"Noomi, I'm from Sweden," the girl replied, licking her lips.
Seeing that she was still a little uneasy, Zhang Heng took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to her. She thanked him, and when she put the cigarette to her lips, she suddenly remembered something. "How … how did you know I smoke?"
"It's a simple question. Although you haven't smoked for a while, your teeth are yellowish, and there are small holes in your clothes caused by the soot." Zhang Heng paused for a moment. He realized that he had probably lived with Holmes for a long time, and the way he spoke was becoming more and more like the latter.
Holmes, on the other hand, was also influenced by Zhang Heng. He was now practicing rock climbing, and he even asked Zhang Heng about his combat skills.
Noomi's exclamation pulled Zhang Heng's thoughts back. "Oh, what do you do? Your observation skills are so sharp."
"Detective," Zhang Heng said. "In fact, I'm here to investigate Bernice's accidental death. Oh, and the other two."
"You are a detective?" Noomi seemed relieved. "No wonder you were there. I heard from the man in the tavern that the police have locked on to the suspect. They all said that the devil's good days are over."
Zhang Heng was not in a position to comment on this. In fact, this had always been Scotland Yard's practice. They would first release some vague words to stabilize the situation. If they did not say so, they would face more pressure from the public. Only they knew how far the investigation had progressed.
So Zhang Heng could only say, "I'm just helping. Before the murderer is caught, I advise you to stay safe."
Noomi didn't mind. "During this time, not only are the girls in this line of work in a state of panic, but the number of customers has decreased as well. Everyone hates that guy. It's not easy for me to get customers now. I don't have time to worry about that. Of course, if everyone was as generous as you, our lives would be much better."
Zhang Heng did not say anything else. Instead, he chose to change the topic. "Do you know all three victims?"
Noomi hesitated for a moment. "Like I said, prostitutes have their own territory. I'm not familiar with the first and the third one, but the second one. I live quite close to her, so I'll bump into her from time to time."
"Edna?" Zhang Heng quickly searched for information about the second victim in his mind. "What do you know about her?"
Naomi thought for a moment. "I heard that she has an Indian boyfriend who works in a glass factory, but he doesn't treat Edna well. He often drinks and hits Edna when he's drunk."
Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows. This was a new clue. The police had also found Edna's boyfriend, but they did not know about the latter's violent tendencies. They also did not know that the two had a conflict before. However, the possibility of Edna's boyfriend being Jack the Ripper was very small because the police had done their homework well. On the night of Edna's death, Jack was drinking with someone in the tavern, and there were more than a dozen witnesses.
However, this was a good sign. It seemed that his decision to get in touch with the prostitutes could indeed bring him some help.
"Is there any other information?"
Noomi shook her head. "I'm actually not that familiar with Edna, and I don't know much about her. In fact, this is how it is in this line of work. Everyone is usually too busy to care about others. Oh, by the way, I don't know if this counts … I heard that Edna had a child before she met her current boyfriend, but she sent the child back to her hometown."
"Oh?" Zhang Heng's interest was piqued this time.
Later generations had concluded that the victims of the Whitechapel Serial Murders had something in common. Other than being prostitutes, most of them had moderate to severe alcoholism, had cohabiting partners, and had children.
In the three murders that Zhang Heng had encountered so far, although the names and ages of the victims had changed, the characteristics of alcoholism and cohabiting partners were still there. The only difference was that they had children. The second victim, however, was different.
Now, the information provided by Noomi had added to the puzzle.
Zhang Heng was now certain that Jack the Ripper didn't just choose his targets based on how easy it was to kill them. He did abide by a certain set of strict rules when hunting. At least, in the early stages of his crimes, his targets were carefully selected. Later on, when he was cornered by the police to a certain extent, he might loosen some of his standards.
So the question was, how did he get information about his targets?
As Noomi said, even among prostitutes, there was a territorial division, and prostitutes in different territories were not familiar with one another. It just so happened that the area where Jack the Ripper committed his crimes was not small. Not to mention, not many people knew that the second victim, Edna, had a child. Perhaps, it was just a rumor.
Prostitutes were at the bottom of society, even in the East Side, where crooks mixed with honest folk. The men living here needed their services, but no one cared about anything other than their bodies. Even if you saw them every night, you still knew nothing about their living conditions, family health, or interpersonal relationships.
If a man had deliberately collected this information, it would be difficult not to attract the attention of others. Although the police officers of Scotland Yard were not as capable as Holmes, they were diligent. They investigated carefully enough. If such a person really existed, it would be impossible for them not to discover it.
Interesting.
Zhang Heng realized that if he could solve this question, he might not be far from finding Jack the Ripper.
Seeing that Zhang Heng had stopped walking and seemed to be thinking about something, Noomi was a little nervous. "Sorry, I'm not good with words, and I don't have many friends. Did I not help much?"
"No, you did very well. Have we reached the place to eat? You should have dinner first. Let's not talk about the murders later. Let's talk about your daily life."
"My daily life?" Noomi was stunned. She had been in this line of work for a long time, and she had encountered all kinds of strange requests. However, no one had ever asked her such a common question. After that, she seemed to realize something, and a look of realization appeared on her face. "Oh, you want to hear about me and other customers …"
"No, no, no. It's just about your hobbies, the places you go every day, the people you meet, and so on. I don't need to know the details," Zhang Heng explained. He just wanted to understand the lifestyle of prostitutes through Noomi, and from there, find out how Jack the Ripper chose his prey.
Little Dumbo said.
Thank you, Brother Sauce. I'm too embarrassed to watch the pirated version. Tip from the Eternal Dominator of Dawn.
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