Ripper Read Free Page B

the glass forward but hesitated before he drank.
    “And this, this … Dr. Jekyll, and your Mr. Hyde, how did you come about meeting him in America?” He finally lifted the second glass and downed that also, all the while holding his gaze on the famous author.
    “Inspector, this needs to be resolved now, and not wait for—”
    The angry gaze stopped Stevensonfrom continuing. He realized that policemen do things at their own pace and are even slower sometimes when confronted with an obvious truth. Robert Louis Stevenson could see it in the chief inspector’s eyes—he believed his story.
    “I met the gentleman in San Francisco three years ago through a friend who works with Corvallis Lens Company of London. He was there to deliver the most unique set oflenses ever created by his company. These lenses were specially ground, beveled, and buffed for the man who ordered them to use in his laboratory work. These lenses are so well constructed that Ambrose is now seeing things that were once only seen in the realm of the imagination. This man is actually discovering the origins of thought, the use of the human brain, and the power that is hidden inus all. The reason my friend thought I would get along with this professor was due to the fact that this man was slowly piecing together the most unique and advanced microscopic viewing system ever. Intrigued, I went to meet this man for my research.”
    “And this Professor Ambrose was accommodating?”
    “As accommodating as anyone I have ever dealt with in the business world. He couldn’t stop talkingabout his work into the naturally occurring aggression that occurs in all living animals. He scared me to the point I had to slow down the real science or my readers would have never understood it. He has the ability to change into something other than he is, and that was three years ago Chief Inspector.”
    “And you think your Jekyll and Hyde is my Ripper? Is that what you are saying, sir?”
    “Oneand the same.”
    Abberline watched the man closely. He was as experienced as anyone in spotting someone not telling him the truth. But he could see from the demeanor of Stevenson that he was telling nothing but the truth—at least as far as he was concerned.
    “As I said, my letters have been intercepted. I have written to you on many occasions, only to have my inquiries go unanswered. Finally, Ihad to come after hearing the news of this last victim of the Ripper.”
    “And why was that?” Abberline said as he continued to look at Stevenson for the lie that would soon surface.
    “Because I finally have proof, Chief Inspector,” Stevenson said actually smiling for the first time, and for the first time Abberline could see the exhaustion in the man’s eyes and face. Stevenson reached into hispocket and brought out a folded daily. He swallowed and actually shivered as he opened the newspaper. “This is the London Times , but the picture I am about to show you was picked up by hundreds of newspapers around the world, and this one, the San Francisco Chronicle was no exception. This is why I came as fast as I could.” He pushed the paper toward Abberline who looked from Stevenson down tothe paper.
    The picture was a rather famous one now. It was taken on the morning of Mary Kelly’s murder. Abberline saw the picture of himself at the crime scene. He looked up at Stevenson without saying a word.
    “Chief Inspector, that man standing next to you in the photograph?”
    Abberline didn’t have to look at the grainy photo again; he knew who Stevenson was talking about. It was Colonel Stanleyof Her Majesty’s Black Watch. Stevenson was pointing out the man who had dogged this Ripper case since the beginning.
    “He’s the man that was tailing me three years ago in the United States, and this very same man ransacked my room this very night.”
    “And you believe the Ripper case, your Jekyll and Hyde, and this gentleman are all wound together in a nice little ball? And that this