Providence Police

[Cearlan]

Following a fairly harrowing couple of interviews each by a fiery Lt. O'Grady he assembles the group in a large-ish room.

"Right I'll be blunt with you all. There is something going on here that you are not telling me, I know it and you all know it. I have dealt with people from Universities before, and the closing ranks, the protecting of reputations of all and sundry have meant that cases have been lost. A typical example is are some of the Deans from Brown." His steely grey eyes bore deep into you all as he gazes seemingly into your very hearts, the silence stretching out as you all hold your nerve under the gaze of the hard-nosed detective. Realising that he is not going to get anything more he continues by saying to the group, though mainly to Joseph Huckleberry.

"All right! Have it your own way. This woman, a Felicity Sorrell is currently having an autopsy. The preliminary reports prove most ... shall I say interesting ... in fact the coroner has asked if you would like to attend Dr Huckleberry. When I say asked for your presence they have been insistent and Sergeant Yates here will stay with you, keeping an eye on you. I have an officer outside ready to take you both straight over if you would."

Whilst Joseph deliberates, O'Grady gazes thoughtfully into space. "Sergeant, can you get someone to bring me the Sorrell file from my desk before you go please."

[Mr. Handy]

David says nothing yet, figuring that he's better off the less he says for now.

OOC,Do I know of any relative of [b]Martin[/b]'s named [b]Felicity[/b]?

[royya]

Joseph nods and replies.
Yes sir, I will
With that he gets up and wait to be directed

[Cearlan]

Joseph,Sergeant Yates says "This way please." and leads you from the room. Go to this thread, viewtopic.php?f=244&t=4093 from now.



After a few moments an officer brings in a file and O'Grady gives you all 'that' look once again.



"I don't usually do this, but even though I know you all are hiding something ... I reckon we are all on the same side. After all we want to get to the bottom of this as quickly and as quietly as possible, agreed?" He opens the file at the beginning and informs you that "A break-in at Sorrell’s house apparently occurred the same evening that Sorrell was hit by a vehicle. It was reported by Alvin Inman, Sorrell’s neighbour, whom I believe you have had experience of. Now I don't believe in coincidence, no sir! There has to be a connection there somehow and I aim to find it."

"As to Martin Sorrell's death, he was run down by a 1921 Ford Pick-up, identified both from eye-witness accounts and from broken headlamp glass at the scene. There were no number plates on the vehicle, though after striking him, it slowed down before heading off."

"The ambulance drivers and police officer that attended the accident, well I certainly ain't going to give you their names though they came from this station and the ambulance crew can be traced through the Hospital."

[Mr. Handy]

"I'm not so sure that it was an accident," says David, stroking his chin. "Nor am I convinced that the deceased man is indeed Martin Sorrell. How was the body identified? Merely because of the passport he carried? The cremation of the body is highly suspicious under the circumstances. The break-in only confirms that something unusual is going on here."

[Priest]

Following Dr Johnson's example Meredith stays silent, although he does raise his eyebrows and purse his lips at the mention of a car with no license plate.

[Cearlan]

In response to David, Lt O'Grady replies "As I said earlier, I do not like coincidences. The body was positively identified by both his paperwork, some of which we have here and by Felicity Sorrell his supposed sister, though others claim she was his wife. All we know for certain is that it turns out that she had little or no legal claim to Martin Sorrell. As we, or more specifically the hospital, had no reason to doubt the veracity of her identity because she carried all the appropriate papers to support her claims, or rather the forgeries." He runs his hands through his hair and breathes deeply as he rolls his head backwards.

"Gods, this is all a mess. I think you should talk to the hospital for their side of the story. Like academics of all types, they have closed ranks faster than the wind blows a door shut. The doctor in Accident and Emergency who dealt with Sorrell when he was brought in was a ..." Lt O'Grady pauses as he consults the file. "... a Dr Gareth Tomassen, though I doubt he could add much more. Perhaps you might find something in the Sorrell house, I have to be honest here as no-one I know would even know what to look for when it comes to Aztecs or whatever they were. I mean the history I am aware of starts about the war of independence against the Brits, and as far as I can make out this was a few years before that little episode."

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you," says David. "I intend to visit the hospital this morning, and I'll be sure to speak to Dr. Tomassen. If nothing else, he can describe the man for me. I know Martin quite well, so I'd know if the description matches even if there are no photographs. I'm sure I'll also be able to understand any materials about the Mayans that are in Martin's house."

