When he was done, he returned to Jasper and found him still out. He pulled Jasper’s body back out into the open area and then grabbed the axe handle once more. Gripping the handle, Jack hit himself in the side of the face making a mark that filled with blood under the skin. The pain was excruciating but he was still full of the adrenaline of the murder and remained conscious. He hit himself once more, this time opening a gash across his forehead. As he bled out, his blood mixed with Mary Jane Kelly’s blood, which would dissuade the questions from Jasper.
He dropped to his knees next to Jasper and as he did, Jasper began to stir. Jack placed his hand on Jasper’s chest and the two traveled home.
“What happened?” Jasper asked. He had come to and realized they were back in their lab. His head felt like it would split in two. Jack appeared to not have fared much better.
“I’m not sure. One moment you and I were standing across the street from the site of the final murder and the next everything went black,” Jack answered.
“Did you see who it was?”
“No. I caught a glimpse of someone in a dark suit but that was all.”
“So the murder took place?” Jasper asked.
“I would need to reference the Ripper files we have to see if anything has changed but I would assume that the murder took place that night.”
Jasper thought for a minute. “Can we go back again?”
Jack looked at Jasper. “If we go back, the same thing will happen. Whoever hit us knew we were there.”
“How could somebody know that?” Jasper asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe the Ripper saw me prowling around the murder scenes and grew suspicious. Maybe he decided to hang back this time to see if I might show up, and when I did, he decided to take me out in case I caused any problems for him.”
“But why would he single you out? Have you really…”
Jack interrupted Jasper. “Jasper, I don’t really know. What I do know is that you were knocked out. Luckily, I regained consciousness in time to bring us back here before something really bad happened.”
Jasper considered Jack’s words. “Well,” Jasper said, “however he knew we were there, he did. And that raises another question. If the Ripper knows about you, perhaps the police know about you. If they see you, they just might arrest you on the spot. That could change history. And it could scare off the Ripper. Think about it – if the Ripper went underground for a while, he could pop back up at a later date and kill many more times.”
Jack nodded his head in understanding. “So we need to stop him.”
Both men reflected silently on the situation before Jack broke the silence. “How close are you to getting back the DNA results?”
“They should be here in the next few days.”
“So we need to wait and see if that incriminates any of suspects that I so efficiently collected DNA from. Have you decided on a way to inform the police of that time on the true identity the Ripper?” Jack asked.
Jasper shrugged. His shrug revealed a small of level of frustration. “I really haven’t. I thought that it would be easier to come up with a way to transpose the evidence to mesh with the forensics of that time but I haven’t been able to.”
“What if I go back and plant some of the Rippers’ personal items at the crime scene?”
“That would change history and might confuse the investigation. We don’t know the extent that change could bring.” Jasper put his head down and sat silent in thought for a few minutes.
Jack gave him time to think without interrupting.
Finally, Jasper raised his head. His eyes were opened wide and Jack knew Jasper had thought of something.
“What is it?” Jack asked.
“We know when each murder will occur and where, correct?”
“We do,” Jack answered.
“Then we need to send a letter to the police. We could make it from the Ripper. In the letter, we would do some sort of riddle as if the Ripper was playing a game. The riddles would indicate what night, what time and what location the murders would take place.”
“Won’t that change history?”
Jasper nodded his head. “Yes, it will. I know we have gone round and round about this but it seems to be our best bet. We can offer assistance to the truth and let the officers of that time do their work without our interference. If the police figure out the riddles, they’ll catch the Ripper and the murders will stop. If they don’t solve the riddles, then nothing will change. The Ripper will kill his seven victims and history will remember Jack the Ripper as we always have.”
“Do you think the police will buy it?” Jack asked.
“We have a copy of the letters from the Ripper. We’ll use similar handwriting and similar language. I read that Phillips was quite the riddle solver. We’ll send the letters to him.
“I’ll write the letters. But I’ll need your help with the riddles. You have actually seen the places where the murders occur so I need you to describe them to me so I can leave hints about each.”
Jasper wrote four letters in all. When he finished, Jack took them back and delivered them to Phillips during different times in 1888 London.
After Jack left, Jasper went upstairs and gazed at his poor reflection in the bathroom mirror. He looked almost as dreadful as he felt. He took a hot shower and afterwards, felt almost human again.
The next morning Jasper opened his eyes. He looked over at his clock and saw that it was not quite five in the morning.
