Finding Jack: 1888 in Whitechapel

2. In Plain Sight

The night was growing deeper and the fog denser. A sinister breeze flew through Whitechapel, reminding all residents that impending doom was amongst them.

"Careful, these ladies are people you don't really want to cross," James warned, taking his helmet off as they neared the Ten Bells.

"Don't be silly, James," Joey chuckled, standing beside him, "they're just women; what could they possibly do?" Rachel, who was in front of Joey, sent a chilling look towards him, a look that could kill. Certainly, the sudden glance was enough to slay Joey's moment of humour and he bowed his head.

"Is that who I think it is?" Kayla asked as they arrived, glimpsing the slight shine that was coming from the head of a drunk man who had stumbled from the doors. Rachel nodded, hatred in her eyes. It was the Chief Inspector, holding onto what was presumably a bottle, though the fog kept it confidential.

"He's been kicked out by the looks of it," Brandon observed, noting the track record of their boss. Quickly turning his attention back to the matter at hand, he began walking towards the doors, followed by James, Kayla, Ellie and Joey.

However, Rachel was still occupied by the Chief Inspector, her eyes fixed upon him. There he was, intoxicating himself while the real detectives are on the job. But who will get the credit for catching Jack? The oaf who employs her, that's who. She turned away, not wanted to get any more distracted and rushed into the pub with the others.

"So, where should we look?" Ellie asked, peering to Joey for answers. He glanced around at the crowded building.

"Const- Ellie, you and I will go this way to check for any shady characters." Joey decided, pointing in one direction. Ellie nodded and smiled, straightening her uniform.

"Kayla, you and I can check out the back-end of this place," James suggested, his uniform remaining somewhat casually unbuttoned.

"Sure," She agreed, moving quickly ahead, followed by James. Before Joey noticed, both Brandon and Rachel had already embarked, so he began his journey as well.

About 30 minutes later, Joey and Ellie had had no luck. "Fancy a drink?" Joey offered, sitting down at the bar. Ellie looked around and then nodded. Placing a beverage for both police officers, Joey turned to Ellie. "So, what brought you to the force?" He asked curiously.

"Well," she began, taking a small sip, "I suppose it began when my sister died at the hands of a bad man." She began. "I knew that if I managed to put a bad man to justice that I'd be restoring order to the Earth." She took another sip, this time with more volume. "You?"

"Well, honestly, I just thought it would be fun!" Joey admitted. "Admittedly, things were a lot darker than I had first anticipated, but at least you meet a lot of interesting people like yourself."

"Interesting?"

"Indeed! I realise we've known each other for very little time, but I have already evaluated that there is great kindness within you." Joey enthused, causing Ellie to smile.

"Well, thank you, Joey." She replied, taking a brief glance towards the rest of the bar. Many minutes passed when Brandon emerged from the shadows.

"Have you seen Rachel?" He asked, looking slightly concerned. Joey got up at once and shook his head.

"It's getting pretty late, we should probably gather together and call it a day," Ellie suggested. Brandon nodded and the three looked around for the others.

"Joey!" Kayla called, as she met up with the group a couple of minutes later. "James and I spotted a shady figure earlier, but it was a false alarm." James shortly followed behind, looking tired.

"Yeah, Kayla chased that guy down while I covered the exits to make sure he didn't escape. Turns out he was just a figment of our minds." James said, leaning on a wall, placing his uniform on fully. His speech was clear, but Ellie identified that his mind seemed a little distant and his eyes darted around like a spider on its web.

"Oh, here she is!" Brandon cheered, embracing Rachel in a hug.

"Sorry, I got preoccupied with a man who had drunk a little too much." She apologised, placing her arm around Brandon and leaning on his shoulder. "Hopefully I didn't miss any developments!"

AAAAAAAAHHHH

They all looked at one another and immediately ran towards the source of the commotion.

"Damn it." James roared, looking at the fresh corpse of Jack's newest victim. Ellie, upon catching sight of it, immediately turned away and went white as a cloud. Joey, dismissing the body briefly, attempted to comfort her, but she instead walked away, rejecting his attempt at a hug.

"How did we all miss this?" Brandon asked, looking amongst the group. Kayla shrugged.

"Joey, you go grab the camera from the station," Rachel ordered, immediately snapping into focus. Joey nodded and rushed out of the Ten Bells. "Kayla and James, escort everyone away." She continued, eyeing the stares of a mix of those who were oblivious to the severity of the situation and those who were in a state of panic. Kayla and James were immediately on it, stepping carefully over the body. "Brandon, you and I shall get witness statements!" She finalised, whipping out a notepad from her front pocket.

Joey emerged from the pub only to see Ellie leaning against the wall. "Is everything alright, Ellie...?" He asked, slowly edging towards her. She jumped at once, turning around with baton in hand, ready to pound it onto Joey. He flinched.

"Aah, sorry-" Ellie whimpered as she placed her baton away and frowned. "I'm just a little on edge, is all."

"That's understandable; I was the same the first time I was ordered to the scene of a murder."

"I should probably get back in there and help." She continued, peering in through one of the windows.

"Don't be silly, Constable. There's no point trying to continue while you're like this." He explained. "I'll walk you home." She stopped for a moment and then nodded reluctantly.

"Thank you, sir."

~~~

"You doing any better now?" He asked as they reached the door of her home.

"Yes, very much so!" She replied with a forced smile. "That story about your dog really put the energy back into me." Joey chuckled, reminding himself of the story. "You don't seem so bad."

"You seem quite alright yourself, too." Joey expressed, smiling. "I don't suppose you'r-" Before Joey could continue, Ellie quickly planted a kiss on his cheek and ran inside. With a few moments delay, Joey smiled and waddled off to get the camera.

Today had been nice, he thought to himself, even if he did see a freshly dead corpse only an hour earlier.