Chapter 1: New York City

[DrPeterson]

Horatio isn't at all used to dealing with such public displays of emotions, and he puts an awkward, though comforting hand on Amy's shoulder.
"There, there,...", he manages to mutter and then turns away, shuffling in his seat.


He clears his throat, fills his glass and raises it.
"My dear friends, for I believe we have surpassed the level of acquaintances through our ordeals, let us drink to the spirit of those we have lost."

He downs his glass in one go and refills it before sitting down.

He lets out a deep sigh, his mind racing to and fro, the memory of Jackson's bloody corpse mind and the jumble of the past few hours trying their best to constrict his thought processes.

"A shady looking bar, perhaps in the Orient, perhaps in any harbour in the world. A London based research Foundation, a letter from a Gyppo, a blurry picture of a steamer, a card for some shipping firm and letter from Harvard." He frowns as he sums up their clues. "Not to mention that ... symbol."

Letting out a deep sigh, Horatio looks around the table.

"Any thoughts?"

Quatermass,Given Horatio's academic background and Englishness, would he have heard anything of the Penhew Foundation?

[Ritterton]

Artemis found a seat, ordered the daily special, and poured himself a glass of the wine that Horatio procured. He looked over the other items that had been found in Jackson's room while others looked through the times he and Gerald had found from the villain they had apprehended. He looked for patterns, symbols, and then took a big swig of the wine.

"I wonder if the picture is from Shanghai?"he asked the others as he filled his glass again. See there is a junk in the harbor and that might be where the business card is from. Seems like we have clues in Shanghai, Egypt, London, New York, and Harvard. We cannot split up at this point and I agree with Horatio, we have become too close and too involved not to get to the bottom of this together." He saw Amy in tears, her head on the table, and gulped.

"Horatio, I say we call on this Emerson company here in New York, first thing in the morning." Artemis took a sip of the wine and looked for the waiter hoping food was forth coming. "This one from Egypt talks about something Jackson was interested in purchasing. What if he did, and had it shipped back to this Emerson company?"

[Mr. Handy]

Amy raises her head, squeezing Horatio's hand weakly. "Th...thank you," she says. With her other hand, she takes the cloth napkin from her place settings and dries her eyes. "I don't understand why you didn't show these things to the police. Wouldn't we be better off working with them? I agree that we're best off starting with the more local leads, first the one in New York and later Harvard." She pours some wine into her glass, her hand trembling, and then swallows it. It hits her hard, and she is unprepared for it. The drink makes her head feel even lighter, as if it could float away.

[kabukiman]

Anderson takes a drink and nods.
"Yes, we need to stay together. It will be easier to defend us, look how we worked so well against those criminals. If only Jackson had trusted us, we could have probably save him"- he sights.

[Quatermass]

Quatermass,Given Horatio's academic background and Englishness, would he have heard anything of the Penhew Foundation?

Horatio,Now that you think about it. Wasn't the Penhew Foundation involved with the Carlyle Expedition? Your not sure.

[Mr. Handy]

"He trusted us," says Amy. "He was just reluctant to involve us - especially me - because he thought it was dangerous, and boy was he right! I thought the danger was abroad, though. I wasn't expecting anything to happen to him once he got back to New York. I thought he was safe..." Amy dabs her watery eyes again with the soggy napkin, which is so damp now that it does no good whatsoever.

[Ritterton]

"Hmhm, I wonder," Artemis looked at the array of items and swirled the wine in his glass. "Amy, do you think the Public Library here or one of the college libraries might have newspapers from Shanghai and Cairo? What about the expedition too? Might be something a librarian could help two college researchers with if we were to ask. Plus, we need to see if this Silas N'Rwane shows up in a City Directory. That could be another lead here in the City."

[Dave Syrinx]

Sipping on a mug of spirits, Greald considers the facts laid out before them all. What if I proffer our ideas to the police. That we believe Jackson had some investigation on the Carlyle Expedition? Did you mention that already to the officer? That and a possible lead from the thugs they have in custody? What if I go to the precinct and volunteer this information as a friend. I could ask if they know where the men come from."

