A Despicable Crime

by Liza O'Connor

  “Dear Lord!” Vivian declared.

  “I sent the baby boy to Claire and David’s house, so that David could have a son to teach. Only Claire refused the child, which is how Danny came to have three fathers. David, Xavier, and me.”

  “That is one lucky little boy,” Vivian declared. “I cannot wait to see him.”

  Vic chuckled. “You will see and hear them all too soon. Dinner should have been served five minutes ago. However, I suspect Gregory found a few more platters of food to add to the meal. He has never once allowed a person to go hungry at his dinner table.”

  A knock sounded at the library door, then Gregory entered. “Dinner is nearly ready.” He then focused on Vivian. “If you need to freshen up, I can have a maid show you the way.”

  “I’ll take her,” Vic declared.

  Vic noticed Gregory’s brow furrow. “Vivian possesses an excellent sense of smell, so she knew I was female within seconds of meeting her. But have no worries, she won’t tell anyone.”

  Vivian chuckled. “I am very reliable in keeping secrets,” she assured Gregory.

  “Very good then, Vic you may escort Mistress Vivian to your rooms, so she may freshen up.” Gregory then hurried off.

  “So that is your butler/parent,” Vivian said. “He was just about to scold you at the audacity of a young man taking an old woman to the water closet.”

  “He tries his hardest to make me a fine gentleman. So, such a gaff upset him greatly. Thankfully, I had a good explanation. Now would you like to see Xavier and my rooms?”

  “Indeed, I would,” Vivian declared.

  For an old gal, Vivian proved to have much life still in her as she moved up the steps at a steady pace, except when she would pause to admire a painting along the way. “I am most impressed with your house Victor. I had feared Xavier was living in his place of business, wearing the same clothes for weeks.”

  Vic laughed and opened the door to their rooms. “Actually, when we first met, he did sleep upstairs above his office. Now, only Davy, Xavier’s carriage driver, stays in the office to ensure no one else will try to burn our office down. Everybody else is over here.”

  “And who is everybody?” Vivian asked as she entered the bathing room. “This is a lovely room! Very Romanesque. But where is the water closet?” Then she saw a door near the corner. Upon opening it, she nodded with approval. “This is very nice.”

  Ten minutes later, she exited the water closet and closed the door behind her. “Vic?” she called out.

  Just then, Vic burst into the room.

  “Is the house on fire?” she asked.

  “No, but Gregory is a bit miffed that Xavier ran off and I didn’t ask if he’d be back for dinner. We best hurry downstairs,” Vic insisted.

  Once seated at the table, a short prayer was spoken and then the starved masses attacked their food. Vic had forewarned Vivian that she considered everyone in her house as family, thus all of the employees hired by her and Xavier were considered loyal employees and confidents, and many had married servants of the house, so they were family also. “Once I bond with a person, they become family, and I would never send my family to eat in the kitchen, unless they actually prefer the solitude. Gregory and our cook prefer a moment of peace. While Gregory will pop in to ensure all is well, he prefers to eat his meal quietly with the woman he loves but will not marry.”

  “Why won’t he marry her?”

  “He insists his profession requires him to remain single.” Vic rolled her eyes, then whispered, “No one in this house would give a care if he were to marry the cook. They have loved each other for over five years. But Gregory is the finest butler in the world, and he will not bend in this matter.”

  Just then someone pounded on the door. Gregory arrived at the door and let Xavier, Jacko, and his four boys inside. “Have you eaten, sir?”

  “No and we are all hungry,” Jacko warned.

  The smaller boys nodded in agreement.

  Cannon insisted the boys sit with him and the other boys at the children’s table. Several months ago, Gregory had hired a carpenter to make a miniature table that fit the children.

  Pete eyed the tiny table and looked at his father. “May I sit at the big table?”

  “Absolutely,” Vic replied. “You are an adult, doing a man’s job.”

  Pete smiled at her and then nodded at Vivian. “Did you like your tea?”

  “I did. Thank you, young man.”

