Cruel and Unusual - serialised novel EXCLUSIVE to Steemit Part 62

Here are the links to catch-up, read again or start from the beginning

Episode List From 1 – 52
Then: 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61

Images below from Google, Getty Images, and Pixabay

Please read the start of the story using the link above. I promise, it’s well-worth the time to check it all out. At least then, this excerpt will make more sense)

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In the meantime, Jack had been very busy.

Jack walked through the streets of Whitechapel as though he belonged there.

Just a few months prior, Jack had felt uncomfortable and out of place if he walked on his way to see a patient – one of the ‘gratis’ patients, of course – but now, after the atrocities he had committed and the misery he had caused, he felt almost at home. No-one gave him a second glance, there were few people on the streets anyway, but those went about their own business as though he too was a life-long resident.

Jack did not yet realise that he had caused pain to any left to mourn his victims, he assumed that he had had no effect on the lives left in his wake – only to those that he had slain.

He had a reason for being in the area – revenge - and to tie-up one last loose end before he gave up his new hobby.

He had given a task to Mary to get Keme to the lodging house on the pretext of picking up a few of Isabelle’s belongings that she had found. Of course, she had told Keme that he could have the necklace back, as long as he was willing to pay for its return. Keme did not consult with Isabelle about the necklace and other items as he thought to take possession of them in secret and present her with them as a surprise.

Jack waited for Keme behind Mary’s door as the time that they had agreed upon approached. Mary assumed that she would be getting cash for this bogus transaction, either from Jack or Keme (or perhaps both) and Jack waited with a hood soaked in chloroform.

A light tapping on the door set Jack and Mary on edge – for different reasons.

Keme entered the room as Mary invited him in and Jack hooked the hood over Keme’s head. The struggle was violent but short-lived. Keme was unconscious upon the floor before anyone was injured.

Then, Jack dealt with Mary Kelly, the disloyal friend of his love.

“Have you got my money then?” the woman asked as Jack laid the unconscious body of Keme on the dirty floor of the room that Isabella and Mary had once shared. He noticed how much the room had changed in the short time since Isabella had moved out.

“Yes, I have your money. In fact, I have more money for you than we agreed upon, if you are willing?” Jack left the details unsaid and Mary’s eyes gleamed with greed.

“What, you want to make the beast with two backs with him lyin’ there, do yer?” she feigned reluctance, perhaps in an attempt to eke more money from him for the inconvenience he was causing her.

“But I need the money; I’m weeks behind in my rent now that Izzy’s not here anymore.” Her tone had altered to one of a wheedling nature – one that irritated Jack and set his teeth on edge.

He hid his irritation very well as he pretended excitement and began to paw at her upper body. “Yes, I think that I should like very much to make the beast with two backs with you.”

“Let’s see yer money then.” Mary imagined that she now had the upper hand in the transaction and pressed forth her advantage. Jack removed his wallet from his jacket and showed Mary more folding cash than she had ever seen in her life. Her eyes grew wider yet and her fingers twitched to get hold of even a part of that cash.

Jack took it all from the leather wallet and held it out to her. Mary didn’t need to be offered twice; she snatched the money and turned her back as she hid it somewhere about her person. When she turned back around, Jack was almost naked. He had been removing his clothes and folding them onto a chair close to the window. When she turned around, he was just laying the last of his garments on top of the pile of clothes and unusually, his shoes were also on the chair. Mary imagined that it was a quirk of his and hoped that he had no other oddities connected with his sexual habits – such as laying on a beating, before, during or after sex.

“Oh, sir, you are ready aren’t you?” she made reference to jack’s obvious excitement but unfortunately for her, got the reason wrong.

Mary began to undress and emulated Jack in the fact that she folded her dress and shawl as she laid them on the chair closest to the bed.

Jack made to kiss the woman and she welcomed it.

He traced his fingers across her neck and followed the fingertips with his lips, ignoring the stale smell of sweat rising from her filthy body. He also ignored the gritty texture of the skin on her throat from not having washed in a number of weeks.

Jack realised that though she was a grown woman, she had needed Isabella’s guidance in everything – from paying rent down to when to wash. Without Isabella’s influence, the money Mary earned had gone on gin first, food second and little else after.

The pressure he exerted on her throat with his fingers increased suddenly and she put up a bit of a struggle when she realised that he was no longer intent on sex.

Mary blacked out long before Jack began to play. Her neck was beginning to discolour where the fingers had pressed hard and had bruised the skin and he touched it with a tenderness that would seem peculiar if he managed to remember the fact later.

He turned her head to face him as he began to work.

The knife that he used on this occasion was not his usual preference of surgical quality. He had chosen this blade for its weight, not its finesse.

Once he had hacked through her throat and put an end to her life, Jack began his game.