Play@YSDC

Wednesday night saw the end of Harlan Covington, but Jacqueline saw a commonality between the effects the traceries of light in that black limbo, and the effect had on her by the "Heart Music" played by Walter Locke. Whether that is more than coincidence is an open question, but the next time he's playing it at A'Lelia Walker's place on Saturday.

In the meantime, Ellis has teaching at Mott Hall during the days. It does mean he gets to see James, who can confirm that he and Alexander have had no further dreams.

Jacqueline, who may or may not be surprised by this, receives an invitation from Washington Hughes to dine out with him on Friday Night at Salome's Restaurant. On Friday morning Jacqueline also receives a letter from Alexander Senior's uncle in New Orleans.

The Letter,He confesses that Harlan Covington was a man he had hoped never to discuss again, but the sake of his family... The man had the heart of the devil - sometimes when he was drunk and in the mood to abuse his slaves, he would claim to literally have the heart of the devil - though he used some other name for it that Alexander Senior's uncle can't recall. He died by a gunshot, in a locked room. The men from town didn't want to rule it a suicide, but they couldn't find a way to blame it on the slaves. [Jacqueline will recall that the guy she called in New Orleans couldn't find a record of the cause of death]

Jacqueline gladly agrees to meet Washington Hughes for dinner. After everything he did to help, it's the least she can do. She shares the letter she received with Ellis when he is finished teaching for the day, as he would certainly be interested.

Ellis shrugs.

"Hopefully, we've heard the last of him. Hopefully."

"I think he's finished," says Jacqueline. "If he could have done something, he would have by now."

Salome's Restaurant turns out to be run by an Arab family - the cuisine is unlike anything Jacqueline has tasted - there's hot spice, which she will have tasted in Spanish food, but also a fruitiness that wouldn't seem like it should go. Unfortunately no alcohol, even under the counter. Washington is a perfect gentleman, walking her home after, and not asking to come in.

Do either of you plan to attend Walter Locke's next performance of his "Heart Music" at A'Lelia Walker's on Saturday?

OOC,I realise the thead title is begging the question somewhat, but it won't mess anything up if this episode turns out to be really short. :)

Ellis is curious about the music after hearing about it from Jacqueline.

Jacqueline also wants to find out more about the Heart Music and why it is so similar to the phenomenon she noticed in the other world, so she will also attend.

A'Lelia Walker is the daughter of America's first black female millionaire. While she inherited her mother's business, she devotes most of her attention to Harlem's social scene, sponsoring artists and performers of all kinds. She lives in a mansion in the Golden Edge, the most exclusive part of the neighbourhood, overlooking Central Park itself - she holds a regular salon there - in years to come, it will be known as the Dark Tower, but for now it's just A'Lelia Walker's place, an address known to everyone in Harlem.

Her gatherings are racially integrated, blacks mixing with whites as freely as they can anywhere. Mrs Walker (she has been married, though Walker is her mother's name) sometimes plays with this, serving black patrons better food and drink than her white ones, something that her wealth lets her get away with.

When you arrive, you find this is the case tonight - it is of course up to you whether that brings a smile to your face.

Jacqueline's well known enough that she can get in without an invitation - this extends to Ellis too.

The evening is packed. Wallace Thurman, novellist and editor of the magazine Fire!!! is reading exerpts from his work. You get another chance to hear Willie Smith on the keys, though this time he has a rival in the form of Duke Ellington. There is more reading, this time poetry from Countee Cullen.

OOC,I love this sourcebook. I wouldn't have gotten a quarter of this researching on my own.

Walter Locke takes his turn late in the evening. He's playing his horn again... and again, the music is both compelling in the moment you hear it, but forgotten almost the instant later. Your heads are filled with its simultaneous presence and absence, crowding everything else out. It becomes hard to focus on anything but Locke and his horn - though you can still sense people all around you - but too many of them, as if the room as grown even more packed than it was before he started playng.

Jacqueline,The effect is stronger than at the club.

Ellis,You realise you're counting under your breath in time to the music.

Neither of you can think to move or speak until it's over. When it is - just as at the club - the patrons do not applaud immediately, but neither do they seem to be disappointed. A trickle of polite applause picks up a moment later.

Smith and Ellington both have slightly dazed expressions on their faces, much as you both do. Most others seem to have gone back to normal.

Locke nods and smiles, before retreating toward a door at the back of the room.

