Toxic Diamonds (The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Book 8)

by Liza O'Connor

  “Could we, when Stone is better, offer him a job working for us?”

  “He’s a proud man, Vic. He would expect to come in as an equal partner.”

  Vic growled.

  “And that is why I allowed Samson to take him far away. You do not share well.”

  “That is not fair!”

  “But it is true. It’s a shame really, because Stone could be of great use to us both, sitting in the front office, waiting for clients to pop in while we are out working other cases. He’s used to being in the office all day.”

  “But if he were a partner, he could bully Tubs,” Vic warned.

  “We would still be equal partners, siding two against one, so no, he would not bully Tubs. In fact, I expect he would soon like Tubs a great deal. Just as Jacko befriended Tubs so will Stone. Honestly, Tubs is so likable, hardworking, and dedicated; who could not love him?”

  “That’s true.” Vic’s brow furrowed. “So, I’m the difficult cog that is preventing Stone from returning to a productive life?”

  “Well, his wife will presently think having him at home is better, but she will soon reconsider the matter. Except for us, I know of no couples who can endure the company of their mate for twenty-four hours a day.”

  “David adores Claire.”

  “He does. But I daresay he wouldn’t if he stayed around her twenty-four hours a day. He has his job, and evidently spends time with other inventors, and always jumps to your bidding whenever you call.”

  “Good point. When you take in the hours to sleep, he probably only sees her four to six hours a day. I wonder what she does in her spare time.”

  “I have no wish to know. However, if you are reconsidering the chance to give Stone a new life, then let us wait a month for him to heal more. Then we will travel to his home and ask him together if he would like to join our firm.”

  Vic created a tiny whirlpool in her glass of whiskey. “Stone and I will probably argue at times. He is obsessed with the need of proof.” To prove this, Vic shared the scene she played out as to how Barringbarn got shot and how that would have caused Mason to investigate the matter, resulting in Wiggens shooting him then slamming the door shut and escaping the boat.

  “Yes, I believe challenging both positions of proof vs. intuitive skill to be a healthy exercise and will make you both better investigators. Your first beliefs are not always right, Victor. Pausing to search for proof will improve your skills, just as opening Stone’s mind to allowing for rational actions to be considered likely to have happened, even if there is no proof that is what the person did, will improve his skills as well.”

  “Excellent! So both Stone and I will continue to improve. What will you be doing, pray tell?”

  “Playing peacemaker, no doubt.”

  Vic downed the rest of her drink and stood. “As nice as our library is, since people could be trying to hire us to solve crimes, we should head over to the office.”

  “Tearing out the pages in the scheduler was most diabolical of Ben.” Xavier said as he followed her. “Let us go wait for our possible but still unlikely clients.”

  Chapter 23

  When they crossed the road, Xavier lost his humor upon the sight of the burnt corner of their office. Tubs sanded away the scorched paint.

  They walked over to see the damage done.

  “It’s just superficial damage,” Tubs assured them. “I’ll have it fixed in no time at all. Samson and Jacko are inside the office with Alice and the boys. Samson has a gift he wants to give you for loaning him the vest. Once I’m done here, I’ll head back to the house if it’s all right with you.”

  “Of course,” Vic said and grabbed Xavier’s hand. “Come on. You’ve yet to meet the noisy dog.” Vic entered, pulling Xavier behind her.

  While no dog greeted them, Samson handed Xavier his bulletproof vest and a bottle of scotch. “I apologize for the delay in returning your vest, only given Stone’s weakened state, I had him wear it when I drove him and his family to their home.”

  Vic grinned at Xavier with a perky ‘I told you so’ grin.

  “No worries. Had you asked me, I would have commended you for the excellent idea. How did Stone take to the journey?”

  “He slept through most of the ride. My carriage has the finest of springs,” Samson replied.

  Xavier arched his brow. “As does mine.”

  “Yes, we are all blessed with fine springs. How are yours, Jacko?” Vic asked, determined to stop Xavier and Samson’s one-upmanship.

