Shouting at everyone and anyone:
‘Davit, Smith, and Banks – get us them files.’
And back behind the mirror -
The mirror, the glass -
The other side of the glass, the other side of the mirror -
On the other side -
On the stage -
On the stage where Noble says: ‘All right, Peter. I just want to clear these up, these ones you’re saying aren’t you?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘OK.’
Noble: ‘Clare Strachan? This was in Preston in November 1975?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘I know.’
Noble: ‘But it wasn’t you?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘No, it was him.’
Noble: ‘Who?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘Other one.’
Noble: ‘Who we talking about Peter?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘That headbanger, the one that wrote the letters, that sent that tape.’
Noble: ‘So that wasn’t you?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘No.’
Noble: ‘You don’t know who it was, do you?’
Silence -
Silence until -
Until the Yorkshire Ripper with a glance into the glass -
A glance into the glass -
The glass -
The glass, the mirror -
The other side of the glass, the other side of the mirror -
On the other side of the mirror where I am standing with my hands and face up to the glass -
Up at the glass, the mirror -
Until -
Until the Yorkshire Ripper says: ‘No.’
Noble: ‘And Linda Clark?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘No.’
Noble: ‘It wasn’t you?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘No.’
Noble: ‘You sure you know who we’re talking about? When it happened?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘Yes.’
Noble: ‘June 77. Bradford?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘I know.’
Noble: ‘Was it you?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘No.’
Noble: ‘You think that it was this other bloke, this head-banger?’
The Yorkshire Ripper shrugs and says: ‘I don’t know.’
Noble: ‘Janice Ryan?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘No.’
Noble: ‘Also June 77. Also Bradford.’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘I know.’
Noble: ‘Was it you?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘No.’
‘You sure?’
Silence -
Silence until -
Until the Yorkshire Ripper with a glance into the glass -
A glance into the glass -
The glass -
The glass, the mirror -
The other side of the glass, the other side of the mirror -
On the other side of the mirror where I’m still standing with my hands and face up to the glass -
Up at the glass, the mirror -
Until -
Until the Yorkshire Ripper says: ‘Yes.’
Noble: ‘Yes?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘Yes, I’m sure.’
‘Sure it wasn’t you?’
‘Yes.’
Noble: ‘Let’s move on then?’
The Yorkshire Ripper: ‘OK.’
Noble: ‘To the ones you did?’
The Yorkshire Ripper nods.
Sixteen hours later, in the dark room -
The dark room on our side of the glass -
Our side of the mirror -
Drowning, we’re drowning here -
Drowning in here in his bloody sea -
The bloody tide in -
His bloody tide high -
The bloody things he’s said -
The bloody things he’s done -
Noble: ‘Joyce Jobson?’
‘I saw her in the Oak. She annoyed me, probably in some minor way. I took her to be a prostitute and I hit her on the head and scratched her buttocks with a piece of hacksaw blade or maybe it was a knife. I’m sorry, I can’t remember. But it was my intention to kill her but I was disturbed by a car coming down the road.’
Noble: ‘Anita Bird?’
‘I asked her if she fancied it. She said not on your life and went to try to get into her house. When she came back out, I tapped her up again and she elbowed me. I followed her and hit her with a hammer. I intended to kill her but I was disturbed again.’
Noble: ‘Theresa Campbell?’
‘She was drunk and laughing at me and said, come on get it over with. I said, don’t worry I will and I hit her with the hammer. She made a lot of noise and kept on making a lot of noise so I hit her again. I took a knife out of my pocket and stabbed her about four times.’
Alderman: ‘It was more than that.’
‘It might have been.’
Alderman: ‘It was fifteen to be exact.’
‘I know.’
Alderman: ‘Why’d you stab some of them in the heart?’
‘The ones that wouldn’t die, I stabbed them in the heart. You can kill them quicker that way.’
Noble: ‘Joan Richards?’
‘She was wearing very strong and cheap perfume and I pushed a piece of wood against her vagina to show how disgusting she was.’
Noble: ‘What did you stab her with?’
‘A screwdriver.’
Noble: ‘How many times?’
‘Quite a few.’
Alderman: ‘Fifty-two times.’
‘That many?’
Alderman: ‘That many.’
Noble: ‘Ka Su Peng?’
‘She went behind some trees to urinate and then said we should start the ball rolling on the grass. I hit her once on the head with the hammer, but I just couldn’t bring myself to hit her again. For some reason I just let her walk away and I went back to the car and drove home.’
Noble: ‘Marie Watts?’
‘I used the hammer and a Stanley knife on her. As she was crouching down urinating on the grass I hit her on the head at least two or three times. I lifted up her clothes and slashed her abdomen and throat.’
Noble: ‘Rachel Johnson?’
‘She took a long time to die, that’s all I can remember.’
Alderman: ‘You remember how many times you stabbed her, Peter?’
‘No.’
‘Twenty-three times.’
Noble: ‘Elizabeth McQueen?’
‘I went back to cut off her head, make that one more mysterious.’
Noble: ‘Kathy Kelly?’
‘She was dirty and just talked about sex and so I hit her but she still wouldn’t shut up so I stuffed some filling from a sofa in her mouth. But then a dog started barking and I had to leave her.’
Noble: ‘Tracey Livingston?’
‘She was another one I heard using foul language. It was obvious why I picked her up. No decent woman would have been using language like that at the top of her voice in the street. When I had killed her, I picked her up under the arms and hoisted her up on to the bed.’
Noble: ‘Candy Simon?’
‘She undid my trousers and seemed prepared to start sexual intercourse straight away in the front of the car. It was very awkward for me to find a way to get her out of the car. For about five minutes I was trying to decide which method to use to kill her. She was beginning to arouse me sexually. I got out of the car with the excuse that I needed to urinate and managed to persuade her to get out of the car so that we could have sex in the back. As she was getting in I realised that this was my chance but the hammer caught on the edge of the car door frame and only gave her a light tap. She said, there’s no need for that, you don’t even have to pay. I expected her to immediately shout for help. She was obviously scared but just said, what was it? I said, just a small sample of one of these and I hit her on the head hard. She just crumpled making a loud moaning noise and then I realised what I had done was in full view of two taxi drivers who had appeared and were talking nearby. So I dragged her by the hair to the end of the woodyard. She stopped moaning but was not dead. Her eyes were open and she held up her hands to ward off blows. I jumped on top of her and covered her mouth with my hand. It seemed like an eternity and she was still struggling. I told her that if she kept quiet she would be all right. As she had got me aroused a moment previous, I had no alternative but to go ahead with the act of sex as the only means of keeping her quiet. It didn’t take long. She kept staring at me. She didn’t put much into it. Then the taxi drivers left and I went back for the hammer but she got to her feet and ran for the road. This was when I hit her heavy blows to the back of the head. I dragged her to the front of the car and threw her belongings over the wall. But she was still obviously alive so I took a knife from the car and stabbed her several times through the heart and lungs. I think it was the kitchen knife. It’s in the cutlery drawer at home.’