From Hell Page #7

-I'm sorry to hear that, sir.

-Yes, these days I limit myself to teaching.

So you see, I'm accustomed

to answering questions, Inspector.

Could you tell me

what sort of a knife this would be?

I think you mean to draw a Liston knife.

It's named for Liston,

who was a surgeon in the Crimean War.

Because there was

no anesthetic on the battlefield...

...he had to carry out

his amputations very quickly.

Do you, by any chance,

have the police surgeon's report available?

-Yes, I do, sir.

-May I?

You must keep this confidential.

Of course.

Thank you.

Wouldn't someone

have heard their screams?

Not if he cut their throats first.

How can you be sure they wouldn't

react to seeing the Liston knife?

Grapes.

He offers them grapes first.

-Grapes are very tempting.

-They'd gobble them up.

He might offer them a drink

to ease them down.

A drink laced with laudanum.

How do you know that?

I found a sprig of grapes

on both victims' bodies.

And I smelled the laudanum on their lips.

Laudanum is a derivative of opium.

Apart from doctors and addicts,

not many would recognize it.

How long have you

chased the dragon, Inspector?

These should help with the headaches.

Opium leaches minerals out of the body,

so I've also given you a tonic.

That'll help to restore your appetite.

Thank you very much, sir.

-I'm a fool.

-I don't think you're a fool.

Far from it.

I ought to have known that you're

physician ordinary to the royal family.

It's certainly an honor, but it's an honor

bestowed on many doctors.

Now, about our friend here.

He cut their throats from left to right.

Therefore, he's right-handed.

Excuse me.

He had to slice through

four layers of tissue...

...and up to an inch of subcutaneous fat.

After that...

...he entered the abdominal cavity, so he

would've used more than the Liston knife.

Perhaps he was carrying

a portable amputation kit similar to this.

What do you think?

Is it possible that the killer

is an educated man?

Perhaps someone who studied medicine,

but who is not a surgeon himself?.

The intestines are simple enough,

but the uterus?

The liver, very hard to locate,

unless you know what you're doing.

And he was working quickly, in the dark.

I had held out hope that this...

...monster was a veterinarian or a furrier...

...or an especially well-educated butcher.

No, I must admit, if I were you...

...I'd look for someone with

a thorough knowledge of human anatomy.

Damn him.

Want me to suck it?

I can suck the Thames dry.

Don't be frightened, dearie.

How far advanced

is our grandson's malady?

No lesions have appeared.

There is some neural damage,

slight trembling of the right hand...

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