13. Chapter 13

Chapter thirteen

T he next evening, Jack disappeared over the rooftops of London to go to The Magic Shop and the portal there. Hugh watched him go with heaviness in his heart. He doubted Jack would be in much danger, but he still didn’t like the man leaving so suddenly, not only away from London, but away from Earth. Hugh already was feeling like part of him was missing as Jack vanished into the dark night like one of its many shadows.

But now he had a mission. He had to figure out how to get into Eden without being suspected. He had a pretty good idea of how to do it too, and it involved another visit to The Bull and Parasol. So, he made his way there, once again in his street clothes. Mr. Galloway greeted him with a smile. “Ah, Mr. Hugh. Back again!”

“Is Anth- I mean, Rachel available?” Hugh asked.

Mr. Galloway nodded. “Just finished with another customer, I think. She’s probably washing up.” He held out his hand, and Hugh dropped his coins into it. Mr. Galloway signaled to one of the other boys. “Take this gentleman up to see Rachel.”

Hugh followed after the other prostitute with his heart hammering. What was he getting himself into? But if this didn’t work, he didn’t know what else he could do.

Anthony had his dressing gown draped loosely over him. “Hello,” he greeted with a much sunnier smile than Hugh might have expected.

“Hello,” Hugh said, making sure the door was closed before he turned to Anthony again. “Can you sneak me into the next gathering of Eden with your group of boys?”

Anthony blinked. “Oh, not even a Bob’s your uncle, huh?”

Hugh snorted softly. “I’m sorry. But it’s very important that I go to Eden.”

“It’s not going to be safe,” Anthony replied. “Something bad might happen to you.”

“Let me worry about that,” Hugh said, placing a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “I’ll take your place. You just tell me how to do it.”

Anthony shook his head. “I can’t let you take my place.”

Hugh frowned. “Will they notice an extra person?”

Anthony gazed at him for a moment. “No. If they do, I can just say Mr. Galloway is sending a new one for free. Them fuckers won’t give a shit as long as they ain’t paying for it. Their next party is this Saturday night. We meet them at the back of the Penny Lane Pub at seven. If you can be in the back alley of the pub when we arrive at half six, I can sneak you in with me.”

Hugh nodded. “Thank you, Anthony. Hopefully we will be able to find some answers for you.”

“Did you find Alexander?” Anthony asked.

Hugh shook his head. He had looked in the police reports and death records but had found nothing from the past few weeks that seemed to be related to Alexander. “I’m sorry.”

Anthony nodded, toying with a string on his dressing gown. “Thank you for looking.”

“Have you heard of any other prostitutes going missing?” Hugh asked.

“No. I heard about Joseph and the fancy toff who ripped him apart though,” Anthony said.

“Did you know Viscount Jardin?” Hugh asked, wondering if perhaps the viscount had frequented The Bull and Parasol.

Anthony frowned. “No, I didn’t, but I heard of him. I think he frequented one of the other brothels though.” He wrinkled his nose. “Somewhere where they don’t play as nice as they do here.”

“Do you know what he was into?” Hugh asked, glad that Anthony and his friends were not in danger from the viscount any longer.

“Weird shit,” Anthony said. “I heard biting. Like, really bad. He liked to draw blood and then lick it up.”

Hugh thought about Toby with his throat ripped out, and Joseph with his insides torn apart. The viscount was gone, and the world was better off without him. Were all of the members of Eden so cruel and dangerous? Jack had said the Duke told him the Waking was supposed to be confined to Eden. But what if it wasn’t, and there were more creatures like the viscount running around the dark streets? And what was happening at Eden anyway? Were the strange creatures on the streets abnormal reactions to the Tree’s powers?

Hugh had taken himself to one of the public libraries to look at information about apple trees. He had learned that they took six to ten years to grow, and then they usually only produced fruit every other year. If the Tree fruited two years ago in 1888, Hugh wondered if perhaps that had been the origin of Jack the Ripper and why there had not been similar cases last year. Unfortunately, without knowing exactly what the effects of the apples were and who the Ripper was, it was only speculation. But the brutality and timeline made sense. And that made him especially concerned that they needed to find out what was happening and put a stop to it; if the public found out that there was another Ripper-like murderer out there, there would be sheer bloody panic in the streets. “I’ll be there on Saturday,” he promised Anthony. “No matter what. We’re going to end this.”

