Saturday, 28 May, 1870
What a joyous relief it was to receive the telegram this morning -- H.M.S. Griffin returned to port, with the entire household safe. It threw the staff into a bit of a tizzy getting things cleaned up and prepared. I sent a note to Mr. Cuthbert's man, then prepared the barouch and small carriage to meet everyone at the station.
It was an even more joyful occasion to see the master and the household getting off the train in high spirits and looking quite healthy. I believe the sea air agreed with them all. Sir Phillip was also on the platform, with instructions from A to take the master's report personally. Mr. Ramsey's associate, Mr. Travers, was also there, ready to take Mr. Ramsey, and the brothers Pryce, to the St. Jerome Chapterhouse. The master introduced me to Prof. Gordon and his lovely daughter, Alice, and informed me that they would be our guests for a while.
We took charge of the luggage and got everyone loaded.
Edward was a non-stop chatterbox the whole time, describing to me the workings of a new sinkable boat and an improved underwater rocket and other things, much of which I did not understand. When I thanked Mr. Salmalin for bringing his charges home safe, he remarked that it was more due to their own ability to look out for each other than his. I am certain I will eventually hear the entire story.
When we had arrived at the house, I made introductions. The household already knew Patsy and Tattvik, of course. The new footmen, Mrs. Murphy, and the two new maids were something of a surprise. Then I began handing out all of the mail that had been accumulating. Miss Chigwidgeon was delightfully surprised when I presented her with the collection of periodicals I had purchased for her during her absence. I suspect that when Dr. Wilson sees the contents of The Weekly Companion he will be considerably less enthusiastic.
On the other hand, Miss Chigwidgeon seemed most disturbed at the number of letters from young Mr. Graham. I told her he had been faithfully stopping by each Sunday afternoon, but this seemed to upset her even more, rather than cheer her as I had hoped. When I attempted to distract her from whatever was troubling her with the news that her father had dropped by for a visit, she became even more agitated. But she sat down and began to read her mail, a look of grim determination on her face.
Dr. Wilson seemed somewhat more pleased with his own mail. It seems the author he met some weeks ago has already sold an article about Dr. Wilson to the Northampton Temperence Gazette. The article appears to meet with Dr. Wilson's approval.
Miss Whitnell seemed disturbed by her mail. I learned later that there were tensions in her brother's household, and the master had inadvertantly exacerbated those tensions.
Miss Sinclair looked as if she might faint a few moments after she began reading her mail. She took Miss Whitnell aside and they conferred for several minutes.
The master arrived at this time, and I was just showing him the large collection of mail awaiting him when Miss Whitnell came to inquire about why he had sent someone to visit her mother. She was quite upset about the family problem that the visit seemed to worsen. The master tried to stammer out an apology, and then gave up, simply handing Miss Whitnell the cameos he had had made of her parents. Miss Whitnell was overcome with emotion and had to retire to her room for some moments. I quietly suggested to the master that perhaps he should cushion such shocks in the future by advising the recipient to sit down, first.
Then we settled to the discussion of the master's mail. I informed him that news of Lord Greyminster's illness had reached the home district and it seemed that some of the residents have leapt to the conclusion that the heir is the person who may have the energy to deal with their concerns. The master asked if the Earl's health had worsened. I told him that Miss Pinker was very concerned, but that the Earl's condition did not seem changed since the master and I had both seen him together last.
Dr. Wilson took his leave at this time, wanting to get to his laboratory and see to the unloading of the new equipment. Lt. Wooster and Mr. Caine accompanied him, and we didn't see them again until tea time.
The master was delighted to see all of the jewels had arrived from Messr. Rothstein, and decided to pass out some of the presents. The ladies thanked him, and hinted that he should not be so extravagent. The master retired to his office to deal with some of the mail.
