[IC]Chapter 1.7 - The Unfinished Tales of Jackson Elias

[Raiko]

Prospero House - Lexington Avenue, New York.
8:05pm - Thursday 15th January, 1925

A publisher of books with occult or fantastic themes, fiction and nonfiction alike, the offices of Prospero House are located on Lexington Avenue near 35th Street. Most nearby offices and stores have closed for the night, but the lights are still on inside Prospero House, their warm glow illuminating the snowflakes falling outside.

This modest concern does not aim for best sellers, but rather for books that deserve to be published because they will interest select readers for generations to come. The owner Jonah Kensington is always ready to spend an hour or two chatting about the fantastic subject matter of Prospero's books while smoking his pipe. His wife Elizabeth also is his only helper and she is always ready to make a coffee for visitors. All of the investigators who returned from Peru have met Jonah at least once. Amy knows him well.

Jonah was a good friend of Jackson Elias, as well as the editor of all of Jackson's books. Jackson Elias rarely shared details of any of projects with anyone other than Kensington.


Jonah Kensington

Jonah and Elizabeth are both present when Amy leads the investigators into Prospero House from the frigid Lexington Avenue. They look up as the group enter and it is immediately obvious that they already know the news. A evening edition of the NY Times sits on top of Elizabeth's desk, Rebecca Shosenburg's article dominating the front page. Elizabeth has been crying and Jonah stands up immediately to hug Amy, "I'm so sorry Amy, so sorry, I, I tried to phone you, but you weren't at home."

"I can't believe this has happened, I really thought that Jackson was indestructible, he's had so many scrapes and always come through. "

"But I knew as soon as I saw him that this time was different... Before I saw him, I honestly thought he was just, well... just being paranoid."

Jonah hugs Amy more tightly, "I'm so sorry..."

Across the cosy office Elizabeth begins crying again.


Elizabeth Kensington

[Anatomist]

'My condolences Mrs and Mr Kensington, it's a true tradegy'. Dr. Sánchez will find a place to sit if offered and let the other do the talking.

[Mephistophilis]

Luther leans over to Marcus, 'So this Jackson fella, I take it he was my predecessor?'

[Mr. Handy]

Amy embraces Jonah Kensington, sobbing into his shoulder. "Thank you," she says at last. "The article doesn't say it, and I'd prefer it not to be made public, but we were there. We interrupted the killers as they were...It was done just like the Voodoo Murders. I...I shot the one who stabbed Jackson. Shot him dead, right before he was about to kill him. I tried to save Jackson, but the wound was mortal. At least we had a few final moments together. If only we'd been a minute earlier..."

[Silver Priest]

"Something like that," Marcus tells Luthor in a whisper. "He was a friend most of us met in Peru. we embarked on an expedition there, saw some things that were... hard to explain, let me put it that way. But it ended with us all getting considerably wealthier. He writes to us a few days ago, says he has a big scoop, so of course I was in t see what it was about. Then when we go to meet him he's dead, and I'm wondering just what in the hell I got myself into."

He greets Jonah and Elisabeth. "The only good news is we sent the murderers back to hell. Still trying to figure out the rest of the folks mixed up in this, but I intend to mete out justice to them as well. Think we all agree with that."

[jp1885]

Cynthia greets the Kensingtons grimly. She’s a semi-regular visitor, often on the lookout for new books to help further her studies on the psychology of so-called ‘primitive’ cultures (all the better if she can snag an advance copy).

”This whole thing is a mess. We found a few things in Jackson’s room; looks like he was following up all sorts of leads from all over the world. We know he was looking at the Carlisle expedition, but did he go into the specifics of his research with you?” she asks Jonah.

[kabukiman]

"What we know is that there are several persons involved and some are still out there. So we need any clue to catch them".- says Anderson.

[Raiko]

"My god! You were there? That's horrible"

Jonah nods to the investigators, "It's good that you've put the evil bastards in their graves. If there's more of them, then you have my word that I'll do everything I can to help you."

"Now then," he walks across to a cupboard and takes out a folder containing his correspondence with Jackson.

"I don't understand how the Carlyle Expedition business can be linked to the Voodoo killings here, but Jackson left here in May just planning to look into that Larkin guy's history.

"He ended up travelling the World following clues about the Carlyle Massacre. Told me that this was his biggest story ever and that it would make us both rich."

Kensington glances awkwardly at Amy and considers for a moment before continuing, "I'm afraid to say that Jackson had become a little unhinged when he returned to New York this week. I wasn't sure what to make of it.

