Play@YSDC

"A fair bit of it, I'd imagine," says Reg, studying Jakeswill without much insight. "What is the exact address of Dr. Salt's lodging-house on Virginia Road?"

"No, no, no!" Jakeswill holds up his hands. "No need for that, laddie. These green folk you're talking about... I wonder now whether they might be Salt's thugs. The ones following me wear green. They always follow me from a distance or watch me from the other side of the street. Bloody bastard's got children working for him now...

"I believe his address might be 22 or 23. Not sure. You can't miss it, though. Big building."

Gary looks over at Reg. "What do you think? Shall we go pay Dr. Salt a visit?"

"Yes, let's," says Reg. "If we can't find him there, we can always come back." He turns back to Jakeswill. "What does Dr. Salt look like, so we'll know him when we see him?"

"Salt? A big brutish fellow." He laughs to himself. "Looks as much like a gorilla as anything. Don't tell him I said that. Dark hair, squarish head."

Reg chuckles. "I'm sure there will be no mistaking him, then," he says. "Just one more question. When was the last time you saw Arthur?"

"Not since the time he and Dr. Salt met here -- so, about three weeks or so. Quite a while, anyhow."

"Very well, thanks for your time. I don't see any need to involve any cops, do you Reg? I think Jakeswill been upright with us."
And Gary prepared to leave. "I think its time to go give Dr. Salt a visit."

"Yes, thank you, Jakeswill," says Reg. "You've been quite helpful." He leaves the shop with Gary. "Yes, let's pay a call on the doctor."

"The Jago's none too navigable by carriages," the second carriage driver says, as he drops Gary and Reg off at Redchurch Street. "Make sure you're out of here by nightfall. Wouldn't be too well for you to be caught in here." He points down the street a bit. "Just go straight up that road down there and you'll run right into Virginia Road. Just watch your purses. Good luck." He clatters off.

The two advance along the unnamed street, lined by some of the worst ghetto in London, the sort of place where Jack the Ripper wouldn't feel out-of-place. People glower menacingly at them as they walk along, or look at them surreptitiously through shifty eyes. Practically everyone they pass has the look of a criminal. They emerge into the road, which seems to be a slightly better neighborhood -- though not much -- and quickly find the boarding-house in question. Gary and Reg hurry up the steps, as a few men seem to be following them.

Reg pays careful attention to his surroundings and just generally tries to look tough. While he is sure he could handle one or two of this neighborhood's toughs if it comes to a fight, he'd stand no chance against a pack of them and would rather avoid hostilities. "We don't use our names in front of this chap," he whispers to Gary. He climbs the steps and knocks on the door.

After a moment, the door's answered by a stooped old woman. "Yes? Who might you be and what be your business?"

"We request a meeting with Dr. Salt." responds Gary.

"My name's Smith," says Reg. It's close enough to his real name to feel comfortable (some Smythes might even pronounce their names that way), but common enough to be anonymous. "We're here regarding Arthur Godfrey."

"Salt, Salt... oh, the doctor," says the old woman, seemingly a bit dotty in her old age, who seemingly hadn't heard Gary call him "doctor". "Oh, he's a nasty bloke, a real scary fellow. Neal!" A young lad, probably about ten or twelve years of age, appears. "Can you go see if Dr Salt is in? Tell him he has visitors. Come in, come in."

After a moment or two, the young lad comes back down the stairs, accompanied by a tall and massive man with a flattish face. A large scar runs down the right side of his face. "Come, Neal, let's allow these fellows to get to their business," the old woman says, as she and the lad disappear into the back.

"Yes? I am Dr Salt," says the large man, with a barely perceptible German accent.

OOC,I messed up and got [b]Arthur[/b]'s last name wrong in my previous post.

"Dr. Salt," says Reg, "we're here regarding Arthur Sommers."

A fearful look is plainly visible upon Dr. Salt's face when Reg says Arthur's name. He closes his eyes briefly and breathes deeply.

"Arthur, Arthur, Arthur. You weren't followed, were you?"

"Not to my knowledge," says Reg. "There were some chaps out front watching us go inside, but I presume you know about them already."

"The typical sort found in this... slum," Dr. Salt says. "Not who I meant. You'd know if you were followed by these fellows..." He touches his arm. "Arthur was devoted to her. Wrongly. Look what he's gotten in return for his devotion. Be careful -- you're now held in her eye."

"Are you referring to Countess Bogdansky?" asks Reg. "I've never even met her. How can I be held in her eye?"