The Reaper's Touch

by Robert Southworth

  He crossed to the window and noticed that the shutter bolt had been left in the open position. He wondered if Alfie had heard the killers enter Slaughter Yard and took his chance to escape through the window. Alternatively, perhaps they had caught him before he could make his escape, either in the room or the street beyond. Had he been taken captive or his life brutally brought to an end? William suddenly felt rage. If Gossup had been allowed to carry out the boy’s protection, then he would still be safe. Fury was taking its hold of his mind and body, and he had no intention of allowing that pure animal-like anger to subside.

  ∞∞∞

  Out in the courtyard, the constables stood with Isaac and Faraday, discussing what had happened. The younger constables were physically shaken by the loss of their comrades, and were expressing their grief and shock.

  William’s eyes locked on the new inspector as he charged into the yard like an enraged bull elephant “Faraday!” he screamed. William’s fists were clenched, and he felt the heat of rage burning in his face.

  “Oh shit,” announced Gossup as William headed straight toward them. William was aware that Gossup had pulled Tom from his path just in time to avoid a collision.

  William saw at least four of the constables move to intercept him. The first constable was spun around on his feet as William’s fist connected with the man’s jaw. A second was lifted from the ground as William’s well-aimed boot caught him in the groin. But the last two men worked together to overcome William and succeeded in slowing his headlong charge towards Faraday.

  “I told you, but would you listen? You arrogant bastard!” William screamed at Faraday.

  “William, I did what I thought was right.”

  “The boy would have been safe with my men.”

  Faraday, clearly annoyed that William had discounted his men’s sacrifice pointed to the dead constables. “They died trying to protect the boy.”

  “Then they should have been better at their task. Did they fall asleep?”

  “You bastard.” The Inspector removed his jacket and then called to his men to release William. Their faces showed that they were only too happy to do so. William charged forward as soon as their restraining arms released him. Caution was swept aside by unchecked fury. However, such anger is rarely an advantage in battle as he rushed headlong into a strong right-handed jab from Faraday. It was not enough to send William crashing to the floor, but did bring his charge to an abrupt end. The blow, however, did little to calm William’s rage. He aimed a wild and poorly timed punch at Faraday. The Inspector simply danced away from danger and then countered with two blows of his own, the second of which sent William off-balance and he went sprawling across the floor. Some of the constables laughed at William, but Gossup was clearly not amused.

  “The next one of you peelers who so much as smirks, I will gut like a fish.” Gossup’s curved blade was waved in their directions as a clear threat.

  Jack took the opportunity to go to William’s side. His friend knelt down at his side and then pulled him close to whisper in his ear. “Listen to me. If you must fight, you do so to win. Stop trying to get your bloody head knocked off. You are embarrassing the lads.”

  He allowed Jack to help him to his feet, and then slowly removed his jacket. The red waistcoat, made from his old 66th dress uniform, was in strange contrast to the dreary surroundings of the Yard. However, it served as a reminder of the discipline required in battle. There was no further mindless charging in; William had calmed his wild rage to a seething anger. He began to move in a more controlled manner, carefully picking his opportunities to inflict damage on Faraday. It was not long before the Inspector was showing signs of discomfort as his opponent now moved with an intelligent speed. Faraday was powerfully built but he did not possess William’s skill or speed. As he tired, the blows struck with devastating frequency. William scored hit after hit with consummate ease. Then just as it seemed Faraday would fall, William stopped and walked back to his jacket.

  “I am not beaten yet.” The Inspector spat a mixture of blood and spittle onto the courtyard floor.

  “Yes, you are,” William replied. “You deserved a beating for your arrogance, but the broken promise is mine. I should not try to lessen my guilt by inflicting further pain on you.” As William pulled on his jacket, he realised that the cut to his shoulder was yet to be treated. The rage he had felt had camouflaged the throbbing pain emitted from the sliced flesh. He walked back towards the Inspector and held out his hand. “For my part, our disagreement is at an end.”

  “You are a strange man, William Harkness.”

  “You don’t know the half of it.”

  Faraday smiled, the grin revealed a mouth stained with blood, and the gap where a tooth had stood less than twenty minutes earlier. Despite his beating, he grasped William’s hand and gave it an enthusiastic shake. Both men winced as bruised ribs and aching muscles felt the sudden movement.

  “Isaac, is there anything you have learnt today that will not wait until the morning?” William asked.

  “No,” he replied. Isaac was clearly shocked by the violence that had erupted in the courtyard.

  “Then I have need of my home. You will join me for breakfast gentlemen. Good night.” He did not wait for a reply, but strode from the courtyard and beyond the Yard’s gates. Within a few minutes, he had hailed a carriage and hauled his aching body aboard. Closing his eyes, he relied on the driver to deliver him safely home.

