Fear

19- New Haven

"Why?" Mira Miller asked.

"Too many coincidences."

"No, I meant why the ripper?"

"I have no idea."

"So if your right there will be another five?" Frankie asked before taking a mouthful of coffee; this was pretty unbelievable.

"I am right.  Maybe five or maybe if they started with Emma Smith they are going to do the full file. Then we are looking at nine."

"Nine?! What another nine?" She wiped her face with her hand.

"Yeah eight bodies and a torso."

The women looked at each other. All thinking that they really hoped Andersson was wrong.

Eric Mullens stepped out of the elevator and into the room. He could tell that something bad had happened. "What's going on?"

"Another victim." Mira said, "and Andersson's got a theory that none of us like- that this is a copycat, with a possible nine more victims."

"Shit. Got an ID yet?" Eric asked. While his brain processed the rest of the information. "Nine." He said before slumping to his chair and joining the others in an unsettling silence.

"Eight bodies and a torso." Stobbs added.

"So we're having coffee and cakes to make us all feel a little better." Miller stood up and  lifted an almond croissant from the box. Taking a bite before retaking her seat.

"Okay but what we have to remember is that we have all sorts of tools at our disposal that they didn't have in 1888."

"1888?" Mullens made a face.

"Oh yeah," Miller looked over at her partner. "Meant to say, she thinks it's a Jack the Ripper copycat."

Andersson caught the tone in Mira's words. "You don't have to accept the hypothesis but I would appreciate you giving it enough respect to consider it. The evidence is there. Anyway I was saying we have forensics, dna, cctv."

"Ah about that." Eric Mullens looked over, "bins are in a black spot. The team came in late last night we have Sharon leaving the building and walking towards that area then there is nothing."

"What about anyone coming in or out?"

"Nope. There is a small lane between the two blocks, which leads from other areas of the campus in, but it's all a black spot. There has been a camera reported as needing repair for about a month."

"And what about on the street. Well there are a few cars stopping on the street. Ubers most likely. The team are trying to see if they can enhance the imaging but you know yourself it's not like it is on the telly, we're not magically going to get a registration." He conceded as he smoothed his mustache.

"And there is no one on foot seen on the street or anything after the murder?"

"No it's like they literally just disappeared."

"That's impossible. I want to walk it to see where we are picked up on CCTV and not." Andersson thought about the Salem case and wondered briefly if the images had been tampered with. She ruled it out the university maybe but New Haven was a huge city compared to a small community like Danvers. "What about the phone; how'd they get on with that?"

"Yeah. They said they should have files over to us by lunchtime."

"It's likely CSI's are going to be all day processing the area. When's your man Harris going to be here?"

"About 1500 hours. Time he travels from Boston."

"So no autopsy preliminaries until the morning." Stobbs confirmed with so much happening around them there was a lot they were waiting on.