Play@YSDC

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.

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."

"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.

"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.

"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."

OOC,October 30, 1929 was a Wednesday, not a Saturday.

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

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

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

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.

"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."

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.

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

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.”

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

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

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.”

"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?"