VOYAGERS! - The Voyager Chronicles
A RAY OF HOPE - BOOK 5
(Sequel to The True Spirit of Christmas)
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)
June 2008 (Revised 09/2009)
Previous disclaimers apply

Chapter 3 – A THIEF IN THE NIGHT

Darkness had fallen across the city. The moon, in all its splendor, struggled against a patchwork of grayish clouds to spread its light across the land. The slightest whisper of a breeze, damp and crisp, had begun to coax a layer of dense fog from the waters of the Thames. For the most part, the city was quiet and unoccupied, the only exception being those unfortunate souls who wandered the streets looking for a place to rest as well as a speck of leftover food to eat. In the distance, the lone sound of Big Ben could be heard as it struck the ninth hour.

Bogg and Jeff, unaware their shiny new omni had malfunctioned, came to an exceptionally hard landing in the middle of a dark thoroughfare. After a few moments of shaking off the effects of their journey's abrupt ending, they quickly got to their feet and started to have a look around.

"Where are we?" Jeff asked. "This sure doesn't look like Paris to me."

Bogg grabbed his omni and opened it. As he gazed at its flashing red beacon, a puzzled look came over him.

"Uh…umm…I hate to tell you. This is not Paris."

"I can see that." Jeff said curtly. "If it's not Paris, then where are we?"

Bogg shook his head as he glanced at his partner.

"According to the omni, we're in London, 1902." Bogg responded as he struck his malfunctioning omni with the palm of his hand. "And if that wasn't bad enough, the omni is stuck in automatic mode."

"That's great! Just great!!" Jeff ranted. "This omni hasn't even been broken in yet and it's malfunctioning! We should have just kept the old one."

"I know, kid, I'm just as surprised as you are." Bogg reassured as he squeezed Jeff's shoulder.

"Don't these things come with some sort of 50,000 mile warranty or something? " Jeff asked.

"Sorry kid, there are no warranties. When they give it to you, you are on your own." Bogg closed the omni and clipped it to his belt. "That's why they provide you with a guidebook. You know… the big black leather one with the chapter on omni field stripping and maintenance. As I recall, mine ended up as dinner for a canine friend of yours."

Jeff bowed his head. "I said I was sorry." He said in a sullen tone.

"I'm just teasing… I know it wasn't your fault."

"Besides, there's nothing we can do about it now. We're here, we have a red light and we all know too well what that means."

"Yea, but what about the X-ray?"

"We'll get to it, eventually." Bogg reassured. "First we've got to figure out what's wrong here. Ok?"

"Ok, I guess." Jeff said as he resigned himself to their fate.

Bogg put his arm around his partner and smiled. Jeff stood there, frowning, somewhat disappointed by their current situation.

"Hey! C'mon now, let me see some of that ol' Voyager spirit!" Bogg teased. "You keep wearing that frown and you'll turn into… into…umm…"

Jeff's eyes brightened. "What? I'll turn into what?"

"A wrinkled ol' prune with an omni. That's what." Bogg said with a laugh.

"Funny, Bogg… Funny!" Jeff replied as he slapped Bogg on the back. "But just you remember, you'll be a wrinkled ol' prune long before I will… old timer!

"Old Timer!" Bogg exclaimed with disbelief. "Old timer! Who are you calling an old timer? As I've said before, I'm not old. I'm just entering my prime."

Jeff replied with some skepticism. "Your prime? Yea, right! So tell me… When were you born?"

"Uh…Umm…I believe it was on a Tuesday, I think. Sometime before dawn or at least that's what mom told me." Bogg said innocently. "What does this have to do with it?"

"Duh… I mean… what was the year you were born?"

Bogg paused for a moment to think. "Uh…uh…seventeen-twenty."

"Bogg, you mean you can't even remember your birthday?"

"Kid, it's been a long time since I was born."

"Obviously…" Jeff quipped. "Ok, now, so let's do the math here… You were born in 1720 and I was born in 1970. Let's see here. That makes you two hundred...and…"

"Never mind how old I am." Bogg interrupted now sporting a sneaky, mischievous smile on his face. "Come here, kiddo. Let me show you what this old timer can do to a young whipper-snapper like you."