"That was even more powerful than the first time I heard it," Jacqueline says to Ellis."Shall we follow him backstage and see if we can talk to him?"

Ellis nods. "The music makes me think about the equations" he says.

It's easy enough to get to the door Locke went through - the performing area isn't a formal stage, just a cleared part of the room. it leads into a similarly appointed room, if a bit smaller. Locke is in there packing his horn into a case. He looks up as you enter. "Hello again. Miss Johnson, wasn't it?"

"That's right, Mr. Locke," says Jacqueline with a smile. "This is Ellis Lammons."

Ellis nods and holds out his hand to shake.

"It's a special sound you have" he says. "May I ask what inspires you?"

"Well, as I said to Miss Johnson, everything is an inspiration in its own way. But I make my sound by adapting music that wasn't originally written for the horn. The viol in this case."

"It feels so...otherworldly," says Jacqueline. "It was even more moving here than it was when I first heard it."

"Truly? Well, I have heard your voice, and that is high praise. I'm not certain I have touched half of what this melody can bring forth. What about you, sir? Do you sing or play?"

Ellis shakes his head.

"Just an admirer, I'm afraid."

"I see." He seems slightly surprised by Ellis's answer. "I intend to perform again on Monday, at the Nest - if you are interested, I will see you have an invitation."

OOC,The Nest is one of the clubs you passed when looking for Alexander: "a dance hall, gambling joint, pool place, and speakeasy all in once. It tends to be loud and wanton - JJ has performed there, but the audience likes their performers scantily clad" was what I said about it. It seems a bit of a departure from his previous venues.

"Thank you, I'd like that," says Jacqueline, who much prefers to be in the audience in that place than performing herself.

"I look forward to seeing you there."

OOC,Ellis's Psychology 10; Rolled 1D100 08. Jacqueline's Psychology 55; rolled 1D100 97.

Ellis,Maybe it's that Ellis isn't looking with the eyes of a fellow performer, but he has a strong suspicion that Locke is anticipating more than just another performance.

Locke has finished stowing his horn in his bag, and looks set to leave - do you want to let him go, try to get him to stay, or try to tail him? Or something else I haven't thought of?

Monday Night.

The Nest is a segregated club, with two entrances - the front one for whites, and one just into the alley to the side for everyone else (Italians have recently been promoted from "everyone else" but the Spanish still have to go in the side door with the black people).
The white entrance leads to a large space with tables around the three sides that don't abut the stage, and a dance floor in the middle. Your entrance leads to a much narrower area, to the left of the white one - the tables are rougher, and there's no room to dance. There's a bar beside the stage that crosses the barrier between the two, but they have different staff for each side.
Off of each side are two small pool halls - the one in the black side has four tables.
There are steps down from each of the two seating areas, which Jacqueline knows lead to a speakeasy - that's also segregated, divided into two rooms with two-sided bar linking them.

The place is crowded, although no one especially famous is playing tonight. The more affluent whites are all sitting at tables on the right side of their area, opposite from having to sit near the blacks. It's a slight you're both well used to, of course.

The first act is a couple dancing the Charleston on stage - a few of the patrons get up and join in.

The second is a jazz singer, who garners more catcalls than claps from the whites in the club.

Walter is the last again. He starts more slowly than the previous times he played - it's easier to follow the notes.

OOC,Ellis's Mathematics 80; Rolled 1D100 97.

Again Ellis is struck by a sense of commonality between this Heart Music and Covington's equations, but he can't quite put his finger on what.

As the music progresses, the now familiar narrowing of focus grows, along with the sense of more people being here than should be.

Somewhere behind you, you hear a voice muttering "No, no, no" followed by something in Spanish.

As Locke plays on, even the real people are beginning to look blurry - unless it something happening to your sight.

Jacqueline had been one of the patrons dancing the Charleston.

When things start to go weird, Jacqueline looks behind her to try to see who is muttering, though chances are that they're getting blurry too. "Maybe we should leave," she whispers to Ellis.

"Something's happening" says Ellis. "I think we're going to that other place."

OOC,Jacqueline's Spot Hidden 55; rolled 1D100 with penalty die 22.

Jacqueline is able to get a look at the mutterer, a middle-aged man (unsurprisingly Spanish-looking), who seems to have the same thought she just voiced, as he scrambles to his feet and makes for the exit. Then her vision blurs over...

For a moment, you can both see similar traceries of light to those you saw in the black limbo.

