Warning: This might get really super scary.

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     I take a deep breath and straighten my back as I process Freddie's words. He wants me to help him find Jack the Ripper. I've heard of him, the man who has been murdering countless women for the past few months. Of course I'm going to accept, it's just a bit nerve-wracking.

     Before I respond, I take a glance at the young man who accompanied Freddie. He obviously works with him, maybe a lower level detective. He seems to be in his mid-to-late twenties, and his dirty blonde hair is tucked neatly under his top hat, which he hasn't taken off yet. The light bruise on the left side of his neck is a clear indication of a right handed violin player. I can tell he doesn't have a strong woman in his life, judging by the way he reacted when he found out I'm the detective he came here to speak to, rather than my husband. He may even be mother-less.

     "You," I nod to him. "What's your name?"

     The man clears his throat as he places a teaspoon of sugar into his tea. "Roth. Detective Wesley Roth."

     "Well then, Detective Wesley Roth, can you explain the details of the Ripper's latest crime to me?" I ask.

     "Um, w-well, it- uh, the latest m-murder," he clears his throat again. He must be new, considering how uncomfortable he is with the thought of murders. "A prostitute was found mutilated on Henriques Street at Dutfield's Yard early this morning. She-She had two severe cuts on her throat but, unlike the Ripper's previous victims, she had no other injuries on her body."

     "That's not all," Freddie speaks up. "You must know by now that the murderer identified himself as Jack the Ripper only two days ago, through a letter he sent to the police."

     "Of course I know that," I reply. "What exactly was in the letter, by the way?"

     Freddie reaches into his inner coat pocket and takes out what seems to be the letter. He passes it to me. "See for yourself."

     I hesitate, but take the letter anyways. I unfolded it, but didn't begin reading it right away. The letter was written in red ink and handwritten neatly. It was dated on the 25th of September, only five days ago.

     "Read it out loud, please," Mr. Roth states.

     I gulp and begin reading it:

     "Dear Boss,

     I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they won't fix me just yet. I have laughed when they look so clever and talk about being on the right track. That joke about Leather Apron gave me real fits. I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady no time to squeal. How can they catch me now. I love my work and want to start again. You will soon hear of me with my funny little games. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha. ha. The next job I do I shall clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldn't you. Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. My knife's so nice and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good luck.

     Yours Truly,

     Jack the Ripper

     Dont mind me giving the trade name

     PS Wasnt good enough to post this before I got all the red ink off my hands curse it No luck yet. They say I'm a doctor now. ha ha"

     A shiver runs down my spine and I nervously gulp. "This...this is terrifying."

     Freddie nods, "Indeed. At first, we thought it was a hoax, but we can never be too cautious. We've asked the police not to remove the victim's body so we can investigate the scene. In the letter, it says he's going to cut off the ears of his next victim, so we'll find out soon if this is really from him or not."

     I close my eyes for a moment, having second thoughts about whether or not to take this case. After a few moments, I take a deep breath. "Okay, I'll take the case," I give him back the letter with a shaky hand.

     At that moment, the front door opens and my dear husband, Harry, walks into the house, followed by Detective Niall Horan.

     "Freddie! What a surprise," Harry says. Freddie stands up and greets him with a hug.

     "Harry. How are you, m'boy?" He asks. Harry takes off his coat and hat, fixing his short, dark brown hair.

     "I'm doing well, thanks. It's bloody freezing outside," he chuckles. "And you?"

     I answer for him. "He's stressed, I can see some slight spots of grey mixed in with his black hair."

     "She's doing it again," Freddie says. "I can't keep anything from you, can I?"

     I shrug. I want to smile, but I'm still shaken up by that letter. Harry turns to Mr. Roth as I'm greeted by Niall.

"Niall, it's good to see you're feeling better," I say.

     Niall smiles, "Yeah, I'm feeling much better. Bit of a cold, but I got over it. Who are these people?"

