“No, not really, but if you see him before me give him a kiss from me,” she replied jokingly.
“Not bloody likely!” Ralph shouted and then ran off towards Grove Road, Bow with Bruiser trotting on behind carrying the ball.
Ralph ran along Grove Road with the dog in tow towards Mile End Road. He passed the junction with Roman Road watching for traffic for both he and Bruiser as he crossed. Suddenly as he passed a narrow alley way he was grabbed by the back of his shirt and pulled off the main road. The dog trotted on a fraction and then realised his master had turned off and turned round to follow. It was Michael Ostrog who had grabbed the boy having seen him running towards him from a distance. He had hidden to take his revenge. He knew the boy must have shopped him to the police and needed to silence the little runt from any further damage. He was expecting the dog too and although his left shoulder was still weak it had become strong enough over the twelve days since the ‘operation’ to wield a piece of wood quite efficiently. The dog turned into the alley to be met with a blow to his head. Ostrog struck out as hard as he could with the wood at Bruiser striking him and the growl that the dog had started to present became a yelp and with a second strike the dog collapsed motionless, his head gashed open. He had hold of Ralph the whole time as he did this in the vice like grip of his right arm.
“You fucking bastard, you’ve killed my dog!” screamed Ralph. Ostrog dropped the wood and threw the struggling youth against a wall knocking the wind out of him and he slumped to the floor. Ostrog grabbed him by his shirt lapels and picked him up. He stood side on now to Ralph so if the boy lashed out he wasn’t presenting a vulnerable target. Ostrog hissed at Ralph “You little bastard, you shop me to police. You die!” he took hold of Ralph by the throat and pinned him to a wall. The boy urinated in sheer terror as he tried to speak out and punch Ostrog. He did manage to rein some blows on Ostrog’s hip and thigh side on but to no avail. He could not speak for the vice like grip that Ostrog placed on his throat with his rough hands.
Ralph’s short life sadly began to pass before his eyes as he felt his head getting lighter and lighter starved of life giving oxygen. He saw his mother, smiling down on him as if he were still a babe in arms; he saw Bruiser as a puppy staring into his face as if seen as an out of body experience as a dog facing a baby; he saw his pitch in Commercial Street selling ‘The Star’; he could smell the waft of perfume from Mary Kelly’s room; he could taste the mash from the pie and mash shop next to The Ten Bells and could smell the stench of beer from the pub; he saw Constable Ford walking towards him smiling warmly; and he saw Mary and Bruiser in the park. The images began to fade and become very dim and increasingly hard to see. Then for a split second in his consciousness he felt nothing and saw nothing. This was that ultimate moment in human life; death.
The boy’s body fell limp in Ostrog’s hands and he let it slump to the floor. Looking up and down the narrow street he could see that he was safe; no one had seen him. He walked out of the alleyway leaving the two silent and still bodies behind him and casually strolled towards the park always on the look out for police. He passed a flame haired pretty girl at the gates on the way through with a more haggard looking forty-odd year old and disappeared into the green of the park leaving the urbanised East End behind. Mary couldn’t help but be disturbed by this odd looking man dressed in a cleric’s type suit, with a blood stained and patched up left shoulder to the jacket. It was the evil satisfied look in his eyes that she didn’t like and the fact he was sweating profusely.
Some minutes later Bruiser came around whimpering from the unexplained pain he felt in his head. He sat himself up and could see Ralph. He approached him and nuzzled him to get him to move but got no reaction. He licked his face repeatedly but again with no reaction. Then he settled himself next to Ralph resting his head on one of the boys out stretched arms. He lay like this for about an hour which to the dog seemed like an eternity. He sensed death now as the boy’s body was getting colder. He stood up and walked out into the street kicking the wooden ball on the way which rolled into the gutter and came to a rest as lifelessly as Ralph in Grove Road. The dog sat on the pavement by the alley and began howling.
