IC: Limehouse Raid

[Raiko]

Johnny speaks quietly when Elizabeth joins him, “I didn’t expect to find anything in here, but it seems that Mr Punji is nothing if not meticulous.”

Johnny points to a short series of entries in the ledger, each neatly written in fountain pen ink. The entries are all dated in the last three days – each one says ‘PF to IW – 4 Boxes – Art’ followed by two times, always in the evening and never more than an hour apart.

“Punji kept several ledgers from the looks of things, and one or two are missing – they must relate to the crates of weapons and are presumably now in the possession of Inspector Barrington and Sergeant Jones.”

“But this book has several sets of ‘PF’ entries, some ‘PF to IW’ some to other initials MS, GD, DN. Punji’s men mentioned that the sailors were from the Ivory Wind, the other initials must designate other ships.”

“The last set of ‘PF to IW’ entries was nearly five months ago, and the transfers were done over four days.”

Johnny flips through the book to show Elizabeth, then he flips back again another six months to another set, “PF to IW again, and four days again. If this pattern is always stuck to then there may still be boxes at the Penhew Foundation awaiting transfer, due to be moved this evening. And the Ivory Wind might still be in port.”

He glances out of the office door towards Andrei, he lowers his voice further, “Miss Downing, forgive me, but have you noticed any unusual behaviour from Andrei since the...”

Johnny pauses for a moment, still unwilling to accept that the supernatural encounter was real, “incident outside the museum?”

OOC,[color=#FF0000][u]OOC:[/u][/color] I hope my post made sense. The entries are like this: [i]26/02/25 – PF to IW – 4 Boxes – Art – 6:30pm – 7:05pm 27/02/25 – PF to IW – 4 Boxes – Art – 7:45pm – 8:35pm 28/02/25 – PF to IW – 4 Boxes – Art – 7:10pm – 7:40pm [/i]

[imme]

Johnny flips through the book to show Elizabeth, then he flips back again another six months to another set, “PF to IW again, and four days again. If this pattern is always stuck to then there may still be boxes at the Penhew Foundation awaiting transfer, due to be moved this evening. And the Ivory Wind might still be in port.”

Elizabeth makes mental note of the initials for the boats that received boxes from the Penhew. "Well done, Johnny. We should head over to the port immediately. Although they may be more cautious because of the police raid."

He glances out of the office door towards Andrei, he lowers his voice further, “Miss Downing, forgive me, but have you noticed any unusual behaviour from Andrei since the...” Johnny pauses for a moment, still unwilling to accept that the supernatural encounter was real, “incident outside the museum?”

Elizabeth also glances out the door, her brow now creased with concern. "Johnny, Andrei is ... he just has not been himself. All of this business seems to have really gotten to him and I think it occupies all of his thoughts. He needs something, but I just don't know how to help." Her voice now dropping even quieter, in a whisper she says, "I'm scared."

[Raiko]

Johnny nods solemnly, “Yes I’m worried too. We’ll consult with Caroline when we return to the hotel, she’ll know the best way to help Andrei.”

“In the meantime, there appears to be little else of interest in these books. So we’ll take a careful look for this ship – The Ivory Wind.”

[imme]

"Great, we can get out of here." Elizabeth leaves the office and quietly calls to Andrei, "Andrei? Johnny found something interesting for us to look into. I think we should leave now."

[Raiko]

"A clue? Great!"

Andrei puts his revolver away and starts making his way back towards the warehouse's back door immediately. "Let's get out of here then Ellie. I'm sure the cop will be back in here soon."

OOC,I'll only post for Andrei at the moment. Hopefully Grafster can pick up playing Johnny.

[Grafster]

Johnny nods. Very wise. The police are unlikely to enter the building but there is no need to take any more risk than necessary.

The small man quickly, almost compulsively, makes a few small adjustments to the objects around the room trying to return it to a sembalance of the state it was in when they arrived. He douvle checks his note pad to make sure he's copied everything down correctly then he hobbles toward the back door on his cane.

[imme]

Elizabeth walks up to Andrei and takes his hand. "Back to the car, then. Lead on." She glances over her shoulder to make sure Johnny is following.

[Raiko]

Andrei walks briskly out of the warehouse, holding Elizabeth's hand tightly. Pausing briefly outside the door he then heads back towards the car, taking the same route they used before. He seems agitated, as though expecting to be confronted at any moment, but there is no one around.

When the three investigators arrive back at the car they can see the same two policemen stood outside the front doors. They look more interested in remaining warm than actively protecting the crime scene.

As Andrei get back into the drivers seat he asks, "Johnny, do you know where this Ivory Wind is moored?"

[Grafster]

The detective pauses, thinking. I do not. But they did not use a truck so it should not be far. Johnny indicates a road that heads down toward the river. It shouldn't be far....

[imme]

Elizabeth climbs in next to Andrei. "We should not get too close, right? We are rather conspicuous. Perhaps we could drive a bit closer and then Johnny, you could go take a look for us?"

[Grafster]

Of course. With Andrei driving Johnny waits patiently until they get closer down to the docks, looking for a secluded spot to park the car near the waterfront.

