Royal palm hotel

[Borderline]

A well made but rundown looking hotel. Two stories with an office in front.

[Borderline]

As characters make thier way into the hotel rooms they find themselves on the second story with a view to the street. Coming in at various times, Ralph occupies 1b, Rachel 2b and Albert and Bill share 3b, a double on the corner. All the guests will find a note scrawled on familiar greenish paper- "Room 4b 9pm. Knock 3 times pause knock twice pause knock 3 times."

[Borderline]

A barrel chested man with a high and tight haircut and Hawaiin shirt ushers everyone into 4b where they are meeting for the first time. He allows for introductions as he pours himself a whiskey. He does not offer to share nor are there any other glasses visible in the increasingly diminutive room. "Take off your coats and step on in here, we've got plenty to go over. I'm Mr. Golf, your watcher."

[Borderline]

Mr.Golf
"Good now that the niceties are out of the way I can give you the details of the case. We've had seven dead bodies show up within a 20 mile radius over the last month and a half. Official cause of death- scared to death." His face turns grave and he lays out several photographs of faces frozen permanently in sheer terror.

[Borderline]

everyone make a Sanity roll those accustomed to death get a bonus die but the absolute misery and horror plastered on the various faces is truly unsettling even to the most seasoned in attendance

[Mephistophilis]

Bill was in two minds about bringing Albert to the meeting but thought he ought to let him know what he is getting himself into. Looking at the photographs he was beginning to regret that decision.

'Jesus' he says, turning away. 'The boy didn't need to see that.'

53%d%FpLd1d10

[Borderline]

feel free to catch up with rolls, questions or comments as the briefing continues for the San roll, pass=lose 0, fail= lose 1d3

Mr.Golf continues
"Not a whole lot of similarities jumping out between these, what we're now calling victims. Local police aren't particularly helpful and we're trying to keep a low profile but we have obtained permission to have you all examine the most recent victim, a Ms. Mary Worth. We were able to play it off as federal Forensics helping an understaffed force so don't expect to throw your weight around too much, again we're under the radar. The usual questions- none of the vics have enemies to speak of, they run the gamut from single person families to mothers, fathers and daughters. Youngest victim is 14 years old." Pauses giving a meaningful look around the room pausing on Albert. "We don't come out to these things for nothing, we expect foul play and we need you all to get to the bottom of it. I mentioned a 20 mile radius, all the deaths center around the Somerville neighborhood just west of this hotel which will be used as your base of operations as long as it remains viable. I've left the address for Mary Worth, her husband found her yesterday afternoon and the body has remained undisturbed, you're scheduled for a 9am investigation. Besides that, contact me only on a necessary basis, Bill and Albert's room has a phone and I've provided my number, if that phone rings answer it. Other than that if you have questions now would be the time."

[Mr. Handy]

Ralph grimaces when he sees the photographs, but he manages to steel himself. "How did you become aware of this pattern of deaths?" he asks.

Sanity roll (current level 50) for seeing the pictures:
d%

[Borderline]

Mr.Golf
"One of our contacts in the Boston medical community brought it to light once a pattern started to emerge, who will for thier safety remain anonymous. One thing we do agree on with local law enforcement is keeping the story out of the limelight. There are at least two reporters being kept quiet the more high profile of the two being a man named Ben Daughtry, a writer for Bostons biggest local news paper, New Boston times."

[Borderline]

"Trust is at an all time low so we need to keep eyes off of our sources as much as possible. I can tell you that the victims were brought to the Somerville hospital, three bodies remain in thier morgue and the other three have been cremated or buried at the behest of thier families. This file will stay with your team, it's for your eyes only and has the names and addresses of the deceased with some background information where available. Details are sparse as we weren't able to use the usual channels of procurement."

[Borderline]

Samantha Harley, 82
Caucasian 5'1" husband Bill, 83
Retired mail clerk 3 adult children believed to live in Maine, Arkansas and Arizona
47 Hanson St, Somerville, MA 02143

Samuel Johnson, 44
Caucasian 6'2" father of four wife Isabelle, 45 2 sons and 2 daughters Sam Jr., 10 Wilfred, 14 Jessica, 12 and Irene, 8
Manufacturing warehouse worker popular with neighbors as a loving family man and BBQ host.
50 Whitman St, Somerville, MA 02144

Zistava Virescia, 62
Immigrant Widow 5'4"
Adult son location unknown
33a Harding St, Cambridge, MA 02141

Shaundra Lee Erving, 14
African-American student 5'3"
Average teenage public school student very bright and promising she loved science and horses. Survived by Mother Shauna, 39 father Delray, 46 and three brothers Jimmy, 8 Martin, 12 and Marcus,21
8 Nashua St, Somerville, MA 02145

Charles Agatha, 42
Writer/editor
Married to 36 year old Betha Agatha
Caucasian of Greek descent 5'9"
Extensive catalog of archeological writing for his age, moved to America to start a family
55 Bonair St, Somerville, MA 02145

Mary Worth, 55
Husband Bob 58, son Harry 14
Homemaker and part-time seamstress
Caucasian no preexisting conditions 5'6" slightly overweight. Friends and family say she was the nicest person you could hope to meet. She loved her family very much and took great pride in taking care of the household.
170 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA 02143

Eddie Gallagher, 38
No known family
African American 5'11"
Found in his apartment stairwell
Worked as a bus driver
801 Somerville Ave, Somerville, MA 02143

[Mr. Handy]

"What are the dates and times of death?" asks Ralph. "Maybe there's a pattern to the amount of time between them, and it would be good to be able to predict how long before the next one. I'd also like to plot these addresses on a map of Somerville to see if there's a geographical pattern."

[Borderline]

[Mephistophilis]

Bill pores over the map, marking the names and dates of the murders and the order they were performed. 'I can't see an obvious pattern, unless he's making an oddly shaped star. He seems to favour the end of the week, Friday and Saturday, but not exclusively.'

Not sure I've quite got these in the right locations

[Borderline]

"We noticed that too, keep in mind that's a bit of an old map and locations aren't exact, we had the boys do the best they could on short notice to give you an idea of the layout. The victims matched with thier residences are as follows-"

[Borderline]

make an investigation roll please

[Borderline]

Bill is able compare the info given with the tiny words on the map and comes up with a much more accurate crime map.

[aine]

Albert shyly stands back whilst the party look at the photographs so he is luckily spared from the worst of it. But his ears are drinking in every sound - a real detective mystery and he’s right here helping out!

San 64 roll: 27[ /Spoiler-Button]

[Mephistophilis]

We don't have Investigation in CoC. Usually you'd use Spot Hidden, Idea (INT), maybe Science (Forensics), Law, or Library Use if they're relevant

[Borderline]

thank you, I meant to say to make any skill roll applicable to examining the map