Well Kept Secrets (The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Book 4)

by Liza O'Connor

  Xavier had the distinct feeling the giant intended to follow them about in secret if he wasn’t properly invited. “I’m counting on it.”

  “Thank you,” the giant said and left the kitchen.

  Jacko laughed softly once he heard Tub’s bedroom door closed. “If Vic ever stops loving you, you’ll have one very big problem on your hands.”

  “That’s never going to happen. Were you serious about the use of your home?”

  Jacko extracted an envelope from his vest pocket. “Letter to my butler. There is only a mid-wife in the nearby town. Any complication, wire me and I’ll bring Connors.”

  “It’s not a bullet we’ll be extracting,” Xavier complained.

  “I hope not, but with Vic, you never know.”

  He arched his brow to warn Jacko to tread lightly. “I need you to run a mission tonight.”

  “As long as it’s not watching Vic.”

  “No, I need you to break into a minister of Parliament’s library and locate evidence that he’s blackmailing men who have paid to have their wives disappear into Bedlam.”

  “Why don’t you ask Tubs?” he grumbled.

  “Because you’re better…at least you were. Do you think you may have lost your gift?”

  “No, I’ve kept in practice.”

  “Then I need you. I thought I could end this by rescuing Thurman’s wife. However, she remains devoted to the man, so she’s bloody useless to me. Worse yet, by tomorrow, he will discover she is missing from Bedlam.”

  “Why don’t you put her back?”

  “Not an option. We used Captain Meyers and a civilian in our rescue.”

  “That was stupid.”

  Xavier tensed at his surly friend’s response and responded in equal surly tones. “I wished to walk out the front door. Thus, I needed an official from Scotland Yard. I also required a civilian who could identify the old woman.”

  “Makes sense,” Jacko muttered.

  “You need to go now, however. When you return, you and I need to discuss what lies between us, because I want you back as my friend.”

  Jacko stood and softly snorted. “But first I must prove myself?”

  “No, it’s just Thurman is purported to rise at four in the morning. You don’t have much time.”

  Once Jacko left, Xavier checked on Vic, hoping she was awake so he could lose himself in her arms, yet hoping she was asleep because she needed her rest.

  The moment the light from the hall touched her face, she bolted upright. “Did you just send Jacko out on a mission?”

  “I did. I was hoping you were asleep.”

  “I was, but then I had a horrible nightmare where Thurman shoots Jacko in the back just as he finds a roll of papers.”

  Xavier wanted to brush aside her nightmare, attributing it to her pregnancy, but he also had been feeling a sense of wrongness ever since Jacko left the kitchen.

  He sat down on the edge of the bed. “Tell me everything you remember about your dream.”

  “Nightmare. Employees don’t die in my dreams.”

  Upon getting the facts, Xavier kissed her lightly on the lips and stood.

  “You’re going after Jacko?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’ll resent your interference.”

  “Probably will, but I can’t risk your dream was fed by your intuitive nature.”

  She lay down. “Nightmare,” she grumbled and rolled over to her side.

  He took in one more moment of her and stepped into the hallway, running into Tubs, whose meaty fist was raised to knock on the door.

  “I got a bad feeling. You send Jacko somewhere?” Tubs asked.

  “Yes and we’ve all got bad feelings. You can come as well.”

  “Is Vic coming?”

  “No.”

  “Then maybe I should stay here,” Tubs stated.

  Vic opened the door, wearing her gown and wig.

  “I’m going with you.” She glanced at Xavier. “You were right about my nightmare. My gut is saying something’s very wrong.”

  “Might as well wake up Davy. He’ll be miffed if he’s left out.”

  “He’s downstairs hooking Marybell to the carriage,” Tubs stated.

  Xavier stormed down the steps. “Then let’s go and find out what is wrong with this picture.”

  Chapter 18

  Jacko eased into Thurman’s dark library and closed the door behind him. He remained at the door, waiting for his nerves to calm. Only they wouldn’t.

  Had he truly lost his skill?

  The thought unnerved him. If there were time, he’d return to the office and tell Tubs to do this job.