     I turn to everyone, getting their attention. "Niall, this is Frederick Abberline, a friend of my parents. And this is Wesley Roth, who actually thought Harry was the detective, can you believe that?"

     Freddie shakes Niall's hand, "Nice to meet you. Now, shall we get going? We have a crime scene to investigate!"

     "You two go on ahead," I tell him. "I need to have a word with Harry and Niall for a moment."

     Freddie nods, and he and Mr. Roth walk out of the house, climbing into a carriage. Soon, they're off and I close the front door.

     "What did Freddie want?" Harry asks me, sitting on a chair and moving Mr. Roth's nearly untouched cup of tea.

     "We're going to help him catch Jack the Ripper," I answer, conflicted. On one hand, I'm always excited to solve a crime, especially this specific one. It's quite a challenge. On the other hand, we're not dealing with a regular murderer. We're dealing someone who is so far from humanity that he's even considered to be not a man, but a demon.

     Niall gasps, "What? The-The Ripper?! Are y-you sure you want to do this?"

     "Niall, he's murdering innocent women for no apparent reason. Of course I want to do this," I say. Niall takes a deep breath and crosses his arms.

     Niall met me and Harry a few years ago, through my older sister. At that time, he was trying to court her, but she wasn't interested in him. He began speaking to me, and I realized he had a love for solving mysteries. So, I hired him at the Styles Detective Agency. I was only twenty at the time, so not many people would hire a twenty-year-old Scottish woman to solve crimes. This will be my first murder mystery, and I couldn't be more excited.

     "Mary, this isn't a normal case. You do realize how dangerous this is, don't you?" Harry worriedly asks me. "This monster has been responsible for the mutilation of women for months now and nobody has caught him. Don't you think that, being a woman yourself, you'd be putting your life in danger by trying to find this man?"

     I sigh. "Harry, this is something I need to do. Please don't try to fight me on this because you know I'd win."

     "Yeah, I know," he smirks. "Well then, if you insist on solving this, I'm coming with you."

     "Of course you're coming with me," I smile. "You're my assistant, you don't have a choice."

     Harry and I have been married for a year now. I remember when we first met when I was nine and he was twelve. He was the only one who didn't make fun of the way I spoke. It was obvious those other kids have never heard a Scottish voice before.

     "I'm coming, too," Niall states. "I've been so bored lately."

     "Alright then, let me go get changed and then we'll be off," I say. I run up the stairs to a small room with my luggage. Investigating in a dress is nearly impossible. I quickly take off my dress and breathe a sigh of relief when my corset comes off. I put on dark brown pants with dark brown boots, a white blouse that I tuck into my pants, and a long, brown coat to go over it. It isn't very appealing, but it's comfortable. I don't bother with my hair, leaving it down. I run back down the stairs. "Are we ready?"

     The boys nod to me, we step out of the house and find a nearby carriage. Harry opens the door for me and I climb inside, followed by Niall, who sits across from me. I hear Harry give the driver the address, and then he gets into the carriage as well and takes a seat next to me.

     As our carriage is taking us to the scene of the crime, I look out the window and try to stop my hands from shaking. Harry notices how nervous I am, and he grabs my hand in order to comfort me. It's a nice gesture, but almost nothing can comfort me.

     Soon, our carriage arrives, and we reluctantly climb out of it. I take in the scene in front of me and exhale. It's time to begin the investigation.

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So that was the first chapter! How do you guys like the story so far? This chapter was a bit short, the others are going to definitely be longer.

I'm trying to make this as accurate to real history as I can, so I've been doing a lot of research on this. Frederick Abberline was a real person who was put on the Ripper case, although as far as I know, I made up Wesley Roth. The letter that that was in this chapter was a real letter sent to the police by Jack the Ripper, word for word. That's why it's got some typos in it.

As you can see from this chapter, this story is going to be very different from my first book. This one is going to be suspenseful, scary, and more mature than "Project Eden" was. I legit got chills when I read that letter for the first time.

Anyways, vote and comment if you want to, I'd love to hear what you guys think about this!

Love, Tori