The Hunt for Jack the Ripper (The Phantomhive Diaries #1)

43. Frederick Abberline

The sun slowly sunk behind the tall brick buildings of London as Abberline made his way back to the crime scene where Martha Tabram's corpse was discovered. Since daylight was vanishing, Abberline carried a lit lantern in his hand to guide him through the darkened streets of Whitechapel. Abberline knew that what he was doing went against Randall's orders and it could bring him a great amount of trouble if it was known that he left Scotland Yard's headquarters informing no one of his parting. But he also knew that if he didn't have enough compassion or desire to bring justice to a mother of two adolescent boys, no one would.

Upon arrival, however, disappointment filled Abberline. The stairwell and the ground where Martha's body was found had been washed away. Bloody hell. Abberline pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. It was clear why the crime scene had been scrubbed away. This was a public stairwell. Anyone coming across it would be outraged and abhorred at such a grotesque scene. Especially with some of Martha's organs having been scattered across the floor. However, this course of action done by civilians would only make Abberline's job even more difficult.

With a cautious and vigilant eye, Abberline looked around to see if anything had been left behind in the crime scene for him to investigate. Any weapon or accessory that the killer might have left behind before abandoning the butchered body. Killers usually leave something behind, even unintentionally. A bullet. A broken piece of a blade. A torn fabric. Or even a button from the killer's coat. Something that could be useful as a clue to the mystery, to discover who would be so cold-hearted enough to commit such an atrocity.

To his dismay, there wasn't much for Abberline to find. Not that he expected to find anything useful. There was nothing here. Scotland Yard had already collected the body and a few blood samples. Everything else had been cleansed away. The stairs were just a reminder that a murder happened here. But in Abberline's mind, it was his solemn duty as an inspector to turn every stone and look through every nook and cranny. After all, he did promise those boys he'd find the monster who took their mother away. Offering them an ounce of peace was the least he could do for them.

After a careful search and not having found anything, Abberline pondered at the possibility that Spring-heeled Jack might, indeed, exist. They were usually old wives tales to scare young girls from wandering the streets alone at night. And sometimes to scare children from sneaking out of their homes. But perhaps Mary Kelly and Godfrey's testament might not be as ludicrous as he thought. After all, spirits and demons couldn't leave anything behind. Could they?

Abberline sighed. Honestly, get it together, Abberline. What are you thinking? Believing in such nonsense. He was always a man of logic. Despite having been raised as a religious person, he was never one to believe in superstitions. If Mary Kelly and Godfrey's assumptions were correct, there would have been a much larger massacre than what was found. Body parts would have been scattered everywhere. Claw marks would have been found marked on her flesh, as described in the urban legend. There needed to be a more understandable explanation than a demon following Martha from the rooftop. If Mary Kelly saw someone on the rooftop outside of White Swan that night, it might have merely been the killer himself who sought Martha as an easy prey to follow because she was intoxicated.

On the other hand, something about the case wasn't making sense. That night, Martha Tabram was not alone when she exited the pub. Anne Connelly (also known as Pearly Poll) also stepped out that night. And two soldiers accompanied both. And they both went their separate ways with said company. Why did the killer choose to go after Martha and not Pearly Poll? Better question. Why would the killer attack Martha if he (or she) saw that she had a partner with her? Killers usually attacked their victims when they were alone. And indeed, Martha did proceed to walk home alone after she lost her sanity and stuck at the private. And yet, how would he have known she would continue on her own? The killer wouldn't know unless they were clairvoyant. Or perhaps...

The killer targeted Martha from the beginning.

Just as Abberline headed back to the staircase, to return to Scotland Yard, he spotted something quite peculiar. The light of his lantern caught a red glimmer at the bottom of the stairwell, right at the edge. Something small, thin and red. Where it would be very difficult for anyone to find for how obscured it was.

Kneeling down with caution, Abberline reached for the mysterious object that captured his curiosity.

In his gloves fingers, he held a long strand of red hair. The sight of this caused Abberline to frown in confusion.

"What is this?" he asked himself, though the answer was apparent.

Abberline knew that it was hair he held in his grasp. Yet, he had never seen such a colour like this before. It wasn't an orange ginger like Mary Kelly's hair. Nor did it look auburn. It was a deep shade of red. Crimson, to be specific. And it was not because of Martha's blood. This color was genuine. But who did it belong to? Abberline was definitely intrigued. It couldn't be Martha's hair; hers was brown. And none of the witnesses that were interrogated by Scotland Yard had this hair colour. Not Pearly Poll. Not Martha's boys. Not the ex-spouse. Nor did it belong to Mary Kelly. Abberline didn't want to make assumptions but for him, the answer was evident.

The hair belonged to Martha Tabram's killer.