Page 80 of The Devil in Oxford
“I do not think. Iknow.” He chuckled. “People, my dear foolish girl, are the path to power. And power is all anyone can ask for. There’s safety in it. Comfort. One might not be able to achieve the divine, but with enough power a man can make himself invincible. Untouchable. A veritable god amongst sheep.”
“You drugged them both,” I murmured in disgust. “A god wouldn’t need to drug people into compliance.”
“It certainly helps make people more accommodating to reasonable requests, and in time they always come around, with gentle encouragement,” Laurent said with a huff. His gaze slithered from his rug back to my face. “Less mess that way.”
“Less mess?” I let out a startled sound, as I managed to free my left hand from the ropes and flex my fingers, willing what was left of my blood to begin flowing through my veins again. “You killed Julius Harker and took out histongue, for goodness’ sake! It didn’t seem you minded mess then.”
He waved his hand airily with the gun. “It had to be done. The idiot stole my shipment. Stole it and rubbed my nose in it. He had to be dealt with and it was an expedient means to an end.”
“Leona had nothing to do with that sordid trade,” Reaver spat out, stepping closer to Professor Laurent. “Harker was a fool, everyone knew that—but Leona had nothing to do with your shipment. Let her go, she has nothing to give you.”
“Nothing to give?” Laurent clicked his tongue with a shake of his head. “You never did realize what you had on your hands, Frederick. That was always your great failing. Missing what was right before your eyes.”
Reaver bristled.
“Did you know she can read nine languages and speak at least that many? The value of a woman like that is substantial,” Laurent said with a tender tone. “Oh, what am I thinking. Of course you know her worth. After all, everyone knows about your…tendressetoward the little Egyptian chit. I daresay, jealous rages suit you, Frederick. In fact…” His mouth curved up into a sinister smile. “Come to think of it, I have just come up with a tidy little solution to our problem here. For we both know that the three of you cannot leave this house alive.”
“You cannot possibly think you can killus alland no one will notice.”
“Oh, come now, Freddie dear.” Laurent’s tone grew mocking. “Everyone in Oxford knew that Harker had been tweaking your nose over your professional failures ever since you returned from the east. It’s almost as if”—Laurent toyed with the edge of his sleeve—“almost as if Harker knew who you really were…whatyou really are… and enjoyed reminding you of it. Who is to say you did not put him in that box all on your own to hide your own secrets from the world?”
I drove my thumb under the ropes, pulling them off my other wrist, flexing my fingers. The feeling was slowly beginning to return. Slippery with blood, my skin burned with the motion, but I was fully free at last. The young constable, Jack, had slipped from consciousness, his pulse slowing. He was going to die if we didn’t get Laurent to stop talking soon.
Think, Ruby, think!
“What I don’t understand is why you killed Harker. You could have gone on and taken your seat as MP. The police looked the other way when it came to your drug trade. They had been overlooking it for years. Whyhimand whynow, when you have everything to lose?” Reaver stepped forward, shielding me from Laurent’s attention as he asked the very question that had been on the tip of my tongue.
Hari’s pistol dug into the flesh of my thigh. I’d nearly forgotten I’d tucked it into my dress pocket. Reaver had searched my jacket pockets when he captured me, but he hadn’t thought to touch my dress.
“Julius Harker could not leave well enough alone. Much like you, Frederick. If you’d stayed in your museum with your scrolls and your mummies, I wouldn’t have need to kill you.Eitherof you.” He pointed his pistol cavalierly at me. “You will be a lovely corpse, Miss Vaughn. A pity to waste you. You’re nearly as bright of a star as Leona. I am certain the boy will grieve you, but there’s naught to be done. He in time forgot all about Ernst, and I am quite certain he will forget about you.”
My nostrils flared as I pulled myself up onto my knees, once again shifting and giving me access to the large pocket of my dress in hopes I could pull out the gun without him noticing. My pellar wasnotgoing to be grieving anything, if I had a say in the matter.
Reaver must have realized what I was about, as his gaze dropped to my unbound hand, which had found its way to my pocket—perhaps he recalled that he’d forgotten to check it. Reaver pressed his lips tight, holding me with his icy gaze, and I could have sworn he gave me a slight nod.
“Why take Leona? Why not simply ask for her assistance?” he immediately asked, drawing Laurent’s attention back to himself and allowing me to withdraw the gun from my pocket unnoticed.
Laurent moved closer to Reaver, his movements sinuous and smooth as I wrapped my fingers around the grip of the pistol. Hisliar’s mouth curved up into a sickening smile as he drew nearer to Reaver, dropping his voice low. “She did not like me much. And the little bitch still has not given me the book. I’ve offered a fortune for its recovery and yet itconvenientlyhas disappeared again.”
TheRadix.
“You don’t have it?” The words escaped my lips of their own volition. I could not have hidden my surprise if I tried.
“Of course you would know about theRadix. Kivell is always quite chatty when he believes someone actually cares about what he has to say. His melancholy grows tiresome. I don’t know how Ernst put up with it all those years.”
My fingers tightened around the butt of the gun. “Why do you want theRadix? It’s just a book.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Look around this room, Miss Vaughn. Everything in here is rare. Unusual. One of a kind. Just like Ruan and the lovely Miss Abernathy. Use that clever mind of yours one last time, then ask me why I want it again.” But Laurent was no longer paying attention to me, he was walking toward Reaver, a syringe in his left hand hanging casually by his side. Inconspicuous enough one might not even notice the small silver needle running alongside his forefinger. Reaver didn’t see it, his attention fixed upon the gun in Laurent’s other hand—the obvious threat. He didn’t see the more subtle danger coming. Without a thought, I lifted Hari’s pistol and fired, hitting Laurent in the shoulder. The syringe hit the ground with a clank alongside young Jack.
Reaver lost no time, scooping up the bloodied rope that I’d wriggled free of and wrapping it around Laurent’s arms, tying them behind his back much as he had mine.
Laurent screamed.
“Quick. See to Jack before he bleeds out any more,” Reaver called over his shoulder as he worked to restrain the older gentleman.
But I was already on my feet and at the boy’s side.
The young constable’s eyes fluttered open. “Sorry, miss.”
