As Phillips peered at Jack, his mind was drawn back to a certain night many years ago. At first he couldn’t place the night or the location but then suddenly it came to him. As he was looking at Jack, he saw the same profile he had seen nine years ago at the police station. It was the same night that the mystery man had appeared and disappeared twice in front of him. Phillips took a minute to make sure and then he was sure.
As that night flooded back to him, he remembered the large shoe print he found not only in the station that night but also the print near the home of Mary Kelly the night of her murder. Jack had very large feet.
He also thought on Jack’s unique skills as a doctor. Jack’s use of the medical equipment was done with precision and a steady hand. His gut told him that Jack would possess similar surgical skills.
It was then that what Jack had said earlier struck him: Jack had mentioned that one of the body parts of the victims had been mailed to the police station. This was true but this information had not been shared with the public. So how did Jack know that? Could he have learned it from an officer that he treated? He wasn’t entirely sure.
Ten years prior, there was a man who had disappeared during his attempted arrest. Phillips remembered not believing the account from the officers at the time. But since that moment was so unique, Phillips recalled the description of the man they attempted to arrest. Looking back, he realized the description matched the description of Jack.
At that moment, he had only loose evidence and the virgin idea was only just becoming real but he knew he was drinking ale with Jack the Ripper.
CHAPTER FOUR
London, England – October 1888
Phillips couldn’t explain what he had just seen. Then again, maybe what he saw explained everything.
He was in the filing room probing through the personal belongings of Liz Stride and it was late. He turned his back only for a moment, walking across the room for an item, when he witnessed something unintended: one moment, there was only a table with the belongings of Liz; the next moment, a man appeared next to the table.
Phillips didn’t recognize the man and hadn’t heard him enter. Phillips was mostly concealed by the shadows the room (the only source of light was from the lantern on the table) and he went unnoticed by his visitor. Phillips started to step out from the gloom and address the man when something inside of him told him to stay silent and hidden.
He watched as the man reached down and collected all of the items on the table. This was more than Phillips could take as an officer of the law and he started forward but as he did, the man and all of the items disappeared – not walked out of the room but disappeared. A moment later, the man reappeared with all of the items. As he reappeared he spread the items back across the table. Then, the man disappeared again and did not return.
Phillips stood motionless for quite some time, unsure of what he just observed. He was not sure that he actually saw anything. He blinked a few times to wipe the image from his mind but didn’t work. The image of the man appearing and reappearing was emblazoned upon him. Am I coming down with illness? I’ve been rather hard at it. Perhaps I have not taken as good care as I should have of myself over these past weeks.
Or perhaps, he said to himself half-serious, there is a phantom stalking the station. He considered the idea of a phantom for a moment. If I believe there is a phantom in the station then I must be mad. He knew there must be a rational explanation but he couldn’t think of an elucidation at that moment.
He walked nervously back over to the table. At first, he was hesitant to look too closely but realized he was being foolish and picked up one of the items. On that particular item, it appeared something had been scraped away.
He picked up another item and noticed there was a white powder that had not been there before. He was uncertain as to what all of this meant. While it was possible that he was exhausted and therefore saw a man appear and disappear, it was not possible that one moment the items before him were untouched and another moment the items were altered.
Phillips left the items where they lie and picked up the lantern. He sat the lantern on the floor and then got down on his hands and knees and examined the floor carefully. He was not sure for what he was looking; he was playing a hunch.
He was about to stand when he saw something. In the area where he had seen the man standing, there was a wet imprint of a shoe. The outline was very faint but it was there. It was unlike anything he had seen before. Rather than a heel and sole, the shoe appeared to be solid and rather than a square toe, the toe was rounded. In fact, the entire shoe was contoured, similar to the shape of an actual foot. Within the imprint was a series of wavy lines that interconnected with one another.
Before the wet imprint could disappear, Phillips rushed to grab a sheet of paper and set the paper on top of the shoeprint. He lifted the paper carefully and saw that the shoe imprint was fully visible. He knew that the water would soon dry on the paper so he went back to the
