Ryou wasn't in his office.
Malik had expected that, but spending half an hour travelling back across the city to the detective's house left him slightly miffed. He was grateful for the dry weather, as London seemed to be under perpetual rain. Even in summer, the Northern air chilled Malik to the bone. If there was one thing about Egypt Malik missed, it was the warm weather.
Malik stepped out of the carriage, glancing around at the apartment building. Even though the neighborhood should have been a tip off, he was surprised the place seemed to have a damp, dark feel to it. It would hardly be considered shabby, but Malik still didn't want to linger on the streets any longer than he needed to.
Shaking off the foreboding feeling that clung to him, Malik entered the building, climbing to the third floor. He narrowed his eyes at the dim lighting, growing uneasy at the darkness. Despite the bright light outside, there were no windows to let in the natural light. Malik took in a slow measured breath to calm his nerves, focusing on the door at the end of the hallway and not the shadows around him.
Malik stopped in front of the door, spotting the nameplate for Detective Ryou. He recognized it as one of the same nameplates that he saw at the office at the precinct. However, he had noticed that Ryou's nameplate was missing when he stopped back at the police department. Malik supposed that was one mystery solved.
Inhaling deeply, Malik knocked firmly, standing up straight as he waited for the detective. Malik waited only ten seconds before knocking again, his hand trembling with urgency. He heard rustling from the other side, someone undoing the latch on the door.
Malik blinked as the door swung open. In front of him stood the detective, or at least he assumed. His eyes immediately focused on the startling white hair, which had fallen out of the ponytail put up hours ago. The vest had been done up, though off by one button, giving it a lop-sided appearance. The word "disheveled" came to mind as Malik glanced over the detective.
Yet Malik felt most confused by the soft, feminine features.
He hadn't realized that Ryou was a female name. But Europeans had odd names to begin with.
"Can I help you?" A voice interrupted his thoughts as Malik realized he had been staring. He shook his head slightly, gathering himself.
"Are you Detective Ryou?"
The albino stood up straighter, a tired look haunting his features. "Yes. Do you have business with me?"
Malik glanced over Ryou, his eyes lingering on the dark, brown eyes that lacked any light to them. He felt perplexed by them. A cough reminded Malik that he was staring (again) and he fought a blush now growing on his face. "Yes… Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to be a woman."
The dull eyes flashed with anger. Ryou stood back, arms crossed. "I'm not a woman, so fuck you. Go to the precinct if you have any business-"
Malik swore, now certain that the blush on his face overwhelmed even his darkened features. "Shit! I'm sorry, it's just… you're not quite what I expected from a detective."
Ryou rolled his eyes, a testy note to his voice. "And what were you expecting?"
Malik figured telling him that he expected someone more manly and older wouldn't do him any favors. He was normally more eloquent and better put-together than this conversation would make him seem. Malik sighed, cover his face with his hand. "Look, I think we started on the wrong foot. Can I start again?"
Ryou narrowed his eyes, examining the gentleman before him.. Malik knew that mistaking the detective for a woman did not do him any favors. In all fairness, Ryou had softer features than one would expect of an adult man. Ryou looked to be the same age as him, if not younger. But then again, Malik was older than he appeared.
He expected Ryou to dismiss him, but to his surprise, the detective leaned against the door frame. His expression relaxed slightly as he studied Malik. "Fine. Who are you and what do you want?"
Malik lowered his hand, relieved that Ryou had given him a second chance. He wasn't sure why he felt so flustered and out of sorts today. He supposed recent events had him feeling overwhelmed. "My name is Malik Ishtar. I have information pertaining to the Jack the Ripper case."
Ryou's expression slid into a more neutral expression, though Malik had difficulty deciphering his poker face. While Malik felt confident in masking his own emotions and reading others, the detective before him was trickier to figure out. Ryou glanced over Malik once before asking his question; "Information in what regards?"
Malik reached into his satchel, pulling out a picture of him and his siblings. The picture was the most recent one of their family, taken shortly after they had arrived in London a few years back. He offered the picture to Ryou, who looked down but didn't take it. "My sister disappeared three days ago and no one can find her. I believe she was kidnapped by the serial killer."
