Saturday 13th Oct 1888
Good evening from Whitechapel on Saturday Oct 13th 1888. There is uncertainty in the air in case the weekend terror strikes. But tonight it is a man who seems to be the target of the killer ... or is it just an impersonator? The post has just arrived ... At the house of Mr. George Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, he takes a bundle of letters and sits down to sort them. He stops when he sees a postcard, written in a scrawl. It is addressed to him, and he begins to read the disjointed words ... "Say Boss - You seem rare frightened, guess I'd like to give you fits," It appears to be from the Whitechapel killer ... "but can't stop time enough to let you box of toys play copper games with me, but hope to see you when I don't hurry too much."
And it signs off, not with a name, but simply, "Bye-bye, Boss." Lusk feels that it is likely to be a hoax, & tries to ignore it.
The Star today reports: "The force of police and detectives in the Whitechapel district was strengthened somewhat last night." The murders have generally been committed on the Friday and Saturday nights. The number of amateur policemen was also greater. Vigilance had not been crowned with any success. A number of domiciliary visits were made by the detectives, but no arrests. The Jews strongly resent attempts made to connect a member of their community with the murders through handwriting on the wall. It is probable that its object was to divert suspicion to some member of the community against whom prejudice already exists."
Aside from the letter, the weekend seems quiet, with the streets filled with police, so we'll take a break for a couple of days.