Miss Whitnell, Miss Sinclair, Miss Chigwidgeon, and Miss Gordon had a discussion of the contents of some of their letters. They had also seen the news reported about the Stepney murders, and Miss Sinclair wanted to look into the business right away. Miss Chigwidgeon, meanwhile, seemed convinced that her father's visit meant that something bad had happened, and she was determined to find him to learn what it was. As they discussed this and other matters, they decided that a trip was in order. Miss Sinclair and Miss Gordon would go to the museum, while Miss Whitnell and Miss Chigwidgeon would go looking for Mr. Chigwidgeon. Edward volunteered to drive them, and Mr. Salmalin readily agreed to accompany them.
They left and suddenly the house was quiet again, save for the scratching of the master's quill in his office.
Everyone arrived back at the house at tea time, and in quite a state of emotion. As best I could reconstruct it as they explained to each other, here is what happened:
Dr. Wilson arrived at B.F. & C. Stein and Company only to discover that one of the men employed in Dr. Wilson's laboratory was the very man who had been murdered in Stepney last evening. Dr. Wilson and Mr. Caine thought this was too unlikely to be mere coincidence, and went to find the scene of the crime to learn more.
They discovered an eye-witness, a beggar by the colourful nickname of One-eyed Billy. The witness had told the police that he had only heard the screams, but under stern questioning from Mr. Caine admitted he had seen more. He also admitted that Rip Chigwidgeon had questioned him earlier. He had been induced by Rip Chigwidgeon to admit he had seen the killer flee the scene. It seems that three of the four victims of this mad killer have been prostitutes, apparently in the employ of the same organization which employs Mr. Chigwidgeon. This Billy character described the killer as a well-dressed man with a dark over coat, a top hat, and armed with two large meat knives, which he shoved into sheaths concealed under his clothing before fleeing the scene. Something about the description of the knives had convince Mr. Chigwidgeon to go speak to a knife thrower at Willy Python's Penny Circus. Dr. Wilson, Mr. Caine, and Lt. Wooster decided to do the same.
Meanwhile, Miss Sinclair and Miss Gordon had arrived at the Museum Reading Room and, upon looking for newspapers with stories about the earlier murders, discovered the Mr. Ramsey and one of his associates, Mr. Post, were already investigating the very same crimes. Mr. Post had been investigating the theft of a holy relic from a small church in Stepney, St. Eglantine's. Mr. Ramsey and Mr. Post had become convinced that the theft was related to the murders. Upon reviewing the information, Miss Sinclair asked to join their investigation.
As they were leaving the museum, they met Mr. and Mrs. Cuthbert. Mrs. Cuthbert had also wanted to find information about the murders. They combined forces and went to the church.
Meanwhile, Miss Whitnell and Miss Chigwidgeon, with Edward and Salmalin, had reach Mr. Chigwidgeon's home, only to learn, from a neighbor, that Mr. Chigwidgeon was at work -- and apparently that his news was that he had remarried. The neighbor invited them in to tea, and sent one of her daughters-in-law to summon Miss Chigwidgeon's new step-mother. The new Mrs. Chigwidgeon, I am given to understand, is no more than two years older than our Miss Chigwidgeon. She is hindu, like Miss Chigwidgeon's mother, though born in London's East End. They were married a few months ago and the new bride has been pestering her husband to invite his daughter home for a proper dinner ever since.
While this awkward first meeting was taking place, Miss Whitnell heard Wooster's voice outside. A second later she heard Edward call out a greeting. Miss Whitnell stepped out to see what was going on, and saw Dr. Wilson, Mr. Caine, and Lt. Wooster in a carriage. They started to tell her what was going on when she noticed something out of the corner of one eye. Some one, or something was following Wooster and the others. Apparently there had been an incident when the party landed on shore at Harwich, and now Miss Whitnell perceived that a creature of some dark enchantment was following Dr. Wilson's group.
Caine and Dr. Wilson explained about the murder and hearing that Mr. Chigwidgeon was also seeking the killer. It was decided that they should proceed with all speed to the Penny Circus in Southwark, across the river.
