The Missing Partner (The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Book 2) Page 13

  “Sara has been held in slavery ever since. Her life has been as hellish as one can imagine. This particular gentleman had procured sixteen very pretty young girls, and gentlemen would come and visit regularly.”

  Mrs. Yarrows’ face pinched in horror. “Oh…oh my God!” She pulled Sara tighter. “Sara, my sweet Sara! I’m so sorry! I should not have assumed you died in the fire. I should have persisted until I had proof. I should not have given up on you so quickly.”

  Sara looked up at her aunt in shock. “Then you still love me?”

  “Of course, I love you!” To prove this, Mrs. Yarrows covered Sara’s face with kisses.

  Sara enjoyed them for a moment, but then pushed her away. “Then you didn’t understand what Victor said.”

  The cook stroked Sara’s tormented face. “I understood him very well.” She looked at Vic. “I trust something will be done to the men who did this?”

  “Yes,” Victor promised. “I’ll give Inspector Stone first crack at them, but if they do not see prison, I will make their lives hell.”

  Mrs. Yarrows nodded. “What about the other girls who were held?”

  Vic sighed. “Almost a hundred required rescue. Twenty-six at the house, and the rest at a sex and opium den near Wapping Basin.”

  “Dear God!”

  “Whenever they would anger the butler he would move them to Dragon’s Cloud as punishment.” Vic stopped and looked at Sara. “I’m sorry I caused you to end up there.”

  Sara shook her head. “That was not your fault. In fact, I’m the reason you were abducted.”

  Gregory turned from his cooking efforts and glared at Vic as he bellowed, “Abducted?”

  “Don’t yell at me! I did not purposely get kidnapped. I was safe in bed when I heard a noise downstairs. Naturally, I took my gun and went to investigate. While I was focused on a piss poor lock-picker, Mr. Tubs grabbed me from behind.”

  “Mr. Tubs, the cat?” Mrs. Yarrows asked.

  Hearing his name, the feline Mr. Tubs walked into the kitchen, his tail twitching in agitation. He leapt upon the bench beside Vic, and flattened his ears.

  Vic laughed. “I’m sorry, Mr. Tubs, I did not mean to defame your fine character.”

  Gregory slammed a bowl of cheese covered onion soup in front of Vic. “I am losing patience. Explain yourself!”

  “While I focused on an incompetent fool trying to pick the front lock, I didn’t hear a very competent fellow come in the back. He had me trussed, gagged, and bagged in short time. They took me to Dragon’s Cloud with Jonston yapping the whole way, like a squawking blue jay. I named the big guy Mr. Tubs…in hope he would silence the squawking blue jay as effectively as the real Mr. Tubs had.”

  Mr. Tubs evidently liked Vic’s explanation because he placed one paw on her leg and purred.

  The cat’s sign of approval lifted Vic’s spirits. While the feline adored Claire, he had shown Vic nothing but disdain since he arrived twelve years prior as a small, arrogant, and troublesome kitten.

  Gregory slammed silverware on the table. “And where the bloody hell was Xavier Thorn during this nonsense?”

  She ignored his question. She could not go there just yet. Her fear and worry would consume her.

  “It wasn’t nonsense. Mr. Tubs is a professional. In fact, I hope to sway him to our side of the battle. He seems underutilized and poorly appreciated in his current employment.”

  Gregory grabbed his head as if in pain.

  “Do you have a headache? Perhaps you should lie down,” Vic suggested.

  Mrs. Yarrows rose. “Yes, go lie down and stop yelling at poor Victor. How can he eat with you in such a state?”

  Before Gregory could fire the cook for her impertinent bossiness, Vic distracted him with a request. “Gregory, I could use your help. I’m expecting a large quantity of young men and women to arrive at the office looking for honest employment as servants. Could you go and sort them out? I told those inclined to steal not to show up, but that may not scare them all off. No one is better at detecting trouble than you are. You can sense a lie even before it forms on my…er…a person’s lips.”

  Gregory breathed out in a long irritated sigh. “What time are they expected?”

  Vic grimaced. “I imagine a line is forming now.”

  “And what am I to do with them after I’ve sorted them out?”

