January 07 - Paris - Bois de Vincennes (Andrew-Archie)

[robertod]

The two women smile at the approaching investigators, hoping to get a good group of clients in one fell swoop. When they realize their potential clients are instead interested in other things, their smile goes out. They look at those strangers with disappointment and distrust. They briefly say they want to be left alone.They say they saw in the distance a figure walking towards the park exit.

"Be careful. This place is not safe at this time of night. You must be tourists. You probably haven´t read the news of the past few weeks about the disappearance cases."

[SaintMeerkat]

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"Thank you, ladies," Archie said. "We really appreciate the information and the advice. Here are a few francs for your time and trouble." Archie hurriedly squeezes 5 francs into each palm."

"If he was walking, then perhaps we have time to catch him if we run..." Archie prepares to run toward the exit, waiting for Andrew.

[Mephistophilis]

OOC:   Did we know about the disappearances? Should we bribe them for more info?

[SaintMeerkat]

OOC:   I thought about asking them about the disappearances, but was afraid we might lose our target. Plus, it sounds like it might be well known and easy to follow up on later.

[Mephistophilis]

'Merci mesdemoiselles,' says Andrew, and he runs after Archie.

[SaintMeerkat]

Once Archie is certain that Andrew is coming with him, he runs for the gate where the ladies said the man just exited. His soggy, muddy pants legs slap noisily against his legs as he runs full out, and it chills him to the bone, but he runs on, looking for the mysterious man.

[robertod]

OOC:   Previously said:   Did we know about the disappearances?   No. The last disappearance must have occurred when you were not in Paris, so the investigators had not the chance to know about that. You need to talk with the ledies or check the old newspapers. However... you know that maybe it has something to do with the room full of corpses you find in the catacombs....

Leaving the park, Andrews and Archie find themselves on a street in the Bois de Vincennes park district. The park exit is on the Avenue de Gravelle, a wide avenue that runs parallel to the perimeter of the park. In front of the exit begins the Rue du Val d´Osne, a narrow street lit by a few lamp posts, perpendicular to the Avenue de Gravelle, which goes in the direction of the Charenton Asylum. It is late at night and the neighborhood is cold, silent and deserted. The lights of the houses are off, with the exception of a small craft shop on the Avenue de Gravelle, a few tens of meters from the exit. The shop is closed but there´s a light on inside. A silhouette of a man in a raincoat and hat is walking along the Rue du Val d´Osne and he looks like the only living soul on the streets all around. He´s walking just over a hundred meters from the park exit, from where Andrews and Archie are.

[Mephistophilis]

Having seen the man in the scarf, raincoat, and hat, previously in the park, Andrew starts a sort of half run to catch up with the silhouetted man in the distance. As he gets nearer he begins to slow down, not quite sure what he'll do when he catches up with him.

[robertod]

Accelerating their pace, Archie and Andrew approach the mysterious man, until they see him suddenly turn into a dark street. Arriving at the alley too, the investigators find themselves in a narrow street, paved with smooth and slippery stone tiles, damp and full of puddles, placed between two tall buildings. Some cars are parked halfway between the sidewalk and the roadside. A cat leaps onto a roof of a car and meows loudly, as if annoyed by something. Then, the animal runs quickly under a car.

The mystery man, however, is not on the sidewalk. As soon as Archie and Andrew finish taking a look, the headlights of a car parked in the alley come on, a few tens of meters between them. They illuminate the access to the alley like a stage. Meanwhile, the vehicle emits the noise of the
engine hesitating to start.

[Mephistophilis]

Andrew rushes up to the car, trying to catch a glimpse of the occupants before they drive off.

[robertod]

OOC:   Archie, any action before the car laeves?

[SaintMeerkat]

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Suddenly, Archie shakes his head as though he'd been asleep for a long time. Then the sound of the engine roars in his ears. He gets out his pistol, moves to the side, and shoots the tire at point blank range.

Spoiler:

I will spend one point of Firearms. Assuming it refreshed, that takes me from 8 to 7.

