The Missing Partner (The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Book 2)

by Liza O'Connor

  Not wanting to insult a man who had proven vital in saving Xavier, she held her tongue. Yet, she knew her dark haired, hawk-nose partner. Opium could not undermine his strong character.

  ***

  Time proved Dr. Connors’ warning all too accurate. Xavier adamantly refused to reduce the amount of opiate, even though by the second week, his wound appeared on the mend. He insisted he was in worse pain than ever.

  Vic had naively believed she knew the worst of his temper from her year of employment, but this new level of anger seared her soul. After Davy found her in the kitchen crying for the third time in one day, he knelt down before her and took her hands.

  “Vic, you gotta let me care for him.”

  “No, I’ll—”

  “This ain’t good for either of you! He needs somebody he can yell at without hurting. He needs me. You pride yourself about picking the best skilled person for a task. Well, I’m the best person for this job.”

  Vic shook her head. “He’ll bully you into giving him more opiate.”

  “No, he won’t. I’ve done this before.”

  “Done what?” Her head popped up as she tried to make sense of his words.

  “Weaned him off the drug.”

  “When?”

  “Through the years.”

  “How many times?”

  Davy sighed. “This will make five. And every time it gets harder for him. This isn’t a time for you to cut teeth. You need an experienced person.”

  A swell of relief overcame her as she nodded in agreement, and then it turned to shame. She shouldn’t give in so easy. He was her partner. She should be able to go through hell for him.

  The truth was she wanted out. Seeing him in torment left her so helpless. And now Davy wanted to save her from this hell. But was he telling the truth when he said he could do the job, or just trying to spare her. She met his eyes. “If you’ve known you were better, why didn’t you say anything before now?”

  “I’d hoped you’d pull him out faster, but you aren’t. You’re just making him hate himself for the ugly things he says. I need to take over now and get the job done professional like.”

  Vic threw her arms around Davy’s neck and sobbed in helpless frustration. Then she released him, breathed in deep and stood. Davy rose as well, his eyes filled with worry.

  After two deep sniffles, and drying her eyes on a sleeve of her shirt, she looked up at him. “I’m going to go downstairs and get the office in order. Then maybe I’ll go out and rustle up some business.”

  “That’s a good idea. And I’ll take care of Xavier. I’m good at this.”

  She hugged him once more. “We are lucky to have you.”

  “I’ll remind you of that the next time you give me trouble,” he muttered as he patted her back.

  She went downstairs and found their newest employee, Benjamin, making an appointment for a prospective client. By the worry and panic in the old woman’s face, she could tell the business was urgent.

  “That’s all right, Ben. I’ll speak to—” she glanced down at Ben’s neat and legible handwriting, “Mrs. Eaton, now.”

  “But—” Ben’s eyes rounded, clearly shocked she intended to break the twenty-four hour appointment rule.

  Vic ignored him. “I sense this is an urgent case, so we will set aside the appointment rules in this one instant.”

  The woman gripped Vic’s arm. “Oh, thank you, young man. You are correct. The matter is urgent! Life and death, urgent!”

  Cheered by Mrs. Eaton’s words, Vic led her into the office.

  Chapter 22

  Xavier woke in pain. His body shook from his craving for opium. “Vic, call Connors. Something is wrong. The pain is worse.”

  A large hand, not belonging to Vic, felt his forehead. “That’s just the opium talking.”

  Xavier opened his eyes and glared at Davy. “Don’t tell me what I’m feeling. Connors has mucked the business up. My wound is infected.”

  Davy sighed and sat down on the bed.

  “Where’s Vic?”

  “I fired him.”

  Xavier bolted upright. “You what? On whose authority? You had no right to fire Vic!” He stopped yelling and glared at Davy. “Nor would he allow it. Now stop playing games and bring him in here.”

  Davy didn’t budge. “I fired Vic from taking care of you. I convinced him I was better skilled at this particular job.”

  “Well, you’re wrong. I much prefer Vic over you.”

  “You prefer hurting him? You prefer him crying his eyes out in the kitchen?”

