Play@YSDC

The new arrived, that Donovan called Matt, nods to Ian: "Yes, that one. I was in Los Angeles from 1921 to 1923, working in the Los Angeles Examiner. When that story came out, I asked some friends there and they kept me up to date. The story goes like this: big fire, the police gets there, finds more than a dozen bodies, some of them mutilated, others shot. Investigations are a huge flop. That sex club involved many people, but none of them could be proven directly involved in the incident at the barn. Many of them were wanna-be stars of Hollywood. You want a big name? Olivia Clarendon. Voices were she was part of the club, or at least attended some parties. She wasn't a big shot back then, just an actress rising the ladder, obviously. Anyway, back to the investigation. A couple of months later, an anonymous tip-off comes in, bring to the arrest of one of the club members that was at the barn. Turns out the guy was crazy. Made names, but the cops realized he would never make a credible witness. One of the names was a man from Savannah. A sort of wanna-be vigilante, attacked the club with some accomplices, carrying bombs and guns. Henslowe, might be. I'm not 100% sure after all these years"

The mention of Olivia Clarendon's name surprises Ian. He doesn't consider himself a fan, but he saw some of her movies. "Olivia Clarendon? Jesus... So neither Henslowe nor his accomplices were ever indicted? But why would he assault a sex club for the cafe society? Do you have any other information, Mr. ...? Ian realizes that they weren't introduced formally.

"Oh, yes, sorry, I'm Matt Thomson", he shakes your hands. "If I remember correctly, after the tip-off and the arrest, there was a trial, but it concerned only one person, a member of this sex club. I can't remember his name, though. The police found evidence when he was arrested, and it was definitive evidence. During the process, a few names came out, but the guy was clearly mentally ill. One of those names was a man from Savannah, this Henslowe you've mentioned I think, but he was already in bedlam. A madman accusing another madman. In the end, the prosecuting attorney decided to back down. He had one culprit, and that was enough. You know how these things go. i don't know what happened after, I lost track of the story.

Christopher Fontana

Christopher makes notes, the salacious revelations don't sit very comfortably with him, not that he's a prude but the notion of a 'sex club' is something completely out of his comfort zone, this is something he will not relish telling their absent companions.

Clarence listens and nods thoughtfully, " So, by the sounds of things, there ARE other witnesses to this event, who are NOT currently locked up in a sanitarium. ...Yes, we must contact these people. Oh , how rude of me. I am Clarence Lanalor." Clarence offers his hand to Mr Thomson.

"Well, thank you very much for the information, Mr. Thomson. It was of great help." Ian shakes Matt Thomson hands again. "We must go now. Mr. Grizzard, thank you for you time." He says with a nod.

"Remember to let me know if you find anythin' juicy", Grizzard winks. You shake hands and head out, heading for your car.

Christopher Fontana

Somewhat relieved to be in the car Christopher "I can't help but worry that 'we' may have been a little indiscreet with Grizzard and Thompson, the details we turned up were definitely unexpected and quite salacious.. I just hope that we haven't piqued their 'journalist antenna', if they sniff a story it could complicate our investigation."

Ian feels pretty satisfied with the information they got. "Come on, Fontana, you don't really buy this 'sex club' thing, do you? We don't know much about Henslowe, but why would a millionaire like Walter Winston raid a place like that with guns and bombs? There must be something more in it..."

"About these fellas, I don't know..." he continues, trying to look at the situation from the journalists perspective They already ignored the thing 12 years ago, right? Let's hope it stays like that.

Clarence joins the others in the car, "The more I think about it, the more suspicious I'm getting, about what Mr Winston did. It is soo abnormal. Surely he could have got the police involved, rather than risking his life and the life of his comrades. Lets meet up with the others and compare notes.".

Link to Reunion at Joy Grove next topic.