1d6

[robertod]

As and Andrew Archie approach the car, a rusty red citroen, type A, with a convertible top and no glass. Someone inside the car makes a muffled cry. While Archie shoots the tires, Andrew sees the silhouette of a man, slumped on the steering wheel. In the back seat there is something that looks like another human figure. The vision, however, is confused. The car is clouded by a sudden fog that seems to rise from the the car, as if someone had lit a smoke bomb. The fog comes right from the back seat and quickly spreads out and mingles with the damp winter air of the alley. When the fog finally spreads, the investigators see clearly the interior of the car. Only one man is inside, the man behind the wheel. He was killed with a cut in the throat. The still warm blood has stopped gushing and is dripping drop by drop on the seat.

[Mephistophilis]

Looking over the grim scene, trying to process what he has just witnessed, Andrew mutters to his companion, 'This doesn't look good for us old man. Discretion being the better part of valour and all that I suggest we scarper pretty quickly unless you want to explain this to the gendarmes.'

[SaintMeerkat]

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Archie's heart sinks when he sees the man gushing blood, dying before his very eyes.

"Go ahead, friend. I took the Hippocratic Oath. Even though, I have not done any harm to this poor man, I would not be able to look myself in the mirror again if I did not at least attempt to help him. You are under no such stricture, and I will completely understand if you don't stay."

I think we previously discussed that I can only use First Aid here, not Medicine.

I will take a closer look and see if there is anything I can do, I will give it a shot. I am going to spend 2 points of First Aid on the roll. That will leave me with 2.

1d6

[robertod]

Unfortunately, there isn't much Archie can do. The poor man's heart stops as Archie tries to revive him. He was a young man, well dressed and probably quite wealthy. Although he was brutally killed, his mouth and eyes are closed. Archie would say he was probably sedated before being mortally stenched. The man he died of five rough cuts to his throat. It seems that he the killer first grabbed the throat, then penetrated his fingers deep into the flesh, and finally tore it off with incredible force.
Two windows, each located at a high floor of a building facing the alley, are opened. Two persons are looking down at what´s happening on the street. The watchers swing their heads, as if trying to better understand what they are seeing. Indeed, the car lights are illuminating a spot for away from the scene. The area around the car is dark. One of the watchers yells something in French. From his alarmed tone of his voice, he seems to want to know what's going on dwon there.

[SaintMeerkat]

"Poor blighter," Archie says as he feels the blood pulsing through the cuts getting slower and slower until it stops. "He never had a chance," he says absently, not really sure if Andrew has stuck around, he's so focused on his task. His pants are already ruined from the muddy cave, so he goes ahead and starts wiping his bloody hands on his jacket. A total loss. He's gotten enough blood on his clothing while working to know it will never come out. Oh, well. He had to try.

Archie speaks French, so he's able to understand the onlookers, and calls out en Francais, "A man has been murdered here. Please call the authorities."

Then, if Andrew is still with him, he points out the wound pattern. "Five cuts. I wonder if that was something with sharp claws?"

[Mephistophilis]

Andrew has hung around, anxiously torn between helping his companion and wanting to leave the incriminating scene of a grisly murder. He does look at the savage wound, 'You've done your duty old man. We have to go. Now!'

Without waiting for Archie he turns and runs out of the alley and back towards the park, hoping to find the entrance into the tunnels.

[SaintMeerkat]

"Agreed," Archie replies. "Let's get the hell out of here before we have to make any awkward explanations," he says as he turns around and takes off after Andrew. Between the mud, the blood, and the death he was far too late to prevent, Andrew is certain that he he has never been this miserable in his life, and it takes the willpower he can summon to not break off and head toward the station, giving up on the mission. *Damn the day that I met, Julius, and thrice damned be me for agreeing to do this in the first place, Archie says to himself.

[Mephistophilis]

Hearing Archie behind him, Andrew slows down. 'Rotton show old man, you did what you could. I'm just worried about whatever that was getting back to the girls,' he pants.