  Xavier sat beside his great-grand mother and demanded everyone’s attention. “This grand lady is my great-grandmother.”

  Everyone stood and applauded her.

  Vic grimaced, realizing she had failed to introduce the woman to anyone but Gregory. When Jacko took the seat beside her, she leaned towards him. “When is Alice coming back?”

  “How did you know...oh the boys. She’ll be gone for two weeks. I don’t feel safe leaving them with the nannies if I’m not there. Any chance I can leave them here tonight and tomorrow?”

  “The boys will love it.”

  Jacko smiled at Vic. “Thanks!” he said as he dived into his food that Gregory had just placed before him.

  The moment Vic finished her meal, Gregory requested to speak to her in the kitchen. She doubted she was in serious trouble. He always chose the library for major confrontations. Vic rose and followed him to the kitchen without a single objection. She even took her plate, so she could put it in the sink and save him the effort.

  When Gregory noticed the dish, he lost his temper. “Victor! You should have left your plate on the table!”

  “I was just being helpful. We’re all family. No strangers to shock.”

  Gregory sighed heavily. “Are you certain about this woman you brought home? She appears much too young to be anyone’s great-grandmother, nonetheless Xavier’s.”

  “She was married at thirteen, and pregnant right away. Her only son, Rutherford, married a girl of twelve when he was sixteen. The child stayed with her parents until she was fifteen, but once she was sent to Rutherford, she got pregnant right away. Nine months later, Daniel arrived. Rutherford had sold off the farms and gone through all their money. If Daniel didn’t marry a wealthy debutante, he would be caste from society and die in poverty. So he started his search for a bride when he was seventeen. He soon married a large nosed, highly intelligent woman with a wicked temper.”

  Gregory chuckled. “Sounds like Xavier in female form.”

  “I said the same,” Vic laughed. “So, to your original concern, according to my calculation, Vivian should be eighty-eight or eighty-nine years old. And while she looks younger than that, keep in mind she only had one son, and he left her home at an early age, thus she has mostly had a peaceful life.”

  Gregory paused to give the matter thought, then replied, “I see. I apologize for bringing you in here. I was just concerned.”

  Vic patted his back. “I had the same confusion, so I had her go through each of her generations all the way to Xavier. The only woman who waited until a reasonable age to marry was Xavier’s mother.” Vic chuckled. “And she birthed him after five months.”

  When Gregory opened his mouth to protest the short time, Vic stopped him. “Xavier is very glad he can’t be Daniel’s true son. And this information was very timely, since we’ll probably have to arrest Daniel in short order, and now Xavier will have no qualms in doing so.”

  “So who is his father?” Gregory whispered.

  “I’ll need to interrogate the mother to find that out, which I won’t do until we have Daniel arrested. She’ll be more likely to tell the truth then.”

  “What exactly do you believe Daniel has done?”

  “We believe he had one of the three expert forgers in London to create a document that enables him to steal money out of Vivian’s bank account.”

  “Ah, so that explains Jacko’s appearance at the dinner table,” Gregory snapped. “But why did he bring the boys?”

  “Because Alice is at her estate, and he rightfully d
id not feel safe leaving the young boys with young nannies. Did I not tell you about the evil young girl servants we had sent him from London?”

  “No, you did not, but Jacko mentioned it when he berated my ability to select servants.”

  “That is totally unfair. I recall quite clearly that Jacko refused to believe these girls were the problem. In fact, Xavier almost told him he would have to be excused from assisting in discovering the true culprits, given he was too emotionally involved to find the truth. These girls were very clever and neither you, nor Jacko, nor Alice are to be blamed for what happened. And I am most put out with Jacko for berating you, because that was not your fault. The fault lies with little cretins who portray a charming personality when they are truly evil to the core.”

  She then sighed. “Unfortunately, I cannot yell at Jacko for his unfair comments right now. We need him to find the forged document that is allowing Xavier’s ‘faux father’ to steal from Vivian.

