CHAPTER THREE
Two and a half hours later, Lee and Amanda entered their hotel room and sat down wearily on the couch.
"I didn't think we'd ever get out of there," groaned Lee.
Amanda nodded. "If you hadn't shown them your ID, I think we'd still be there."
"Probably."
"Mrs. Meer was nice though wasn't she? And her nephew is so well mannered," Amanda observed.
Lee nodded his agreement then Amanda continued, "It was such a shame we couldn't take her up on that offer of dinner as a thank you, wasn't it? I mean, what with your special plans for tonight and all."
When Lee didn't comment, she turned and looked at him unable to contain her curiosity any longer. "OK, so what's this big surprise you've got planned?"
Lee shook his head and smiled. "You'll find out," he promised and looked at his watch. "You've got 30 minutes to get ready."
"How can I get ready if I don't know where I'm going?" Amanda pointed out as Lee stood, grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to her feet.
He turned her towards the bedroom and, with his hands on her back, guided her to the door. "Dress casual," was all he said as he pushed her gently into the room and shut the door cutting off any further protestations on Amanda's part.
Twenty minutes later Amanda appeared dressed in black slacks and white blouse with a light blue jumper hung loosely around her shoulders to ward off the evening chill if needed.
"You look great," complimented Lee and gave her a kiss.
"Thanks," replied Amanda and took his proffered arm.
They left the suite and went down to the foyer. Just as they were walking out of the hotel, a voice called out to them, "Mrs. Stetson! Excuse me. Amanda!"
They stopped and turned around to see Mrs. Meer walking towards them. "Oh hello Mrs. Meer," greeted Amanda. "What a lovely surprise, I didn't know you were staying here."
"Yes, it is quite a coincidence isn't it?" she agreed then added with a smile. "And please, after today's events I think you can call me Lisa just as I will call you Lee and Amanda from now on."
Amanda and Lee nodded their agreement then Amanda asked, "Are you going out to dinner?"
"Yes, I'm meeting a friend." Lisa glanced at her watch and frowned. "And I'm very sorry but I must leave now or I'll miss him. It was very nice to meet you again. Perhaps we can meet and have lunch tomorrow?"
"Yeah, sure," said Amanda, affably.
"Great, I'll get your room number from reception and call you," replied Lisa and, with a quick wave, walked out of the hotel.
Lee also glanced at his watch. "We'd better get a move on too Amanda or we'll be late."
They left the Hotel and walked down the street to Oxford Circus tube station. There, Lee checked a huge map of the underground lines that was attached to a wall and, after a few seconds careful study he directed them to the Central Line. Seven stops later they reached Liverpool Street where they got off.
"Are we here now?" asked Amanda holding tightly onto Lee's hand as they weaved their way through the crowds of other commuters.
"Nope, we've got to change to another line," Lee informed her.
They rode up the escalators and followed signs to the Hammersmith and City, Circle and Metropolitan lines. They reached the platform and a couple of trains came through before the Hammersmith and City line train Lee was waiting for arrived. They travelled one stop to Aldgate East where they got off and followed the exit signs.
As they walked out into the rapidly darkening street, Amanda saw a group of people standing to one side. In the middle of the group was a man wearing a bowler hat and suit which had a red carnation in it's buttonhole. His moustache, the ends of which were twisted to a point and teased upwards, gave him an air of old time British upper class. In his left hand he held a cane and, much to Amanda's surprise, his right hand was extended in welcome as he broke away from the crowd and walked quickly over to them.
"How do you do, Amanda and Lee isn't it? It's always a pleasure to meet friends from overseas. My name's Robert, come over and join the group, you're the last two so we can get started now."
Amanda grabbed hold of Lee's arm as they were ushered over to the crowd of people that had now turned and were looking in their direction. "Lee, what's going on?" she asked in confusion. "Who are these people?"
Before Lee could answer her, Robert called out for attention. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." There were a few mumbled replies before he continued. "Tonight I'm going to show you around a part of London that years ago ran red with blood. Between the months of August and November 1888, the Whitechapel area played witness to a series of horrific murders which to this day remain unsolved." He paused dramatically. "Ladies and gentlemen, follow me and I'll lead you into the grisly world of Jack the Ripper."