[Raiko]

Limehouse Docks - Near to the Ivory
Wind
5:55pm - Thursday 28th January, 1925

It doesn't take long to locate the Ivory Wind, the battered looking tramp freighter lies moored at the wharf a mere quarter mile from the warehouse.

There isn't much activity around the ship at the moment, cranes stand idle and nearby floodlights aren't lit.

Two gangway ramps connect the vessel to the shore both of which are currently unattended.

The only activity nearby is outside a bar fifty yards away from the ship; two drunken looking sailor are stumbling away from the bar, they look like they're heading for the Ivory Wind.

This is a very run down, seedy looking part of the docks - the Rolls Royce will really stand out parked here!

Andrei stares intently out of the winds, "Ok! Lets take a look while it's quiet. You lead the way again Johnny, I'll follow with Ellie"

[Grafster]

Johnny looks around frowning. A car like this won't go unnoticed for long. He looks at Ms. Downing and Andrei. It would be better for you to stay here. If I get into trouble you will be able to help, and if the car is stolen we won't be able to escape. If you hear shouting or gunshots then try to drive past the ramp.

I'll try to find out how long until the ship leaves; if we have more time there are better ways to investigate; ones that may not give us away."

The detective eyes the sailors warily and begins to follow them.

[Raiko]

OOC,[color=#FF0000][u][b]OOC:[/b][/u][/color]Imme's busy at the moment, but still keen to play - so Johnny's plan is ideal. :) Regarding the Chinese language stuff below, my Wikipedia reading suggests that people from the Shanghai region prior to 1949 would speak Shanghainese exclusively, and that Mandarin, Cantonese and Wu Chinese dialects are mutually unintelligible. However, as I wouldn't have a clue without Wikipedia, I'll bow to your own knowledge if I've got anything wrong.

Andrei looks disappointed, but reluctantly nods in agreement, "Ok I'll stay here and look after Ellie."

"Take care."

As Johnny walks away from the car his suspicions are confirmed - the two drunken sailors are returning to the Ivory Wind. They are both Chinese, Johnny doesn't understand their slurred speech, but it sounds like a Wu Chinese dialect - possibly Shanghainese as the Ivory Wind is registered out of Shanghai.

The two men begin to help each other up the ramp onto the docked freighter.

[Grafster]

OOC,[color=#FF0000][u][b]OOC:[/b][/u][/color]My understanding matches yours. When I studied Chinese (~15 years ago) people communicated across dialects in stores mostly using hand gestures for numbers and one word phrases ("buy","this" or whatever). Someone also suggested that you could theoretically communicate by writing everything out; since the system was standardized across China. Johnny may be able to "guess what they're talking about" (joking vs fighting) better than the average guy from Iowa or maybe not; I leave the details in your hands.

The detective lingers in the shadows watching the two board the ship, ears alert for a challenge. If there are guards this will be difficult, he thinks.

[Raiko]

Scanning the ship's decks from the shore Johnny spots one man up on the forecastle - he is clearly silhouetted against the night sky leaning on the ships rail, the tip of his cigarette glows orange each time he inhales. He doesn't look particularly like a sentry, just someone taking a break, but if he turns at the wrong time he could easily spot anyone walking up one of the ships gangways.

Apart from the drunks and the smoker Johnny can't see anyone on Ivory Wind's decks.

[Grafster]

Johnny nods to himself, trying to stay out of sight of the man for the moment.

If the drunks make a racket then the man will turn, if he doesn't see me when he turns he'll turn back to finish his smoke. Either way the best time to follow them up is once they are onboard. Once I'm on the ship, I may be able to find out where it is headed; if I am not spotted.

OOC,[color=#FF0000][u][b]OOC:[/b][/u][/color]You can roll my sneak 66% if you like!

[Raiko]

The smoking man greets the two drunks as they board the
ship. Tossing the last of his cigarette overboard into the water, he
heads into the interior of the ship with the new arrivals.

Johnny waits for another minute to ensure that the coast is
clear, then he sneaks cautiously up the ramp onto the Ivory Wind's
main deck.

Looking left and right at the top of the ramp, he can't see anyone
around at all - it looks like security is pretty lax around here.

OOC,[color=#FF0000][u][b]OOC:[/b][/u][/color] Rolled sneak and luck for Johnny. I'll post a general plan of the Ivory Wind tonight from home, but Johnny is roughly in the middle of the ship, by the superstructure / castle. The bridge and most of the crew cabins are in this part of the ship. There are cargo holds both forward and aft of the ship.

[Grafster]

The detective inches forward in the tight confines of the ship. The ship isn't moving and I'd like to know where it's headed; I have a feeling that they're not to be trusted to truthfully file paperwork with the authorities.

He tries to avoid apparently busy sections of the crew deck while heading toward the bridge. If no one is there I can have a look at their maps, hopefully I can figure out where they're headed.

[Raiko]

The Bridge - The Ivory Wind

Johnny makes his way stealthily up the steps to the Ivory Wind's bridge deck, encountering nobody. Glancing inside the wheelhouse itself he sees that the room is deserted, though he can hear the faint sound of two men chatting in a language that he doesn't understand. The noise is coming from somewhere else on this deck, on the opposite side of the ship. Johnny thinks the voices are from quite close to the door on the opposite side of the wheelhouse.