Play@YSDC

Dr. Francis Preston
"It's a shame the Colonel couldn't attend after all," Preston observes. "I know some of us were keen to meet the man."

OOC,I'll roll for Juulm to keep things moving: James Winter Spot Hidden 75: [url=http://orokos.com/roll/577347]Spot Hidden[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]18[/b]

James and Francis and Helena,You get the distinctive whiff of whiskey emanating from Norton, although he doesn't seem to be drunk.

"Yes, well, hopefully he'll be back at the club before long" says Norton to Francis, although his tone seems to indicate otherwise.

The party are moving back towards the gate of the churchyard. It seems that the funeral is over. The attendees begin to move off, apart from the man tentatively identified as a policeman, who seems to be watching everyone.

"Shall we speak to the policeman?" suggests Reg. "We can offer to assist him."

Dr. Francis Preston

"Yes, that might be an idea."

As the other attendees depart, Preston asks Paice, "What is this club that Norton fellow spoke of?"

James Winter

James agrees and starts to walk towards the officer
[dice]0[/dice]
[dice]1[/dice]

Harry perks up a bit. "Eh? Club?
Did I hear something about a club?"

OOC,Norton is still with you.

Paice fills the companions in.“That’s the Army and Navy Club in Pall Mall. Norton here has a job there. Some of you might be members already? I have a membership, but I don’t use it too often. Usually got my head buried in a book.”

Winter & Addison & Preston,Roll Knowledge. If you pass, you have membership. [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_and_Navy_Club[/url]

All this is said as the approach the potential policeman. As they draw near, he eyes them a bit warily, although he is obviously curious. Up close they can see that he is quite a powerful-looking man, and perhaps older than he looks at first glance.

“Can I help you gentlemen and lady?” he says in a neutral tone.

i can't seem to find the knowledge skill.
Here's my roll anyway:

[dice]0[/dice]

Dr. Francis Preston
"Ah, yes, I have a membership of the club too but can't say I remember the last time I visited."

Preston makes the introductions to the supposed police officer. "As current or former army personnel we were naturally perturbed and curious about this terrible event. Have they caught the culprit yet, do you know?"

"Perhaps we can be of help to you," says Reg. "If there's any way I can assist your investigation, I'd be pleased to do so."

"I'm willing to follow along if possible." Helena replied, nodding along.

She kept her distance away from Norton as she does not trust Norton.

Juulm,Knowledge is Education x5, so for James is 75.

“Well, you read me correctly Sirs” says the man. “I’m Sergeant Morrison of the Dover Police, and one of the men investigating the death of Sergeant-Major Crouch. Did any of you serve with him?”

“We did, Sergeant” says Paice, indicating himself and Norton. “We were in the same company. Can you tell us what happened?”

“Well, I can’t give out details about the case. Suffice to say that he was murdered, strangled to death outside his home. Did he have any enemies, and feuds that you know of?”

Norton looks bemused and shakes his head.

“No Sergeant, not that I know of” says Paice. “Any sergeant-major worth his stuff is bound to be unpopular to some of the men, and Crouch was a gruff man, but he was well-respected to my knowledge. Most of the men we served with, those who survived that is, have retired now. I don’t think that there are many of us left in the Home Counties area.”

Everyone,You'll have to roll Law or Persuade to get any more out of the Sergeant.

"I didn't know the deceased personally," says Reg, "but he and I have much in common, including our rank. I feel a certain kinship with him, and I'd like to help bring his killer to justice."

OOC,Persuade roll (15% base skill) to get the Sergeant to open up about the investigation: [dice]0[/dice]

Sergeant Morrison can understand such sentiment. He nods at Reg gravely, and hesitates a little before he starts to speak.

“Truth is, we don’t have a lot to go on. Crouch doesn’t seem to have had any enemies or problems here. He lived a quiet life according to most who knew him. He was found in his garden, nothing was missing from the house so robbery wasn’t a motive. One of the neighbours reported seeing a very tall figure near the back gate of his cottage on the night of the murder, but it was too dark to make anything out.”

He hesitates again, and frowns. “Whoever killed him was extremely strong. His windpipe was crushed, and the bones in his neck were ground together. Finger-shaped bruises were left on his throat. That’s about it so far. I came here today in the hope that the murderer might have shown up, but you all seem to be of reasonable height.” He smiles grimly.

"Could it be possible that this was a professional assassination? It seems like if there's not much evidence to go on, then it certainly seems possible that the murderer knew what he's doing." Helena asked.

“Well, the murderer certainly knew what he was doing, but it doesn’t take much knowledge to know how to choke someone” replies Morrison. “If the killer was hired, we still don’t know what the motive was. If any of you hear or remember anything pertinent, please be sure to share it with us”.

"Thank you, Sergeant," says Reg. "I'll be sure to let you know if I observe anything." If I'm considered of reasonable height, he thinks, then the killer must be quite tall indeed.

Know,Harry's Know is 85% and he rolls... [dice]0[/dice]

"The Army & Navy? Why it's my club! Not that I've spent too much time there this last decade. Traveling too much."

"And I will let you know too if I hear anything in relation to this." Helena stated, looking around with mild interest.

At this inopportune moment, Harry finally focuses on the Sergeant.

"Sergeant, Captain Harry Addison,
late of Prince Albert's Somersets. Forgive me if this seems impertinent but one presumes that the investigation of a murder such as this is led by a commissioned officer?
May I be so bold as to enquire who that might be?"