The crowd slowly moved off but Amanda stepped in front of Lee effectively barring his way. "Jack the Ripper?!" she exclaimed in disbelief.
She turned to Lee who grinned happily at her. "Surprise," he said and bent to kiss her.
Amanda placed her index finger on Lee's chest and held him off. "Just a minute here, buster," she said grimly. "I thought when you said you had a surprise that it'd be something a little more romantic than this."
"Hey, what's not romantic about it?" Lee demanded as he put his arm around her shoulder and started walking to catch up with the group. "The two of us…"
"Along with twenty other people," she pointed out with a frown.
"…just strolling around London at night," Lee continued, ignoring her comment. "Soaking up a little piece of the history…"
"About a Victorian serial killer," Amanda mumbled crossly.
"…and we get a great meal at the end of it." He grinned at her again. "It'll be fun."
Amanda looked up at him suspiciously. "We're having dinner?"
"Well, there's a buffet."
Amanda groaned then suddenly started to laugh. "I must say, you certainly know how to spoil a person, Lee."
"Only the one's worth spoiling," he agreed and leaned in to kiss her cheek.
Amanda turned her head and met his lips full on. As she drew back he smiled. "So, good surprise after all?"
"Not bad," Amanda capitulated then she frowned suddenly. "As long as he doesn't go into too much detail."
"Don't worry, he won't," Lee assured her as they quickened their pace to reach the group who had now stopped ahead of them.
Once they caught up, Robert gestured to a house. "This is around the site where the first victim, Mary Ann Nicholls, was found. The area was actually known as Bucks Row back then but it has since been built up. Mary Ann or Polly, as she's also known, was 42 years old and a prostitute. Whitechapel police found Mary's body as 4 o'clock in the morning. Her throat had been cut twice from left to right. She was also stabbed twice in the groin, her breast was cut open and she was disembowelled."
Gasps of disgust and disbelief emerged from the group and Amanda looked at Lee with narrowed eyes. "You're going to pay for this Stetson," she warned quietly.
Lee gave half a smile then, when Amanda turned away, he raised his eyes heavenwards and prayed that it wouldn't get worse.
They followed the group around the back streets of London and listened in growing horror as full extent of each victim's injuries were given out. Annie Chapman had been killed next, her stomach ripped open. Then Elizabeth Stride, who was first of two women to be murdered on the same night. Apparently, police thought the Ripper must have been disturbed but it hadn't stopped him from killing his fourth victim, Catherine Eddowes in Mitre Square.
Catherine had been ripped open and her intestines were pulled out and placed on her right shoulder. Apart from similar mutilations to the other victims, her left kidney had also been removed, half of which was then sent to George Lusk who was head of a vigilante committee within Whitechapel at the time. All of Catherine's mutilations had taken place in under seven minutes.
Amanda stood in Mitre Square and looked around trying to picture what the now peaceful built up area would've looked like in Victorian times. Thick fog, gas lamps, cobblestones. She shivered and moved closer to Lee.
"You OK?" he asked and put his arm around her shoulders. "Are you cold?"
Amanda shook her head. "No, just gives me the creeps that's all. To actually stand in the same place where Jack the Ripper murdered that poor woman all those years ago." She shuddered again. "I mean, I knew vaguely what the Ripper did, but to know exactly and really be here…it's horrible."
Having the same feelings about the place as Amanda, Lee squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "I know." He paused and then turned her to face him. "Amanda, I'm sorry for bringing you out here like this. You're right, it's not romantic and I should've thought about it more. If you want, we can go and have a quiet dinner somewhere nice. What do you say?"
His smile was hopeful and Amanda leaned in as though to kiss him. Lee bent his head also but stopped in surprise when Amanda whispered, "It's got to you too hasn't it?"
Lee pulled back to look at her smiling features. "It has not," he replied indignantly. "I'm just concerned about you that's all."
Amanda nodded her head in triumph. "Yeah, I knew it. It's creeping you out as much as me."
Knowing he was caught, Lee chuckled and gave Amanda a hard, quick kiss on the lips. "I love you, you know that?"
"Yeah, I think I'm getting the idea," she responded dryly and they kissed again.
"If we're all ready to move on?" called Robert looking pointedly at Lee and Amanda.
