Chapter One - Day 3 - An Early Morning Meeting

[DrPeterson]

Cearlan,[b]Henry [/b]lowers his hands and introduces himself. "I'm [b]Henry Calamy[/b], PI. I'm working on the [b]Atwater-Cardigan[/b] case and I'm sure you have a few questions, Detective. I'll try my best to answer them.

[Cearlan]

Henry,[ooc]Rather than 'role playing each and every question and answer like we would in a face to face game, what do you intend to tell him in the next 5-10 minutes[/ooc]

Jimmy,[ooc]The first telephone book was produced in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1878 but was business-based only as most private telephones were party lines. I'll rule that there is no phone books for individual lines. You could try the operator, but it is unlikely that they would give information based on a vague assumption.[/ooc] Lester looks at you, twisting his already sour-looking face. [color=#FF4000]"I also found out where Bishop's farm used to be here on this 1742 map of the area We found in 'Thaumaturgical Properties' that Richard Russel was his neighbour and here is his farm - the script may be hard to read, but they are both on Bad Water Road which is now Hill Street."[/color]

[Priest]

I scan the map, as Lester says the writing is hard to make out but...
I glance up, "How close is Hill Street to Curzon where the old lady lived? And have you any idea of whether there is a Russel living in that area since if there is then we may assume that the assailant is heading that way"

[Cearlan]

Lester Ropes looks at the map and gets an old set of dividers out of his desk drawer. After a few minutes calculation he says; "Well According to my calculations the Russel house would be on West Main Street in the Merchant District - about where it meets Boundary Street. Probably beside where the public Schools Building is. I'll check to see if we have any Russels living in that area." He walks over to the card index file and after a few minutes returns shaking his head. "We have two Russels who are members here but none of them live in the Merchant District. Neither of them are of Arkham blood if you get my drift. I believe that one is from Canada and the other from Kingsport, but I could be wrong."

[Priest]

"Hmm", for a moment I glance up at the ceiling as if I might find answers there amongst the cobwebs, "So Russel seems to be a bust."

Jimmy thinking:   I wish Henry was here he might no the right questions to ask.

I shrug resignedly, "Is there some other connection with the writings that I'm missing?" the question was more out loud thinking than one expecting any answer.

I look at Lester, "What's the addresses of these Russels, just in case?"

[Cearlan]

Lester gives the two addresses as follows;

"Elijah Russell - 493 Halsey Street over in Easttown and Melissa Russell - 63 West Hyde Street, that's over on the Northside She lost her husband some years back and has not been in for some time herself. Elijah tends to pop in about once a month."

[Mr. Handy]

"Perhaps with the genalogical information available at the Historical Society, we could now trace those seven families," suggests Katherine. "Some of those names are fairly common, and this could help us figure out which ones are actual descendents."

OOC,I'm sorry, I didn't realize that the spoiler button was also addressed to me and hadn't read it. I was wondering where I was.

[Cearlan]

"Ah ..." replies Lester to Sr Katherine's statement. "... that would be Mr Peabody's area of expertise I'm afraid. And this is where the bad news comes in. Whilst doing my research today, I did notice that there are several books that seem to be missing from the library stacks. I may have missed them but I don't think so - I take great pride in my work and the thoroughness of it. Let me double check."

He scurries off and after some frantic searching and cursing coming from between the stacks and Peabody's office, Lester returns about ten minutes later. "Yes there are several documents and books missing from the local genealogy section. It is overseen by Mr Peabody himself, and he is even more fastidious about his books than I, and that is saying a great deal. I have even checked his office and they are definitely not there.

"I can search through our member catalogue to see if any of the names I gave you exist if you wish ... P. Ames, J. Crane, J. Noyes, E. Phillips, J. Pierce, A. White, and E. Williams Some families still stick to naming their first born after their father, but this comes unstuck if there is a daughter involved who got married of course."

OOC:   Sorry MrH forgot to add you in there

[DrPeterson]

Cearlan-OOC,I totally missed that post, sorry :)

Cearlan:,Henry will tell the truth,but he'll leave out any supernatural details. He'll postulate the theory that Atwater went crazy, and given his proclivities for the occult, he believes now that he's some colonial witch who's out for revenge on the relatives for whoever sentenced him back in the day. He'll also add that he didn't make this up, but that the people at the loony bin pointed out that this is very plausible due to the severe nature of the trauma he suffered.

