"Extra. Extra. Read all about it!" A swirl of newspapers around the square, young boys shouting to sell the latest sensational edition of their respective papers. Noise and confusion fill the empty spaces, until the silence had left every corner. Mutters of what had happened the previous evening. Of course Utterson knew why the chaos was so prevalent. The murder of Sir Danvers Carew, the sole witness a servant in his own home, no one knew anymore than this, however high society was already placing blame on the least probable man, Mr. Hale. Of course he knew all this as he was Carew's lawyer and he had been called in to identify the body, which he did with relative ease. Now the only question left was why it had happened. And more importantly to him alone was why pressure was being placed on Hale. Hoping to abate some of these concerns he decided to leave the sanctuary and quiet of his home for the chaos below, braving a short trip to purchase a newspaper and with any luck shed light on what had happened.

Murder in London, Sir Danvers Carew Dead

William Stone

In a well-to-do neighborhood in London Sir Danvers Carew was murdered yesterday afternoon. An anonymous source was able to tell us that he was likely beaten to death, his assailant using a blunt weapon of sorts to kill the man. As of yet this weapon has yet to be discovered, and it seems likely that is will remain that way. In an interesting twist to the story there was a single witness to his death, a servant in the Carew estate. The young woman had been taken into custody on suspicion of involvement in this murder. It appears that there is neither distinct motive, nor any probable suspects in this case. But this does not stop people from placing blame on one man, Mr. James Hale.

We have from an anonymous source that Mr. Hale is quite mysterious and solitary. He rarely ventures out, yet this still does not quell the stir of rumor around the man. Some say he is a philanthropist, caring to the end of all imagination and wealth, others state that his kindness is merely a ruse, hiding a darker side; one that many believe is capable of murder. The most interesting side of this man is that despite all of the rumors around him there seems to be no one who even claims to know the man on any level other than having seen him at one point or another. Mysterious indeed and perhaps this is what fuels the calls to investigate the man further and his possible involvement in this sad state of affairs.

As for the fair and unbiased opinion of this humble reporter, praised for several of his works relating to the political trials in France, the entire situation has been vastly inflated, into something it obviously isn't. And now this reporter is left with one simple question, why has the bulk of the population jumped to the unfounded conclusion that Hale must be responsible? It seems illogical, and directly against a fair and just investigation against a man who is now guilty unless proven innocent.

"Dreadful business, and to think I saw the man only a week ago," Utterson remarked to no one in particular. But as he was deciding to keep his interest in the man minimal he was also looking forward to the dinner with Dr. Jekyll in a week's time. For it was obvious that answers were needed now more than ever from his old friend and client. For if this went to trial he would certainly be dragged in. He could only hope that he would be able to reason with his old friend in time to keep his good name out of the entire situation that he had unknowingly put himself into nearly two months ago when he had written this Will. Indeed now might be the proper time to dissuade him from it, at least he certainly hoped that it would be, for this had not been sitting well with him, despite his promise to maintain a general disinterest in the man.

Mr. Enfield rejoiced in hearing the news that day however, not because the man was dead, but because Hale was being blamed for it. "Brings him down a notch it does," he exclaimed in his study. Clearly pleased in this turn of fate, a perfect man was on the verge of being accused of murder. This would surely bring everything back to how it was before his sudden, unexpected arrival. Fate had indeed turned in his favor and he was certain to take advantage of it. He would never mention to a soul that he was directly responsible for the shadow of doubt being placed over Hale, it was now irrelevant, the deed was done and when it succeeded he would have the knowledge, no, the satisfaction of saving not only his own reputation, but also that of every man who called himself a gentleman.

Dr Jekyll on the other hand visibly paled at the news, though no one other than himself, and possibly Lanyon could possibly know the reason why. For it was only these two men who knew about the contaminated substance he used in recent experiments, as well as the accident that ensued. And it was only Jekyll who knew the full repercussions of what had happened. This was bad news indeed. It was time for him to do something, he needed to cease any transformations immediately until things had calmed, before he was pressed too hard by Utterson for information. This was devastating news, and the worst was yet to come he feared.

~/~/~/~/~/~

A/N I am back to writing after going insane with a research project for a comp class this past month or so, but now I will update more often since I don't have a 15 wek class packed into half the time. So thanks for reading and please review! I like reviews, a lot.