Shadow Man

I think about what she's saying. But only for a minute. 'I can't wait, Jenny. I need to see what's in that basement.'

She looks at me for a second, and nods. 'Me too.' A faint smile. 'But you go first.'

I head down the stairs, followed by everyone else. The clopping sound of shoes on wood is muffled the farther down we go. I assume it is the dirt around and above us, natural soundproofing. It is cool down here. Cool, quiet, and alone.

It's as Patricia said. At the bottom of the stairs, we find ourselves in a narrow hallway of concrete. Approximately twenty feet away, I can see a shadow in the shape of a door. It takes just a few moments to reach, and I see a light switch outside it. I turn on the light and all of us enter.

'Wow,' James says. 'Will you look at all that?'

It is a large room, about five hundred square feet. Nothing about it is decorated or distinct. It's a thing of gray concrete, stark lighting, and utilitarian furniture.

What had drawn James's remark was what he saw against the far left wall.

I walk toward it, amazed. The wall is covered, ceiling to floor, with life-size professional diagrams of the human body. All precisely labeled, starting first with the exterior, a fully fleshed body. Then skin removed, showing the muscular system, followed by more diagrams showing the internal organs in detail.

I move closer to this wall, and in doing so notice a far wall, which had been obscured by the bad lighting. What I see on that other wall sends a jolt through my system.

'Everyone,' I say, 'look at this.'

This wall had been painted white, so as to emphasize the black of the lettering on it:

The Commandments of the Ripper:

1. Most of humanity are cattle. You are of the ancient predators, the orig- inal hunters. Never let the morality of the cattle deter you from the mission.

2. It is never a sin to kill a whore. They are the spawn of the devil, and a boil upon the skin of society.

3. When you kill a whore, and you have moved from the shadows, kill her in the most ghastly way possible, as a lesson to her fellow whores. 4. Feel no guilt if you exult in the murder of a whore. You are from the ancient line, and you are a meat-eater. Your bloodlust is natural. 5. All women have it in them to become whores. Take a woman only to pass on the line. Never allow them to confuse your mind or heart. They are breeders, nothing more.

6. If the teachings are passed on, they may be passed on only to a son, NEVER a daughter.

7. Each Ripper must find his own Abberline. You must be hunted if you are to keep your senses honed, your skills sharp. 8. Until you find your Abberline, you must keep your work hidden from view.

9. Die rather than be caged.

10. The descendants of the Shadow Man are fearless. They satiate their needs without hesitation or compunction. Always strive to exem- plify this. To seek out the calculated risk, the gamble that makes your blood sing.

11. Never forget that you descend from him--the Shadow Man.

'God damn,' Don whispers.

I'm inclined to agree.

'Look over here,' Alan says.

There are three rows of shelving in the room.

'More anatomy. All kinds of texts on Jack the Ripper.' He peers closer, pulls something off one of the shelves, opens it up. 'I thought so.' He looks at me. 'Journals.' He flips through the pages, stopping at one. He holds it out for me to see.

Taped inside are a series of black-and-white photographs, stretched out over a number of pages. They show a young woman bound to a table and gagged. The walls in the photo look like this room. I stop for a moment, walk around the shelves.

'Alan,' I say. He moves to me and I point to the table in front of us, then to the photo.

'Damn,' he says, his face tightening. 'That's right here.'

The series of pictures show the rape, torture, and evisceration of the young woman. They all have a ghastly 'how to' look to them. As though the masked man in the photographs is delivering a seminar on suffering and depravity.

'Jesus,' I say. 'How many of these are there?'

'Close to a hundred, I'd guess.'

I flip past the pictures to one of the written entries. Peter is showing himself to be of the line, even at eight. He watched as I murdered the whore, taking photos and asking intelligent questions throughout. He was especially interested in the mechanics of the eviscera- tion. I am happy to note that his vomiting problem, which has been gone for a year now, shows no signs of resurfacing. I move along to another entry.

I brought Peter along on the hunt this time. It wasn't a school night, and I feel it's important that he begin to be more personally involved. He is ten, after all. I was pleased. He is gifted. Side note--he was embarrassed when I stripped the whore down and he noticed that his penis had gotten hard. I explained the mechanics of this to him and forced the whore to pleasure him with her hand. He was fascinated and seemed to enjoy this. He thanked me afterward. And more:

Peter asked me today how old I was when I killed my first whore. I hesitated to tell him the full truth of it. He is so filled with the strength of our line, I was afraid of revealing my father's weakness to him. I feared he might begin to doubt the nobility of our blood. In the end, I told him all: How my father had hidden the secret of our lineage from me. How I had only discovered the truth through my own research of our genealogy. About my father's weak denials when I confronted him with what I had found. How he and my mother had attempted to make me think I was crazy. I needn't have worried about Peter. The look of adoration he gave me when I told him my tale of perseverance, of my search for truth and of the vengeance I exacted on my father, is something I will cherish forever.

'Christ,' Alan mutters. 'It's just like Patricia said. He started warping the kid early.'

'Never had a chance,' James remarks. 'Not that it matters now. It's been too long. He's unsalvageable.'

I don't respond. My ears are filled with a roaring noise, and I am dizzy. Electric shocks dance through my body. I have flipped to the last page in the book, and the signature I see there has my mind spinning in terror, rage, disbelief, shame, and betrayal.

Maybe it's just a coincidence, I think to myself.

I know it's not.

I look up at the commandments painted on the wall, reading num ber seven again: 7. Each Ripper must find his own Abberline. You must be hunted if you are to keep your senses honed, your skills sharp.

'Smoky?' Alan's voice is sharp, concerned. 'What's the matter?'

I don't say anything. Just hand him the journal, pointing at the sig nature I had seen. Keith Hillstead, it was signed. Hillstead.

Son Peter.

I knew who Jack Jr. was. And he knew me.

Intimately.