Temptations of Anna Jacobs (12 page)

Anna had already secured permission from Doctor Harrison to use the laboratory that afternoon after class. She’d also had delivered a pig carcass for the experiment. But she hadn’t yet heard back from Drew. She’d sent him a message, had it delivered to Scotland Yard, as she knew he’d be working that day, and now was set to wait and hope he’d arrive. Of course, if he didn’t, it would still work out; she could go and retrieve Doctor Harrison from his office and have him assist her.

She couldn’t lie, the rejection hurt. Drew had pushed her aside. But he’d also sought her help in the investigation. She could be poised about this matter. He might not want her personally, but that didn’t mean he didn’t need her professionally.

She checked again the knives she’d collected for the experiment, straightening them on the table. Then a knock, knock on the door and Drew appeared.

Her breath caught at the sight of him. An image of him the night in the carriage flashed in her mind. When he’d pressed himself so deliciously close to her, taken her body to such heights.

She licked her lips and nodded. “Hello.”

He inclined his head, took a step closer into the room. “You said you had an experiment you wanted assistance with.”

“Indeed. I thought we could test my hypothesis about the last victim being killed with a different type of blade.”

His brows rose slowly. “Sounds very interesting.” He nodded to the table behind her. “I suppose that explains the pig.”

“Indeed. Well, I am hoping it will prove more than merely interesting and be instrumental in the investigation.” She donned a long apron and offered him one as well. “It would be a better experiment if we had actual bodies, but without a formal request from Scotland Yard, the medical school will not allow such a thing.” She walked around to the other side of the table. “So this will do. I gathered all of these weapons and we can take turns”—she paused and looked up at him—“stabbing the body, and then measure our findings.”

“Anna, no, that’s unnecessary,” he said.

Her stomach agreed with him. It had been roiling and churning all morning at the thought. It was an experiment, she kept reminding herself, but there was something decidedly different about cutting into a body for educational purposes and trying to reenact a brutal attack, porcine or not. “It will provide us with conclusive information.”

“That might be, but medical student or not, I can’t allow you to do something so savage.”

“I thought you understood that I was more than the situation of my birth,” she said. “Lady or not, aristocratic or not, this is a medical experiment, so if I don’t perform it, who will?”

“I can do it,” he said.

But she knew she could never ask him to do such a thing. He’d been so horrified by the way he’d put his hands on that man at the pub the other night that he’d barely been able to look at her. And all he’d done there was rescue her, remove a man and his unwanted advances from her person. Imagine how he’d feel if she asked him to step into the shoes of a killer. No, she could do this, she was used to wielding a knife in such a manner.

“I will do it, Drew, I merely wanted you to observe and perhaps take some notes,” she said.

“Are you certain?”

“Of course. I am to be a doctor; I am hardly squeamish.”

Drew stepped over to the table with the knives and eyed them, picking up one and then the other, turning them over in his hand. “What are all of these?”

“Carving knife, butcher, upholstery, hunting and typical kitchen knives.”

Then, without warning, he picked up one and jammed it into the pig’s abdomen.

Anna sucked in her breath. “I thought we agreed that I would perform the test.”

“No, you agreed to that. If this must be done, then we shall do it together. Anna, mimicking the acts of a killer is nothing to take lightly. I will not allow you to do it alone,” he said. When she nodded, he pointed at the injury. “Get to work,” he said with a gentle squeeze of her shoulder.

And just like that the tensions between them melted away and once again they were partners, working on an investigation side by side. Anna measured the wound, made notes about the knife. “I can already tell that this particular knife leaves a far wider wound than the ones on the most recent victim.”

“But we should account for differing strengths of the killer. You do it.” He handed her the knife. “Don’t be tentative.”

She took a deep breath and then sliced the knife into the body. It was far different than making incisions; this was violent. She shook off the feeling of revulsion and stepped back to examine the wound. Again she measured and made notes. “It’s definitely different than yours, but only in that it doesn’t go as deep. The wound entry is the same. This is most definitely not the type of knife the killer used. On any of the victims.”

