Play@YSDC

Posted: **Mon Oct 22, 2018 5:31 pm**

Saturday, October 26th, 1929 7.55am.
Main Street, Amesbury, Mass.

The storm in Arkham had blown itself out sometime in the early hours and Saturday dawned bright, but cold. Around 7.00am, the five men had met in Arkham and then set off in convoy for Amesbury.

The roads were still wet from the previous night’s rain but they made good time on their way north. A little before 8.00pm, the three vehicles ground to a halt in front of 8 Main Street, a small, slightly shabby clapboard house with a garden and white picket fence. A path lead up from the main road to the front door.

There was no sign of life at the house itself, although a twitched curtain at a neighbouring property showed that their arrival had not gone entirely unnoticed.

Posted: **Mon Oct 22, 2018 5:43 pm**

Bernie dismounts and take a quick look up and down the street, looking for James' car parked somewhere close by. Noticing the curtains twitching at he does so he addresses the group "Looks like this place has that real small town kind of feel. I can't imagine much goes on here without everyone knowing your business." As they stood at the bottom of the path, he says "Maybe someone else should do the talking.. I'm more of a man of action, if you know what I mean."

Posted: **Mon Oct 22, 2018 5:47 pm**

Posted: **Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:26 pm**

"Shouldn't be any problems if we just go and knock at the door," suggests Thomas.

He begins to walk up the path, but hesitates after a few steps, as if seeking the approval of the other gentlemen.

Posted: **Tue Oct 23, 2018 1:20 am**

"Well, it seems a good idea to me. I'll go talk to the neighbors, they might know something about the situation."
Lawrence walks over to the neighbor's house and knocks on the door.

Posted: **Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:05 am**

"I'll go with you," says William to Thomas after he gets out of his car. "I'm good at telling whether people are being truthful or not, and at getting the truth from them."

Posted: **Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:11 am**

Howard shrugs and follows William and Thomas. He's curious to see the girl who James is so smitten with.

Posted: **Tue Oct 23, 2018 7:28 am**

Posted: **Tue Oct 23, 2018 5:07 pm**

Posted: **Tue Oct 23, 2018 6:01 pm**

Thomas continues up the path and knocks at the door, before taking a step back and waiting for an answer.

Posted: **Tue Oct 23, 2018 6:28 pm**

Bernie & Lawrence go here please: Chapter 2.1 Nosey Neighbour.

Posted: **Tue Oct 23, 2018 6:57 pm**

After a few moments, Thomas could hear muffled talking. ”It’s a bit early for church, Agnes, don’t you think?” said the old lady who opened the door, before she blinked and peered closely at her unexpected visitors.

”Who are you fellows?” she asked. She looked them up and down. ”You’re not from the Baptists, are you?”

Before any of the men could answer, there was the sound of running feet, and a young woman with wild hair and eyes red from crying came flying down the stairs.”Is it James?! Has my James come home?!” She flung open the door wide, looked at the three men stood on the path and promptly burst into tears.

Posted: **Wed Oct 24, 2018 2:55 am**

"Good morning, Miss," says William with a slight bow. "I'm sorry, James is not with us, but we are here to help locate him. I'm William Preston, a friend of his family, and these are some of his other friends." He introduces the others with him. "We were hoping to talk to you about James. You may know something that could help, even if you don't realize it."

Posted: **Wed Oct 24, 2018 7:48 am**

The old lady put her arms around the young woman who was sobbing into her shoulder. “I guess you’re not Agnes and you’re not here to walk me to church.”

She studied the young men and said, ”You gentlemen had better come in. I’ll get Emily looking a bit more presentable and then you can have a word with her. You go through to the parlour and we’ll be back shortly.”

She indicated the way for them to go and they found themselves in a tidy but small parlour. Ten minutes later, the two women returned. Emily’s hair had been brushed and and her face washed but her eyes were still red and tears continued to run down her face.