  No! He refused to believe he had no value to the world anymore. This was his skill; he would overcome this sense of danger and proceed.

  The curtains were closed tight, providing no moonlight to illuminate the room. Most people would claim the room pitch-black, but Jacko could make out faint shapes. He slowly moved forward, putting names to the vague objects before him. The looming blackness on the far wall must be shelves; the gapping mouth on the left, the fireplace; the vague shapes before it, high back chairs.

  Since he was looking for a cherry cabinet he searched for something approximately knee high.

  The fireplace was on the left, he presumed the windows were on the right, with the desk before them. The scent of expensive cologne strengthened as he moved in the general direction of where he believed the desk should be. The minister must bathe in the stuff for its scent to remain so strong hours after the man went to bed.

  His right pants leg grazed something. Carefully, he let his fingers investigate. He determined it was a side table two-feet wide and deep. Whether it was cherry, he couldn’t tell. All he could smell was varnish and that dreadful cologne.

  He smiled when his fingers found the hint of cut wood on one side. Following the thin line he determined it was definitely a hidden drawer.

  He hadn’t lost his skill. Now if only he could lose the sense of dread that hovered about him. Gently prodding, he searched for the trigger that would release the door. His fingers searched for anything odd, finally finding a small lever set into the wood on the inside of a back leg.

  Pushing the lever up resulted in a soft click and what sounded like rolled papers fell to the rug below. Once he located the roll, he peeled off one document, placing it into the top of his boot. He was in the process of peeling off another document when light blossomed before him, illuminating the room.

  An old, but well-dressed man sat at the desk. His gun aimed at Jacko and by the narrow slit of his eyes, he looked most willing to use it. “I gather you’re Jacko Black, the man who’s been snooping around my men?”

  Jacko nodded once. “And you must be Minister Thurman.”

  “Nothing odd about my presence, seeing as this is my library. However, I am most curious as to why you have interest in my papers, which you may hand to me.”

  Jacko sighed and passed them over.

  “Who hired you?”

  “I’ve no idea.”

  The gun clicked for firing.

  “I found a note in my room offering me substantial money if I could find hidden papers related to blackmail in your office.”

  “From whom?”

  “There was no name. However, since he was willing to pay me eight thousand pounds, I figure he must be one of the people you’re blackmailing.”

  “And why did you hire a man to sit outside of the apothecary’s alley?”

  Damn it, Curly must have been noticed. “Because I needed him to case the place. From what I hear, the apothecary’s got a fancy palace inside.”

  “And from where did you hear that?”

  And now was time for payback. If he must die, at least he could take Maggie’s murderers with him. “From a lowlife policeman named Conrad.”

  “Conrad told you about the parlor?”

  Jacko scratched his head. “Yeah, but he clearly regretted spilling the beans, given he offered Curly fifteen shil
lings to kill me.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “He made the offer in a public bar, in front of fifty witnesses.”

  “I meant that he told you about the parlor.”

  “Oh, he was in his cups, bragging he had important connections.” Jacko chuckled. “I guess he was talking about you.”

  Thurman’s hand shook with fury. “Did he mention my name?”

  “Not your name, but he said you would soon be our First Minister because of all the stuff he’d done for you.”

  The man’s face turned crimson with rage. “Who heard this beside you?”

  “Half a dozen people, I imagine. He’s a loud bragger. Wants the whole world to know how important he is.”

  In a fit of rage, Thurman stormed to the door and bellowed for his butler.

  That was all the time Jacko needed. Silently, he darted to the window, opened it, and was sliding down the trellis by the time Thurman realized he’d escaped. The man fired his gun randomly into the darkness. One bullet sang past Jacko’s ear before he pressed himself in a four-inch deep inset in the bricks.

  Damn it. He did not want to die tonight! He had too much to live for.

  He heard a carriage riding hard up the street. The police! The man must have a phone in the library.

  Thurman didn’t stop firing the gun until it ran out of bullets. And while the cessation of bullets flying about was good news, Jacko could hear police whistles singing from all directions.

