Statement 3: Tea at the Folly

[jp1885]

Leaving Saffron to her work, you step back out into New Row. The narrow street is somewhat busier than before, but not so crowded as to impede your walk back to the Folly.

[Snapper]

Skipper stashes his camera back in his backpack before heading off with his companions.

Once well out of earshot of Saffron, Skipper eyes his colleagues. "I have no idea if that whatever it was works like a magic CSI and solves this but, DCs Potter and Grainger, I'll wait to hear from you on that one."

"Meantime, all I could find from a quick search on the phone is that the building is Georgian. And as Saffron mentioned, listed. I'm thinking if something is listed, there must be a list. Which should be findable. And which may show what the place was used for in the past, if that helps."

"Also, the basement level matches above except that little bit that connects to New Row. Presumably, that bit wasn't original."

"And there's the book reorganising. Maybe someone really wants the kids downstairs? And objects to their being moved above. Or it's psychic Jamie Oliver."

[Trivun]

Izzy stifles a laugh as she imagines the idea of a vengeful Jamie Oliver turning up and hurling books with his mind, before she replies to Skipper. She keeps her voice fairly low, loud enough for the whole group to hear but quiet enough that she doesn't inadvertently alert passers by to their discussion of ghosts and magic, the one exception being as they pass by the branch of Forbidden Planet on Shaftesbury Avenue, the street being filled with enough fans of fantasy and sci-fi that they could easily be talking about the latest Fantastic Beasts film or similar.

"That's all really useful, thanks for finding it out. Places can pick up a kind of magical energy from their previous use, I mentioned the old abattoir earlier where we found my vampire murder suspect. Could be that something is still lingering in the walls from before the place became a bookstore.

"It's not quite that simple though, about the magic light. All that did was draw out whatever might be down there, something was feeding on the energy of the spell. If I'd continued concentrating on it, then it would have eventually started to drain energy from me as well, and then I'd start to go all cauliflower brain. We call it hyperthaumaturgical degradation. And then I'd be visiting Dr Vaughn on a one way trip, and not in the way I'd like to."

As they chat, she updates the others on everything she noticed that they didn't, including the vestigia sensed and the findings from the CCTV recording.

[Philulhu]

Des sipped at a takeaway black coffee. ”So wot did it?“ she asked. ”I tried an’ dere’s no way that someone threw dem books like dat. So wot did?“

Oops, edited! Thought we were back at the folly already…

[Mr. Handy]

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"Maybe it was a poltergeist," says Jordan, putting his battery back in his phone.

[jp1885]

OOC:   As they walk back to base, your investigators are welcome to chew the fat for a while if you like. Let me know when you reach the Folly.

[Trivun]

Izzy forces herself to keep quiet about Des' comment regarding the books. She finds it horrific that anyone would mistreat books in such a way, throwing them around, even if only to test the idea of an otherworldly force being able to do the same thing, but then again, Izzy is a purist - she refuses to buy a Kindle, much preferring the feel of paper and hardback.

Instead, she responds to Jordan's suggestion. "Could be. That's what Warwick seemed to think, at any rate. Never dealt with one myself though, so we're better off asking the expert," referring to Nightingale.

She also places her battery back into her phone as they walk, crossing over Great Russell Street opposite the British Museum. She takes the opportunity to check her messages. Though her personal phone is back home, her friends know to try either if they need her for anything, in case she's working, and she notes a message from her friend Sarah, asking about plans for the evening, and wanting to set Izzy up with her cousin, Alice.

She sighs audibly, replying that she can't tonight due to work, and puts the phone away, regretting agreeing to return to Stonewater's for 8pm. Still, the job comes first. It wouldn't be her latest finish, after all, since joining the Met...

[Snapper]

"Most of the, um, normal people I deal with have pretty clear drives. Sex, money, addiction, love, jealousy, revenge. That's about it. They have a motive and they have an MO."

"Whether this is a person who can make books fly or something much more horror movie, I'm assuming it still has a motive and an MO. Few more checks might help us find a motive."

Skipper looks at Izzy and Leo. "Scotland Yard's finest, you can do checks on people that the rest of us can only dream about. Might be worth a quick squiz of Saffron and the injured employee, Anderson, just to make sure there's nothing funny about either, maybe?"

[Mr. Handy]

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"We should look deeper in the building's history," says Jordan, "find out what it used to be and who was associated with it. If we can find out who the ghost was in life, maybe we can help it rest."

