‘Anger’s the shortest path to a mistake, Vastra. You’d do well to remember that.’
She shook her head, banishing the voice and the thought.
Oh, the mistake has already been made, Doctor, she thought, her inner voice cold and vicious. It was not anger that brought it on. It was faith…and hope…and love. All those things you tried to show me. And what good were they? No, this time I will let my anger flow out, and if that means I must atone later, I will. But for now…
Her eyes narrowed as she turned and walked back down the alleyway. She looked at the body lying on the ground before her. She felt the rage building up inside her, a rage she had not felt since her younger days hunting and fighting with her tribe. Looking both ways, she dragged the body further down the alleyway, away from the street where prying eyes might look. A river of blood, fresh and hot but thinned and cooled by the rain, trailed behind her. She bent down, and even over the sound of rain and thunder, a wet, tearing sound could be heard.
When the lightning flashed again, Vastra raised her head in satisfaction. Her teeth, once gleaming white, were stained with gore.
~~~
There was a knock on the door.
Vastra rose, the muscles in her body from head to toe singing in agony. She had more than half expected this knock as well after last night; in fact, the thought of what was to come had kept her awake for most of the night as she soaked in a tub of hot water to wash the stain of blood off her, before fatigue finally took over and forced her into a few hours restless sleep in her bed. She slowly rose from bed as the knock repeated.
‘Just a moment please…I will be right there!’
She tried to sound cheery but knew even an untrained ear would detect the false cadences in her voice. Slowly she pulled on a plain skirt, tall boots, and a dark, high necked blouse. She grabbed her best cowled cape and leather gloves and pulled them on as quickly as possible. Muscles and joints sang as she slowly made her way down the stairs to the front door. Without so much as a thought she opened it.
‘May I help you, sir?’
The man at the door had turned his back as he waited, but he quickly spun around. His face was softly rounded, as was his gut, and there was a certain redness about his nose and cheeks. A thick, bristly moustache nearly covered his top lip. He raised a balled up hand, coughed into it to clear his throat, and then looked down at a sheaf of papers he held in his other hand.
‘Could you please tell Mrs. Vastravosky that her presence is required?’
Vastra sighed.
‘I am Vas…Mrs. Vastravosky. Please, come in, Mister…’
‘Inspector, actually, if you don’t mind. Inspector Paul Danforth, Metropolitan Police. I work out of Scotland Yard, and I have a few questions for you, if you have the time?’
Vastra stepped to the side.
‘Of course, Inspector Danforth. Please do come in.’
He stepped past her and took in the front hall.
‘Quite a place you have here, if I do say so, madam.’
‘Thank you,’ she replied quietly. ‘Of course, it is quite empty now that my husband…’
She faked a sniffle. Inspector Danforth looked at her, sympathy etched on his face.
‘Oh, I am sorry. How long, if I am nor rude in asking?’
‘Just over a year. But it just does not feel right to stop mourning him. I am afraid there will never be one to replace him.’
Inspector Danforth patted Vastra on the shoulder. She stiffened, just for a moment, and hoped he didn’t notice.
‘Oh, I understand. Been 5 years since my Rebecca…the ‘flu. So I know what you must be feeling.’
Vastra nodded.
‘Somehow, Inspector Danforth, I feel your visit has less to do with inquiring about my well being.’
Danforth sighed.
‘Afraid so, madam.’
He looked around.
‘Is...is there someplace we could sit and talk?’
Vastra pointed to a door. ‘The library is perhaps the most comfortable room in the house right now. We could speak in there if you would like?’
Danforth nodded.
‘That’d be splendid. Please, lead the way.’
Vastra and Inspector Danforth soon found themselves sitting in chairs across from each other. Ruefully, she realized that the chair Danforth was in was the same one Jenny sat in when she was interviewed for the open position. Vastra sighed. There will be ghosts of her everywhere, I fear, she thought, not without some small sadness.
‘So, Inspector Danforth…what does bring you to my door this day?’
Inspector Danforth took a deep breath, exhaled, and began.
‘I’m sure you keep up with the papers, madam. Likewise, I’m sure you know that just five days ago, there was a body found in the street. Murder.’
Vastra nodded.
‘I read about that, Inspector. He seemed to be a well regarded financier.’
Inspector Danforth nodded in reply.
‘I also assume that you read further into the article and found that he’d been suspected in several rather inhuman, ghastly crimes.’