  It would take a damn miracle for him to escape arrest tonight. And he had no doubt someone hired by Thurman would murder him his first night in jail. His only hope was if Scotland Yard became involved from the start. Stone had proven to be a decent and fair fellow.

  As the carriage ran under a streetlight, he recognized the driver and took off running full speed towards it. Davy had barely begun to slow when Jacko leapt up beside the fellow. “Get the hell out of here.”

  Without waiting for Xavier’s orders on the matter, Davy urged Marybell onward. Once away from the house, they slowed down to a reasonable pace.

  Xavier popped his head out the window. “Davy, stop so Jacko can climb in.”

  That suited Jacko just fine. Two drivers weren’t needed to control one aged horse. The oddity might catch a policeman’s eye.

  Xavier and Vic sat on the back seat and Tubs sat on the other. Clearly Xavier hadn’t believed he could do the job.

  Vic leaned forward and pawed at his clothes. “Are you shot?”

  He slapped her hands away. “I’m fine; only put out. I felt something was wrong the moment I entered the room, but I thought it just jitters from being away so long. Turned out Thurman was sitting in the dark waiting for me.” Jacko glared at Xavier. “Any idea why?”

  “Vic has a theory, but we will first stop at the Meridan’s and see if the pup is right.”

  “If he was waiting for Jacko, then I am right,” Vic said. “And I’m telling you right now, I am not rescuing that woman again! Saving the wolfman is the only worthwhile deed we accomplished tonight.”

  Jacko seemed to be the only one who found her comment baffling. He looked to Tubs. “A wolfman?”

  “Nice guy. He deserved saving. It’s not right for people to lock you up just because your looks scare them. They tried to lock me up once, back when I had bad teeth, only I wouldn’t go and there weren’t much they could do about it.”

  Giving up on Tubs, Jacko looked to Xavier to make sense of the night.

  Xavier huffed. “Vic set loose some furry creature they’d locked up in Bedlam. She told him to escape through the ceiling. I had no choice but to point out the proper panel, otherwise he would have ripped the ceiling apart. Fellow looked most determined to leave. I’ve no idea if he’s still scampering about in the attic or if he found his way out.”

  “Vic!” Jacko yelled. “You can’t tell people about my escape route!”

  “Don’t yell at me,” she growled. “And don’t expect an apology. That man was both rational and intelligent. I am certain he got out without being discovered. But had Xavier tried to take Lady Thurman out that way, your secret would be gone for sure.”

  “Glad we took that woman out the front door,” Xavier said, but then frowned. “If you are right, Vic, Meyers may lose his job.”

  Vic slammed her fist on the carriage side. “Damn that woman! I wish I had interviewed her first. Then I would have known to let her rot in that hell hole.”

  When they arrived at the Meridan’s, Xavier reached for the door, but paused before he opened it. “Tubs, you might want to wait here.”

  “Not if Vic is going in. This night has been nothing but disasters.”

  Jacko expected Xavier to explode. His friend hated his employees arguing with him, nevertheless blatantly countering his orders. Oddly, Xavier just sighed and muttered, “Can’t argue with that.”

  Johnson, the murderous butler, almost fainted when he opened the door. The man stumbled back as Xavier pushed the door open and Jacko, Vic, and Tubs followed him in.

  The butler hurried upstairs to wake his mistress. One footman followed him.

  Xavier turned to the other footman. “Did you by chance see an old woman leave this house?”

  “Yes sir. She left shortly after everyone retired for the evening.”

  “Any reason why you didn’t stop her?”

  “I had no order to stop guests from leaving, only the butler.”

  Xavier sighed and stared up at the ceiling.

  “Should I have prevented her from leaving?” the man asked softly.

  “It would have been nice, but nothing to be done about it now.” Xavier glared at Vic. “Why didn’t you think to tell the footman to keep Lady Thurman here?”

  Vic threw up her hands. “And when was I supposed to have done this? We didn’t even come inside. We dropped the ladies off and left.”