  “They are so fine that it’s like floating on air,” Jacko assured them and laughed.

  Just then, Jacko’s boys ran in from the back door, followed by Rocky the screaming dog.

  Upon hearing a high-pitched screech, Xavier grimaced in pain. “We’ve plenty of people watching our business.” He turned around and pulled Vic outside.

  Vic stared at the corner of the office. It looked good as new. “I’m beginning to think there is nothing Tubs can’t do.”

  Xavier relaxed a bit as he admired Tubs’ handy work. “Hiring Tubs is and always will be your finest idea. Without him, neither of us would be alive now.”

  Vic grinned. “That’s true. We’d both be dead many times over. He must have returned home. Hopefully, Gregory will let him sleep some. He’s already done a full day’s work.”

  “Gregory will never abuse Tubs. He knows how valuable and irreplaceable the fellow is.” A loud screech came from inside their office. Xavier scowled. "Damn it all! I can hear the dog from out here."

  Vic rubbed her ears. “I am very glad Arroo only bays. That screeching would drive me insane.” She sighed heavily. “I’ll ask Alice to leave the dog with the younger boys. I hope her three nannies don’t quit due to the hideous noise.”

  “It is horrendous,” Xavier agreed. “I’ve no idea how Alice and Jacko can stand it.”

  “Let’s just be glad they can,” Vic said.

  Once they returned to the sanctity of their home, Vic couldn’t resist playing a prank. Her butler-parent would hate Rocky’s squeals. “Gregory, you should go over to the office. Alice brought cinnamon rolls.”

  As she anticipated, that got him running across the street in no time at all. Cinnamon rolls were Gregory’s favorite treat.

  Xavier frowned at her. “You do know he’s going to slap you across the head when he realizes you sent him over on a fool’s errand.”

  Vic shrugged. “I just want him to appreciate there are worse things than Arroo’s baying.”

  Xavier chuckled. “You know, the screeching dog might actually be useful in an interrogation. I’d confess to my crimes if they promised to shut the dog up.”

  Vic was musing with the idea of torturing Ben with the pup when Gregory returned a half hour later. To her shock, he possessed a basket of what smelled to be cinnamon rolls.

  Vic grabbed one and tossed it to Xavier. Then she grabbed another and bit into it.

  “Victor, you do not throw food about like a football.” Gregory chided.

  “I didn’t. And you clearly don’t know the rules of football. I neither head-butted nor kicked it to Xavier.”

  Gregory huffed. “I have no time to follow sports. I spend my entire life trying to keep you alive and this house in order!”

  She returned to him and kissed his cheek as she stole another cinnamon roll from his basket. “And you do both very well.”

  Realizing her sleight of hand, Gregory scolded, “Victor! How could you have possibly eaten your entire cinnamon roll already?”

  To show him exactly how she did it, Vic opened her mouth and stuffed half of a new bun in her mouth.

  “Get on with you,” he warned. “Xavier, would you care for another?”

  “Good heavens no! I’ve barely eaten a quarter of this one. If you are desperate to keep them out of Vic’s hands, I’m sure Tubs would take two or three,” Xavier replied.

  “Excellent idea!” Vic said. “Tubs has probably gone back to bed after his night of chasing Ben around, bu
t I can leave him some on the night stand.” Vic grabbed two rolls from the basket and headed off to Tubs’ room.

  Forgetting to knock, she opened the door and got an eyeful of Tubs and Sara making love. She quietly closed the door and ate the last half of her second roll as she stood in the servant's hallway pondering if Tubs would wish her to interrupt them for a tasty treat or leave them be. Giving the matter serious consideration, she concluded Tubs and Sara would prefer to continue what they were doing. She stared at the two cinnamon rolls in her hand and decided to eat one and give Xavier the other. After eating another roll, she felt a bit sickly.

  Slowly, she went in search of Xavier and found him in the library at his desk writing his illegible script on a tablet. “Wouldn’t it be better if you typed your thoughts so other people could read and marvel at your brilliance?”

