TWO
"Wait a minutes, Prue," said Darryl. "Are you trying to tell us
that Jack the Ripper is alive and killing women in San Francisco one
hundred forty years after he did the same thing in London, England?
That's just crazy."
"As crazy as my being thirty years old in 2028?" asked Prue.
"Darryl, I know it's been a long time, but you must remember what
magic is capable of. I'm sure Phoebe remembers."
"Yeah, I do," said Phoebe uneasily.
"Okay," said Darryl. "Let's assume I buy this. Let's assume
that what you're suggesting is right. How does that help us?"
"We need as much information on those cases as we can get," said
Prue. "How they were killed, when, what the mutilations were,
everything. There's a reason he's doing this. We need to figure out
what that reason is."
"Maybe he just likes to kill," suggested Phoebe.
"I don't think that's it," said Darryl. "Serial killers have a
pattern, even if we don't immediately recognize it. Something about
their victims that sets them off. They might remind the killer of an
abusive mother or a girlfriend who jilted them or something. And they
don't wait twenty-eight years between murders."
"Prue," said Phoebe, "we assumed this warlock was brought ahead
in time, just as you were. What if he wasn't? What if he's been
living in San Francisco all this time?"
"I don't follow," said Prue.
"Do you remember Javna?" asked Phoebe. "The demon that stole
young women's life essence to keep himself young? Maybe that's what
we have here. A warlock who needs vital organs or blood or something
to keep himself young. That would explain the twenty-eight year gap
in the murders."
"That makes sense," said Prue. "The mutilations could just be a
cover to hide what he's really doing."
"And picking prostitutes," said Darryl, "could be his way of
staying low. The police wouldn't connect the murders right away. By
the time they did, he'd have his five victims and it would all be over
for another twenty-eight years. And we'd believe we were looking for
a copycat instead of the original killer.
"That makes as much sense as anything else we've come up with in
this case. But how do I report this to the detectives investigating
the case? If I tell them it's Jack the Ripper and a warlock, they'll
lock me up."
"A copycat," said Phoebe, "just like you suggested. Just tell
them that someone is copying the Jack the Ripper murders. That makes
sense, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, it does," said Darryl. "And it just might work. It
wouldn't be the first time we had a copycat killer. I'll see what
information I can get on the killings."
"Okay," said Prue. "I wish we had the Book of Shadows.
Something tells me this is no ordinary warlock. There might be
something in the book that could help us."
"Prue," said Phoebe, "we're going to need Pipers' help on this.
If this warlock is as strong as you said he was twenty-eight years
ago, he could be even more powerful now. We're going to need Pipers'
power to face him."
"I know," said Prue. "I'll have to try to talk to her again.
In the mean time, we're going to need a spell to use against him.
Maybe something to keep him from blinking or to freeze his power or
something."
"I haven't written a spell in over twenty years," protested
Phoebe. "Maybe you should do it."
"You were always the best at writing spells," said Prue. "You
can do it. It's like riding a bicycle. You never forget."
"Well, since he's a warlock," said Phoebe, "it won't need to be
a Power of Three spell at least. I'll see what I can come up with."
"I have what you're looking for," said Darryl. "It seems there
were always five victims, all prostitutes. Each was murdered using
some kind of edged weapon, probably a knife or similar weapon.
"Each then had certain organs removed, post mortem. They
weren't all the same organs, but each set of murders followed the same
pattern. Whoever the murderer was, he had at least some surgical
skill. The organs were all removed with the skill of a surgeon.
After the fifth victim, the murders just stopped as suddenly as they
began. The murderers were never caught.
"And all the murders occurred over a three month period, usually
between September and November. On two occasions, the first murder
occurred on August 31st, just like the original Jack the Ripper
murders. That means he only has two more victims to get this time
around. And the three-month time frame is almost over. There's less
than two weeks left."
"Then we have to hurry," said Prue. "Darryl, we need as much
information on Richard James as we can get. Where he lives, where he
works, that sort of thing."
"We already have that," said Darryl. "We weren't able to find
out anything on the man. No social security card, no driver's
license, not even school records. It's like he just suddenly appeared
one day."
"Isn't that suspicious?" asked Phoebe.
"Suspicious, yes," said Darryl, "but hardly illegal. You can't
arrest a man for having nor drivers license. A man without a past is
usually hiding something, but unless you can prove it, there's nothing
the police can do about it."
"What does he do for those twenty-eight years between murders?"
asked Prue. "How does he live?"
"I don't know," said Darryl. "All I do know is we only have
nine days left in this three month time frame. If we don't get him,
he could disappear for another twenty-eight years. Assuming you're
right about all this."
"I know I'm right," said Prue. "Everything points to it.
Phoebe, get started on the spell. Darryl, I assume you're going to
let the police know what we've come up with here."
"Part of it," said Darryl. "I think I'll leave out the parts
about our suspect being Jack the Ripper and a warlock."
"Good idea," said Prue. "Get me a list of the places where the
attacks occurred. Maybe there's something at one of the sites the
police might have overlooked. They're looking for a mortal killer,
after all. They might not recognize a mystical clue."
"You won't be able to get near the latest one," said Darryl,
handing her a piece of paper. "It's still a crime scene. The other
two should be clear by now. Here are the addresses."
"Good," said Prue. "After I check them out, I'm going to see
Piper. She's at least going to listen to me even if she doesn't
believe me or accept what I have to say. It's the only thing I can
do."
"I'll get you her home address," said Phoebe. "It would
probably be best if you spoke to her there."
"Prue waited as Phoebe wrote out Pipers' address. She honestly
had no idea what she was going to say to Piper when she saw her again.