  Xavier smiled. “Good point. The fault lies…” He lost his smile and sighed heavily. “No one’s fault. Just bad luck.”

  ***

  “Xavier, do you have any idea what time it is?” an exasperated female voice spoke from the stairway.

  Xavier pulled out his pocket watch, purposely misunderstanding Catherine. “Three-thirty-one.”

  The old woman, wearing a very lovely silk robe over her gown, stopped and stared at the group gathered in her hallway. “Has something happened?”

  “Thurman tried to shoot me,” Jacko offered.

  “The stupid woman returned to Thurman and spilled her guts, so he was waiting for Jacko,” Vic added.

  Catherine stared at them and shook her head. “Impossible. Margaret is upstairs asleep. I saw her to her room.”

  “She didn’t stay in her room,” Xavier stated with calmness, trying to soften the anger his people were displaying.

  “Please, come into my parlor. Johnson, see the fireplace is started at once.”

  She sat down on the couch and patted the cushion beside her for Xavier. She motioned for Vic and Jacko to chairs and frowned at Tubs as if she had no idea what to do with him.

  “I’ll stand,” Tubs stated.

  Satisfied, she turned to Xavier. “I don’t understand—“

  He held up his hand. “We will wait until your butler is gone.”

  Johnson turned and faced him, his face full of outrage. “You can speak in my presence. I will only tell whatever my mistress wishes me to share.”

  Xavier stared about the room. “Without daylight, this room is quite dreary.”

  Catherine sighed. “Johnson, please finish and leave. I am in no mood to have my parlor insulted in the middle of the night.”

  The butler left in a huff.

  Tubs shook his head and rolled his eyes.

  Xavier was in complete agreement. The fellow should be thanking God he escaped the noose. Instead, he seemed to think he was the wronged one.

  “What has happened?” Catherine asked the moment the door closed behind Johnson.

  “I sent Jacko to retrieve the pape
rs that Lady Thurman had read. Unfortunately, according to a highly reliable footmen, she left five minutes after you retired to bed.”

  “Why didn’t he stop her?”

  “Because no one had told him not to prevent guests from leaving,” Xavier softly stated.

  “Oh…I should have done so. I would have, had Margaret not agreed entirely with my perspective and promised Captain Meyers to have her testimony taken in the morning.”

  Xavier took the old woman’s hand. “In that case, you are not at fault. You had every reason to believe Lady Thurman would stay. However, she did not. Not only did she return to her husband, but she evidently confessed all that she had told us. I surmise that because Thurman was waiting in a pitch black library for Jacko when he entered.”

  Jacko frowned. “I didn’t tell you any details.”

  Xavier smiled at his friend. “You are the most gifted thief I’ve ever met. The only way you did not see Thurman when you first entered, is because no one, not even you, could see. Thus, the library had to be pitch-black.”

  He normally did not give compliments in front of a crowd, but Xavier knew from personal experience, a failed mission could severely wound one’s confidence.

  Vic added, “There’s also the detail that Thurman failed to shoot you when you first entered. I’m sure he would have, if the lights were on.”

  Jacko glared at her. “You would be wrong. When he turned on the light, he had a few questions to ask first.” He then explained their conversation and how he implicated Conrad for lacking discretion when drunk. Jacko leaned back, clearly proud of himself. “I waxed on about how Conrad brags he had made the man who will be the next First Minister. That sent the fellow to the door, yapping for his butler and I took the moment of distraction to leave through a window.”

  “And what do I see but the cavalry coming to my rescue.” He looked over at Vic. “Was that your doing?”

  Xavier spoke up. “Actually, if we are to be fair, I believe all of us had a bad feeling about sending you on that mission. However, Vic was able to articulate on the ride over what had been off.”

  Vic smiled. “I realized that the stupid woman was so mesmerized that even if she believed that her husband had put her in Bedlam, she would not fault him, but herself. A woman that irrational was almost certain to return to the one she worshiped and beg for penance.” Vic glared at Catherine. “And if she gets put back into Bedlam, do not ask Xavier to save her, because she’ll just go back to her husband again.”