He had never doubted any of his top men, and he resented the edge of doubt Vic had put in his head. Was he wrong to trust Vic, given Claire was her sister? She had said all the right things to convince him that Vic was sincere in her help, but now he worried that he was being tricked.
Just then Meyers showed up.
“Meyers, should we be trusting Vic, given it’s her sister who is to be hung?”
“Vic is solid. However, just to be clear, Vic does not believe she can be hung. She’s just too light. Vic believes she is going to go invisible.”
“And do you believe that is possible?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Why would you believe that? I’m certainly having trouble believing that.”
“I don’t know how Miss Claire does it, but I’ve seen her do it before. Only I never told nobody, ’cause they’d think me mad.”
“You saw her go invisible?”
“Not totally. If I squinted, I could vaguely see her, but nobody else seemed to be able to see her. So, I got my flour all ready to go. I even cut the top of the bag, so I won’t lose sight of her while I’m opening it.”
Barns patted his back. “That was excellent thinking.”
“Sir, I need to go into hiding now. Wouldn’t want to run into Miss Claire with me holding flour. She might jump to a different plan.”
“Where will you be hiding?” Barns asked.
“Best not say, sir.”
“You think I’m mesmerized?”
“I don’t think that, sir, but we can’t take any chances. So, we should all do our job as best as we can.”
“That’s good thinking. I’ll head on back to the jail and check on my men.”
Once his boss left, Meyers climbed beneath the stand and snuggled into a corner. Hopefully, no one would see him at all.
Once Barns walked into a batch of trees, he turned and pulled out his binoculars. He saw no sign of Captain Meyers. Sighing with frustration, he continued back to the jail.
When he arrived at Claire’s jail cell, he could hear her softly talking. He suspected it was a prayer to God until a male voice spoke in return. He stared through the feed slot and saw the jailer named Baker.
“Baker come out at once!”
“Yes, sir. I was just giving the prisoner water and food.”
Once the fellow left the jail cell, Barns quickly locked the door behind him.
“What the bloody blazes were you doing? You had no authorization to open the jail door.” Thank God Claire had not attempted to escape while the idiot guard went in and out.”
“She was thirsty, sir. She swears she is innocent of the crimes, sir. She only held their hands. Nothing more.”
“Baker, return to Scotland Yard.”
“Sir, I wish to stay here.”
“That was not a request, it was an order. Leave now!”
“Sir, if you’ll listen to her side of this...”
“Baker, leave now, or I will shoot you.”
“You won’t shoot me, sir. You are a good man.”
“Baker, this is your last opportunity. Leave or be shot.” To emphasize his sincerity, he aimed his gun at Baker’s head.
“I can’t leave, sir. You are clearly not in your right mind.”
“I don’t have time for this!” He walked down the hallway to the only room with a phone and called for an ambulance. One of my men has been shot, please come at once. And be aware the man is most irrational.”
When he returned to Claire’s jail cell, Baker was attempting to open the jail door. Barns shot him in the leg and the fellow screamed as he fell. Barns made certain that Claire remained inside the jail cell, then he dragged Baker to a new cell block and locked him in.
He then pulled out his timepiece and stared at the time. Damn! How could that have taken so long? He quickly obtained the prisoner, ensured it was Claire by confirming it with the card he created of her fingerprints the day they had arrested her.
When her fingerprints remained the same, he cuffed her hands and shackled her ankles, then he led her to his carriage and sat across from her.
“Do you always ride with the people you plan to kill?” Claire asked.
“No, just beautiful and very smart ladies.”
“I am very smart. If you weren’t so infatuated with my brother, we could have become grand friends.”
“I would have no doubt enjoyed your company, only you and I are on opposite sides of the law. You murder people and I protect people.”
“Nonsense. This is not your first hanging, so you have certainly murdered people before. And I know damn well that Vic and the disgusting large man that protects her have killed people. I daresay they have killed far more than I have. So why do they still live?”
“I don’t believe you have given an accurate count. The only person I am aware of Vic ever killing was your husband, the mesmerist.”
“That’s ridiculous. There is no such thing as ‘mesmerism,’ and if you believe in such nonsense, you should be removed from your position.”
“Well, that is not your call.”
Claire’s eyes raged in anger. “Would you like to know the real reason why Vic killed my husband?”
“I already know why. And she was in her right to do so. Your husband, a real mesmerist, was trying to get Xavier to kill Vic and then himself. Fortunately, like myself, Vic cannot be mesmerized.”
“That is not true. My husband could mesmerize anyone.”
“Well, he certainly did a grand job on you. You still remain in his thrall, even though he is dead.”
“I am in no man’s thrall,” Claire growled. “He followed me!”
“So, he was the man who set inside the carriage and watched while you killed all those Victor look-a-likes.”
Claire chuckled. “He was my puppet. I told him who I wanted to kill, and he ensured I accomplished the mission.”
“But when Vic killed your ‘puppet,’ you lost your edge.”
“I lost nothing. The fact the sixteenth young man didn’t die was just a fluke. He carried a thick leather strap around his neck to support his camera. That is the only reason why he lived. And he will still die, only it will be a slow and painful death as the poison slowly seeps into the strap and then into him.” Claire laughed at the young man’s future. “You didn’t save him. You’ve just made his life hell.”