  His question struck deep. Xavier recalled the vile acidic curses of his last waking. “I didn’t mean the things I said. Surely Vic knows that.”

  “He does, but it still hurts him. He’s not as thick skinned as I am. This is my job for here on, and that’s final.”

  “Bring Vic up here.”

  Davy sighed. “Can’t do it.”

  “I just want to talk to him, to explain I didn’t mean anything—”

  “He’s out on a case.”

  “What case? Did Tubs go with him?”

  Davy shook his head.

  “Why the hell not? That’s his job!”

  Davy smiled. “I asked him the same thing. He pointed to the client’s reason for the visit logged in the appointment book.”

  “Which was?” Xavier had no patience for this cat and mouse answer process.

  Davy ducked his head and muttered something that sounded like ‘lost pet.’

  “Vic took on a case of a missing pet? Why didn’t you stop him? If Doyle gets wind of this I’ll be the laughing stock of London!”

  Xavier pushed Davy from his seat on the bed. “Help me up!”

  “First tell me where you are planning to go.”

  Xavier was not accustomed to Davy challenging his orders, and he left no doubt of his outrage in his reply. “To my office, damn your insolent hide! I need to review the cases this scamp has been taking on. And then you and I will review exactly who is master.”

  “Employer,” Davy grumbled and walked to the door.

  “Where the hell are you going? Come back here and assist me. I am one foot in the grave. Do you think I’ll make it down those steps on my own?”

  “I seriously doubt it.” Davy leaned out the door and called for Tubs.

  When the man arrived, Davy pointed to Xavier. “Our boss wishes to go downstairs to his office.”

  Tubs smiled, displaying a frightening row of rotted and broken teeth.

  “Don’t smile around the clients, Tubs. You’ll scare them to death,” Xavier scolded as the giant lifted him up as if he was nothing more than a long legged child. “Put me down, damn it, I can walk!”

  “No, he can’t,” Davy countered. “Just hurry downstairs with him.”

  Tubs jumped to Davy’s command.

  “Here now, you work for me, not Davy. Put me down and let me walk!”

  Xavier stopped yelling because they were already downstairs so the point was moot. Vic was correct. The fellow was amazingly fast and light-footed.

  Once Xavier was out of Tubs’ arms and seated in his chair, he regained his dignity. “Thank you, Mr. Tubs. In the future, I ask you to remember who runs this office. Now go retrieve the appointment book. I wish to see what mischief Vic has been into.”

  Tubs left. A moment later, a young fellow entered and handed him the appointment book. The boy stood like soldier awaiting orders, except he wore a smile.

  “Who the bloody blazes are you?” Xavier demanded and yelled for Davy. His driver arrived, his brow furrowed with concern.

  “Who is this fellow smiling at me?”

  “That’s Ben. Gregory hired him to keep the appointment book and ensure the office is open to receive clients while you two are out. Thought it a good idea, myself.”

  “You did, did you? Oddly, I don’t agree.”

  The boy lost his smile.

  “I do not appreciate that while I clung to life by sheer will, my impertinen
t apprentice’s even more impertinent butler has the galling nerve to hire an employee for my office.” He glared at the boy. “You, sit, so I can determine if I wish to hire you or not.”

  The boy threw himself in the chair with such speed it skidded three inches to the left.

  Xavier frowned. “I appreciate your speed to follow orders, but do not scar my wood floors with your enthusiasm.”

  The lad studied the floor and sighed with relief. “It’s fine, sir.”

  Xavier was in too much pain and aggravation to smile, but he liked the fellow’s attitude. “So tell me the tasks Vic has set you to do?”

  Sitting straight, he jutted out his chest and answered, “I am to arrive at seven, place the mail and paper upon Vic’s desk, open the door precisely at eight, prepare hot water for tea fifteen minutes prior to client meetings, and take appointments.”

  “I trust Vic told you about the twenty-four hour rule?”

  “Oh, yes, sir!”

  “And what else?”

  Ben frowned. “What else what?”

  “What else do you do?”

  “Nothing.”

