She paled at his words but then nodded. “Then we are done… for good.”
Jacko nodded and left her house, angry that he had never been told, but also furious Carmine could throw away Pete without a qualm. As he climbed into his waiting carriage, his anger spread to Maggie. She had known he was Pete’s father. Why hadn’t she told him? If nothing else he could have given her sufficient money to move someplace else. God above! To think of the dangerous job Pete had when Jacko first met him. The boy would have been dead within a week if Jacko hadn’t scolded him out of spying on Dragon’s Cloud.
What if Xavier had not offered the boy a job and Li’l Pete had gone back to spying on the clubs? Jacko might not ever have discovered he had a son, because Pete would have died in a dark alley, tossed in the trash.
He was physically shaking when the carriage dropped him off at Xavier’s office. The moment he entered, Xavier opened his office door and glared, a scold clearly on the tip of his tongue. Then with great concern, Xavier led him into his office and poured him a generous portion of whisky and set him down in Vic’s comfortable chair.
“What’s happened?”
“I found Pete’s father.”
“A scoundrel, eh?”
“Used to be.” He met Xavier’s worried eyes. “Pete’s father is Jacko Black.”
Over the next hour and two more glasses of whiskey he told Xavier the whole of the story. Then they discussed the best way to make Pete his son. Finally, Xavier and Jacko went in search of a judge who owed Xavier a favor.
As the carriage rolled to its destination, Jacko raised a problem. “I wished you wouldn’t have poured that third glass of whiskey. I’m not going to make a great impression on the judge, looking like shit and drunk to boot.”
“No worries. As I said, Judge Kane owes me a favor.”
***
Xavier and Jacko returned to the carriage once they’d seen the judge, and he ordered Davy to take him to Thurman’s and then drive Jacko home.
“How are matters going there?”
“When you were nowhere to be found, Stone commandeered Vic, dressed like a woman, and Tubs to assist in the search of Thurman’s library. I’ll join them once I take you home so you can rest. If we can’t find anything, be warned, I’m coming back for you.”
“Great, first day on the job and I’ll be drunk in bed.” Jacko resented how fate seemed determined to make him look as if he hadn’t reformed at all.
A faint smile pulled at Xavier’s lips. “You’ll have four months to make up for this sad beginning.”
Jacko groaned at the realization that while Alice had given him permission to claim Li’l Pete, nothing had been said about him taking charge of Xavier’s business for four months.
Chapter 21
Vic and Tubs finished examining the last piece of furniture in Thurman’s library when Xavier arrived. A police officer insisted upon searching his person to ensure he brought no documents into the room. He opened his mouth to complain, only Stone cut him off. “It is a condition of the search, Xavier.”
“Where’s Jacko?” Vic demanded, her brow furrowed with worry.
Xavier forgot his complaint and focused on Stone. “Nothing?”
The Inspector shook his head. He was no doubt seeing his career ending over this, along with Meyers and many other good officers.
“May I see the search warrant?” Xavier asked.
Stone handed it over.
Damn it all! It only allowed them to search the library. He motioned Tubs to him and spoke softly to the giant. “Go upstairs and check the bedrooms. Start with the guestrooms. If you find anything bring it down here and give it to me—on the sly.”
Tubs nodded and hurried off.
“Is he going to get Jacko?” Panic was clear in Stone’s voice.
Xavier nodded. “How many more hours may we search this room?”
“We need to find something soon.”
“Which means?”
“I’ll get a call if nothing is found by noon.”
Xavier relaxed. That would give Jacko time, if Tubs wasn’t successful.
Vic pulled Xavier to a corner and whispered. “I think Thurman had forewarning of this search.”
“I’ve no doubt of it.”
“Stone says we only have permission to search this room. Thurman probably knew that. Tell me you just sent Tubs upstairs to search the bedrooms.”
