The Ripper

London, August 7, 1888. We pan down over Victorian London at dawn. Red and orange rays of light filter through black clouds and the pointed roofs of crammed four and five story buildings. We land on a horse drawn carrage trundeling over dirty coblestone streets at a brisk pace and phase through a foggy window into the cabin. There are two men riding on the inside sitting across from each other, both in constabulatory uniforms. One of them is an officer, he has thick, white mutton chops and his uniform is decorated with stripes representing his station. The man across from him is younger. He's clean shaven and his hair appears to be slicked back, as if wet. One of his legs is stretched out in the cabin. The chief lights his pipe, which briefly lends a vivid orange light to the dark cabin. The glow of the tobacco lights his face as he inhales. He sighs the smoke out of his nose before speaking. "You're sure there's nothing I can do to talk you out of this? If you're fishing for a raise in pay, there are easier ways to go about it." Diologue options: [[No Sir, I've Thought This Through.]] [[What Are You Offering?]] [[Remain Silent.]]

"Thank you Chief Inspecter MacNaghten, Sir, but more money wouldn't fix my problems. I need to get out of the city. Being near all these people, sir, it's just..." He looks down at his leg and we can see that there's a rigging made of leather and steel, locking his knee in place. "I think I need to get away, for a while. Some time to think, somewhere quiet." The chief follows his gaze to his leg and gives him an empathetic look. [[Into the Bank.]]

"How much are we talking about?" The chief laughs. "Cheeky bugger. Don't give me false hope boy. I'd pay you thrice what I give those other half-wits if it meant you'd stay but you already knew that. So, what's it about? Why are you leaving?" The Constable looks down at his leg and we can see that there's a rigging made of leather and steel, locking his knee in place. "I think I need to get away, for a while. Some time to think, somewhere quiet." The chief follows his gaze to his leg and gives him an empathetic look. [[Into the Bank.]]

The constable doesn't say anything, he just looks down at his leg and we can see that there's a rigging made of leather and steel, locking his knee in place. The chief follows his gaze to his leg and gives him an empathetic look. [[Into the Bank.]]

"War leaves it's mark on men in strange ways. You made an exellent contable, Barret. This was a devil of a year. You aren't the first to leave and I'll be surprised if you're the last but I'll tell you now, if you find whatever it is you need out there and decide to come back, your job will be waiting." "Thank you." The carriage comes to a halt. "We've arrived," says the carriage driver. "Thank you Jacob," the chief calls to the driver before turning back to the constable. "We'll be waiting here until your return." "You don't need to do that sir." "Of course I don't, I'm the Chief inspecter. All the same, I don't like this place. It's too close to Whitechappel. Putting a bank here is like building a house on the edge of a cliff. Sooner or later, there'll be trouble." The constable leaves the carrage. He walks with a heavy limp, using a wooden cane with a pointed steel tip to bear his weight. He enters the building with a sign above it that says "Whitechappel Commercial Bank" and walks into a high arched, well lit room with stone pillars a white marble floor. There is a guard standing beside the door and at the far end of the room is a counter being manned by a teller. The counter has a ledger and a till. Behind it is a bar-door blocking a stairwell. The teller has his hair parted down the middle and is wearing a collared shirt beneath a vest and a pair of specticles. "Hello constable, are you here about the attempted robbery?" "Robbery?" "Yes, we reported it this morning. The scoundrel didn't get anything but a few lumps from Teddy over there but we thought the police would like to know all the same. Sadly it's a regular occurance at this branch. A lot of... undesirables." "Sorry, I don't know anything about that. I'm here on private business." "Of course you are. How may I be of service?" "I want to clear out my account." "May I have your name?" "Thomas Barret." "Verry well Mr. Barret, just give me a moment." The teller grabs a ring of keys, uses one of them to unlock the door and heads down the stars. Whie he's gone, Barret looks at the guard. The guard looks back and grins, showing a couple missing teeth, a scabbed over lip and a yellowish black eye. He's also wearing fashonable clothes but his are ruffled and his vest is unbuttoned. Diologue Options: [[Nice Black Eye.]] [[These Fights Happen Often?]] [[Remain Silent 2.]]

"That's some shiner you've got. Big bloke was it, that tried to rob the place?" The guard smirks and rubbs his chin, exposing a pair of dark purple knuckles. He says in a low voice, "not big enough." "Still, looks like he got a few licks in." "Suppose he did? What of it? I did my duty. don't know if I can say the same for the 'police' 'round here." "Funny thing about bruises though, they don't get that yellow color until their at least a day old." "That right?" "It is." "Guess that means I got it from someone else, don't it?" "I suppose it probably does, and bet there's a great story there." "Not as intersting as you might like, mutton shunter. The wife caught me getting handsey with one of the whores in Whitechappel after my shift." "Bad luck." "Yeah. She's not the prettiest wench in the district, but by god she's the fiercest." Barret smiles at him and then turns back to the counter to wait for the teller. [[The Teller Returns.]]

