[Scene I] Barely time for a drink...

[Dave Syrinx]

Removing the tablecloth Grimes flinches at the visage. He closes his eyes and opens them again.

[Airbornexo]

The doctor had apparently sugar-coated the description as there was ladies present. The sight before Grimes was truly nightmarish, he'd seen worse of course but the ferocity of the attack left his throat dry and scratchy. Hector had been cruelly desecrated. His neck, showed swollen bruising and lay at an unnatural angle, the spine snapped by brute force.

The mutilation was worse, the jagged shard of coffee cup still protruded from one eye-socket. The eyes had been ruined - gouged and torn at and the bloody remains smeared on the floor next to the corpse. The throat opened almost back to the vertebrae, white bone stark amongst the red gore.

OOC:   Above: Hornley, as was...

Hornley was in his early twenties, in reasonable physical shape, a little scrawny perhaps. He wears a cheap dark suit and a collarless shirt underneath. Grimes notices a bulge in the jacket pocket.

OOC:   Anyone else stepping into the apartment will also need to make a 1 point stability check (4+ target) until the body is re-covered.

[Tabs]

Felix enters, his camera held to his eye, and takes several flash photographs, screwing in a "Sashalite" bulb each time into his Kodak Brownie Hawkeye; "Ouch!" he exclaims quietly when, despite his handkerchief, he burns the tip of one finger. He does as Grimes instructs and examines the objects.

OOC:   When taking a photo of Hornley, does Felix need to make a Stability check? If so, that's a d6 + Stability spend?--and what is a success? Edit: Stability check vs. Hornley +2 pt. spend (1d6+2=7) Also, is it worth while for Felix to use Evidence Collection as well as Grimes?

[Tabs]

Felix holds his nerve when he snaps a photograph of the poor boy. He kneels beside Grimes and the mutilated Hector Hornley. "Sir," he says to Grimes, "I have some experience at Forensics--do you mind?" Felix examines the body.

[Dave Syrinx]

"No trouble..." Grimes checks the pockets of the boy and extracts the contents. "What do we have here?"

Keeper,Did I have to say that Grimes uses one point on the corpse and one for the bedroom?

[Priest]

Millicent almost shows annoyance as Felix seems to shoulder her aside in what she sees as an unnecessary haste to enter the room. However she resists, but does crack a small smile of satisfaction as Felix burns his fingers on the flashbulb.
From the depths of her bag she produces a small notebook and a pencil. After several moments of thought she writes,
The detective, in a show of cool professionalism, slowly begins to remove the blood soaked cloth that had been used to cover the victims torn and mutilated face.
Then with a firm shake of her head she crosses out the writing, closes the notebook and returns it and the pencil to her bag.

Stability Roll,1d6(+2 point spend) → [6,2] = (8) http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4562965/

[Airbornexo]

Felix produces a small kits from his reporter's satchel and moves with a practiced ease. Grimes looks impressed, shame he put his talents to digging the dirt and garnering the next big scoop instead of serving the people.

Felix Forensics,With his small kit and brush [b]Felix[/b] matches [b]Hector’s[/b] fingerprints and discovers that they are all over the coffee cups, the jar and every surface in the apartment – he’s been a shut-in here for days by the looks of things. After about ten minutes work he also confirms that there are smudges on one cup, suggesting that the cup was lifted by someone wearing leather gloves.

Grimes returned his focus to the pocket and lifted clear a the contents, a cheap leather coin purse containing a meagre amount of change and a folded envelope, The envelope is addressed to Hector Hornley but is empty. The return address written on the back is ‘Calloway & Sons Rare Books, High Street, Oxford’.

Grimes,I will just use up the evidence collection pool until exhausted here (you still have 2 remaining from the 3 you dedicated earlier) Not really sure how to cover spends etc... so I'll just feel out the best way.

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you," Amanda tells Millicent, a bit relieved. "I'm sure Jacqueline would put me up, but I couldn't bother her at this time of night. If she is home, she could be asleep right now, but knowing her it's more likely that she's out having fun somewhere. So I will take you up on that offer." When Millicent goes inside with the others, Amanda remains in the hall. Not only has she not been invited inside, but she dreads seeing someone she knew in the state described by the police.

[Tabs]

OOC:   Airbornexo, everyone, how about another topic, which we all can access, for clues? There's the burnt objects, the envelope, the details of Hornley's murder . . .