  Gregory huffed. “Not a problem. I have already berated him in return for keeping the servants for years if they had been so horrible.”

  Vic looked around to make sure no one but the cook was in the room and then gave her servant/parent a quick hug. “Great comeback! However, I best go out there and ensure all is well.”

  “Indeed, you should,” he agreed and gently pushed her toward the door.

  As she entered the dining room, she noticed all the boys were gone, except for Pete, who seemed to be softly pleading with his father. Whatever he wanted, both Xavier and Jacko were against.

  “You are staying here and that is final!” Jacko warned.

  “But how am I ever to learn your skills if I don’t follow you about?”

  “I do not wish you to learn these skills. I wish you to learn Victor’s skills. Follow him about. He loves to teach others. In truth, I cannot teach you to find lost items. I was born with this skill. No one taught me. It is a curse and gift that I bear. It requires me frequently to risk my life for other people, sometimes without even a thank you in return, but it also enabled me to find Alice’s necklace when the chain broke, and it was lost in a corn field.”

  Pete looked to Vic and smiled. “Any chance you will let me tag along with you?”

  “Well, I wasn’t planning to go anywhere. But you can follow me to Tubs’ room, if you like.”

  When he reached her side, Vic whispered, “If you get bored, you can leave any time and I won’t be offended. It’s just that Tubs is a great sounding board.”

  Pete grinned from ear to ear. “I would love to hear what Tubs has to say.”

  “Well, come on then.” When she reached his door, she knocked loudly, since the last three times she’d barged in, it turned out he and his wife Sara were rumpling the sheets.

  Tubs opened the door and smiled at Vic and Pete. Upon finding them chairs, Tubs insisted they sit down while he sat on his bed.

  “Where’s Sara?” Vic asked.

  “She’s putting the smaller boys to bed. David is teaching the older boys about electronics.”

  Pete perked up. “That sounds fun!”

  Vic laughed. “It does. Why don’t you ask a servant to take you to David’s room?”

  “You would not mind?”

  “Not at all.”

  Once Pete had run from the room, Tubs asked her what was wrong.

  She sat beside him and leaned against his shoulder. Tubs was her best friend and knew her as well as Xavier did. “Something feels off about this mission.”

  “In what way?”

  “I know nothing about Daniel Thorn, except that he is nothing like Xavier and they hate each other. They are not father and son. Daniel may or may not believe that Xavier is his son, but Xavier has now learned he is definitely not his son, which has put him in a very good mood tonight.”

  “What is the plan that has you worried?”

  “It should be a simple plan. Xavier intends to go tomorrow to his house and demand to know why Daniel lied and told him his great-grandmother was dead when she was not.”

  “And what will that achieve?”

  She paused before answering, then smiled at him. “That’s it! Xavier planned to get Daniel to glance at his hiding place that is holding the document, but to make him glance where he’s hidden it, it would require Xavier to accuse him of having a forged document and that would likely get him shot.”

  She rushed through the house, calling for Xavier, then she came to a halt, as Gregory gripped her arm.

  “Gregory, let me go. I have to find Xavier. There is a flaw to his plan. It could get him killed!”

  “He’s in the library with Vivian,” Gregory said as he sent her on her way.

  When she burst into the library, both Vivian and Xavier stared at her as if she were a lunatic. “There’s a flaw to our plan! You cannot visit Daniel and goad him. The point you need to goad him with is something that you should not know. And given he is probably fully aware that you are not his child, I fear he will shoot you in the chest and then claim you entered the house with a gun, angry and irrational, and he had no choice but to kill you.” She paused and then approached him. “Jacko needs to do this alone. We need to trust his skills.”

  Xavier sighed heavily. “Jacko and I had already come to the same conclusion. He’ll do it on his own. But he wishes to do it tonight.”

  “Damn it all. This plan will go better if he has help. I intended to send Casey and Tubs, in case Jacko gets wounded. Tubs can carry him out and Casey can get him to Connors quickly.”

  “That is a much better plan. Perhaps you should call him on Gregory’s telephone.”

