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

by Liza O'Connor

  Seeing Barns, several officers surrounded them. The young woman was most indignant and wanted to leave, but an officer held firmly to her arm. Barns assisted Vic up and another officer lifted the young man to his feet. While the suit was Ben’s, the person wearing it was not. “I believe you’ve had a breakout,” Vic stated. “Bring them along.”

  The woman complained and threatened Barns the entire way. Her voice and accent sounded very different, and the hair color was different, but her waist looked as tiny as ever. When they arrived at the jail, the guilt on a jailer’s face told Vic he’d let Ben go.

  Vic sighed and looked at the woman. “You are good, I’ll grant you that.”

  Turning her back on the woman, she focused on Barns. “She enticed one of your men to let Ben go while she distracted me by having this guy wear one of his suits.”

  The boy stared at the Wasp then back at Vic, then the officers. “I didn’t agree to no jail break. I’ve been used! This lady asked me to put on this suit so the guards would think I was her brother and be nicer to her. That’s all I did.”

  “How much did she pay you?” Vic asked.

  “Ten pounds.”

  Vic sighed. “I believe him. He’s just been used.”

  Barns frowned. “Let him go.”

  The fellow took off down the hall like the hounds from hell were snapping at his feet. She’d never seen a person run so fast before.

  Barns pulled her further down the hall. “Vic, she doesn’t look anything like the lady I arrested last year.”

  Vic rolled her eyes. “She’s wearing a disguise.”

  “Well, it’s a good one.”

  “I think Tilly is better,” Vic grumbled.

  Barns chuckled. “I agree, but Vic, she doesn’t look or sound like the Wasp. The only similarity is her tiny waist. We can’t hold her.”

  “I don’t want you to hold her. I just need to catch Ben. Hopefully, he has the sense not to return to her house.”

  “Probably doesn’t, and we cannot enter her home without just cause,” Barns warned.

  Vic sighed heavily. “So, she’s won again.”

  “Afraid so,” Barns replied.

  “I’m going home. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.”

  Barns patted her back. “We’ll get her next time.”

  Once Vic turned the corner, she ran full out and threw herself in Xavier’s carriage. Without a word, Davy hurried off.

  She lifted the seat across from them and found no Ben.

  “You did catch him, didn’t you?”

  “I did. Sit down and ignore the occasional thumping.”

  Vic laughed as she bumped up an inch. “Does the doctor know we are coming?”

  “When could I have possibly called? However, I did ask Meyers to call and let him know I was bringing him an interesting case.”

  “How’s the other lunatic in his care?”

  Xavier pressed his lips to Vic’s hair. “According to the doctor, she’s doing very well.”

  “I hope that doesn’t mean he’s planning to let her go.”

  “Worse, I believe he has fallen in love with Ariana.”

  Vic didn’t like that at all. “What if the other personality kills him?”

  “She still won’t get out of the institution. Besides, Ariana is the dominant one again. He’s stop letting Achlys out at all after she tried to drive an iron rod from the bed into his heart.”

  “Do you actually visit her, or just call and ask how she is doing.”

  “I visit her once every month, and will probably do the same for Ben. Visiting is the only way I can rest assured that the correct person is in the room.”

  “How long do you think Ben will be here?”

  “I’ve no idea. Once we turn him over to the doctor, he alone decides when a patient may leave, and to my count, he’s not released a single person I’ve brought.”

  Vic sighed. “I’ve changed my mind again. I want the doctor to heal Ben. He was such a good fellow before Barnacle.”

  Xavier stroked her hair. “Ben is not like others I’ve brought here. I believe he has a real chance of recovering.”

  Vic leaned her head against his chest. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For giving me hope, for insisting on a backup plan if my plan didn’t work, and for not running off and leaving me at Scotland Yard.”

  Xavier laughed. “To be honest, you were five minutes from being left to find your own way home.”

  “Good thing I ran back to the carriage,” Vic muttered and fell asleep.

  ***

  Vic woke when the carriage wheel found a pot hole, and then another.

