Chapter 44: Ripper

Dawn and Buffy squeezed through a barricade of strollers and past a small army of parents circled shoulder to shoulder around the playground, like a herd of bison protecting their young. Behind them followed Savannah. A toddler shrieked. Her father swooped in and rescued her before she was trampled by a swarm of school-age boys who'd claimed the lookout tower. The father glared at the boys, then took his daughter out of the line of fire and wiped away her tears as she sobbed that she wanted to climb the tower.

Dawn suddenly laughed.

"What's funny, Aunt Dawn?" Savannah asked.

"Oh, I just had this impression of Clay charging in to find that someone wanted to keep your cousin off a piece of playground equipment," Dawn said Buffy and Savannah laughed. Both of them could just see it. Clay would rapidly be tearing into whoever it was.

On the other side of the playground was a cluster of picnic tables. Only two tables were occupied. At one, a mother divvied up animal crackers to three howling preschoolers, all the while shooting furtive glances over her shoulder at the lone man sitting a few tables away. He was brown-haired and in his late thirties, with a thin scar running down his cheek and no attached kids in sight. When the man met her gaze with a level stare, she looked away and doled out the crackers faster.

Buffy and Dawn snuck up behind him, then Dawn leaned into his ear. "She thinks you're a pervert," she whispered.

Xavier jumped, realized it was them and grinned.

"Is that it?" he said. "Whew. I thought she was trying to pick me up." He then spotted Savannah. "Hello, Savannah."

"Hi, Xavier," Savannah said. "Do you have any chocolate? You know the kind I like."

"Sorry, Savannah, maybe next time," Xavier said.

The woman at the other table breathed a nearly audible sigh of relief as the sisters sat across from him.

"Go ahead and play, honey," Buffy said as Savannah bounded off. "I'll come get you when it's time to go."

"I was starting to think you two weren't going to show," he said.

"Good thing we did," Dawn said. "A few more minutes and she'd have been calling the cops."

He shot a look in the woman's direction. "You know, she doesn't seem completely convinced. Maybe if either of you gave me a big hello, honey kiss … Did I mention you two look good?" He grinned. "Damned good. I forgot how—"

"Hard I hit?" Buffy asked.

"That too." His grin broadened. "Want to refresh my memory? Really give momma hen a reason to gawk?"

"Or I could let my daughter use you as a practice dummy," Buffy said.

"I've been meaning to ask," Xavier said.

"I gave Savannah up for adoption," Buffy said. She had figured Xavier might ask and came up with a half-truth. "Eve kept in contact, sending pictures and everything, up till Winsloe's people captured them. So yes, I knew who Savannah was the whole time."

"You kept that close to your chest when you saw her," Xavier said with a nod. "Not that I would have expected less. If they had known. Anyways I'm glad you didn't bring that husband with you, Dawn."

Dawn glanced over the crowd by the play equipment; she spotted her niece on one of the swings and smiled before turning her attention back to Xavier. "How do you know I didn't? You've never met Clay."

"I've seen pictures, remember? Blond curls, big blue eyes, everything but the goddamn cleft chin." He shook his head. "Brains, looks and the lovely Dawn on his arm. I'd feel really inadequate … if he wasn't a raging lunatic. Score one for the half-demon. I may be a little nuts, but no one's ever called me a psycho."

Dawn shook her head and sighed.

"Hey, don't tell me I'm wrong. I've heard the stories. Saw a photo too. You ever seen those pictures?"

"No," Buffy said, "but we've heard about them."

"So, you two think they're fakes?"

"We're sure they're not," Dawn said.

"And … that's okay with you? Your boyfriend spent his teen years hacking up people and taking pictures? But hey, high school was rough on all of us. Everyone has his own way of coping."

Dawn shrugged. Truth be told it did worry her some. Mutts that were a problem were one thing. They had to be dealt with. But she would always worry about Clay crossing the line and actually kill a human because he or she might pose a threat to them.

Xavier leaned forward. "Sarcasm aside, neither of you needs a guy like that. Maybe you both think you do—only female Pack werewolves and all that—but hell, I've seen what you two can do—Buffy tied to a chair, up against a male werewolf. And if you are even half as good as Buffy, Dawn, you don't need some fucking psychopath like Clayton Danvers—"

He stopped, noticing Dawn's gaze.

"He's standing right behind me, isn't he?" Xavier murmured.

"Uh-huh," Buffy and Dawn said.

Xavier tilted his head back, saw Clay and was about to disappear when he found himself unable to move. "Dawn."

"I didn't do it," Dawn said as she watched her niece walk up next to Clay. "You can release him, honey. I think he gets the picture."

Savannah nodded as she released the spell holding Xavier. He stood and turned to face Clay and Savannah.

