Phillips agreed that he could. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” Jack replied. “By the way, why do you think this murder is connected to the Ripper murders if the method is not the same?”
“Just call it a hunch.”
“Very well,” Jack replied. “And when should I expect the body to arrive?”
“Will tomorrow morning suffice?” Phillips asked.
Jack agreed that the following morning would be fine.
Phillips thanked Jack for his time and two minutes later, the carriage carried Jack the way he had come.
CHAPTER THREE
London, England – December 1897
The next morning, Jack opened his front door to Phillips. “Good morning, doctor,” Jack offered.
“Good morning, doctor,” Phillips returned. “I hope I do not come at an unexpected hour?”
“Not at all. I have been up for hours. I am quite ready for the purpose which you have come here this morning. Shall we?”
Phillips nodded and Jack trailed him to the carriage. Seated, they journeyed the short trek to Jack’s office.
The previous night’s snow had stopped but the wind had not. The carriage belonged to the police force and was built more for functionality than comfort. The walls of the carriage were not as thick as he was accustomed and Jack shivered and pulled his cloak tighter to his body.
“A day such as this makes one want to hole up in a tavern next a fire with a pint, eh?” Phillips suggested.
“Very much so,” Jack agreed. “Perhaps when we finish you will join me at the Golden Goose as my guest?” The Golden Goose was a gentlemen’s pub nearby.
Phillips nodded appreciatively. “It’s hardly appropriate for you to offer me as your guest. After all, it is I who asked you to attend to the body. But if you wish, I would like to invite you to join me at the Golden Goose as my guest, my indulgence.”
“The Golden Goose has fantastic warmed ale. It would be my pleasure to join you as your guest.”
“It’s settled then. But first, unfortunately we must attend to the matter at hand.”
As they rode, Phillips asked Jack about American baseball. Jack had only begun to speak when they arrived at his office.
“Perhaps we’ll finish this conversation over our pint?” Phillips suggested. Jack agreed and entered his office ahead of Phillips who ordered the body brought in.
Once the body was on the table, Jack asked Phillips if he would mind being left alone with the body. This was often customary for medical cases but this was a murder investigation and Phillips had to decline the request.
“Very well,” Jack said. “Before I begin, you must realize that the methods I use are common in America. I have instruments that you will not recognize. As you know, America is a sundry of cultures. Medical methods employed there are brought in from all over the world. I’m saying this because you may not understand what you see here today.”
Phillips acknowledged Jack’s concerns and asked him if he wouldn’t mind proceeding.
Jack nodded and went to a wooden cabinet in the examination room to pull out a small black bag.
Phillips glanced at Jack’s profile and something from his past came forward. It was only a half-thought, one that he could not quite grasp. He knew it would come to him in time so he let it pass and focused on the task.
From the black bag, Jack pulled out a syringe.
Phillips was unsure of the foreign object. From his perspective, it seemed a long tube with a thin, hard piece of metal protruding from the top of the tube.
“Was she drained of all her blood?” Jack asked.
“Her blood was drained during the autopsy. I have a sample right here,” Phillips answered pulling a small jar from his pocket. The blood inside was coagulated but Jack could make it work.
Jack put the syringe away as he would not need it. In its place he pulled out a cotton-tipped swab and gathered the sample of blood. He paused briefly and admired how the red of the blood was stark against the white cotton. He glanced sideways at Phillips and wondered how his blood would look spilled upon the tile floor.
Putting the thoughts away, he pulled out the equipment he would use to detect the poison. He wiped the blood sample onto a slide and screened for foreign compounds. He found traces of antimony potassium tartrate or emetic tartar, a compound similar to arsenic.
“How many days ago did she die?” Jack asked Phillips.
“She died on Christmas day,” Phillips answered.
“She’s been dead for five days,” Jack observed, “yet her body is well preserved. There was nothing done to the body other than the autopsy?”
Phillips shook his head.
“This woman was murdered by emetic tartar,” Jack said to Phillips.
“You’re sure?” Phillips asked.
Jack showed Phillips his kit and showed him how he read the results of the test. He also reminded Phillips of what he should have seen but had missed. “Unassisted preservation of corpses over a long period of time reflects the presence of the compound.”
Phillips of course knew the effects of emetic tartar and felt imprudent that he hadn’t seen it first. “Her slow death would have agonizing. She claimed vomiting and diarrhea for many days prior to her admittance to the hospital. Her death was ruled as complications from her exhausted state.”
“She suffered,” Jack agreed, “just the like the Ripper victims. Perhaps Chapman grew bored of slaughtering women and enjoyed watching them die slowly as he watched?”
“If Chapman is the murderer, of course. He’s obviously the lead suspect but we have no evidence.”
“You have a motive. Satisfaction. If Chapman is the Ripper, he killed the women for gratification, just