[Philulhu]

”You wanna priest? Do an exorcism? Like in dat film but wi’out the spinnin’ head an’ shit?” said Des. ”I can get you a priest, I reckon. Dey’s always hangin’ aroun’ de… Well, nevermind, I can gets one, if you wants one,” she finished. None of them, apart from Skipper, looked like they’d ever set foot near a soup kitchen and she didn’t feel like she needed to mention how she knew a priest.

[Trivun]

"We can see what The Nightingale thinks, but those sound like good ideas. If we need to, we can put them on HOLMES as actions for someone to do the legwork while we check out the scene in more detail, and try talking to this... entity," says Izzy, referring to the British police shared intelligence platform.

Then she realises what Des said. "What, do we need and old priest and a young priest? The power of Christ compels you!" She laughs at her own joke, pretending to spin on a chair, stopping when she sees she is the only one laughing.

"Come on, really? No-one? Austin Powers... ah, sod it..." Slightly dejected, Izzy goes quiet, until they get back to the Folly.

[Snapper]

"Every bad thing I've ever seen done has been done by a human being. Maybe this is something a lot weirder that I don't know nothing about. But I'm not convinced yet that this isn't just plain old people being an arse."

"Possibly using minor Doctor Strange powers, but still being an arse."

1d%LL50%

1d10

OOC:   Happy to jump ahead to the Folly when everyone else is done.

[SaintMeerkat]

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"Well, before it was Austin Powers, it was The Exorcist. I streamed that movie with my family one Halloween. Seeing that little girl's head spin was the weirdest thing that I ever seen. Until I joined The Folly, of course."

"Yes, Nightingale will probably be able answer a few of our questions, or at least point us in the right direction."

OOC:   I am ready to move on, as well.

Spoiler:

Luck: 61

1d100

No bonus for me.

[jp1885]

“Ah, there you are.”

DI Nightingale greets you with a curt nod at the main entrance of the Folly.

“If you’d care to follow me into the atrium, Molly has laid on tea and biscuits.”

He leads you through the open space to a table tucked behind one of the pillars and proffers each of you a comfortable-looking chair.

In the corner of your eye, a tall slim figure in a long black dress, white apron and mop cap glides into the shadows with a barely perceptible swish.

Nightingale reaches for the China teapot.

“Shall I be mother? So - what have you discovered?”

[Philulhu]

Des took a cup of tea and sat down. She let the bizzies do the talking.

[Snapper]

Skipper looks over at the two Met officers. "Your people are probably best placed to start the proverbial rolling, ah, Boss."

[Trivun]

"Okay then." Izzy recounts the events of the morning so far to Nightingale, though not before giving a warm smile and thanks to Molly for the tea and biscuits, and the boss himself for pouring. She details the statements of both Warwick and Saffron, and mentions everything she observed in the bookstore, as well as the vestigia she sensed, whilst inviting the others to chip in with their own comments and observations for anything they caught that she missed. By the end of the recap, Nightingale has a full awareness of the situation surrounding Stonewaters.

"It definitely seems like there's something there for us," Izzy concludes. "Saffron asked us to go back there around 8pm this evening, when they close up, if we want to investigate the scene further."

Despite her annoyance at missing out on social engagements and the possibility of a date, at least that would give Izzy time to make a quick trip home to feed Freya and clean out the litter tray, she supposes.

[jp1885]

“Well done. I would most certainly encourage a return visit,” Nightingale replies after a moment’s thought.

“It sounds like an entity of some kind is present. Question is: what kind? Perhaps a stronger werelight might encourage it to reveal itself?”

“It could possibly be tied to the building - what have you discovered about its history? You could consult the internet, or take advantage of our extensive libraries here at the folly.”

“Whatever your theory, planning is they key. I want you to decide what you want to do to resolve the problem in the bookshop. Put your heads together and come up with a plan.”

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, I was thinking about looking up the building's history," says Jordan. "If we could identify who the ghost was, that will help us get through to him or her and help put the ghost to rest. I'm not that good a researcher, though. We know the building used to be something else before, and seems to have been two different buildings combined. That dome sure was noteworthy."

[SaintMeerkat]

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Peter, having completely missed the vestigium on his assessment, let Izzy do most of the talking, relieved that she didn't bring up his lapse. He preferred Nightingale find it out directly from him.

"I mentioned magic and ghosts in front of Saffron, the manager, but I am not sure that she took it -- or me -- seriously. After that, she seemingly was done with me."

When Jordan brings up researching the building, he nods encouragingly. "Yes, I would be curious to know what it was before, too. Also, the identity of the architect had any weird bollocks in his history, like the Skygarden architect. I will be assist you, if you like."