He reached out to stroke her cheek but stopped. Vic dressed as a woman almost made him forget himself in public. Instead, he nodded and then snapped, “Back to work, pup. You should be able to find every secret cubby in this room.”
“We’ve found fourteen,” she grumbled.
“Fourteen? Show me.”
They had just re-examined the seventh hiding place when Tubs returned. An officer briskly frisked him and then let him in.
“Where’s Jacko?” Stone demanded.
“He’s coming,” Tubs replied as he rushed to Xavier and Vic and pushed his way in between them, almost knocking her over. While apologizing to Vic, he slipped Xavier a package of documents.
“Stupid dress,” Vic grumbled.
Tubs steadied her. “Sorry, I’m just worried about us not finding the papers.”
“I understand,” Vic assured him. She went to the bookshelves and began to pull books out. “Hold these for me, Tubs.”
He smiled and nodded.
Xavier’s suspected Tubs had passed off additional papers to Vic. He couldn’t wait to see Thurman’s reaction when all the papers the minister had moved out of his library inexplicably found their way back into the room. He couldn’t very well claim they’d been moved without acknowledging he knew of their existence. Even if he did such a stupid thing, Stone would be able to assure the magistrate that the search remained solely in the library.
First, he needed to find a hiding place for the documents Tubs had passed to him. He knelt beneath the desk and studied its undercarriage. Nothing.
As he moved further in, a board creaked beneath his knee. He moved back, pulled his switchblade and pried at the short run of oak. With a bit of force, it popped up, and he slipped the bundle of papers inside.
“Find something?” Stone asked.
Xavier let his knee press the wood back into place, then backed out. “If there is a secret compartment in the desk, I can’t find it. Vic, any luck?” They had returned all the books to the shelves, which he hoped meant they were finished hiding the documents.
“No. We need Jacko,” Vic stated.
Stone glared at Tubs. “I thought you went to get him.”
“I did. But he refused to leave until he had a bit more sleep. So I came back,” Tubs replied
“Sleep? It’s ten in the morning!” Stone looked towards Xavier, panic in his eyes.
Xavier sighed heavily. “I’ll go get him. He won’t dare shoo me off.”
“Wait, I’m going with you,” Vic stated.
“I’m going too, then,” Tubs added.
“Damn it, Xavier! I need you here!” Stone insisted.
“No. You need Jacko. We have tried our best, and that wasn’t good enough, so we’ll get you the most skilled person in London.”
“We are running out of time.”
“Yes, I realize that. Which is why I sent Tubs out for Jacko. Only I failed to remember how cranky the man is when he hasn’t had sleep.”
“Do you understand what is at risk here?” Stone whispered.
“If there is any evidence in here, no matter how well hidden, I promise you, Jacko will find it.”
***
Jacko woke to an icy bath. He pushed himself up on the bed, ready for a fight; only no one was in kicking distance.
“We couldn’t find the evidence. Stone needs you over there now,” Xavier said.
Shaking his wet hair, he glared. “A simple request to wake up would have sufficed.”
Xavier snorted. “No, it didn’t. And we have little time left. Vic suggested water and he was right. You look
wide awake now. Davy’s downstairs waiting. Please hurry. Did I mention Stone’s job is on the line?”
Vic pushed forward. “As is Captain Meyers, and if you lollygag around and get him fired, I will never forgive you.”
Jacko stormed from the bedroom, causing Vic and Xavier to back up. A wise decision given their cold awakening had put him into a decidedly bad temper.
His mood improved when he entered the Thurman’s house. Never in his life had police actually cheered at his arrival, but then they ruined it all by searching him.
“I apologize,” Stone said, “But I have to be certain you are not bringing documents into the room. Xavier and Vic were subjected to the same.”
Captain Meyers pulled out the letter in Jacko’s vest pocket, now soaking wet.
“Damn it! I’m going to kill Vic,” Jacko snapped.
Stone started to open the letter, but Jacko stopped him. “That’s my proof that L’il Pete is my son. At least it was until Vic doused me with water.”
