“And will be welcomed by all of London,” Lestrade added.
But this was not to be.
CLOSURE
Peter Willoughby was given a grand funeral, with many notables, including the Duke of Cumberland, who represented the Crown, in attendance. Scholars from medical academia eulogized the man with high praise for his many contributions to the field of pathology. Mention was made that he had edited a number of textbooks and monographs which were considered to be gold standards in his specialty. Although the cause of his death was not spoken of, one eulogizer hinted at Willoughby’s courage in taking his life to spare his family watching him linger in such terrible agony. There were of course tears from the family, but none from Joanna or myself. I was present only because I had been named interim director of pathology at St. Bartholomew’s and it would have been unseemly for me not to attend. Joanna was good enough to accompany me in this most unpleasant task.
But there were developments of note which the reader should be made aware of. At Joanna’s insistence, the cellar of horrors was again searched for fingerprints, with particular attention paid to The Ripper’s mementos that hung on the wall, for they would have been placed up nearly thirty years ago when there was no fingerprint section at Scotland Yard and thus criminals never bothered to wear gloves. A single fingerprint belonging to Peter Willoughby was found on the outer surface of a mummified ovary, proving beyond a doubt that he was Jack the Ripper. In addition, Joanna performed an experiment in which she compared her bite mark, which was made into a waxlike material, to the one present on Willoughby’s forearm. The marks were identical, even including a slight notch on Joanna’s most anterior incisor. But none of these findings would ever be disclosed, for sadly there was never to be a trial. By Anglo-Saxon law, a dead man cannot be tried for any crime, no matter how vicious, for he would be denied the opportunity to defend himself. However, there are exceptions in cases of homicide, but only if the court is presented with evidence to exonerate the guilty or the defendant has submitted a declaration of guilt prior to his demise. Neither of these applied to Jack the Ripper. Accordingly, the records and files related to the mass murderer were to be permanently sealed and hidden from public eye. As Lestrade regrettably stated, it appeared that Peter Willoughby had escaped the hangman’s noose he so richly deserved. Nonetheless, we took some comfort in knowing that Jack the Ripper now lies beneath six feet of good English earth and that his reign of terror is forever ended.
And on a final, happier note, Maxwell Anderson has arranged for Pretty Penny to be under the care of a physician at St. Bartholomew’s who specializes in the treatment of patients who have been subjected to severe emotional trauma. It is said that Maxwell visits her often and that by all accounts she is convalescing well.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to Peter Wolverton, for being an editor par excellence, and to Scott Mendel, for being such an extraordinary agent. And a tip of the hat to Danielle Prielipp and Hector DeJean, my superb publicists, and to David Baldeosingh Rotstein, for his wonderful cover designs.
ALSO BY LEONARD GOLDBERG
The Art of Deception
The Disappearance of Alistair Ainsworth
A Study in Treason
The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes
Plague Ship
Patient One
The Cure
Fever Cell
Brainwaves
Fatal Care
Lethal Measures
Deadly Exposure
Deadly Harvest
Deadly Care
A Deadly Practice
Deadly Medicine
Transplant
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LEONARD GOLDBERG is the USA Today bestselling author of the Joanna Blalock medical thrillers. His novels have been translated into a dozen languages and were selections of the Book of the Month Club, French and Czech book clubs, and The Mystery Guild. They were featured as People’s “Page-Turner of the Week” and at the International Book Fair. After a long career affiliated with the UCLA Medical Center as a clinical professor of Medicine, he now lives on an island off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
1. Pretty Penny
2. The Hairdresser
3. The Whitechapel Playhouse
4. The Secret Autopsy
5. The Evil Monster
6. The Copper Earrings
7. The Doss-House
8. The Duke of York’s Theatre
9. Thaddeus Rudd
10. Alexander’s
11. The Gentleman Drifters
12. Annie Yates
13. The Main Suspects
14. The Omen
15. The Baker Street Irregulars
16. The Hanwell Asylum
17. The Copper Cuff Links
18. The Aroused Gentleman Drifter
19. The Threat
20. Maxwell Anderson
21. The Birthday Party
22. The Alibis
23. Fading Hope
24. The Scent
25. Johnny
26. Ruby
27. The Resurrection
28. The Trap
29. The Hiding Place
30. Jack the Ripper
Closure
Acknowledgments
Also by Leonard Goldberg
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of the St. Martin’s Publishing Group
THE ABDUCTION OF PRETTY PENNY. Copyright © 2021 by Leonard Goldberg. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotsetin
Cover illustration by Owen Richardson
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Goldberg, Leonard S., author.
Title: The abduction of Pretty Penny: a daughter of Sherlock Holmes mystery / Leonard Goldberg.
Description: First edition. | New York: Minotaur Books, 2021. | Series: The daughter of Sherlock Holmes mysteries; 5
Identifiers: LCCN 2020056394 | ISBN 9781250224224 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250224231 (ebook)
Subjects: GSAFD: Mystery fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3557.O35775 A63 2021 | DDC 813/.54—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020056394
e-ISBN 9781250224231
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: 2021
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