[kabukiman]

"The police has already arrested the criiminals. Do you think that they will try to investigate in Shangai or Cairo? No, we must discover alone the true reasons to this crime."

[Ritterton]

"I agree that the police won't investigate overseas, but I wonder if there could be something learned from the police detective that could be helpful." Artemis sighed and leaned back in his chair. "We need more information and with that some help as well. Having a police contact could be worthwhile if there is a gang here in the City beyond those we helped catch."

[Mr. Handy]

"The New York Public Library and Columbia's library are both excellent resources," says Amy, relaxing now that she's on more familiar territory. "Both have periodicals sections, but I doubt that they'd have newspapers from far-flung places such as Cairo and Shanghai. London, perhaps, but even that's not certain. And I definitely agree that we should work with the police on any local investigations and share what we know."

[DrPeterson]

Horatio leans back in his chair and looks at the gathering.

"It seems a plan is forming then. We need a party to do some research at the libraries. I believe Miss Lawrence would be most suited for that." He turns to Amy. "It might not hurt to look into the Carlyle expedition too, maybe we'll find what drew Jackson to it in the first place. If I recall correctly, the Penhew Foundation was somehow involved, although I can't remember the particulars."

He clears his throat and sips from his glass.

"Mr. Thomson's idea makes sense too. It would indeed help to have the local brass on our side, or at least vaguely on our side, should anything untoward transpire.

And I would very much like to see who this Silas N'Kwane is, it sounds like a swahili name, so he shouldn't be too hard to spot at Emerson Imports."

Horatio smiles.

"I wouldn't mind some extra muscle if I'm going into the harbour, though."

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, I can manage that," says Amy. "I'll look into the Carlyle expedition first. That may lead to further avenues of research. It'll take some time, but I can do it."

[Overlord87]

Roger has been silent so far, lost in thought. "I doubt the police will be able to help us much, but in principle I see no reason to ignore a possible source of help and information. Just... they won't probably like the idea of us performing our investigation separately. That's how they are. We should be cautious. And talking of caution... those people that killed Jackson... they are dangerous. We should stick together as much as possible, and be armed. i hope I'm not being paranoid, but as they say, better safe than sorry. Someone should accompany Amy to the library, just in case." Roger pauses for a few seconds, his gaze lost in his glass of whiskey. "Let's start by investigating the leads that are more geographically close. Then we'll decide if and where to travel next. At the moment we're moving in the dark, not knowing where we are and where we should go."

[Mr. Handy]

A sudden shiver runs down Amy's back. She had been so focused on Jackson that she hadn't thought of the possibility that she could be in danger. "You're right, I think that's for the best," she says. "Jackson was worried, and for good reason. Whoever accompanies me should also be skilled at research, which will speed up the process."

[Ritterton]

"So, we have three places to go," Artemis started to count off the locales with his fingers. "First, the library to see what if anything we can find about the Expedition, or things that occurred in Shanghai or Cairo. Second, we have Emerson Imports and the docks. Third, we have the Police Detective's office. So, I can see myself helping with the first two, and not being that helpful at Police Station."

[kabukiman]

"I don't mind to go to any of the first two places too. About the police, I don't have much credit there, but we acn always say we were friends and are worried. And that is true."- says Anderson.

[DrPeterson]

"We are agreed then! Dr. Anderson can accompany Miss Lawrence to the library, Miss Maritz can help Mr. Thomson charm the police, and we three, gentlemen, " Horatio nods at Roger and Artemis " can go ask around Emerson Imports. "

Horatio finishes his wine and looks around the table.

"I think I share your concern about safety, though. We need to acquire a few pistols at least."

[Mr. Handy]

"I've never fired a gun before," says Amy, "so I suppose I'd better learn how. If I'd gone to that room alone, I'd have been helpless." She trembles with the thought.

[kabukiman]

"Any of use alone would be dead, they were several."