  “I would do exactly that, but unfortunately my typewriter is in my office, and I am quite certain the screeching dog sounds can penetrate through wood and violate my inner sanctum.”

  “I’m most sorry about the dog, but the nice old lady never gave me a chance to reject it. She just handed it over to Pete and ran like the wind.”

  “I’ve no doubt.”

  “Would a half a bun cheer you up?” Vic asked as she rubbed her stomach.

  “You’re giving me half your cinnamon roll. That is very generous of you.”

  “Not really. I think that was my third or fourth one. I’ve lost count. All I know for sure is that I don’t feel good now.”

  “My poor pup. Should I chastise Gregory for forcing you to eat so many?”

  “Please don’t. He’ll just scold me and I really don’t feel good.”

  Xavier helped her upstairs. When she threw up in the toilet, he gently washed her face. He then carried her to their bed and left. Twenty minutes later, Dr. Connors arrived, checked her vitals, asked how many cinnamon rolls she had eaten, then laughed at her answer. “Well, the good news is that you will survive, but the bad news is that all that butter and sugar may require you to visit the toilet more than once. If you wish to clear it all out immediately, I can fix you a purge.”

  “Yes, please.”

  “I will do so now,” he promised and left the room.

  She couldn’t remember ever feeling worse than she did now. She needed to throw up again, but felt far too weak to reach the toilet. “Someone just kill me!” she begged to the empty room.

  Soon Dr. Connors returned and helped her to the bathroom, then gave her the purge to drink.

  Her sadistic doctor had failed to mention how foul it would taste, but in less than a minute, she was purging. By the time she finished, the bathroom was a mess, her clothes were a mess, and she just wanted to fall asleep on the tile floor. It felt so nice and cool.

  She woke, still lying on the tile. However, someone was trying to undress her. “Stop it, only Xavier is allowed to do that.”

  “I’m pleased we agree on that matter. But dare I know who you thought was undressing you, if not me?” Xavier teased.

  “I thought you were Dr. Connors.”

  “Ah, yes. He’s downstairs having a cinnamon roll.”

  Vic shook her head. “Don’t ever mention that pastry again.”

  Once he had her undressed, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bathtub half-filled with warm water. He then undressed himself and joined her. Good thing, too, for she had sunk completely under the water. He sat her up and slipped in behind her. “Did you almost drown on me?”

  “No, I just held my breath and slipped beneath the water for a moment.”

  “Well, don’t do that anymore. It scared the hell out of me.”

  “Sorry,” she murmured and fell asleep on his chest.

  Xavier scrubbed her clean, dried her off and put her to bed. Then he got dressed and returned downstairs. He located Dr. Connors talking to Cannon and Ham.

  Having no interest in their story about Rocky the screeching dog, he interrupted the conversation. “Vic’s very tired and sleepy, should I be concerned?”

  “That’s normal after a purge.” Dr. Connors then laughed. “I can’t believe Vic managed to eat three of these rolls.”

  “He’s an amazing fellow,” Xavier admitted.

  Chapter 24

  The next morning Vic woke feeling healthy and well. She couldn’t wait to continue training the police officers.

  “Xavier, I’ve a great idea.”

  “Can it wait until I’ve slept a few more hours and had breakfast?” he grumbled.

  “I suppose,” she replied as she left the bed and dressed. Just as she opened the door, Xavier spoke. “You are not leaving the house without me, are you?”

  “That depends on when you are planning to wake up. I have much to do today.”

  “Bloody hell!” Xavier yelled and pushed himself from the bed. “What disaster do you perceive now?”

  Vic smiled at him. “I’ve decided to let Cotter return, for I’ve thought of a way to pair the men off. I need to match the three men with better intuition with the three who are more analytical, so they’ll work as well as we do.”

  “Not likely, but I agree with the concept. When I paired you with Barns, it greatly improved his skills.”

  “And you improved my skills,” Vic added.