  “Load the honest ones onto a wagon and take them to Alice Collins. Tell her and Claire they have to find them jobs. However, if you find an honest young man not prone to gossiping, you can hire him for our office to take appointments.”

  Gregory glared at her.

  Vic cringed. “Or not…”

  Mrs. Yarrows interceded. “Gregory! After all Vic has done tonight, surely you can do this.”

  Gregory huffed and stormed from the kitchen.

  Mrs. Yarrows smiled. “He’s a good man, that Gregory. He’s just hard on you because he feels responsible for how you turn out.”

  Once Vic heard the front door open and close, she relaxed. Noticing Sara stared hungrily at her soup, she pushed it over to her. “I’ve no patience for soup, just now. Would you like this?”

  The young woman dived in like a starving waif. Vic suspected the girl had not eaten since Jonston had moved her from the house.

  Mrs. Yarrows gave Vic an appreciative smile as she went to the cooler and brought Victor the long requested pudding.

  Victor took a bite and smiled. “Now that’s a reward!”

  Chapter 15

  Xavier’s blindfold ripped away. “Wake up, damn you!”

  He opened his eyes and looked at Seth. Did the man actually think a person could sleep in this much pain? Yet, as he stared at his new environment, he realized he must have succumbed to unconsciousness at some point, because he was now in a different room. He breathed in and caught the faint odor of rubbing alcohol. The sideboard held a myriad of surgical tools. “I hope you didn’t wait too long.” His voice sounded weak and pathetic to his ears.

  “Too long?” Seth exclaimed. “They have razed Dragon’s Cloud to the ground. To the ground! Nothing remains but a pile of rubble.”

  Xavier would have laughed, but lacked the strength. “Why are you angry at me? I advised you to let me go.” He paused as he worked through the pain. “To the ground, eh? I can’t wait to see what they will do next. Still think your slave cargo worth the wait?”

  “Most of my slave cargo was in Dragon’s Cloud and those stored elsewhere were taken, as well. I want to know who told them, now!”

  “Look on the bright side. You won’t flood the market.”

  “You think this is funny? Will you laugh when I slit your throat?”

  “Let me remind you: whatever hell you are enduring presently will only worsen with my death.”

  Xavier sensed the man was on the edge of capitulation. “You know what to do, Seth, or I would not be here. It’s time to end this battle before I am dead and you are destroyed.”

  The crime lord paced back and forth for several long minutes. Xavier’s focus returned to his pain. Given his chilled body and overall decline in vibrancy, he feared the fool had waited too long. God had a mean sense of irony. To allow him to discover the perfect partner, emotionally, physically, and professionally and then let him die in a botched investigation only one year later seemed cruel beyond words.

  Seth stopped pacing and approached him. “The doctor waits to tend you, and then he will let you go. Now, who told you and Scotland Yard about my plan?”

  With a heavy sigh, he said, “Listen carefully. No one told me. I was on a case that had nothing to do with you.”

  Roaring with fury, the man knocked a tray of tools to the floor. “You lie, Thorn.”

  Xavier ignored his outburst and continued. “However, someone clearly pointed Scotland Yard to your cargo, someone close to you, I imagine.”

  “Who?”

  “My guess is Conrad Sweeney. He has coveted your position for some time and this set-back will provide him t
he perfect opportunity to unseat you.”

  Seth shook his head. “Conrad is my half-brother. He would never betray me.”

  “I don’t know why I bother—you have ignored all my prior excellent advice.” He focused in on Seth’s angry eyes. “You need to remove Conrad at once. If you delay to act on this matter as long as you have with my health, you will die for your foolishness.”

  He took a deep breath and grimaced as pain seared through his shoulder from the effort. “You’ve let Conrad get too close and know too much. You will have one chance to kill him. Once he realizes you question his loyalty, he will strike.”

  Seth scoffed with angry emotion. “You sound like you care.”

  “Only in a roundabout manner. Conrad Sweeny is a mad bull, only kept in control by your firm hand. Once he kills you and takes over, he will become a serious blight on London. And assuming I don’t die while Rome burns and you fiddle, then I will be asked to handle the problem, and honestly…”

  Xavier stopped speaking as his vision turned to dim grey tunnels. He fought for consciousness, but he could feel his heart slowing down. “Damn it, Seth…you waited too long.”

