Dangerous Desires (MurdochxGillies)

Chapter Twelve: The Chase

"Constable," Murdoch addressed Higgins, "I want you to keep an eye out around the little inn I'm staying at. If you see any suspicious people going into the inn, alert me immediately."

Higgins nodded, "Sir," and left the station house. Once that was out of the way, Murdoch breathed a sigh of relief. At least he knew James could sleep soundly with Henry keeping guard. Now, it was on to the actual investigation-the one that the rest of the station could not find out about. William Murdoch would have to come up with a false lead to distract the rest of the station and pursue the actual lead while they were distracted. He felt awful having to lie to his friends, especially as a devout catholic. However, he had pretty much abadoned most of the rules by now. What was one more to him?

*****

He had been sitting at his desk, staring at his chalkboard and the layout of his flat drawn on it, for hours. It was nearing midnight and he knew James would be worried, but he also knew that James would understand. They were very similar in the way that they got worked up over a challenge. This challenge was proving difficult, however. None of it made sense. James had enemies, sure, but the method as to how they broke in and the scene they caused was unprecedented. James had been attacked and fled through the window. Wouldn't the attacker go after him though? If someone had been desperate and intent enough to break into his flat, wouldn't the attacker first injure James so he couldn't run away and then kill him? It didn't add up.

Murdoch rubbed his brow and closed his eyes. He could either go back to the inn or wait for the solution to come to him. However, after such a long night, William felt like he couldn't give up just yet. No, he would stay at the station house and exhaust every clue before going back to James empty-handed. Think, Murdoch, think. The attacker had entered through the door. That much was clear. The room had been in disarray. That means there was a struggle between the attacker and James. James had been injured, sliced with a relatively sharp blade across his ankle-probably to keep him from escaping. But he did escape. James had fled through the window, the traces of blood proved that. So did the attacker chase after him, or did he leave through the front door? Maybe he waited and left through the window as well. No, there was something inconsistent. It still didn't make sense why the attacker wouldn't have killed James after injuring him.

Murdoch looked back to the drawing of his flat and tried to remember what James had said happened.."The man was wearing a white cloth over his face, and a cloak hid the rest of his body...average height and build...seemed surprised..." The attacker was surprised it was James in bed. Perhaps James was right. Perhaps someone was after him and not Gillies. That's why he didn't chase after James. James escaped because the attacker let him escape. If he was after James then his lover would have been killed that night. There was no questioning it. Whoever broke into his flat was after Murdoch himself. He went over the details again. An open door, an open window, a broken lamp, and the mattress was-

That was it. The mattress was flipped over and torn open. There's no way that happened before James fled so the attacker was looking for something! There was still no word on if anything had actually been taken-Murdoch would have to go through the list of contents himself to determine that, but at least he knew what the attacker's motive was that night. He really was trying to steal something, the only question was: What?

*****

It was four in the morning. Murdoch decided to go back to the inn for the night and upon arriving, he found James sitting up in bed waiting for him with a cold tray of food. William sighed in relief and stripped his blazer and shoes off and climbed into bed next to him. he was exhausted but greeted him with a half smile.

"I'm glad to see you're safe, James." The detective murmered. James slid a hand through his hair and kissed Murdoch's forehead.

"As am I. You look exhausted, William." His gorgeous green eyes squinted with worry and William sighed in contentment as James brushed his fingers through Murdoch's hair. He was exhausted. Closing his eyes, he laid back on the pillow more.

"Oh, James. I discovered that the attacker was in fact after myself, and also something in my flat. I'm just not sure what exactly he was looking for." He sighed.

James perched his head up with his hand and frowned. "I don't like the idea of someone other than myself being after you. However, I'm here right now to keep you safe. So, my Dear William, you need to rest now."

William Murdoch smiled at the hint of possessiveness in James's voice and cozied up in bed, his clothes still on from that day.

"William you need to eat and undress first." James whispered to the sleepy man. Murdoch grunted softly and before James could even try to speak again, William was fast asleep. Gillies smiled. He was so cute and defensless. Perhaps he would just let him sleep for tonight. He wanted so badly to tease him but his detective was rather tired from a long days work and it seemed cruel to interrupt his rest. Stroking his lover's hair, he hummed a tuneless song and watched as all the signs of worry vanished from William's face.

*****

The sun had only just risen as James heard a banging on the door. He froze and watched as Murdoch's eyes shot open. The banging went off again. They exchanged glances before Murdoch shot out of bed and rushed to the door. He stopped just before opening it.

"Who is it," he half-shouted.

"Higgins, sir! You have to hurry! There was a man spotted just trying to sneak around the inn!" Murdoch's eyes went wide as he looked at James.

"I'll be right there! Don't lose sight of him, Henry!" As he listened to the constable run off, Murdoch threw on his blazer and shoes. He went to leave but James grabbed his hand, stopping him. He gazed into James's forest green eyes and saw all the concern and love in them.

"William, please be careful. I can't help you the way I am right now. So, if anything happens.." his words faded off, unable to think about it.

William Murdoch bent his forehead to James and stared intensly into his lover's eyes. "Nothing will happen. I will come back to you. I promise." He kissed Gillies hard then, all his anxiety and passion and desperation translating through for a brief second before he ran out the door. James stared at the shut door, a heavy feeling in his gut. Murdoch had never kissed him that way before, and it scared the hell out of him.

Murdoch raced around the block on his bicycle, the sun just creeping over the horizon. Heavy mist still hung in the air, and the birds were still asleep. He spotted Higgins running just a short ways off. Speeding ahead, he met him on his bike.

"Henry! Where is he?" Higgins pointed ahead of him, towards the mist and a shadowy figure disappearing through it. The constable was panting.

"I'll go ahead after him! Go back to the station and call the Inspector and all other constables tell them to surround the area. I'll try to stop him from getting any further." Higgins stopped briefly and nodded, catching his breath as Murdoch sped through the heavy fog, disappearing from sight. He was racing forward, passing house after house and then lost sight of the runner near a thicket of trees. Abandoning his bicycle, Murdoch pursued on foot, dodging branches and just barely keeping in sight the shadow he was after. He came to a foggy clearing and stopped. He couldn't find a trace of which way his culprit fled. He spun around and around. Suddenly, a blow from behind knocked him down. The world was spinning and as his vision faded, a pair of boots appeared in front of him.

"Won't be long now, eh, Murdoch?" Then, darkness.

*****

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter this week! Tune in tomorrow for the continuation and don't forget to vote and comment please! Thanks to everyone so far, this story is #1 in the murdoch tag, so I'm very thankful! Let me know what you think.

Love,

Rachel