Then they're replaced with blazing bright globes, whirling around each other like stars - drawing close to you, or you to them - their voice ringing in your ears in time to Locke's music. No, the music is their music, their voice speaking deep into you.

Then they're gone.

OOC,SAN Losses (no roll - it was a momentary glimpse, so I'm going to rule that you automatically passed) Ellis 4, Jaqueline 10. Jacqueline's Bout of Madness roll 6, Faint.

Ellis,The club is visually gone back to normal, but half the people are screaming, and Jacqueline has fainted, along with others. A few fights are breaking out. On the stage, Locke looks triumphant, but turns and flees.

Jacqueline,Sorry, you're getting bad luck with the SAN rolls. You do get an insane insight out of the deal however: the Heart Music really is the heart of the being you glimpsed, as well as its voice.

Ellis decides to get Jacqueline out, Locke will have to wait. He bends down to lift her onto his shoulder.

Ellis is able to get Jacqueline onto his shoulders, though it's a bit of an obstacle course to get to the door.

OOC,Let's call it Dodge with a bonus die, because no one's actively trying to stop you, just careening around. Rolled 34.

You get bumped about a few times, by people staggering or looking around them in panic, and have to sidestep a fight - a few people jostle you around the exit, trying to get out too - but in the end you make it outside.

Jacqueline,Luck roll 58; your purse snagged enough to stay on your arm.

Once in the alley, the screams from inside have abated, though there are still sounds of chaos.

In the cooler air of the evening, Jacqueline revives to find herself on Ellis's shoulders (Ellis can feel her start moving).

"Thank you for getting me out of there," mumbles Jacqueline as she comes to her senses. "I've always wanted to be swept off my feet, but that's not quite how I imagined it happening."

"Why did you faint?" Ellis asks.

People are coming out of the club now, both entrances. Some are walking, some staggering, some running - a few are carrying other unconscious patrons. From the looks of it, most if not everyone saw the same vision you did.

"I think my brain must have just shut down," says Jacqueline. "I couldn't handle it. That thing we saw - the music is its heart, its voice."

Ellis looks at the people leaving the club.

"We need to find Locke" he says. "Find out what's going on."

Ellis can clearly recall the triumphant expression on Locke's face as the chaos broke out.

In any case, almost everyone is out of the club now. Most people aren't sticking around.

It's only been a few minutes and there is a limited number exits - you could see if you can spot Locke, or look for anything he might have left behind - or you could skedaddle before the police arrive and come up with another plan to find him later.

"Let's look around for him," says Jacqueline, "but we need to make it quick. The police will be along soon, and it's better if we're not here when they arrive."

The interior of the club is littered with overturned tables and chairs, along with fallen bottles and broken glasses. Here and there are dropped purses and other belongings. There's a couple remaining within, a woman tending to a man with a gashed forehead - they both glance up at you, but don't seem to want to talk.

There's a white man lying in their seating area, though you can see he's still breathing. Mercifully there don't seem to be any large pools of blood that would indicate any serious injuries to anyone. None of the staff seem to be around, and there's nothing to prevent you getting to the stage.

Backstage has a small waiting area where performers can sit and watch whoever is onstage, and a side room where they can change clothes if necessary. The back door leads straight from the waiting area - both it and the changing room door are open - no one immediately appears to be in the changing room.

"Maybe he went out the back," says Jacqueline.

"Let's go! Stay behind me."

Ellis leads the way.

The alley has some bags and bins scattered about - one of the latter, to the left, has been knocked over - there's nothing to indicate that it only just happened, but there's nothing else that looks like signs of someone's passage.

"He probably went that way," says Jacqueline, pointing at the fallen bin. "Let's go that way."

The indicated direction is away from 133rd Street, which also means away from the direction any police or other emergency services are likely to come. The alley come out on the much narrower 132nd, mostly made up of tenements.

There's no sign of Locke right or left - the ends of the street are Seventh and Eighth Avenues - if he's made it to them, or gone into one of the buildings, there's no way to catch up with him.

There is however another alley ahead, and if he went that way, you might still catch up him, burdened as he is by his horn.

OOC,Ellis's Dex 40, Jacqueline's 65; rolled 1D100 three times 65, 38, 48.