Jeff backed away slowly from his partner. "Oh no! I don't think so."

Before he could escape, Bogg quickly grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in close. He put on a fake expression of anger and drew back his clenched fist in preparation to let Jeff have it.

"Now who were you calling an 'old timer?" Bogg said with a deep somewhat sinister voice.

Jeff's eyes grew large, much like those of a deer being caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle.

"Uhh…umm…Please Bogg…uhh….I didn't mean it, honest. C'mon, Bogg, you're not gonna hit me, are you?" Jeff pleaded.

Once again, Bogg was now carrying off another of his famous pranks. He knew by Jeff's facial expression alone, it had been an absolute success. But now, it was time to ease up on him. With his partner still in his grasp, he slowly lowered his arm, put on a warm smile and softly tapped Jeff's chin with his fist.

"Gotcha!" Bogg exclaimed as he released his grip on Jeff and began to laugh.

What was about to happen next could only be described as the ultimate in retribution for a well planned prank.

While Bogg continued to laugh at his accomplishment, a brilliant idea for payback had come to the forefront of Jeff's mind. After hastily working out the details, Jeff began his little bit of drama by putting his hands in his pockets, bowing his head and walking slowly away from his partner. Bogg, who by now had regained his composure, looked around to see what had happened to Jeff and noticed him walking away in a disconsolate fashion.

"Jeff, where are you going? Jeff, c'mon. It was just a joke." Bogg said as he began to walk toward his partner.

Jeff didn't say a word, but kept on walking. Moments later, Bogg caught up with his young partner and grabbed him by the arm. Jeff began to shout and struggle to get free.

"Get away from me you brute!" Jeff shouted. "Just leave me alone, you hear! You're not my dad, 'cause no dad would ever do that to his son!"

Bogg's chin had dropped to his chest as he was thoroughly stunned by Jeff's reaction to his prank. He released his grip on the young Voyager, held up his hands and took a couple of steps backward. Before Jeff took off running, he couldn't help but notice his knees were now trembling.

"Jeff…Stop! Please don't run away from me. I'm sorry, kid. If I've hurt your feelings, come back and let's work it out… ok?" Bogg said softly.

Jeff took several steps and stopped in his tracks. He turned toward his partner, with his head still lowered and said nothing. Bogg walked over to him and as usual got down on his knees.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why are you shaking so?" Bogg asked softly.

Jeff continued to stare at the ground as he responded to his partner. "I…I… honestly thought you were going to clobber me." He said with fear and trembling in his voice. "How would you feel…Bogg! How would you feel if you were my size and a 6 foot tall pirate grabbed YOU by the collar and threatened to punch your lights out?"

Bogg was speechless. He knew he had crossed the line with this prank. It was never his intention to frighten Jeff. The sight of his son and partner standing in front of him, trembling with fear, made his heart ache. He lovingly reached over and raised Jeff's chin with his hand. What Bogg was about to see next was something he was not ready to deal with. Upon making eye contact with his partner, a tear slowly trickled down Jeff's face. This part of the performance was the icing on the cake, so to speak, for Bogg was now truly heartbroken.

In an attempt to bring some reconciliation and closure for the pain he had inflicted due to his reckless actions, Bogg reached over, pulled Jeff close to him and wrapped his arms around him.

"Come here, kid! Please Jeffrey…please don't cry. I am so…so very sorry." Bogg said as his voice began to break. "You know…I was just playing with you. I would never ever do anything to harm you. Please, can you ever forgive me?"

Jeff did not respond. Bogg, now full of emotions and worried that his actions had permanently damaged their relationship again tried to coax a response from his partner.

"Are we still PB and J?" Bogg asked softly, choking on the words. "You're my partner, my friend and most of all, my son. What's PB without J. Just a lonely old Voyager with no place to go."

Sensing he had gotten his point across to his partner, Jeff immediately wiped the tear from his eyes and began to laugh uncontrollably.

"Gotcha back!" Jeff yelled as he began to blow on his fingernails and polish them on his shirt. "And that's one for me! I can't believe you fell for my 'little kid with the hurt feelings act."

