Read Online Vienna Blood by Frank Tallis - Free Book Online

divides before joining roads at either side of the brothel.”
    Liebermann poured himself and the inspector another brandy.
    “He must have been covered in blood,” said Liebermann. “Drenched. He could never have left the apartment in such a state, even if Spittelberg is relatively quiet. He must have changed his clothes before leaving.”
    “There were no discarded items of clothing in the area.”
    “In which case he would have arrived and left with some kind of receptacle.”
    Liebermann picked up the photographs again and found the close-up of Borek's throat.
    “The cut is so deep: she's almost been decapitated. The perpetrator must have wielded a large knife or even a sword. During the autopsy Professor Mathias suggested a sabre, which might prove to be a highly relevant observation. Spittelberg lies between two barracks, and Marta Borek's bureau was filled with promissory notes from military men.”
    “If it transpires that this carnage is the work of one of His Majesty's soldiers …”
    “The emperor will be appalled!”
    Liebermann flicked through the images once more and shook hishead. “Surely, only a man who had some prior experience of killing would have dispatched so many bodies with such ruthless efficiency.” Liebermann's finger tapped against his right temple. “This is certainly the work of an individual inured to the sight of blood.”
    “I am reminded,” said Rheinhardt, “of the famous Whitechapel murders.”
    “Oh?”
    “You are too young to remember—but they created a worldwide sensation. They took place in one of the poorest districts of London and were attributed to a man whom the English call Jack the Ripper.”
    “Ah, yes,” said Liebermann—the name was not unfamiliar to him. “I believe the case is included in the latest edition of Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis. ”
    “The Ripper's victims,” Rheinhardt continued, “were also prostitutes and it was his habit to mutilate and remove their internal organs. The identity of the killer was never discovered, but I can remember some commentators proposing that his victims had died at the hands of a surgeon.”
    “He was never discovered, you say?”
    “No.”
    “And when did these murders take place?”
    “Let me see.” Rheinhardt did some mental calculations. “About thirteen or fourteen years ago.”
    The two men looked at each other, raised their eyebrows, and simultaneously shook their heads.
    “No,” said Liebermann, smiling awkwardly. “Nevertheless, one cannot help wondering what might have become of such a creature. …”
    The young doctor offered his friend another cigar, which Rheinhardt gladly accepted. They sat in silence, staring into the flames, both of them deep in thought. Occasionally Liebermann selected from the stack a single photograph, which he examined moreintently. After some minutes had passed, he turned to Rheinhardt and said, “Clearly, this is no ordinary murder. Our perpetrator's heinous acts are much removed from the common criminal well-heads of greed, envy, and revenge. His motives are twisted and obscure, yet he is not entirely beyond the reach of modern psychology.”
    Liebermann stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray.
    “Your perpetrator hates women or, perhaps more precisely, the sexual power of women. This explains his choice of prostitutes as victims. He also chose to mutilate those areas of their bodies associated with reproduction: the genitals and belly. He was not content simply to murder these young women. He needed to annihilate their sex— utterly. I suspect that he is sexually inexperienced—possibly impotent—socially inept, and has at sometime in his life suffered greatly on account of being attracted to, or rejected by, a woman. However, even as I say these words, my account seems woefully incomplete. There is much, much more here. …”
    “Go on,” said Rheinhardt.
    “Such ferocity,” Liebermann continued, “seems to betray a far deeper motivation—the