  The tunnel darkened and his final thought was of Victor.

  Chapter 16

  Tired and fed, Victor slowly climbed the steps to her room. To her surprise, the feline Mr. Tubs followed. “I’ve no more food, Mr. Tubs.” Maybe feeding the cat beneath the table hadn’t been a good idea.

  When she entered her room, the cat pushed his way in, almost knocking her over. God, she had to be tired when a cat could nearly take her out. She stumbled to her bed and fell face down. She had a vague awareness of Mr. Tubs massaging her back before she fell into the oblivion of sleep. She dreamed of Aunt Maddy’s funeral.

  The gloomy cold drizzle chilled her to her bones and an impressive sea of mourners, who had come to honor her fabulous aunt, stood behind her. When the minister ended his long and tedious sermon that provided her no comfort whatsoever, she and Claire stepped forward to say their last farewells. Only when she knelt to throw the cut bonds of rope into the grave, did she realize the coffin below was open and the body of Xavier lay inside. He opened his eyes and yelled at her. “You ignorant pup! I needed a better doctor, not your damn tears.”

  Victor sat up in bed, as her heart threatened to beat its way out her chest.

  Time was running out. She had to find Xavier before her dream became reality. She recalled his last angry words. He needed a better doctor. A doctor! Of course. They must have moved him to a doctor’s office because of his wound.

  She grabbed her gun from the sideboard and ran downstairs. Gregory stood at the foot of the steps. He looked tired and grumpy from his early morning assignment.

  “Ready my carriage, Gregory. I’ve got a job to do!”

  The downstairs clock followed her declaration with eight low booming chimes. Vic thought the added drama to be a good sign. Today, the world would turn to her bidding. Today, she would find Xavier!

  She tried to slip by Gregory, but he snagged her arm. “I have interviewed eighty-nine and found acceptable eighty-four young people. I sent them in five wagons to Miss Collins. “

  “Thank you, Gregory.” She tried to pull away, but he held tight.

  “During the long arduous process, I received neither help, nor intervention from Xavier Thorn. Nor would Davy answer my question as to his whereabouts. I now realize he’s been missing for some time. I want the truth, Vic. What has happened?”

  Vic sighed. “Someone has abducted him, but today I intend to get him back.”

  “See that you do.” Gregory released her arm and gave her a nod of respect.

  She stepped proudly through the breakfast room laden with all her favorite foods, grabbed a biscuit and entered the kitchen. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Yarrows, but I need to leave on important business. I will not return until late.” Noticing Sara, lightly dusted in flour, she remembered Stone’s request. “You will need to take Sara to Scotland Yard today so she can provide her statement. I am sorry I cannot accompany you…”

  “Don’t you worry about us,” Mrs. Yarrows said as she stopped cooking and set the pot off the stove. “Sara, find a basket and fill it with the foods on the breakfast buffet. Victor, come with me, for a moment.”

  She followed Mrs. Yarrows to Gregory’s quarters. Vic had never been in her butler’s sacred chambers before and was very impressed. The room was larger than hers and expensively furnished. Her attention returned to Mrs. Yarrows now holding a brush.

  “You look a bit wild,” she explained as she dipped her hand in the water basin and wetted down a stubborn sprout before brushing it down. Once satisfied, she smiled. “There, now you are ready to go out and do great things.”

  Vic kissed her cheek. “Thank you, Mrs. Yarrows.”

  As Vic hurried through the kitchen, Sara handed over a basket of food. “Best of luck to you, sir.”

  Vic appreciated the change from her treatment yesterday. Yes, this was her day.

  As she approached the door, Gregory opened it for her. “Be safe, Victor.”

  Encouragement far surpassed swats on the head. Vic stepped outside to find, not one, but two carriages waiting.

  She smiled at her family driver. “Thank you, Sam, but I’ll go with Davy. However, Mrs. Yarrows and Sara have need of the carriage…”

  Gregory spoke from the door. “I’ll handle it.”