  Xavier managed a chuckle without too much pain. Vic was careful not to create her own rival. She just wanted off her chain so she could roam about during the day. “Well, I’m willing to give you a try. You may continue on.”

  Ben smiled as if Xavier had promised him knighthood. After he left, Xavier called him back. He liked the boy’s speed and positive attitude on arrival—no snippy ‘what now?’ response. “When you gather the paper and mail. Precisely which desk do you place it upon?”

  The boy pointed to his desk.

  He snorted in outrage. “For the record. This is my desk. I allow Vic to use it on occasion, but never again refer to it as ‘Vic’s desk.’”

  “Sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”

  “Good. Off with you.” He opened the drawer and pulled the file labeled “Hamilton cases.” Now he would find out what his pup had been up to.

  ***

  Several hours later, Davy opened the door. “Do you want your tonic now?”

  “Growing soft, Davy?” Xavier looked up from his reading.

  Davy chuckled. “I must be. Call me when you need it.”

  Xavier returned to Vic’s detailed case notes. On several occasions he laughed, despite his pain. Especially when reading her notes on Mr. Robinson.

  According to Robinson’s confession obtained during the interrogation by Scotland Yard, he had fallen into arrears with his creditors nineteen years ago. His butler, Jonston, suggested a lucrative business opportunity. After ‘months of moral dilemma,’ he concluded providing gentleman a means to relieve themselves of their unhealthy urges in a safe and clean environment was actually a service to society and in no means immoral or criminal in nature. He insisted any charges of abuse or abduction of the servants lay solely with Jonston, claiming he believed all the servants were legally employed and happy to work in the superior conditions of his household.

  Xavier skimmed forward.

  …For eighteen years, their partnership remained stable. Then on Aug 1, 1894, Mary learned her father was Mr. Robinson.

  Her righteous anger over her treatment triggered the downfall of all of her parents (real or not). Given that they all failed their parental duties to an astonishing degree, I must say, I find great satisfaction in this.

  Xavier chuckled. “You would.”

  Due to my youth, Jonston considered me harmless. By threatening him with the arrival of my boss if I could not perform my interviews, I gained access to the servants and uncovered their perfidious sex slave business in a single visit.

  “Well done, indeed.” Her intuitive and interview skills never ceased to amaze him.

  I must be honest. At this point, my concern turned to saving all the servants. Upon the discovery one of the servants was my cook’s niece, I lost all interest in Mary Campbell (having determined she resided willingly with her mother at Dragon’s Cloud.)

  However, their attempt to extort thirty-thousand pounds from Mr. Robison for Mary’s return gave me an excuse to return to the house. As for the ransom, I admit I was angry with Robinson, so I told him to pay it.

  “Good for you,” Xavier said.

  My concern focused on the servants, which I had determined Jonston planned to sell to Marconi and Salem.

  Unfortunately, in my haste to rescue the youths I made a grievous error in judgment. In retrospect, I cannot wish it were not so. I learned a valuable lesson when dealing with hostage situations that I will never forget. In addition, the consequences of my error (abduction and delivery to Dragon’s Cloud) enabled me to eventually discover Xavier’s location and acquire a highly skilled employee for our office. I hope when Xavier reads these notes, he will keep that in mind. I would also like to point out, had he been available for mentoring, I would have not made the error.

  Xavier wondered how long she planned to drag out this damn confession. He knew she’d been abducted, he just wanted to know her mistake that caused it.

  Someone knocked on the door to his office.

  “What?” Xavier yelled. Good God, could they not wait until he finished?

  Ben called out. Xavier could hear fear in his voice. “Sir, could you step out here please?”

  Xavier reached into the drawer, withdrew his gun, and placed it in his lap. “No damn it, I cannot. I do not cater to you. You cater to me. Now open the door and tell me what you want!”

  The door opened. Mr. Tubs entered in a stiff gait. Seth Sojourn followed, using him as a shield, which Tubs reluctantly allowed, due to the gun pressed against his neck.

