The Other Teddy Roosevelts Read Online Free PDF Page B

go.”
    ***
    “There it is,” said Hughes as he and Roosevelt stared at the woman’s body. The head lay in a pool of blood. “He cut her throat and slashed her face, but there’s no other damage. He’d pulled her dress up and was just about to cut her belly open when he was interrupted.”
    “What makes you think he was interrupted?” asked Roosevelt. “Why couldn’t he just have stopped for some other reason?”
    “Because those two gentlemen”—Hughes pointed at a pair of locals who were speaking with two officers—”heard the scuffle and approached from different directions. We don’t know which one startled him—for all we know, he might have heard them both—but he suddenly took flight. They saw the body, realized what had happened, and gave chase.”
    “For how long?”
    Hughes shrugged. “Three or four blocks, before they knew for sure they’d lost him.”
    “Did they get a glimpse of him?” persisted Roosevelt. “Any kind of description at all?”
    Hughes shook his head. “But one of them, Mr. Packer, alerted us, and the body was still warm and bleeding when we found it. We couldn’t have missed him by five minutes.” He paused. “We’ve got a hundred men scouring every street and alley in Whitechapel. With a little luck we may find him.”
    “May I speak to the two witnesses?” asked Roosevelt.
    “Certainly.”
    Hughes accompanied Roosevelt as the American approached the men. “This is Mr. Roosevelt,” he announced. “Please answer his questions as freely as you would answer mine.”
    Roosevelt walked up to the taller of the two men. “I only have a couple of questions for you. The first is: how old are you?”
    “34,” said the man, surprised.
    “And how long have you lived in Whitechapel?”
    “All my life, guv.”
    “Thank you.”
    “That’s all you want to know?” asked the man.
    “That’s all,” said Roosevelt. He turned to the smaller man. “Could you answer the same two questions, please?”
    “I’m 28. Ain’t never been nowhere else.” He paused. “Well, I took the missus to the zoo oncet.”
    “Thank you. I have no further questions.” He shook the smaller man’s hand, then walked back to look at the corpse again. “Have you identified her yet?”
    Hughes nodded. “Elizabeth Stride. Long Liz, they called her.”
    “A prostitute, of course?”
    “Yes.”
    “When was the last time anyone saw her alive?”
    “She was seen at Bricklayers Tavern just before midnight,” answered Hughes.
    “With a customer?”
    “Yes, but she’d already serviced him. He has an alibi for the time of the murder.”
    “Which was when?”
    “About 45 minutes ago.” Hughes looked off into the fog. “I wonder if he’s still out there?”
    “If he is, I’m sure that—”
    He was interrupted by a woman’s scream.
    “Where did that come from?” demanded Hughes.
    “I don’t know, sir,” said one of the policemen. “Either straight ahead or off to the left. It’s difficult to tell.”
    He turned back to Roosevelt. “What do you… Theodore!!! ”
    But the American was already racing into the fog, gun in hand.
    “Follow him!” shouted Hughes to his men.
    “But—”
    “He’s a hunter! I trust his instincts!”
    They fell into stride behind Roosevelt, who ran through the darkness until he reached Church Passage. He leaned forward in a gunfighter’s crouch and peered into the fog.
    “It came from somewhere near here,” he whispered as Hughes finally caught up with him. “Where does this thing lead?” he asked, indicating the narrow passage.
    “To Mitre Street.”
    “Let’s go,” said Roosevelt, moving forward silently. He traversed the passage, emerged on Mitre Street, spotted a bulky object in an open yard, and quickly ran over to it.
    “Damn!” muttered Hughes as he joined the American. “Another one!”
    “Post a man to watch the body and make sure no one touches anything,” said Roosevelt. “The Ripper can’t be more than a minute ahead of