“You are one amazing piece of work. You had brains, beauty, and money, and still that wasn’t enough for you.”
“You have no idea what I have endured. Vic is not a nice person. He is selfish and self-centered.”
“I disagree. Vic is a very good person.”
Claire kicked his seat. “Then you are a fool. That certainly doesn’t surprise me. And why is it taking so long to get to my hanging?”
“Ah, I failed to mention it, but we moved the location of your death.”
“But the judge promised me I would be hung.”
“He did, did he?” He recalled the chat Claire had with the judge on the day of her trial.
“Not to worry. You will still hang. We just needed a different venue. I was concerned that the killing of such a high-quality woman as yourself might cause a riot. So, I’ve placed sharp shooters on some of the rooftops and will place you on an island. That way, if you have friends you hope will save you, I have ensured they can’t get close to you. You murdered these men, and by God, you will pay the price.”
“My husband forced me to kill those young men. He mesmerized me! I wasn’t in my right mind when I killed them.”
“I believe that.”
“Then you know I am not truly guilty, and you must let me go. I swear to you I will never harm another person.”
“That is not my conclusion at all. While I do believe your husband was the one who made you a cold-blooded murderer, you still remained a cold-blooded murderer even after your husband died. If I let you go, you would continue to kill people.”
“No, I swear I won’t!”
“Then
why did you try to kill number sixteen? Your husband was dead. You were free of him, but still, you tried to kill the fellow.”
“I don’t know why I did that. But I didn’t let him die.”
“You meant for him to die. He was just lucky. That was a wake-up call for me. I had never believed a rich young woman could kill with such brutality. We had been searching for a man, despite many witnesses speaking about a lovely young woman getting out of the coach and holding the young man’s hand as he died.”
Finally, they arrived at the new location of her hanging.
The carriage driver drove across a bridge to a small island, then the bridge was pulled up, creating no way off the island but to swim.
Barns pulled the angry she-cat to the back side of the hanging stand. He motioned for a muscular woman to approach. The first thing he did was place a second set of handcuffs above Claire’s tiny elbows. He also exposed her legs to see if the shackles remained on her. Oddly, they had disappeared. So, he added a new pair. He then stood and smiled at her. “You are most amazing. And I see in your eyes that you still plan to win, but beware, I have never lost a man...or woman yet.”
He then stepped back and watched carefully as the woman attempted to check her over for guns.
Since he had her frisked right before they left the jail, he didn’t expect her to have one, but to his shock, the woman located two guns. One in between her breasts and the other, a very small derringer, under her armpit, undetectable due to the puffy sleeves.
“I don’t find any more,” the woman declared.
“Thank you. I’ll signal the gatekeeper that you can leave. Once we prove your count was correct, then you will be paid.”
“I want to be paid now!” the woman snapped.
“I’m sorry. We have to be certain this woman has no guns on her. She is most wily.”
The woman huffed. “Let me check her again.”
This time she pulled apart Claire’s fancy hairdo. Now that he thought about it, the woman should have checked her hair first. She could hide a great many things in that giant tangle of teased hair.
Not only did she find two more guns, she also located a set of picks and a slender knife.
“Sorry about not checking the hair. It was so pretty that I didn’t want to ruin it.”
“Leave now and go to Scotland Yard tomorrow to receive your money.”
Claire cursed him to hell and back as she watched the old lady hobble over the bridge. He remained tense for trouble until the bridge was up again.
Barns personally led Claire up the steps to the hangman’s noose.
He was shocked at the number of people demanding the “pretty woman” be released. To be honest, with her hair now sticking out in every direction, she looked deranged. Clearly, the people yelling praises to Claire were hired to do so.
One old lady spoke out. “I know this woman. She is as kind and loving as any woman I’ve ever met. It is not possible that she has murdered anyone.”
His men not on the island were moving out people as soon as they spoke the exact same declaration. Finally, after removing twenty-five women and thirty-two men, the complaints quieted.
Barns then stated the charges against Claire. The death of so many young boys, whose lives were cut short due to this vicious woman, angered the remaining crowd. Once the crowd silenced again, Barns led her to the noose. He placed the rope around her neck and tightened it.
Claire, realizing she had lost all her fake friends, spoke up. “As God is my witness, I have committed no crime! I am innocent.”
Given her wild hair and the loss of her fake friends, the remaining onlookers took no pity upon her. The floor beneath her opened and she flailed on the rope for a moment and then gave a grand show of dying. The rope was cut, and Claire was dropped to the ground beneath the stand.
Claire quickly poured her concoction of invisibility over her, unaware that Captain Meyers was hidden in the corner.
Seeing her disappearing before his eyes, Captain Meyers flung the flour upon her.
Now, Claire looked like a wild-haired lunatic with clumps of flour in her hair and body while other parts seemed to have disappeared. Captain Meyers quickly put on another set of handcuffs, since the two pairs he had secured only a few minutes before had already disappeared. Aware of the fake skin issue, he blindfolded her and tested her arms and legs.
