8 December 1888
Night
More than one Theory
🔔 You chose the Multiple Killers Theory.
💭 The city keeps repeating the same name. Jack the Ripper. One man. One shadow moving through Whitechapel. But that assumption was never proven. It was simply… convenient.
📞 Kim to you
I’m in Mile End. A small workshop behind a row of houses. There is wood dust everywhere. Half-built staircases are leaning against the walls.
📞 You
Why a workshop?
📞 Kim to you
Because the man I need to speak to is a builder. And apparently he trusts wood more than people. I’m with George Lusk. Chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. The civilians are patrolling the streets because they think the police aren’t doing enough.
And he’s also the man who received the from Hell letter. The one with the kidney.
📞 Lusk
I told the police everything already. If you’re another reporter…
📞 Kim to you
I’m not a reporter.
📞 Lusk
Then you’re wasting my time.
📞 Kim to you
Before you ask me to leave… look at this.
📞 Lusk
…Where did you get that?
📞 Kim to you
Does it matter?
📞 Lusk
It does if I’m the one being asked questions.
📞 Lusk
Alright. You have my attention. Sit down.
📞 Kim
Let’s talk about the murders. Everyone says one man did it. Do you believe that?
📞 Lusk
I believe Whitechapel is full of violent men. Drunkards. Knife carriers. Men who hate women. So no. I don’t think the idea of multiple killers is impossible.
📞 Kim to you
Exactly. That’s the question.
Five women murdered in a matter of weeks. Different locations. Different circumstances.
Yet everyone insists it’s one man.
📞 Lusk
Because the newspapers say so.
📞 Kim to you
That again.
📞 Lusk
Before the papers started screaming about the Ripper… people called them the Whitechapel murders. Plural. Separate crimes. Now every knife in the East End belongs to the same ghost.
📞 Kim
But there are similarities. The throat cuts. The timing. Night attacks.
📞 Lusk
Yes. But that doesn’t prove one killer. It proves the victims are easy targets. Women alone.
Who are drunk and desperate. Walking dark streets. You don’t need genius to kill them. You need opportunity.
📞 Kim
That’s brutal.
📞 Lusk
It’s Whitechapel.
📞 Kim
But some murders are… different. More mutilation. More precision.
📞 Lusk
Which suggests skill.
📞 Kim
Or escalation.
📞 Lusk
Or two different men.
📞 Kim
Exactly. So. The first murder. A violent man kills a woman in Whitechapel. Second murder.
Another man. Similar victim. Similar location. The newspapers connect them. And suddenly… every murder after that becomes the same killer.
📞 Lusk
It’s possible. But then there’s the other problem.
📞 Kim
The kidney.
📞 Lusk
Yes.
When that parcel arrived… I thought it was a joke. Another hoax letter.
But the doctors said it was human. Left kidney. Preserved in spirits. Same organ that was missing from the woman in Mitre Square.
📞 Kim
Catherine Eddowes.
📞 Lusk
Exactly.
📞 Kim
So either the killer sent it. Or someone with access to medical specimens wanted to terrify you.
📞 Lusk
Either way… someone wanted me involved.
📞 Kim
Why you?
📞 Lusk
Because I lead the Vigilance Committee.
We’ve been demanding the government offer a reward. Patrolling the streets ourselves. Embarrassing the authorities. Someone wanted to scare me. Or mock me.
📞 Kim
One more question.
📞 Lusk
Go on.
📞 Kim
If it’s one killer… what kind of man is he?
📞 Lusk
Quiet. Local. Comfortable in those streets. Someone who blends in.
📞 Kim
A Whitechapel man.
📞 Lusk
Most likely.
📞 Kim
Not a prince. Not a nobleman.
📞 Lusk
Those men don’t walk in Whitechapel at three in the morning.
📞 Kim
Unless they have a reason.
📞 Lusk
Possible. But unlikely.
But I’ll tell you something strange.
📞 Kim
What?
📞 Lusk
A few nights ago… I thought someone was watching my house. A man with a beard. Standing across the street.
📞 Kim
Watching you?
📞 Lusk
When you receive half a kidney in the post… you start noticing shadows.
📞 Kim to you
That part is real. He actually asked for police protection because he believed someone was watching him.
📞 You
Kim… maybe you should…
📞 Unknown Voice
Mr. Lusk. Open the door.
📞 Lusk
You expecting someone?
📞 Kim
No.
📞 Unknown Voice
Mr. Lusk. We know you’re inside.
📞 You
Kim. Leave. Now.
📞 Lusk
Back door. Go.
📞 Kim to you
I’m moving.
📞 Unknown Voice
Where is she?!
📞 Kim to you
I’m running.
📞 Call cuts out
…
📞 Call connects again
📞 Kim to you
Okay. I’m back.
📞 You
Kim what happened?!
📞 Kim to you
Remember that thing I gave Lusk earlier?
📞 You
Yes?
📞 Kim to you
Apparently the men who owned it wanted it back.
📞 You
You STOLE something?!
📞 Kim to you
Borrowed. Temporarily.
But I learned something important tonight. The murders might not belong to one man. Or even one motive.
Whitechapel is violent enough to produce many killers. But history prefers a single monster. So we gave them one.
📞 You
What now?
📞 Kim to you
Now I’m going to finish it
💭 What a weird ending. It’s certain that Kim has lost all thinking capacity and is on full survival mode at this point. You wonder when she will call again. If she calls again. She might not. That thought haunts you. What did she mean with ‘Now I’m going to finish it’? What is she going to do? You must go to Secrets Hall to communicate with Mr. Sterces.
📞 Call Disconnects
