Hyde Page 17

  "That much is true."

  "And that you are familiar with prostitutes of the area."

  "Another of my vices."

  Newcomen leaned forward and rested upon his elbows. "I find you a curious man, Hyde. It is hard to believe one man could do all that you are accused of. I expected you to at least protest to some of these accusations, as they would make most men ashamed to carry them. You do not deny such a reputation?"

  I allowed a cruel smile to spread across my face. "As you can see, I have little reputation to damage."

  "Yet you seem comfortable with that."

  "I have grown accustomed to the scorn of men."

  "No one can be accustomed to that. Every man wishes to be well-respected by his peers. It is the nature of men."

  His words drew me into a fury with which I launched into a tirade. "Perhaps the nature of men as you know them, but I am not such a man. I am not respected, and never will be. I am hideous, both in form and heart. I do what most men fear to do, but secretly dream of. I am sin incarnate, born from the devil himself. These shackles on my wrists are the shackles you wear that you call society."

  Newcomen did not recoil from my outbursts, but chuckled and began to write. "An amusing assessment. One for philosophers, not law enforcement."

  "Perhaps. You might ask yourself this question - you accuse me of carrying myself in a scandalous fashion, but how did I encounter Carew's son? Was he not in the company of scandal himself? Did he inform you where we met?"

  "Yes," said the inspector. "It was outside of a theatre."

  "He lied. It was in a tavern, and the woman whose honor he so gallantly defended was a prostitute such as I myself fancied."

  Newcomen's smile vanished. "Your lies do not help your case."

  I leaned further forward with a grin. "Lies, are they? Have you interviewed this mystery woman to find her account of the matter?"

  "No, we have not been able to locate her."

  "Try Soho, Inspector. Find the foulest gutter and you will find her. Perhaps you will find Sir Danvers Carew with her as well."

  Inspector Newcomen looked down at his notebook. His cheeks reddened. "I will not entertain your scurrilous accusations any longer. What is your relationship with a Doctor Henry Jekyll?"

  "He is a fool," I growled, "who sought to label my actions as madness. He tried to cure me of my brutality and failed miserably."

  "You seem scornful of his attempts."

  "Indeed I am."

  "Is your opinion that you are not in need of a cure?"

  "That is my opinion, indeed."

  Newcomen's smile turned sly as he asked, "Then why did you seek help from Doctor Jekyll in the first place?"

  It took me a moment to speak again. I inwardly cursed Jekyll for putting me in need of supporting his excuses. I finally grasped at the statement, "It was not my decision. A friend suggested that I seek out Jekyll's help. I relented for her sake, but ultimately found his efforts useless and did not return."

  "I sense that you are being less than truthful, Hyde. You and Jekyll are connected somehow, I'm sure of it, but I have yet to deduce that connection or why you wish to conceal it. What is it? Are you in business together? Smuggling opium into London? Are you relatives? Brothers? Confess, Hyde. I will know your secrets."

  "Inspector, you shall never know my secrets." I waved a hand at him. "I have grown weary of this line of questioning. I shall answer no more."

  With that, I rolled over to face the wall and fell into a silence from which I refused to be roused.

  "Very well," said the inspector eventually. "I shall leave you to your fate. But remember that mercy was offered to you and refused."

  In that moment, my bravura failed me. I was imprisoned, facing judgment for my crimes. No doubt with the injury of Sir Carew's son, along with the long list of others yet to surface. I had to escape or would spend the rest of my days in a cell just such as this.

  I lunged at Newcomen with a roar of not-altogether-forced rage. Newcomen jumped back, but I managed to pin him up against the wall of the Black Maria. He yelled for help. The door flew open and two policemen charged in. Their truncheons beat me until I released the inspector. They continued to pound against my flesh until I lay on the floor, writhing and helpless with pain.

  Inspector Newcomen straightened his twisted collar as he scowled at me. "I shall see you in irons for a very long time, Hyde. Of that, you can be sure."

  I managed to open my swollen eyes enough to glare at him and snarl, "We shall see, inspector."