Meyers interceded. “Jansen knows how to dry letters better than any man I know. Let him deal with your letter while you find us some evidence.”
Jacko stared at Stone. “Am I cleared to work?” He then weaved as his fatigue came back full force.
“Have you been drinking?” Stone demanded.
He held up his hand. “Be quiet and let me hunt.” Opening himself to the room, he felt a pull from the desk. He approached and knelt down.
“Xavier already—“
“Quiet!” he snapped. “Otherwise, I will need you to leave the room.”
Silence responded as he studied the floor, smiling at the small mar in the wood. He shook his head at Thurman’s sloppiness and pushed about until he found the mechanism that lifted the plank. When it lifted he noticed the wood was no longer attached to the mechanism. Someone had opened this by force.
He stared at the bundle of papers and smiled as he realized who had placed the papers here. He scooted out from under the desk. “Found something.” Stone and Meyers both dived beneath the desk. He rose, certain there was more to find. Upon closing his eyes, he sensed another strong pull from the bookshelf.
“You’ve done it, Jacko!” Stone stated slapping him on the back.
He gripped the bookshelf so he wouldn’t fall over. “Not done yet. There’s more here.”
“But Vic checked those.”
“Not well enough.” He pulled out a book, shook out the pages. When that resulted in nothing, he checked the leather binding and smiled at the razor thin slice in the back cover.
His fingers teased it open and pulled out a folded paper. Stone snatched it from his hand at once. “Meyers have your men check every book.”
“They did that.” Meyers stepped forward. “What did we miss?”
Jacko showed him the faint slice in the back cover.”
“Blimey.”
Meyers pulled down a book and scraped with his fingernails at the back cover to no effect. Jacko chuckled. “That one doesn’t have a slice.”
He placed his hand in front of a row of books and pulled one out, handing it to Meyers. The captain turned it over and shook his head at the thin cut in the back cover. “You are amazing,” he said as he pulled a document from its slice.
***
Five minutes to noon, Stone called the First Minister and described the evidence they had found implicating Thurman in the massive spying efforts of sixteen Parliament members, seven unlawful abductions and imprisonment of sane ladies into Bedlam, and the consequential black mailing of their husbands.
“Thank you, sir. We couldn’t have done it without the assistance of Jacon Bienora. Neither my men, nor Xavier Thorn could find the well-hidden evidence.”
Jacko smiled with pride. He was once again a man with an important skill.
After accepting the thanks of every officer in the room, Jacko was given a ride to Vic’s house, where he asked Gregory for another bath and a bed to sleep in.
Pete decided to keep Jacko company while he had his bath. Alone, they spoke in soft whispers about Jacko’s plan to rescue the boy from Claire.
“So you couldn’t find me pa?”
“No. He was a sailor who disappeared a long time ago. So you’ve got me as your father.”
Pete smiled with pure happiness.
“Not a word to Claire or anyone else, Pete.”
The boy covered his mouth with his hand. “Not a word,” he mumbled from behind his fingers.
His heart swelled with pride. Li’l Pete was really his son. He could still hardly believe it.
Suddenly the bathroom door swung open and Claire marched in.
“Do you mind?” Jacko snapped as he covered his privates with the washcloth.
She glared at him with utter disdain, then focused on Pete. “Peter, please go downstairs. I wish to speak to this man in private.”
Jacko objected at once. “We are not having a discussion while I’m in this bathtub. Pete, go get Gregory.”
The boy flew from the room.
Claire shut the door when Pete left and turned to glare at Jacko. “How dare you come into my house and without a by your leave take a bath. And why was Peter in here? You are to leave at once and never come near the boy again.”
He didn’t see how she could have possibly gotten wind of his plans to adopt Pete, so he had no idea what had her so riled up, other than his preference for cleanliness. “I asked Gregory if I could take a bath.”
“I am the mistress of this house, not Gregory.”