Ryou didn't say anything, his dark eyes boring into Malik. A few long seconds of silence passed before Ryou reached into his pocket to pull out what looked like a letter. Ryou tugged out a pair of glasses that had been hidden atop his head, turning to read the parchment. "I see. Well, if you could fill out a report with the police department, I promise I'll take a look at it as soon-"
"Hold on! I didn't walk half way across the city for you to ignore me!" Malik snapped, not about to be dismissed like a child.
Ryou huffed derisively, his attention shifting more towards the letter at hand than to their conversation. "No offense, but I doubt your sister's disappearance is related to my murder case. Unless your sister turns up as a corpse, that is. All missing persons cases are handled down at the precinct."
Malik put his hand on the door so that Ryou couldn't shut it on him. A strange desperation welled up in him. "Will you at least hear out what I have to say?" Malik spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice trembling near the end of his question. As tempting as it was to scream at the detective about his proof, he had already pissed him off with his mistaken identity. He needed to stay in the good graces of the detective to get his help.
Ryou rolled his eyes, the hand holding the letter dropping to his side. He shifted his gaze to Malik. "You know you're rather stubborn."
Malik shrugged at the accusation. "I may have heard it once or twice in my life."
"You're not going to leave until you've said your piece, are you?"
Malik smirked. Ryou let out a loud sigh as he pushed off the doorframe, stepping back into the flat. He didn't bother to check to see if Malik would follow him as he walked over to his desk. Malik glanced around, curious to see what a detective's apartment looked like. He hadn't expected it to be so… messy.
Papers laid scattered everywhere in the flat – across the desk, pinned on the wall, collecting dust on top of an untouched piano. Malik didn't see any form of organization, but he assumed Ryou had a system as he watched the detective take the letter and slip it into a folder sitting on his chair. Ryou barely spent a moment tidying up, just enough so that he had a spot to sit. Malik decided to say nothing, sinking into the dark red sofa facing the desk.
Ryou spun the chair away from his desk, his back to the wall as he turned to study Malik. Malik noticed a half-eaten meal had been shoved onto the coffee table separating the two of them. Based on his unkempt appearance, he suspected the detective didn't sleep much or simply didn't care about his appearance. He wasn't sure which of the two was more likely.
Ryou frowned, still studying his guest. Malik wasn't sure if he should explain his case, so he decided to wait and watch to see what would happen. Ryou reached behind him to grab a cup of tea. Ryou took a sip before scowling at his tea, which Malik suspected had gone cold awhile ago. Ryou set the cup down in front of him with a bitter sigh.
"Okay. Tell me what you know and why you think this relates to the Ripper case."
Malik nodded before reaching into his coat pocket, pulling out a small notebook. Perhaps he fancied himself a junior detective, but he had gathered notes beforehand to argue his case. "My sister went to go meet with Mr. Pegasus at his estate in the East End of London on March 22nd 1889 at 5 pm. They had dinner and she was going to appraise several Egyptian artifacts he had in his care."
Malik pulled out a note that he had folded into the notebook, not looking up to meet Ryou's gaze. He didn't want to lose his nerve now. "Pegasus had a telephone line installed, so Isis called my brother Rishid who was still at the university to let us know that she would be home, ideally before midnight."
Malik sighed as he set his papers down on the table. "As you can guess, she didn't make it home. But I have a conjecture." Malik took out a map that he had taken down, with his notes and paths scribbled down. He flicked his eyes up at the detective, Ryou's expression remained unchanged as he observed a detailed map of the city.
"I spoke to Pegasus, who confirmed that she left quarter to midnight, which meant she stayed later than she intended. Knowing my sister, she would have decided to take the quickest path home rather than stay outside any longer than necessary. I paced the distance between our home and Pegasus's estate, and the quickest path, without question, takes us right through the center of Whitechapel district."
Ryou nodded, leaning forward as he examined the map. "Which is where all the murders have been taking place. The time frame lines up as well," Ryou muttered to himself, his expression thoughtful.