"He had already been persuaded that a blood cult had massacred the Carlyle Expedition, but that not all of the principals of the expedition had been killed.

"But when he called in here on Tuesday, he was hardly the man that I knew. Didn't look like he'd slept for days, unkempt and jumpy. He took a letter I'd received for him from the library at Harvard and gave me the most unintelligible draft notes I've ever seen. Told me that 'everything is in there, if they get me' and left."

He looks remorseful, "I almost threw the damned things in the trash, it's just garbage. And now he's dead, they did get to him."

Jonah pulls a letter out from the correspondence file, "Anyway, we'll get to them and you'll see what I mean. Might as start at the beginning."

He passes the letter to the nearest investigator, it is a letter handwritten on stationary from the Savoy Hotel, dated June 20, 1924.

"This was the first mention of Carlyle, from the most tenuous of links, Jackson always could sniff out the big story."



He waits for the investigators to pass around the letter before he continues the story. "A couple of months later I received a second letter, this time from Kenya. He followed up on Carlyle, spoken to the natives and thought that not all of the expedition were killed."



"I received the notes that he promised a little later, I'll show you when you've finished with the letter.

"At this point all seemed well, everything including the this first set of notes were the usual quality investigative work that Jackson always pulls off."

Elizabeth brings in a tray full of steaming coffee mugs while the two letters are passed around.

[jp1885]

“So this dame links Larkin to Carlisle huh?” Cynthia declares as she hands the letters to the others.

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you," says Amy, giving Elizabeth a hug and accepting a mug of coffee, which she sips. "That was the last thing Jackson told me. He said that all the members of the expedition were still alive, and that we had to stop them. And there is a connection between the Carlyle expedition and the Voodoo Murders. Victoria Post, Erica Carlyle's companion, was one of the victims. This African lady must have had something to do with the expedition, since she was connected to Roger Carlyle."

[Raiko]

"Yes, this African lady who linked both Larkin and Carlyle was the whole reason that Jackson decided that there might be more to the whole Carlyle Massacre story than what made the news, Jackson called the mystery lady 'Anastasia' by the way."

Jonah has a sip of his coffee, "Jackson really wasn't a believer in coincidences, his murder and the murder of Victoria Post means that there must be a connection between the murders in Harlem and the massacre in Kenya.

"Speaking of which," Jonah pulls a collection of papers out of the folder and hands them to the investigators.

"These are the notes that Jackson sent to me from Nairoba, immediately before he departed bound for Hong Kong, where he hoped to locate Jack Brady."

ooc,[ooc]All these handouts have a higher resolution / larger copy if you click them. I'll wait again until you've had chance to comment on them before continuing Kensington's narrative.[/ooc]

[Anatomist]

'Facinating' says Dr. Sánchez from his corner 'this investigation will take us all over the planet if we follow all leads. Please continue... do you have more information?'

[Mr. Handy]

"She must be this 'Anastasia' mentioned in this last page," says Amy as she finishes reading. "She may be the high priestess as well. She could be running this whole death cult in Kenya."

[jp1885]

“Might be worth checking when Maybelle started her club...” muses Cynthia.

[kabukiman]

"What do you think that happened? The expedition was attacked, the white members run away and left the black to be killed? Or this cult only attacked the black people because they were seen as traitors to give information to outsiders? Or something even more sinister?" - says Anderson.

[Mephistophilis]

Not the best at reading, Luther struggles to follow the text. 'Apart from Brady, you seen signs of anyone else?'

[Silver Priest]

"I think it's fair to say this Anastasia is our prime suspect at the moment. Larkin was changed. I wonder if Carlyle suffered the same fate."

Marcus looks around at the others, questioning if they should tell the story of what really happened in Peru. It was unbelievable, but if those events were connected to the here and now, maybe it would be good for everyone to be on the same page.

OOC:   And suffer san loss

[Mr. Handy]

"Or the white members of the expedition - and Anastasia - killed the black ones," suggests Amy. "They'd had to have had help, though. There probably weren't enough of them to kill all the bearers by themselves."

[Anatomist]

Marcus looks around at the others, questioning if they should tell the story of what really happened in Peru. It was unbelievable, but if those events were connected to the here and now, maybe it would be good for everyone to be on the same page.

Dr. Sánchez having his own traumas and unconsciously taking to his acid burned arm, shakes his head in disapproval when Marcus glances at him

[kabukiman]

"Or the white members of the expedition - and Anastasia - killed the black ones," suggests Amy. "They'd had to have had help, though. There probably weren't enough of them to kill all the bearers by themselves."

"That also make some sense, Maybe they suspected of foul play. But why run away?"