They had not quite reached the Circus when they laid eyes upon Mr. Chigwidgeon. A fight had broken out in the Circus and Mr. Chigwidgeon had taken it upon himself to break it up. He was rounding up the miscreants when he saw his daughter, and became quite chagrinned that she was in the neighborhood.
He explained that there was a murderer preying on defenseless woman. He suggested that Miss Chigwidgeon and her lady friend should go home straight away. When they explained that they were investigating the murder themselves, he seemed a bit confused, but agreed to share what information he had with them. Unfortunately, during the excitement of the fight, he had forgotten some of this information, so they had to go back into the circus so he could ask the knife thrower again the name of the man who might have made the custom knife sheaths for the killer.
The group, now with Mr. Chigwidgeon in tow, headed back to The City. They had not quite reached the location when they saw the smoke from the fire. The very business they had been on their way to investigate was in flames. According to witnesses, set ablaze by a rocket fired from atop a nearby building. The party joined the bucket brigade, while Miss Whitnell retired to the barouche to attempt to cast a spell that would dampen the flames. Soon the fire was snuffed out.
Miss Whitnell rushed into the smoky ruin hoping to find the injures leatherworker. Alas, the poor wretch had been tied to his own chair and apparently doused with kerosene before the rocket was fired into the building. Miss Whitnell was looking for a safe which might contain an order or receipt book (and therefore some clue as to the killer's identity), when Inspector Bradstreet arrived on the scene, and proceeded to arrest Dr. Wilson for the crime.
Miss Whitnell and Mr. Caine attempted, in vain, to point out the inconsistencies in the Inspector's theory. I daresay Dr. Wilson would have been hauled off to jail if it hadn't been for the intervention of a man named Simon MacGregor. Mr. MacGregor came forward, identified himself to Bradstreet, and confirmed that Dr. Wilson had been some distance away when the rocket was fired. Mr. MacGregor, it seems, has some sort of working relationship with the police, enough so that Bradstreet took his testimony seriously.
MacGregor explained that he has been following a man he believes might be connected to the murders, for several days. This same man met the household's train when it arrived, and followed us all home. He loitered about Mayfair until Dr. Wilson came out of the house, then had followed him to B.F. & C. Stein and Company. This man had been following Wilson all day, and MacGregor had been following the man, until he lost the other man in Wapping. MacGregor had continued following Wilson's party because he believed it was his best chance to find his suspect, again.
The man MacGregor is following is an American bounty hunter who goes by a variety of names. Though when those names, and a description of the man, was given to Dr. Wilson, Wilson could think of no reason the man would be following him.
Edward had found the location from which the rocket had been fired. Mr. Caine and Miss Whitnell investigated. Miss Whitnell's magic gave her a vision of the man who fired the rocket into the building. When she described, to Mr. MacGregor, this man, Mac Gregor said it sounded like the same man he had been following.
The group decided to return home to inform the master of everything they learned.
Meanwhile, the others, unaware that all of this was happening, had reached the church. They spoke with the Sexton, who explained where the relic was kept and when it was discovered missing. The relic was a sixth or seventh centruy bronze sword. According to the stories Mr. Ramsey unearthed (and the sexton also knew much the same story), St. Eglantine was a young woman in the village of Stepney during the late seventh century. A plague of some sort was afflicted the inhabitants of Essex and the surrounding kingdoms at the time. Eglantine had a vision in which the Virgin Mary gave her a bleeding cross and told her that if the cross were carried all over the kingdom, the plague would be cured. Following the clues in her vision, Eglantine led a group of followers into the woods, where they found the king and some of his men performing "satanic rituals." They attempted to stop the ritual, and in the scuffle, the king fell on this selfsame sword, which was part of the ritual equipment. The king was dead, and the sword was dripping with his blood. Eglantine realised that the sword was the cross. She mounted the sword, hilt up, on a stick, and carried it through the village like a cross. According to the story, every sick person who laid eyes upon the cross was cured. Eglantine took vows and founded an order of nuns. People made pilgrimages to her small church for generations afterwards to be cured of various afflictions.