  “Bloody Hell! Where are we?”

  “Far away from civilization. The road is never fixed so no one can drive away quickly. In fact, the guards can run faster than a carriage can move on this road.”

  An eternity later, they came to a halt and armed men assisted Xavier and Vic out, then climbed in and secured Ben.

  Vic was impressed at how much fight he still had in him, but the guards kept him firmly under their control. Once inside, they shackled his ankles so he could only shuffle walk, like an old person.

  A blond god arrived and shook Xavier’s hand. “And this must be Victor. I’m pleased to finally meet you.”

  Vic look up at Xavier pondering why he would ever talk about her to a doctor for the mentally ill.

  “I suspect Achlys or Ariana must have mentioned you,” Xavier assured her.

  “Yes, both,” he replied.

  “Can’t imagine they have anything nice to say about me,” Vic grumbled.

  “That’s true,” he cheerfully replied and focused on Ben.

  Ben glared with intense rage. “I have been kidnapped against my will. I do not belong here. This is just payback for trying to burn their office to the ground. I am not crazy. I am just angry that Xavier made this idiot his partner.”

  Xavier rolled his eyes. “Two years ago, Ben was a pleasant young man. Then a street boy I had attempted to train, named Barnacle, chained Ben in the cellar. When we returned from Spain, Vic refused to believe Ben had quit, so the entire crew began to search for him. Unfortunately, that resulted in Vic getting abducted and nearly killed as well. Barnacle was holding them both in his mother’s basement. He was moments away from killing them when Inspector Stone killed Barnacle, saving them both.

  “At the time, it seemed Ben recovered and was himself. Since Vic had discovered Ben wished to be an investigator, she let him take lead on a case, while I was off doing some Internal Affairs work that resulted in Ariana’s arrival here.”

  “So when did Ben begin exhibiting abhorrent behaviors?” the doctor asked.

  “I am not abhorrent! My anger is most righteous!” Ben screamed. “I do not belong here!”

  The doctor ignored him and focused on Vic. “When did you notice something different?”

  Vic frowned. “His behavior changed after a few visits with the wasp woman. I assured Ben that any woman who would break her ribs just to have a waist so small you could encircle it with your hands was not sane.”

  The doctor grinned. “I haven’t considered the matter before, but I daresay that is a reasonable conclusion.”

  Ben growled. “No, it is not. Just because my beloved wishes to be beautiful for me, does not make her insane.”

  Again, the doctor ignored Ben.

  Vic remained focused on the doctor. “His response that day was milder than today, but he was clearly insulted by my comment and protested on her behalf.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Yes, he began to ignore my orders,” Vic said.

  “That’s because I do not work for you!” Ben screamed.

  “When he discovered the Wasp’s husband already had a wife, Ben gave her the address to the woman’s house. That is an unacceptable breach to our code of conduct, so I wanted to fire him, but Xavier felt he deserved another chance. What neither of us realized was that Ben continued seeing
the woman. And I have no proof, but I believe she is a mesmerist—a real one, not a charlatan—and that she plans to kill her husband soon, and all the evidence will point to Ben.

  “While I don’t care for this Ben and would be quite happy if you can return him to the nicer one, he doesn’t deserve to be hung for killing this man, who honestly deserves to die.”

  “Finally, we agree on something,” Ben said. “He does deserve to die. He treats my beloved horribly. He has to die, so we can be together.”

  “He’s never said that before,” Vic observed. “I think she’s just recently implanted these thoughts. I believe she also convinced him to burn our office down, so she could drag us onto the witness stand and have us help hang him. But I don’t want Ben hung. I want the good Ben back. I liked him. Do you think you can help him?”

  The doctor looked at Xavier. “Anything you wish to add?

  “No, Vic was most accurate in his recollections.”

  “Liar, my beloved would never wish me harm. She loves me! Just let me go! She loves me. She’s the only person who loves me.”