  Newcomen stormed out. The policemen seized my arms and hauled me back onto the bench. They took a moment to ensure my chains remained secure, then left the wagon, their eyes watching me until the very last moment. The anger and hatred in those eyes lifted my spirits, because I saw fear behind it. If I could not be loved, I would be feared.

  I waited until the Black Maria shook and began to roll forward. Once the wagon rode along at a good clip, I reached into my sleeve and pulled out the keys I had stolen from Newcomen during our wrestling. I tried them, one after the other, until I found one that fit the lock on my chains. They tumbled loose to the wagon floor with a clang.

  Next, I rose and went to the door. The wagon swayed wildly as the wheels attempted to navigate the uneven dirt roads, forcing me to cling to the sides for balance. I again made attempts at the lock until I found the key that unlocked the door.

  I swung it open wide and held onto the door's frame as the busy street in Soho rolled beneath me. I took a moment to gauge the pace, then leapt from the wagon.

  I landed on the road, stumbled a bit from the mud, but regained my balance as I glanced back to see the Black Maria continuing to roll on its way, unaware of the absence of its passenger.

  Several people walked along the street, some pausing to watch me. My heart leapt as their narrowed eyes settled on me. I had not considered the consequences should I be spotted escaping the wagon. I waited a moment to see if they would raise an alarm. One old man cackled at me and smiled. The others just turned away. Apparently, they had no love for the law in this neighborhood. I hurried off, just in case.

  At Jekyll's, I unlocked the rear entrance and entered the laboratory, where I mixed the potion. As I did so, my thoughts went towards the events of the night. I had lost my true love and my profession in a matter of hours. Was this all I had to look forward to? If so, then I would never roam the Earth again.

  I brought the flask to my lips as I murmured, "Take your life back, Jekyll. I no longer want mine."

  The pain of the change was nothing compared to the pain in my soul. As Jekyll took over, I turned my attention away from him and into a deep sleep from which I hoped never to return.

  Chapter Twenty - The Murder of Sir Carew

  TWO MONTHS passed.

  Jekyll was true to his word - he did not take the drug again the next day or the next. Indeed, months passed without him imbibing the draught. Though the chemicals remained and my possessions remained, Jekyll resisted the temptation to return to me. I did nothing to stop him. Though I had the ability, I declined to transform him against his will. I had given up all hopes of living a normal life. How could I have hope when Rebecca Webb, the one thing I cared for, was lost to me? What did I have to look forward to beyond drink, opium, and whores? No, better to live in Jekyll as a ghost than return to the wretched life I had as a man.

  Jekyll continued to do research in his laboratory. He seemed to be attempting to find a permanent way to destroy me and prevent me from taking over again. I did nothing to stop him. I craved oblivion.

  This all changed one night when Jekyll was in his laboratory and heard a weak and irregular knock on the rear door. He set down his flask and notepad and went to the door. He opened it.

  A body fell into his arms of a woman wearing a torn dress. Blood stained her nose and lips. As Jekyll tried to rearrange her into a standing position, he looked into her eyes and froze.

  "Rebecca?" Jekyll asked. "What are you d
oing here?"

  "Help me," she whispered.

  Jekyll carried her over to a bench and laid her down. "What happened to you?"

  "Carew," she groaned. "Assaulted me."

  "Carew did this?" Jekyll whispered as he unbuttoned her blouse to examine her. "Why?"

  She closed her eyes and murmured, "Told him it was over between us. Told him I would make public our affair. Ruin his career. He beat me. Pushed me out a window. Had nowhere else to go."

  "Yes. Yes, I can help you." Jekyll ran his hands over her body. "It looks quite serious. My God, I can feel some broken bones. We need to get you to a hospital."

  As he moved his hands up to her face, Jekyll froze. He looked into her eyes. Jekyll used his sleeve to rub some of her makeup away, revealing softer features until he reached up to her hair and pulled. The golden curls gave way, revealed to be a wig, allowing dark red hair to come into view.

