Chapter 5 #2
Tilda made notes in her book. “We understand the man who investigated Miss Alsop’s attack has passed away.”
“James Lea. The best inspector I ever knew,” Hopkins said wistfully. “We worked closely together on these cases.”
Mrs. Hopkins bustled in with a tea tray that she set on a table near the window facing a small back garden. She poured out three cups and asked how Hadrian and Tilda took their tea. Tilda indicated that she couldn’t hold her tea and take notes, so Mrs. Hopkins left her cup on the tray.
Hadrian immediately sipped his and complimented Mrs. Hopkins on the blend. She smiled and seemed quite pleased as she departed.
Visions flitted through Hadrian’s mind as he handled the cup, which happened when he touched items that were not familiar to him.
He was exceedingly glad the things in his own home did not provoke him to see memories.
The skill could be a hindrance when he was out, particularly because of the headaches caused by the visions.
Hadrian had been working on controlling his ability. It took focus and intention to keep his mind clear of others’ memories when he didn’t wish to see them, and he hadn’t yet mastered that. Consequently, he balanced the teacup on the arm of his chair and touched it as slightly as possible.
“Can you tell us about Miss Alsop’s attack as well as Miss Scales’s?” Tilda asked.
Hopkins took a sip of his tea, then set his cup down on a small table beside his chair.
It also held a newspaper and a pair of glasses.
“I’ll start with Miss Alsop since she was attacked first. She lived at Number One Bearbinder Lane.
Around quarter to nine in the evening, a man claiming to be a policeman pounded on her door.
He said they’d caught Spring-heeled Jack out in the lane, and he needed a light.
Miss Alsop was eager to help, so she fetched a candle and opened the door.
That was when the man threw off his cloak and revealed a white oilskin costume.
” Hopkins motioned as if he’d discarded an outer garment, then gestured to his head.
“He also wore a tight helmet with a sinister, devil-like aspect with horns. She described his eyes as red balls of fire. He spat blue flames at her face, then seized her by the neck.” Splaying his hand across the front of his throat, Hopkins’s voice climbed in volume.
“Holding Miss Alsop, Jack scratched at her with his claws, which she described as being like metal, tearing her dress and wounding her neck, shoulders, and arms.” Hopkins made a slashing motion—it was as if he were conducting a performance.
“When she tried to turn and retreat into the house, the phantom grabbed her by the hair, removing a significant amount. Fortunately, her sister was home and pulled Jane inside, then slammed the door closed. The man dressed as Spring-heeled Jack banged on the door, but then ran off, probably because a group from the John Bull over in Roman Road came running when they heard the girls screaming. They claimed to have passed a man in a long black cloak, and he told them Spring-heeled Jack was at the Alsop house.”
“Clever rogue,” Hadrian murmured. “Was Miss Alsop badly hurt?”
“Her gown was in tatters, and she suffered significant injury.” Hopkins’s expression dimmed.
“It was very traumatic for her and her sister. Lea found a witness, a wheelwright called Smith. He said he saw a couple of men near the scene, so we brought them in for questioning—a carpenter named Millbank and a bricklayer named Payne.”
Tilda wrote furiously in her notebook the entire time Hopkins spoke, missing most of the man’s theatrical display. Now she fixed her gaze on Hopkins. “What happened with Millbank and Payne?”
Hopkins gestured to his clothing. “Millbank had been wearing white, and Lea believed that Miss Alsop had mistaken that for the oilskin coverall that Spring-heeled Jack was purported to wear. However, the men had an alibi. The publican at the White Hart said they’d been there, and Millbank, in particular, was quite drunk.
Lea brought Miss Alsop in to identify at least one of them, but she couldn’t say that either was the beast—that was her word—who’d attacked her.
” The former inspector shook his head with an expression of regret.
Tilda frowned but gave a single nod. “I’m not surprised since it sounds as though the helmet Spring-heeled Jack wore may also have served as a mask. In any case, as you said, Miss Alsop was traumatized so it’s not unusual that she may not recall what someone looked like. That is unfortunate.”
“Was that the end of it?” Hadrian was quite caught up in Hopkins’s retelling. The man had obviously narrated the tale countless times, and he was most engaging.
“We didn’t see Spring-heeled Jack again for a few days, but people were thoroughly distressed, as you can imagine.
