The voice on the phone said, "I understand that you are a friend of my son, James. He has gone missing. I require your assistance in bringing him home again...”
A university student has gone missing. Can his friends find out what has happened to James Frazer in 1920s Massachusetts?
"Likewise," says William, shaking his hand. "I'm William Preston. Oscar's a guide we hired back in Baton Rouge. I'd better go see if he's okay." He limps over to Oscar. "Sounds like you've got a concussion from that bump on the head. I'll do what I can, but you should probably see a doctor. So should I, for that matter."
Oscar winced as William inspected his wound. The blood was matted in his hair and the flesh was pulpy to the touch. His face was grey and he didn’t look well. ”Ah’m not sure ah’m fit to drive,” he said.
Thomas cuts into the conversation; "I'm afraid James and his new associates don't take too kindly to unexpected guests, as poor Oscar here found out. Do you have business with him? "
"That'll be me," says William. "I'm a good driver, and I need to see the doctor too anyway after Oscar." He packs away his shotgun as he speaks to Oscar. "I'll drive, you just relax, but try not to fall asleep. All you need to do is tell me where to find a doctor."
"Take good care of Oscar, William!"Thomas says, before turning his attention back to Georgie. "The name's Thomas Riddel. Gerald Fraser didn't send you after us, did he?"
Lawrence waves farewell to William and Oscar before turning to speak with the newcomer. "Sorry for interrupting, but I believe I forgot to introduce myself. I am Lawrence Gilman, and I don't have any questions that haven't already been asked." he quickly cuts in. He probably actually did have questions, but he could not think of any at the moment.
"Well..."Thomas begins, ""Seeing as we didn't find anything inside of the hotel, perhaps we should check the lake. If anybody of interest is still around, that's probably where they'd be, I reckon."
OOC,Waiting for George's answer seems to be holding us up so I’ll NPC his response until DSIGFUSS returns.
“No, I’m not here on Mr Fraser’s behalf,” replied Georgie. “Emily suggested I ask him about James but he wouldn’t even see me.”
“I happen to know a couple of the guys down the police station and one of them tipped me off that you were heading down this way to look for James. I reckoned you’d have driven or traveled by train, and the train seemed like a better bet. I drove through the night, asked a few questions at the railway station when I got here and after that it was just a case of following your trail. It’s the sort of place strangers get noticed, in a out of the way place like this,” he said.
"James is here" he explains. "We found two bodies in the house and two very strange children, one of whom seems to have killed one of men we found. It's likely James is out on the lake somewhere. I think they will probably come back, I think we should wait for them."
"If we do leave now, and that is a very uncertain 'if', we should at least leave a notice for William. I personally suggest we wait for them, since we would have strength in numbers."Lawrence reasonably suggests, looking towards the swamp.
ooc,Thanks Phil. I just moved to Vancouver Island from the mainland. I'm settled in now. SO should be able to post daily again. The move was very sudden. Only had three days notice to pack my bags and report in for work.
Georgie is paying close attention to what his new acquaintances are talking about His ears perk up at the mention of the children.
Did you say one of the child killed a man inside the house? Are they still in there? The children?
The hotel stood on a promontory that edged beyond the cypress trees and out into the bayou. The land wasn’t especially wide around the house, being no more ten metres at any point from the water’s edge. They explored the area around the house but there was no sign of a boat so either the brothers had never had one, or it had gone missing.
The shadows were lengthening as the sun had begun to set beyond the trees. The water was still, except for a few bubbles made by some underwater creatures that couldn’t be seen, and the susurration of insects continued to fill the air, buzzing incessantly as they flitted across the water.
They stood and waited for a while but there was no sign of human activity to be seen.