He recalled the clever mesmerist they had dealt with many years ago. He quickly concluded Claire was even more dangerous. If she were to be let loose, she would go after Xavier, Vic, and Tubs, and this country couldn’t survive that.
Just then Barns entered. He stared at a spotted Claire, half invisible, half flour, hissing at Captain Meyers, who sat on her back to prevent her from going anywhere.
Meyers looked up at Barns. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to put her back in a jail cell waiting for another chance to escape.”
“I agree. Are you up to doing this?”
“Not a problem. I have never liked the woman.”
“Honestly, I thought Vic was just creating distractions.”
Meyers glared at him. “Vic wouldn’t do that.”
“I’m glad to discover that is true, but seriously, we cannot speak about this to anyone else. They’ll just think us mad. People cannot go invisible.”
“I’ll keep my mouth shut about this, but, sir, it’s not really safe to ignore a fact, and we both know that it’s a fact that she could go invisible. It’s possible that we will still have invisible people causing us trouble in the future.”
“I hope you are wrong.”
“Well, get it done.” Barns ordered and hurried to his carriage, leaving Meyers to kill and wrap Claire’s body in white gauze and take it to Dr. Connors.
Chapter 19
ONCE THEY ARRIVED AT Dr. Connors, he sent his other patient’s home, declaring an emergency, then hurried Barns and Meyers into his lab.
“Why are you bringing me a dead body wrapped from head to toe? And who is it?”
“It’s Claire, Vic’s sister.”
“Wasn’t she supposed to be hung today?”
“Yes, but we want to make sure she actually died.”
Connors approached the wrapped body and placed his stethoscope on her chest. “She has no pulse. She’s dead.”
Connors then sighed heavily. “I cannot believe that you had me send all my patients home just to declare a dead woman dead.”
Just then Tubs burst into the room holding an angry she-cat by her hair.
“Weren’t you supposed to have hung this bitch today?” Tubs yelled at Barns.
“What the hell? We have her wrapped up right here.”
“Who wrapped this woman up?” Barns demanded.
Meyers grimaced. “I was gonna do it, but Baker insisted you said he was supposed to do it.”
“Baker is brainwashed. I forbade him to come anywhere near that hanging.”
“Wish you had told me that,” Meyers grumbled. “Sir, we gotta unwrap this body. It’s possible she’s escaped thanks to Baker.”
“Do it,” Barns snapped.
“What do you want me to do with this not-so-dead person?” Tubs demanded.
“She’s been declared dead twice, so just get it done,” Connors snapped in anger.
Tubs twisted her neck three times, then removed her clothes and began cutting into her arms and legs.
“Tubs, stop! You clearly have killed her. There is no reason to disturb her body.”
“You are very wrong.” He then focused on Barns. “This isn’t real skin I’m cutting into. This might not even be Claire. While the first layer of skin made me think it was, it’s possible that Claire is still running loose.”
“That is not possible!” Barns declared.
When Tubs cut open the stomach, he cursed Claire to hell. Then he rushed from the room and headed outside to the carriage.
“Where is he going?” Meyer’s asked.
“No idea.” Barns replied.
; Just then, a young girl sat up on the table and started crying.
Connors stared in shock. “My God, there’s a girl inside this body and she’s alive!”
“And she’s certainly not Claire,” Meyer’s grumbled.”
“What is your name?” Barns demanded.
The girl wouldn’t stop crying until Barns slapped her.
She then stared at him in stunned silence.
“Who are you?”
“I am...Maddy. I’m Maddy.”
“How did you get in that suit?”
“Mother put me in it. I don’t want her to be my mother. I want Charlotte to be my mother. But mother says I have to do what she wants, or she’ll kill me.”
She remained focused on Barns. “Are you important?”
“I’m the head of Scotland Yard.”
“Then you have to save them. Mother plans to kill them all.”
“Who is she planning to hurt?”
“Everyone. She wants to kill everyone.”
“Can you give me names?”
“Vic, Xavier, Gregory, David, Daniel, Charlotte, the old woman: Vivian.”
“You did good,” Barns assured her and sent her off with a nice nurse.
“My men have guns, what about you, Connors?”
“No gun, but I have a very fine jacket lined with Madagascar silk.”
“Excellent. Wear that.”
Barns then looked at the two men before him, Captain Meyers and Dr. Connors. “I expect there will be casualties, so, gather up whatever you need and bring it with you.”
“Meyers, I know you have to be tired, but I don’t dare put a mesmerized person on this job, so I need you to be your best.”
Meyers snapped to attention. “You can count on me, sir.”
BEFORE THEY ARRIVED at Xavier and Vic’s home, Tubs stopped them a block up and climbed in. “We’ve got a problem.”
“We came expecting trouble once we discovered the young woman on Dr. Connor’s table was not Claire, but a child named Maddy.”
“Where’s the kid now?” Tubs demanded.
“She’s being cared for by Connor’s nurse.”
“Good, keep her there. I don’t know if she can be trusted, so I want her out of the situation,” Tubs explained.
The Future of Scotland Yard Page 12