”Now, then. I’m Mrs Webster, and this, as you will have surmised, is Emily,” said the old lady. ”As you can see, she’s a mite upset because she hasn’t heard from James for a number of days, but you gentlemen ask your questions and hopefully we can find him.”

Emily sat there mutely, waiting for the men to speak.

Posted: **Wed Oct 24, 2018 9:56 am**

Howard clears his throat. ”When did you last see James, Emily?” he asks.

Posted: **Wed Oct 24, 2018 5:52 pm**

Emily sniffed and looked at the calendar hanging on the wall. ”It was the Sunday before last,” she said. ”He drove up to see me. We went to church, had lunch with Mrs Webster and then James and I went for a walk in the park before he left for home again.”

Posted: **Thu Oct 25, 2018 12:12 am**

"Was James acting strangely at all? At what time did he leave?" Thomas asks.

Posted: **Thu Oct 25, 2018 2:15 am**

"Is there anywhere he might have stopped on the way home?" asks William after she answers Thomas's question.

Posted: **Thu Oct 25, 2018 7:51 am**

Emily nodded mutely in response to Thomas’s question. ”He was fine when he left. He left about five ‘o’ clock because I didn’t want him to drive back in the dark. He told me he loved me and ...” She started to sob again and Mrs Webster got up and put an arm around her.

After a moment, she sniffed and spoke again. ”James called me again to let me know he was home safely so I know he didn’t stop anywhere on the Sunday. The last time I spoke to him was last Wednesday - the 16th - when he rang to say his father had told him he wasn’t to see me any.... any.... anymore....” Emily dissolved into tears at this point and it was some time before she could talk again.

”He said he was coming to see me, but that was the last time I heard from him.”

Posted: **Fri Oct 26, 2018 1:30 am**

"It certainly sounds like he wasn't about to let anything stop him from coming here," says William. "Something must have happened en route, since he didn't arrive. Perhaps his car broke down along the way, but that wouldn't explain why he's been missing for a week and a half, not by itself. Can you describe the car he drives, and do you know the license plate number?"

Posted: **Fri Oct 26, 2018 1:58 am**

Lawrence knocks on the door.
"Hello? It's me, Lawrence."

Posted: **Fri Oct 26, 2018 11:57 am**

Emily paused and Mrs Webster got up when she heard the knock at the door. She left the room a few moments later, with Lawrence and Bernie in tow*.

"James' car was his pride and joy," continued Emily. "He was always tinkering with it and made sure it was clean. It was black. A Chrysler, I think. The registration began 'AB' but I don't remember the rest."

She sniffed again and with tears rolling down her face, said, "Do you think he's coming home?"

Posted: **Fri Oct 26, 2018 6:59 pm**

"We're doing our best to bring him back home, Emily." Thomas said, trying to reassure her.

He glances around at the other gentlemen, trying to read their faces.

Posted: **Sat Oct 27, 2018 2:52 am**

William nods in agreement. "If we can find his car, he probably won't be far from it," he says. "Thank you, what you've told us will help a great deal."

Posted: **Sun Oct 28, 2018 9:51 am**

Emily managed a muffled ”Thank you” as Mrs Webster showed the young men to the door. As she opened the door and they trooped out, Mrs Webster said, ”Please find him, gentlemen. I don’t know what she will do if James doesn’t come home.”

Posted: **Sun Oct 28, 2018 3:49 pm**

"Let's see if the others found out anything of interest" says Howard. He is beginning to fear the worst about James. "Where on earth could he be?"

Posted: **Sun Oct 28, 2018 7:41 pm**

Lawrence is waiting outside the front door.

"Well, the neighbor told me that James would visit here on weekends, but never arrived last weekend, so unless James' car is in the garage, we won't find it here. Also, that lunatic neighbor poisoned Mrs. Webster's cat, evidently."

Posted: **Sun Oct 28, 2018 8:22 pm**

"Poisoned the cat?" asks William. "What exactly happened?"

Posted: **Sun Oct 28, 2018 10:22 pm**

"And who is this 'lunatic neighbour'?", adds Thomas, intrigued.