  ∞∞∞

  Emily gasped as William stumbled exhausted through the door. Both she and Obadiah attempted to ask questions, but he cut through their inquisitiveness and asked if Alfie was present. Their blank faces confirmed that the boy had not been able to follow his instructions. He could not help believing that the boy was dead. The waves of tiredness and pain were joined by a terrible sadness. He slumped into a chair and sat in silence as two people who loved him stripped off items of clothing and attended the numerous wounds to his body. William was lost to his thoughts and responded to Obadiah and Emily’s questions with a series of non-committal grunts.

  An hour later, William was sat in the sitting room. The roaring heat from the fire soothed his aching muscles. The coolness of a glass was pushed into his hand signalled the arrival of his favourite drink. The warmth of Emily’s lips caressed his lips, and he could not resist kissing her back. Her touch, smell and tenderness brought him back to the real world.

  “I am sorry,” he whispered. He felt a lump in his throat and the tears welling in his eyes.

  “What is it William?”

  “I promised him – I promised the boy I would keep him safe.” Now the tears rolled freely down his cheeks. All his sadness and guilt crashed together and poured from him unrestricted.

  Emily did not know what had happened but to see William – her William, so distraught, broke her heart. “Don’t cry, my love.” She was sobbing too; feeling his pain as if it were her own. As she held him, he told all that had taken place.

  Chapter 21

  The night was one filled with tears. It was not until the early hours of the next day that William allowed the exhaustion to enforce sleep. He did not hear Emily slip into the bed next to him, nor did he stir hours later, as Obadiah rose to prepare the household for the coming day. He was unaware of his love extracting herself from underneath his arm or her hurrying to get dressed. Even the sound of various guests calling did not breach the heavy slumber, failing to make him stir.

  It had passed eleven in the morning before William ventured downstairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Reaching the bottom step, he became aware of voices in the kitchen. As he entered, he observed the usual suspects. Jack was looking somewhat sullen, and William remembered that Emily had given Bessie some time off to visit her mother.

  The former maid was convinced by Emily to visit her mother. At first, Bessie had been reluctant because of the man her mother had moved into the family home. He was a brute who struggled to control his roaming hands. Nonetheless, Emil
y provided Bessie with the funds to take her mother to a hotel and so not be disturbed by the vile creature. William was informed of Bessie’s whereabouts by Emily. However, it had completely slipped his mind until he observed the sorrowful looking Jack.

  “Why didn’t anyone wake me?” William asked, peeved to have been allowed to sleep for so long.

  It was Isaac that replied. “After the day you endured yesterday, we thought you deserved to rise late. Besides, it gave us more time to spend with the delightful Emily.”

  “Oh Isaac, you are a rogue.” Emily placed a hot beverage on the table and smiled.

  “Emily, delightful? If you only knew the truth,” William jested.

  “William!” Emily gave him a playful slap reinforcing her mock outrage. However, before returning to her duties, she gently stroked his cheek.

  The morning meal was eaten with enthusiasm; the only interruption to the group’s good humour came with a knock to the front door. Obadiah left the kitchen and then moments later came back with Inspector Faraday. An awkward silence replaced the carefree atmosphere.

  “Have you eaten, Faraday?” William’s tone was both friendly and enthusiastic, causing the others to look at each other confused.

  “I must admit, I the cooking at my lodgings.”

  “Then come find a place at the table.”

  “Thank you, and please, it’s George.”

  Emily walked over to the Inspector, and for a moment, William thought she was going to slap the man. However, she grasped him by the chin and pulled his head from one side to the other. “Those wounds have not been cleaned. I shall fetch our medicine box.”

  “Please, do not trouble yourself.”

  “My home, my rules, George. If you want feeding, then you will have to learn to be a good patient.”

  “Thank you, that is most kind,” Faraday replied.

  William and the others finished eating, and Emily tended to Faraday’s injuries. “It’s like you have been fighting with a wild animal, George,” she teased.

  “Yes, it was wild indeed.”

  “Then you would do well to avoid such a vicious beast,” she suggested as she started to pack the medical supplies away.

  Faraday looked amused. “I think you may be right. Thank you, erm -” Faraday was clearly unsure what to call her.

  “Emily – my friends call me Emily.” She gave the Inspector what William considered to be one of her most delightful and warm smiles.

  “Thank you, Emily.”

  William could not deny that his lover had worked her magic on George Faraday. He was certain that had she been born a few centuries earlier, then she would have been burned for a witch. Her powers over people, especially men, were a wonderful thing to behold.

  The light conversation came to an end. William was loathed to bring up the previous day’s events, but he knew it was a task that had to be endured. He waited for his moment.

  “Isaac, what information have you gathered from Mrs. Holbrook?” William felt the atmosphere within the kitchen change. It was as though a dark cloud had appeared above, blown into position by an ill wind. Isaac Naismith, however, did not rush his reply. He took a sip from his coffee and then raised his head to the ceiling as if asking God for the right words. Isaac Naismith was a clerk. He was intelligent, devious, and capable with a blade, but at the very centre of him, he was a clerk. The report he would give could only come from a clerk’s mouth.