[Cearlan]

Henry,After grilling you for about fifteen minutes, Det Spillman says [color=#FF4000]"Right, can you wait in the car with this officer here while me and the boys take a look around inside for a bit."[/color] Without waiting for an answer he turns on his heel and with the policemen he mentioned he enters the house. Ten minutes later he returns and says to you "Henry Calamy, get out of the car please and step over here if you'd be so kind." When you comply he looks you up and down, moving around behind you he continues to examine you. Once in front of you once more he tells you to [color=#FF4000]"Hold your hands out."[/color] After examining your hands and sleeves he nods. [color=#FF4000]"You got some slight traces of blood on your fingertips from somewhere, which fits in with what you said about the books in the library. I believe that you did not strike the blow that killed Mrs Hope, nor were you in the vicinity as you would have a lot of blood on your clothing. Where you stopping while you are in town, I do hope you are not planning on leaving our lovely little town just yet?"[/color]

[Mr. Handy]

"Perhaps the intruder also looked through and made off with the missing materials," says Katherine. "We'll just have to do our best with what remains."

[Priest]

I nod at Sister Katherine's point she may well be right. following a distant hope I turn to Lester, "These missing books, did Mr Peadbody keep a catalogue that would throw a light on the missing titles by any chance?"

[DrPeterson]

Cearlan:,[b]Henry [/b]snorts, "[color=#0000BF]I'm glad you believe me, detective. Believe me, I want to get to the bottom of this too.[/color]" He takes a cigarette from his pocket and lights it. "[color=#0000BF]My office is in town, so I'm not going to go dash off to anywhere soon. I'll let you know if I find out something more. Am I free to go now?[/color]"

[Cearlan]

Henry,[color=#FF4000]"Yes I saw that on your licence, which by the way runs out in six weeks, but we have to be sure, as you will no doubt understand."[/color]

Historical Society,Lester asks for some help and Sharon starts looking through the index cards but unfortunately she cannot find any other matches to the names given. Lester meanwhile goes through the book catalogues and returns with a handwritten volume. "I have checked what is on the shelves and I believe that there are eight folders missing. The folders cover the genealogies of Peter Ames, Jeremiah Crane, Jebel Noyes, Elihu Phillips, James Pierce, Richard Russel and Allen White, and Ethan Williams.

[Mr. Handy]

"Precisely the ones we needed," says Katherine. "That confirms our suspicions. Would we be able to find this information at Miskatonic University's library? I doubt he'll have stolen from there too. He's more interested in having the information for himself than in covering his tracks, it seems. He stole these folders, but he might not have gone out of his way to wipe out all other sources of this knowledge. He'll want to track down the descendants first rather than spend time doing something else."

[DrPeterson]

Cearlan:,"[color=#0000BF]Six weeks is a long time, detective. I'm sure we'll be in touch. Happy hunting.[/color]" Henry lights up another cigarette and starts walking away. (OOC: Did the others take his car, or is it still there?)

[Cearlan]

Lester shakes his head ruefully, "Sorry Sister, these were Mr Peabody's own personal interests which he donated to the society. As far as I am aware there are no other copies. Wait! Let me see the list of names again! I think I just remembered something." Lester takes the list from whoever has it and hits the paper with his forefinger. "See here we have Elihu Phillips. Now I am not saying there is a connection here but there is a Retribution Phillips lives over on Sutton Road, just off the Aylesbury Pike. I remember this because there was a piece in the paper recently about him becoming a centenarian." He goes to the stacks and pulls a folio of newspapers down and after a few minutes searching waves you over.

You see a short article, only a paragraph or two, about a Retribution Phillips turning 100 years old.

OOC:   (no handout, but i'll try to get one sorted in the next day or so).

[Priest]

I scan the newspaper paragraph that Lester is pointing out, "Hmm, so if this Retribution Philips is descended from the Elihu Philips, Peabody had in his studies, chances are that this is our best lead to where the killer may strike next."

I scratch the back of my neck thoughtfully, a habit that I had developed in childhood, before replacing my hat in readiness for departure. "Is there a full address for this Philips, or do we simply cruise the area and hope we find him before the killer?"

[Mr. Handy]

"If he has a telephone, he might be listed in the directory," says Katherine. "We should head there right away as soon as we have the address. There's not a moment to lose! Even if a crazed murderer weren't after him, he's not getting any younger."

[Cearlan]

The article gives his address as 123 Sutton Road.