Shock and awe could only describe the expression on Bogg's face at the moment.

"But I thought…I thought I had really frightened you." Bogg asked in disbelief.

"Me, frightened of you…You've got to be kidding. But I sure fooled you." Jeff boasted as he beamed with pride at his accomplishment.

Relieved that no serious harm had been done, Bogg took a deep, relaxing breath and wiped his brow. Then he threw his arms around his partner once again and hugged him.

"I'll have to admit, you had me worried there for a moment. I truly thought this was the end of the line for me."

"I could tell it was really getting to you, especially when you asked if we were still PB and J?" Jeff explained. "The real tears almost started falling after you asked that question."

Bogg stood up, smiled and shook his head. "I'm still in shock over what you just did. That was a good performance and it really took some guts to pull it off." Bogg admitted. "I'm proud of you, kid. I guess when it comes right down to it, my payback was long overdue."

"Yea Bogg, way…way overdue." Jeff said as he chuckled.

"You know, in light of this, I guess I'll have to develop some new tactics for my next prank."

"Yea, you better rethink your tactics for sure. " Jeff boasted. "I'm on to you now."

"You are? Oh…I'm scared. I'm so scared, I'm shaking in my boots." Bogg said as he laughed.

"You better be." Jeff warned. "'cause the next one is gonna be a doozie."

"Ok, now that you've had your moment in the limelight, don't you think we need to get back to work?" Bogg asked. "You know we've got an assignment…no, take that back…two assignments to complete and time's a wastin'. So come on, let's see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into."

"If it's ok with you, I'd like to skip the getting into trouble part."

"Hey, that's the best part!" Bogg replied with some disappointment. "There's nothing like a good sword fight or being thrown in a dungeon."

"If you say so Bogg." Jeff replied.

"Yes, I say so. Now c'mon, let's get going."

The two cautiously strolled down the dark thoroughfare seeking clues to explain the reason for their presence in this time zone. After a while, Jeff stopped and began to rub the goose bumps on his arms.

"Now what's wrong?" Bogg asked.

"It's so cold…" Jeff replied with a quiver in his voice. "My arms and fingers are going numb!"

Bogg took off his leather jerkin and wrapped it around the young Voyager.

"Here, kid. It's not much, but maybe it will keep you warm." He said as he winked at him. "We wouldn't want you to catch cold."

"What about you?" Jeff asked.

"I've been in colder spots than this. Don't worry, I can handle it."

As the two continued their journey down the darkened street, Bogg began to ask Jeff about his knowledge of this time zone.

"Kid?"

"Yea Bogg."

"Do you know anything about the history here?" Bogg asked.

"Nope." Jeff replied as he quivered. "Nothing in particular."

"Thanks…you're a big help. Some guidebook you are." Bogg said as he smiled.

"I don't claim to know everything, Bogg!" Jeff exclaimed.

"I'm kidding…Just kidding…" Bogg said. "You're the best guidebook a Voyager could ever have. Just don't let it go to your head."

Jeff smiled a bit, content with his partner's assessment of the situation.

After a time, the two came upon a large wrought iron fence. After following it for several yards, it brought them to a grand and ornate entrance gate. The two stopped for a moment to get their bearings.

"I wonder who lives here?" Bogg asked curiously.

"Must be some rich person." Jeff said in awe. "Look at the size of that house! It's huge!"

"Wait a minute! There's a sign over there with a name on it." Bogg said as he strolled over to the massive stone gate post.

"What does it say?"

He proceeded to read the inscription. "It says "Hope Manor, Lord Francis Hope. Does that name ring a bell?"

Jeff remained silent for a moment, as he attempted to recall where he had heard that name before. Finally, the answer came to him.

"Yea, now I remember. Lord Francis Hope. He was one of the people who had possession of the Hope Diamond."

"The Hope Diamond?" Bogg echoed. "Never heard of it."

Jeff ran over and stood beside his partner.

"You've never heard of the Hope Diamond?" Jeff asked in a state of disbelief. "Where have you been, under a rock or something? This is the most famous jewel ever known."

