Baccano! - Volume 16 - Chapter 3.5

Interlude

He appeared with the rain showers.

He crept closer, under cover of the noise of the downpour…

…and inflicted a rain of needles on human bodies.

Wsssh-wsssh, skash-skash, wsssh-wsssh, skash-skash.

He appeared so that he could kill.

The first victim ran a small speakeasy.

The second victim owned a real estate office.

The third victim was an active police officer.

The fourth victim operated a rental warehouse.

And the fifth victim was a streetwalker who stood in back alleys, night after night.

The last victim was the first woman, and that fact sent a tremendous shock through the city.

Just because a lone prostitute had become a victim, some irresponsible people started shouting about the similarity to Jack the Ripper. Theories ranging from the idea that the killer was a Jack the Ripper fanatic to Jack the Ripper himself somehow were flying every which way.

The police worked hard, attempting to stamp out the scuttlebutt, but the rain washed away most of the evidence.

Because the only eyewitness testimony came from a reporter, they weren’t even sure if he’d truly seen anything or not.

Between the light of Olympic glory and the gritty darkness of the Depression, a vicious criminal sent a ripple through American gossip.

Ice Pick Thompson.

He hadn’t sent calling cards or challenges to the police, like Jack the Ripper or the future Zodiac Killer.

However, a murderer who was known by that name did exist, inspiring a variety of criminal profiles in the minds of the public.

Even as people feared him—or her—the story quietly permeated the world, a jolt to help distract them from the Depression.

There were no signs that the criminal would be captured. Nothing hinted that the violence would stop.

And this summer—

—the boy who should have died met an immortal monster—

—and the reporter who feared death met a killer.