Chapter 6: Who is Claude Owen?

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,Yes, let's go there now.

[evil_scientist]

OOC,Yes, let's go!

[HoneyDog]

The companions return to the School of Medicine. The sun is setting but the school and it’s library will be open for hours - medical students have to study a great deal.

The woman who was on duty earlier is at the reception again. She smiles as they enter.

”Any luck with Claude Owen?” she asks.

[Mr. Handy]

"We checked his dorm room," says Alice, smiling back. "Nobody's seen him there, but we believe he's gone to Herbert West's old laboratory in the basement of a farmhouse outside town to continue his experiments. We just need to find the address of that farmhouse, which we believe we might find in the library here. We found a dog there that he had...partially vivisected. It was horrible! We've also found some chemicals and other supplies in his room that were stored there. Those are probably missing from here. The only one we recognized was formaldehyde. The others were all unlabeled."

[HoneyDog]

The woman steps back in horror and raises her hand to her mouth. “How dreadful!” she exclaims.

Gathering herself, she indicates the nearby staircase. “You can find the library in the basement. Mr. Gregersen is on duty and should be able to help you with your search.”

She shakes her head sadly. “I had hoped Owen wasn’t that bad”.

The companions head downstairs to the basement.

The library is a vast area, seemingly extending for yards in all directions. The investigators can see rows and rows of books and files on the shelves. An elderly man sits at a desk surrounded by filing cabinets writing something. He looks up as they approach. “What can I do for you?” he asks.

[Mr. Handy]

"Good evening, Mr. Gregersen," says Alice. "I'm Alice Stanton. We're here to look at Herbert West's writings. Claude Owen, who has gone missing, has looked through them himself, and we believe that he has gone to a farmhouse outside of town owned by Herbert West, where there's a laboratory, to continue his work. We're hoping we can find out where that farmhouse is located and learn more about his research."

[HoneyDog]

“Well, you’re very welcome to look” says Gregersen. “The students’ notes and reports aren’t classified however, so unless you know the location you’re going to be for some time!”

He scratches his bald head.

“Herbert West, you say? Do you know where his notes might be?”

[Starspawn338]

“Well, you’re very welcome to look” says Gregersen. “The students’ notes and reports aren’t classified however, so unless you know the location you’re going to be for some time!”

He scratches his bald head.

“Herbert West, you say? Do you know where his notes might be?”

Harrison groans as he looks at all the files around them. It looks like they'll be in for a long night. "I'm afraid we don't know where they might be. Claude must have spent a great deal of time himself looking for them. Do you recall him down here? Perhaps he left a mess that had to be cleaned up when he was down here?"

[HoneyDog]

Gregersen frowns in thought.

” I don’t recall any mess. But I’m sorry, we get a lot of students down here, and I don’t get to meet them all. I might have seen this Owen, but I don’t think I know him”.

[Mr. Handy]

"In Owen's notes," says Alice, "he mentioned that he found West's writings in the basement. I don't think he specified exactly where, though."

[HoneyDog]

“Yes" says Gregersen. "Well as I said, we keep student notes but they’re not classified or sorted. You’ll find them in the first 15 aisles, but that’s about all I can tell you.”

[evil_scientist]

Isadora Carmichael

"Are the records perhaps organized by date of entry into the collection? Or the date when the student studies at the university?"

[HoneyDog]

Gregersen shakes his head.

“The students usually add their notes themselves. They basically decide whether they want to keep them or not, and then bring them here. There used to be a system I believe, but it got out of hand and now we have the present situation. It’s not ideal of course, but nobody wants to start a new system. It would take years to sort things properly”.

[Mr. Handy]

This sort of disorganization is Alice's bane, but there's nothing that can be done about it now. They don't have time to organize everything, but maybe they can find what they need here in spite of it. "Well, let's get started looking," she says.

[HoneyDog]

Gregersen looks aghast. "You want to search through fifteen aisles of files and folders?” he exclaims. “Young lady, you’ll be there for months!”

[Starspawn338]

Gregersen looks aghast. "You want to search through fifteen aisles of files and folders?” he exclaims. “Young lady, you’ll be there for months!”

Harrison looks at Gregersen quizzically. "What choice do we have? We need that information and you have given us no indication that anything other than a search through 15 aisles of files and folders will allow us to procure the information we need. Am I missing something? Because the sooner we begin searching, the sooner we will hope to find what we need."

[Mr. Handy]

"If there's any way we can narrow the search down," says Alice, "I'm all ears. Maybe we can figure out which aisle based on when West left the university. Chances are that they wouldn't start using a new one until the last one is full."

[HoneyDog]

OOC,Roll Idea.

[Mr. Handy]

Alice thinks of something.

OOC,Idea roll (65% stat) about where to search: [dice]0[/dice]

[HoneyDog]

Alice,Gregersen mentioned that he might have seen Owen. Perhaps he would recognize him from a photograph?