‘Why was Sickert a suspect in the first Ripper investigation?’ asked Abigail.
The pair had arrived home and it was Daniel’s turn to prepare food for them. At first Abigail had been suspicious of his offer because Daniel’s favourite meal seemed to be pie and mash from the local pie and mash shop, but today he’d used the range to roast potatoes and a chicken, which they were eating now, along with a glass of beer each.
‘For the same reason he’s a suspect now,’ replied Daniel. ‘You said yourself, as well as his society portraits, he also paints women from the lower classes, often prostitutes.’
‘More than paints them,’ she said scornfully.
‘Yes, we did find that he also enjoyed their favours.’
‘But, as you pointed out to me earlier, that doesn’t make him a murderer,’ she admitted.
‘No. But rumours came to us that he and a friend of his used to take nocturnal trips to Whitechapel, and that some of these trips had occurred when the murders were committed.’
‘Who was the friend?’ asked Abigail.
‘Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward.’
‘The Queen’s grandson?’ said Abigail, shocked.
Daniel nodded.
‘But jaunts like that mean nothing!’ said Abigail, recovering her composure. ‘You’re surely not saying that the Queen’s grandson, and heir to the throne …’
‘Second in line,’ Daniel corrected her. ‘His father, the Prince of Wales, is the immediate heir.’
‘There’s no need to be pedantic,’ said Abigail irritably. ‘You know what I’m saying.’
‘That we shouldn’t suspect him because of who he is?’
‘No, I’m not saying that.’ Then she gave a rueful sigh. ‘Yes, I suppose I am. But he died, didn’t he?’
‘Five years ago, in 1892 at the age of 28. Pneumonia.’
‘Very convenient,’ said Abigail tartly. ‘But that was four years after the murders, so I assume you couldn’t find any evidence against him. Or against Sickert.’
‘Actually, the decision not to proceed wasn’t that straightforward, even though we learnt that on 30th September 1888, the day that Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes, two of the Ripper’s victims, were killed, Prince Albert was 500 miles away at Balmoral, so he couldn’t have been involved. But there were questions about the dates of the other murders. Mary Ann Nichols was killed on 31st August. Annie Chapman was killed on 8th September. Mary Jane Kelly was killed on 9th November.’
‘But no one was ever charged with the crimes, so I assume you had no proof against Prince Albert Victor or Sickert.’
‘We never had the chance to dig deeper into them, although my guv’nor wanted to. At that time Armstrong was a chief inspector, and he stepped in and told us that the powers that be didn’t want any further investigations into Prince Albert Victor, Walter Sickert or Sir William Gull.’
‘Sir William Gull?’ queried Abigail.
‘He was the third member of the alleged conspiracy. Rumours said that all three were involved in these nocturnal trips to Whitechapel, and were involved in the killings. We had eye-witness reports that Sir William’s carriage, which was quite distinctive with a coat of arms on it, was seen in Whitechapel on the night of at least two of the murders.’
‘Why wasn’t he investigated?’
‘We talked to him, but then we were warned off. Sir William Gull just happened to be the personal physician to the Queen. Gull died in 1890.’
‘Abberline retired from the police, didn’t he?’
‘He did, in 1892, a year before I did. The same year that Prince Albert Victor died.’
‘Did Sir William Gull and Prince Albert Victor also get a medical examination, like Sickert?’
Daniel smiled. ‘No chance. We were only allowed to talk to Sir William briefly before the shutters came down. And we were barred from meeting the prince.’
‘Why did Armstrong interfere?’
‘To protect the good name of the royal family.’ He gave a scowl as he added: ‘It was surely no coincidence that, shortly after, Armstrong was promoted to superintendent.’
‘A reward for quashing the investigation?’
‘That’s what Fred Abberline thought. It was also around the same time, in 1889, there was another scandal involving Prince Albert Victor: the Cleveland Street Scandal.’
‘You’ve mentioned that before. Wasn’t it a homosexual brothel?’
‘It was. Fred Abberline and I were called into investigate. We discovered that telegraph boys were being used as homosexual prostitutes at a house in Cleveland Street, but when we moved to make arrests, we only managed to get hold of one man who was involved, the house was empty. But we found a list of clients, many of them very well connected.’
‘Prince Victor again?’
‘Someone from his household, and some others he was known to associate with.’
‘What happened in the end?’
‘Most of the clients whose names were on the list fled abroad.’
‘So no one was charged.’
‘No one of any social importance. A few lesser individuals were arrested, including some of the telegraph boys, who received light sentences.’
Abigail frowned. ‘What I don’t understand,’ she said, puzzled, ‘is if Armstrong quashed the investigation into Sickert, the Prince and Gull nine years ago, why is he arresting him now over this one? Surely he runs the risk of raising why Sickert was let off the hook the first time, which will call his position into question.’
Daniel chuckled. ‘What do you think of Sickert?’ he asked.
‘I’ve already told you,’ said Abigail, her face tight with her disapproval. ‘He’s an odious man. Vain and despicable.’
‘Exactly,’ nodded Daniel. ‘And it’s been his vanity that’s been his downfall here. After our original investigation was ended, Sickert took delight in boasting to his friends that he was untouchable. That the police kept their hands off him because he “knew things”. The implication was that he had something on Armstrong. Being Sickert, he was clever not to repeat that too often, but word got back to Armstrong, and the superintendent was angry. No – more than angry, he was incandescent. But what could he do? Sickert hadn’t actually said anything specific, just hinted that he couldn’t be touched. And, so long as he didn’t do anything illegal, he couldn’t be. He may be disreputable, a lecher, a frequenter of prostitutes, but none of that’s illegal. And all the time Armstrong simmers over the injustice of what he knows Sickert has said behind his back. So now, this is revenge. This is something he can pull Sickert in for. And it’s not just about Sickert, it’s a message to people like Bram Stoker, for example. You know the animosity there is between Armstrong and Stoker.’
‘Stoker? How does he come into it?’
‘He and Sickert are old friends. Years ago, Sickert was an actor at the Lyceum in Irving’s theatre company.’
‘My God! I’ve always thought it was a small world, but it just got smaller. Sickert, Stoker, Irving and Armstrong?’
‘I know,’ said Daniel. ‘There are lots of long memories involved here.’
There was a knock at their front door.
‘I’ll go,’ said Daniel, getting to his feet.
Abigail heard voices from the front door, then Daniel reappeared with a brown envelope similar to the one that had been delivered to them that morning. This one had been opened.
‘It was a messenger from Stanford Beckett,’ Daniel said.
He held out the single-page letter to her.
‘Dear Mr Wilson and Miss Fenton,’ she read. ‘Walter has been released from custody and asks if you can meet him here at my office tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.’
‘I told the messenger to tell Beckett that we’d be there,’ said Daniel. ‘I hope that’s all right with you.’
‘How did he come to be released?’ asked Abigail, stunned. ‘Armstrong was so determined to keep him.’
‘But I expect Ellen Sickert was even more determined to get him out,’ said Daniel. ‘As I said, she is a formidable woman.’