Murdoch and the Chimney Sweep

14.

"Did you see a girl exit the building?" Murdoch questions the constables stationed outside the door to the morgue, they both gesture in the direction that they saw her run off too. Murdoch gives chase, running through the busy Toronto streets and into a garden square to no avail. Stephanie was gone. Murdoch sets himself a new heading, Station house no. 4.

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"Stephanie!" Henry and Alex call in unison, it had been a few hours and their nightly routine was soon to start. 

"Hey, what happened?" 

"What did he tell you?" Stephanie turn around to face them,

"Do you remember your parents?" she questions trying to compose herself,

"What?" questions Henry, 

"Do you... remember your parents?" she questions again, fighting off stray tears

"Steph, you know I was born on the streets right" begins Alex, "My parents were some drunken nobodys who didn't want me" he finishes reminding her, 

"Mine were factory workers who both died in an accident while on the job" speaks Henry,

"Hey, what's this all about?" questions Alexander,

"The Detective..." she begins to say before tears stream down her cheeks,

"Your parents, they're...." Continues Henry, Stephanie only nods in a response, both boys engulf her in a tight embrace while she cries.

"You three!" Yells one of the caretakers, "Haven't you all got jobs to do?" She yells and the three kids scurry to the roof of the building.

"Hey, it's going to be ok" starts Alexander,

"But you're going to have to fill us in later" continues Henry, "Something tells me that he's going to assign us to different areas of the city tonight" he finishes and approaches the small roof window, before jumping across the nearest building and out of sight. Alexander approaches the same window before heading back to Stephanie,

"Everything will be ok, I'll see you later, yea?"

"Yea, be safe Alex" she replies as he runs in the opposite direction to Henry,

"Stephanie dear," calls the old but familiar voice of the man in charge of the children, only ever seen at night to tell the children of the sections to Chimney Sweep and on the rare occasion that he really has to leave. "You get the same section as always" he speaks calmly, as the girl nods her head, "I was informed that earlier today you were in the company of a Detective Murdoch of Station House no. 4" Stephanie freezes and waits for a proper question, "May I ask what that was all about?" He questions calmly,

"The detective just had a few questions for me about...." She stops for a moment, "about a girl who's parents have been found" she speaks, dancing around the truth,

"What did you say to him?" He questions further,

"I know nothing, therefore I said nothing." She replies automatically,

"Good girl," he speaks and Stephanie released a breath she didn't realise she was holding, "Don't you have work to do?" He questions but doesn't wait for a reply, Stephanie had run from the rooftop and straight towards the first home in her section.

House after house.

Chimney after chimney. 

She worked in a daze. Down one Chimney, and back up only to jump down the next. As she worked on autopilot, she began to get sloppy, she started making mistakes. All because her parents were found and she quite possibly works for the person responsible. Her work ended when she jumped down the last chimney for the night. The coals of the fire were warm and the man inside the house was pacing. Back and fourth. Back and fourth. He stopped when something sizzled on the fire.

"Is that you chimney sweep?" He questions eagerly, stepping towards the fireplace,

"Indeed it is Detective" she replies getting comfortable as something sizzles on the coals again

"What's that noise?" He questions knelling before the warm coals,

"William, I-" comes the sweet voice of Dr Julia Ogden,

"I am so sorry sir, this doesn't seem to be a good time" Stephanie speaks and shuffles back up the chimney

"Wait!" Murdoch calls, "please, we need to talk" he pleads

"And the company you have?" She questions, her voice echoing its way to the Detective,

"Needs to be here as well" he speaks praying that the chimney sweep would come back, he waits in silence as Julia approaches the fireplace. Something again drips onto the coals causing them so sizzle,

"What's that sound?" Questions Julia, sticking her hand above the coals waiting for whatever was happening to happen again,

"Julia, be careful" Murdoch whispers, "gaining her trust wasn't easy, don't scare her off like that" he warns and something lands on Julia's hand.

Blood.

"Chimney sweep, are you ok? Are you hurt?" She questions, Stephanie quietly shuffles around to find the source of the blood to find a nasty gash on her right calf.

"It's nothing" she calls to them as the blood drips again this time onto Murdoch's hand.

"I don't think that's nothing, please, this is Julia Ogden, she's a doctor, she can help you" he speaks calmly and looks to Julia,

"If it's bleeding that much you need to get it looked at" she grabs Murdoch's hand and has a close look at the small pool of blood, "Your bloods tainted in ash, that's going to infect the wound if I don't look at it" she reasons with the girl,

"I know you're not allowed to talk to anyone while on the job, but if this isn't treated-" he looks to Julia,

"It will get infected and you're not going to like what happens after that" Julia finishes for him.