  Jekyll stepped back. Without the makeup and the wig, he could see her true face for the first time.

  "Charlotte?" he whispered. "Is that you?"

  Charlotte smiled with bloody lips. "Hello, Henry."

  "No. This is not possible. Rebecca Webb--"

  "There was no Rebecca," Charlotte sighed. "She was but a mask I wore. As I said, I always wished to be an actress."

  "But Rebecca Webb was a prostitute. Why would you do this?"

  Charlotte closed her eyes. "It is complicated. You would not understand. With my status and past, there were limits to what I could do, where I could go. When I was married, I was able to do things and go places beyond my wildest dreams. But when my husband died, I was forced to return to my father's watchful eye. I did not wish to remain as a lonely widow for the remainder of my life. As Rebecca Webb, I could do things that Charlotte Glass could not, be in places that would bring scandal onto my family were I recognised. It began as merely a whim, an experiment to see if it could be done. I changed my voice, my hair, my features and slipped out at night. But over time, I grew more involved with Rebecca's life than my own."

  "But how could I not have recognized you?"

  "That is why I did not allow you to see my face clearly when you came to the boarding house. I feared you would see through my disguise."

  Jekyll turned away and paced. "But as Hyde, I did not recognise you, either."

  Charlotte opened her eyes. Her face twitched into a frown. "Hyde? I do not understand."

  Then she burst into a coughing fit. Blood spewed from her mouth. When her coughs ended, Charlotte lay gasping on the bench.

  "I'm dying," she whispered. "I came here so you could finally know the truth. I did not want to die without you knowing who you almost married."

  Jekyll knelt to stroke her face. "No. You cannot die. I need you."

  "No. You will find another."

  "I do not wish another. You brought joy to my life. You brought me out of the darkness. You were the only one who cared for me when all others mocked and feared me."

  Charlotte frowned again. "I do not understand these words. You are loved by many, Henry."

  But it was not Jekyll speaking to her. It was I. In my anger and despair, I had supplanted Jekyll's soul. Jekyll rose to his feet as the pain began to twist his body and shouted, "Carew has taken you from us. This will not stand!"

  Charlotte's eyes and mouth widened as she watched our body transform before her eyes, the bones cracking and shrinking, the flesh growing pale, until Edward Hyde stood before her, gasping in exhaustion.

  "My God," she whispered. "How can this be?"

  I dropped to my knees beside her. "An experiment of Jekyll's. He tried to unleash his darker side. He produced me."

  "You were Jekyll all along?"

  "No," I said. "Jekyll was me all along."

  "That is the connection between you." Charlotte closed her eyes. "I often pondered the mystery. Now I have the solution."

  "And now you know why I was so mysterious."

  Charlotte smiled. "And now you know the same of me."

  "Yes. We had more in common than you might have thought. We both had masks that we would wear."

  "Edward, I thought I would never get the chance to tell you the truth. I wanted you to know that you were the true cause of my ending the engagement with Henry. My heart belonged to you. I love you, Edward. With all my heart."

  She began coughing again. I held her close to my body, calming her. Her arms slipped around my neck.

  "I am sorry I lied to you, Henry," she whispered.

  "As am I, Rebecca."

  Her arms slipped down from my neck to her sides as she went limp. I looked down. Her skin was pale, making the blood spattered over it redder than before. Even without checking her pulse, I knew in that moment, she was gone.

  For a moment, I thought her blood had seeped into my eyes. I swear, I saw the world go red as if through a scarlet veil. My rage seemed beyond my ability to contain it within me. I knew what I must do.

  I seized Jekyll's cane and flew out into the night.

  Lucky's cab did not wait for me. After all these months, he had found other fares. I hailed another cab and rode the streets of London with only one thought; find Sir Danvers Carew.

  I did not know his address, so went first to the boarding house where Rebecca - no, Charlotte - had lived. I pounded on the door. Elizabeth answered with a curious look.

  "Where is Sir Carew?" I asked.

  She shrugged. "Don't know. He took Rebecca out a few hours ago. Haven't seen him since. Where have you been? She's been worried about you."

