A Rip in Time (Out of Time #7) (34 page)

“Elizabeth?”
 

She hardly dared look away, but she managed a quick glance to reassure herself that it was truly Simon. He stood in the doorway, gripping the door jamb for support.
 

Elizabeth looked back down at Vale as Simon came in and picked up the knife. Had she killed her? Would time change now anyway? It took her a moment to see Vale’s chest rise and fall. She was alive. Thank God.
 

“Are you hurt?” Simon asked.

Elizabeth shook her head. She was, but she’d live. The question was, would Graham?

She turned back to the bed where Graham lay, bleeding from a gaping wound in his stomach. He groaned as she pressed down on it, and then looked up at her and smiled.

~~~

They managed to get Graham to a hospital just in time. He would live. For Elizabeth, it was bittersweet news. They’d done what they what they had to do; the timeline had been saved, but they’d saved a monster’s life. It would take weeks for him to recover, but he would and he would kill again.

Battered and exhausted, Elizabeth and Simon prepared to leave. Once things had been set right, and after they retrieved Simon’s watch from Vale’s room, they were ready to go home. Boy, were they ready to go home. Elizabeth could only hope things were as they should be there as well, and that Jack, angry and confused, would be there waiting for them.

They offered to stay with Victor, knowing his mission wasn’t yet over, but he told them to go. Then he said that they were perhaps not the worst operatives he’d ever met after all. High praise from Victor Renaud.

George had taken care of Blackwood. He would not be practicing medicine, except from a prison cell, for a very long time. And Katherine Vale was where she was meant to be—Bedlam.

“I don’t see why we’re here,” Simon said as they walked down the halls of the asylum. “I’d think you’d never want to set foot in it again.”

“I don’t,” Elizabeth said. “I just want to see her here for myself. To make sure it’s really happened.”

Simon sighed and winced as he did. He had three broken ribs, a concussion and was more bruise than body.
 

After all she’d been through, Elizabeth couldn’t really explain what made her come back to Bedlam. She just knew she had to. A little voice inside her head told her to, and she always listened to that little voice.

The guard opened the door to Vale’s cell. “She’s restrained,” he said, “but call if you need help.”

Simon and Elizabeth walked into the small room and Elizabeth felt a wave of panic. Simon took her hand and it faded. Mostly.

Vale sat in a chair, her wrists and ankles manacled. Her eyes spat venom at them. “This isn’t over,” she said.

“Looks pretty over to me,” Elizabeth said much more calmly than she felt.

Vale’s eyes darted away from her and then quickly back to Elizabeth. In that instant, Elizabeth felt the rush of understanding; she finally understood what the little voice had been trying to tell her.

She turned and stepped away from Simon.

“Elizabeth?”

“What are you doing?” Vale said, her voice betraying her worry.

Elizabeth walked to the far corner of the room, the one she’d seen Vale linger in when the tables had been turned. She took off her gloves and ran her fingers over the rough stones. She felt one move ever so slightly.

She took a hat pin out of her hair and used it to help pry the stone loose. Simon was beside her now.

“What is it?”
 

She reached into the small cubby hole and pulled out a pocket watch.

Behind her Vale struggled against her handcuffs.

“I’ll be damned,” Simon said.

Elizabeth hadn’t known until just then why she’d come back. Older Vale must have hidden one of the watches there that she’d escaped from Cairo with. When she’d come back to 1887, she must have planted it there as a failsafe in case her plan didn’t come off. And it almost worked. Or maybe it had. There was still one more watch unaccounted for. What if Vale had hidden that one too? Elizabeth pushed the thought away. The timeline was secure. The memory loss events had stopped. All was right again. All was as it should be. Now, all they could do was hope that it stayed that way.

V
ICTOR
LEANED
AGAINST
THE
cold stone wall of 13 Millers Court. It had been nearly six weeks since the double murders, since he’d begun waiting for this moment. He watched from the shadows as Marie, Mary, stumbled back to her lodgings. He hadn’t seen her since that night in the pub. He could not bring himself to, but tonight that was his job.

He stayed in the darkness as she leaned against her front door and fumbled to open it. He stayed in the darkness as Charles Graham joined her. And he stayed in the darkness as the Ripper butchered her, mere feet away from where he stood.

He could hear the sound of the knife, the sound of her flesh rending under it, the sound of Graham’s effort as he worked. Worse than all the previous combined, what he would do, what he was doing, to Mary Kelly, was beyond comprehension. Victor told himself it did not matter. Once dead, what did it matter what happened? But it did matter. It mattered to him very much.

Silently, Victor waited outside, able to see through the broad slats of the shuttered window. He thanked God he couldn’t see in clearly, that all he could see was Graham as he moved around the room, committing his atrocity.

Victor did what he was there to do. What only a man like him could do. He watched Mary Kelly die.

And when it was over, when Graham was finished, he strode out of the building, his hands covered with blood, and looked right into Victor’s eyes. He knew he was safe from him. He knew he lived. He knew he was free.

Victor could have killed him right there. Part of him told him that he should, but he didn’t. History would change and all of this would be for naught. Charles Graham lived. He went back to San Francisco. He was hunted by Katherine Vale. His ending was yet to be written.

Graham wiped his hands on a handkerchief, and smiled at Victor as he walked casually down the street.

In that moment, Victor made a promise that he would write the end for Graham. Somehow, some day, he would find him again and he would kill him. Justice would finally be done. Some day.

THE END

Thank you for reading A Rip in Time. I hope you enjoyed it. Look for the next book in the series soon and a few spin-offs, too!
 

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Have an idea for a time and/or location you'd like to see Simon & Elizabeth visit? Would you like to see more Jack? More Victor? Drop me a line or come on by Facebook and let me know. I have quite a few ideas for future adventures, but would love to hear from you!
 

Visit: http://moniquemartin.weebly.com

Other Books in the Out of Time Series

Out of Time: A Time Travel Mystery (Book #1)

When the Wall Fell (Book #2)

Fragments (Book #3)

The Devils' Due (Book #4)

Thursday’s Child (Book #5)

Sands of Time (Book #6)

A Rip in Time (Book #7)

Book #8 - Coming Soon!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Monique was born in Houston, Texas, but her family soon moved to Southern California. She grew up on both coasts, living in Connecticut and California. She currently resides in Southern California with her naughty Siamese cat, Monkey.

She's currently working on an adaptation of one of her screenplays, several short stories and novels and the next book in the Out of Time series.

For news and information about Monique and upcoming releases, please visit:
moniquemartin.weebly.com/