Ch.12a. Arkham

[Philulhu]

Professor Jackson raised a puzzled eyebrow. ”You mean in the way that a medium might claim to communicate with the deceased? I saw nothing to suggest that in the journal.”

[jp1885]

"How very odd; the last person to read this was sure that was the case, and she is hardly the sharpest tool in the box."

Ivy frowns, scrutinizing the Professor's expression.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

Psychology 60 hard pass,Rolled a 16 [url]https://www.dholeshouse.org/Tools/DiceVerifier?RID=be457ef7-2792-47dc-959e-29b656909546[/url]

[Philulhu]

OOC, Are you referring to Brophy’s possession of Emily and Miss Dufresne?

[jp1885]

OOC,She’s referring to Emily and her belief that the book told her how to contact the dead. The psychology roll is to see if the Professor is hiding anything from her, being more qualified to understand what’s written in the book.

[Philulhu]

OOC, OK, I see what you mean. Ivy has no reason to doubt what the Professor is telling her. Bear in mind that the journal is written in English, Latin and a third language that Ivy doesn’t recognise.

”You read the journal. Did you see anything in there about it?” Her tone was decidedly cooler - she didn’t appreciate Ivy’s line of questioning, especially as she was trying to help her out.

[jp1885]

As usual, Ivy pays little attention to the feelings of others!

“No, nothing I could see. Would you like to keep hold of the book for your research?”

While undoubtedly important, she is not keen to keep the evil tome in her possession.

[Philulhu]

”I’ll need it if my colleague is to translate the Latin passages,” replied Professor Jackson. ”I’ll be in touch once they have finished. Now, if you will excuse me, I really must be getting on.”

OOC, What does Ivy wish to do next?

[jp1885]

OOC,Back to Ivy’s original plan before she was called to the hospital: finding out what she can about the Brophy’s in local & national records. Starting at the municipal hall I guess.

[Philulhu]

OOC, This being a Saturday, the town hall is closed. It re-opens at 8am on Monday morning. Anything else Ivy can do before then or do you want to move forward?

[jp1885]

OOC,Happy to move forward.

[Philulhu]

Monday March 17th, 1930 8.00am.
Arkham Town Hall, 551 N Peabody Street, Arkham, Mass.

The rest of the weekend had passed at a crawl for Ivy. No matter what she did, it felt like she should be making progress with the case, but she couldn’t. A call to the Police Precinct hadn’t been returned and even a call to Mr Fraser hadn’t been able to hurry things along.

It was no surprise then that Ivy found herself outside Arkham Town Hall at 8.00am on Monday morning. The janitor had barely had chance to unlock the door before she was inside the building and making her way to the town clerk’s office.

As Ivy entered her office, Janet Larkin - the town clerk - was just taking her seat. She glanced at the clock on the wall and said, “Good morning, Miss Ripley. To what do we owe the honour of your company at this hour?”

[jp1885]

"Good morning to you," nods Ivy, returning the greeting as politely as her she can, given the rush she is in. "I'm doing some research for Mr. Fraser on two brothers, both now deceased, who used to run a lodge just outside Arkham."

OOC,Am I right in thinking Brophy's place was nearby?

"They went by the name of Brophy. Mr. Fraser was most insistent that I find out as much as I can about them," she continues, shamelessly name-dropping in order to solicit the woman's assistance.

[Philulhu]

Janet is made of sterner stuff than to be cowed by the mention of Mr Fraser’s name; she does work for the Mayor, after all.

She takes the details of the property that Ivy is interested in and returns shortly with a buff-coloured file which had ‘Squatter’s Lake Hotel’ stencilled on the front cover. ”You can’t take the file away but we can make copies of any of the documents inside,” she said, and she pointed out a desk where Ivy might sit and read.

OOC, The hotel was in Amesbury but I’m happy that records would be kept at a central location, like Arkham. What is Ivy looking for, and can I have a Library Use roll, please?

[jp1885]

Library use 60 pass,Rolled a 51 https://www.dholeshouse.org/Tools/DiceVerifier?RID=5b6c9a70-a2ef-4eea-ace5-350b7a2857a7

Ivy settles herself at the desk and starts to work through the file. Her aim is to find out whatever she can about the Brophys, including background information, finances, addresses, naturalisation documents etc. Anything that might open up new avenues of investigation.

[Philulhu]

There were no records of the Brophy’s immigration or naturalisation but Ivy recalled from the journal that they had moved around so Arkham may not have been their first place of residence when they arrived in America.

Ivy did find the records for the purchase of Squatter’s Lake Hotel, which had been completed in the fall of 1923. The purchasers of the Hotel were listed as William and Robert Brophy of North Windham, Maine. Other than the fact that they were cash buyers and they had subsequently applied for a business licence, zoning ordinances and a licence to manage a fishing lake, there was little other information.

OOC, A bit of background info re Naturalization records: https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/naturalization

[jp1885]

Sighing with frustration, Ivy seeks out the newspaper section. Perhaps the brothers, or their hotel, are mentioned somewhere?

[Philulhu]

OOC, Can I have a library use roll, please? (Finding details of a property is relatively straightforward, but finding details in seven years of newspapers is something else...

[jp1885]

Library use 60 hard pass,Rolled 27 https://www.dholeshouse.org/Tools/DiceVerifier?RID=840f5baa-28b9-4b52-a819-5663b9b8d7cb

Ivy’s lips purse as she comes across something interesting.

[Philulhu]

In the spring of 1924, the Arkham Gazette carried an advert for the Squatter’s Lake Hotel, opening for the season under new management. It offered, so the advert claimed, affordable accommodation for the discerning traveller, as well as fishing for those who were interested. There was another advert the following year, but that was the last one.

One thing that Ivy did notice, having scanned the newspapers over the previous seven years, was the number of people who seemed to have gone missing without trace...

[jp1885]

Ivy tries to dig deeper. Are there any strange stories: sightings, hysteria, legends and the like, even if written in a mocking, ‘believe it or not’ style, in the papers?