Jack

It was late in the evening two days later, and Hugh was on his patrol. Jack found him on his route but did not go down to him, as the streets were still rather busy. But he made just a bit of noise on the rooftop to draw the pretty constable’s attention and allowed Hugh to glimpse him disappearing over the rooftops on the way to the Duke’s estate. Hugh smiled to himself as he saw the devilish man. Jack was back, and he was safe.

Jack ran all the way to the Duke’s estate, not bothering with silly horses this time. He left the bag containing the treasures he had procured from other worlds in the woods before he made his way around the Duke’s manor, into the apple orchard. He wanted to find the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil for himself. He wondered if it would look different than any other apple tree.

The orchard was laid out in neat rows. The trees were heavily laden with fruit this late into the season. Jack plucked an apple from one of the trees to examine it but found nothing spectacular about its appearance. He wandered to and fro, unsure what he might find or where to look.

He needn’t have worried. The Tree was deep inside the orchard but in a cleared spot. It was not overly unique-looking, except for what seemed to be the faintest golden glow around it. And a fence. A very tall wooden fence, with a heavy padlock and chain on the gate. “Very subtle,” Jack said to himself. In one bound, he was up and over the fence, landing on the ground inside of it next to the Tree.

Up close, the Tree was no more remarkable. Its leaves and fruit were attractive and shapely, but he compared the apple in his hand to the apples on the tree and saw very little difference. He debated taking one of the apples and biting into it to see what it would do, but the memory of the viscount ripping apart first Toby and then Joseph was not something he wanted to risk for himself.

Once he had examined the Tree, he sprang back over the fence and headed back to the large house. The window of the Duke’s private room had been left open, and he leaped up into it. The man was not there, so Jack poured himself a large glass of the cognac and stretched out in the chair to wait.

He did not have to wait long. The Duke entered the room with a large bottle of wine that he nearly dropped when he saw Jack. “You do know you could use the front door, dear fellow.”

Jack laughed and jumped to his feet. “I would hardly be a harbinger of chaos if I used something as banal as a door.”

“I suppose,” the Duke said, then brightened as Jack picked up the bag and held it out to him.

“Food and drink from several alternate versions of earth, and from two other planets beyond our galaxy.”

“Exquisite!” the Duke said, holding up what looked like a block of cheese except it was a bright purple color. “I dare say you’ve held up your end of the bargain. Where are you staying, that I might deliver your invitation?”

Jack almost listed Hugh’s address before realizing that would be foolish, as the Duke could have someone spy on the place and find out who Hugh was. “I have no one particular residence,” he said, lifting his hand to his forehead with tragic defeat. “But, if you leave the instructions under the little Pan statue in Whitecastle Cemetery, the one behind the mausoleum in the center, I shall check there.”

“I shall have your invitation delivered there in the next day or two,” the Duke said, already pulling out a large, blue fruit with a leathery-looking skin.

“I look forward to it!” Jack replied before heading out the window again.

Sure enough, very early the next day, there was a flat package addressed to ‘Mr. Spring-Heeled Jack, Pan Statue, Whitecastle Cemetery’ under the figurine. Jack carried the parcel back to Hugh’s home, and they opened it in front of the hearth, breaking the violet wax seal. Inside the black envelope was a gold-bordered invitation for Spring-Heeled Jack to attend the next gathering at The Garden of Eden, with instructions on where to meet. There was also a pretty, venetian mask included in the package, made of soft, supple leather. Jack laughed as he held it up to his own face to see his reflection in Hugh’s tiny washroom mirror. “As if I could hide my identity,” he chuckled.

Hugh laughed at that too. Perhaps without the horns and wearing the mask, Jack could pass for a very tall human, but the horns were very obviously attached to him in such a way that they could not be mistaken for any sort of mask or costume. “Probably just a formality in your case.”

“I am curious why they wear masks,” Jack said, turning it over thoughtfully in his hands.

“I suppose that they are concerned about people knowing their identities,” Hugh said slowly. “If it’s a gathering of such rich and powerful members, especially if they are doing things that are frowned upon or even illegal in society, they might want to keep people from recognizing them.”

“Surely they would likely recognize each other,” Jack said. “If they would have had to make the Duke’s acquaintance like I did.”

Hugh suspected none of the other guests had accosted the Duke at the third floor window of his study, but it had been remarkably effective. “Perhaps they are not the only ones at this gathering. If there are others there for entertainment purposes, like Anthony told me, they might know who they are.”

“Hmm. I suppose that could be the case,” Jack said, poking a finger through one of the eyeholes of the mask and spinning it around it. “Do you think perhaps the guests are being violent with them?”

