Play@YSDC

"That is important to know," says William. "I don't suppose there was a return address? That would have been too easy."

“Not that I recall. I wasn’t exactly handling it much, but I very much doubt it.”

“We could always call Professor Cooper at the Miskatonic University to find out,” Ivy continues. “That’s where it’s being tested. Oh, and I seem to recall the fellow in my ‘dream’ had an English accent.”

"That sounds like him," says William. "We should call Professor Cooper anyway to find out the results of the analysis."

"That's strange, because I recall William Brophy also had an English accent; his brother, Robert, didn't speak at all. The problem is, Ivy, you've never seen him before, and he's also dead." Lawrence says in response, trying his best to not show bewilderment at this obvious impossibility; Brophy had to be dead! He'd seen the old man perish with his own two eyes, he was sure of it. He turns back to finish telling his story to the detective:
"You see, after the sheriff arrived and we showed him the body of Robert, a bunch of rubes burst into the hotel with guns and clubs; as it would happen, they had the sheriff snake-bit, and he was forced to work with them for the antidote. There was an awful fight; punches were thrown, and I shoved one of the thugs down the stairs, but we were outnumbered and outgunned. We had to surrender. We got tied up and they put bags over all of heads, and they took us off into some kind of cellar, which they had made into a prison with cells and all; that's where we met William Brophy and James again. James was acting strange, like he'd been drugged or something."
Lawrence pauses for a brief moment; perhaps he'll let a little of the stranger side of the story slip out.
"I'm not sure if you'll believe this, but the men who kidnapped us were some kind of cult, worshippers of some old Indian snake god. They didn't like the Brophys moving in on their land, and they certainly didn't appreciate us being there either. We had to strike a deal with Brophy: we'd help each other escape, and he'd give us back James. We managed to escape with his help, and we stole a flatbed truck from the snake-worshippers and drove away, sure that this was all done and over with. It was not." Lawrence dourly recalls, his expression grim.
"I was riding on the bed of the truck, then I was suddenly thrown off; the next thing I knew, the truck was a burning wreck. Howard, Brophy, and James didn't make it, and William wouldn't have either if James hadn't gotten him out of the truck before it exploded."
It agonized Lawrence to have to lie about the deaths of two of his friends, but what was the alternative? Mr. Fraser would never believe that his son was turned into a monster, and even if he did, Lawrence would also have to hide the fact that he set the truck's gas tank alight to put James out of his misery and save his friends' lives. As for Howard, the less said about that demon train incident, the better. Nobody would ever believe a story like that.

"With respect, I believe it's a bit too early to assume that because one man had an English accent he's this Mr. Brophy. I'll grant it's quite the coincidence, but something like that shouldn't be possible-- unless perhaps he was physically present there and spoke to Ms. Ripley while she was in the midst of a hallucination."

Alex listens to the tale, shocked that a lawman would be in league with common criminals. He narrows his eyes at outlandish tales of cults and snake gods, not sure he found it believable. But Lawrence at least seemed to.

"This cult angle may have been some sort of cover for their criminals enterprise, designed to intimidate outsiders," he explains. "Did you report these locals to outside law enforcement? If what you are saying is true, they could still be operating in the area." He makes a note to look into Pointe-aux-Chenes when he could and maybe refer it to the Baton Rogue police.

"The vehicle-- how did it explode? Did it crash?" He asks, still taking notes. "Did you identify the body of Mr. Brophy?"

Ivy remains tight lipped as Lawrence continues his somewhat bizarre story. Was the man in her 'daydream' really the same dead man her new acquaintances encountered during their search fir Fraser the younger? And what of all this talk about cults, serpents and such?

Perhaps anchoring all this with cold, rational science will shed any light on the puzzle?

"I will call the Miskatonic," she declares. "Let us see what they have discovered about the letter."

OOC,Hope everyone had a good day yesterday :) Bullfrog - nothing was reported to the Police. You left town in a bit of a hurry.

As Alex waited for Lawrence to continue, Ivy picked up the phone on her boss’ desk and called the university. Her call was put through to Professor Cooper’s office. Where the Professor answered. “The sample from the letter? Ah, yes!” he replied. “Now, I trust you understand that I’ve had the sample for less than 24 hours so there is a limit to the time I have been able to spend on this.”

“That said,” he continued, “I’d suggest that it is some type of toxin, possibly related to curare, although there are a number of different elements that I haven’t seen before. My assistant, Alexandra, advised that people who had been in contact with the substance had experienced some hallucinations and that one had died, possibly at his own hand. If that is the case, then it isn’t anything I have ever come across before.”

He paused for a while. “Is there anything else I can tell you?”

"Does the toxin bear, by any chance, any relation to snake venom?" asks Ivy.

"We didn't notify the Louisiana police; we were in a hurry to get out of there before the cultist-criminals-whatever-they-are could find us again." Lawrence regretfully admits.
"As for truck: it rolled onto its side, though I don't know how; explosion might not have been the right word, but it caught fire very violently. William was the one driving, so I think he'd have a better idea of what happened than I did. I do know one thing for sure, though, and that's that Brophy died; I saw his body with my own two eyes."

”It is really too early to answer that conclusively,” replied Professor Cooper. “But my initial research suggests it is less likely.”

“Was there a reason you thought it might be snake venom?” he asked.

"I'm afraid I was too busy being on fire to pay attention to anything else," says William. "All I know is that James saved my life by pulling me out of there, but it cost him his own."

“Oh, just idle speculation,” replies Ivy. “I should know better. Thank you Professor Cooper; please call when you’ve discovered everything you can.”

When the opportunity allows she will appraise the others with what she’s learned and will also suggest contacting the photographer.

”So what are you going to do with this information?” snapped Fraser Snr. “A letter sent to me at the bank and another sent here, at my home! What are you going to do about it?!”

"We're going to find Emily Livingstone," says William. "Perhaps a search of her house will turn up evidence, if the police can authorize it."

“I will speak to Carl, the photographer,” Ivy declares, unfazed by her employer’s tantrum. “He should have developed his photographs by now. We should have a reproduction of the address and be able to discern the symbol as it had bled through onto the envelope.”