Welcome back to the story! Thanks for hanging in there.
Newspaper Clipping, November 1, 1880
Late last night James Harrington, a London man, was murdered in an alley by a cause unknown. Puncture marks and lacerations were found on his neck, as if he had been attacked by a large cat of some sort and struggled in an attempt to get away. Doctors determined that he died of blood loss and the police of Scotland Yard are now working with zoos and exotic pet owners to search for who—or what—is responsible.
This is the latest in a string of similar murders that have been occurring at a seemingly regular time every two to three weeks. At first the killer was thought to have been a new kind of serial murderer, by biting his victims in the jugular repeatedly until they died, but an examination of the bite area has shown that the shape of the teeth are not human. Police suspect that a large cat, possibly a lion or panther, escaped from a zoo or from its owner and is now going around attempting to hunt humans. The only problem with this theory is that the victims of the murders have not been chewed at by the animal. In fact the only mark on them is the bite on their neck. This has several people wondering if a person is behind this with a trained animal to attack and kill. Sir Randall at Scotland Yard says that this is a far-fetched idea, but not totally improbable.
If you have any information or advice you would like to share, please contact Scotland Yard at once to help them bring in this dangerous animal or person, or both.
Diary of Vincent Phantomhive
December 6, 1880
I've put that bit of newspaper into my journal for continued reference. What little details it can give me I may be able to match up with my experiences with the Count. So far I have not seen any sign of an exotic big cat other than the stylized pictograms on the walls. The one thing I hope is that nothing supernatural comes of this. I am not a fool—I know what is out there. Vampires are a possibility, as are werewolves. There are also tales of the Grim Reaper in human form. The Japanese call them shinigami. I have not met one personally, and I hope never to.
This morning started out with a small tour of Sebastian's castle. He has an extensive library full with rare, ancient books, which I found intriguing despite myself. For nearly three hours I was absorbed in the old tomes, constantly asking the Count fascinated questions, of where he had acquired such books and when.
"Several of my…business partners had them in their collections, and they often gave me one when we parted ways," Sebastian shrugged dismissively, but I noted the catch in his words. It refocused my mind on the true task at hand. Shortly afterwards, we continued our tour through the castle. Sebastian paused occasionally while walking, tilting his head to the side as though listening for something. When I asked him what he was doing, he mentioned that it was his way of thinking. Still, I was unsettled. It was a very predatory motion, as if he was listening for prey.
I shook my head to clear it of these thoughts. I really can't dwell on things like that for too long, or I shall scare myself silly. Here I am making a list of the things I have noticed about him:
—pauses before saying "business partners". Code for people he has killed? Try not to read too much into it, but be wary.
—habit of "listening" while thinking. What could he be listening for? Investigate castle if I get alone time.
—villagers say he is "silver-tongued". Could try to trick me somehow. Be on alert.
It took me some time to notice, but when I was done writing this I realized that I had started a list of survival instincts.
Yes second chapter complete! Short compared to the first one, but I'm not good at writing super-long, in-depth chapters, so get used to short or medium-length pages. I've never been able to do that 20-page feat.
Please review, as usual!