under the Inspector’s eyes. They were both good people. She would do what she could.
“So Miss Williams…”
Dot looked up in surprise to see Jack watching her. “Now that you’ve assured yourself of my good health, is there anything else I can do for you?”
Dot winced. “I…suppose not.” A thud in the hallway had her sitting up straighter. “I mean yes!”
Jack craned his neck, trying to see around the door. “What was that?”
Dot waved a hand. “I’m sure it was nothing. So, Inspector, have the doctors said how long your recovery will be?”
Jack looked back and forth between Miss Williams and the door. “What? I, didn’t you hear that noise?”
“What noise?”
“That one. That thump. Is someone out there?” Jack called, trying to push himself upright. He winced, hissing in pain.
Dot was instantly at his side, pressing him back into the pillows. “You have to rest Inspector.”
Jack settled back, breathing thinly through his teeth. “I’m fine, really.”
“You are most certainly not fine.” Dot said sharply. “You need to take better care of yourself. Honestly you’re as bad as…”
Jack looked up to see Miss Williams swallowing down a name. It didn’t take a savant to guess who she was going to say. He narrowed his eyes. “How did you get here Miss Williams?”
Dot jerked and for a second she looked guilty. It was gone in a flash though and she lifted her chin defiantly. “I took the trolley of course. How else?”
Jack watched her carefully for long moments. She was a better liar than Collins, that was for sure. He relaxed into his pillows, turning the evidence over in his mind. He had a hunch, but not enough to reach a conviction as it were.
Even if he was completely off the mark, he had to know.
“How is she?” He asked.
Dot’s eyes skittered sideways. “Who?”
Jack frowned at her. “Don’t play coy Miss Williams.”
Dot sighed. Miss Fisher was going to kill her. “She’s well. She’s been helping her aunt’s friends with lost belongings mostly. She puts on a good face but…I think she’s unhappy.”
Jack’s heart stuttered. “Unhappy?”
Dot nodded, twining and untwining her fingers. “Yes. She just doesn’t have her usual spark.”
Jack hummed.
Dot bit her lip. “And, if it’s not too forward Inspector, I think…” She paused, twisting her hands in her lap.
“Go ahead Miss Williams.” Jack encouraged, suddenly desperate to hear what she was thinking.
“I think…Miss Fisher misses you.”
Jack’s hands fisted in the bed sheets. It couldn’t be true, no matter how badly he wanted it to be. The fact of the matter was that he’d come to a horrible realization that day on the roadside, when he thought it was Phryne’s body beneath that white sheet. He had fallen in love with her. He didn’t think it was possible for him to love again. He never could have expected Miss Fisher.
He was convinced her attachment was insignificant in comparison to his. Better to separate and spare himself further heartache. But what Miss Williams was saying spoke of a deeper affection than he imagined.
He so wished it were true.
“Thank you for your visit Miss Williams.” Jack said with finality. “And for the biscuits. They were delicious as usual.”
Dot recognized that Jack needed some space and so she rose to go. Feeling like she was trying to talk sense into a stone, she said, in a last-ditch effort, “She really does care for you sir, whatever you might think. I hope you’ll remember that.”
A muscle in Jack’s jaw clenched. “She’s too reckless. She’s going to get herself killed.”
Dot inclined her head. “Maybe so. But you both live dangerous lives.” Dot waved a hand around them to prove her point. “I know, if it were up to me, I would rather have as much time with Hugh as possible. If he died tomorrow, I would want to have as many good memories of him as I could rather than regretting the time we could have spent together. But, of course, that’s only my opinion.” She pulled the collar of her coat tighter around her neck. “Get well soon Inspector.”
Jack watched her go, watched her pause just outside the door almost like she was waiting for someone, watched the corner of a white coat flutter so briefly into the doorframe that he was sure he imagined it.
Warmth flared in Jack’s chest and a smile spread across his lips. Perhaps there was some merit to Miss William’s words. He would have to give it some thought.
---
“Thank you Dot.” Phryne whispered fervently.
Dot smiled to herself. “Of course Miss.”