Finding Jack: 1888 in Whitechapel

3. Knock knock

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Joey woke suddenly at the sound of pounding on his door. After a couple of minutes of orientating himself, he walked downstairs to answer the door. There was no source of light, so this was a difficult task, but he managed. Assuming it was the usual late-night knockings of the drunks, he cautiously opened the door and looked around...only to find no trace of anything or anyone. All except for, of course, a box.

"Blimey!" He whispered under his breath after attempting to lift the box only to find it weighed more than he had expected. He managed to lift it onto the dining table and then returned to his quarters to sleep without taking much consideration to what could be in the box.

~~~

Joey walked into the police station, carrying the box. Upon reminding himself of its existence when he awoke from his slumber in the morning, he realised that it could be somewhat related to the investigation and so decided to move it as quickly as possible.

He slammed it onto the table. "Is that ours?" Kayla asked, turning to see the object. She was the only one around; not even the Chief Inspector was snoozing in his office. But this was not unusual. Joey, today, was early, something that was not a common occurrence. He usually turned up precisely for the hours he was paid for to optimise his time. James, on the other hand, was often late and arrived after Joey. Whilst James had managed to rise the ranks of the police, he did seem rather fluid with his professionalism and would often make questionable decisions which made Joey doubt him as a superior. However, he was one heck of a detective.

Rachel, until recently, had chilled with Kayla early. Joey had always looked up to Rachel's detective work; she always seemed very professional and organised, memorising many details that others looked over. However, she hated the chief with a passion and this sometimes got in the way of her reasoning. But, to an extent, so did everyone.

But as of late, her focus had slightly shifted, Joey had noticed. It was no secret now that Rachel and Brandon were in some sort of a relationship after years of bonding on the job. And over the past couple months, the two had been walking into the station only moments before the shift starts in the morning. Having known the pair for a long time, Joey was happy for the relationship the two had formed.

Alas, it was just Joey and Kayla in the station at this moment. "It arrived at my door last night," Joey answered, looking at the box with interest. Kayla sighed.

"It's probably nothing." She explained, "Weren't you telling me that you were expecting a vase from your Uncle?" Joey thought for a moment and then nodded. He had completely forgotten about his Uncle's vase and he immediately lost focus on the box.

"Have the photographs developed yet?" He asked, looking around for them.

"Mmhm!" Kayla handed them him and he studied over the disturbing images.

"He truly is a demon, this man." He sighed, planting them beside the box.

"We'll get him." Replied a voice as another officer entered the station. Unusually, it was James; the last time he turned up on time was sometime a couple of years ago. However, Joey thought little of it and greeted him with a smile. Upon seeing the package, James' eyes widened and he jogged towards it. "What's this, then?" He inspected, looking around the box.

"Well, we think it's a va-"

"There's a note!" James exclaimed, pulling a scrap of paper from its bottom. He read it quickly and then passed it to Joey.

'A gift from me to you, mister police' It read. Joey immediately knew that this was not the writing of his uncle and decided to rip open the box.

"Please be a vase..." Joey chanted as his suspicions grew. "God blimey!" He shouted as he saw the contents. He took a step back and felt his stomach turn. He tried to warn the others, but it was too late.

"Christ." James gasped as he saw the decapitated head of the Chief Inspector and began pacing the room.

"I'm assuming it's not a vase then...?" Kayla questioned and both of the men shook their heads violently. One quick peek was enough to make her turn white. "Could it be?"

"The Chief is no more." Joey continued, his hand positioned over his mouth. "I only know of one person capable of this kind of a twisted 'gift'."

"You think it's Jack!?" James queried, shock consuming his face. Joey nodded. "But he kills women! How could he possibly be responsible?"

"Well, whoever did it did us all a favour." Kayla added in, causing both to look at her with suspicion. "Wh- No of course I didn't do it! I'm just saying that he was a waste of space that we all hated!" She defended, sitting down.

James turned to Joey. "She has a point; there are lots of people who hate the Chief. Rachel especially." He chuckled for a moment. "Perhaps it isn't so bad..." Before Joey could shoot back, his attention was altered.

"What's up?" Intruded Brandon as he and Rachel walked in. "What's in the box?"

"The Chief's head." Joey bluntly answered, irritated by James' comment. "We believe Jack killed him."

"Wh- He's-" Rachel stuttered, rushing to view the evidence. She gasped at the sight and frowned. "Not even he deserved this."

"Are you sure?" James asked, standing in front of her, "I thought you said that you would kill him."

"I-" Rachel stuttered once more, her eyes widening. James didn't really suspect her, did he? Joey was stuck in thought, thinking back to the days leading up to this incident. Surely Rachel was not capable of the murder of another human being. Then James started laughing.

"Do you really think that I thought that you did this?" He chuckled. Brandon placed on a nervous smile. "Of course you didn't! We're the good guys, remember." Everyone nodded around the room and there was a sudden relief in tension.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

Everybody turned to the door and Joey rushed to open it. "HEY!" He called out, spotting someone running away.

"Is that him...?" Kayla asked, beginning to smile.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE, WE GOTTA CATCH THIS CREEP!" James called and they all rushed out. But then, before they could make a significant pursuit, the man fell to his knees.

"Missed me?" Ellie asked, holding her baton and grabbing the man by the arms. Joey smiled; this could be it...