  “This does sound like mesmerization. While most who claim to be mesmerists are little more than charlatans, there are some real ones out there. I should be able to take him back to a time before her influence. He will lose all his memories of the woman.”

  “No! You cannot do that! I will die without her. Please, I beg you. Don’t do this!” Ben pleaded.

  He shook Vic’s hand, “Nice to meet you, Vic,” and then Xavier’s, “Good to see you again, Xavier. Have a safe trip back to London.”

  “I’m no longer in London?” Ben asked. “You have to take me back. My beloved needs me. Take me back! Please take me back.”

  The doctor pulled out his watch and sighed, then spoke to a guard. “Put him in cell 5-B, across from Ariana. She might enjoy his company.” He then followed Vic and Xavier out of the building.

  Chapter 25

  Vic slept the whole way back, once they got off the god-awful pot-hole road.

  When they arrived at her former home—now Claire and David’s home—she recalled how much fun she and Claire used to have. But as they grew up, they grew apart.

  “Prepare to be scolded,” she whispered to Xavier.

  “I will not. We have done them a grand favor and if they do not like the boy, then we will keep him for ourselves.”

  She grinned. “You want another boy in our house?”

  “As long as Gregory doesn’t quit, I would not mind it.”

  “Well, we’ll keep that in our back pocket. I strongly believe David needs a son to raise into a scientist, but if Claire is adamantly against it, then we’ll take him.”

  She knocked on the door but no one answered. Too tired to play stupid “I am in control” games with Claire, Vic pulled out her picks and opened the door herself.

  “Excellent speed,” Xavier stated.

  “Vic!” Claire scolded. “Can you not wait outside until you are invited in?”

  “No, I’m tired and I want to go home.” Vic attempted to open the library door, but Claire stopped her. “Where’s David?”

  “He’s not here.”

  “And where’s the baby?”

  “Maddy is upstairs sleeping.”

  “Where is the other baby?”

  “I have no idea,” she said and stared into her parlor while keeping them standing in the hallway.

  “Claire, we’ve had a very long day. Is the baby at my house?”

  “I don’t know where the baby is. David took him and stormed out several hours ago.” Claire turned and yelled at her, “What right do you have to just drop babies on me? Oh look, Claire has nothing to do, let’s give her another baby. Yes, that will keep her in her place.”

  “Claire, how can you say that? I know you love Maddy. Just look at all the stupid things you’ve done for her.”

  Claire stomped her foot much like Cannon whenever he was having a tantrum. “I was just getting back to work and you toss another child into the mix. Are you so jealous that I’m smarter than you that you are doing everything possible to stop me from working on my projects?”

  “Sorry we bothered you. Xavier and I will take Danny for our son. I wasn’t trying to ruin your life. I just thought David might like a son he could teach stuff to. You hardly let him touch Maddy.”

  “Did he tell you that?”

  “No, Claire, it’s my own observation. David adores you. He would never criticize you to anyone. And now, you’ve made me cry, so I’m going home. Hopefully David’s at my house. If not, I’ll try his office in the morning.”

  “Let’s go,” Vic said to Xavier and they hurried to the carriage.

  When they arrived at their home, Gregory opened the door at once. “I’ve been worried. David arrived with a baby hours ago. He appears most distressed.”

  “That’s because Claire is being hateful and selfish again.” She then hugged Gregory. “Thank you for not allowing me to grow up bad.”

  Gregory smiled and stepped back. “I’m very proud of the man you’ve become. You’ll find David and the baby in Tubs’ room with the boys. They like their new playmate.”

  Vic wiped her eyes dry and ran to Tubs’ room. Inside she found her boys behaving beautifully as they presented their toys to Danny who was much too young to do much with them. While she had entered with great sadness, her heart lifted as Danny cuddled a toy and fell asleep. “He keeps falling asleep. Dr. Connors says that’s normal for babies. Did I sleep a lot?” Cannon asked.

  “At first you did,” she replied and sat down by the saddest David she’d ever seen. “I guess this was a bad idea…”

  “It was the finest gift you could have ever given me, only…”

  “I know. I stopped at your house and got an earful.”

