The Future of Scotland Yard

by Liza O'Connor

  “Claire has Vic tied to a chair, screaming about all the ways she plans to kill her.”

  “Damn it all!” Meyer’s yelled. “I’m going to kill Baker!”

  “Well, here is some positive news. I cannot be absolutely sure, but I believe her gun is presently empty.”

  “You willing to risk your life on it?” Barns challenged.

  “To save Vic, absolutely. But, if you are standing behind me, ready to shoot her if I’m wrong about the count. That would be nice as well.”

  “We’ve got your back, Tubs,” Barns stated.

  “Where’s Xavier?”

  “Claire had some hired goons rough him up, but once I arrived on the scene, I quietly cut a hole in a window, then shot all seven of her thugs. Claire is so focused on Vic that I don’t even think she noticed. However, I am also worried about the two women in the house behind this one. She may have killed them. No one answers the door and it can’t be kicked in. So, I’ll need one of the small boys to break a window and climb through the bars. My son is already too big to do this. Best shot is David’s son, but he’s in protective mode right now. He’s hidden his boy and won’t tell me where.”

  Barns gripped his head. “Could this get any worse.”

  “Yeah, it could’ve. Had you brought a batch of her mesmerized minions with you, that would have been far worse.”

  Tubs focused on Barns. “We’ve got three strong men and a doctor against one crazy loon. I’ve killed off all her hired help. So, our odds are actually looking good now. We can do this.”

  “How will we enter?” Meyer’s asked.

  “While the house is in lockdown, there is a chance I can break through the roof. I checked the stable, and there are hooks and ropes to use, so I can climb up and create an opening, only I won’t be able to fit through the space. So, somebody else will have to drop down.” Tubs paused. “Barns, you could do this?”

  “I can. A few years ago, I took up mountain climbing. So, I’m the best man for this challenge.”

  “Excellent, so let’s get this rescue going,” Barns stated.

  “Hold on!” Meyers objected. “We all need to know what each other will be doing. Otherwise, we’ll likely shoot someone we didn’t want to shoot.”

  Tubs sighed. “Barns, you’ll mountain-climb the house, hack a hole, and drop inside a room. I would suggest David’s room. If he’s conscious, he might be of help. If he’s dead or confused, then just leave him. But be aware that Claire may have locked him in his room. However, David has several keys for the door, since the kids are always losing them. I’m sure you’ll be able to find a key.”

  “I might be able to kick the barn door open,” Tubs offered. “If I succeed, then I can definitely break the kitchen door down. That will give me access to all rooms on the first floor.”

  “True, but your plan is going to create a very loud bang, which might make Claire start shooting people again,” Barns warned.

  “I know, but there is a good chance she will try to kill me before she shoots Vic. She has hated me from the first day we met. If she thinks she has a chance to shoot me, I expect she’ll go for it.”

  Connor scowled. “So, we are back to counting the bullets again.”

  “I can survive a few bullets, so let’s get this going,” Tubs snapped. “We all know what we need to do, let’s just do it!”

  Meyers quickly held up his hand. “What am I supposed to be doing?”

  “Once either Barns or I break into the house, retrieve Xavier. If he’s harmed, get him to safety across the street. If he can handle his gun, let him help,” Tubs advised.

  “Got it!” Meyers replied.

  MEYERS AND CONNORS waited for Tubs to break through by the barn doors and Barns to break through on top. They never heard Barns break in, but Tubs was a roaring “I’m home!”

  True to Tubs’ predictions, Claire refocused on him and stopped torturing Vic, who looked in bad shape. No longer certain that Vic still lived, he charged toward Claire and twisted her head off, literally. He then pummeled the remainder of her body in fury. He only calmed when he heard Connors declare Vic was alive.

  Now assured of her survival, he ceased beating the dead body of Claire and went in search of his family. He calmed even further when his wife assured him that his son and she were fine. Tubs insisted she remain in their hidey, not because a danger remained, but because he was covered in Claire’s blood.