"I must have missed that day of Voyager history class." Bogg replied nonchalantly. "Besides, that's what you're here for, to help fill in the gaps. Now, tell me more about this jewel."

"The Hope Diamond originally was a huge blue stone that occupied the eye of a big religious statue in India. It was stolen in…umm…1668 and sold to King Louis XIV of France. After he bought it, he had it cut into a smaller stone that eventually became part of his crown jewels."

"Just how big is this diamond?" Bogg asked.

"As I recall, it was some 69 carats."

"Wow, it weighed as much as 69 carrots?" Bogg said in amazement. "Ol' King Louis must have had a strong neck. His crown must have weighed a ton with that rock in it."

Jeff rolled his eyes. "Bogg, not carrots as in the vegetable, I'm talking about carats as in the weight of jewels. It was big, Bogg, but not quite that big."

"Oh…my misunderstanding…" Bogg said apologetically. "Please, do continue."

"Anyway... the jewel was bought and sold over the years until it was acquired by the Hope family and eventually became known as the Hope Diamond. Years later, Lord Francis Hope inherited it and eventually was forced to sell it to pay off his debts."

"Where's it located now?" Bogg asked.

"In the Smithsonian…where..."

At that moment, the sounds of shattering glass and shouting could be heard coming from the mansion. This was followed by a loud report of a gun.

"Shhh, kid!!! Listen!" Bogg urged.

The shouting continued. "STOP THIEF! STOP OR I'LL SHOOT!!!"

Suddenly, Bogg looked up and noticed a man dressed in dark clothing running away from the mansion.

"Jeff, stay here! It sounds like someone needs help and I'm going in."

"Bogg, whatever you do, be careful!" Jeff exclaimed with concern.

Bogg quickly opened the gate and darted across the yard. Upon seeing the thief, he stopped for a moment and yelled out to get his attention.

"Hey you… you in the dark coat! Come back here! What's the big hurry?"

The thief stopped in his tracks for a moment and glanced at the Voyager before he ran off in the opposite direction.

"Oh no you don't." Bogg mumbled as he sprinted after him. He continued to chase the thief across the front lawn and through the neatly trimmed hedgerows. Being only a few feet behind the thief, Bogg quickly leaped forward and attempted to put him in a head lock and throw him to the ground. At this point, the thief began to struggle violently and after a time, eventually broke free of his captor. Without warning, he suddenly turned and threw a punch at Bogg. In retaliation, Bogg landed a fist to his stomach, doubling him over in agony. A slugfest ensued next. Bogg and the thief began swapping punches, blow for blow until Bogg finally landed one squarely on the thief's jaw. With this, the thief fell to the ground. Dazed but not yet subdued, the thief managed to get back to his feet and again took another swing at Bogg, this time landing one to his chin. Stunned by the blow, Bogg fell to the ground almost unconscious. The thief, seeing his adversary had been neutralized took this opportunity to make a hasty get away. He quickly ran across the lawn and disappeared into the darkness.

While Jeff waited patiently for his partner's return, the thief came storming through the gate and ran down the street. Realizing Bogg was no-where in sight, Jeff cautiously crept through the gate, calling out for him.

"Bogg!!! Where are you Bogg?" Jeff whispered loudly.

Bogg still dazed from his 'bout with the thief, responded.

"Uhhh….oooohhhh…Kid… I'm over here."

Jeff immediately ran over and kneeled on the ground beside his partner.

"Bogg, what happened? Are you ok?" Jeff exclaimed.

His partner slowly sat up and rubbed his swollen jaw.

"Kid, I'm ok, just a little beaten and bruised."

At that moment, Lord Francis, holding a lantern in one hand and a loaded pistol in the other, walked up and stood next to the two Voyagers.

"Hold it right there! Don't move or I'll shoot!" He exclaimed. "I want some answers and I want them right now! First and foremost, who are you and why did you steal my diamond?"

The two looked at each other somewhat bewildered not knowing exactly how to respond. Jeff rolled his eyes and whispered. "You wanted trouble…well…here it is! And this time we're up to our necks in it."

Bogg put on a sheepish grin and cautiously raised both his hands in the air as he attempted to explain.