"You must be—"

Clay looked at Savannah for a second and then at Xavier. "The psychopath," Clay said.

"Er, right, but I meant that in the most respectful way. Believe me, I have the utmost regard for, uh…"

"Raging lunatics," Buffy said.

Xavier shot Buffy a glare.

"Oh, sit down," Buffy said. "He didn't bring his chain saw."

Savannah and Clay circled the table. Savannah slid in next to Buffy and Clay slid in next to Dawn.

"Clay, this is Xavier, Evanidus half-demon. Specialty? He's the teleporter, though weaker than I or Savannah are." Dawn said. "Now you do know where David Hargrave is, right? And he'll still be there when we arrive?"

"He should be. If he bolts, it won't be because I tipped him off. And if he does bolt, I'll get you a new location or you don't owe me a thing. This guy killed three women. I say you're welcome to him. I may not be the most moral guy, but with something like that, I'll gladly turn him in to the proper authorities. Which, in this case, would be you guys."

Clay snorted. "How long have you known where he was before your sense of civic duty kicked in?"

"Let me guess," Buffy said. "Just long enough to find something you could ask for in return. Don't give me the wounded look. We want Hargrave. What do you want?"

Xavier eased back in his seat. "You guys ever hear of the From Hell letter?"

Buffy sighed as she and Dawn looked at each other. They had heard of the From Hell letter. It was one of the most notorious of the Jack the Ripper letters.

"If this is some kind of demon thing, we're not interested," Clay said. "Buffy's retired from that life and the werewolves don't get involved in—"

"It's nothing demonic. It's just a letter," Xavier said. "Supposedly sent by …|"

"Jack the Ripper to the police," Dawn said. "At some point over the next hundred years, it went missing. You want us to find—?"

"Oh, I know where it is. It was never really missing. Not to our side of the world, that is."

When Clay, Buffy and Dawn glanced at one another, Xavier rolled his eyes. "Our side. The supernatural side. You guys rejoined the council; that puts werewolves back in the middle of the whole supernatural community. Didn't you get your membership cards?"

"About this letter," Buffy said.

"All the Jack the Ripper files were sealed up for a hundred years. When they were opened in the eighties, the From Hell letter was missing. Not surprising, considering it was stolen back in the twenties. The theft was commissioned by a sorcerer."

"Why? Is it magical?" Dawn asked.

"Nah. The only way of getting it was with supernatural aid, so it stayed on our side of the line. But just think—that letter could tell us the true identity of Jack the Ripper, and some rich spellcasting son of a bitch is hoarding it for himself. Disgraceful. We are about to rectify that."

Dawn and Buffy glanced at Clay. "Not liking the sound of that we," Buffy said.

"Me neither," Clay said.

"I hope you aren't going to ask us to steal that letter—" Dawn said.

"You can't steal stolen goods. What I'm asking is for you to right a very old wrong."

"And return it to the London Police. Gee, that's mighty big of you, Xavier." Dawn turned to Clay and Buffy. "See, there is a sense of civic duty there after all."

"Ha-ha. I'm passing it on to a buyer, yes, but he wants to have it analyzed by a team of DNA experts so the world can know once and for all the identity of Jack the Ripper."

"That is a righteous cause," Buffy said with a glance at her daughter. "Now we can finally catch that murderer and lock him up in prison where he belongs."

Before Xavier could open his mouth, Buffy continued. "What's the guy looking for: a book deal or a movie deal?"

Xavier hesitated, then said, "Book … and probably movie eventually, but he's investing over a hundred thousand dollars in this crusade—"

"In return for a book deal that I'm sure will net him a pittance." Dawn said.

The sisters glanced at Clay. He shrugged. He was right. As offensive as they found this guy's reason for wanting the letter, it wasn't doing anyone any good where it was now. And they needed to find David Hargrave before he went on another killing spree.

"Why us?" Clay said. "You can teleport through walls." He met Xavier's gaze. "Unless there's a reason you want someone else to do it."

"There is, but not the one you're thinking. There's zero danger involved. No electric fences or armed guards. Just a spell. A very special spell. That's how it was protected the first time too, probably by a sorcerer judge or prosecutor who wanted to keep all the Ripper letters safe, so he cast a spell that would detect any living being who came near them. To get the letter, then, the guy who wanted it stolen found himself a very special thief, one without that telltale beating heart."

"A vampire," Savannah said as she looked at her mother who nodded.

"Yes, Savannah," Xavier said. He looked at Buffy. "You must be proud." Buffy nodded. "When he got the letter, he cast another protection spell around it—one that will detect anything in human form. He figured that was safe. Sure, someone could send in a specially trained bird or whatever, but no bird could open the sealed glass box."

