[IC]Chapter 1.2b - A Visit to Old Sparky's House

[Raiko]

At the Gate – Sing Sing Prison
2:45pm - Wednesday 14th January

"You're not the type we normally get making professional visits Missy, but these seem to be in order." The guard hands the documents back to Cynthia, "Please wait in the administration building, the warden would like to speak to you before you're taken to the Death House."

Noticing Atauchi's cold stare, the guard asks, "You got a problem pal?"

"None of you are armed are you? No weapons or sharp objects are allowed inside the jail."

[jp1885]

Cynthia gives a brittle smile as she takes back the paperwork.

"It's crazy what they've got us women doing nowadays, huh? Please don't mind my friend - he's like that with everybody."

She is rather disconcerted abut the request to give up her handgun, despite the fact that it's a perfectly reasonable request. She hands her gun over, grateful that she had left her sword at home - that would have raised some awkward questions!

"A girl can't be too careful. Here ya go - but I want a receipt, okay?"

[Silver Priest]

Marcus also hands his gun over and waits for the warden.

[Zero]

Atauchi continued to eye the guard, but remained silent. When the others produced their handguns for confiscation, he stepped forward and slid a handgun from beneath his overcoat. He placed it alongside the others, but conveniently forgot about the small knife concealed inside his left boot. His expression remained stoic as he waited at his companions' sides.

OOC:   Probably also for the best that Atauchi didn't carry his bow on the train with him.

[Raiko]

The Administration Building - Sing Sing Prison, Westchester County, NY
2:50pm - Wednesday 14th January, 1925

The trio of investigators are lead through the gate and into the prison's admin building, which stand just inside the prison walls. The office area that they are taken into has a waiting area with wooden bench seats, to which the investigators are directed. The rest of the large room is taken up with desks and numerous filing cabinets. There are four lady clerical workers sat at desk in here, three guards - two of whom are chatting about the football play-offs - and two elderly trustee prisoners.

The frosted window of a door to an adjacent office has been stencilled with black letters reading 'Lewis E. Lawes - Warden', but one of the secretaries says, "Please take a seat gentlemen and Miss Vallier; Mister Brunton is expecting you, he's on his way now and will take you across to the death house."

[jp1885]

Cynthia nods towards the sign on the warden's door.

"Mr. Brunton huh? What happened to Mr. Lawes?"

[Raiko]

"Mr Brunton is subwarden for the death-house," replies the secretary. "Mr Lowe is a very busy man, but he asked Mr Brunton to look after your visit."

"Ah, here he is now."

A short and stocky man with close cropped, salt and pepper hair steps into the office building. He is wearing a modest, brown three-piece suit and smiles warmly as he walks across to the investigators.

"Good afternoon, Miss Vallier I assume? I'm George Brunton, I've have the honour of looking after the facilities and inmates at the death house."

He looks a little surprised by Cynthia's companions, particularly Atauchi, but non-the-less extends a powerful handshake and genial smile to each of the investigators.

"Before I take you across, might I enquire about the nature of your visit? Adams, is happy to meet with you, but he still maintains his innocence, and so I'm not sure what you hope to learn from your visit."

"The warden doesn't want anyone else making trouble."

[Silver Priest]

"Bodyguards," Marcus explains. "This place is no place for a woman on her own."

He lets Cynthia take the lead otherwise, figuring she's better at presenting their case then he is.

[jp1885]

As Cynthia shakes Brunton's hand, she tilts her head towards her companions.

"Sometimes a little protection is necessary, like my friend says. As a behaviourist, I get to study some pretty strange people. That's what I'm here to do: study the Voodoo Killer and try to find out what makes him tick."

She looks at the sub-warden quizzically.

"I'd be interested to know your take on the guy. He says he's innocent - what do you think? You say your boss doesn't want anyone else making trouble - is Adams stirring things up or another prisoner? Did the behavioural change coincide with his arrival?"

She smiles apologetically.

"Sorry for the third degree an' all, but it helps to add context to the subject and such."

[Zero]

Like Marcus, Atauchi seemed quite content to allow Cynthia to do the talking in this particular situation. He followed along with the conversation as best as he was able and simultaneously peered about his surroundings for anything out of the ordinary.

Spot Hidden (70%),[dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   @Raiko Let me know if making a Spot Hidden here is appropriate and worthy of a tick. It was a hard success.

[Raiko]

OOC:   Still a few decades too early for the Zodiac killer Cynthia.

Burton shrugs, "I think that Hilton Adams believes he's innocent and that he was framed. Well he believes it, or he's a good liar, or crazy."

The subwarden grins ruefully at Cynthia, "That's the trouble in here though, lots of crazy people and good liars who all say they're innocent.

"The trouble is outside the jail. A lady reporter believes Adams story. Mr Lawes is finding her tiresome"

OOC:   @jp1885, Nothing to spot yet, but I'll save that roll for if it's needed later at the prison.

[jp1885]

OOC,Oops my mistake! post duly edited. (It was Zero that asked for the spot hidden BTW :))

Cynthia rolls her eyes.

"Don't get me started on journalists... If she catches wind of my studies here, the university will also have trouble to deal with. At least I know to look out for her now, so thanks for the tip-off. What's her name?"

[Raiko]

"Rebecca Shosenburg, she works for the Times. She's not published anything about the story since Adams was convicted, but she visited a few times and she's been making enquiries in the city."

Burton leads the way out of the administration building.

"The death house is down by the river, across the tracks. We'll keep you quite safe Miss Vallier, don't worry.

"Anyway," he continues "Perhaps Miss Shosenburg is right, and she'll get Adams cleared. If not, then it will be my sad duty to supervise his execution "

[jp1885]

Cynthia goes cold at the mention of execution, as if she suddenly realises where she is and what happens here. She shudders as she exits the administration building.

