Abigail Frederick looked out of place on the streets of Whitechappel,with her red dress, covered by a dark bodice and expensive leather boots. Her hair was done up neatly in a bun with a large sharp hair pin. Gold rimmed spectacles and notepad made her look like an accountant. The truth was she had walked this beat more than any other inspector. Taking a watch from her pocket she noted the time. Before joining the police she had made watches and this was her favorite because of the intricacies of the device. It was precisely this love of details that made her singularly the best inspector in London. 

"Abberlilly, you hornswoggler!" A buxom lady in cuffs yelled before spitting a glob of phlegm at her.

Abbey smiled at the use of the name. She had spent eight years in plain clothes investigating Fenian, roughing it with the best of them. Spit was nothing to her but the knowledge that she had the leader of the Monkey Parade Gang was invaluable.

"Nice to see you again, Louise." Abbey was courteous, knowing it would further inflame the tension.

"You know the score down here, this won't change anything." Louise taunted. "Others will rise."

"Do tell." Abigail raised an eyebrow with notepad ready. "Names?"

Louise shut it and gave only a glare reply.

"You let me worry about that. I do think you have other pressing matters at hand." Abigail gestured and two bobbies loaded Louis into a steam buggy.

"This one." She nodded to a captive. "And her, and him, and those two." 

These were likely pickpockets, dressed to seamlessly blend into the public. Collectively they were responsible for the modest collection of watches and purses found in the hideout.

"Teddy." Abigail smiled at a wiry looking lass dressed in work clothes and a denim vest. "Still at it, I see." 

She scowled and rubbed her dirty face with a rough hand. 

Teddy was a skilled boilerplater but her drinking obsession kept her from holding gainful employment. While there was nothing to show for her work here, Abbey knew that Teddy was responsible for a string of missing pressure release valves. The missing valves were rehomed by way of a shop on Nelson st. A profitable endeavor for both parties that was about to end.

The rest of the line up were in the prostitution business. The working backbone that paid the rent. The city of London was thriving and citizens were enjoying all the benefits of steam being piped throughout the homes. From turbine electrical lighting to central heating. None of this was any comfort to the people in the East End. Large pipes took up valuable living space, made rent prices impossible for people, many opting to share. Rooms for one sometimes housed eight or more.

"You don't think we have the culprit here now?" A rhetorical question from Helen Joseph the head of J division C.I.D.

"No, I do not." Abbey replied matter of factly. "I don't think it has any relation to gangs at all."

"You're saying not just the Monkey Parade, but any gang at all?" Helen asked sincerely.

"I'm not saying anything yet, but I have a feeling that this is something else entirely." Abbey mused.

"There are some rumors that this is the work of a mechanoid, one like they use in building the new airships." Helen spoke hesitantly knowing exactly how it sounded and was taken aback when Abigail turned on her.

"I want you to assign two detectives to head down to Crystal Palace and investigate thoroughly."

"Surely not." Helen was aghast.

"I want them to keep an open mind and completely, without a shred of doubt, rule out any possibility." Abbey looked stern. "Unless they possess something more than rudimentary programming I do believe it will emerge that they are not our suspect."

"That puts our case in the most difficult circumstances." Helen despaired. 

"I fear you are correct." Abbey conceeded. "Whoever killed Nichols Annary wasn't the usual persons. Anyone can slice a throat to the vertebrae, but to stab the genitals and slice at the stomach to the point of disembowelment, that person could surely hold a candle to the devil himself. That work takes a real hatred, one I don't think any mechanoid nor cash carrier has the penchant for." 

"The question then remains as to who does?" Helen shivered in her blue tail coat uniform.

"I want nothing more than to find that out." The Chief inspector insisted.