Ch.8.1 Our Lady of the Lake (William)

[Philulhu]

Wednesday March 5th, 1930 5.05pm
Our Lady of the Lake Sanitarium, Hennessy Blvd, Baton Rouge

Oscar just about managed to retain consciousness long enough to point William in the direction of Our Lady of the Lake Sanitarium, a new brick-built, four story hospital on the edge of the lake, opposite the Louisiana State University that they had visited earlier.

By the time they arrived, the pain in William’s leg was making him feel light-headed and the leg of his trousers was soaked with fresh blood. As he pulled up outside the hospital, nursing staff were streaming out, as if work had ended for the day, but they sprang into action when they saw him slumped over the wheel.

The car door was pulled open by a young porter, who stepped aside as a doctor leant in to check William’s condition. The porter looked back towards the hospital and clicked his fingers, which brought a couple of black porters running to help Oscar. As the doctor placed a hand on William’s forehead and then lifted the leg of his pants, he said briskly, “What happened here?”

[Mr. Handy]

"We ran into trouble at a hotel in the bayou," says William. "Someone hit Oscar here over the head. My friends and I went inside to see what the trouble was, and we found a dying man staked out on the floor with metal spikes with his throat cut. I tried to save his life, but he threw one of the spikes at me and hit me in the leg."

[Philulhu]

The doctor raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask any further questions. He unwrapped William’s leg and tutted. ”We’re going to have to take a closer look at that,” he said, and he waved a couple of gurney-pushing porters forward to help. As they helped William from the car, he heard the doctor say, ”Take him straight to the operating theatre, please. And Betty, can you get a message to my wife and tell her I’ll be late home?”

As William was wheeled into the hospital, he saw Oscar on a similar gurney going in the direction of the “Coloreds Only’ wing, before the doctor fell in step beside him blocking his view. ”Where was it you got these injuries? If there’s a wounded man there, we need to send an ambulance,” the doctor asked.

[Mr. Handy]

"There's no rush, the man died," says William. "He was too far gone, and he used the last of his strength trying to take me with him."

[Philulhu]

”Even so,” replied the doctor, as he walked down the corridor towards the operating theatre. “We can’t leave a dead body just lying there. We need to get some people out there, so where were you?”

[Mr. Handy]

"It's a place called Pointe-aux-Chenes," says William. "The people did this are dangerous, so whoever goes there will need to be careful."

[Philulhu]

”Well, once we’ve got your leg sorted, I’ll get on the phone to Sherriff Digne,” said the doctor, as he pushed open the operating theatre door to allow William to be wheeled in on the gurney.

The doctor straightened the gurney under the lights and his operating team quickly moved into action. A nurse neatly snipped up the seam of William’s trousers to expose the wound so it be more clearly seen. As he examined the wound, the doctor said, ”What brings you to Baton Rouge? I can tell from your accent you’re not from around here.”

[Mr. Handy]

"We're from Massachusetts," says William. "We came to Louisiana looking for a missing man who was last seen in the company of two dangerous fugitives who had set up a hotel in the area, which we found out about in an advertisement. In Baton Rouge, we looked through the records and found out the hotel was in Pointe-aux-Chenes. We went out there to take a look, driven by Oscar, who we hired as a guide back in Baton Rouge. He went to take a look around, as he wouldn't be recognized, but someone else apparently got here ahead of us and clocked him on the head from behind. The rest of us went to check on him when he didn't come back and found him, and then we found one of the fugitives dying and spiked to the floor. I tried to save him, but he did this to me." He indicates his leg.

[Philulhu]

The doctor nodded as William spoke but his attention was on William’s leg. ”I need to clean out this wound,” he said. ”Nurse - we’ll need the Boyle’s machine.”

The Boyle’s machine, as the doctor quickly explained, was an anaesthesia machine, that would sedate William while he cleaned out the wound. The nurse fitted a face mask, and advised William to breathe normally. Within a minute, he felt his eyes close and he drifted off, oblivious to anything the doctor was doing to his leg...

OOC,The other thread has slowed down and I don’t want you to get too far ahead (but also don’t want to keep you hanging on, either) so I’ll see what updates I get overnight then we’ll move on.