The couple pulled apart and smiled self-consciously as the rest of the group grinned at them. Lee received a thumbs up from a couple of the men who were then told off by their respective partners and gave Amanda apologetic smiles.
Amanda sighed and grasped Lee's hand firmly. "Come on, we've come this far."
They caught up with the rest of the group and Robert led them through more back streets until they reached a quiet residential road and stopped. Silence descended over the group while they waited for Robert to begin.
Just when Lee thought that their guide had forgotten what to say, Robert started speaking. "Ladies and gentlemen, we now come onto the last and most horrific murder that Jack the Ripper carried out. On 9th November 1888, Mary Jane Kelly took a man back to her lodgings at 13 Millers Court, which used to stand just about there," he pointed to the area behind him, "where she was mutilated beyond recognition. The Ripper had all night and the comfort of having no interruptions to perform his grisly task and he took full advantage."
For the next few minutes Robert went on to detail the demise of Mary Kelly eliciting gasps of disgust and horror from his audience. When he finished, Robert then told them a few of the suspects names at the time; Prince Albert Victor, Montague Druitt, even the writer Lewis Carroll.
"As you all know, the identity of Jack The Ripper will most probably remain a mystery forever. Vital documents relating to the case that could've helped us now were lost during a fire at Scotland Yard and all that is left is speculation and for you to make up your own minds as to who the murderer was."
Robert looked around the group one last time and smiled. "Well, now, if you're all ready, I think it's time we had something to eat." He directed the group towards a pub nearby and they made their way over.
"Somehow I don't think I'm going to eat much," Amanda muttered in a disgusted tone.
Lee chuckled and they followed the group into the pub. It was quite quiet inside with just a few locals drinking and chatting. Robert led the group down some stairs and into a large room that had it's own bar on one side and the buffet already laid out on the other. It was a simple fare made up of chips, chicken, salad and sausages.
Lee told Amanda to grab a seat while he got them some food. She sat down and glanced around taking in the atmosphere of the place. It was reasonably lively with a group of men well on their way to getting extremely drunk, standing by the bar telling each other jokes. Amanda flushed slightly when she caught the punchline of one of them but still couldn't stop a smile from appearing.
Lee returned with two plates laden with food and handed one to her. "Here, did I get you enough?"
Amanda's mouth dropped open. "Yeah, you got me plenty," she assured him with a chuckle. "What are you trying to do, fatten me up for Thanksgiving?"
He sat down next to her and shook his head. "I'm not even going to attempt to answer that question," he said with a wry smile. "The subject of women and their weight scares me more than anything I could face in the field."
Amanda playfully slapped his arm, then turned her attention to her plate and began to eat. The food was delicious and they spent the next half an hour chatting idly to each other and relaxing.
"You want anymore?" Lee asked, gesturing to the now empty plates in front of them.
Amanda shook her head vigorously. "No, thank you. I couldn't eat another bite," she groaned, placing a hand on her stomach. "I don't think I'll be able walk as it is."
"Yeah, I know how you feel," her husband replied with a contented sigh. He leaned closer to her then murmured seductively in her ear, "Although, you know, back at the hotel there's that Jacuzzi..."
"On second thoughts, a walk might do me good," Amanda announced suddenly and stood up. She smiled down at him and he laughed as he grabbed her hand and also stood.
"Let's go." They bade farewell to Robert and the rest of the people from the group and left the pub.
The night air was still warm and they strolled hand in hand to the nearest underground station. The journey back to their hotel was quick and they both collapsed onto the bed when they entered their room.
As they lay there, Lee propped himself up on his left elbow and looked down at his wife with raised eyebrows. "So, uh, how about we take a raincheck on that Jacuzzi and just hit the sack early instead."
"Hit the sack?" Amanda replied incredulously and chuckled. "You smooth talker, you."
"Years of practice."
"Oh really?" she questioned with amused gleam in her eye.
"Yeah, I wanted to make sure I said the right things when I finally met the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with," he pointed out reasonably then tilted his head back, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face. "You know, I should be just about perfect by the time I actually meet her…"
"Oh, you…" Amanda exclaimed as his words sank in and she started laughing.
Lee chuckled along with her and then suddenly leaned in, giving her a slow kiss that sparked off a passion between them that would last well into the night.
END CHAPTER THREE