Read Kronberg Crimes 01 - The Devils Grin for Free Online Page A

mantelpiece.
    ‘I wonder why you are so observant,’ he muttered after a moment. I opened my mouth to reply, but he held up his hand. ‘Of course! You are behind the veil; the one no one sees but who can perceive everything. You must be observant to protect your life in disguise.’
    His back still towards me, he asked, ‘Would you accompany me to Chertsey Meads?’
    ‘Excuse me?’
    ‘Do I have to repeat the question?’ He turned around.
    ‘Is that a pub?’ I joked.
    ‘It is a wetland.’
    I took my time to find the right words. ‘I must confess I feel honoured by your invitation, although I’m not so sure why I would be. However, I also have the feeling that the main reason for your invitation is that you can study me a little longer. That irks me because I am not a curiosity. And your constant probing of my brain is highly annoying.’ I saw him pulling his eyebrows together and asked, ‘Why should I come with you, Mr Holmes?’
    The corners of his mouth twitched a little in a hint of a smug smile. ‘Because you enjoyed yourself too much, and there is nothing at the moment you would like to do more than to probe my brain for a little while longer.’

Chapter Four

    We sat on the train to Chertsey and the landscape whizzed past unnoticed. To my surprise, I enjoyed myself discussing the Whitechapel murders with Holmes. The topic itself, though, was rather unpleasant. Jack the Ripper had killed at least six women. He had cut their throats, sliced their abdomens open, draped their intestines over both their shoulders, and had taken souvenirs with him — usually the victim’s uterus.
    Holmes’s opinion of the Yard’s efforts was very low. ‘Every time I receive a telegram from the police, the bodies have already been taken away to the morgue,’ he exclaimed. ‘The staff have extracted organs and sold them as surgical specimens. Of course they never remember what they took and what was already taken! I have serious doubts that this murder series will ever be resolved and the culprit found. The incompetence of the responsible investigators, the corruptive medical staff, the sheer number of pseudo-witnesses, and the papers’ floods of misinformation will render all investigations futile!’
    He looked rather ruffled, with his mouth compressed and hands knuckling the seat.
    Gazing out the window, I sorted through my mind, trying to find the right words. ‘Owing to my occupation, I come across a rather large number of stab wounds,’ I said, turning back to him. ‘One of the peculiar things I’ve noticed is that almost all women with knife wounds in their lower abdomen were victims of attempted rape. And all of those who survived the attack reported that the rapist had used a knife because he was unable to penetrate them. He was unable to produce an erection. Doesn’t that add a very different angle to the Ripper’s motives?’
    Holmes leant back in his seat and stared out of the window. After several long minutes he turned his face back to me and said, ‘The Ripper used several prostitutes, speaking of a high sexual drive. If he indeed was never able to finish a sexual act, he must have accumulated a great amount of frustration.’
    Passengers close by started coughing and wagging their fingers at us. Some took their children by the hand and left the compartment. Holmes ignored their protests and I had my hand over my mouth to hide my grin, but my eyes betrayed me. He noticed my amusement and shot me an indignant glance.
    ‘My sincere apologies, Mr Holmes. I couldn’t help but think that any other man,’ I leant forward and lowered my voice, ‘would have at least felt awkward saying that very same sentence straight into a woman’s face.’
    ‘As what shall I treat you then? Male or female?’ he said sharply, which resulted in the full attention of our fellow passengers being turned towards our peculiar conversation.
    ‘I want to be treated with respect, and you did that. Thank you,’ I said in