Malik perked up, hoping this meant the detective believed, though he noticed the furrowed brows. Ryou leaned back, taking off his glasses and rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "There's only one problem with your theory. Your sister doesn't match Jack the Ripper's typical target. He targets prostitutes predominately, though he has no qualms killing anyone who gets in his way."
Malik licked his lips, not willing to drop his case. "Perhaps, but a murderer can make a mistake. Who's not to say that in the dark, he had chosen her out because she was a woman and alone?"
Ryou narrowed his eyes, his hair wild around his face. "Even so, why keep her alive? There's nothing to gain from keeping victims. Even if we assume Jack the Ripper chose her as his next victim, there's no reason to assume she's alive."
"But her body hasn't shown up. And Jack the Ripper has never tried to hide a corpse before. He always wants his victims to be found," Malik argued back. Whatever happened, he refused to believe his sister was dead. He knew she was still alive. It was a matter of finding her and getting help to her.
Ryou stared at Malik, his expression hard. After a moment, Ryou turned back to his desk, looking at his own notes. Malik stayed quiet as he waited for Ryou to gather his thoughts. It took him a couple of minutes to realize that the detective wasn't planning on talking to him.
"So?" Malik asked, pushing Ryou for an answer.
Ryou remained quiet for a few moments but had learned his lesson the first time trying to ignore Malik earlier. He dropped his file atop of the map. "Not enough evidence. I don't have time to waste chasing after your sister when I have a murderer to catch. I'd recommend updating the missing person's file at the precinct. In any case, you know where the door is."
Malik stared, slack-jawed and at a loss of words. They came flooding back in a flash of anger. "Wait, what? But the evidence-"
"Is all conjecture," Ryou interrupted, his gaze sharpening. "I've been at this a little longer than you. Your theory is flawed. If we're to believe it, we have to assume that Jack the Ripper chose to kidnap a woman, knowing it would draw police attention, and leave clues that would connect him. If he kidnapped your sister, that would raise questions of whether he knew this specific victim. Furthermore, we have to assume that Jack the Ripper does not kill all his victims."
Ryou leaned back, raising a hand to brush through the tangled mess of hair. "While I suspect your sister was kidnapped and that's why her body hasn't shown up, I doubt Jack the Ripper is connected to this case. Your time and mine would be better spent on our respective, separate searches."
Malik stared blankly, trying to think of an argument back. He had to figure out something, anything that might link Isis to the Whitechapel murders. Ryou was rational and was thinking about the case objectively. And perhaps instinct was a terrible way to run an investigation, but Malik knew, he knew, that the two were related.
Malik shook his head, staring down at the papers he had gathered. He needed help. His sister needed help right now. He couldn't waste time – the police were no closer to figuring out where Isis could be. In a few weeks, they would write her disappearance off as an unsolved murder, her name and memory nothing more than a fading relic.
"Malik?" He snapped his head up at the question, noticing the curious look Ryou gave him. He knew that the detective was trying to figure out if he was okay. Malik didn't want to leave – there was something he was missing.
Malik sighed, leaning back into the couch, his eyes narrowed. Perhaps it was all conjecture. Perhaps he didn't know everything on the case, but he didn't need to solve it now. He just needed to provide enough evidence to connect the two for the detective. If Ryou believed Isis was related to the case, then he would help.
Malik took a breath, not sure if this further conjecture would help, but it couldn't hurt at this point. "What if he didn't kill my sister because she's valuable as a hostage? The Ishtar name is fairly well-known in educated circles."
Ryou grimaced, a pitying look crossing his face. Before Ryou could reject such a claim, his expression changed, as if something had dawned on him. His eyes lit up, his jaw dropping in a sudden spark of realization. Malik sat up, alert to this change. Ryou snapped around, standing up as he darted to his desk.
Malik decided to take a chance, getting up to look over Ryou's shoulder as the detective scoured through his folders. "Why didn't I think of this the moment I saw you?" Ryou muttered out loud, his eyes gleaming as he pulled out a folder. He opened it, a slight flick of his head inviting Malik to take a look.
Malik's heart raced as he came up to the desk, wondering if perhaps the detective figured out something. Ryou flipped through the papers until he found what he sought. He pulled out a photograph, showing it to Malik. "Does this mean anything to you?"