Felix shrugs apologetically. Using powder and brush dusts various items: coffee cups, etc. After 10 minutes he reports: "Hornley had been shut inside for days, I think, and the second coffee cup has smudges, I believe this indicates the assailant wore leather gloves. He adds: "The second cup proves that Hornley allowed the murderer entry.

[carnage_lee]

Samuel Reed

Sam tries to hide his discomfort and shock seeing two of the others enter the poor murdered man's room. Highly unorthodox, "I hope Grimes knows what he's doing, that press fellow could cause him all kinds of problems... what on earth is he breaking with procedure for?" he wonders.

"Perhaps we should wait with the landlady?" he suggests to Amanda seeing the young singer makes no move to enter Hornley's room. "Might as well try and keep the constable occupied, no telling what trouble he'd stir up if he 'blabs' about the break in procedure back at the station." he concludes.

With a somewhat forced smile he indicates to Amanda to go first.

[Priest]

Careful of her tread so as not to disturb any vital clues, she is aware that would be a bad thing, Millicent scans the room, aware that there is little likelyhood of her noticing something that the police had not, but looking anyway.

Grimes, she notes, is still engaged in what she can only describe as a most professional search of the corpse.

Millicent thinking:   Note to self: See the way the expert does it, slowly and with meticulous precision

Even Felix the journalistic hack, whose attire and demeanour spoke of better days, was suprising her with his knowledge of forensics. She listened to his explanation with interest, "So not only did our Mr Hornley here give his assailant access, but he obviously knew him well enough to take coffee with him"

[Airbornexo]

Sam and Amanda head upstairs to the apartment of the landlady Mrs. Pelletoot, Amanda leads the way her feet automatically stepping on the creaking stair-treads.

Sam & Amanda,They arrive at the first floor landing and [b]Amanda[/b] knocks at the door of her elderly landlady. The door is opened a moment or two after by a very young looking constable, '[color=#008000][b]Allen[/b][/color]', [b]Amanda[/b] remembers from the conversation with the doctor. "[color=#0000FF]Hello Miss? Do you know this women? Perhaps you can help me, I can't seem to shake her out of it.[/color]" [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/AirborneXO/The%20Primer/BettyPelletoot.jpg[/img] His gesture towards the room speaks of nervous exhaustion, clearly he is not up to the task of looking after the old lady. It is not hard to see why: The elderly widow is sat at a table, a blank stare fixed on her unblinking eyes. The dainty china cup she holds in her hands audibly rattles on the saucer.

Meanwhile downstairs...

Crime Scene,Grimes,Millicent & Felix: Whilst the chaps are busy with the room, [b]Millicent[/b] cannot resist peeking into the small kitchen but she is disappointed to only discover a regular kitchen, the kettle still warm from the coffee made earlier that evening. Looking at the fragments from the fire there is little more to discern apart from the burnt remains of the book spine suggest it was an older book. It, like the other items, is burnt badly and nothing further can be learned from them. The person who disposed of them had made sure about that...

OOC:   Keeper note 1: There are two officers at the scene (Allen in the apartment upstairs and Alexander in the downstairs hallway keeping watch over the crime scene and the front door. Keeper note 2: All the clues are now summarised in the Notebooks and Sketchpads thread (thanks Tabs)

[Tabs]

Felix looks up at Millicent from where he is crouching beside the corpse. "Yes, I believe so, Ms. Broadacre. One should choose one's friends more wisely--avoid the maniacs, if at all possible," he says with a thin lipped smile; Felix's attempt at humour is so droll it is hardly funny at all. He adds: "Oh, Ms. Broadacre, if I knocked into you a while back, I do beg your pardon, but I was a little shocked by the poor boy."

He says to Grimes: "Calloway & Sons Rare Books--I love literature, but I've never heard of them?" Felix takes a wander round the apartment, looking for old tomes. He also checks out the spine of the burnt book, can he read its title?

OOC:   Thanks for the clues roundup--very useful!

[Priest]

Millicent's ears perk up at Felix's words, Calloway and Son's rare books, maybe she has heard of them somewhere?
She smiles, an unconvincing smile at the kneeling journalist, "Oh...think nothing of it, old chap"

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, Constable, I know her," says Amanda. She moves over to the landlady and gently puts a hand on her shoulder, speaking to her in a soothing, silken voice. "Mrs. Pelletoot, it's me, Amanda. It's going to be all right." She glances down at the teacup. "Would you like some more tea? I could put the kettle on."

OOC,Spending a point of Reassurance.

