Page 83 of Secrets in the Dark
Still, he didn’t have the contacts and access to the expertly forged legal documents that Dante had. But he did have his ability to disarm others. He might not have the power to turn them homicidal as Dante had with him, but he could make good use of others to attain his goals.
He frowned. Edmund was disturbed—so was he. There was something about the last message that seemed to tease at his mind.
He couldn’t quite reach whatever it was that bothered him so.
It was there...just at the back of his mind.
He needed to find it! But he had to shake it off.
If he could, eventually it would come to him.
He turned to Edmund because forefront in his mind was Jesse Miller’s ability to disappear into the shadows. “Plans—Edmund, we need any city and area plans—buildings. Work that has been done. Electrical, water, everything on the underground—the first subway system was here, right? Around 1863.”
“Exactly 1863,” Edmund said.
He glanced at his phone. “Jackson just let me know that Angela and our technical analysts are doing everything they can to trace the killer’s emails but he’s using a server that’s bouncing all over the globe. They’ll keep at it.”
“And our analysts have the phone, but—”
“We both think it’s a burner.”
“I’ll see that Rick Fields is let out—and given a protection detail.”
“We’ll keep the detail but keep him in our line of sight tonight as well,” Mason said. “For now—”
“You want plans. I’ll see to it.”
“We’ll leave the others on the theaters, shops and stores—I want to figure out how the hell our man is disappearing.”
Fourteen
Della poured tea from the pot into a cup for herself and a cup for Mason. François, Sean and Jeanne remained out in the field, searching for any possible leads.
Edmund was still on paperwork and details regarding Rick Fields at Scotland Yard.
She had returned to the house with Mason; his determination to understand every nook and cranny in the area made complete sense to her.
She put the cups on the table, sitting next to him and studying the various maps and plans he had spread out on the table.
“In 1888, alleys were darker. From everything I’ve read, there was a vast difference—truly, the poorest of the poor eked out a fragile existence. You had women like the Ripper’s victims who worked when they could—and resorted to prostitution for money. Yes, many spent what money they made too quickly on alcohol, but there was little if any help for them. But the point is that the world Jack the Ripper walked around in was a far cry from today. Darkness, alleys, the few people walking around in the wee hours of the morning were drunks, prostitutes, patrolmen on their rounds here and there and those who had to be at work at the crack of dawn. Also, workers were different—you had people working in butcher shops. If someone was seen walking around with blood on them, it wouldn’t be the shock that it might be today,” Della said.
Mason looked up at her. “It was easy for him to just disappear into the darkness and shadows. But that’s not true today. All right, not that violence doesn’t exist today or murders don’t occur. The material world surrounding us changes constantly due to technological advancement, but sadly, the fact that human nature can become twisted doesn’t. Anyway, Jesse Miller knows this area. And he knows something that we don’t because with the amount of man—and womanpower—we have working on apprehending him, he must have the ability to disappear in a way that we haven’t fathomed yet.”
“Maybe he jumps into dumpsters,” Della suggested.
Mason shook his head. “Not our guy. He doesn’t mind being covered in blood, but he’d be loath to put himself into a pile of trash.”
“I agree. Not to mention that the police checked all the dumpsters,” Della said dryly. “Unless, of course, he went from dumpster to dumpster. There’s a back door to something somewhere.”
“Or he’s going underground.”
“Ah. And thus...”
“It’s here. We need to find it.”
“We’re looking for a door to a building or a grate to the underground in this area? Mason, we could be here a long, long time.”
He shook his head. “Not just any door. He wouldn’t be heading into an open business. Yes, I know, except for pubs and restaurants and tourist shops, businesses are closed. But he isn’t working at a bank or a real estate firm or anything of the like. So, how would he gain access to a closed business and wouldn’t a security camera, a night guard, someone see something?”