  Xavier considered the various options before him and decided to put his trust in Vic’s assessment of Tubs. He picked up his ink well and threw it at the ceiling above Tubs and Seth, showering both men with ink. He accompanied this action with an earth shattering bellow. “Do I come to your place of business without invitation? How dare you add disrespect to your list of crimes!”

  As Xavier expected, Seth, who was incredibly vain about his looks, shielded his face from the ink and falling glass. In doing so, he forgot the skills of his hostage. Tubs, blackened by ink, tossed Seth’s gun onto Xavier’s desk and had the man’s arms twisted behind his back and secured in seconds.

  Tubs looked more frightening than ever with half his face streaked black. Vic would not be pleased with the change, or his ruined suit. However, Xavier was very impressed with the man’s speed and quick thinking.

  “Sorry about the ink, Tubs. Before you go clean up, please strip my uninvited guest of weapons.

  Tubs evidently knew where to find all of Seth’s lethal toys. In less than a minute, a large arsenal cluttered Xavier’s desk. Xavier spent his time inspecting each item while Tubs located yet more.

  “Don’t open this,” Tubs warned and set a corked test tube to one side.

  Xavier placed it in his drawer and returned to playing with Seth’s other toys.

  “He’s clean now.”

  “Thank you, Tubs. Your assistance was invaluable. Go upstairs and try to clean yourself before you become permanently stained.”

  By his furrowed brow, Xavier gathered Tubs didn’t want to leave, but after another glare at Seth, he followed orders.

  Xavier motioned for his visitor to take a seat in the short-back wooden chair in front of his desk. “I’m glad you are here. I have several complaints I wish to lodge.”

  “And I have one big complaint to lodge, as well,” Seth said in return.

  “Well, since this is my office, I get to go first.” Xavier leaned forward and nailed Seth with his glare. “You played loose with our agreement and I demand compensation.”

  “For what?”

  “We agreed you would get me to a doctor so I wouldn’t die.” Xavier picked up a wickedly curved knife and tested its balance in his hand.

  “Well, you are sitting at your desk in remarkably good health, so I clearly fulfilled the agreement.”

  With a
flick of his wrist, Xavier released the knife. It whizzed a breath away from Seth’s face and sliced into the wall behind him with a reverberating thud. “No, you did not. You left me with an incompetent fool who neither removed the lead bullet nor cleaned out the infection from my shoulder. The moment you left, the doctor packed his bags. I was but a breath away from death when my people arrived and saved my life.”

  “I told him if you died, he died.”

  “Then the fault is entirely yours. Even my experienced surgeon doubted he could save me. Because of your threat, your doctor didn’t even try. He just packed and ran, because you had waited too long for a man of his limited skill to succeed in keeping me alive.” Xavier picked up another knife and whizzed it by Seth’s other ear. “No matter how I look at this, the fault lies with you. You nearly killed me, and I want compensation.”

  “I have nothing to give you! One business razed to the ground, and the other two are in shambles—I am struggling just to pay my men.”

  Xavier smiled and picked up a curved Chinese blade. “Then my recompense will help you, as well. One less man to pay.” He then turned his attention to the circular blade. “I’ve never thrown one of these.”

  “If it’s Tubs you want, forget it. The man betrayed me and he must die for that.”

  Xavier threw the blade, and had Seth not ducked it would have struck the center of his forehead.

  “Sorry, hopefully I’ll get the hang of throwing these soon.” He lifted up another circular blade. “What were we discussing? Oh yes, Tubs. Well, here’s the thing. I like the man. He’s well skilled, light on his feet, lightning fast, strong as an elephant, and very smart. To be honest, you were not utilizing his talents at all. I completely understand why he quit.”

  “Quit?”

  “I was in the room when he announced he quit. Guarding a corpse was simply beneath him. Thus, my secretary wisely offered him a job with us.”

  “He can’t quit. I own him.”

  “Once a competent doctor brought me back from the brink of death, I told Tubs you didn’t believe in employees quitting. You had some strange idea they belonged to you forever. And then I told him how you had botched our agreement, and would wish to make compensation by letting him work for me.”