  I ignored her, rushing from the boarding house and ordering the cab to drive to the theatre district. We drove along the streets, but could not find Carew. I bade the cab to drive at random then, searching for him wherever I could think of to no avail.

  I finally ordered the cab to drop me off and I wandered the streets of London.

  Dawn came and I walked among the crowds, searching every face for the one who had taken my beloved from me. I found none. I went to Parliament, but it was on recess. I could think of nothing else.

  The sun began to sink and finally vanished as I continued to search for him. Night fell and the streets vanished among the foul mist. Gas-lamps glowed, attempting and failing to part the fog. Occasionally, the clouds would part to display a full moon hanging among the clouds over me like a watchful eye. Exhaustion and hunger began to claim my limbs, but I continued my pursuit. I had to find the man.

  I found myself trudging along the bank of the Thames, alone. I could see or hear nothing but for the fog, and I crept along through the murk until I heard the distant step of shoes on the stones. The fog soon parted and I saw him. I recognised his gait as Carew walked jauntily along the road. I steered myself towards him, but to my surprise, he spotted and began to walk towards me.

  "Pardon me, sir," said Carew. "I wonder if you could give me directions--"

  I stood in his path, gripping my cane tightly. "Yes. I shall direct you to Hell."

  Carew's smile collapsed. "What?"

  "Rebecca Webb," I screamed. "You killed her. Beat her and pushed her out of a window."

  "I certainly did not. I've never heard of the woman. Who are you?"

  "My name is Edward Hyde."

  Carew darkened in anger. "Hyde. You assaulted my son."

  "Yes. And I shall do more than that to you. Rebecca Webb was a good woman. A kind woman. She brought joy to the world and to my life. And you took her from me. Took her and punished her for your own crimes and your hypocrisy."

  I began to scream. "You are the hypocrite, not I. You are the monster. You walk among men, but have a heart blacker than coal. I wear my sins on my face, but you wear them buried in your heart. You would kill a woman simply to save your career. I would kill to avenge the death of the woman I loved. As I will kill you. You will die on this night, Carew, die and know that it is Rebecca that kills you!"

  With that, I struck him on the head with my cane. He stumbled to the ground with a cry. I began to beat him then
, beat him and again and again until the cane I wielded snapped in half. I continued to beat him with the broken cane. Then I began to stomp on his body, trampling his bones underfoot. I leapt up and down on his remains, screaming at the moon like an animal, until there remained nothing left but bloody mush under my feet.

  A scream brought me to my senses. I looked up to see a woman looking out of a window above me. She looked down at me in horror. I recognised her as the maidservant of Labonte. Apparently, I had wandered beside his house. She saw the entire murder. And she could recognise me.

  Chapter Twenty-One - Hyde in Hiding

  I RAN from the scene as fast as I could, leaving the woman and her cries in my wake. I realised that I had left the cane behind, but dared not return to the scene.

  As my anger was sated, I came to realise what I had done. Rebecca had told Jekyll I was not a murderer. Well, I had become one. Though I did not regret my actions, I knew I must live with them. Surely the maid would summon the police, and they would pursue me. I must go into hiding.

  I knew not how far news of Danvers' murder had carried, but knew the murder of an MP would spread quickly. I kept to the shadows of the city, even crossing through a sewer at one point to avoid detection. I dared not hail a cab for fear that someone would recognise me.

  By the time dawn broke through the clouds, I heard the cries in the square of "Special edition! Shocking murder of an MP! Reward offered for the murderer's death or capture!" News had indeed spread quickly.

  I made my way to Soho, where I crept up to the house where I lived. I saw no police in the area, but still kept my head low so as to not be recognised and unlocked the door. I slipped inside.

  In the foyer, my housekeeper Mrs. Grey sat on the steps, waiting for me. I froze at the sight of her. We regarded each other in silence.

  I spoke. "I can only assume this means you have heard of the Carew murder."

  Grey nodded. "I have."

  "And I assume you are here to turn me in for the reward."