"Sir. I'm Phineas Bogg and this is my partner Jeffrey Jones. I assure you, we did not steal your diamond or anything else for that matter."

"Ok, Mr. Bogg…" Lord Francis replied as he waived his pistol at the two. "If that's the case, then why are you here on the grounds of my estate?"

"Good question." Jeff whispered to his partner.

"Sir, both of us are unarmed. If you will put down your gun, I believe we can clear up this little misunderstanding to your satisfaction." Bogg said nervously stumbling on his words.

"Ok, but if you two hooligans try anything funny, I warn you, you'll end up with a good-sized hole in your stomach. " Lord Francis warned as he put away his gun.

"I'm listening…So explain yourselves and remember, no funny business!"

"Sir, the kid and I are travelers of sorts. We were walking down the street, looking for a place to stay for the night, when we heard the sounds of glass shattering and gunshots coming from your home. I thought someone was in trouble, so I thought I'd try and lend a hand. As I opened the gate and ran inside, I saw a man dressed in dark clothing running across the property. I attempted to apprehend him, but as you see, he got the best of me and escaped. Jeff here came on the property to find out what happened to me. It was at that point you found us both here."

"I guess your story IS plausible." Lord Francis said, somewhat skeptically. "That man you saw running across the property broke into my home earlier and stole a rare and valuable jewel that has been in my family for generations."

"This jewel…was it the Hope diamond?" Jeff asked.

"Yes. Curious you should call it by that name. Only a few people know of its existence and even fewer know of it by that name. How did you come to learn of this?"

"Well, sir…uh…I…uh", Jeff said as he stumbled on his words.

Sensing Jeff was now in a tight spot, Bogg decided to come to his rescue.

"What the kid is trying to say is we are both historians of a sort." Bogg said as he winked at Jeff. "There's not much that gets past us, historically speaking of course."

"I see. Well, gentlemen, even though the thief got away, I guess I should commend you both for your courageous efforts." Lord Frances extended his hand to the battered Voyager. "Here let me help you up."

"My name is Lord Francis Hope and this is my estate. I'm sorry for the rather unorthodox inquisition I just put you both through. Please let me make amends by extending to you the hospitality of my home."

Bogg shook Lord Francis' hand. "Thank you sir. We are both greatly appreciative of your generous offer."

"Come, gentlemen. Let us go inside and get out of this cold air."

The three made their way across the lawn to the front entrance of the mansion and went inside. Lord Francis escorted them through the main hallway down to the sitting room.

"Please, gentlemen. Do make yourselves comfortable by the fire."

The two Voyagers went into the room and seated themselves in front of the fireplace.

"Could I get the two of you some refreshments? Maybe a spot of tea and some biscuits?" He asked courteously.

"Thank you, sir. That would be great." Bogg replied.

"Lord Francis left the room to see to the refreshments. While he was away, the two Voyagers discussed the situation.

"Bogg, we have to find that diamond. Otherwise, there could be even more problems with history."

"How so, kid? After all, isn't it just gonna eventually end up in a museum?"

"No, Bogg. It will be many years before it arrives at the Smithsonian. Before that, the diamond will pass through the hands of several important people. Also, it will be cut one more time before it reaches its final destination."

"So in other words, we must find this thief." Bogg said.

'Yea,"

"Looks like some investigation is again in order."

"Yep, I'd say it's time for Holmes and Watson to start investigating." Jeff said with enthusiasm

"Oh…no! It's just Holmes this time. Watson won't be coming along on this one."

"But Bogg!" Jeff argued.

"No buts. We're dealing with a criminal here. It's just too dangerous for you…"

At that moment, Lord Francis returned with a tray of tea and biscuits and placed it on the table in front of them.

"Here we are, a little bit of light refreshment before bed. I trust the two of you like strawberry jam, since that's all I had left in the kitchen."

"Strawberry is fine, sir." Bogg replied as he poured a cup of tea for him and his partner.

Lord Francis sat down across from the two and poured a cup of tea for himself. He leisurely sat back in his chair and took a sip of it.

"Lord Francis, sir, I have a proposition for you." Bogg said with a little bit of panache.

