Improbable (Improbable (A Historical Fantasy Mystery Series) Book 1) by Rysa Walker

Author:Rysa Walker [Walker, Rysa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Starry Night Books
Published: 2024-03-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING

The dizzying spin of text and newsprint slowed to a crawl until finally I was left staring at the actual Monday morning edition of the New York World. While the headlines were still considerably larger than the Times, none spanned more than a single column, and the most sensational of the lot concerned the death of an unfortunate horse that was electrocuted when a telegraph wire snapped beneath the weight of the previous night's snow.

Aunt Charlotte stared at me over her reading glasses. "You look ill, Miriam. Is something wrong?"

I felt ill, but I shook my head. "I'm okay. But it's happened again. The strangely shifting headlines I mentioned before. First when I picked up the Times, and then with the World. And if what I've just seen is correct, Jack the Ripper is now in New York." I stopped, thinking back to the article from the previous day that Elias had shown me. "Or, at the very least, a body will soon be found in Central Park that leads the police to that conclusion. Or the World's reporter, I suppose. I wasn't able to read enough of the actual article to determine whether the headline was based on comments from the police or simply the reporter jumping to conclusions."

Charlotte gave a rather unladylike snort. "The World's reporters are so capable of jumping to conclusions, based on little or no evidence, that they could easily qualify for the Wenlock Olympics. But in this case, I suppose it's possible that..."

"That the body they'll find will belong to Maria Vanderbilt Shepard? It's entirely possible, although there's no similarity at all between the one clean but lethal shot from my derringer and the grotesque mutilation that is the modus operandi of the Ripper. If it is Maria's body they find in the park, they might initially assume that it was Jack the Ripper. Elias showed me a brief article in the Times yesterday that purports to be from him, claiming that they'll soon find his first victim in New York. But once the coroner examines the body, his report will undoubtedly push the investigation in another direction."

"Let's just hope it doesn't push the investigation in your direction. What else did the article say, dear? Not the Ripper's letter published in the Times, but the one from your premonition. And when do you think it will be published?"

"The only thing I was able to read was the headline, and it took a great deal of concentration to even do that. I think the date was January 23rd. That would be this Wednesday, and if the weather predictions are correct, that's about the time that the snow in Central Park will completely thaw."

"You seemed to think these glimpses of the future could be due to exhaustion and an overactive imagination the other day. Maria's death and its inevitable discovery must be weighing heavily on your mind right now. I know that it is on mine, and I wasn't even there.

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