He was silent for a moment. Then he said, 'I alone can stop him. And stop him I shall.'
Several days later, Inspector Lestrade called to see us again. 'Are you ready to arrest the Whitechapel killer yet?' Holmes asked him.
'We are continuing to make all possible ... ' 'Enough, Lestrade! Have you caught him yet?' 'In a difficult case like this .. .'
'Yes or no?'
'No,' Lestrade said, 'but we hope .. .'
'Of course we hope. We must always hope. But the people of London will not wait for ever for the police to arrest Jack the Ripper. Do you think you could enjoy life as a policeman in Canada, Lestrade?'
Lestrade tried to smile. He said, 'I believe we shall only catch him if we have the luck to find him while he is actually murdering some poor woman.'
He looked surprised when Holmes said, 'That is the first sensible thing I have heard any policeman say about these murders. We must catch him red-handed. A drink, Inspector?' 'Yes, please, Mr Holmes. But who can say when or where he will kill again?'