"What's that, Mr. Bogg?"

"Why don't we help you recover your stolen jewel? It's the least we can do to repay you for your generous hospitality."

Jeff's ears perked up and he began to smile upon hearing his partner's utterance of the word 'we'.

"Help me? Why on Earth would you want to put yourselves in such great harm to help me?" Lord Francis asked.

"Let's just say, we are donating our services to a good cause." Bogg replied as he skated sideways around the answer.

"Do you have a plan, Mr. Bogg?"

"No, not just yet, but that shouldn't be a problem. But we do need information…"

"That is something we don't have much of at the moment, Mr. Bogg."

"We need to find out who is at the bottom of this. Can you think of anyone who would have a reason to steal this jewel?" Bogg asked.

Lord Francis thought for a moment, before responding. "No, not that I'm aware of."

Quickly, Jeff jumped into the conversation. "Do you have any enemies?" He asked.

"No, son. I'm pretty much a hermit. I don't have any enemies, just a few creditors I'm indebted to."

"Would any of them have anything to gain by stealing your jewel?" Jeff asked.

"Well, yes." Lord Francis said somewhat shamefully as he let out a deep sigh. "As much as I hate to say it, I'm currently not in the best of financial conditions."

"Can you tell us about it?" Bogg asked sympathetically.

"It's like this gentlemen, I inherited this mansion several years ago after my father died. It had a lien on it, which I am trying to pay off. However, along with it, I inherited the rest of his debt as well. In order to get out from under this growing debt, I had contacted a local jeweler with a request to sell the jewel. I had spoken with him today and he informed me he had a buyer for it, at the right price. A meeting was to take place on Friday to finalize the sale. But now, it's gone. What am I to do?"

"Sir, please. Don't worry. We will get to the bottom of this and return your jewel to you, in time for Friday's meeting." Bogg reassured.

"Thank you Mr. Bogg…thank you Jeff. I sincerely hope you do."

Suddenly, the clock on the wall began to chime. Bogg looked up and saw it was now 11 pm.

"It's getting late and I believe the two of us should turn in for the night."

"Oh, look at the time." Lord Francis replied as he put his cup down on the table. "Maybe we all should take your advice and turn in for the evening. Come, gentlemen, let me show you to your room."

"Can we help you clean up here?" Jeff asked.

"No, but thank you for the offer. I'll see to it later, after I show you upstairs."

The two Voyagers followed Lord Francis as he left the sitting room and made his way down the long hallway to a grand staircase. Slowly the three climbed the stairs to the upper level. Lord Francis then escorted his guests to one of the many rooms on the front of the mansion.

"Here are your accommodations." Lord Francis announced as he opened the door to the room. "It's not much, but it's comfortable."

Bogg and Jeff, expecting something quite plain according to the rather bland description of the room by their host, peeked inside. Much to their surprise, the room looked much like the Royal suite at Buckingham Palace.

"Please, make yourselves at home. Breakfast is as 7:00 am. If you need anything else, my room is two doors down on the left."

Jeff suddenly thought of something that Lord Francis had forgotten to mention.

"Sir, excuse me, but what about the…" Jeff asked before he was interrupted.

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot…the most important thing… The water closet is just across the hallway if the need arises." Lord Francis said with a smile. "For now gentlemen, I bid good night to you both.

Lord Francis exited the room and quietly closed the door behind him. Jeff, sporting a confused look, turned to his partner.

"Bogg?"

"Yea kid."

"How…? How did he know...?"

"How did he know what?" Bogg asked curiously.

"How did he know I was about to ask where the bathroom was?" Jeff asked.

"Well, he probably noticed the very big clue you were giving him." Bogg said as he chuckled. "It was…quite plain you see."

"What clue are you talking about?"

"Geeze…Jeff, you were standing there with your legs crossed. It looked like you were about to pop."

"Oh.... Was it THAT obvious?" Jeff asked with some color now in his cheeks.

"Yea, kid, it WAS that obvious."

"Well, now that I know where it is…I'll be right back." Jeff said as he quickly darted out the door.

"I'll be here. I'm not going anywhere." Bogg said with a grin.