There was no answer when Jenny knocked on the door to Jess's rented room but, for someone fully equipped with a lock pick set, it didn't present a problem. The fact that Jess clearly didn't live there anymore was the more pressing issue. The room was still as spartan as ever, but there were more odds and ends, washing flung about the place and Jess's suitcase was noticeably absent from its spot. Not wanting to appear as an intruder and risk arrest, Jenny beat a hasty retreat and re-locked the door behind her. She stood for a moment, wondering if she could ask anyone whether they'd seen Jess or knew anything. Then she came to her senses. In this kind of neighbourhood, no-one ever saw anything. At least, not unless they saw some serious incentive first. No doubt why Jess had chosen to live there.

Puzzled but not yet unduly worried, Jenny went instead to Mrs Blackett's. Jess might've gone there after all, if faced with a sudden eviction. But all that met Jenny at the gin shop was boarded up windows and another locked door. Stunned, Jenny wandered around the back and into the yard, to be less visible when once again applying her talents with locks. There were no clues to be found. The place was stripped bare, not even a forgotten article of clothing or long-lost bottle of gin on some dusty shelf. Unease and melancholy at finding two important parts of her life vanished, Jenny went upstairs, to the old attic room. It was as cleaned out as the rest of the place, only a thin layer of dust to indicate that the premises had been empty for months.

Months. Months and months. That's how long she'd been gone. Whatever trouble Jess had managed to get herself into, perhaps Mrs Blackett shared it now as well. Jenny had long suspected they had more in common than they let on. The mysterious cause of Jess's, for one. She allowed herself a few more moments of nostalgia, looking around the attic room where she'd lived her life with Vastra before descending back down to the old almost basement kitchen.

There was a knife, stabbed into the table. It was the only thing in the room, apart from the table, and immediately commanded the attention of anyone who walked through the door. Jenny Flint was not just anyone however and moved swiftly sideways so her back was pressed against the wall, looking around at every nook and cranny of the room. Satisfied that only her and the ominous kitchen utensil occupied the room, she stepped forward to look closer.

It was a knife. Well used. The handle was worn smooth, the blade had a chip in it. It was not stabbed through some portentous folded piece of paper. It was not flecked with blood or some other sign of violence. It was just a knife. Stabbed into a table.

Jenny looked around the kitchen, opened a few of the cupboards and then stopped. Double checking the room again, she got down on her hands and knees and crawled underneath the table before flipping on her back and looking up.

"For Jenny." Said the letters scratched into the wood. Jenny stared at them. The knife was for her? The message was for her? The table? She went to wiggle back out from underneath the table and felt something shift beneath her. Rolling over and shuffling back a bit, she felt the flagstone that she'd been led on. It moved slightly under her fingers. She scrabbled at it, struggling to get enough of a grip with the tips of her fingers to lift it.

"The knife." Her patience was beginning to wane as she edged her way back out, tugged the knife out with one twist and set back to work. The flagstone lifted free to reveal a small hole dug out beneath it and a box. It was locked.

"Gonna need a new set of lock picks at this rate." Jenny grumbled as she made short work of it.

There was a letter inside.

"Dear Jenny, you've been gone a while now. You missed a lot. The matchgirl's strike for one. That was a to-do. Thought you would've been there, having been one. If you're reading this then you've come back so at least you're not gone like Albie. Me and Mrs Blackett have found need to up and leave as it might be said. She's left you the gin bar. The deeds are at your bank. Don't ask how we knew which one. Least said. She reckons you can put it to good use. We're safe. I even managed to sneak back to put this here. Best if you don't look too hard for us. What with all your palling around with the Highest Society. Don't want to bring you into disrepute. Remember to keep it up with her indoors, if you can. If she gets too much, just give her hell from me. I'll come back, when I can. Until then. Jess."

Jenny felt many emotions at this letter but the one that overwhelmed her was sheer curiosity at whatever in the name of the seven hells her sister was into. She'd always assumed it was politics, but this seemed a little much. Besides, it was a 'cause', Jess had said.

She re-read the letter. "Highest Society." Did Jess know about her and the Queen? The Doctor? Torchwood? Even the inspector at Scotland Yard might just about pass muster, depending on how low you were in society to begin with. The remark about Albie made her heart twinge with guilt. Months and months.

She replaced the flagstone but took the box and of course the letter with her. The knife she placed in a drawer. She'd use it again, when she'd written her own letter back.

Vastra was in a state of agitation when Jenny returned, placing the box on the dining room table.

"There have been another two murders."

"What? I've only been gone an hour or so at most!"

"These two were early this morning. Two more women, brutally attacked."

"How come the Irregulars didn't pick up on that?" Jenny raised an eyebrow.

"They did. They came back briefly with news of one Miss Lettie Palmer..."

"Mrs." Jenny corrected her.

"Mrs. And with news also of this fresh atrocity. It must've happened almost the same time as we arrived back. The Doctor did say we had something to do soon. I didn't realise he meant this soon." Vastra shook her head. "They refer to the murderer as Jack the Ripper, on account of a letter that was received yesterday. I take it the reason you were enquiring after…Mrs Palmer was due to the nature of her business?"

"She's a prostitute yes. Or was. Or still is. An' yes, I was hoping she'd have gossip. The Irregulars said the victims were street walkers."

"No doubt you will wish to make haste to see her."

Jenny glared at her. "Yes. In case she has any information that can help us solve this case."

Vastra merely nodded. "What is the box? A gift from your sister?"

