Scarecrow of 1889
Chapter 59: Reasoning of the killer

Chapter 59: Reasoning of the killer

When Jane woke up, her head pounded, a dull ache throbbing in her temples. She was no longer in the carriage but in an unfamiliar, dimly lit room. Her hands were bound, and as she struggled to piece together how she had ended up here, panic began to set in. She had been drugged and captured.

"Good, you’re awake," came a sudden voice from the corner of the room. Aurora rose from the chair she had been sitting in, her eyes cold and calculating. Gone was the sweet, joyous expression, replaced by an icy detachment that sent shivers down Jane’s spine.

Jane’s heart pounded in her chest as she tried to make sense of the situation. She demanded, her voice weak from the drug but determined,

"Aurora, why are you doing this?"

"I thought you were a detective, Jane. You should have figured it out by now, unless you were faking it," Aurora’s tone held a scorn as she neared Jane.

"Why are you mimicking the murders?" Jane asked, her voice steady despite her fear. "What do you have against spinsters?"

Aurora smiled coldly, looking down at Jane. "So many questions," she said. "There’s plenty of time for answers. I thought you would be more surprised that it’s me, but I feel very underwhelmed by your reaction." Her frown deepened as she pulled out a dagger, the blade glinting ominously in the dim light. "Maybe I should get a reaction in another way."

Jane’s heart pounded. This was not good. "I’m sure we can talk this out instead of resorting to violence. Did you choose me because I’m a detective? Or is it purely because I’m unmarried?" she asked quickly.

"The word you’re looking for is spinster, milady," Aurora replied with a twisted smile. "A woman who refuses the happiness of marriage, mocking those of us who don’t have the privilege." She took a step closer, the dagger glinting ominously in her hand.

Jane’s mind worked furiously, trying to stall for time. "Is that what this is about? You yourself are a spinster—"

"I am not a spinster!" Aurora’s expression turned livid with her eyes wide. "You think I am a spinster by choice? No." She shook her head and whispered, "I was forced into it without an option," she spoke in a bitter tone.

Jane’s mind raced, desperately seeking a way to escape. She needed to stay calm, to bide her time and look for an opportunity to turn the tables. For now, all she could do was listen and try to understand Aurora’s motivations. She hadn’t informed anyone while leaving the office, because she had believed it was a simple visit to the commissioner’s office with the lady. Not expecting to be drugged on the way.

"You don’t understand how it feels when you are shunned for something you never did or have any control over," Aurora said in a lowered voice. "My parents are from a society like yours, but I wasn’t lucky like you. I know your mother left you and you feel bad about your life, but I wished mine were dead. And they died." A soft, bitter laugh escaped her lips.

Aurora’s eyes hardened, and she said, "People think they understand, but they don’t. My parents would physically hurt me in the name of discipline if I didn’t follow their expectations, and it was never enough. Sometimes I would bleed until I fell unconscious. No one knew, because outside our doors, people thought we were just a happy, wonderfully rich family. So one day... when an accidental fire broke out, and I heard their screams, I just stood there watching them."

Aurora’s voice rose, "I had no friends to console me. My parents never let me mingle with anyone before. Anyone I befriended was chased away, deemed not good enough and a threat to my upbringing. Eventually... I had no suitors either after my parents’ death. I was alone and watched as other women my age got married. And then there were others, women who had everything but refused marriage. Who reject everything that the world has to offer. How is that fair?!"

Jane took a deep breath and said, "If marriage is what you’re seeking, I’ll help you, Aurora. Killing other women and hurting me won’t bring you what you want."

Aurora paced the room, her mind seemingly in a frenzy. She asked, "How do you know I won’t get anything from this? Even if I kill you, you’re the reason I found purpose, Jane."

A frown appeared on Jane’s forehead. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Aurora stopped and turned to face Jane, her eyes intense. "It was a few months ago, when I found out who the scarecrow killer was. When he was taken to prison. Sylvester Crowley."

Jane’s mind raced to process what Aurora was implying. Her eyes widened as she asked, "Are you... looking to meet him?" Was this young woman infatuated with Sylvester, following in his footsteps out of some twisted admiration? Jane knew that many copycat killers held a certain reverence for the ones they emulated.

Aurora’s lips curled into a chilling smile. "More than meet him, Jane. I want to understand him. To embody what he represented. The control, the power, the fear he instilled in others. He showed me that I could take control of my life, that I could be the one deciding who deserves what. The day before the verdict, I spoke to my uncle. Trying to persuade him."

This... was so not what she was expecting it to be, thought Jane to herself.

"The women you killed were utterly innocent, Aurora." Jane could only imagine that Aurora’s upbringing with the abuse inside her house and the way people treated her, had turned out to be this way. She said, "Even though Sylvester’s victims had committed acts of infidelity and other sins, he had no right to take their lives. We’re not gods. We follow laws that maintain peace, not those that justify acting as judge, jury, and executioner."

Aurora laughed, but her expression turned almost childlike, eyebrows knitting together in a mix of confusion and longing.

"Do you really think that’s how the world works, Jane? Or are you just patronising me? Because I know you are a smart woman and don’t mock my understanding. Killing is killing, yet you fought for justice in his case, didn’t you? Now that I have you here, he’s bound to come. You know what’s been the most irritating yet satisfying part of this? Knowing he had feelings for you, and you never once visited him. But today, I’ll make him come to me by gouging your eyes and tongue, pulling out your heart."

It wasn’t Sylvester who liked her but Ricardo, Jane corrected in her mind. She then asked, "What do you intend by killing me? You think he’ll be happy?"

"I want him to stop thinking about you and look at me. You think I didn’t try to speak to Sylvester before he became a killer?" Aurora chuckled, a bitter smile spreading across her lips. "He brushed me away like I was invisible. But now, he will notice only me, and he’ll be proud that I continued his legacy of instilling fear."

Jane’s face hardened, her lips pressing into a thin line. "You don’t even understand what the scarecrow represents, and you think he’ll be proud? The scarecrow’s lore exists because of the injustice suffered by a boy and others. You’re twisting it into something vile."

Aurora’s eyes flared with anger. "Injustice? How can someone like you know what injustice even means?"

Jane didn’t want to fuel the woman’s anger, seeing how delicate and twisted her mind was, but she couldn’t keep her mouth closed.

"You will be shunned once they find out what you did to me and the other women," Jane pointed out, hoping to change the young woman’s mind.

Aurora’s smile widened, a sinister glint in her eyes. "How is that possible? I will tell everyone how you and I were drugged together and brought here. We were forced and harmed. How I couldn’t save you, and how the killer got away. Of course, that would be after I make sure I am presentable in front of everyone," she had already crafted an elaborate plan. "But don’t worry, you’ll have nothing to say once I end you," she said, raising the dagger with a twisted smile.

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