‘I did,’ Vastra replied. ‘But is a man not innocent until proven guilty?’
Danforth laughed.
‘That’s what the courts say, yes.’
He leaned forward, conspiratorially.
‘Between you and me, Mrs. Vastravosky…we had more than enough evidence to not only convict him, but to have him put away for life.’
He paused, and then drew a finger across his neck.
‘Or…worse, depending on your point of view.’
‘Oh,’ replied Vastra, her voice a little shocked. ‘I see.’
‘The funny thing,’ Inspector Danforth continued, as he stood up and began to walk around the room, ‘is that he wasn’t the first.’
‘Excuse me?’ questioned Vastra. ‘I am not sure I follow what you are saying.’
Danforth ran his fingers along the embossed spines of books on the library shelves.
‘I mean that we know of at least three or four other suspected killers…men who had done horrible, terrible things. Most of them we were able to keep out of the newspapers, out of fear of people trying to copycat those crimes.’
He reached out and pulled a volume from the shelf.
‘A Tale of Two Cities! I love this book! “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had…”’
Vastra coughed, trying to bring the Inspector’s attention back to the present. He looked over toward Vastra, blushed, and quietly slipped the book back onto the shelf.
‘Sorry…I got a bit carried away there.’
Vastra waved her hand. ‘Think nothing of it. Please, continue.’
‘Anyway…three or four other suspected killers…not a single one of them named in the press…until they turned up dead.’
Vastra’s voice betrayed her curiosity. She hoped it didn’t betray her involvement.
‘Why is this, then, the first I am hearing of this?’
Inspector Danforth turned to her.
‘We try and keep these things off the record. No point in causing a panic amongst the public if we can help it. Unfortunately this last one, the one what made the front page of the papers, there was no way for us to stop it from getting out.’
He paused.
‘And last night there was another one.’
Vastra gasped.
Inspector Danforth returned to his seat. Jenny’s seat, Vastra thought ruefully. He looked directly at Vastra as he tried to string together the right words.
‘I know that there was a massive thunderstorm last night, but I have to ask you…did you see or hear anything out of the ordinary last night?’
Vastra pretended to think.
‘No.’
‘Nothing at all?’
‘Well,’ Vastra said, pausing ever so slightly. ‘There was something, but…’
‘What was it?’
‘I thought I heard something that sounded like a scream, but it definitely did not sound human. Maybe like a dog howling, or something like that.’
She paused again.
‘But I thought it might have been the wind howling down the lane. It does get rather noisy when the wind whips up, as I am sure you could guess.’
Danforth nodded.
‘Didn’t see anything then?’
Vastra held her arms out.
‘As you can see, Inspector Danforth, I am a lone woman living in a large house by myself. Do you think I should risk stepping out at night…alone…in a thundering rain storm…when the streets seem unsafe even when there is no rain?’
Danforth cringed at the truth of her words.
‘Having said this, yes, Inspector Danforth, I did poke my head out my front door to see if I could make out anything. I happened to see someone running off up the street a few minutes after the scream. However,’ Vastra continued, ‘I do not know if they are in any way related.’
‘Hard to say,’ Danforth replied. ‘They could be. It might have been an accomplice, especially if he turned on his partner. Or it could have been the intended victim. It’s just too hard to say.’
He looked around the room, noting the small piles of books here and there.
‘No household help then, I take it?’
Vastra’s voice grew cold.
‘I am between employees at the moment, if you must know. She left her position here three days ago now, and I do not expect her back. Not that it is any business of yours.’ She spat the last words out intensely.
‘My apologies, madam.’
Danforth stood from the seat and made his way from the library. Vastra followed him as they made their way to the door. As Vastra was about to open it, he turned to face her.
‘S’a funny thing, though.’
‘What is?’ she replied coldly.
‘Oh, just the fact that you thought you heard a dog or dogs. The body, well…’
He looked around nervously.
‘Confidentially, madam?’
‘Of course,’ she replied. ‘Who would I tell?’
Inspector Danforth rubbed his chin for a second, considered answering her question, and then continued without replying.
‘The body was pretty mangled when we got called out. Looks like whatever got to him was pretty hungry. Doubt he had much chance to scream either…his throat was ripped from side to side by something powerful strong.’
Vastra reclined back slightly.
'So, it was not something human then.'