Free The Return of Moriarty by John E. Gardner Page A

and newspaper insinuations brought the police out in force, and the criminal world of the area found themselves more closely observed than ever before. Uniformed police were more numerous, and plainclothes men lurked and mingled with the people of the district.
    Within a few days, Moriarty, Moran and those who served close to him, were left in no doubt that for the first time since the Professor had taken the area under his wing, the authorities were beginning to ask a lot of awkward questions.
    As for the horrific nature of the affair, the full weight came out late in the inquest when the coroner called the police surgeon, George B. Phillips, to give evidence for the second time in the same hearing. Even though the report of Mr. Phillips’ sensational revelations was not to be found in the newspapers, and women and children were removed from the court before he appeared, the word soon got about. As well as having her throat slit, the luckless Dark Annie’s intestines had been cut out and placed on her shoulder, while the uterus, part of the vagina and the bladder were removed and never found.
    These grisly details were more shocking since it was generally known that Polly Nicholls’ murderer had, besides slashing her throat, disemboweled her with a deep, jagged incision running from the lower left part of the abdomen almost to the diaphragm, deep and cutting through the tissue so that part of the intestines protruded. There were several other wounds on the right side and a number of gashes across the abdomen.
    It was this information, together with the sense of panic, the quantities of police and local vigilantes who stalked the streets, the haunting unnamed terror, and the certain information that all clues uncovered by the police led into blind alleys, * that caused Moriarty to take his next step.
    â€œThe police are not dealing with any ordinary flash character,” he told Spear and Paget. “They are up against some kind of lunatic, a fanatic who hates whores. He could be a religious fanatic, a moral avenger, or simply a person who has been unhinged by catching the glim from one of the ladies and is out to teach all of them a lesson.”
    â€œHe’s goin’ to have his work cut out if he reckons to chiv the lot,” Paget laughed.
    Students of the period will know that some thirty years previously the rough estimate of the number of prostitutes in London was about 80,000, but the true figure could have been higher. It is certain that in 1856, no fewer than 30,000 cases of venereal disease were treated at Guy’s, Bart’s and King’s.
    Moriarty was to repeat his somewhat obvious statement to a larger gathering of his most trusted men and women, including many who worked for him in the Whitechapel Spitalfields territory. On this occasion he added some practical points:
    â€œIt would seem that the killer is likely to evade capture, just as it is certain, if he continues his trade, we will find ourselves more bitterly harrassed by the coppers.”
    Above all else Moriarty was worried that the criminal element would, under pressure, break with tradition and talk openly to the police: a situation he was determined to avoid at all costs. In this matter he had the whip hand. So far, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Charles Warren, and the government had studiously avoided offering any financial reward for the capture of Leather Apron, as the unknown assassin was then tagged. True, the Member of Parliament for Whitechapel, Samuel Montagu, offered 100 pounds, to which was added a further 50 pounds from Henry White, a magistrate. But Moriarty was in a position to outbid such figures as these.
    â€œI want the word passed,” he continued, “that we are better placed to catch Leather Apron than the bobbies. Any hints, rumors or suspicions from family people must be conveyed to me, through the usual runners and not to the coppers. If intelligence reaches us and leads to