Page 51 of The Business of Blood
He paused in rebuttoning my blouse to cast me another look of disbelief. “You interrogated the Hammer and his Blade about these? Are you mad?”
“I didn’tinterrogatethem. I simply asked a few questions.”
His frown deepened to a scowl. “Let’s go back to the part where Jack the Rippercutyou in analley.”
“I’m not certain he was the Ripper,” I confessed. “I found out from Inspector Croft at Frank Sawyer’s autopsy this morning that Mr. Sawyer owed the Hammer a great deal of money. So, the Hammer and the Bladeclearlylied to me. They’re such obvious suspects.”
“For Mr. Sawyer’s murder, or for being the Ripper?” Aiden clarified.
“Both. But, the man in the alley claimed to be the Ripper, whispered it right in my ear.”
Aidan crossed himself. Cursed. Then repeated the gesture.
“There’s no need to worry.” I rushed to soothe his increasing distress. “None of the experts believe Mr. Sawyer’s murderer was the Ripper. But perhaps Mr. Sawyer’s murderer and my assailant are one and the same. You see, everything I mentioned to the man in the alley who claimed to be Jack the Ripper wound up inTheLondon Evening Examiner. An exposéwritten by a ournalist named Thaddeus Comstock.”
He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I recall that none of the inspectors at the scene believed Jack the Ripper truly responsible for Mr. Sawyer’s murder. Especially Inspector Croft.”
I made a vague gesture. “I wasn’t convinced one way or the other, but I see now the murder was all wrong. The Ripper always slashed throats first, and mutilated corpses after. He posed all the victims the same. Not to mention his tendency to take gruesome prizes. And they were all women, weren’t they?Prostitutes.” I whispered the word, as Jesus Christ was just over there, staring down at me from his cross.
“I wish you were never called to that scene, Fi. I’m just glad you’re all right.” He took my free hand in his, and we sat silently for a moment as he thoughtfully digested what I’d revealed.
After a pensive moment, I started, struck by an idea. “Do you remember, after Mary…died, the police suspected the Ripper might be some mad, sadistic journalist creating his own sensational headlines?”
Gasping, he gripped my arm. “That’s right. They even arrested a few newspapermen during the blitz, didn’t they?”
“I’ll have to ask Aberline if Comstock was among them.” I leapt to my feet.
“Fi, this is not irrefutable evidence. They arrested over eighty people that year, and were forced to let all of them go.”
“Sure, but it’s a place to start.” I was in the middle of dropping the turquoise beads back into my pocket when Aidan firmly dragged me back down to the seat.
“I donotwant you chasing this Comstock fellow on your own, Fi. It’s neither smart nor safe. What did the inspectors say about your attack? Could you not send them after Comstock?”
Puffing out both cheeks, I slumped guiltily back against the pillar. “I…didn’t tell them.”
“Why ever not? Have you gone all but mad?”
I stared at him long and hard. I wasn’t often afraid of the secrets damning my soul…but I didn’t want to fall from Aidan’s grace. Taking a deep breath, I adopted my most penitent look. “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned…”
“Oh, Lord, Fiona!” He put his head in his hands, scrubbing at his face.
“After Mary, I was hungry and destitute. I’d only just rescued Nola and had no true place for us to live and so…I did a favor for the Hammer.”
His hands dropped to hang between his knees as he glared at the tiles at our feet. “A…sexual favor?”
“No!”
“Thank God,” he breathed.
“But, maybe worse. And most definitely illegal.”
“Did you murder someone for him?” At this point, the shock and inflection had drained from his voice, turning it flat as day-old champagne.
“Of course, not. But should I bring the beads to Scotland Yard, Croft could use them as fuel for his crusade against the Hammer. And…my crimes might be discovered should he dig too deeply.”
Finally, Aiden turned to me. He bore the look of a disappointed father that I didn’t at all appreciate, but it was in no way my place to say so. “What’s the worst that could happen should you be found out? How serious was your crime?”
I was already in for a penny… Might as well spend the pound. “If my secrets are discovered, either the Hammer kills me for it, or…the Crown does.”