[Philulhu]

William woke as the nurse was bandaging his leg. The doctor was sat on a stool nearby, smoking a cigarette.

”Your leg should be fine,” he said, ”Don’t expect to run any races in the next couple of days but you shouldn’t have any problems with it.”

The swing doors to the operating theatre was pushed open and a policeman came into the room. He was solidly built, and looked to be in his early fifties with salt and pepper hair. His colour was high and he looked to be sweating, as if running a temperature. ”Sheriff Digne,” said the doctor, both by way of greeting and introduction.

”Mr Preston, isn’t it?” said the Sheriff, studying William through wire-framed glasses. ”The doc’s told me what you said about what happened to you and your boy. If you’re fit to travel, how about you show me where this hotel is?”

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, Sheriff, I'm ready to go, thanks to the good doctor here," says William, getting carefully to his feet. "How is Oscar doing?" he asks the doctor.

[Philulhu]

”He’s got a concussion,” replied the doctor. ”There shouldn’t be any lasting damage but he’ll stay in overnight so we can keep an eye on him.”

Fortunately, William was carrying his cheque book so he could settle his account and leave the hospital. Sheriff Digne had parked outside the main entrance so it was a matter of moments before they were underway. It was starting to get dark and the roads were quiet, so the big police car ate up the miles.

Digne drove in silence, his eyes on the road ahead. After a while, he said, ”The man who attacked you? He was the one who spiked to the floor, right? Did he say anything before he died?”

[Mr. Handy]

"Yeah, that was him. He couldn't, not with his throat cut," says William. "I tried to get him to write the name of whoever did that to him on the floor. When he pulled the spike from his leg, I had hoped he would use it for that purpose, but I was still wary, and for good reason. He threw the spike into my leg, and I couldn't get out of the way in time."

[Philulhu]

”Um hmm,” replied the Captain, his eyes fixed on the road. His face was still flushed and a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face.

They drove a while longer in silence. After a while he spoke again, his eyes not leaving the road ahead. ”You said ‘fugitives’ - plural. Who else were you expecting to find?”

OOC,Can I have a Spot Hidden roll?

[Mr. Handy]

"They're brothers, going by the names of William and Robert Brown," says William. "Those aren't their real names, though. Back in Massachusetts, they used the last name Brophy, but I don't know if that's their real name either. Robert is the dead man, and William is still at large. The young man we're looking for who went with them is named James Fraser."

OOC,Spot Hidden roll (60% skill) on the road: [dice]0[/dice]

[Philulhu]

”This Fraser a friend of yours? What’s he doing with these, whatcha call em, Brophys?” replied the Sheriff, his attention still on the road ahead.

As Sheriff Digne reached for the top of the steering wheel to guide the car around a corner, the cuff of his shirt sleeve rolled up his at wrist, exposing a reddish puckered mark.

OOC,Spot Hidden for the Sheriff - [dice]0[/dice]

[Mr. Handy]

"His father is a friend of mine," says William. "He's worried about his son, and for good reason. We went looking for the young man when he went missing in Massachusetts and tracked him to the Brophys' hotel there, by Squatters Lake. Others had gone missing there too, killed by the Brophys. James Fraser was still alive. I don't know what he's doing with them or why he came with them to Louisiana, but we know he's here with them. We saw an advertisement for the new hotel with his picture in it, along with the Brophys, who were now going by the name of Brown."

[Philulhu]

”And what were you boys planning to do if you caught up with them? Rescue the boy and dispense justice for these Brophys or Browns or whatever they call themselves?” Sheriff Digne looked away from the road and studied William intently as he waited for him to reply.

[Mr. Handy]

"No, we wanted to confirm their presence here and work with the police," says William. "We contacted the Louisiana State Police in Baton Rouge, and I'm surprised they weren't already in touch with you. We also coordinated with the police back in Arkham, Massachusetts. Our objective is to bring back James Fraser alive. We'll leave justice to the law."

[Philulhu]

OOC,Sheriff Digne is from Baton Rouge PD. I had you drive back to BR to go to the hospital (the perils of long-term pbf games and not re-reading all the previous posts before I sent you off to hospital... :oops: )