Autumn of Terror || h.s. au

Chapter 3: Where to Start?

           

"Ms. Eddowes's body was found less than an hour after Ms. Stride's. Apparently, she was found lying drunk on the street last night by a policeman, who took her into custody. She was at the police station until around one in the morning, when she was sober enough to be released. She was last seen alive half an hour after that by three men. They said that they saw her talking to a man, but they couldn't see him very well from how far they were. Only one of the witnesses had any sort of description, he said the man was wearing a distinct red scarf and a navy jacket," we listen to the policeman describe what happened as soon as we arrived to the scene.

Our carriage had taken us to the south-west corner of Mitre Square, where the whole area has been closed off by yellow police tape. We lift the tape and walk under it, going right up to the man who seems to be in charge. He's much older than us and has grey hair.

"Hello," I smile. "Who are you?"

The man turns to me. "Why, hello there, young lady. The name's Inspector Adam Griggs. I'm sorry, but this area isn't open to the public."

I sigh. "I'm a detective, Inspector. I believe that gives me access to the scene."

Inspector Griggs looks at me suspiciously. "You're a detective? Sweetheart, do you really expect me to believe that?"

"Don't talk to my wife like that," Harry warns.

"I've been sent here by Chief Inspector Tomlinson himself, Inspector," I reply, crossing my arms. "Unless you want to get on the Chief Inspector's bad side, I suggest you let us investigate."

His eyes widen, looking at the policeman who came with us. The policeman nods, and Griggs opens his mouth. "Oh, the Chief Inspector sent you? In that case, right this way."

I turn to Harry as Griggs leads us to the dead body. "See that? I only get taken seriously if a well-respected man says so."

Harry shakes his head. "That's complete bullshit. I can't wait to see how they react when they find out how incredibly clever you are."

I shyly smile. I don't understand how I ended up with such an amazing husband.

We reach the victim's dead body, which is covered by a cloth, similar to the one that covered Ms. Stride. "Remove the cloth," Griggs commands.

The nearby detective only removes the cloth enough so we can see her face and bare shoulders.

"She doesn't have any clothes on, does she?" I awkwardly ask. Everyone around me shakes their heads. "It's probably best if you leave that cloth on, then. I'd rather not look, and none of you should, either. It's degrading to her memory."

"Degrading to her memory?" A new voice speaks out. I turn around to see none other than Roth, who seems to have followed us.

I sigh, "What are you doing here, Weasel?"

"Mr. Abberline sent me," Weasel replies. "He said I'd be more useful here. And I'd prefer if you were to call me Detective Roth. So, what do we have here? Why haven't you taken the cloth off? Wouldn't you need to investigate the body?"

"It would feel wrong to investigate her in this state, she's naked! I'm sure she wouldn't have wanted to die in such an undignified way," I say.

"Does it matter? We need to investigate," Weasel says. "Besides, someone like her had little to no dignity anyways."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I angrily ask, turning to him.

"Well," he starts. "A prostitute can't possibly have much dignity to begin with. I mean, how much lower can someone get? This sort of life doesn't hold much value."