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 1:49 am**

"The fella next door I just finished talking with. He accidentally let slip that he poisoned the cat. Honestly, I really wanted that conversation to end as soon as possible."

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:38 am**

"That strikes me as something very important," says William. "We need to find out more about this. What is the neighbor's name, for starters? Someone responsible for poisoning a cat could also be responsible for James's disappearance."

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2018 4:15 pm**

"We never caught his name." stated Bernie. "Just the old guy peeping at from his window." Bernie pointed to the house "He was convinced that Mrs Webster was the crazy one. Maybe there is more to her than meets the eye?" What if I stick around for a while and discreetly keep an eye on both the houses. See if anything happens. Who knows, maybe James will turn up."

Posted: **Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:12 am**

Saturday, October 26th, 1929 9.15am.
Main Street, Amesbury, Mass.

More people can now be seen on the street as the locals make their way to work or head to join the queues at the grocers and other such stores. A few cars pass by, for those wealthy enough to be able to drive.

The group of young men are starting to attract some attention, stood as they are on the sidewalk outside the home of Mrs Webster, who is known to live alone with just her young lodger for company.

Posted: **Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:57 am**

"I'm not sure that poisoning a cat necessarily means somebody would kidnap a person, but without any other leads it might be worth taking another look at this crazy neighbour." Thomas says. He thinks for a moment, before adding "You might be right though, Bernie. It's not impossible for Mrs. Webster to have done something to James' car perhaps, if she wanted to..."

Posted: **Tue Oct 30, 2018 3:26 am**

“Why did he feel compelled to poison the unfortunate feline?” asks Howard, impressing himself with his own eloquency.

Posted: **Tue Oct 30, 2018 5:17 am**

"I'd like to know that myself," says William. "You're right, Mrs. Webster is a suspect as well. She might have thought she was protecting Emily."

Posted: **Wed Oct 31, 2018 12:16 am**

"Well then, what are we to do? Do we follow Bernie's suggestion or should we take a more direct approach?

Posted: **Wed Oct 31, 2018 3:51 am**

"I don't think we have time to wait around for hours in case something happens, which it very well might not, especially with the looks we're getting," says William. "I say we take the bull by the horns and talk to this fellow."

Posted: **Wed Oct 31, 2018 6:13 pm**

"The suit is right. Lets talk to him again. I'll still hang around after that case the place after that, along with anyone who wants to join. Who knows, a lawyer asking questions may spook the neighbor or the old lady into action."

Posted: **Wed Oct 31, 2018 11:44 pm**

"In that case, there's no time like the present." Thomas says as he begins to walk over to the house of the mysterious neighbour.

Posted: **Thu Nov 01, 2018 9:52 am**

Saturday, October 26th, 1929 9.25am.
Main Street, Amesbury, Mass.

Thomas walked up to the neighbour’s door and knocked. After a few moments, the door was opened cautiously and the neighbour peered out. ”What do you want now?!” he snapped.

Posted: **Thu Nov 01, 2018 4:51 pm**

"I'm William Preston, Esquire," says William. "We just have a few questions for you, if you don't mind."

Posted: **Thu Nov 01, 2018 6:33 pm**

The old man’s eyes flicked from William to Bernie and Lawrence, and back again. ”Who are you?” he asked. ”You with the Police? The Feds? The IRS?”

Posted: **Fri Nov 02, 2018 12:49 am**

"No." Thomas begins, "We're simply a group of investigators. We believe you can tell us about your neighbour, Mrs. Webster."

Posted: **Fri Nov 02, 2018 1:51 am**

”I ain’t done nothing wrong! Don’t you come investigating me!” snapped the old man, and slammed the door shut in their faces.

As the young men took this in, they heard the sound of heavy tires crunching on the gravel road behind them. They turned to see an Amesbury PD car pulling up at the curb. The window was already down and a policeman with thick grey hair and a neat moustache looked out at them. ”You boys aren’t from round here, are you?” he said, matter of factly. ”Now what are you doing? Getting ol’ Henry all riled up?”