  He stroked her hair. “Working with me has possibly improved your analytical skills.”

  Vic turned to face him as he dressed. “Why would you say ‘possibly improved’ my skills?”

  Xavier stopped fighting his tie and wrapped his arms around her. “Because you constantly improve with or without input. Your skills surpass any that I know of.” He stroked her hair back. “And instead of your head swelling beyond your actual abilities, you have become more generous, rather than less, when sharing your talents with others.”

  “Only with competent others,” she warned him.

  His eyes sparkled with admiration. “That goes without saying. Now let us have a hearty breakfast and then set off to train our police officers.”

  Vic grinned at his use of the words “our police officers”. “Did you wish to teach them something today?”

  “In fact, I might wish to speak on a particular topic if you don’t cover it in your fascinating questioning and teaching technique.”

  “And what is the topic?” she asked.

  “I won’t say.”

  She laughed. “You know I will share the floor.”

  “I never doubted it,” he replied and kissed her until her knees buckled.

  A soft knock on the door caused them to break the kiss. Xavier answered the door and smiled at Gregory.

  “Breakfast is ready, sir.”

  “As our we,” replied Xavier as he held out his hand to Vic.

  ***

  When Vic and Xavier arrived at the meeting room in Scotland Yard, Barns and a very somber Captain Meyers were the only ones in the room. “Did all my students quit?” Vic asked.

  “Not at all,” Captain Meyers assured her. “I just wanted you to know that Cotter and I inspected the home of the young woman with so many children.”

  His sad demeanor warned her the news would break her heart. “She was murdering the babies,” Vic stated as tears ran down her cheeks.

  “Yes. There were five dead in the cribs. Dr. Connors said they either died of starvation or poison—they showed signs of both—so he’s claiming both to be the cause of death. I brought in more men to dig up the backyard and they found seven more bodies before I left. I expect there’ll be more.”

  “How old was this woman?” Vic asked.

  “She is only twenty with a demeanor of kindness and charm.”

  “It’s how she convinces the poor women to hand over their babies to her care,” Vic replied. “But she couldn’t have been baby farming for long. Does Cotter know how long she’s lived there?”

  “She moved in five months ago.”

  “Are the bodies in the back yard just bones?”

  “Some are, some aren’t,�
�� Meyers replied softly.

  “So, she bought the business from someone else.”

  “She swears she didn’t know about the bones in the backyard. She sounded completely sincere, but two of the graves were freshly dug, probably in the last week, so she’s just good at lying.”

  Vic nodded with his conclusion. “It’s a skill a baby farmer must have. Most women do not want to kill their babies. But they either cannot afford to feed them or they must work long days and cannot care for their own child. A baby farmer must be able to convince a woman, for a small amount of money each week to pay for the child’s keep, she will love the baby like her own.”

  “That no doubt explains why she had so many babies.”

  “Were any still alive?”

  “Seventeen of them.”

  “Does she have paperwork as to whom they belong to?”

  “She does on sixteen of them. The mothers had to work, so they left their babies with her for eight pounds a month. The little boy was to be killed, but she hadn’t gotten around to it.”

  “She told you that?”

  “No, I had Cotter question her. He appeared so genuinely concerned about her that she told him everything. When she finished her confession and he arrested her, she was outraged. She had believed he would save her. Which brings me to asking you for a favor.”

  “If it’s to allow Cotter back in my classroom, don’t bother. I already planned to let him back in. I was too harsh yesterday. I should have had more patience, but I knew in my gut this woman was a baby farmer and his refusal to see it angered me.”

  “Well, he regrets his attitude as well. You have humbled him with your ability to see what he could not. And thank you for letting him return. I’ll bring the men in so you may start your class.”

  “Meyers, wait. What’s to happen to the little boy?”

  “We don’t know who the mother was, and since she paid for him to be murdered, he’s better off without her, so he’ll be going to an orphanage.”

  “Can I see him first?” Vic asked.

  Xavier looked up with concern.