  “The four of us visited the household of Mrs. Holbrook as you instructed. On our arrival, we decided it would be prudent to force entry. John and Tom provided valuable assistance in that matter.” He nodded his thanks to the two men. “On entering the household, we discovered two bodies.”

  “Two?” William asked.

  “Yes, we believe the first body was Alfred Sykes, and he was in the employ of Mrs. Holbrook. He was shot through the left eye socket. Dr Fitzgerald believes he died instantly.”

  “How awful,” Emily announced.

  “Emily, you do not have to endure this.” William placed his hand on her shoulder.

  “Oh William, I am not a delicate flower that needs protecting from the cruelty of the world. Please continue Isaac.”

  “Of course, Emily,” Isaac replied, the admiration he was clearly developing for Emily, showed in his affable smile. “Alfred Sykes’ injuries seemed to have been caused by an old duelling pistol, which we found next to a desk. We also found the second body at the desk. We believe it was Mrs. Holbrook, and it seems she had been crucified across its surface.”

  “Just like the others.” William announced.

  “In a way... yes.”

  William sensed the hesitation in Isaac’s tone. “What do you mean; in a way?”

  “The killing was symbolic like the others. However, it seemed as though less care or enjoyment was taken in the way it was carried out. The Inspector suggested that it was simply that the killers needed to rush after the discharging of the firearm, which killed Alfred Sykes. It is a definite possibility,”

  “But you are not convinced?”

  “No, but I doubt we will ever know the truth of the matter. Anyway, after Dr Fitzgerald examined the bodies, she determined that Mrs. Holbrook killed Alfred Sykes.”

  “What?” William nearly dropped his coffee.

  “Dr Fitzgerald wanted to carry out a more thorough examination, but she was positive that Alfred died by the old woman’s hand. In truth William, the doctor seemed a little unsettled by Mrs. Holbrook’s death. So much so, that the Inspector and I decided to leave her to continue her duties. We decided to question other households within the street.”

  It was a detailed account, and William was becoming frustrated at its snail-like pace. However, he held his tongue because he knew men like Isaac were slaves to order. A was followed by B; B was followed by C. That was the way men like Isaac made sense of the world. He allowed Isaac to continue without interruption.

  “However, on the steps we met a young woman who was well acquainted with the household. She became deeply upset when she learnt of Mrs. Holbrook’s death. We took her inside and were successful in calming her down. Her name is Rebecca, and she believes that Mrs. Holbrook’s death was in some part because of her own misfortune. The elderly, and from what I can see wealthy Mrs. Holbrook, was a generous individual who didn’t shy away from helping those in need. She arranged a position in a local store for Rebecca. However, because of the Ripper killings, those that belong to Rebecca’s faith have faced the anger of the city’s populace. Many in London believe the Jews are responsible and tensions were never too far beneath the surface. Insults, scorn and in Rebecca’s case a lot worse. She was attacked in by two men in full view of many witnesses and not one raised a finger to help. The assault was one that no female should have to endure.

  “Broken and beaten Rebecca found her way to the one person she knew would not turn her away. Mrs. Holbrook took her in and nursed her back to health. This is no battle between secret organisations, William. Two powerful enemies are not engaged in war to gain control of the streets. This all started with an attack on a girl and a Mrs. Holbrook taking it upon herself to try and prevent there being many more Rebeccas. She decided to use her wealth and contacts to bring the Ripper to justice.”

  “But the rings?”

  “Merely a mark of gratitude from Mrs. Holbrook. I am guessing, but I believe the old woman thought they would also remind the wearers of the importance of the task. Rebecca took me to meet Sam Buck, another man who helped carry out duties for Mrs. Holbrook. He confirmed that the elderly lady had set about recruiting people. She instructed both Alfred and Sam to deliver messages. From what I can gather, all those that have received messages are dead, except for the man employed to investigate.”

  “His name?”

  “Unknown, but Sam told me that the first man employed to the task met with an unfortunate accident. Mrs. Holbrook was forced to employ another. It seems reasonable to assume that the second man has met with the same fate.�
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  William rose from his chair and for some time paced the length of the kitchen. Then he stopped abruptly and turned to Isaac. “Before Simms died, he mentioned one name, ‘Smith’. I am of the opinion that Smith is the reporter who made a nuisance of himself. Abberline made enquires, and no trace of the man can be found at any of the newspapers. He is at the heart of this problem, if we can find Smith, then we may unravel the entire investigation. Perhaps even find a path that leads us to the Ripper.”

  “London is a bloody big place, especially if he doesn’t want to be found,” Faraday announced.

  “That it is, George. However, Smith seems determined to know our movements, which means he will want to be close. We will split into pairs. I will provide each of you with a detailed description. Every boarding house, Inn, tavern, and hotel will be visited. It is an enormous task, but this man could be the key.”