***
While Ralph suffered such a violent and sad death at the hands of Ostrog, Robert and Del were unaware of the tragedy as they re-paraded some two hours or so after they had left the incident room having undergone a transformation at the hands of Inspector Andrews. As was the plan hatched within the office, Del had taken on the ‘provocateur’ role having been dressed and heavily made up to pass as an unfortunate. His fair complexion as expected gave not trace of a shave shadow and his slight build carried the female disguise well. Only the ungainly walk he proffered gave weakness to the deception but with work it could pass as the effects of drink. Robert had been disguised to pass as a vagrant, of which the East End already offered so many. He had been given the filthy clothes from a drunk who had died in police custody to wear that meant there was no need to ‘scent him up’ for realism. He had purely needed to have been given the unwashed look with a combination of theatrical make-up and real dirt.
The pair breezed into the office fully in character, without Andrews initially, with Del tottering on his low heeled boots and Robert limping heavily and doing so with the aid of a beaten crutch. Abberline, Godley and the other detectives in the office who were variously busy with tasks looked up in astonishment at the audacity of the two street types who had found their way in. Godley shouted to them “Get out, and back to the cells! Who let you out!” and stormed out past them jolting Robert as he passed by striding out to find some uniform officers to take care of them. The pair looked at each and began laughing as the wilier and investigative Abberline approached. He tumbled within seconds of Godley’s outburst who it actually was and called out to Godley now ranting in the corridor.
“It’s all right, George, they’re with us,” and he began chuckling. In the corridor Andrews approached the bemused Godley with a knowing smile and said “Fooled you, eh, George?” Godley’s initial anger had to break into a smile then a laugh as he realised how he had been almost unintentionally duped. They all gathered in the office. Murphy passed out mugs of tea to everyone as Abberline began a briefing.
“Right, then, we have put out two plants here who are going to work the streets every night seven until three until this bastard or bastards are caught. If it proves too much for them to cope with we’ll get another two lads in to help. How it works is this; Del, or should I say ‘Delilah’,” the room roared at the joke made with the name juxtaposition, “will wander as any unfortunate would but not pick anyone up of course. What we’re looking for is someone to attack, but if you get an inclination that you’re being lured into something go with it. Rob will keep you in sight at all times and be watching everyone moving around you too. If he thinks there’s someone of particular suspicion you should go off with work out some sort of signalling between you. Now Rob’s got his whistle and truncheon still and ‘Delilah’ I’ve got something for your bag.” Abberline went over to his desk and pulled open a drawer. He reached in and took out a small shiny metallic miniature revolver. “If you are in real danger, use it. If you are threatened at least point it, all right, son?” He passed the revolver to Del who stared it for a moment without answering. “I said all right?” repeated Abberline.
“Yes, sir, fine.”
“Right then, all of you go and get some grub and start hitting the streets at seven when it’s getting dusk. And yes, you will all be on overtime today as we’re all on until three as the first night of this methodology.” All of them eventually trooped up to the station canteen to enjoy a hot meal and get full bellies for the long night ahead.
***
Mary and Cathy had turned along Old Ford Road on leaving the park, and so although having heard Bruiser’s howling they never came to realise it was him. A drunken soldier was the first to pass Bruiser who clipped him round his already tender head as he passed. The dog cow
ered at further attack as the soldier staggered on. PC Jonas Mizen was the next to arrive at the scene following the drunk and again the dog cowered at the approach of another uniform. Mizen, immediately seeing the dog’s distress, took his helmet off and approached slowly and spoke gently to calm him extending his hand for the dog to smell. He recognised Bruiser from his time patrolling The Street’s ground and wondered where the newspaper boy was he normally saw him with.