” Hopkins picked up his tea for a quick drink.
“Everyone was waiting, breathless, for his next attack. He appeared a few days later, nearby on Turner Street at the Ashford residence. A female servant answered the door and again, a man in a dark cloak threw it off to reveal himself as Spring-heeled Jack. But when she screamed, he ran away. No one else saw anything, so we were unable to corroborate the young woman’s report, unfortunately. ”
“Do you think she was lying?” Tilda asked.
“Everyone wanted to say they’d seen Spring-heeled Jack or knew someone who had.
” Hopkins’s brow rippled with grave concern.
“You must understand, there was a great deal of hysteria at the time. We received many reports, the majority of them filled with uncertainty and doubt. Of those, the servant at Turner Street seemed the most genuine.”
Hadrian recalled the stories his mother had told him when he was younger. He’d been delightfully frightened, but she’d assured him that chaotic period had been awful. “Was no one ever prosecuted for Miss Alsop’s attack?” He sipped his lukewarm tea as the former inspector replied.
Hopkins shook his head. “In the end, Millbank, who was the primary suspect, couldn’t demonstrate an ability to breathe blue fire.
The magistrate couldn’t see a reason to keep him, especially without Miss Alsop being able to identify him as her attacker.
There were a few reports later of a man in fancy clothing practicing fire breathing on Bow Fair Fields, but we never tracked him down. ”
Tilda finished writing and looked over at Hopkins once more. “Will you tell us about Lucy Scales next?”
“Miss Scales was just eighteen, same as Miss Alsop. Lucy and her sister were walking home from their brother’s house in Limehouse and decided to cut through Green Dragon Alley.
This was about the same time of night as when Miss Alsop was attacked.
But in the Scales case, Spring-heeled Jack, a tall, thin figure in a large cloak carrying a bullseye lantern, stood in the alley and spat blue flames in Lucy’s face as she passed.
She claimed she was blinded, then dissolved into fits for several hours.
Thankfully, the blindness was temporary. ”
Hadrian couldn’t help thinking of Chadwick’s coachman reporting that he’d also been blinded temporarily by blue flame.
“Miss Scales collapsed in the alley?” Tilda asked.
“Yes. She was screaming, as was her sister, and their brother came running. He picked Lucy up and carried her home.” Hopkins pressed his lips together.
“I’m ashamed to say the investigation into Miss Scales’s attack was not as thorough as the one into Miss Alsop’s.
But Miss Alsop’s family was of a higher rank, and, well, that matters sometimes when it comes to resources. ”
“I am aware of such inequity,” Tilda said. “My father worked for A Division.”
“I imagine he’s proud of you,” Hopkins said with a smile.
“I like to think so. Unfortunately, he is no longer with us.”
Hopkins inclined his head at Tilda, his dark gaze earnest. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“He died doing what he loved.” Tilda shared that information without so much as a crease in her brow.
In fact, there was pride and even a hint of serenity in her features.
Hadrian suspected it was because she’d recently discovered the truth of her father’s murder, and he knew she was grateful for that.
“I gather no one was questioned before the magistrate regarding Miss Scales’s attack?” Hadrian asked.
“That’s right, though Lea and I still tried to determine what happened—for a short time anyway.
Lea was soon busy with other work. He was a highly regarded inspector, and he was quite busy.
” Hopkins’s gaze fell to Tilda’s notebook.
“I know he kept detailed notes about the investigation, but I’ve no idea where they might be. ”
Hadrian glanced at Tilda and noted the disappointment that flashed in her eyes. “Is there anything else you can tell us?” she asked.
“Lea and I concluded the attacker was the same man,” Hopkins replied. “And that he likely wasn’t the original creature who appeared in Barnes the previous autumn. We were also convinced that Millbank attacked Miss Alsop, but we didn’t have solid proof.”
Tilda regarded Hopkins intently. “What made you think it was him?”
Hopkins lifted a shoulder. “Just a feeling. Once you’ve done police work for a while, you come to recognize such things.
Millbank spent a great deal of time at the White Hart and was known for drinking and showing off.
It’s not hard to believe he and Payne were drunk and decided to stir up mischief. ”
“I would argue that breathing blue flame and causing the bodily harm that was done to Miss Alsop was far more than mischief,” Tilda said. “It was malevolent and premeditated. How else could they manage the trick with the blue flame?”