Chapter Seventeen: Edward West Part Two

July 1st, 1879

London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Marie's heart was thundering in her ears as she peeled off the gloves and

showed Albert her hands.

She heard him stifle a noise of surprise as he saw her hands for the first time. The crooked fingers, the swollen knuckles, the scars around her wrists. His fingers stilled from where they were rubbing the burn cream on her forearm, his gaze locked on her hands.

Then, gently, ever so gently, he reached down and cradled her hands in his. They were still a bit slimy from the burn cream, but he held her hands so softly and calmly that she felt tears well up in her eyes. He smoothed his thumb over her swollen knuckles and smiled at her. He smiled that smile that made her feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, made her belly do flips, and butterflies flutter in her veins.

"It looks like there are no burns on your hands. Thank you, Marie. For trusting me to take a look." He said softly, and her tears flowed over and down her cheeks. Albert looked worried for a moment before that comforting smile returned, and he raised a hand to cup the side of her face, wiping the tears away with his thumb. The tears kept flowing as Marie realized that he didn't care what her hands looked like. He just cared that she was okay.

She hiccuped as the tears didn't stop and couldn't help but lean into his touch, bringing her broken hand to feel his unblemished one against her cheek. She touched his hand hesitantly, slowly, afraid he was going to turn on her and lash out. But he didn't. Albert would never judge her. She knew that now.

There was a knock at the bathroom door, and Albert and Marie jumped apart. She hurriedly jumped up, grabbed the robe that was hanging on the back of the door, and wrapped it around herself. Albert handed her her gloves before opening the door.

It was William and Louis, both looking somewhat concerned once they saw the burns on Marie's face. She fiddled with her gloves and kept her eyes turned to the floor.

"I presume the meeting didn't go as planned?" William asked, and Marie shook her head.

"No, the wife got in the way and splashed coffee on me. The police are looking for her now." She explained, and William nodded, drawing one of his hands out of his pockets and handing her a slip of paper.

"How about we deal with her ourselves?" He asked, and Marie blinked; deal with her themselves? As in killing her outright? She wasn't sure if she could even do that. All her killings had been from poison, not a gun or knife.

However, she nodded her head.

"I would like to help Mr. West if possible." She said, and William nodded once,

"It's settled then. Get ready soon. We leave at dusk."

It was dark out by the time they arrived at the West's household. They had abandoned the carriage about a block back, leaving it with Fred and Moran while the rest of the group snuck to the house. Everyone was dressed in all black.

Marie bit her tongue to keep from speaking her concerns about the entire operation. While she was grateful she had help with dealing with Mrs. West, she was still unsure about the whole thing. Would she be forced to kill her with a knife or gun? She had a special poison concealed in her pocket in case she couldn't use any other tools.

There was a hand at her back, and she looked to see Albert next to her, giving that gentle smile that helped calm her down.

"Relax, you'll do fine." He whispered as they approached the door.

The plan was simple. They would get inside the house, kill Mrs. West, and get out. Simple enough, right? Nothing could possibly go wrong.

The group approached the house's front door, and Marie heard yelling. A woman yelling. Peeking in a window, she saw Mrs. West towering over Edward, who was hunched in a chair at the dining table, head in his hands. Mrs. West was waving her arms as she screamed at her husband.

William raised a fist and pounded on the front door. The yelling stopped. A moment later, the door opened, and Mrs. West stood at the door. Her face was screwed up in a scowl as if unhappy they interrupted her screaming session.

"Can I help you?" She snapped, and then her eyes caught on Marie. They locked on the burns of her face and then her hazel eyes. She blanched, the color draining from her face, and she backed up a step.

"Wh-what are you doing here?! How did you find me?!" She shrieked as Marie and the Moriarty's moved indoors and backed the woman into the house. Luckily they were in the commoner's part of London, where no one lived close together due to farmlands. So no one would be around to hear the screaming.

"It wasn't hard, not with the resources we have available," William said as he grabbed Mrs. West's arm and forced her into a seat across from her husband. He looked up from his hands and spotted the group. Tears had been streaming down his cheeks, dripping down his chin and onto his trousers. Hope began to replace the despair in his eyes as Marie crouched next to him and handed him her handkerchief for his tears.