Posted: **Fri Nov 02, 2018 5:20 am**

Lawrence turns to address the officer.

"Well, sir, we have reason to believe this man poisoned his neighbor's cat. We've simply come to make sure that that isn't true."

Posted: **Fri Nov 02, 2018 10:04 am**

The policeman gave Lawrence a flat look, then sighed, pulled on the handbrake and got out of the car.

”Now what’s this about? And why are bothering Henry; are you boys licensed investigators?” The look on his face suggested that he already knew the answer to that question.

Posted: **Fri Nov 02, 2018 8:28 pm**

"We're not investigating anything, we're just doing our civic duty." says Thomas.

Posted: **Fri Nov 02, 2018 8:38 pm**

The policeman raised a questioning eyebrow. ”Is harassing an old man a ‘civic duty’ now?” he asked. He looked at the five young men and his voice hardened. ”Now I suggest one of you come clean as to the reason you’re here or we’ll be continuing this conversation down the precinct.”

Posted: **Sat Nov 03, 2018 2:55 pm**

Howard looks at Thomas. “Just tell him who you are!” he urges.

Posted: **Sun Nov 04, 2018 2:14 am**

"Very well..." Thomas says. "So much for remaining incognito...", he adds under his breath.

"I am Officer Thomas Riddel of Arkham PD. We're following a lead in a missing persons case. Seeing that our person has already been missing for a time, please don't further delay our investigation."

Posted: **Sun Nov 04, 2018 9:53 am**

”Well, Officer Riddel, you’re a bit outside your jurisdiction here, aren’t you?” said the policeman, who clearly had not appreciated being spoken to in that way.

He turned to the older man. ”Henry, you go indoors now. These gentlemen won’t be bothering you no more.” He waited for the old man to close the door and then rounded on Thomas.

”Now, I’m assuming that you’re not so dumb as to claim to be a policeman when you’re not, so I’ll take that one at face value. As a matter of professional courtesy though, you should have contacted us first and we could have talked about whatever you’re here for.”

“If it’s the missing boy who was visiting the girl next door, I can tell you he ain’t in Amesbury, because we’ve looked for him and there’s no sign. And don’t be thinking Henry had anything to do with it. I’ve been around here plenty of times when he’s told people he’s poisoned Mrs Webster’s cat - he’s crazy! She never even had a cat!”

“Henry’s three boys went off to fight in the war; Frank and Charlie are both buried over there, and Joe’s in the nuthouse - his brain got all fried by what he went through.” His voice softened as he continued. ”Ol’ Henry was never the same since he got the news...”

“Now as I understand it from Mrs Webster, that young man was due to come and see her lodger but never showed up. Perhaps that’s where you should be looking, not bothering folks around here!”

Posted: **Sun Nov 04, 2018 3:52 pm**

“We don’t mean to upset anyone Officer” says Howard humbly. “To level with you, we were asked by our friend’s family to look into the matter. We’re real worried about him, he should have been in contact with one of us by now. Please, could you tell us what you know about it?”

Posted: **Sun Nov 04, 2018 9:57 pm**

The policeman looked at the five young men and nodded. ”I appreciate you boys want to find your friend but as I say, he ain’t in this town,” he said. ”Mrs Webster said he was on his way to see the young lady but he never showed. I guess that’s your starting point - find out where he went missing between Arkham and here.”

Posted: **Mon Nov 05, 2018 2:29 am**

"Are the state police aware of the case, sir?" asks Howard.

Posted: **Mon Nov 05, 2018 3:00 pm**

”I don’t rightly know,” replied the officer. ”But if I had to guess, the fact that you boys are here rather than than anyone else, suggests that someone wants to look after their family’s reputation and isn’t doing this through official channels. If it hadn’t been for Mrs Webster, we wouldn’t have been involved either.”