"Well, that's, er... Anyway, let's get going huh?"

[Silver Priest]

Marcus follows along, lighting up a smoke as he does; it's one habit he's not been able to break, nor does he really want to.

[Raiko]

Inside the Death House – Sing Sing Prison, Westchester County, NY
3:00pm - Wednesday 14th January, 1925

Sing Sing Death House

Brunton leads leads Cynthia and her minders down the hill and across the railroad tracks to the death house, an innocuous looking, two storey brick building. Once inside they need to pass though two different sets of locked and guarded gates, and then along death row itself. On the way though the checks Mr. Brunton explains the rules:

"The prisoner will remain inside his cell at all times."

"You will remain a safe distance from the bars at all times."

"You will not pass anything to the prisoner, and you will not accept anything from the prisoner."

"Is that clear?"

The left-hand side of the corridor is lined with windows which look into the barren central courtyard of the death house. Along the right-hand side stand the cells of the condemned. Hilton Adams' cell is the third along the row, and a wooden stool has been sat outside the bars awaiting Cynthia.

"You have a visitor Adams, behave yourself."

"Miss Vallier?" Brunton indicates the stool and turns to leave the investigators.

"Let the guard know when you're finished. I'll be in the building if you need me."

He walks away towards the gate, where a guard stands ready to let him through.

Adams’ cell is cramped, with just enough room for a lavatory, a metal-framed bed, and a small desk and chair. Adams sits waiting for the investigators, seated on the edge of his bed, as near to the bars of his cell as he can get. Hilton is an African-American man, probably about thirty years old, with strong features and a muscular build. He wears a black-and-white striped denim prisoner’s uniform. His short, dark hair is lightly peppered with grey, despite his youth, and his face is creased with lines.

"I would shake your hand,” he says, with a wry smile, “but I don’t think that would go down too well with Mr. Brunton, eh?"

Death Row

OOC,[ooc]It's all very Silence of the Lambs.[/ooc]

[jp1885]

Suppressing a shiver, Cynthia sits as requested, fishing out a pencil and notepad but otherwise keeping her hands firmly to herself. As a lone female, sitting in front of the Voodoo Murderer in a building full of condemned men, she can't help but feel vulnerable despite the bold front she usually tries to project.

She turns briefly, giving Marcus and Atauchi a look which clearly states 'watch my back', before clearing her throat to address Adams.

"Yeah, I guess not... Thank you for agreeing to talk to me. I'll be honest with you Mr. Adams - I'm here to study you, considering the things that you... that, er occurred... What the hell - the voodoo murders." She shrugs. "I'd rather be up front with you than mess around."

"If you don't mind, please can you tell me your story? By that I mean: from your background to how you came to be in here."

Cynthia will attempt to read Adams' body language as she jots down his reply.

Psychology 79% Extreme pass,[dice]0[/dice]

[Raiko]

The Death House - Sing Sing Prison, Westchester County, NY
3:05pm - Wednesday 14th January, 1925

Hilton Adams sat silently for a few seconds, his eyes fixed on Cynthia. The stare of a serial killer. She got the feeling that he was trying to read her, just as she was reading him.

"Thirteen..."

He pauses for another second, "That's how many lives I've taken. I figure that if I walk to meet Ol' Sparky in a few weeks, then I guess it's no less than I deserve. Though I'd prefer to live a long life, 'n leave it to the almighty to judge whether I'm a righteous man."

Adams leans closer towards Cynthia, his face nearly touching the bars now.

"I see all their faces in my dreams, 'specially the young one. Lad can't have been older than sixteen, tried desperately to hold me off...

"And cried for his mother after I gutted him with my bolo and left him bleeding in the mud."

He sits back again, and takes a deep breath, "So if you want to interview a killer, Miss Vallier? Then look no further; I can tell you what it's like to stare into a man's eyes as he knows his times done, and to stick it to him without no remorse - not at that instant, at any rate.

"But my victims were all in the mud on the Western Front, it you want to speak to the Voodoo killer, you won't find him in Sing Sing.

"I'll tell you my story if you wish Miss Vallier, but mark my words; those eight Voodoo murders are just the tip o' the iceburg. Black folk been vanishing in Harlem for years, and no one cared a damn. I tried to look into what was goin' on an' this is where it got me."

Cynthia,There are going to be npcs within the campaign who are impossible to read in terms of truthfulness, because they insane, stone cold sociopaths or deranged lunatics, their sanity so shattered they they don't know what is true and what is madness. Hilton Adams is certainly a stone-cold killer, but Cynthia doesn't think he's insane. And if he is sane, she is sure that he is telling her the truth.

Marcus and Atauchi,A "bolo" is an American Great War trench knife. Not sure if Atauchi would know this, but I'll leave that to Zero to decide.

[jp1885]

Cynthia forces herself to hold Adams' gaze for a heartbeat or two.

Having looked into the feral eyes of a kharisiri and the souless black orbs of Augustus Larkin, she reasons Adams could be the Voodoo Murderer, Ghenghis Khan and Kaiser Bill all rolled into one, but at least he'd be human.

Wanna read me pal? She thinks. Go right ahead...

"So folk started disappearing huh? Folk the likes of me don't usually think about. How did it come to your attention? What did you find out? Who did you tell?"

She stops and leans back a little.

"Sorry for the third degree - please tell your story in your own way."

[Zero]

Atauchi folded his arms and stood behind Cynthia as she conversed with the prisoner. The crime and punishment system in this city seemed to be rather inefficient. The man that stood before them had admitted to killing thirteen individuals, yet he still drew breath. The Quechua would have swiftly executed him for committing such atrocities.

OOC:   Atauchi may have a bolo in his collection by now.