"Are robberies commen here?" "Common enough that the place don't open till I'm here." The guard smirks and rubbs his chin, exposing a pair of dark purple knuckles. "I only ask because it's obvious you've been in more than one fight recently." "How's that?" "The bruises one your hands are fresh, I presume from the robbery. The one on your eye and the cut on your lip are older however. You can see the difference in color." "Guess that means I got 'em from someone else, don't it?" "I suppose it probably does, and bet there's a great story there." "Not as intersting as you might like, mutton shunter. The wife caught me getting handsey with one of the whores in Whitechappel after my shift." "Bad luck." "Yeah. She's not the prettiest wench in the district, but by god she's the fiercest." Barret smiles at him and then turns back to the counter to wait for the teller. [[The Teller Returns.]]

Barret doesn't say anything. After a moment of staring, the guard speaks. "I think your eyes are stuck mutton shunter." "Sorry about that." Barret turns back to the counter and waits for the teller to return. [[The Teller Returns.]]

The teller comes back up the stairs with a bag full of money, locking the door behind him. "Are you certain you want to withdraw your account all at once, sir? This is a lot of money to be walking around with and I might have mentioned that this isn't the safest district." "It'll be fine, I have a ride waiting outside." "And there isn't anything I can say to keep your business." "Nothing comes to mind." "Very well, I'll just need to see some identification and you can be on your way." Barret pulls his badge off his chest and srops it on the counter. The name "Berret, Thomas" is embossed across the bottom of the polished brass. We transition to Barret limping out of the bank toward the carriage. It's still mostly dark out and the streets are primarily lit by lamps. He opens the door. "That took long enough," says the chief. "Come along boy, it's colder than a Russian maid out here." But then a scream echoes from down the street. Barret takes off after the sound, limping as fast as he can. An expensive looking carriage comes busteling down the street. The player is prompted to dodge the carriage. [[Dodge Success.]] [[Dodge Fail.]]

Barret spins out of the way just in time and manages to get a good look at the carrage as it barrels down the street past the bank. It has black wood and intricate and expensive looking silverwork on the side. He hears the scream again and continues toward the sound. [[The Body.]]

The carriage knocks Barret off his feet causing the bag of money and his cane to go flying out of his hands. He has to crawl to get them back, hearing the scream again as he does so. He gets up once he's regained his items and looks around but the carriage is long gone. He continues toward the sorce of the screaming. [[The Body.]]

As Barret comes limping around the corner, he sees a group of eight or so people. Most are dressed in worn and dirty clothing, indicative of impoverished people. They're all crowded around the entrance to a pub. There's a plaque hanging above the door baring the name "The Old Crow." Barret uses his cane to push his way through and sees that just inside the landing is the body of a large woman. Her torso is bloody with dozens of stab wounds. "Who found her?" Barret asks. "Did anyone see who did this." "No, sir," says an older man with a large stomach. He has a big moustache and is wearing a coat stained with dark spots, like you would find from liquer or beer. "I found her, I mean I saw her here last night but I didn't know she was dead." "What do you mean you didn't know she was dead? Look at her!" "I know. It's just... It's a pub sir. I find folks slogged over on the floor all the time. I usually don't look twice, but then I heard screaming and so I came down stairs. It's horrible." "You're the owner then?" "Yes sir, Alfred George Crow. Happy to help however I can." "Good, I'll need to talk to you." A young woman in the crowed with curley white hair is crying. "Martha no," she wimpers. "You knew this women?" Barret asks. "We... we was just drinking together last night. Her name's Martha. Martha Tabrum." She starts sobbing uncontrollably. The player is prompted to comfort her. [[Comfort Success.]] [[Comfort Fail.]]

Barret limps over and puts his arm around her shoulders. He's not good at being comforting, but he does his best. "There, there. We'll get this all sorted. I just need a bit of help." She pushes away from him and wipes away her tears. "Yeah," she says. "What do you want to know?" [[Questions.]]

The girl continues sobbing. "Compose yourself woman. You're sobbing isn't doing your friend any good." Another, more matronly, woman standing beside the girl puts her arm around her and gives Barret a scoulding look. "No, it's fine," the girl says. "What do you need to know?" [[Questions.]]

Dialogue options [[Who are you?]] [[Drinking?]] [[Martha?]] [[No More Questions.]]

