He stepped out into the night. The fog swirled.

He stepped out into the night. The fog swirled. The street lights flickered.

Ripperologist Sam Dade was indulging his hobby. The temporal discontinuity had opened onto Buck's Row, London. It was Friday 31 August 1888. His theory that the Ripper was really a

newspaper man. Sam Dade came back to solve this murder once and for all. He checked his TimeBridger for the coordinates. A WHISTLE blew. A 19th Centure Cop pointed at him and said

" Our department has already solved the case. There was no murder. It turned out the victim slipped on a banana peel. " To this turn of events Sam Dade replied

,"Oh, OK. No problem then. On to the next murder case, right?" Secretly, Sam Dade was unconvinced. There was something rotten in Denmark. The banana peel explanation was the lamest

thing he had ever heard. Well, discounting the whole elephant-waterboarding case, but he didn't like to remember it. It was too confusing to be of any use now, anyway. Sighing, he

returned to the moment. They were all looking at him. Some shuffled uncomfortably. At least a few still seemed hopeful. Hopeful for what? That he'd solve it? The only clue he

had was a small cobalt glass jar of ointment that had been passed down since 1735. Oh come on, he thought, there must be more clues. But psychic Mary said, "Oh, no"

He smeared psychic Mary's temples with the 1735 ointment and shouted, "Come on, Mary, come on!" again. "If you don't come up with the goods the ships gonna blow!" Mary suddenly