“Next,” Drew said. He retrieved another weapon and they went through the same process again. And once again the knife they’d used made a different wound than the ones on the victims.

Perhaps this hadn’t been a worthy experiment. She voiced her concern.

“No, this is worthwhile simply because it proves that there could have been different weapons used. It doesn’t prove it’s a different killer, but it’s a start.”

She eyed him a moment. “Is that what you think? That this most recent victim is a different killer?” She knew she believed that, but Drew had never come right out and expressed such a thought.

He shrugged. “That’s what my instinct tells me, but I haven’t been doing this very long, so I’m not so certain I’m to be trusted. But it’s definitely my suspicion.”

“I think we should send our findings to Simon and see what he has to say about matters,” she suggested.

“I think perhaps you’re right. Here, I can help you clean up.” He picked up all the weapons and brought them over to the large sink and set them inside. Then he carefully washed them with the soap sitting on the ledge.

Try as she might Anna could not ignore the play of his muscles against his back as he moved at the sink. His shoulders were so broad, and she had the inexplicable urge to go over and run her hands up his back, wrap her arms around his body and press her face to his back. He would be warm and impossibly strong and she knew it would feel so very right. Instead she carefully covered the bodies and picked up her notes.

***

Anna and Drew had done the experiment with the weapons and sent their findings to Simon via telegraph. He’d sent back a message immediately asking them to send more detailed notes by post. And now Anna was waiting on everything it seemed. Waiting to hear from Simon. And waiting to see Drew again. She hadn’t seen him again since that day in the laboratory. She had no idea why he’d been avoiding her other than the encounter they’d shared in the carriage. Even though she’d thought that their relationship had resumed during their experiment. Evidently that had merely been a temporary truce.

She was completely preoccupied with the desire for him to touch her again, and she wanted to touch him in return. It was odd, that, the feeling of desire. She hadn’t expected it to feel that way. She’d expected it to be nice and pleasurable, but the kind of pleasure one felt when hearing a lovely song or smelling a sweet flower. Not the sort that consumed her body, engulfing her in flames and making her want things she’d never considered before.

But that’s precisely how she felt. And for Drew Foster, the most interesting and irritating man she’d ever met. It was senseless.

And as if her mere thoughts of him could summon his presence, he entered the parlor. She came to her feet.

“Hello,” she said.

“I heard from Simon.” He held up a piece of paper.

“Another telegraph? I was expecting him to send by post; it must be urgent.” She stepped over to him, held out her hand.

He gave her the telegraph.

F
AIRLY CERTAIN
J
ACK HAS APPRENTICE

F
OUND COMMUNICATION IN
T
IMES

S
ENDING MORE BY POST

T
HERE ARE TWO OF THEM

“Oh dear,” Anna said, and she fell back onto the sofa. She’d suspected as much, but seeing it there, in print, made it all too real. “Two killers. That is somewhat terrifying.”

Drew sat next to her, put a comforting hand on her knee. “For once in my life, I hate that I was right. Are you—?”

She waved her hand dismissively. “I’m right as rain. Just a little disconcerted, I suppose.”

“They’re communicating with one another,” Drew said.

She shuddered. “Even more terrifying. So what is there to be done about it?”

“Obviously, I need to figure out who the second killer is while still looking for the Ripper. Especially since no one else at the Yard will be working this angle with me.”

“I wish Simon were back,” Anna said.

“Your confidence in me is humbling.”

“Oh pish-posh, that is not what I meant.” She put her hand on his, which still rested on her knee. He grabbed her fingers and interlaced their hands. “You are perfectly capable,” she continued, “but you said yourself that no one believes you or trusts your judgment. If Simon were here, there would be no discussion.”

“Jeffries will not even entertain the idea of a second killer.”

“Not everyone can be as clever as you and Simon. I suspect he knew this about you and that is why he approached you for Scotland Yard.”