”It won’t be the first time a young man’s attention gets caught by a young lady and his family don’t approve, so he could just be lying low until the fuss dies down. It’s a long time to be missing though, so you boy’s go look for him pronto.”

Posted: **Tue Nov 06, 2018 12:21 am**

"Yes, I think we should be moving on now." Thomas says, defeatedly. "Sorry for wasting your time."

Posted: **Tue Nov 06, 2018 5:44 am**

"Yes, thank you, Officer," says William. "We'll get going and retrace his route."

Posted: **Tue Nov 06, 2018 6:30 am**

"Just one thing, Officer" Howard interjects. "It could really help us. Do you know of any motels or rooms a traveler might be likely to stay in if he would be en route from here to Arkham, or vice versa? I'm sure that you checked of course, but it might be a place for us to start.'

Posted: **Tue Nov 06, 2018 5:33 pm**

"Maybe I should have checked those motels on the way up" smirks Bernie. "One of us should still stay here though, case the place, ya know... Unless anyone objects, Il'l stay, keep hidden, out of that cops face?"

Posted: **Tue Nov 06, 2018 7:00 pm**

”Well, if your young friend isn’t staying in town - and I think we’d know if he was - the only places locally I can think of is a small mom and pop place out on the coast road past Newburyport, or there’s ather small place on the west road out of Newburyport. That would seem a good place to start,” replied the Policeman.

Link to map

Posted: **Tue Nov 06, 2018 11:27 pm**

”Thanks Officer” says Howard. ”I guess we’ll have to start at the nearest of the places, and any diners and restaurants en route.”

He thinks for a moment. ”Has anyone else ever gone missing like this in your experience?” he asks the Officer.

Posted: **Tue Nov 06, 2018 11:45 pm**

"Sounds like the best plan we've got, hopefully we'll find some traces of him at one of these places." says Thomas.

Posted: **Wed Nov 07, 2018 4:49 am**

"I agree, let's try the places near Newburyport first," says William. "We can show his picture around there, see if anyone recognizes him. If not, we proceed to the next place on the road back to Arkham until someone does. Then we'll know the last place he was probably seen before he disappeared."

Posted: **Wed Nov 07, 2018 8:52 am**

”Missing people in Amesbury? Not so much,” replied the officer. ”We lost a few boys after they came back from the war - I guess they couldn’t deal with what they went through over there. A couple of them just walked out and didn’t return, but that was best part of ten years ago.”

“As for further afield, we sometimes get bulletins about people who’ve gone missing from all over the country, but there’s no indication that they’ve gone missing around here.”

The policeman got back in his car. Through the open window, he said, ”Good luck with finding your friend. Do your best for that young girl - she’ll be devastated if he doesn’t come home.” He nodded solemnly to the five men, started the engine and drove away.

Posted: **Thu Nov 08, 2018 12:59 am**

"Well, shall we move onwards?" asks Thomas.

Posted: **Thu Nov 08, 2018 1:45 am**

"Well, I s'pose it's about the only option we've got. We've asked what we can, and I don't think that the police will want us messing around any more."

Lawrence stands by, awaiting the replies of the others.

Posted: **Thu Nov 08, 2018 4:21 am**

"Yes, let's go," says William. He gets behind the wheel of his car and starts the engine.

Posted: **Thu Nov 08, 2018 8:03 am**

Posted: **Thu Nov 08, 2018 9:57 am**

Posted: **Thu Nov 08, 2018 10:17 am**

Posted: **Fri Nov 09, 2018 12:26 am**

OOC: Lawrence will check the coastal road.

Posted: **Fri Nov 09, 2018 12:29 am**

OOC: Thomas will go with the others to the coastal road.

Posted: **Fri Nov 09, 2018 4:35 am**

Posted: **Fri Nov 09, 2018 7:56 pm**

Bernie go to this thread:

Ghost Town

Howard, Lawrence, Thomas & William go to this thread:

On a Dark, Deserted Highway...

Play@YSDC

Chapter Two: Miss Livingstone, I Presume?

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