5 The incident of the letter

Chapter 5 The incident of the letter It was late afternoon by the time Utterson arrived at Henry Jekyll's house. The doctor's butler, Poole, greeted him with a worried frown. "My master is in sir," he said, "but he is in strange spirits." Poole led Utterson to a laboratory at the back of the house. Light fell dimly through a crack in the curtains, illuminating a clutter of test tubes, strange potions in jars and powders corked in bottles. Henry Jekyll sat slumped in an armchair. His eyes were red and his skin had turned deathly pale. "Have you heard the news about your friend Hyde?" Utterson asked. "The police are searching for him across London."

Jekyll groaned in despair. "Utterson, I swear that I am done with Edward Hyde. Mark my words, that terrible man will never be heard from again. But there is one last thing..."

Jekyll held up a crumpled sheet of paper. The page trembled in his hand. "A messenger brought this letter today from Hyde," he said. "It says that he has run away and will never return. Do with it what you want, old friend." "And what about your will Henry? Should I remove Hyde's name from that document?" Jekyll stared up at the dusky light leaking between the curtains. Utterson saw a look of desperate sadness in his friend's eyes. "No," Jekyll said finally. "Leave the will as it is. Just in case..." With that, the doctor sank into his chair, covering his face with his hands. As he left the house, Utterson turned to the butler. "Poole?" he asked. "There was a letter delivered today. Did you see what the messenger looked like?" Poole looked puzzled. "We have received no letters today sir," he said.

A dark thought entered Utterson's mind. He took Hyde's letter from his pocket and folded the bottom to conceal the sender's name. "Tell me Poole," he asked, "do you recognize this handwriting?" Poole studied the page closely, and then nodded. "It looks different sir. But I swear this letter was written by Dr. Jekyll." Utterson stumbled into the dusky streets, his mind reeling. Could it be possible? Could Henry Jekyll be covering for a murderer?