Ch.11. Amesbury (Lawrence & William)

[Philulhu]

Thursday March 13th, 1930 11.10am.
8 Main Street, Amesbury, Mass.

Lawrence and William said little to each other on the journey north. Both had their memories of their last journey up this way, fears for James’ safety but hope that he would be found alive and well. Sadly, those hopes had ultimately been dashed.

Amesbury was much the same as it had been when they visited the previous year. The streets were quiet, with scudding clouds and heavy drops that threatened a downpour keeping people in their homes. 8 Main Street also looked the same, except for the grass being slightly over-long, suggesting that the first cut of the season was overdue.

[Bullfrog]

"Well, this is it. Who'll give her the news?"
Lawrence questions, stepping forth onto the path leading to the front door; it had been roughly five months since that initial visit, yet all of those events still rang clear in Lawrence's memory like they had happened yesterday.

[Mr. Handy]

"I'll do it," says William, walking up to the door with the letter in his hand, kept inside his jacket to shield it from the rain.

[Philulhu]

William knocked on the door but there was no response from inside.

[Bullfrog]

Lawrence tries knocking on the door himself, a bit harder than the previous attempt; perhaps she just couldn't hear them?

[Philulhu]

Lawrence was sure that anyone inside the house couldn’t have failed to hear him knocking, given that the door shook in the frame.

[Bullfrog]

"I don't think anyone's home,
William. Could have been gone a while, judging by the fact that the grass isn't cut." Lawrence points out as he tries twisting the doorknob to see if it's unlocked.

[Mr. Handy]

"That's possible," says William. "If so, her mail will be piling up unless she told a neighbor to collect it for her." He checks the mailbox.

[Philulhu]

OOC,Spot hidden, please.

[Bullfrog]

Spot Hidden 26%,[dice]0[/dice]

[Mr. Handy]

William notices nothing out of the ordinary.

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

[Philulhu]

William dropped the flap on the mailbox and found a number of letters inside. Half a dozen were addressed to Mrs Webster, who he remembered was Emily’s landlady, with a couple more addressed to Miss Emily Livingstone, James’ former girlfriend.

[Bullfrog]

OOC,Is the door locked or unlocked?

[Mr. Handy]

William checks the return addresses on the letters to Emily to see who was writing her. "I could put the letter in here," he says, "but chances are it would just sit there unread. Maybe we should check with the neighbors to find out when the last time she was here was and where she went."

[Philulhu]

Lawrence tried the door handle. It turned and the door moved, but the mortice lock held and prevented the door from opening.

By the mail box, William looked through the mail. Of the two addressed to Emily, one was a formal letter with a typed address but no return address; the second was a handwritten envelope, with the return address a Mrs C. Livingstone at an Arkham address.

[Mr. Handy]

William fills in Lawrence on what he saw in the mailbox. "I wouldn't want to open her mail," he says. "That would be illegal. But we can try talking to the neighbors about her, and later we can find out who Mrs. Livingstone is and why she wrote to Emily."

[Philulhu]

OOC - William,KNOW roll please.

[Mr. Handy]

William recalls something.

OOC,Know roll (70% stat) looking at the mail: [dice]0[/dice]

[Bullfrog]

"We spoke with a neighbor last time we visited, very paranoid sort. He should be worth asking, strange as he was, because he was certainly the type to be constantly watching his neighbors." Lawrence suggests, looking over towards that odd neigbor's house.

[Philulhu]

As William studied the letters, it occurred to him that Livingstone was Emily’s surname...

Lawrence looked over to the neighbour’s house. As he did so, he could have sworn he saw the neighbour’s curtain twitch...