While Miss Sinclair and Miss Gordon kept the Sexton busy explaining the architecture of the church, Mr. Ramsey and Mrs. Cuthbert cast a spell on the reliquary, to learn who had stolen the relic. Apparently they had not reckoned on the power of the relic's accessories when they cast the spell. The spell was a success, they had a vision, but they saw the complete story of the sword. Eglantine's tale comes rather late in it's history.
The sword had belonged to kings of Essex for several generations. When one of those kings converted to Christianity, he had temples and "heretics" alike burned. When that king died, his body was stolen. His son, who was also a Christian, learned that his father's body had been cut up and the pieces taken to different corners of the kingdom to be buried, as per the old Saxon custom. The king started a witch hunt, trying to find the "heretics" who had stolen his father's body. Eventually, the queen mother stepped forward and confessed that she was behind it, because she believed misfortune would befall the kingdom if the old custom wasn't honored. The young king had his mother burned as a witch. She cursed him to be forever remembered as a murderer of unprotected women. In reply, he vowed that he would gladly act as executioner in God's name for all eternity if the victims were unrepentant, sinful women.
It was later in the son's reign that the plague came to Essex. The king became convinced that the execution of his mother and persecution of the practioners of the old religion was responsible for the misfortune. He tried to atone for those acts by performing some of the old rituals. This is when Eglantine and her followers found him. Apparently the queen mother's curse and his vow have since held true. Whenever someone has stolen the sword from the church, the ghost of the king comes to earth and begins stalking and killing women in the area. Finally, the vision showed them a man breaking into the church, stealing the sword, and then, when he reached the street, conversing with the ghost, before going on his way.
All of these tales were told while everyone ate tea. The master sat a bit in a daze, listening to it all. He had been answering his mail all day long, and had thought everyone had gone shopping.
Shortly after all this information was shared, Mr. MacGregor arrived, having been invited by Miss Whitnell. He had his own information to share. The man he was tracking, the bounty hunter, goes by several names: Mr. Gabriel, Mr. Angel, Mr. Black, and Mr. Sentenza. He was rumoured to have been killed in America around 1862 when he was involved in the theft of a large shipment of Confederate gold, but had a falling out with his fellow thieves. Mr. MacGregor, it seems, was working in America at the time for the Pinkerton Detective Agency. This bounty hunter had served in the American armed forces for many years, including the Mexican-U.S. War in the 1840s. He is a battle-hardened fighter and known as a charismatic leader. After his supposed death, he turned up several times again, collecting various bounties.
Since coming to London this Sentenza fellow has behaved strangely. Mr. MacGregor has never seen him order any food at any of the public houses that he regularly stopped in, though he does drink, usually whisky. He has purchased large quantities of raw meat, which he had delivered to his hotel room, along with an entire barrel of pickle brine. Not a barrel of pickles, just the brine.
Miss Whitnell is convinced that the person who she saw following Dr. Wilson earlier in the day is some sort of enchanted creature, an undead creature, similar to the sort that they apparently encountered on St. Damian Island.
Mr. MacGregor took all of this talk of sorcery and visions rather calmly. Then he offered to track down the officer investigating the theft of the relic and learn the description of a man who made a donation at the church earlier in the week to look at the relic.
While he was away the others took some rest, answered mail, or made preparations for a further excursion to look for the bounty hunter. Sir Cosmo decided that now was a good time to give Miss Chigwidgeon the rest of her jewelry. I think the poor girl was overwhelmed. I had been a bit surprised at the full quantity of jewelry boxes that the Rothsteins had delivered. Mis Chigwidgeon was very grateful, though I daresay she felt a bit awkward about such a generous gift. Miss Whitnell was assuring her that the gift wasn't overly extravagent, given the circumstances, when the door bell was pulled.
