Chapter 2

...

Once Ianto had left, Owen took his largest scalpel and made a Y-shaped incision on the dead woman's body. The arms of the Y extended from the front of each shoulder to the bottom end of the breast bone, diverting beneath the breasts, so the "Y" had curved arms. He didn't have to cut the end of the Y since the killer had. The cut was deep, going down to the rib cage and completely through the abdominal wall below that.

He then peeled the skin, muscle, and soft tissues off of her chest with another scalpel. When he finished, he pulled the chest flap upward over her face, so the front of the rib cage and the strap muscles of the front of the neck lay exposed. He wrinkled his nose as the smell of raw meat assailed him.

He used a saw to open the rib cage. One cut was made up each side of the front of the rib cage, so that the chest plate, consisting of the sternum and the ribs which connected to it, was no longer attached to the rest of the skeleton. The chest plate was pulled back and peeled off with a little help from the scalpel, which he used to dissect the adherent soft tissues stuck to the back of the chest plate. After the chest plate has been removed, Owen could see the inner organs. His dissection began at the neck and proceeded downward, so that eventually all the organs were removed from the body in one piece.

The first thing Owen did was identify the carotid and subclavian arteries in the neck and upper chest. The carotid had been cut clean through by the same knife that had made the slits on the woman's abdomen.

He then removed all the organs and the brain, leaving the body an empty shell. The body looked like the hull of a ship under construction, the prominent ribs resembling the corresponding structural members of the ship.

After he had completed the autopsy, he left the dead room to find Jones, but was told by Officer Williams that the Detective Inspector had gone back to Buck's Row to interrogate anyone who could have possible seen the killer.

Owen sighed deeply and donned his coat before leaving to go tell the DI his findings.

...

As soon as his tired feet stepped over the worn welcome mat, Ianto could smell the stench of sweat and sex emitting from the corridor before him. It was still early in the morning, but the tarts of Buck's Row were already hard at work pleasing their male customers.

The DI took off his hat and held it by his side as a lady, dressed in nothing but a red and black corset and thin petticoats, approached him.

"How do ya do, mister? What can I do for you?" The lady asked, swishing her skirts provocatively.

Ianto pulled his credentials out of his pocket and flashed the piece of paper at her, "Detective Inspector Jones, miss. I'm here about one of your girls."

The lady looked nervous, "What do ya need to know?"

Ianto cleared his throat, "Let's just start with your name."

"Cooper. Gwen Cooper."

Ianto nodded. "And do you know a girl by the name of Mary Ann Nichols?"

Gwen looked down, "Did something happen to her? She wasn't here this morning and I was worried..."

"I'm sorry to say this, but she's been killed."

Gwen sighed and motioned for Ianto to sit. "So I feared, when one of my girls doesn't come back the worst is bound to have happened. It's a hard life, this one, Detective."

"So I've seen. Are there any customers that would have wanted to do Mary harm? Anyone you can think of?"

Gwen's mouth narrowed and she crossed her leg over her knee, "There is one man. No name, but we call him Leather Apron. Just a moniker one of the girls gave him."

"What is it about this man that you would think he would kill her?" Ianto asked, leaning back in the plush chair.

"He extorts us." Gwen's voice tightened, "Fucks us, then takes what little money we have. Cruel man."

"Can you describe him?"

Gwen nodded, "Yes. Seedy looking, unshaven. Blonde hair with long sideburns and thin blue eyes."

Ianto replaced his hat and stood, "Thank you ma'm, you've been very helpful. We'll keep a lookout for this Leather Apron."

Gwen smiled sadly, "Anything to catch him. Mary was like a sister to me."

Ianto tipped his hat and started to leave when another man entered the brothel.

He was tall, with dark hair and a smile that could capture any girl's heart. His greatcoat swished behind him dramatically as his sauntered toward the Detective.

"Jones, what a surprise!" The man said, grinning.

"Harkness." Ianto replied, less than happy at the reporter's presence, "What are you doing here? This is police business."

Jack shrugged, "Just doing a little research. You don't mind do you?"

Ianto glared at him. "Actually, I do mind. Time for you to leave." He grabbed Jack's arm and dragged him out the door with him, depositing him on the doorstep when the door closed behind them.

"Aww, Ifan. You ruin all of my fun." Jack pouted and glanced up with wide blue eyes.

Ianto frowned at him, "Don't call me that. And you need to stop poking around police stuff, I can't keep you out of jail forever."

Jack stood up and brushed off his coat, "I know that, but I have a job to do as well."

Ianto sighed and turned his back on Jack, "See you at home, Jack."

"See you at home."

...

Owen caught Ianto on Whitechapel Road as he neared the police station.

"Jones!" The doctor called out, trotting to catch up with the moody Detective, "I finished the autopsy."

Ianto stopped and let Owen catch up with him, "What did you find? Be quick about it."

Owen took a deep breath and began to speak, "Well, the same knife was used for all the cuts, I'd say it was of medium size. The cuts are precise, nearing perfection. The work of someone with skill."

"So we can assume he's middle to upper class? Someone with enough money to go to school?"

"Maybe. There are other ways to learn such things than through money. He cut through her abdominal wall, but only across half her stomach. Almost like he was interrupted."

Ianto nodded, "Interesting, continue."

"Her uterus was disturbed, but still intact, which fits with the theory of him being interrupted. The cut through her neck went deep as well, going way past the carotid. He had some power in him."

"Had she been... used?"

Owen nodded, "Not minutes before her death."

Ianto stopped in the middle of the street and faced Owen, "So he has her, then he kills her. The woman running the brothel said that there was a man who was extorting prostitutes for their money after having them. Maybe Nichols refused to pay up."

"It's a good lead." Owen said.

"Just about the only one we have." Ianto replied.