"Of a sort." Jenny sighed. She wanted to find out more, but her sister had said not to come looking.

Vastra gave her a concerned look but continued. "Jack, not Jack the Ripper, as far as I know, is in the yard, waiting to give you his information."

"Right! I'd best be off. Oh, by the way, you remember the gin shop?"

"Yes." Vastra's eye ridges drew together.

"It's ours now. I'll swing by the bank to check out the deeds but probably best to leave them there." Jenny walked out into the yard.

"Well." Vastra said quietly to herself. "It has been a busy morning." She looked at the box but kept her curiosity in check. She had an entire file from the police to trawl through and a case board to make up and, given the nature of the attacks, some training to restart. "Jenny!" she called suddenly, grabbing the short sword from the stand in the hallway as she followed her.

"Yes ma'am?" Jenny popped her head round the kitchen door.

Vastra merely held the sword out to her. "When you return, we will continue training."

Jenny took it, concealing the sword beneath her cloak. "I won't be long." She promised.

The streets were buzzing, despite it being a Sunday, as she hurried along them, following Jack.

"Were you respectful?" she asked, after ten minutes of silence from the boy.

"Yes miss." Jack nodded. "S'awful innit miss. Everyone's nervous."

"What did she say?"

"She said we wuz too young to acquire any services from her house. We told 'er we weren't there for that and she asked what the hell was that meant to mean and we said as how we'd come from you and how you wuz investigating. She don't think the police is doin' a good job either. I think she's glad you're on the case miss." Jack stole a look up at Jenny as she strode beside him.

"Enough of that now."

"But you did used to go with 'er, dint you miss?"

"So what?"

"So s'like… long lost romance." Jack clasped his hands to his chest.

"You'll be long lost if you don't shuttit."

"Aw c'mon Miss Jenny. Tell me you ain't nervous about meetin' 'er after all these years."

"I met her just a few months back."

"Her husband passed on."

"JACK!" the young urchin scampered out of reach of any appendage or implement. "Never known anyone like you for romance. Still haven't forgotten all that bloody mistletoe…" Jenny muttered.

"It got you the girl though din't it." Jack grinned at her.

"Woman." Jenny had no other come back after that and they walked on in silence, Jack skipping at having won the argument.

The series of locks on the back door of the House were even more intricate than the previous ones. Jenny mentally calculated how long it would take for her to pick them as she waited in the kitchen for the burly heavy man to find Lettie. She'd told Jack to wait outside but she doubted he would.

"Jenny Flint. Always bringing me trouble. It's bad for business to be seen having urchins hanging about the place. Why, pray tell, have you accosted me thus? The most I could get out of them was that you wanted information. I don't have anything more than you undoubtedly already know. None of the girls attacked were anything to do with me." Lettie rambled on as she set about making tea. "Do you want cake? I'm doing well, I can afford a bit of posh-ness for special visitors. No? Well anyway. None of mine really do much street walking any more and if you're looking for someone to act as bait, I won't let you offer them whatever extortionate amount of money you're thinking offering.

Jenny had only just sat down at the table by the time Lettie finished.

"I wasn't…"

"You would've." Lettie cut her off. "Still, you can finish your tea before you go. Got any other ideas about how to catch him?"

"We're still at the gatherin' information point at the moment."

"Will your lizard lady catch him?" Lettie leaned forward towards Jenny. "Will she use you as bait when you can't hire any?"

"I don't need to be used. If it helps catch the bastard, I'll do it willingly."

"And when he tries to gut you?"

Jenny lifted her cloak aside to reveal her sword. "If I don't gut him first."

Lettie sat back, impressed. "I'll leave him to your capable hands."

"Look. I really only wanted to make sure you were safe."

"Oo er Jenny Flint. You do know how to make a woman feel special. All it took was a mass murderer for you to come an' find me again."

"I thought you wouldn't want the attention." Jenny shrugged. "And then things happened."

"Talking of things happening, I told myself last time we met that you owed me the story of how you ended up…working for the Lizard Woman from the circus."

Jenny took a sip of tea to postpone organising the exact timeline of events that had led to it.

"I'd met her a few times before, walking about at night. But well…you remember the gang I ran with?"

"Vividly. Still haven't forgiven you for that."

"Well they'd tracked me down and…she saved me from them. Killed them all." Jenny decided to leave out the eating part.

"So…" Lettie let out a long breath. "She'll have no hassle with this article going about at the moment then."

"Mostly likely not. Anyway, she took me back to her place."

Lettie let out a loud bark of laughter. "You do have a habit of following people home don't you Jenny Flint!"

"And." Jenny spoke loudly over the remnants of Lettie sniggering. "she said I could stay. So I stayed. Though she made me have a bath."

"This isn't sounding familiar whatsoever at all." Lettie looked at Jenny over the top of her cup, her eyebrows disappearing into her fringe.

"Yes. All right." Jenny downed the rest of her tea and stood up to leave. "Glad yer safe."

"I would say something similar, but you and safety have never been words to put together, have they?"

Jenny grinned ruefully. "So I've been told."

"I will merely wish that you catch the bastard soon then." Lettie raised her cup in a salute and farewell.

Jenny nodded. She was walking home when she realised that the big thing the Doctor had been talking about was this. Jack the Ripper. Possibly it wasn't a case to be closed within a week then. She shivered in the gathering chill of an October evening, but the sword was a comforting weight at her hip and she walked without unusual fear.