Malik pulled the picture from the detective's pale, shaky hands. He narrowed his eyes, confused as to what he was looking at. After a moment, he recognized the symbols, baffled by the image. "Yeah, this is Egyptian hieratic. But this isn't papyrus or stone. Where did you get a preserved piece of wood with the language?"
Ryou raised a hand to his mouth, biting on the nail of his thumb. "I didn't. This was found at the scene of the crime of his seventh and most recent victim."
Ryou shifted the papers, revealing another photo. Malik gasped, an intense queasy feeling rocking his stomach at the murder scene. The woman looked as if she had been dissected, skin peeled back with organs missing. The blood drenched her bed sheets, the woman bleeding out the night before.
Malik glanced away, sickened by the scene. Ryou ignored his discomfort, pointing to the bedframe. "If you look here, you'll see the hieratic carved on the bedpost. I had thought that strange – of all things the murderer has done, I feel like this is our biggest clue. There's no question that this murderer is highly educated based on his knowledge of human anatomy and eloquence of speech, but his knowledge of ancient languages I thought was especially curious."
Ryou turned around, leaning against the desk and staring at the floor, his expression lost deep in thought. "Malik, you and your siblings work in at the university in historical preservation, correct?"
Malik blinked. Apparently, this was a day of people recognizing his family name. "Uh… yes. We moved from Egypt a couple years back to guard the various artifacts that were being moved from our country. We were asked by the scholastic community to help in translation and studying relevancy."
Ryou dropped his hand away from his mouth, his brown eyes meeting lavender. "So that means your sister is deeply knowledgeable on ancient Egyptian history, yes?"
"Obviously. We all are."
Ryou nodded, turning back to three other files. He pulled out three more photos of what looked like a language, but Malik didn't recognize them. They weren't hieratic. Ryou held up these photos, a small smirk playing across his face. "For three other victims, he has left messages written in Latin, Cuneiform script, and Biblical Hebrew. I don't think it's a coincidence that his last message, written in Egyptian hieratic, overlaps with the disappearance of a famous Egyptian scholar. In fact, that seems too good to be true. What's he trying to tell us?"
Malik raised an eyebrow, unsure of the question that Ryou asked at the end. Perhaps he was reading into his tone, but Ryou sounded almost… happy and excited. He didn't see why he would be excited, but Malik buried those thoughts. What mattered was that Ryou was considering the connection between Isis and Jack the Ripper.
"Does that mean you believe?" Malik pressed, an eager look on his face. Ryou shook himself out of his stupor, looking back. Their eyes met, but instead of feeling challenging or dismissive or belligerent, there was this sense of understanding. Slowly, Ryou chuckled, a dry smile sneaking onto his face.
"I suppose I can buy into this theory. There might be some weight to what you're saying. In any case, I can't ignore this if there's a possible lead," Ryou admitted. Malik grinned, his hope assured.
"Let me help you on the case!" Malik blurted out, his face burning following his sudden request. His intense feelings caught Malik off guard, but he couldn't sit idly by regardless. He never did well letting matters sort themselves out. He was nosey and stubborn and needed to be involved whenever possible. If there was anything he could do to help in the case, he would make sure to do it.
Ryou laughed, a surprisingly delightful noise escaping the detective. He shrugged as he turned back to his cold cup of tea. "Sure. Why not? I get the sense you'll just argue with me until you get your way."
Malik smirked as he watched the detective leave to drop off his dish in the kitchen. "I'm glad you're recognizing my better traits."
Ryou gave him an odd look before rolling his eyes. He brushed through his hair with his fingers before pulling it back into a ponytail. In a matter of moments, Ryou neatened his appearance, adjusting his shirt and rebuttoning his vest, shifting from disheveled to presentable in a matter of seconds. Malik chuckled, amused that the detective apparently could clean up if he wanted to. He waited until Ryou walked to the door. "Where are you going?"
"To investigate. You coming?"
Malik had expected more of an argument, but didn't see any reason to stay. He had no idea where they were going, but figured the detective had a plan. He stepped out, following the albino down the stairs as they began their search for the murderer.
