Chapter 4: October 26th

[HoneyDog]

Wednesday 26th October, 1881, 9 am

Wilson’s Music Hall, Stepney

The morning is cold and foggy as the companions arrive again for the inquests. Some faces in the crowd are becoming familiar now; the journalists, furiously scribbling away; Hackett and his louts, muttering darkly to themselves, and the disguised Craig, loitering around the edges of the crowd. There are some new faces too; while some watch the proceedings intently, others glance around at the other spectators.

Giving evidence to Partington-White today are Inspectors Cleveland and Spaulding. The initial statement is quite brief, and brings an end to the Clark inquest; the verdict is ‘murder, by person or persons unknown’.

They then continue with the Rodrigues inquest. Cleveland gives evidence concerning the killing.

“Rodriques was bald” begins Cleveland. Someone in the crowd guffaws loudly.

“Silence!” roars Partington-White.

“But in his hand we found brown hair, obviously not belonging to him. There were several strands, seventeen inches in length. Witnesses report hearing shouts and sounds of struggle about half-past 11 the night of the 22nd, but saw nothing.”

The session comes to a close, with an announcement that the Tom Vernon inquest, the third victim, will begin in Whitechapel that afternoon.

[Snapper]

Crozier:

The weather turning chilly, Crozier attends the third day in his dark grey suit and top hat, to which he has added a grey herringbone Inverness cape.

He turns to the female society members. "Ladies, Miss Flores, how long is 17 inches of hair, would you guess? Shoulder length?"

[Raiko]

"More like 'alf way down yer back," Melody chuckles, "unless they 'av an enormous head."

[Philulhu]

”A woman?” said Vic, quietly. “It isn’t like a woman to kill, though the carvings in the flesh suggest there might be another motive.”

She glanced around the room to see if any of those at the inquest had long hair...

[Mephistophilis]

Harry takes an interest in those people in the crowd who are not watching the proceedings but others in the crowd. He is quietly amused that this includes him.

Spot Hidden 66%,[dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   Success

[aine]

“You look rather dashing today, Captain; a sight for sore eyes on this damp and cold day.” Smiles Isolde. “As for the hair, I would have thought a lady would have had her hair pinned tightly up. A woman not so much. To my mind it is a man with long hair: a gypsy, an artist or a sailor perhaps.” Isolde also looks at the crowd carefully for anyone looking out of place.

Spot hidden,40 [dice]0[/dice]

[Mr. Handy]

"There are some women who kill," says Alexander, "though it could be a man with long hair."

[HoneyDog]

Harry & Isolde,The hall is full of rough-looking characters, but two in particular stand out. In front-row seats, they are surveying the crowd, but due to their mean look, most people avoid eye contact for too long. One is shabbily-dressed and unshaven, with dark hair and moustache. His squinting eyes give him a cruel countenance. His companion is shorter but stocky, with stringy white-blond hair. He is dirty, and his rather vacant face is flushed, as if he has been drinking. He is even dirtier and shabbier than the other. He meets[b] Isolde’s[/b] look and leers horribly.

[Snapper]

Crozier:

Crozier barks a happy laugh for a second. "You are too kind, Miss Isolde but I thank you for it. I assure you I am an old barnacle but I am most fortunate to be in the company of such radiant young ladies."

He turns more serious for a moment. "To the matter in hand. It is true sailors hail from all lands with many fashions but generally, long hair is no longer the custom with your British tar. A few old salts may still have their hair long and in the queues. Even then, strands from hair in a queue seem unlikely to end up in the hand of the poor victim."

"And in my travels, I have encountered women who are as capable of killing as men. All in all though, we are still guessing."

[aine]

“I must admit, my knowledge of all things nautical comes from reading history books to the children so I am likely quite out of date!” Isolde’s face darkens and she purses her lips,
“Do you see those two characters in the front row? One with a black moustache and his dirty companion with white hair; I’ve never seen such a pair of n’er do wells!”
Isolde subtlety indicates this one. His squinting eyes give him a cruel countenance.

His companion is shorter but stocky, with stringy white-blond hair. He is dirty, and his rather vacant face is flushed, as if he has been drinking. He is even dirtier and shabbier than the other.

[Mephistophilis]

Harry tries to surreptitiously follow the men out of the meeting.

Harry Sneak/Hide,Sneak 70%, Hide 52%, [dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   Nice one Harry, success on Sneak and Hide, he's like a ninja

[HoneyDog]

Harry,You can't make two separate skill rolls at the same time, and not with one die. I'll take it as a Sneak roll.

As the crowd begins to leave, Harry follows the awful looking men out as they wend their way through the throng.

Harry,The men are still looking around at the other crowd members as they leave, but they do not notice Harry following. He sees them enter a black Hansom carriage decorated with the title [i]Malbray Asylum[/i] in white. Whipping the horses viciously, the taller of the two drives the carriage away.

Everyone else,Is there anything you'd like to do? Or would you like to move on to the afternoon?

[Mephistophilis]

HoneyDog,I thought that was the weird way 6th edition dealt with sneaking about, 7th has combined hide and sneak into stealth (from the 6th edn rulebook): [i]"Sneak (10%) The art of moving quietly, without alerting those whomight hear. Used in combination with Hide, the inves-tigator makes a single D100 roll, the result of which is matched against the investigator’s percentages in both skills. Use this combination when silent movement is necessary. See also Hide."[/i]

Harry hurries back in to the others. 'Those two nasty looking fellas were here from the asylum. Any idea what they would want with the inquest?'

[aine]

Isolde looks surprised, “Do they work there?” She asks disbelieving, “Or are they allowed out for good behaviour?” She gives an unladylike snort.
“Either way, if they leave the asylum again maybe we should see where they go.”

Ooc,Happy to proceed.

[Raiko]

"Definitely Miss Beauchant," agrees Melody. "Sneakin' about an' watchin' folk is much more my cup o'tea than these borin' inquests."

ooc,Happy to move on, once everyone decides what to do about the asylum. Melody will join any group that goes there, whether that's tonight or this afternoon - she'll leave it for her social "betters" to decide when is best. ;)

[Mr. Handy]

"Perhaps one or more of the killers escaped from the asylum," suggests Alexander. "Maybe we can visit the asylum ourselves and just ask them about those chaps."

[Mephistophilis]

OOC,How far away is Malbray Asylum?

[Philulhu]

”Do we know where the two men lived?” asked Vic “We might find out more about them by visiting their abodes.”

[Snapper]

Crozier:

Crozier listens to everyone with interest. "I bow to the Society's wisdom on this of course. I suppose the options are, firstly, have a quick luncheon then return for the afternoon to see if these ruffians return, and to hear what further there is to learn from these inquests."

"Or else we leave the inquests and have a look at this asylum place."

"A further option still would be to have some stay here and some indirect the asylum?"

[HoneyDog]

OOC,If you want to go to the asylum, you have to find out where it is.