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Prologue

RAIN FELL in a soft thick ht fro up the hood of her sweatshirt The instant she saw the gas flalanced down at the street Those were cobblestones all right So over, she scooped up a coin and grinned when it wasn’t one she recognized Exciteh her as she tucked it away in the pocket of her jeans She definitely wasn’t in Kansas any New York City, 2008But was she where she wanted to be? Just before she’d fallen asleep, she’d been concentrating on London, Septe its streets and brutallywomen Lately, all of her “dreams” were about places where the Ripper had killed Hardly surprising For the past fourwoleefully dubbed hi the discussion groups in her bookstore, Neely had been boning up on Jack the First’s exploits But tonight she’d decided to conduct a little experiment She’d focused her mind on Mitre Square where the body of Catherine Eddowes had been found in the wee hours of thethe specific destination and time of one of her dreams Had she succeeded?

Peering through the ht-iron fence across the street, and a little thrill shot up her spine She had one foot on the cobblestones when the sound of hooves sent her backing up and she ducked behind the street la a brave but losing battle with the mist Neely smelled damp leather and horses as she studied what she could see of the carriage She was no expert on Victorian-style vehicles, but it looked close enough to the pictures she’d seen in books

Once the hoofbeats had faded and she was satisfied the street was clear of traffic, Neely raced across it, then bent low to read the sate Mitre Square Her heart skipped This was the place all right But was it the right time? Catherine Eddowes’s body had been found on September 30, 1888 That was the day Jack the Ripper was believed to have claimed two victims

Was she in ti somewhere in the square even now? Fear snaked its way up her spine, and Neely’s hand tightened on the gate It was still hard to get her ht really be in the London of 1888

She’d been having vivid drea in a book that had captured her iination While they’d been alive, her parents had always attributed her stories about being in Troy when the Greeks invaded, or being in Paris when Marie Antoinette was beheaded, to her bookish nature and an overactive irandmother Cornelia Rafferty had taken her dreams seriously Cornelia had experienced the saus Sheffield Angus had once drea in Rome on the day when Julius Caesar was assassinated It was her grandmother’s theory that the vivid dreams were connected with the fact that sous Sheffield had inherited the “bookworene

Well, she’d certainly inherited the “bookworene She’d been nine when her parents had been taken frorande to play with on their street, so she’d frequently used books to escape loneliness

Drawing in a deep breath, Neely pushed at the gate, then winced when it complained loudly Gradually, the sound faded and all she could hear was her own breath going in and out It wasn’t until recently, since she’d been researching the Ripper un to suspect her experiences werethe past

It was such a crazy idea—but she hadn’t been able to shake free of it Night after night, she returned to the places in London where Jack the Ripper had left his victims The only person she’d confided in was her best friend and business partner, Linc Matthews She and Linc had been friends since junior high when they’d both been outsiders at school She’d never quite fit in with the cool crowd, and Linc’s sexual orientation had alienated him from their more conservative classmates

Neely had always been able to talk to Linc about anything Growing up in her grandmother’s house, she’d been surrounded by people Cornelia Rafferty’s age And though she enjoyed therandmother dearly, she’d rarely confided in theed He’d taken seriously her theory that she was traveling to the past and that had made her take it more seriously herself He’d even recommended a new book that had come in as part of a promotion froetting local TV coverage for his theory that psychic tiht be possible in the near future And it had been Linc’s idea that she try to bring back so Victorian-era London She slipped a hand into her pocket to reassure herself that the coin was still there

After tonight, she would knohether she was drea was real And if it was…?

Froirl, she’d always believed that she wasimportant with her life, and the idea that she could travel through time had opened up almost-limitless possibilities The one that interested her most was that maybe she coulddrawn to the scene of Jack the Ripper’sto save even one wo a deep breath, Neely pushed through the gate and started down the path

“Catherine? Catherine Eddowes?” she called