  “You have a telephone?” Vivian asked.

  Xavier softly snorted as even the idea he’d own a telephone was outrageous. “I do not. However, Gregory purchased one with his own money, which resides in his room, that comes in handy at moments like this.”

  ***

  Vic ran from the library at full speed. Finding Gregory’s door unlocked, she entered and telephoned Jacko.

  “What?” he snapped.

  “Jacko, you need to wear a bullet proof silk vest and I want Casey to drive the carriage and Tubs to lurk in the dark, so he can rescue you if needed.”

  “Are you just being annoying or is this one of your bad feelings?”

  “I just want to keep you safe. No one should die for this.”

  “Well, this is why I decided to do it on my own, so no one else could possibly die doing this,” Jacko explained.

  “I totally agree that Xavier needed to stay home. That plan was a disaster. I no longer feel that anyone is going to die, but having you wear a bullet proof vest, and a driver to drop you off then wait down the street is a much better plan than taking your own carriage.”

  “That’s true,” Jacko conceded. “But why is Tubs needed?”

  “Because if something goes wrong, he is the best help you could ask for. Otherwise, he’ll just hang in the shadows. But if you get shot, he can easily carry you back to the carriage which will take you immediately to Dr. Connors. You have too much to live for to take unnecessary risks. You are part of our family.”

  “You can send Tubs and Casey to my house, and I’ll let them come with me. But I’m the only one going inside. Tubs can be my lookout. It’s always good to have one of those.”

  “Thank you. I’ll send the vest, Tubs, and Casey right now.”

  As she ran from Gregory’s room, she slammed into the phone’s owner.

  “Vic. Why were you in my room?” Gregory demanded.

  “I thought of some improvements to the plan, so I telephoned Jacko and made him promise to accept Casey and Tubs.”

  “In what roles?” he asked, clearly still unhappy with the change of plans.

  “Casey will drop him off and find a dark place a half block up to wait. Tubs will lurk in the shadows outside of the house, unless Jacko needs help. Oh, I also need to borrow Xavier’s bullet proof silk vest. Jacko promised to wear it.”

  “Excellent improvements to
the plan. I’ll retrieve the vest while you ensure both Tubs and Casey wear the appropriate clothes not to be seen in the dark.”

  Five minutes later, Casey and Tubs were off to assist in Jacko’s mission.

  No longer feeling something would go wrong, she entered the library and listened to Vivian remind Xavier of their past. While Vivian was much older than Xavier, she seemed to have retained far more memories than he did.

  Still, it was only eleven p.m. when she ran out of stories, so Vic shared her early years before arriving in England. Xavier had never heard her early year stories before, so both parties found them highly entertaining. When the clock chimed one a.m., they all remained silent. Surely Jacko had found the document by now... Soon, Daniel would be returning from the ball he had attended.

  Then Gregory entered. “They have the document, and they are alive. However, they are at Dr. Connors presently and should be home in a half an hour.”

  “What happened?” all three of them asked at once.

  “Daniel’s hideaway had a gun triggered to fire if not properly handled. Fortunately, Jacko was wearing your bullet proof vest, so the bullet did not penetrate his skin. However, it bruised him severely, and sent him flying back against the fireplace, which knocked him out cold. Tubs quickly climbed through the window and carried him to the carriage. Then Casey drove him straight to Dr. Connors, who was awake at one in the morning.”

  Gregory stared at Vic. “When did you make that call?”

  “When you went in search of Xavier’s vest. I just felt it was prudent to give him a heads up.”

  “Well, all your pre-planning turned out to be needed, so I shall not scold you over a failure to ask to use the phone, yet again.”

  “So how is Jacko?” Xavier demanded.

  Gregory focused on Xavier. “Dr. Connors assured me he is fine. His worst injury is a gash on the back of his head where he hit the corner of the fireplace. His chest will be bruised for a week or two. But otherwise he appears to be healthy and will be returning here for the night. I’ll have the room across from David’s to be readied. David has offered to keep an eye on him.”