“No, he asked me to work there because the Ripper tried to frame me.” He was quiet a moment. “I’ve tried to figure out why the Ripper picked me. Only conclusion I’ve come to is that obviously he saw something in me that led him to believe that others would suspect me, that I would make a believable scapegoat. Otherwise, he could have just as easily selected Thompson or Richardson.”

She shook her head, not believing his words. “You believe that Jack the Ripper picked you because he thought you believable as a killer? As a savaging beast like him? Drew, no one who knows you”—she met his eyes, his soulful, sad eyes—“no one could believe that of you. It is why Simon and your brother kept fighting to have you released.”

There was more to this, more to his anguish. Anna knew it, but she also knew that Drew wouldn’t share everything with her. She could see he’d already ended the discussion in his mind.

Drew wouldn’t say anything else. He’d already said too much. As wrong as it was, he liked how Anna looked at him. He wouldn’t risk that with the truth. With telling her about all of his demons, all the darkness that consumed him.

“Regardless of what you think, I know Simon. Had you been as disposable as you think, it would be enough to ask you to participate in setting a trap perhaps, but not enough for employment. You’ve known one another since school. He knows the real you,” Anna said.

He looked down at her lap, where their hands were still intertwined. Despite his efforts to resist her pull, he was drawn to Anna. He craved her—her company, her smile, the sound of her voice. Yes, he enjoyed teasing her, but he also genuinely liked and respected her. He knew the attraction would get him into trouble, because with Anna, he wanted more. Things he suspected he wasn’t meant to have.

She sat quietly next to him. She was playing the prim and proper lady and stifling her own questions. He’d said too much and she wanted to alleviate his doubts, but he’d had to shut down the conversation. He wanted to say something to make her feel better, wanted to pull her close to him and run his hand down her back. Soothe all her worries.

But the fact that he wanted to do both of those things stopped him from proceeding with any explanations. Her perfect mouth was drawn into a line and furrows wrinkled her brow.

Here she was, obviously distraught that she couldn’t comfort him, and he was aroused. All he wanted to do was pull her onto his lap and spread kisses into her hair, trace his fingers across her body, then push himself into her. Make love to her until they both forgot about proper behavior and investigations and Jack the Ripper.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat to alleviate the pressure. The need to touch her was great, as if she were the cure for all that ailed him. The soothing drink of water to a dying man. All he wanted was one more touch. Something to somehow remind himself that he wasn’t merely the bastard son of a duke, but also a man with a heart and a soul.

No, he could not force upon her such a burden. He stood and put physical distance between them. He would do the right thing if it killed him.

“I wish Simon would have included some instruction on how to proceed.”

“You keep doing what you’ve been doing,” she said. “You have a list from the tobacco shop and can follow it. And there’s Mr. Rodgers. We still need to locate him, ask him questions.”

They were quiet for several moments before she spoke again. “Are we going to talk about what happened between us the other night? You’ve been so distant, I’ve scarcely seen you and to be perfectly honest I should like to know what is so wrong with me.”

He eyed her a moment, not quite believing what he was hearing. “Why the devil would you assume something is wrong with you?”

“It is the only logical conclusion. You kissed me and made me feel . . .” Her voice became breathy and her cheeks flushed. “It is actually rather difficult to describe the sensation, and wonderful doesn’t even begin to describe it. Beautiful. You made me feel beautiful. And desirable and sensual.”

He took a step toward her, then stopped himself. “Anna, I didn’t
make
you feel those things. You
are
all of those things. I merely showed you.”

“Would you show me again? I’m not quite certain I remember everything.” She swallowed visibly. “And as a woman of science, it is crucial that I have a full experience.”

Christ, he wasn’t certain he had the strength to walk away from a request like that. “Anna, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Did you only find me attractive that night because I was dressed as a servant girl?”

“What the devil are you talking about?”

Her head tilted and she gave him a sideways glance. “I’m familiar with your reputation. You seduced one of my friend’s ladies’ maids. You have a fancy for pretty servant girls.”