“It might explain why some of them have disappeared,” Hugh said with a frown. He was starting to suspect that might have been what happened to Alexander. “But, if one of them were to complain, it… it’s not like the police would take them seriously.” It hurt for him to say that. He would take it seriously, as he had when he had found out that Christopher and Anthony were prostitutes, because they were also human beings, worthy of dignity and respect. Being a prostitute meant that you got roughed up; it was an ‘expected’ part of the job they had chosen. But just because it was common did not mean that it was right, though he knew many of his colleagues would not feel the same way.

Jack looked over at the frown on Hugh’s face. “I am sorry,” he said softly. “I know that you are doing everything you can to help.”

“I wish I could do more,” Hugh said. “But I am only one person.”

“One amazing person,” Jack said pointedly, and Hugh chuckled a bit.

“Well, thank you, Jack, I appreciate that.”

“So, I shall attend the gathering and report back to you?” Jack asked.

“No,” Hugh said. “I’m going too.”

Jack stared at him in surprise, his bonfire eyes wide. “This does not seem like the type of gathering where plus ones are invited.”

Hugh nodded. “I know. I’m not going with you. I’m going to go with Mr. Galloway’s boys.”

“What?” Jack demanded.

“I will sneak in with his boys when they are taken to the party. Anthony is going to take me along.”

“You think no one will notice an extra person?” Jack said.

“Anthony said he can claim I’m new, and they don’t have to pay extra. And Mr. Galloway himself said that I have a pretty face. What’s one more pretty face?”

Jack shook his head. “Absolutely not. I am not putting you in that sort of situation.”

“We’re not going to argue about it, Jack,” Hugh said firmly. “I’m a police officer. This is my investigation. And I’m not putting anyone else into further danger. It’s bad enough that I am getting you involved in it.”

“It is my job to be involved in it,” Jack pointed out.

“And mine too,” Hugh replied. “As you said, this is not a place where I can easily come with you.”

Jack sighed loudly. “I understand your logic, Hugh, but I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to like it,” Hugh said.

“I don’t want you to be in danger.”

“I am in danger out on the streets every night,” Hugh pointed out. “At least if I go with you to Eden, we’ll be together, right?”

“What if we get separated?” Jack asked with a frown. “I may not be able to be by your side the whole time.”

“That is a risk we will have to take,” Hugh said softly.

“But you might get hurt,” Jack said, a frown deepening his bone-like forehead.

“Jack, I know you’re worried about me, but it will be all right,” Hugh replied firmly. “Please. We’ll never learn anything if we don’t take this chance. And it might be the only one we get.”

Jack heaved a heavy sigh. “All right. I suppose I must learn to trust your judgement.”

Hugh smiled at that. “A terrible idea, really,” he teased.

Jack slid the mask on again and lifted his arms to spread his cape wide. “How do I look?”

“Still only half-dressed,” Hugh replied, gazing back at him for a moment. Jack needed a coat or something on top of his white oilskin top. While he was very obviously Spring-Heeled Jack, if the people that he would be meeting were rich or influential, trying to assimilate into their ranks seemed like a wise idea. His own clothing would be too small for Jack, and he didn’t have anything that nice anyway. But then a thought occurred to him.

“Hold on,” he said and retreated to his bedroom. He opened the trunk at the foot of his bed where he kept the few treasures he had. One of them was a tailcoat, a bit old-fashioned for their current time and in need of some ironing, but not enough to look entirely out of place. He carried it back to the sitting room where Jack had not moved from where he stood with the top hat on. Hugh held out the coat. “Try this on. It was my father’s.”

Jack ran his hand gently over the fabric of one sleeve. “I could not take such a memento from you.”

“Please,” Hugh said again, giving it a little shake. “My father has no use for it now, and he did love a good mystery. I think he’d be honored to have you wear it.”

Jack frowned a bit. “Only if you are sure.”

Hugh nodded. “I am. Please. I would not offer it if I did not want you to use it.”

Jack turned his back and held out his arms for Hugh. Hugh smiled and slipped the coat on over Jack’s broad shoulders like a valet. Jack turned toward him again, and Hugh leaned in to do up the buttons on the front before stepping back to eye it critically. It was not the most tailored look, but under Jack’s cape, it would be entirely adequate to disguise Jack’s fantastical appearance a bit more. “I think that will work.”

Jack grabbed the lapels and did a little spin. “Ah, marvelous. Thank you, Hugh. I promise I will make you and your father proud.”