Ch.8 Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down

[Philulhu]

Oscar flashed a grin and bowed theatrically. ”If you gennelmen want to get on board, then we’ll be on our way.”

As the four men squeezed themselves into Oscar’s car as he made one last check that he’d picked up all their bags. That done, he climbed into the driver’s seat and set off towards town. The journey took around 20 minutes, which Oscar filled with chatter about Baton Rouge, his family and anything else that caught his attention.

Missus Sykes’ lodging house turned out to be a large Victorian-style house, sat on a corner plot. ”Missus Sykes and her husband inherited this from some dead relative. She runs this as a lodging house while her husband’s a travelling salesman, so you might not see him much,” said Oscar, conversationally.

Missus Sykes turned out to be a neatly dressed, dark haired woman in her early thirties, who quickly sorted out rooms - two shared - and with Oscar’s help, soon had luggage stored away. She raised an eyebrow at the gun cases, but said nothing other than to ask that the cases remain locked while in the house and kept out of sight in the wardrobes.

By the time they were done, it was approaching 1.00pm. Oscar leant on the boot of his car, smoking a cigarette, as they emerged again. ”Where to first, gennelmen?” he asked.

[HoneyDog]

"The Town Hall?" enquires Howard. "We need to look up some public records."

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, please," says William. "We need to look up real estate transactions, business licensing, that sort of thing."

[Philulhu]

”You want the Castle,” replied Oscar. Noticing the blank looks he got in return, he explained. ”That’s what the local folk calls the State House, on account of its appearance. Ah’ll show you - hop in...”



A short drive later, the car pulled up in front of an imposing, whitewashed building, set in extensive grounds. ”Ah understand that the builder wanted something a little diff’rent,” said Oscar wryly, as he got out the car and opened the doors for the others to get out.

Inside the building was bright, cool and quiet. Half a dozen desks were arrayed at the far end of the entrance lobby, but only one was occupied. As they approached, the occupant looked up. He was a middle-aged man, smartly dressed with his greying hair slicked back. He looked over his glasses, glanced at the clock, and said, ”Good morning, gentlemen. How may I be of assistance?”

[HoneyDog]

"Hello Sir" says Howard amiably. "Can I ask, do hotels and guesthouses require registration with your office?"

[Philulhu]

”They do,” replied the clerk. ”What is the address of the establishment?”

[peper757]

"Unfortunately," Thomas begins, "we only know of this place by name. A "Brown's Hotel", and apparently it was only established quite recently. We were hoping that you might be able to help us find the address."

[Philulhu]

”Brown’s Hotel, eh? Not an uncommon name...” said the clerk, who drummed his fingers on the desk as if in thought. ”Please take a seat and I’ll go see what I can find...”

Fifteen minutes later, he returned with three ribbon-tied files in his hand. ”I’ve got three establishments of that name,” he said. ”Feel free to use the reading desks over there to look at the files and return them to me when you’re done.”

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you," says William, taking a seat at a reading desk and looking through the files.

[Bullfrog]

Lawrence sat in a nearby desk, just pondering the situation. He would have never thought that he would be caught up in events like this, but here he is, in New Orleans, tracking down a hotel. "Say, William, can I read over one of those files? I imagine we'd get this done faster with more people on it, but then again, you're more qualified for this." said Lawrence.

Ooc,I apologize for my absence

[Mr. Handy]

"Of course," says William, spreading out the files. "I'm glad to have the help."

[peper757]

While the others are going through the documents, Thomas takes some time to look around the State House.

[Philulhu]

While Thomas admired the cool marble interior of the State House and portraits of long-dead civic worthies, Lawrence and William untied the bundles of conveyance documents.

With William’s practiced eye, they made quick work of it. Two of the bundles were for properties that had been purchased more than five years previously, but the date of conveyance in the third one was late November of the previous year, not much less than a month after the events at Squatter’s Lake.

The property was located in the far south of Louisiana, in Pointe-aux-Chênes. Tucked in the amongst the papers were details of the property, which described a Victorian-era guest house, in need of some renovation. It was noted that the property had its own land, outhouses and backed onto the bayous...

[Mr. Handy]

"This must be the one," says William. "Let's get some floor plans of the place. I expect they'll have dug tunnels underneath it by now."

[Philulhu]

William searched through the thick file and tucked under a flap at the back were the floor plans.

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,I can't see the image. The link does take me to another page, but the picture there is not very detailed, and clicking on it to try to enlarge it brings up a login window.

[Philulhu]

OOC,Perhaps you need a Pinterest account? I’m not sure why the last two images haven’t posted correctly. I could try copying them over to my Photobucket account but then they watermark the images :roll:

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,Thanks, that sounds like a good option, and I don't mind the watermarks. Alternatively, you can attach them to your post here. The Upload attachment tab below the text box where you post replies allows you to do that. I'd rather not create a Pinterest account.

[Philulhu]

OOC,Images sorted! :roll:

[peper757]

"Looks like there's a cellar on the plans; I imagine that's where anything of much interest would be hidden away." Thomas says, having walked back over to the others.