Year: 1888
England, London
A heavy silence enveloped the ancient building on Roxbury Street, where a man's body lay sprawled in the center of the hall. The blood was still warm, and the crime scene appeared disheveled. The cries of those present reached the far ends of the city, drawing a crowd to the building known for its mysteries and tales. People tried to contact the ambulance to no avail; the man named Sven Osberk was already dead. "It's a murder," declared an unknown man among the crowd, standing before the massive building's door and knocking. Someone inside opened and asked, "Who are you?"
The stranger replied, "It's an honour to meet you. I'm John Smith, a private detective."
The person who recognized John Smith was delighted, as John Smith was considered an icon of investigation in the city, and promptly let him in.
Along the corridor, John continued to observe his surroundings, attempting to explore the place. Upon reaching the scene, all eyes turned to him. He requested everyone to leave the room, retaining only the person who had let him in.
He paced the room lengthwise and breadthwise, then stood and looked at the body, beginning to tremble. The person behind thought he was horrified by the sight, as even the most seasoned detectives could be shocked. But John Smith was laughing. "Is that you?" he whispered to himself as he looked at the body.
John Smith approached to speak with the person who turned out to be Marcus, the son of the deceased, and continued to ask him questions about the place and those present. In the end, he told him, "I know who the killer is." Marcus was overjoyed, thinking that his father's murderer would finally face justice. But John quickly dashed his hopes by saying, "But I don't know him."
Marcus was puzzled by John. "Didn't you just say you knew him? Why did you change your mind now?"
John replied with a smile, "I know the method and the evidence, but not the killer. I haven't met those present, which is why I want you to send me, one by one, people with these descriptions: a dark-skinned man and a short man. Then you return to the room."
Marcus hurried to bring what John requested, unaware that John was lying. John continued to roam the room, searching for clues and items to steal. Yes, John was stealing from the crime scene. After the individuals entered, he stopped and began questioning them one by one, searching them. In the end, he told Marcus that the second person was the killer, but he wasn't entirely sure. So he told Marcus he would inform everyone that he didn't know the killer, and if he said the word "I'm leaving," Marcus would know he was certain.
Marcus and John agreed on the plan and began bringing people in. When John finished explaining what he had, he said, "I'm leaving now," and then left the room. Marcus followed him outside and asked, "What should I do now, Mr. John?"
John Smith said, "The police won't help you due to the lack of tangible evidence. The only solution is revenge. Go and do to your father's killer what he did to him."
Night fell, dinner ended, and everyone went to their rooms. Marcus summoned the first person to see him in the hall, but he refused, claiming someone else was calling him. Marcus went to the basement, took a sword his father had left him, and headed to the second person's room but didn't find him. He searched until he found him in the middle of the hall, having killed the first person.
The darkness was intense, but Marcus managed to see him due to the lightning's light. He attacked him directly, disarmed him, and said, "You scoundrel! Not only did you kill my father, but you also killed my friend."
The second person said, "What? I didn't kill your father."
Marcus replied, "Don't play dumb with me. Detective John told me the truth."
The second person, surprised, said, "What do you mean? The detective said the first person was the killer."
"What?" Marcus was astonished for a moment. Does this mean the detective lied to me? Why would he want me not to kill the killer for my safety? Wait a minute. If he lied to me, it means he might have lied to the second person as well. I was told that my father met someone hours before his death. Could it be...?
Marcus reached the worst possible conclusion. Before he could get up from the second person, a sword pierced both their hearts. Marcus turned to see the perpetrator and found John Smith looking at him and clapping. "You deduced it, Marcus, but you shouldn't have been smart." Marcus's last words were, "Why? And how?"
John Smith had been in the room from the beginning, sitting and observing the deaths of the three characters, smiling. In a moment of Marcus's weakness, he decided to end his life. "Ah, just as I planned," were John Smith's words. Yes, John Smith had planned all this from the start. He wasn't seeking to solve the case; he wanted to create a criminal to cover up his crime. The other face of the great detective John Smith was the greatest serial killer London and the world had known: Jack the Ripper.
---
The police arrived at the house's door, where John Smith had called them, claiming that Marcus had asked him to stay inside because he was afraid of the killer's appearance. When they reached him, they found him murdered, and his last words were, "I did it. I killed my father's killer."
John Smith then went with them to the station to give his testimony amidst the crowd's tears, moved by his story. When he arrived, he confessed the whole truth, leaving nothing in his heart—of course, the truth he had fabricated.
---
John Smith left, a smile never leaving his face, and headed straight to a nearby shop near the train station. When he took out his watch to check the time, he bumped into a strange person. The person immediately apologized, but John Smith continued to stare at him. The person was surprised and asked, "Sir, is there something on my face?"
John replied, "No, no, don't mind me," and continued on his way. They parted ways, and the strange person said, "What a strange person indeed," while John Smith said to himself, "Those eyes, that dignity—he's not an ordinary man."
Yes, that person was indeed extraordinary. That person was the famous novelist Arthur Conan Doyle, who had arrived in London for one purpose only: to catch Jack the Ripper.
After that, he went to his office and began placing files before him to hire an assistant. While reviewing the files, he noticed a strange one and said, "It's a small world, isn't it? John Smith—I didn't expect him to be a detective as well. It seems this journey will be enjoyable."
And so begins the real game between these two sharp minds—a conflict that will change the course of events in London forever and enter history as one of the greatest challenges ever. Will the evil killer prevail, or the heroic novelist?
End of Chapter