The absurdity of their conversation provoked him. “I assure you, I have never mistook Gregory as the mistress of the house.”
“Leave, now!”
He’d been waiting for the princess to leave so he could get out of the bath, but her words prompted him to do something a bit more like his old self. He stood up giving her full view of his privates.
“For the love of God!” Claire screamed and turned to the door. “Have you no decency at all?”
“I didn’t invade your bath, you invaded mine. And you told me to leave at once. That does require me to vacate the tub.”
Before she could answer, Gregory entered and frowned at the young woman. “Miss Claire, you should not be in here.”
“He lured Peter in here. I had no choice.”
“I doubt there was any luring done.”
“You wouldn’t know. You weren’t here. And if they weren’t doing lurid things, then why were they whispering.”
“What were they saying?”
“I don’t know. They were whispering too softly for me to hear.”
Jacko wrapped a towel around his waist and passed them both.
“Second door to the right,” Gregory stated.
“He’s not using Vic’s room,” Claire screeched.
“Jacko is Vic’s friend, and he asked for somewhere to sleep.”
“He can sleep in the gutter where he belongs. I am not having that filthy unnatural pirate in my house one moment longer.”
***
Thank God Vic had a lock on the door, because otherwise Jacko doubted he’d get a moment’s sleep.
While the bed was only four feet wide, it had a good mattress and the windows had heavy curtains to block the light. Also there was nothing frilly in the room to annoy him. Vic’s room was typical for a young man’s: solid earthy fabric colors and hard dark wood. He fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
Vague poundings threatened to wake him, but soon it stopped and he eased back into oblivion.
***
Vic and Xavier celebrated their cleverness by making love. Afterwards, she cuddled against his muscular chest.
“I wish I could see Thurman’s face when he discovers all his documents somehow wandered back to the library.”
“Alas, we don’t dare. Your laughing and smirking would give it all away. As it is, Stone will show true innocence of any wrongdoing. He took every care that no documents could be brought into the room.”
Vic
snorted. “Except Tubs is unsearchable.” She then sighed heavily. “Are we really leaving tomorrow? I could use another day…my dresses might not be ready in time.”
“Then you’ll have to wear the ones I selected until we can have clothes made for us in Spain. Jacko has recommended a fine tailor in town, so no need to fret over dresses.”
“I’m exhausted,” she murmured.
Before Xavier could even agree, his pup was asleep. He took a moment to enjoy his naked, large busted partner. He doubted her breasts would ever return to their prior size, so she was probably going to need to put on weight and become a portly young man to cover those succulent mounds.
He hoped the Spanish tailor would be able to do something. If not, they would stop by her English tailor first thing when they returned.
A soft and very polite knock, about three feet up from the ground sounded on his door. Only one employee was that small.
Easing out of bed, he covered up Vic before opening the door and stepping into the hall. Before him was a tiny version of Jacko, even to his surliness. “Pete, it’s good to see you. Are you ready to return to work?”
Pete rolled his eyes. “More than ready, but I still got a lot of anger inside, so I can’t come back yet.” He rubbed his chest with his tiny fist. “Jacko told me how to get rid of me anger and Mrs. Yarrows helped make me what I need. So now I just need to find the men who killed me mum. Only, that’s not why I’m here.”
With a bit slapping about his many pocket, Pete located a note from the vest pocket of his tiny gentleman’s suit and handed it over. “It’s from Mr. Gregory. Jacko took a bath and Miss Claire got in a tizzy over it.”
Xavier opened the note.
Xavier,
I regret to impose, but could you keep Pete for a few hours. The house is in an uproar. Under no circumstances mention this to Vic. He should remain far away.
With Regards,
Gregory.
Matters had to be dire indeed if Gregory was sending away small children and warning off Vic. If Vic read this note, she’d be right over there to help the poor man and probably make whatever was wrong twice as bad.
Well Kept Secrets (The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Book 4) Page 23