"Wait a minutes, Prue," said Darryl. "Are you trying to tell us
that Jack the Ripper is alive and killing women in San Francisco one
hundred forty years after he did the same thing in London, England?
That's just crazy."
"As crazy as my being thirty years old in 2028?" asked Prue.
"Darryl, I know it's been a long time, but you must remember what
magic is capable of. I'm sure Phoebe remembers."
"Yeah, I do," said Phoebe uneasily.
"Okay," said Darryl. "Let's assume I buy this. Let's assume
that what you're suggesting is right. How does that help us?"
"We need as much information on those cases as we can get," said
Prue. "How they were killed, when, what the mutilations were,
everything. There's a reason he's doing this. We need to figure out
what that reason is."
"Maybe he just likes to kill," suggested Phoebe.
"I don't think that's it," said Darryl. "Serial killers have a
pattern, even if we don't immediately recognize it. Something about
their victims that sets them off. They might remind the killer of an
abusive mother or a girlfriend who jilted them or something. And they
don't wait twenty-eight years between murders."
"Prue," said Phoebe, "we assumed this warlock was brought ahead
in time, just as you were. What if he wasn't? What if he's been
living in San Francisco all this time?"
"I don't follow," said Prue.
"Do you remember Javna?" asked Phoebe. "The demon that stole
young women's life essence to keep himself young? Maybe that's what
we have here. A warlock who needs vital organs or blood or something
to keep himself young. That would explain the twenty-eight year gap
in the murders."
"That makes sense," said Prue. "The mutilations could just be a
cover to hide what he's really doing."
"And picking prostitutes," said Darryl, "could be his way of
staying low. The police wouldn't connect the murders right away. By
the time they did, he'd have his five victims and it would all be over
for another twenty-eight years. And we'd believe we were looking for
a copycat instead of the original killer.
"That makes as much sense as anything else we've come up with in
this case. But how do I report this to the detectives investigating
the case? If I tell them it's Jack the Ripper and a warlock, they'll
lock me up."
"A copycat," said Phoebe, "just like you suggested. Just tell
them that someone is copying the Jack the Ripper murders. That makes
sense, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, it does," said Darryl. "And it just might work. It
wouldn't be the first time we had a copycat killer. I'll see what
information I can get on the killings."
"Okay," said Prue. "I wish we had the Book of Shadows.
Something tells me this is no ordinary warlock. There might be
something in the book that could help us."
"Prue," said Phoebe, "we're going to need Pipers' help on this.
If this warlock is as strong as you said he was twenty-eight years
ago, he could be even more powerful now. We're going to need Pipers'
power to face him."
"I know," said Prue. "I'll have to try to talk to her again.
In the mean time, we're going to need a spell to use against him.
Maybe something to keep him from blinking or to freeze his power or
something."
"I haven't written a spell in over twenty years," protested
Phoebe. "Maybe you should do it."
"You were always the best at writing spells," said Prue. "You
can do it. It's like riding a bicycle. You never forget."
"Well, since he's a warlock," said Phoebe, "it won't need to be
a Power of Three spell at least. I'll see what I can come up with."
"I have what you're looking for," said Darryl. "It seems there
were always five victims, all prostitutes. Each was murdered using
some kind of edged weapon, probably a knife or similar weapon.
"Each then had certain organs removed, post mortem. They
weren't all the same organs, but each set of murders followed the same
pattern. Whoever the murderer was, he had at least some surgical
skill. The organs were all removed with the skill of a surgeon.
After the fifth victim, the murders just stopped as suddenly as they
began. The murderers were never caught.
"And all the murders occurred over a three month period, usually
between September and November. On two occasions, the first murder
occurred on August 31st, just like the original Jack the Ripper
murders. That means he only has two more victims to get this time
around. And the three-month time frame is almost over. There's less
than two weeks left."
"Then we have to hurry," said Prue. "Darryl, we need as much
information on Richard James as we can get. Where he lives, where he
works, that sort of thing."
"We already have that," said Darryl. "We weren't able to find
out anything on the man. No social security card, no driver's
license, not even school records. It's like he just suddenly appeared
one day."
"Isn't that suspicious?" asked Phoebe.
"Suspicious, yes," said Darryl, "but hardly illegal. You can't
arrest a man for having nor drivers license. A man without a past is
usually hiding something, but unless you can prove it, there's nothing
the police can do about it."
"What does he do for those twenty-eight years between murders?"
asked Prue. "How does he live?"
"I don't know," said Darryl. "All I do know is we only have
nine days left in this three month time frame. If we don't get him,
he could disappear for another twenty-eight years. Assuming you're
right about all this."
"I know I'm right," said Prue. "Everything points to it.
Phoebe, get started on the spell. Darryl, I assume you're going to
let the police know what we've come up with here."
"Part of it," said Darryl. "I think I'll leave out the parts
about our suspect being Jack the Ripper and a warlock."
"Good idea," said Prue. "Get me a list of the places where the
attacks occurred. Maybe there's something at one of the sites the
police might have overlooked. They're looking for a mortal killer,
after all. They might not recognize a mystical clue."
"You won't be able to get near the latest one," said Darryl,
handing her a piece of paper. "It's still a crime scene. The other
two should be clear by now. Here are the addresses."
"Good," said Prue. "After I check them out, I'm going to see
Piper. She's at least going to listen to me even if she doesn't
believe me or accept what I have to say. It's the only thing I can
do."
"I'll get you her home address," said Phoebe. "It would
probably be best if you spoke to her there."
"Prue waited as Phoebe wrote out Pipers' address. She honestly
had no idea what she was going to say to Piper when she saw her again.