“All right, Bruiser, there’s a good boy, you’re okay now.” The dog slowly wagged his tail from the friendly approach; Mizen noticed the injury to the dogs head. “We’ll sort you out, lad, where’s your boss, eh?” He had the dog’s confidence fully now and was able to stroke him along the length of his back, an action that seemed to keep the dog calm. Bruiser then got up and wandered to the entrance to the alley. He stopped and looked back at Mizen a sign that the constable took to mean to follow him. Mizen did so and saw the dog walk just a couple of steps further and start to nuzzle a limp body. Getting closer Mizen saw it was in fact the paper boy he would expect to see with the dog and quickly bent down to his aid. The boy was now barely warm and so Mizen picked him up, brought him into the street, drew his whistle and began blowing furiously for assistance. Not being qualified to say whether or not the boy was dead he vainly wrapped him in his tunic as he waited for another officer to arrive.
He was joined firstly by an out of breath Taffy Evans who on seeing what the situation was flagged down a hansom cab and made a demand of the driver. “This lad here needs hospital treatment now! Take my mate and him to Whitechapel!” Mizen got into the cab clutching the lifeless boy in his arms and with the crack of the driver’s crop the cab lurched off to the hospital. Taffy secured the scene and the whole site was eventually dealt with by Inspector Chandler. Such an almost routine death in comparison the prostitutes’ murders didn’t attract that much attention and it would be some days before Ralph’s mother would even know. The death of a child was not considered that out of place with them killed by jealous boyfriend’s of their mother’s, or because they couldn’t be kept properly by their families, or sadly because they had been sexually abused and then killed once their purpose had been served.
Bruiser was taken back to The Street and placed in a dark and damp kennel in the yard. He lay down once inside and had been led there without complaint and lay motionless staring at the kennel door. He didn’t even move when two bowls one containing tripe and the other of water where placed in there with him.
***
Wednesday 25th September. It hadn’t been a very positive few days for Abberline and his team. Five days of plain clothes patrols had produced no leads or entrapped anyone in anyway. It had just left Robert and Del cold and bored and Del on occasions in fear of being severely beaten when he struggled to fend off ‘business’ when he was pressed. Robert was frustrated as it hadn’t seen Mary even in passing over the weekend so decided during the day to go to see her. Wynne Baxter had closed the inquests for both Mary Nichols and Annie Chapman with the verdicts of unlawful killing but had been outspoken at each. At Nichols he criticised the police for not noting her abdominal injuries at the scene, an issue Abberline felt was unfair as fault lay with the initial examination by the divisional surgeon, and at Chapman’s inquest expounded an outlandish theory. He stated that the killings were motivated by a request from an American doctor offering large sums of money for uterine specimens to accompany a monograph he was researching. These issues were the very next day splashed across the front pages of all the newspapers, whilst the tragic death of Ralph hadn’t even made the first few pages of the papers.
Although not happy with the American theory on the face of it, it did give Abberline another line of enquiry. John Pizer had been cleared of any connection to the murders and was seeking compensation from the police for his detention, so as a result he kept quiet about being robbed. To top off an unhappy day the main C.I.D office at Scotland Yard had received a letter dated the 24th September. It had been couriered to Abberline immediately. It read:
Dear Sir,
I do wish to give myself up I am in misery with nightmare I am the man who committed all these murders in the last six months my name is so and so I am a horse slaughterer and work at…… I have found the woman I wanted that is chapman and I done what called slautered her but if any one comes I will surrender but I am not going to walk to the station by myself so I am yours truly keep the Boro road clear or I might take a trip there. this is the knife that I done these murders with it is a small handle with a large long blade sharp on both sides
Abberline, Godley and Bill Thick were the only ones in the office and passed the letter around each taking a great deal of time to study it before conversation around it began.
“Well, I think it is a load of bollocks,” stated Abberline quite categorically
“I must say I think I agree, Fred,” said Godley, he continued addressing Bill Thick. “What do you reckon, Bill?”
“Well, by the post mark it is from south of the Thames and it does refer to Borough High Street. It tells us nothing at all. It strikes me it is from a sad attention seeking individual trying to complicate matters further for us.”
