Chapter 8: Murder in Whitechapel

Warning: Details of the murder that may be off-putting for some readers.

Again, I am going to be mentioning murder and crime a lot as a topic, so if it is something you are not comfortable with, please don't read ahead.

I am also trying to figure out how much of a certain topic I can put in, so if you have some comments about it, please let me know! I might also change the rating depending on how deep I will go into this topic.

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Charlotte immediately furrowed her eyebrows.

'A time skip? Is that even possible?'

Her heart started to quicken as a small sense of panic overwhelmed her.

'Why? How?'

Her visible confusion was clearly displayed on her face. As she looked over and over at the date.

Adam, clearly seeing her expression, chimed in, "Shocking is it not? What an awful way to go. Who would have thought we would have a killer on the loose? People aren't going to stop talking about this one seeing how there are two murders back to back."

She looked up and quickly remind herself of her situation.

Taking a deep breath, she thought of her five senses to calm herself down.

'I should at least take a look at the paper...'

She looked back down and the paper reads:

Murder in Whitechapel

The victim named Emma Elizabeth Smith, a widow, died due to severe injuries in the hospital.

It was said when returning home late one evening, she met several "young ruffians" who severely mistreated her, robbed her, then ran away.

At the hospital, she recounted her encounter, and the doctor witnesses claimed her injuries were indeed severe and needed to be treated.

"After her admission to the hospital", she died.

However, her way of death was quite strange. Her injuries were caused by a "blunt instrument", which showed signs of "great force" being used.

The instrument penetrated up to her peritoneum, making it a very barbaric scene to witnesses when they discover her body in the morning.

Through this, it can be concluded a normal assault would have never caused this, thus it was led to believe this was a murder.

'It seems like Jack the Ripper strikes again,' she collected her thoughts.

Not to leave Adam Levington hanging on an unbearable silence she unintentionally caused, she told him, "It is barbaric alright. Quite gruesome honestly, you can't be too careful these days."

Noticing she was done, he replied, "I bet you this guy is probably out to get some sort of revenge. Makes me shiver thinking about the people like this. Who knows who he could be?"

Charlotte sighed, "Well there is nothing that can be done now. Gossip will spread and people will start to be wary. Who knows? They might even accuse someone of being the murderer."

"Well, I doubt people will have enough confidence to accuse someone. This situation will be quite a shock after all," he also sighed.

"Well, I must get going! Please make sure to be safe! There are many things happening around these days, don't want to get caught in it!"

Charlotte waved and he left.

'Let's organize my thoughts, shall we?' she yawned.

'First of all the murder. Jack the Ripper was notorious for striking women prostitutes. Notably, most of the murders tend to be done by a blunt object. His target was also always struck up to the stomach.'

'I wonder, what is the motive? Psychologically, the killer must have something that drives them to do certain actions against others. Either trauma or even taste and preferences, they must have a reason behind their actions.'

'So far, through the current amount of attempts, I doubt anybody has any conclusion of his intention. For all we can know, he is the type of killer that can stop at any time.'

'But based on this case, it seems too gruesome for this to be presented as "art". Or it might be his type of "art", as it is meant to look this way...?'

'Well, these questions weren't completely figured out even during my time so I doubt I'll draw and definitive conclusion.'

'Waiting for the next case would be the best option.'

'Now as for the time skip thing, I don't think it has anything to do with this world.'

'It seems as though it has something to do with a world greater than this one, a greater force of control behind the scenes.'

'As if its purpose was to progress the plot of-'

She was greeted by another familiar face.

Charlotte gazed at his face.

'It seems I might be able to get a bit of information out of him.'

Detective Cromwell walked to the counter.

"It seems as though you have read this morning's paper," he commented, looking at the paper in her hands.

"Ah, yes! It was quite the... image," she slowly started.

He gave a small chuckle, "Please don't remind me. I got to see it in person and would very much like to be not reminded of it."

He gave her a look and then proceeded, "Well, she was terribly struck I tell you. Through the use of force and the comment from the last case, I can assume we are chasing a young man."

She nodded and let him continue.

"This is truly a mess as the murderer didn't leave any clues behind. We interrogated the hospital staff, but they didn't provide much. The doctor who treated her had an alibi and therefore had to be ruled out. Unless he did something in a short amount of time, we lack evidence to prove so," he sighed.

"Well, what about the motive? Why do you think the murderer did this?" Charlotte inquired.

He slightly raises his eyebrows, "Well Ms. Charlotte, you seem quite fascinated by the murder?"

"Are you accusing me of something detective?" Charlotte put up a smile.

He lightly curved his lips, "Not at all, you don't even fit the murderer's profile to begin with. Also, you have no relationship with the victims."

"Victims? So, was it decided to string the two cases together?" she asked.

"Yes, we are treating it as the same murderer..." he quietly said.

He looked her in the eyes and questioned, "You are quite odd you know? You don't react the same when the topic of murder comes up, especially going into detail."

Charlotte paused and thought for a while then answered, "I guess so... It never really occurred to me that I seem unfazed. It just seems too superficial for me to fully grasp it. I guess I have to be directly exposed to it for me to really react."

He mulled over the thought and gave a small hum, "Well, it isn't good to act as such. It makes it feel... inhuman. Or it is just the way you act makes you feel inhuman."

Charlotte smiled at his comment as she said "Well, don't you have work to do? Please continue to chase down the murderer!"

"Oh please don't remind me.." he complained.

The detective then proceed to pick out a few pastries and left.

'Inhuman...' she mulled over the thought.

'When it comes to this era, I guess people were overly sympathetic, not in a bad way of course. But they do tend to overexaggerate their emotions for the sake of keeping up with a persona they have garnished.'

'To think people in our society still do this, constantly acting with a mask. It's hard to differentiate who really sympathizes and who does it for the act.'

'I guess a part of it is what helps the murderer get away. Funny how society is also to blame.'

'But to give them credit, each has a role to fulfill to create a functioning society. Some have to keep up this act for others to as well.'

'In a sense, I am also guilty of such, and also guilty of being inhuman.'

'Does that stem from me not being from this "place"? Or was it from the fact I just lack the emotion to do so and also have to put on a mask?'

'Would I care if I were put in a different character?' she lightly chuckled at the idea.