OOC,You never answered my earlier question: have I ever heard of [b]Felicity Sorrell[/b]?

[Cearlan]

OOC,[color=#FF8000]So sorry Mr Handy - I thought I had answered your question in the text. Martin had no other relatives at all as far as you know, and certainly no sister or wife.[/color]

Lt O'Grady rummages around in the file and draws out two photographs and hands them to you individually.

"Can you confirm the identity of this man for me please Professor?" he asks handing you a grained sepia photograph.

Martin Sorrell before a British Honduran expidition

The picture is that of a man you immediately recognise as Martin Sorrell dressed in a pith helmet and jungle wear. The text on the frame indicates that it was taken in Salon de foto de Vasquez of 620 North Front Street Belize City, British Honduras. When you confirm that it is indeed a portrait of Martin Sorrell he then hands you a second photograph, looking at Miss Hawkins and coughing.

Martin Sorrell's body at the scene of the Accident showing Lt O'Grady with his back to the camera

"This one is a little more ... shall I say graphic, but as you can see there are enough similarities to warrant saying it is the same man, wouldn't you agree?"

[Mr. Handy]

"The man in the first photograph is certainly Martin Sorrell," says David. "I can't be sure about the man in the second. They do look similar, but there's not enough to say conclusively whether it's him. However, the man in the hospital did not have any traces of malaria antibodies in his blood, whereas I know for a fact that Martin had had malaria. Once you've had it, it's with you for life. That leads me to believe that the man who died wasn't actually him. And there's on other thing: Martin was a bachelor and also had no sister, named Felicity or otherwise. In fact, he has no living relatives. I'm perhaps the closest thing he has to family. Whoever this woman was, she wasn't who she claimed."

[Priest]

Meredith produces his pipe and tobacco, "Do you mind?", he asks the Lieutenant, and voices thoughts that are running through his head, "A 1921 Ford pickup without plates that slows after hitting Sorrell then speeds off. Hmmn, an accident?"

[Cearlan]

OOC Mr Handy,The first photograph [b]is[/b] Martin Sorrell and the second photo shows a drive by shooting that I appropriated for this game. The victim's head is by the feet of the officers, for some reason his hat is over his ankles / feet. For game purposes I gave the impression that it was Martin Sorrell. Do you want to edit it or shall I?

"You are right of course about the Malaria aspect, and that it is somewhat surprising that there were no traces of ... what are they called again ... antibodies in his bloods." O'Grady sighs deeply before continuing. "As far as the woman, whoever she was, is concerned, the hospital seemed to be satisfied that the papers she presented to them as identification were genuine, though we now know that they were forgeries because, as you say, Sorrell had no living relatives of any sort." O'Grady throws his hands up in exasperation, "Coincidences, false leads and dead ends, I'm getting too old for all this." He grips the table looking at his lap and breathing deeply. "But at the end of the day, this is what keeps me going. The thrill of the chase, pitting my wits against the petty and notorious criminals alike."

[Mr. Handy]

"I want to find out what really happened to Martin just as much as you do," says David. "Martin's a close friend, and that's what keeps me going. If we work together, we can find out the truth, whatever it is."

OOC,Edited.

[Cearlan]

O'Grady sighs. "You know I ain't ever felt the need to do this before, and God willing I won't ever have to again. Now this is not like the western pulp novels where the local law enforcement officer deputises people, but you better not mess with me here and share everything you get with me ... no-one else but me and possibly Sergeant Yates. He's a good man and one I trust without hesitation." He smiles to himself and his eyes take on a distant look for just a moment, "If he had been brought up in a different environment then he could have been anything he set his mind to. But we all have to play the hands we are dealt - yes?"

O'Grady stands and closing the file he looks at you all and asks, "So where are you going now ladies and gentlemen?"

[Mr. Handy]

David stands up and reaches his hand out to shake with Lt. O'Grady. "We'll keep you informed of what we discover," he says. "I think our first stop will be the hospital to see Dr. Tomassen. After that, I'll see what I can find at Martin's house. Hopefully that will give us a few more leads."

[Cearlan]

O'Grady stands and shakes everyone's hands. "I still think you know more than you have told me but I'll accept that you may have need to do so ... but be warned, I am not a man to cross lightly. I can be of help to you, but only if you play fair with me ... agreed?"

OOC,[color=#FF4000]I assume that we moving onto the hospital now and will set up the forum shortly.[/color]