“Yes, I agree, Bill. George make sure the courier goes back to The Yard with strict instructions not to breathe a word of this to the press. If they do we’ll have a rush of these bastard things on our hands. We haven’t got time to deal with this kind of rubbish.”
Godley left the room to seek out the courier whilst Abberline studied the letter again. Although he considered it a fraud was he missing anything? He pondered the matter of a hot cup of tea.
***
Meanwhile Robert had managed to meet Mary at Osgood’s Cafe in Lamb Street in the heart of Spitalfields Flower market. It was a homely little East End cafe that essentially catered for the flower market workers but also did a healthy regular trade from those passing through. Robert knew these premises with their characteristic gingham table clothes and steamed up condensated windows. He frequently used it when on his uniform local beat. They knew him too and at this time of the day he wasn’t in disguise and sported a clean appearance to meet with Mary. They sat together enjoying tea and eggs and bacon while they talked.
“Robbie, where have you been, I haven’t seen you properly since our day on the lake, darlin’?”
“Well, with another murder I’ve been seconded to the inquiry under Abberline with Del. We’ve got to do some real bad hours until it’s done.”
“How come I haven’t seen you walking around then?” This response pleased Robert as it meant that there was some mileage in the disguises.
“Look, you’ve got to keep it a secret, but me and Del are in plain clothes doing a special patrol to try to catch whoever it is so I can’t speak to you when I am. Anyway, what are you doing out and about, I thought you was moving in with me?”
“Look, I may not be selling myself ‘cos of saving me for you now, but I am allowed to socialise with my friends. So I’m out and about at The Ten Bells and The Britannia to see them that’s all. I’m packed to leave so give me the word and a key and I’ll be round.” Robert dug deep into his pocket and pulled out a door key and passed it to her.
“Here, my landlady is expecting you. Make yourself at home and I’ll be in during the early hours. What you doing with Miller’s Court?”
“I’m keeping on for my friends for a few weeks; they can use it as a bolt hole if they’re stuck.”
“All right, but watch it. We don’t know who he is, what he looks like and how he fools people to go with him. Tell your friends to be careful and if the have any bad encounters find a copper and report it.”
“Robert,” she looked down into her tea psyching herself up for a question she didn’t really want the answer to, but curiosity had got the better of her to ask it. “What did he do to Mary and Annie? We’ve heard it was horrible, real savage. Robert paused before answering and looked her in the eye to answer.
“Look, t
hey’ve said a lot in the papers and much of it is true, but it’s like this and this should make all the girls take care so listen as I’m repeating none of it again. He cut their throats, and I mean deep, right to the bone,” she looked at him aghast and held her right hand across the top of her chest fingers spread wide. “Then he went to work on them, he cut their stomachs open and pulled out some of their innards and took some as it hasn’t been all there once they were examined.” He was about to continue but she put her hand up in a clear gesture of not wanting to know any more. She shook her head and was a pulling an expression of sheer revulsion. They sat silent for some minutes him looking out of the window and her staring into her tea as if in shock.
“I will take care; we should leave London though, now, let’s go and start afresh.” There was emotion in her voice, she needed once for all to go but didn’t want him to know how they could afford to go until he agreed to leave because of the origin of her potential wealth. Robert took her hands in his across the table and thought carefully about his answer.
“I promise we will when all this stops, which I hope it already has. This is my community and I want to ensure the police get him, them or whoever before I am prepared to leave. When the job is done we can go and I’ll be a constable elsewhere and you can be the mother of my children.” She looked him in the eye with tears of happiness, never believing this sort of good fortune may come her way. She respected his words and squeezed his hands in reassurance of his words unable to speak through emotion.
“And when I have the money I shall properly propose with a ring. Now, another tea, love?” She smiled and stroked his hand across the table bringing a contented grin to Robert’s face and a warm feeling in his heart. They drank more tea and spent a very easy time together in Osgood’s as the safe daylight world passed them by outside.
Whitechapel Page 15