"Wh-what resources?" Mrs. West stammered as Louis and Albert took their spots behind her. Everything was going according to plan so far. William stood directly to her right and placed his hands on the table,

"The resources as the Lord of Crimes, of course. We cull any corruption we see in this society. That includes you, Mrs. West." He said softly, leaning down so he could look her in the face with those intimidating red eyes of his. Marie couldn't help but shiver at the cold tone in his voice.

William looked to Marie and gestured for Marie to stand from her place at Edward's side.

"It's time, Marie." He said softly and reached into the fabric of his cloak to pull out a wicked-sharp knife, handing it to her handle first. She stood hesitantly and grasped the knife with shaking hands. She stared at her reflection in the blade. Could she really do this? Murder someone in such a barbaric way? The vial in her pocket weighed heavy on her shoulders, and she made up her mind.

"No." She whispered, and William arched an eyebrow as their eyes clashed. Albert and Louis shifted in place, looking rather uncomfortable with the staredown.

"No? Weren't you planning on killing her anyway? Are you having second thoughts?" He asked, and she shook her head,

"No. But I'm not killing her your way. It's unnecessarily brutal and painful." She said, and Mrs. West squeaked as Marie drove the knife through the table with a downward swing.

Edward stood from his spot at the dining table, putting a hand on Marie's arm,

"You don't—" He steeled himself and pressed on, "You don't have to kill her. I'm sorry I put you in such a position." He whispered, and Marie shook her head, baring her teeth in a snarl as she fought with herself.

"No. I promised I'd help. Nessie sent you to me, and I intend to fulfill my promise. I'm just not going to kill her the way the Lord of Crimes wants me to." She said, carefully omitting the Moriarty's names, so Edward didn't know who he was dealing with.

Marie reached into her pocket and pulled out the vial. It was a blue, glass vial with a dark, murky liquid sloshing around inside. She set it down on the table and stared pointedly at William.

"I'm doing things my way. They're less messy and more peaceful anyway." She said, and Mrs. West finally piped up since she had been forced to sit down.

"Kill me?! I ought to call the police on you! Edward! Go find a policeman!" She barked, but Edward didn't move.

William picked up the vial and studied its contents. He looked at her with those piercing eyes, and she had to refrain from flinching. She didn't like this side of William, the side that was the Lord of Crimes. She much preferred the side she would banter and argue with on a daily basis. The kind William that hadn't judged her for her broken hands. The William that was like Albert.

Hazel eyes stared down red, both participants of the staring contest's faces screwed into scowls. After that, it was silent save for Mrs. West's demands. Louis promptly shoved a gloved hand over her mouth to muffle her shouts. Not that anyone could hear them, but it never hurt to be careful.

Eventually, however, William relented and sighed, setting the vial down on the table with closed eyes.

"Fine, we do it your way." He said, and Marie's shoulders sagged in relief. She wouldn't be forced to bloody her hands with William's schemes any more than she had to. She plucked the vial from the table and unstoppered it, cringing as the foul-smelling concoction stank up the room. William looked unaffected whilst Louis and Albert both hid gags. Edward simply watched on as the group gathered to murder his wife.

Marie approached a struggling Mrs. West, and Louis uncovered her mouth, squeezing her jaw so it was forced to open. Albert helped by holding her shoulders so she couldn't flail about. Marie poured the liquid into Mrs. West's mouth. She sputtered and gagged but was ultimately forced to swallow to save herself from choking in it.

The tincture worked almost immediately. Mrs. West's movements became slow and sluggish, and slowly, she sagged into her chair, eyes closing and breath slowing. She looked to all the world like she was asleep. Edward approached from behind Marie.

"I—Is she dead?" He asked softly, and Marie shook her head,

"Just sleeping for now. The poison will take about half an hour to fully kill her." She explained, and Edward nodded, twisting his hands together over and over again.

Albert let go of Mrs. West and gestured for the door,

"Shall we leave then?" He asked, and Marie nodded, adjusting her gloves and stoppering up the vial, slipping it back into her pocket before following the Moriarty's out of the house and back into the night air, leaving behind Edward and the corpse of his wife behind.