Ch. 3.1 - On a Dark, Deserted Highway...

[Philulhu]

There was no answer to William’s knock at door number five.

At number eight, the door cracked open and the young man with red hair and glasses looked out suspiciously. ”What can I do for you?” he asked Thomas.

[Mr. Handy]

Seeing that Thomas got an answer, William heads over to room eight to join him.

[Philulhu]

The young man’s flicked between Thomas and William. ”Are you from the police?” he asked.

[Mr. Handy]

William lets Thomas, who actually is a police officer even if from another jurisdiction, answer.

[peper757]

"We're not on police business, no, but we'd like to ask you about you encounter with the hotel's owner just now. Has a friend of yours gone missing?" Thomas asks with a friendly demeanor.

[Philulhu]

”Yes” the young man said. ”I was due meet my friend, Abe....” His eyes flicked to Lawrence and Howard who were loitering in the background, and narrowed suspiciously. ”Are those men with you?”

[peper757]

Thomas glances over his shoulder before answering; "Yes, they're with us. Your friend Abe, can you tell us about him? When did you learn that he was missing?"

[Philulhu]

”Abe was travelling up from Boston to see me” the young man said, looking back at Thomas. ”He rang me the night before I arrived and said he would meet me here.”

He looked emotional as he continued, ”I’ve been here three weeks now, and Abe still hasn’t showed up. I asked the proprietor if he’d been here, but he says not. I’m not sure I believe him!”

[Mr. Handy]

"There seems to be a pattern of people disappearing," says William. "We're looking for a friend of ours who also disappeared and may have stayed here, though the proprietor denies it." He shows him the photograph. "His name is James Fraser. If you've been here three weeks, perhaps you remember him. He only disappeared a week and a half ago."

[Bullfrog]

Lawrence speaks up: "I'm not quite sure if it's relevant, but did any of you notice the missing licence plates in the collection? It looks like some were removed."

[Mr. Handy]

"No, I haven't noticed that myself," says William. "Now that is interesting. Maybe James's license plate is hidden somewhere. Do you know your friend Abe's license plate number, sir?" he adds to the redheaded man.

[peper757]

Thomas' questions become more serious. "Have you seen anybody acting suspiciously? What about the noises at night you mentioned to the owner?"

[Philulhu]

The young man said. ”I’ve heard noises under the floor sometimes, at night. Sometimes it’s sounded like something scrabbling, sometimes it’s been a knocking sound. William said it was probably a raccoon, looking for something to eat or building a nest or somesuch.”

He took the photograph of James and looked at it more closely. “Yeah, I saw him the night I got here, but I didn’t get the chance to say hello. In the morning, I noticed his car was gone - his licence plate was AB, wasn’t it? Made me think of my Abe...”

“I guess he must have left. But if William says he was never here then he’s lying. I saw him as clear as I can see you fellows today.”

[HoneyDog]

“That’s it then” says Howard. “Let’s go to the police and tell them what we’ve learned. Something strange is undoubtedly going on here. Who’s got the car keys?”

[Mr. Handy]

"That's him," says Wiliam to the young man with a nod. To Howard he adds. "We're going to need some evidence to present the police. We know he's lying to us, but can we prove he did anything criminal? As an attorney, I'm all too aware that it's not enough to know something is true. You must be able to prove it. Besides, if we alert the police, and they talk to him, he can then kill our friends to dispose of them if they're being held alive somewhere. The noises under the floor might indicate that there are secret tunnels or passageways under the hotel. If we can find out how to get into them, we might find the proof we need. We may even find our friends."

[peper757]

After looking around to ensure they weren't being eavesdropped on, Thomas says "Clearly there is more than meets the eye here. We need to be careful of the other William and the man he was with as we came in, but it seems very likely that there's something going on underneath this hotel." After a few moments, he adds "How are we going to go about this?"

[HoneyDog]

Howard is unconvinced but he assents.

"Secret tunnels? I doubt it. But we better start looking around. We shouldn't let on to those old bastards that we know something. Maybe we should distract them somehow. And if we don't find anything by tomorrow morning, I’m going to the police, whether you all agree or not.”

[Philulhu]

From the front of the hotel there was the noise of a door closing, as if someone had come out of the reception area.

[HoneyDog]

“I’ll go see who that is and keep them busy” says Howard. “You guys better work out where you’re gonna start.”

He strides off towards the reception.

[Philulhu]

Howard around the corner to see William making his way down the steps in front of the reception. He was hunched over the tray that he carried, so Howard could not be sure whether William had seen him, or if he had seen where he came from.