  He grabbed a shovel and quickly buried Claire in the back yard.

  Then he went to Jacko’s room. Not finding Jacko, he entered the washroom and cleaned himself off. Then he continued his search for Jacko. He feared his friend was dead, but thankfully, that was not the case. He found Jacko in the closet.

  “Are you hurt?” Tubs asked.

  “Just embarrassed that the little twit knocked me unconscious, and when I woke, I was locked in a closet without my picks.”

  “Well, she is really dead now.”

  “Are you sure, because I’ve been told that several times!”

  “I ripped her bloody head completely off.”

  “Good. You’re not going to get in trouble for that, are you?”

  “No. She was already dead three times over. That’s all a person gets. I just buried her in the back yard.”

  “And you swear she won’t be coming back up again?”

  “Not this time. She’s really dead.”

  Tubs then searched through the keys until he found the one to David’s room. The moment the door opened, Barns stormed out and yelled at Tubs. “If you knew you could open the barn doors, why was I needed to climb the roof and break a hole into David’s room? We still couldn’t get the door opened.”

  “Seriously? You are the head of Scotland Yard and you can’t pick a lock?”

  “No, my job doesn’t require me to learn the trades of a criminal.”

  “You should probably consider teaching that to your men. Lock picking is a handy skill to have. It has saved my life many times.”

  David smiled up at Tubs. “I would dearly like to learn how to pick locks. Had I known how to escape my room, I would have tried to make my way to the telephone in Gregory’s room and call for help.”

  Tubs grimaced. “Unfortunately, Claire and her now-deceased husband mesmerized a great many of Barns’ men, so, in this case it was best you didn’t ask for their help. They would have probably shot you on sight. So, we stuck with the few we knew were solid and it worked. Still, I expect Barns is going to have a rough month trying to figure out which of his men need to be fired.”

  Barns stepped out of David’s room and into the hallway. “Do you actually have any suggestions on how to do that?”

  Tubs gave the matter such a long thought, that Barns lost his patience and stormed downstairs.

  David gripped Tub’s by his arm. “You know, ignoring the head of Scotland Yard is not a good idea.”

  “I wasn’t ignoring him. I was just trying to figure out if there is a way to cull the wheat from the chaff. I don’t think there is. Take Xavier: he’s very easy to mesmerize, but when he’s his normal self, he’s a very fine man. And even when he was mesmerized, he never harmed anyone.”

  “That’s a good point. Vic says he can pull him out of a mesmerization.”

  “He can. I’ve seen him do so many times. They are a rock-solid team, and not even a mesmerist can break them.”

  “But look at Baker. He fell fast and hard for Claire. Honestly, I don’t think he’ll ever be a good officer again.”

  Meyers snorted. “Actually, he was never a good officer. He was always skimming people of their hard-earned dollars. I’m thinking it doesn’t matter if you get mesmerized. What matters is if you are a good person or bad. Claire was as bad as they come. So, I think the answer is that if a police officer is bad, you should fire him. And if a good police officer gets mesmerized, you should get him help. If he’s got a wife he loves, let her bring him back. If he’s single, maybe, try to marry him to a nice girl. It’s not a cut
and dry situation. This will have to be done one on one.”

  Barns stormed up the steps and glared at Tubs and Meyers. “So, you are saying I should start by getting rid of all my officers who are grafters, thieves, and troublemakers?”

  Tubs shrugged. “Sounds like a good place to start to me.”

  “It sounds so easy, but if I drop half my workforce, this place will crumble.”

  Meyers grinned. “Well, maybe you could get rid of a few each week and replace them with honest young men.”

  “And where am I to find these honest young men?” Barns snapped.

  Tubs shrugged. “There are lots of young men struggling to survive these days. Given the only work they can find is hard manual labor on the docks.”

  Barns snorted. “I seriously doubt a dock worker could ever make a good police officer.”

