The Adventure

[jp1885]

Library use 60,[dice]0[/dice]

Harrison is still rattled by his ordeal (or is he subconsciously avoiding the name Corbitt?) and cannot concentrate on the matter in hand.

[simonthompson]

The day passes slowly as the investigators wade through the archives of the 'D&C' as it's know locally. Around 4pm, having skipped lunch, the pair are beginning to think they've wasted their time.

While Holst seems strangely unsettled and unable to concentrate, Wessells suddenly strikes paydirt. Having made his way back to 1912 he finds the following articles, just a couple of days apart:

Spoiler:

I need one more library check from you both please

[jp1885]

Intrigued, Harrison keeps poring through the newspapers.

Library use 60 pass,[dice]0[/dice]

This time, he finds something of possible interest.

[simonthompson]

Shortly after Wessells finds the two references to Corbitt, Holst finds another. This one dates from 1910:



The office will shortly close for the day but fortunately the D&C was a weekly publication until it went daily in 1909, so progress back until 1900 is swift. The two men find nothing more of note.

[jp1885]

"So fourteen years ago, our pal Bernard and his Pop are attacked in India and Theodore is killed. This begs the question: what were they doing in India of all places? I don't buy the 'hiking trip' angle."

"Bernard gets hitched and two years later his wife and kid die in childbirth; an incident that causes the midwife to collaps insensate. Is he trying to recreate his lost family in some misguided and gruesome fashion?"

"So we have a few more leads: his office down the docks; the Meyers and nurse Dunlap, assuming she's still alive. We might even chance our arm with a canle to India, but I've no idea who to contact over there."

Assuming local directories are easy to obtain, Harrison will look up relevant addresses.

[HoneyDog]

John shrugs his shoulders.

“What does any of this matter?” he asks. “We’re going about this all wrong. Who cares what happened in the past? We have to focus on what’s going on now. These body parts he uses must come from somewhere. If we can get evidence of him in the act, we'll have him. Now, he’s either killing people, or he gets the body parts somewhere else. What did you notice about him that night we saw him?”

[jp1885]

"'Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it' ol' chum," Harrison sighs, taking off his spectacles and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"If there's a reason for that monstrosity we saw, it's hidden in Corbitt's past. But I take your point; someone's got to have noticed stolen limbs, grave-robberies, disappearances or morgue break-ins."

He scans the papers one more time for such stories.

Library use 60,[dice]0[/dice]

[HoneyDog]

John also gets stuck in, searching as fast as possible.

Library Use,Library Use 50: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/854687]Library Use[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]25[/b]

[simonthompson]

With just a few minutes left before the office closes the investigators set to, aided by the fact that they've already searched the back copies once - albeit for a different reference. A story about grave robbing or such would have undoubtedly made headlines for some days in Bolton, but they find nothing before the young female assistant comes and informs them that the office is closing for the day.

[HoneyDog]

"He must be getting them from somewhere" says John to Harrison. "He's probably wise enough to go further afield than Bolton. Let's go home."

[jp1885]

"Hmm, yes, let's head back. At the risk of drawing your ire ol' pal, I want to track down the nurse if I can."

[HoneyDog]

"Sure, if you really want. I don't object."

[simonthompson]

Holst and Wessells order a cab back to Arkham, and on their return look up in the telephone directory the Central Sanitorium that was referred to in the C&D article as the destination of Mona Dunlap.

The directory reveals that the sanitorium is still open and lies on the outskirts of Bolton. The telephone number and address are both provided, and Holst makes a call, enquiring about Miss Dunlap.

Spoiler:

Please have Holst make either a Fast Talk or Credit Rating roll, normal difficulty.

[jp1885]

Credit rating 50 pass,[dice]0[/dice]

Harrison clears his throat and, in the tone of voice reserved for his most discerning customers, makes his enquiries.

[simonthompson]

The telephonist at the sanitorium regretfully informs Holst that Miss Dunlap passed away six years earlier. However, she says the physician who dealt with her case, Dr Meacham, is working an evening shift currently and she puts Holst through to his office.

"Ah yes, I remember Miss Dunlap," he pronounces in a distinct Southern drawl. "A strange case. No history of mental illness at all, functioning perfectly well as a normal member of society and then - suddenly struck down catatonic. In six years under our care she never regained conciousness."

There is a momentary pause. "Well, not until the poor woman's last hours on this good Earth. At the end the she was clearly insane, driven so by who knows what demons that were trapped inside her mind. She'd come round but ranted incoherently for a couple of hours, however her final words before she passed into our Maker's care were quite lucid and are forever etched on my memory. 'It was awful. No arms or legs and hardly a face! It should have died! It should have died along with the other one!' I don't mind telling you it was very distressing to witness, as used to seeing the torments of a shredded mind as I am."

"I'm afraid there's nothing more to tell Mr Holst, Miss Dunlap died almost immediately afterwards."

[jp1885]

Harrison relates the grim tale to John.

“Looks like there was another kid, missing a face and limbs - pretty much everything that makes up that monster. D’you reckon ol’ Corbitt is overcompensating!”

[HoneyDog]

The tale makes John shudder visibly.

“He’s trying to fix the child? But it’s so long after the event!”

He shakes his head in frustration.

“Look, my point still stands. Ultimately, I don’t give a damn about his motives and his history, I want to stop him, preferably in a way that doesn’t lead to us ending up in the penitentiary. If he’s killing people, he needs to be stopped. But any attempt to kill him , which incidentally I'm quite comfortable with, might lead to us. So we need to think about how to expose his crimes.”

[jp1885]

“We’ve got nothing to lose by visiting his warehouse - maybe he’s got a bunch of limbs on ice in there. If that’s the case we’ll have more than enough evidence.”

[HoneyDog]

"Very well. Although if you want to look around, understand that we probably won't be able to enter it legally. Let's go."

[simonthompson]

The following morning the investigators stop by at the newly opened branch office of John Hertz in Arkham and hire a Model T. The drive to the dockside warehouse of Corbitt Enterprises in Bolton takes less than thirty minutes.



Parking up opposite the address of the Corbitt warehouse the investigators sit in their vehicle, observing for an hour or so.

The area is relatively quiet. There are a few vehicles loading and unloading deliveries at neighbouring businesses, and occasional passers by stroll past. There appears to be one large arched door into Corbitt's warehouse, which is part of a much larger building, but it is currently closed and it seems like no-one is working there currently.