"I didn't catch your name?" "My mother named me Mary Ann Connelly but the johns around here call me Pearly Poll." "So you're a..." "A night worker, yeah. Me and Martha both. She was like a mom or a real sweet aunt. She looked out, you know?" "I'm sorry." "Sure you are. I'm sure the whole worlds sorry for Martha. Now what else do you want to know?" [[Questions.]]

"What were you doing last night? You said you and Martha were drinking. Was it here?" "Nah, it was up the street at the Angel and Crown. We got good and sloshed with a couple of soldiers. Martha could handle her liquer though. I was more worried about the uniforms. They were a little sloppy but they had coin to pay so Martha took one and I took the other." "The soldiers, did you get their names?" "No, it usually pays not to ask. Some men get skiddish after, like they're worried you'll show up at their houses and tell their wives what they've been up to. I wish I did though." [[Questions.]]

"Tell me about Martha. What was she like? Where did she live?" "She was a sweet motherly type. She had two boys but they both skarpered to work in the shipyard. She didn't see 'em much. Had a husband but he left her a while back. She was a good woman, honest but she had a fondness for the bottle. Some men can't stand it when a woman loves anything more than them. He got real upset when he found out she was selling the gift the lord gave her. They had a fight a few months back and as far as I know she ain't herd from him since. "As for where she lived, she was in the housing down the street. Same as a lot of the girls. 66 Commercial." "Thanks." [[Questions.]]

"Ok thanks. That's all I need for now. Head home and get some rest." At this point the Chief enters the room. He's standing behind Barret and so doesn't have a good view of the body. "Barret, what's going on?" "There's been a murder sir." "A murder you say?" Barret steps aside and allows the chief to look at the body. "Good heavens. So there is. Have you done your, you know, you're trick?" "I was just about to examine the body." "Right, well. Get on with it then. Everyone else clear the room, this is a crime scene you vultures." As everyone else leaves, Barret crouches down and looks at the woman up close. [[Examination]]

Examination options: [[Examine Pockets]] [[Examine Wounds.]] [[Examine Blood Splatter.]] [[Examine Hands]] [[Finish Examination]]

Barret inserts the tip of his cane, which is pointed, slowly into one of the wounds until it stops. He pulls the cane back out and looks at it. Roughly three inches of the steel tip is coated in blood. "Three inch weapon. Something sharp like a pocket knife, or a pairing blade." He mimes a counting motion. "Thirty-seven stab wounds. No, wait. Thirty-nine." [[Examination]]

We pan over the woman's body looking her up and down. there are a lot of stab wounds but the ones in the heart and throat are particularly bloody. "There's heavy blood splatter here and here," Barret says pointing to heart and throat. "Those were the first places he attacked,essential arteties. She died from those wounds imediately. That's why there's so little blood from the others. After that he just kept stabbing." "But why?" asks the Chief. "Adrenalin maybe, or else to try and draw out the feeling." [[Examination]]

Barret lifts up her hand and we pan in on her knuckles which are pale and normal looking and then down to her fingernails where he spots some red. "She has some blood and maybe even a little skin under her fingernails. She must have scratched him which means she was awake when she was attacked and they were close together, very close. Our attacker will have scratch marks on his body for the next few days at least. Maybe scars after that." "She didn't let him get away scott free. That's something at least, eh?" "It isn't much." [[Examination]]

Barret goes through the woman's pockets but doesn't find anything. "Well, it was worth a shot." [[Examination]]

Barret stands back up and faces the chief. "Well," the chief says. "Do you have any idea who might have done this?" [[The Bank Guard]] [[The Carriage Driver]] [[The Soldier]] [[The Husband]] [[Too Early to Say.]]

"The guard at the bank seemed aggressive and he mentioned getting into a fight involving a lady in whitechappel. He also had a few wounds like what Martha here might have done with her fingernails. Might be worth looking into." [[Into the Sunrise]]

"On my way over here I almost got run down by a mad carriage driver. Seemed to be in a big hurry to get away from something. But then, this murder happened last night. Might not be connected. [[Into the Sunrise]]

"Her friend said she was last seen drinking and then leaving a tavern with a soldier. Seems the most likely place to start. Hard to track though, maybe someone at the Angel and Crown will have recognized them. Worth a shot." [[Into the Sunrise]]

"Her husband left her because of her drinking, then he got upset because he didn't like her choice of profession. They had a fight not to long ago. Might still be some wounded pride there. I'll have to talk to him before I can say for sure." [[Into the Sunrise]]

"I have some leads but it's much too soon to say anything. This one's going to be difficult to solve. It'll take time." [[Into the Sunrise]]

Barret turns away from the chief and starts limping away. The sun has risen over the buildings now and is liteing the wet street in a pale yellow glow. "Wait," the chief says. "Where are you going?" "Back to the bank. If I'm going to stick around and solve this case I can't well be carrying this sack of money the whole time, can I?"