  “Excellent.” Vic climbed up next to Davy. “I bring food to sustain us in our great feats today!”

  Davy frowned. “What feats?”

  Vic opened the basket, snared a fresh biscuit and dunked it into the bowl of jam. “Today, we will find and bring our lost employer home.”

  “Finally!” Davy snapped the horses forward. “Where to?”

  “First, we need to pick up Jacko, and then we are off to London Docks. And no arguments. We are going to check every doctor’s home and office in that area. I am convinced we will find Xavier in one of them.”

  Davy frowned.

  Vic could not believe he intended to argue with her. Not today, not on her day to save Xavier!

  “I think your plan is a good one. However, we might have to do it without Jacko, because he said he’d be in his office all day, and I don’t know where that is. I didn’t even know gypsies had offices.”

  Vic laughed at the idea of offices for gypsies, with colorful wagons parked outside. “Well, fortunately I do, and it’s on our way. Stop at the New Royal Exchange and we’ll pick him up.”

  Davy stared at her in surprise. “You seem your old self today. Do you know something I don’t?”

  “I know that today we will find Xavier, because today, the world turns for me!”

  She had Davy convinced by the time they arrived at New Royal Exchange. No sluggish wagons blocked their way and they arrived in half the normal time. An empty space for the carriage awaited them in front of the steps.

  Vic ran inside and up to the office of JB Goodnow’s. She stepped inside, surprising Jacko and a young boy in conversation.

  She smiled at Jacko. “I know how to find him.”

  The young boy frowned at her. “Hey now, I was here first.”

  Jacko handed the boy twenty pounds. “Your information was helpful, Pete, but insufficient to earn the prize. Now go on with you.”

  The boy stared at the bill and stuffed it deep in his pocket. “Well, it ain’t the fortune you promised, but it’s still a prize.”

  “More than you make in a year, now go on.” Jacko shooed him out of the office.

  “What did he tell you?” Vic asked.

  His expression looked dark and foreboding. “He saw men carry a body from the alley heading west. He couldn’t follow, so that’s all we know.”

  Vic smiled. “Well, that shortens the space to search immensely.”

  Jacko stared at her as if she were mad. “Vic, most of London is west of that alley!”

  Vic stared about his office. “Do you really sell maps?”

/>   Jacko sighed. “I buy and sell information, some of which are maps.”

  “What type of information?”

  Jacko shrugged.

  Vic’s eyes narrowed. “If I wanted to know every doctor in the vicinity who will tend bullet wounds without calling Scotland Yard, would you happen to have that?”

  “I could sell you a map with their locations marked in red.”

  “I would like that map and a handsome pirate to accompany me.”

  “You think Xavier is at a doctor’s office?”

  “Or the doctor’s home. Xavier incurred a serious wound—I suspect a gunshot—somewhere on his shoulder or chest. The wound became infected and he requires a doctor. I do not think they would risk carrying him far, because he must be close to death.”

  “They probably don’t care if he dies.”

  Vic shook her head. “They care or he would have been dead from the start. Now I have a bossy boss to save. Are you coming?”

  ***

  After they searched the third doctor’s office with no results, Jacko demanded to know how she had come upon her information. “Who told you he had been shot?”

  “No one. We found the room where they held him. The blood on the mattress indicated a front chest or shoulder wound, and the lingering odor indicated infection.”

  Jacko frowned. “How do you know he was attacked from the front and not the back?”

  “The blood stain created a silhouette of his left shoulder, which means the blood ran over his shoulder and onto the mattress. The black hairs on the pillow indicated he lay face up. Thus, he has a wound on the left side of his chest.”

  Jacko nodded. “And how do you know it’s a gunshot rather than a knife wound?”

  “I favor the gunshot theory because all that blood wouldn’t have run over his shoulder unless someone pried about in the wound. I thought perhaps someone attempted to retrieve the bullet with their fingers rather than tools.”

  Jacko grimaced at the thought.

  “How many more doctors before Weston Street?”

  “Just two.” Jacko said it as if it were a bad number, but Vic smiled. She was tired of bullying doctors into allowing a search of the office and living spaces. She wanted to find Xavier and take him home.