Page 30 of Across Space and Time

“Did he hit Lady Jardin?” Hugh asked.

“No,” Mrs. Pitman said, shaking her head gravely. “Not with his fists. But his words, certainly. To be honest, I don’t think she’s all that upset that he’s gone. I never did like the way he treated her ladyship either.”

Hugh nodded and rose to his feet. “I have taken up enough of your time. Thank you very much, ma’am.” He patted the pocket where her folded paper lay. “I shall continue my investigation. My apologies again on your loss.”

Once out of the house and inside the hackney, Hugh pulled out the folded piece of paper. Elysium Bakery and Emporium, it read, with an address on Fleet Street. Hugh glanced out the window. It was getting dark now; most bakeries closed around sundown, as the bakers were often up quite early in the morning to prepare the daily wares. He figured he might have better luck going to the bakery tomorrow. He returned to The Yard to write up some notes before he went out on his patrol in the dark, making sure he had both his lantern and his truncheon at the ready. Jack had said there was at least one more of these creatures running around the streets. As much as he didn’t want to encounter another of these monstrous beings or find any more corpses, he also wanted to find out what was causing these strange occurrences. And hopefully live through it.

Jack

Jack was surprisingly on edge with Hugh gone. Hugh had locked the apartment door, with Jack’s reassurances that he could easily get in and out via the bedroom window. As if something as simple as a locked door could keep Spring-Heeled Jack in, or out! But he also understood Hugh’s trepidation about him being out when people could still easily spot him.

He was curious what was causing this sudden appearance of monstrosities. It had to be the reason that he was here, why the universe had suddenly summoned him to his soulmate. And Hugh had a good heart. He had seen that the moment he first observed him talking to witnesses and his fellow officers after Christopher’s murder. And their first shared kisses and caresses had been divine.

He impatiently waited for the sun to go down; the final sliver of sunlight had just vanished over the horizon when he threw open the bedroom window to leap onto the rooftop of the nearby building. To his credit, he did try to be as quiet and stealthy as possible. He wanted Hugh to be proud of his sneaking abilities, but even more so, he wanted to make sure that Hugh was safe.

True to his word, Jack kept an eye out for options to hide his horns. Many of the ladies wore large hats, with bright colors, feathers, ribbons, and other fancy things attached to them. Jack thought he would look rather fetching in a large, plumed hat, but unfortunately, the style for men was much less ostentatious. He observed several men on the streets, wearing various types of hats upon their heads, before deciding the tall ones would likely serve his purpose. He had overheard someone call it a ‘top hat,’ which seemed rather silly. Of course, a hat went on top.

He found a shop that had a display of wooden heads out front with a variety of hats. He picked up one of the top hats and slid it carefully over his horns. There was a little silver mirror there, and he picked it up to admire himself. Satan’s bonnet, he looked rather dashing! The brim of the top hat shaded his bonfire eyes a little; he might even be able to pass for human at a glance. Hugh would be so proud!

Jack was no thief, of course. He took a handful of coins from his pocket. He had no idea what the currency of his current location looked like, so he just dropped all of them next to the empty wooden head before taking to the rooftops again. An actual gentleman would walk on the streets, but Jack was too impatient to find Hugh and make sure he was safe, and using the roofs was much faster. He could move quite quickly when he wanted to, both running and jumping, so he made quick work of the distance between Hugh’s home and Scotland Yard.

It only took him a few minutes to find Hugh on patrol. The young man looked so handsome in his police uniform. Jack admired him from the roof for a moment before he slid almost silently down a pipe attached to the building, landing on the ledge of a second-floor window just above Hugh’s head.

“No murder tonight?” he asked, gazing down at Hugh from the window ledge.

Hugh looked up, and the smile that crossed his face at seeing him was the most beautiful thing Jack had ever seen. “So far, so good. I like the hat.”

“I just picked it up,” Jack replied, hopping down to land next to him. He touched the brim of the hat the way he had seen other men do. “Do I pass for a gentleman? Or am I still a scoundrel?”

Hugh chuckled. “Keep your cape around you while we’re out, and you should look respectable enough. We’ll have to find you something to cover your chest.”

“I thought you liked it,” Jack said with a playful grin at Hugh.

Hugh’s cheeks went pink; he really was so easily flustered by Jack’s flirting. “I do,” he said softly. “But if you want to pass for human, you won’t want to attract attention.”

Jack rolled his eyes and gave a playful yawn. “You are the one who wants me to pass for human, my dear Hugh. I am perfectly happy to be Spring-Heeled Jack.”

“Point taken,” Hugh said. They drifted over to the shadow of the building, and Hugh recounted his conversation with Dr. Ledbetter and the strange appearance of the body.

The details about the viscount’s changed appearance from the monstrous creature back to his human form was rather troubling, Jack thought. “I suppose that whatever is causing the transformation may be begun and ended at will. Or perhaps it only can be maintained while the person is alive. That does, of course, present quite an interesting problem.”

Hugh nodded in slight frustration. “Because it could be anyone, and we may not know who it is before it’s too late.”

“Precisely,” Jack said.

“There’s no indications that you’re aware of that differentiate these monsters from other people?”

“Such as?” Jack asked curiously.

Hugh shrugged. “I don’t know. An aura? A smell?”

“Good heavens, Hugh, I am not a bloodhound,” Jack replied with a good-natured roll of his eyes. “No, I’m afraid there is nothing distinct about these creatures compared to any other humans.”

“Oh! There was also something found on the victim’s body, inside the chest cavity,” Hugh said. “A crumpled piece of gold paper, like it had fallen as the killer devoured the victim.”

“Gold paper?” Jack asked thoughtfully.

Hugh nodded. “I may have a lead on that too.” He told Jack about his conversation with Mrs. Pitman regarding the viscount’s final meal and leaving out the door with a gold paper-wrapped parcel.

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