  “They aren’t dock workers because they are stupid or lazy. These are honest, hardworking men who have lost their former jobs due to increased mechanization. Honestly, they will be far better than the sorry lot you have now.” Tubs could tell Barns was still against doing this. “Allow me to send you a very fine fellow who would love to understand what you need exactly. Then he will pick men to suit your specific needs.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Absolutely. There are thousands of young, intelligent men out there who are honest and hardworking, only due to manufacturing cutting out jobs, the only job they can get if they are lucky is a dock job.”

  “Send the young man to me and I’ll have a serious discussion with him,” Barns replied.

  “His name is Tayler Swift. What time would you like him to show up tomorrow?”

  “Have him come at nine in the morning.”

  Tubs gave him a nod. “I’ll let him know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have more of my family I need to hug and care for.”

  “I’ve already checked everyone in this house. Xavier and Vic got the worst of Claire’s abuse, but they remain clear-headed. While Dr. Connors believes they’ll be fine, he wants them to take it easy for three days and do nothing strenuous. All the children were safely tucked away. Except for the girl who almost lost us Claire. “I don’t know what happened to her, but I really don’t care,” Barns admitted.

  Vic spoke behind Barns. “Barns! Maddy is a child. My sister gave her no choice but to climb into that suit and to pretend to be her.”

  Vic then smiled at Tubs. “You are once again my hero. You saved us all.”

  “Then you don’t hate me for killing your sister?” Tubs asked.

  “No, it had to be done.”

  “Do you need me to find Maddy?”

  Maddy is back with Charlotte and Captain Pike. As soon as he gets a bit stronger, they plan to marry and finally Maddy will have a fabulous mother and father and their own home.

  She noticed the frown on Barns’ face. “You did a fabulous job today, Barns. You have stopped the deaths of young men who look like me. Your climb upon our house was most impressive. I had no idea you were so strong. And moving the hanging site to an island was brilliant. You took a few of my ideas and created a fabulous method to capture my sister. You have stopped her reign of terror. I am in awe of all you achieved today. I, more than anyone, know how difficult the task must have been. My sister was brilliant, but not in a good way. And yet you accomplished your intentions by acting quickly and working with others. I am very proud of the fabulous man you have become.”

  Barns gripped Vic’s hand. “Thank you. I feared you would hate me forever.”

  “No. You and Tubs did what I could not.”

  Barns smiled. “I’m going to be cleaning out bad police officers, any chance you would like to assist?”

  Vic sighed and shook her head. “I don’t believe I’ll be working cases for a long while. This has taken a lot out of me, both physically and mentally. But you are now on the verge of greatness, and I want you to succeed, but to do so, you need good men to assist you. I know the young man who will visit you tomorrow. He is a fabulous fellow. If you let him become your right hand, you won’t miss me at all.”

  To her shock, tears fell upon Barns’ cheeks. “That is not even possible. I will miss you! I expect I will be stopping by often for your advice as well. But I understand how this situation has broken you. However, you must mend, Vic. For your family, you must get beyond this.”

  Vic gripped his hand. “I am determined to do so, but still, I think I might prefer to focus my attention on raising my children into fabulous adults. That is a very important task that should fall to me.”

  “I envy your children. They are so happy and good-natured. They will become the best of young men.”

  “And woman. I will shower Maddy with the same love as I give all of my boys. So, she will become strong as well.”

  “We are one large family, and you are a part of it, Barns, so visit us whenever you wish.”

  Vic noticed Captain Meyers standing in the corner, wiping his eyes from falling tears. She hurried to Meyers and gave him a big hug. “No more tears. Life might change us, but we will always be the best of friends.”

  Meyers nodded. “Friends forever!”

  Once Meyers and Barns had left, Connors gave her a hug. “No reason for me to cry. I will no doubt be stopping by to mend legs and fingers and God knows what else all the time.”

  She chuckled. “That is true. My children are fearless.”

