Catching Mr Ripper

September 8th Morning

Elizabeth had awoken at the sound of her ringing telephone, the constable on the other end informing her that another body had been found. She arrived at the scene at 6:30 am, the other constables and Edmund, awaiting her arrival.
"What have we here?" Elizabeth directed at Edmund.
"A young woman, she was found just before 6:00am" Elizabeth knelt beside the body and began examining it.
"She appears to have sustained bruising to her chest and eye, it looks a few days old. Despite the massive injuries to her neck and torso, there isn't a lot of blood loss from the body. Her tongue was left sticking out of her head, which is swollen, this means that she was strangled first. There's also a jagged wound around her neck and of course the obvious fact that her intestines have been thrown over her shoulders. That was done with a jagged weapon"
"Did she die in pain?" Edmund asked.
"Hard to tell but I think she did" Elizabeth frowned up at him.
"Is there anything else?" He asked crouching next to her.
"I won't know anything else until I have her at the morgue"
"Very well" Edmund rose to his feet, offering her his hand, which she gladly took. Edmund walked her back to her carriage, giving her footman strict instructions to take her straight to the morgue.

Elizabeth stood over the covered body. Thomas, with William's help had stripped the body and washed her. Edmund had ordered that no one was to touch the corpse before Elizabeth had completed her post mortem, which was done swiftly and now she was waiting for Edmund to arrive.
"I'm sorry. I don't believe in life after death but I'm going to talk to you anyway. Even the dead need a kind voice even if they can't hear it" Elizabeth spoke to the body, stroking her head. She didn't know who she was comforting, the body, or herself.
"Suffering is the worst part of life. I'd say that you've suffered more than most. But how lucky you are, to no longer feel the pain of this world" Elizabeth spoke softly.
"You don't believe that do you?" Edmund's voice startled her, sending Elizabeth clutching for her chest.
"God Edmund, don't creep up on me like that" Elizabeth scolded him.
"Forgive me" he smiled.
"What can I help you with?"
"I came to see if you had finished the post mortem, which you clearly have" he motioned towards Elizabeth and the body.
"Yes, I have. I like to talk to them" Elizabeth turned to face the body "It helps me. Cutting them open feels so impersonal" she admitted.
"That sounds perfectly reasonable to me" he smiled, joining Elizabeth at the table, he looked down at the body "Hello Annie" he said, his hand going her head, his fingers just grazing Elizabeth's. Her breath caught in her throat as their eyes meeting over the body. Edmund flashed her his signature smirk that always made her heart skip multiple beats. The clearing of a throat behind them, broke into the little world they had created.
"Sorry to interrupt" Commissioner Warren entered the room. Elizabeth cleared her throat and moved her hand from Edmund's.
"I was just about to tell Edmund what I had found, but he amusing me" Elizabeth smiled at him one last time before lifting back the sheet that covered Annie's body.
"Her stomach. Was anything removed?" Edmund asked pointing towards her large cut along her stomach.
"Yes. Part of her uterus and bladder have been taken" she explained "By the look of her lungs she has also been suffering from a long standing lung disease. And she definitely wasn't sober when she was murdered" Elizabeth explained, holding up the dish containing Annie's lungs.
"What about time of death?" The commissioner asked.
"At or before 4:30am from my calculations" She told them.
"How did no one see her sooner?" The commissioner asked.
"We need more patrols in Whitechapel if we want to catch him. It's not safe for any young lady to be out late at night" Edmund frowned and Elizabeth noticed the crease in his brow that was always there when he was thinking.
"I don't think that all women are in danger. I think he's targeting working women" Elizabeth added.
"What makes you think that?"
"These women aren't dressed for high society and Mary Nichols father said something about her being a working woman" she explained.
"That might be the case but still, all women need to be careful at night" Elizabeth could sense the commanding nature of his voice.
"Well I'll get more men on night patrols, we can't have another woman murdered" Commissioner Warren offered a small smile before he left the morgue.
"I don't want you out at night alone" Edmund commanded.
"I can handle myself Eddie and this man seems to only be killing working women anyway" she argued.
"Either way. I don't want to be worrying about you going out murderer hunting" he argued back. Elizabeth opened her mouth to argue back but she could see his concern for her in his eyes "Please. For me?" He pleaded.
"Alright. I won't go out at night alone" she promised.
"Thank you" he smiled, lightly squeezing her hand lightly across Annie's body before he left the morgue.
"At least I can go out with someone at night" she smirked to herself.