"Ah," Buffy said. "So, to retrieve it, you need someone not in human form. A wolf, perhaps."

"You got it."

Dawn leaned forward. "Problem number one: as you doubtless noticed back at the compound, we change into full wolves. Wolves with paws. Operating a glass cutter? One of those things that requires opposable thumbs."

"True, but as I also recall from the compound, you can change just your hand."

"From human to wolf, yes. Vice versa? Not so simple," Buffy glanced at Clay, who gave a half-shrug. "Not impossible, but not easy either. How many locks are we talking? Is the box locked or just sealed? And I assume the room is locked too?"

"The box is just sealed—a solid glass box bolted to the table. As for the door to the room, it's locked, but more to keep out the housekeeper than serious thieves. The spell covers that. Once you get the door open, you just need to change forms before you get too close to the glass box. As for changing just your hand back, that's pretty much essential. Change any more and you'll set off the alarms, so if you can't—"

Clay cut in. "We'll deal with it. Bigger problem for me? What's to say this sorcerer hasn't used both the spells: the one to detect a pulse and the one to detect human form?"

"Can't. If you double up high-powered spells like that, you're almost guaranteed nasty side effects. Don't take my word for it, though. Dawn can vouch for it." Xavier said as Clay looked at Dawn who nodded. "Either this sorcerer didn't think about werewolves, like the last one didn't think about vampires, or he figured there was no real risk. Vamps are known for stealth, weres for killing."

"So, this letter is in Toronto?" Buffy said.

Xavier nodded. "Owned by the grandson of Theodore Shanahan, the sorcerer who had it stolen from the police archives. Guy's name is Patrick Shanahan. Lives alone. Typical investment banker—keeps his life very ordered and dull, with a strict routine. You won't show up and find he's moved the letter or skipped a client dinner to stay home unexpectedly. If he does? Abort, and we'll try again. No rush. No pressure. This letter isn't going anywhere."

"Let us think about it," Buffy said.

"Really?" Xavier cleared his throat. "I mean, sure. Right. Think about it, do your research, make sure everything's on the up and up. I'll give you everything you need. I've bought a contact with access to the house, so I'm working on that now. All you'll need to do is go in and get the letter."

It would be Jeremy who made the final decision, but Buffy and Dawn wanted to do their homework before they decided how strongly they'd support Xavier's offer. They'd start with the letter. While Buffy and Dawn knew of the infamous letter, it didn't hurt to do some research on it anyways.

As Buffy, Dawn, Clay and Savannah walked into the house, Dawn said, "I'll go online and see what I can find out about the letter that Buffy and I don't already know."

"Let's ask Jeremy first."

"Jeremy?" Buffy asked.

Clay shrugged. "He likes solving mysteries. He might know something."

"About a case like Lizzie Borden maybe. Jack the Ripper is definitely not Jeremy's style," Dawn said. "Even though Buffy and I never went to London when he was killing, we saw all the press about it. We likely know more than Jeremy about Jack the Ripper."

"Maybe."

The study door opened down the hall and Jeremy walked into the foyer.

"That was quick," Jeremy said. "Was there a problem?"

"Questions needing answers," Buffy said. "He's serious about giving up Hargrave—says if his tip doesn't pan out, we don't owe him anything. Hard to argue with that. But the favor he wants in return is…a little strange."

"Jack the Ripper," Clay said. "What do you know about him?"

Jeremy frowned. "Jack the Ripper?"

"Victorian serial killer," Dawn said. "Killed some prostitutes—"

"Five women in Whitechapel in the fall of 1888," Jeremy said. "I know who he is, Dawn. As I am aware you and Buffy do as well since you two lived through that time period. Please tell me you two didn't go to London during that time period?"

"No," Dawn said. "In the 1880's we were in Rome. But it was big news through much of Europe at the time."

"Come into the study," he said. "I'm hardly an expert on the subject and you two may know more than I. But we'll see if together we can start you two in the right direction … after you two tell me what this has to do with Xavier's request."

Buffy sent Savannah into the living room to watch TV while Jeremy, Buffy, Dawn and Clay went into the study. Buffy didn't want Savannah to hear about the details of Jack the Ripper and how he killed those five women.

Jeremy, Dawn and Buffy compared what they had known. And as Clay said, Jeremy did love a mystery, and there were few crimes with more questions and theories than those of Jack the Ripper. So, his knowledge was pretty much on par with Buffy and Dawn's who had lived through it.

"Hundreds of letters sent to various members of the police and local press," Jeremy said.

"Yeah if even some of those letters were from him, he was probably the first serial killer or one of the first to establish correspondence with a reporter in hopes of getting more inches on the front page," Dawn said.