  “Just like their parents. Will you be wearing dresses now and letting your hair grow out?”

  “No, I will still wish to dress as a young man for at least a few more years. Otherwise, I will have to learn how to knit and chat with dull ladies. I don’t think I’d like that at all.”

  “I agree. You should stay as you are: The most fabulous fellow I have ever known.”

  “Connors, you are going to make me cry.”

  “While I won’t take my comment back, I will leave, so you can snuggle up to your husband. But be careful. He is severely bruised. So, if he wishes you to sleep on your side of the bed, understand he is not angry at you, he is just in pain.”

  “Thank you, for such excellent medical advice. Is there a painkiller he can safely take?”

  “He’s still refusing the morphine?”

  “Yes, but I support that. What about that pill with the stupid name?”

  “Acetylsalicylic acid?”

  “Yes, that one.”

  “It will only dampen the pain, but on the positive side, it is not addictive. I’ll speak to the maker of the product now.”

  Vic gave him a hug, then released him. “Thank you, Connors! You always come through for us!”

  “You and Xavier are the finest people I know. I will always come to your aid when I can.”

  Gregory saw Connors out, then locked the door.

  He sat down beside Vic in the kitchen. “This has been the longest day ever!”

  “That’s the truth, and it was supposed to be a day of celebration.”

  Gregory stared at her a long while, then spoke, “Are you really going to stop being a sleuth?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think it is something I should decide yet. But right now, all I want to do is hold and love my children. Only, I fear I might be smothering them. Cannon has already complained about my squishing him too much.”

  “I think some time away from sleuthing is a good idea,” Gregory admitted. “But you do realize, Xavier will still be protecting our country from foreign entities.”

  “I know. His job, which he does very well, cannot be easily set aside, not to mention he’d be bored stiff in a day.”

  Gregory then changed the topic. “Are you aware that Tubs has buried Claire in the back yard?”

  “Yes, he mentioned that.”

  Gregory gripped her hand. “If that upsets you, I will have him move her elsewhere.”

  “Actually, I rather like having Claire with me. It doesn’t feel like she hates me anymore. She’s just Claire now, my little baby sister. Vic quickly turned her hea
d, trying to hide her tears.”

  Gregory hugged her, then stood up. “It is already three in the morning. I will be getting up at four.”

  “No, sleep late. I think everyone but Xavier gets to sleep late. He’ll probably go to work.”

  “Actually, Dr. Connors wants him to stay in bed for three days.”

  “Then we are all going to sleep late!” Vic grinned. “I was very lucky when I fell in love with Xavier and he with me.”

  Gregory smiled. “Honestly, at first, I thought him a terrible choice.”

  “Gregory!”

  “I said at first. I now believe he is the perfect mate for you.”

  “I’m happy you agree. It makes life easier when everyone is in agreement.”

  She hugged her butler/parent and hurried off to snuggle with her beloved husband.

  He was sound asleep, so she stayed on her side, so as not to hurt all the bruises he took by the brutes that Claire had hired.

  Oddly, Claire had not asked those brutes to rough Vic up. While Claire slapped and hit her, it wasn’t life endangering. It was as if a part of Claire, a good part, refused to let anyone, not even herself, harm her too severely. Despite all of Claire’s anger, a part of her still loved Vic, and that gave her great solace.

  THIS CONCLUDES THE 10 volumes of The Adventures of Xavier & Vic, Sleuths Extraordinaire.

  I hope you have enjoyed reading them as much as I have enjoyed writing them.

  And just so you know, Acetylsalicylic acid was the original name for Aspirin.

  The product never took off until it got its shorter name.

  It turns out

  Marketing mattered even in the Victorian Era.

  Also by Liza O'Connor

  Alien's Among Us

  Cat Refuge

  Leaving Earth

  New World

  A Long Road to Love

  Worst Week Ever

  Oh Stupid Heart

  Coming to Reason

  Climbing out of Hell

  The Hardest Love

  Angel's Trials