  Tears rolled down his cheeks. “I want this child more than I’ve ever wanted anything. Except for Claire. I love her with all my heart. She adamantly does not want little Daniel. She doesn’t understand why Maddy’s not enough for me.”

  “Maybe we can share him. He’ll sleep here with the boys, but your name could be on the birth certificate. I can forge Claire’s signature; she won’t even be able to tell the difference. Then you can stop by and take him when and wherever you like. Take him to work with you, just be sure to take the nursemaid, or you’ll not get any actual work done. Claire doesn’t even need to know.”

  “She would see that as such a betrayal,” he whispered.

  Vic wiped her eyes dry again. “I’m sorry I ever introduced her to you.”

  “Don’t say that. I’ve never regretted marrying Claire. When she tried to destroy your life and steal your child, I left her because the woman I loved could not do that. But this is just the opposite. Claire sees the baby as something that will destroy her life; that will prevent her from ever being a true scientist. I can’t leave her for this. Nor can I have you forging her signature, and me claiming to be the father. Claire either comes around or she doesn’t.” David gripped Vic’s hand. “You are my best friend, and I greatly appreciate what you tried to do, but I’m going to go home now to be with my wife.”

  “Don’t hide your pain from her. She needs to see how much you need a son. Especially since your house will revert back to me if you have no son to claim it.”

  He frowned. “Does Claire know that?”

  “I didn’t share that discovery with her. I was alerted to this condition when I tried to give the house to Claire. Turns out some ancestor ensured only a male could claim ownership of the property. We even had an uncle who tried to take the house from Aunt Maddy, but my father held the deed, ensuring it would always be hers. When my father died in the shipwreck, the deed went to me so while I gave it to you and Claire, the house technically remains in my name. However, if you and Claire adopted Daniel, I could deed it to him, even though he’s just a baby.”

  “Why did you keep this from her?”

  “Honestly? I never told Claire the house couldn’t go to her, because it
would make her hate me more than she already does.”

  David gripped her hand. “Thank you for telling me this. It may help turn matters around. Claire takes great pride in the fact she owns her house, and if she learns that it can only go to a male heir, properly adopted, it may encourage her to give the boy a chance. I’m positive she will love the child if she just picks him up one time.”

  “Then take the boy home and give it a try.”

  Upon seeing David out, she slowly climbed the stairs. She shed her clothes once she entered their bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. She had no idea where Xavier had gone, but she was too naked and exhausted to go looking for him.

  Chapter 26

  The next thing she knew, Gregory had his hand on her forehead.

  “I’m sleeping,” she complained.

  “You have been sleeping for eighteen hours. You don’t have a fever, but—”

  “Eighteen hours. Bloody Hell!” Realizing she was naked beneath the sheet, she shooed Gregory out and dressed in haste. As she stormed downstairs, she declared herself hungry.

  Gregory told her to sit while he brought her lunch, but Vic went to find Tubs instead. He was talking to the pups in his room. The boys and Arroo were sad.

  “Trouble?” she asked.

  “No I was just telling them that Danny wouldn’t be staying here, but he’s just a short distance away.”

  Cannon stared up at her. “Aunt Claire won’t raise a boy right.”

  “That’s true. But David will be a fabulous father for Danny.”

  “I wanted him to be my brother,” Cannon admitted.

  “He’ll be your cousin instead, and when he gets a bit older, we can invite him over to play,” Vic promised.

  “Can we visit him now? When he smiles, it makes me happy,” her son explained.

  Ham nodded his head, clearly agreeing to Cannon’s claim.

  Vic sat down and hugged them. “He does have a nice smile.”

  “Have you had lunch?”

  The boys and the dog shook their heads.

  “Then let us eat lunch and then we’ll go visit Danny.”

  While they ate lunch, she asked Gregory if he knew where Xavier was. “And don’t tell me he was kidnapped, because I’m too tired to rescue him again.”