"Had he really written them all … well, let's just say his wrist would have been too tired to wield a knife," Jeremy added.

"Fakes," Buffy said. "Written by people in serious need of a life."

"Presumably that's where most came from, though some are believed to have been written by reporters themselves, frustrated by the lack of news between killings."

"Next they'll be saying the Ripper himself was a journalist, killing people to boost paper sales," Dawn muttered.

"You know, newspaper sales did skyrocket during that period…"

"What about the "From Hell" letter," Buffy inquired. "Dawn and I've of course heard of it. It's the most infamous of the Ripper letters. That said it has always made me wonder if it might be one of the fakes."

"Perhaps. And yet … Imagine you're the killer. Someone else is writing to the press and the police, claiming to be you. Dozens of people, signing your name to letters, putting their words in articles that are supposed to be about you."

"Identity theft, Victorian style," Dawn said. "You'd want to set them straight. So, you send real letters proving you're the killer."

Jeremy nodded. "There are three letters many believed to be genuine. The first, sent to the Central News Agency, appears to hint at a double murder committed a few days later. The second, sent to the same place, refers to the original letter, and includes details of the crimes that hadn't yet reached the papers. Still, there were doubters, those who believed the references in the first were too vague and the details in the second could have been leaked. Two weeks later, a third letter came in, this one sent instead to the chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee."

"The From Hell letter," Buffy murmured.

"Called so because that was the return address on the envelope: From Hell. Enclosed with the letter was half a human kidney, and one of the victims was indeed missing her kidney. Tests indicated it came from a woman approximately the victim's age but that was the best they could do at the time, so whether it was a hoax or not was never determined. Obviously, the man who wants to buy it believes it's the real thing. Yet all that matters, for our purposes, is that the letter does indeed exist and is indeed missing, as Xavier claims."

"What happened to it?" Buffy asked

"It was boxed up with the other evidence and packed away for a hundred years. When they opened the files in 1988, the From Hell letter wasn't there. It may have simply been misplaced. Conspiracy theories speculate that it was 'removed,' either by the police to cover a misstep, or by 'interested parties,' who feared it contained an important clue. Most likely, the truth is exactly what Xavier believes, that it was stolen for its value on the collectors' black market."

He paused, tilting his head slightly, eyes unfocusing as he retrieved something from his memory. "There was a story that it was bought by a Canadian collector. Interesting, given where Xavier claims it is now. I don't think there was ever much credence given to the rumor. It wasn't very interesting, given the other possibilities."

"That's the problem with the truth," Buffy said. "Making things up is so much more fun. So, what do you want us to do?"

Again, Jeremy paused, this time for a few minutes. Then he pulled his feet off the ottoman and straightened. "Look into it more before you get back to him. Be thorough but be quick. If we can get to Hargrave, I want to make this deal before he decides to move on. Start by confirming what I've just told you. It's been years since I took an interest, and for you two it's been over a hundred years since Jack the Ripper, so make sure the letter hasn't turned up in the meantime."

"I'll search the wire services—" Dawn began.

"No, give Clay your access." He turned to Clay. "You can do that, right?"

"Simple enough."

"Then, Dawn, Buffy, you two get back to Xavier. He said he'll make this easy, but I want specifics. Make sure he can give us blueprints, security codes, keys, anything we might need. This isn't our area of expertise, so I want all the professional work done for us and provided in advance so we can get a second opinion."

"Karl?" Dawn asked as she glanced at Buffy who instantly had a frown.

Jeremy nodded. "I know how you feel about him, Buffy. But if we need his help. You are forbidden from killing him unless I say otherwise."

"I know, Jeremy," Buffy said. "I know I'm not to touch him. That was the deal we made with him."

"Buffy and I'll get on it," Dawn said.

"That leaves the spell," Jeremy said. "I'll verify that."

"You sure you don't want me to?" Dawn asked.

"I'm sure, Dawn. I would prefer you use less magic than you have to," Jeremy said. "So, I'll contact Paige or Lucas, or someone else who can. It's a shame your granddaughter, Willow, won't come into her powers for a few more years. Or I would call her."

"I know," Dawn said. "There are times I wished I had her help on things. That said though, what about Savannah?" She saw a look on her sister's face that said she didn't like it. "I know you would rather not involve her. But she is a witch, as powerful as I or Willow."

Buffy sighed. "I understand that, Dawn," she said. "I would prefer Savannah knows as little about Jack the Ripper as possible. She'll learn eventually but I rather she waits till she's older and it not give her nightmares."

"Of course, Buffy," Jeremy said. "But we need someone we can trust."

"Alright," Buffy said. "But as little as possible."

"I promise." Jeremy said.