The smile left Holmes's face. He was suddenly serious.
'May I see the letter?' he asked.
It was written in red, and the name at the bottom
was 'Jack the Ripper'. I still remember something of
what it said:
I love my work. My knife is nice and ready for the next
job. I can't wait to rip again.
Holmes turned to Lestrade. 'What are you doing to
stop this murderer?' he asked. 'It is clear that he will
kill again very soon.'
'Every extra policeman that we have will be in
Whitechapel at night,' Lestrade said. 'And we have a
little surprise for Jack the Ripper.' He looked at us
importantly. 'Some of our best and bravest
policemen will be dressed in women's clothes,' he
said. 'We will stop at nothing to catch this criminal.'
There was a moment's silence. Then Holmes and I
looked at one another and we both began to laugh.
We could not stop.
Lestrade turned very red. 'I see you are amused by
murder,' he said. 'You do not wish to work with us.
Well, I am a busy man. I must leave you. Goodbye,
Mr Holmes. Goodbye, doctor.'
Holmes stopped laughing immediately.
'Inspector,' he said, 'I want very much to work with
you. Let us meet this afternoon to discuss our plans.'
This made Lestrade much happier