Somewhere during either this conversation or tea, I don't recall which, Mr. Cuthbert informed us that he was purchasing the house next door. There was apparently quite a row at his older brother's home because the buffalo Mr. Cuthbert shot in Dakota arrived, shipped from the taxidermist, while the household was away at sea.
Mr. MacGregor had returned with startling news. The bounty hunter was outside the house, just down the street, watching from horseback! MacGregor had found Constable Strawberry, and managed to confirm that the suspicious fellow who had examined the relic before it was stolen appeared to be the same bounty hunter. However, that hardly seemed important if the fellow was outside the house.
The same thought went through several of our minds then: Edward was alone out in the carriage house, banging on one of his projects. Salmalin was already out the back door before most of the others had gotten down the stair. I began checking the window locks and stationed Stuart at the front door with a gun while the master raced upstairs to check more windows.
When the others reached the garden, they saw Salmalin engaged in hand-to-hand combat with another Thuggee. The Thuggee drew their attention to a "ghost bird." Something which looked like an owl, though even Miss Sinclair agreed it appeared to be changing shape as it went, was flying away. This appears to be a malevolent spirit the others had seen at Harwich. Miss Sinclair winged it with a rock, knocking it into the neighbor's garden (which will be Mr. Cuthbert's property once the deed is transferred). Mr. Cuthbert and the others ran to the gate while Salmalin and the other Thuggee went over the fence.
The owl-bird-spirit-creature had transformed into a human shape, apparently a red indian, and was fiercly fighting with Salmalin and the Thuggee. Dr. Wilson and Mr. Cuthbert both shot the creature, and it collapsed into a pile of human bones. The Thuggee ran off, with Mr. Salmalin and Miss Sinclair in pursuit.
While Mr. Ramsey and Miss Whitnell cast an exorcism on the bones, the Thuggee ran through the coach house, asked Edward if he was unharmed, and then fled out the back. Salmalin was unable to catch him. Miss Sinclair brought Edward inside. The others returned, informing us of what had transpired outside, and that the bones had vanished in a disturbing manner when they tried to exorcise them.
Both Edward and Salmalin recognized the Thuggee. It is the one whom Edward calls "Cousin George." Everyone wanted to know what he was doing here. Salmalin said that "George" had claimed he was protecting someone--someone to whom Salmalin has never been introduced: Wilhelmina. Miss Whitnell took Edward out to the kitchen when she heard this news. After a brief conversation, the two of them went to the coachhouse.
Meanwhile, we had determined that no other creatures had entered the house itself, and that the bounty hunter is no longer waiting outside.
A few moment later, Miss Whitnell came back to the parlor, leading by the hand Miss Wilhelmina, who was dressed in a mourning dress, black hat and veil, complete with black lace gloves, and her long hair tied in a black bow. Miss Wilhelmina explained that Edward has been hiding her in the coachhouse for sometime because she fears for her safety.
Since the master and I had discussed this some months ago, it should have been less of a shock to me. I don't think I was quite prepared for how soft spoken and demure Miss Wilhelmina is. She is an incredible contrast to Edward. Miss Sinclair took Miss Wilhelmina aside to discuss her hiding place and other matters. I must say that outwardly, Miss Sinclair appears to be taking the revelation much more calmly than I had feared.
Now the League is assembling itself to go, in force, to the Eagle Commercial Hotel, where the bounty hunter has a registered room. It is clear that the bounty hunter means some harm to someone in the house. Presumably he stole the relic for some nefarious purpose. Since there are bounties on Dr. Wilson back in the states, we presume he is the principle target. Unfortunately, the bounty hunter does not seem to care that he has unleashed a murderous monster on the city.
Proceed to Bloodied, but victorious
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