[carnage_lee]

Samuel Reed

Sam folds his overcoat across the back of a chair and places his hat on the seat, nods to the constable in a friendly manner.

"A good idea, I'll put the kettle on.." he replies after Amanda makes the suggestion. "Would you like a cuppa Constable? Or do you have to go and take a turn on the front door?" he nods with his head indicating that it would be all-right for the young policeman to leave the poor landlady in their care.

[Airbornexo]

Sam & Amanda,The old lady, recognises [b]Amanda's[/b] voice and looks at her. Her voice is cracked and broken as she mutters, barely above a whisper "[color=#0000FF]The eyes! The eyes! He had no eyes![/color]" [b]Constable Allen[/b] locks eyes with [b]Sam [/b]and whispers, "[color=#0000FF]That's all she'd say to me as well. If you can handle things here i'll wait downstairs with 'arry![/color]" Without waiting for a sign of ascent from the Antiquarian, the young Police Constable scoots out the door, closing it gently behind him. As [b]Sam[/b] busied himself in the unfamiliar kitchen, [b]Amanda[/b] realized that she would need to draw on all her empathy and sympathy to calm the nerves of the temporarily broken women. The sounds of water boiling began to filter in from the kitchen... [ooc]Amanda your spend went part of the way to get through to Mrs Pelletoot...[/ooc]

[Mr. Handy]

Amanda takes off her coat and hangs it up, then kneels in front of Mrs. Pelletoot and takes her hands in her own. "I know, it's simply dreadful," she says, gazing up into the landlady's eyes as tears start to well. "I wouldn't have been able to bear seeing what you saw. Mr. Hornley was such a nice man, too. But the monster who did this will not escape justice. Scotland Yard is on the case, and they won't rest until he's caught. But they're going to need your help. You're going to need to tell them what you saw. Even if you don't think it's significant, it may be just the clue they need. We don't have to be helpless. We have it within our power to do our part." She squeezes her hands lightly. "I'll be with you the whole time, Mrs. Pelletoot. We can face this together."

OOC,Spending the other point of Reassurance.

[Airbornexo]

Sam & Amanda,The elderly woman seems to refocus and, although very shaky, nods slightly to Amanda as the kettle begins to whistle in the kitchen. By the time that Sam has eased the shaking china from her hand and replaced it with a heavy mug of well-stewed tea, Mrs. Pelletoot has regained some of her normal bombastic nature. Sam plonked another mis-matched mug down in front of Amanda and supped noisily from one himself. '[color=#008000]Where on earth had he even found such ugly, but oh so functional, crockery in the kitchen of the 'perfect' Mrs. Pelletoot?[/color]' Amanda considered. It was, though, a stroke of genuis that pushed the old lady firmly back to the present as after a moment she frowned at the mug... "[color=#0000FF]Why does it always taste better in a mug?[/color]" She asks no-one in particular. "[color=#0000FF]Oh Amanda, I'm glad you are back dear, that nice young Mr. Hornley...well something has happened...[/color]" With each mouthful of the char, the tale comes from her - teased a piece at a time over several minutes between vacant stares and the occasional sob: "[color=#0000FF]I just heard a crash from the boys apartment downstairs. To be honest with you dear, I thought it was that horrid Mr. Fitzgerald falling over again. You know how he can get dear, drunk all hours of the day and night when he has the money for it.[/color]" "[color=#0000FF]But after a while, I must admit, that I did get worried. It was the silence, not hearing any other sounds you understand, and I went downstairs. I found the door was open. I called to the boys but neither of them answered, so then I went in and found him.....oh poor Mr. Hornely.... I'm sorry dear, its all a blur after that, but I must have managed to raise the alarm and phone the police, I'm not sure how.[/color]" She, frowning at a particularly loud slurp from Sam, continues to daintily sip from the mug...

Downstairs all the investigators hear the front door open and a conversation between the new arrival and Constable Alexander. Faint snatches of which can be heard in the downstairs apartment..."Grimes? He's popular tonight!..."

"I know...."

"What? Really! Like London buses eh 'Arry!..."

"Yeah just seen young Arnold outside, looking a bit green the lad....Haha I know..."

"Where? That door there?" Footsteps approach the door...

[Tabs]

Conscious of Samuel Reed's comments about a journalist inappropriately taking fingerprints at a crime scene, Felix stows his powder and brush. He busies himself by checking out Hornley's books and effects, "What was he a student of?" he wonders.