It's quickly apparent that at least one bin in the alley opposite has been knocked, and there's a crate that looks like it's been kicked or tripped over. You're both able to navigate the obstacles yourselves, making it all the way down it without tripping over anything yourselves, At the far end, you emerge onto 131st. It's also a narrow tenement street, but much shorter, and as you reach it, you see movement rounding a street corner to your right.* Too quick to be entirely sure it's him, but it's unlikely to be anyone else.

* In terms of location, think of it as a "7.5" avenue that runs between 131st and 130th.

"This way," says Jacqueline, already running after the fleeing figure.

OOC,Another set of chase rolls: 82, 00, 44.

Maybe Jacqueline is impelled by the vision of the globes of light, and what it told her about the music, or maybe she has the fitness of a habitual dancer. Either way she makes it to the corner just in time to hear a door close. There's no one in the street, and she's pretty sure that Locke couldn't have made it all way to the far end soon enough to be out of sight.

It's hard to pinpoint which building the sound of the door came from, but Jacqueline has the impression it was on the far side. There are only four tenements on that side of the street that have lights on.

"I heard one of these doors close," Jacqueline tells Ellis when he catches up to her. "It's probably one of the ones with a light on, but I'm not sure which one. The door was shut before I could see it."

Ellis looks around.

"I don't think we can just walk in to someone's home. Maybe we should come back during the day, and ask around about Locke."

Ellis position is logical, and at least you have narrowed down where to ask questions tomorrow.

in the morning, the incident at the Nest has made New York's newspapers. Unsurprisingly, the mainstream press is talking about a riot, "Negro tempers becoming inflamed" - no deaths are reported, but the police express confidence of making arrests in the near future. Harlem's local papers don't tell a very different story, they just don't automatically blame the black people - the Negro World includes an interview with a patron who describes a vision similar to yours, leading the journalist to speculate about a gas leak.

It is Tuesday, leaving you with the choice of whether to visit the street (let's call it Clarke Avenue) early in the morning before he has to teach, or early in the afternoon when school closes up.

"Let's go back early in the morning," suggests Jacqueline. "Memories will be fresher, and the trail won't be as cold."

You're both able to get to Clarke Avenue early in the morning, though it leaves your muscles a bit sore and tired (though his presumably will be as well).

Between you you're able to recall which four houses had the lights on.

How do you want to approach them?

"Shall we knock on each of the four doors and ask about Walter Locke, describing him if they don't know him?" asks Jacqueline. "We can also ask if they were aware of any disturbance last night."

“He might open the door! We don’t want to let him know we’re onto him. I’ve got an idea.”

He looks around to see if there are any kids around.

There are indeed some kids around.

Ellis takes a dollar out of his pocket as he approaches the kids.

“Hi there” he says, holding up the dollar. “Do any of you know if a horn player lives there?"

He indicates the building with his thumb.

Jacqueline is surprised that Ellis is offering so much, but she knows that it is a good plan.

HoneyDog wrote: ↑Sat Apr 24, 2021 8:30 am“Hi there” he says, holding up the dollar. “Do any of you know if a horn player lives there?"

The boy pauses a moment, then says, "Not there, but there's a few live there" - he points at one of the other candidate buildings - "there's one comes out and plays on the doorstep sometimes."

"Thank you," says Jacqueline. "Did you notice anything unusual last night?"

"What time? Mom makes me go to bed at seven."

"I can stay up till eight," an older boy boasts.

"I woke up in the night," a girl with them puts in. "I thought I heard a noise." Checking which is her house shows she lives next door to the one the boy indicated as the hornmen's residence.

"What did the noise sound like?" asks Jacqueline.

"A bang," she says.

"Does he live with anyone else?" Ellis asks.

"It's apartments," says the boy who boasted of how late he could stay up. "There's three of them, I think. The man who plays on the step has a wife."

"She bakes great cookies," the first boy puts in.

"The other two don't live with anyone," the braggart continues.

"No," the girl says. The two boys concur.

Jacqueline describes Walter Locke to the children. "Is he one of the hornmen?" she asks. "Is he the married one?"

"The married one's older," the first boy says. "White hair and a beard. But the man you're talking about lives there too."

Jacqueline can't think of anything else to ask, but she looks to Ellis to see if he has any more questions.

The boastful boy asks if they get a dollar each, since they all told you things.

"Yeah, go on" says Ellis absently, handing out the money. "You guys take care now."

Once the children are gone, he turns to Jacqueline.

"Do you have your gun?"

"I never go anywhere without it," says Jacqueline, patting her purse. "Especially not after...what happened before. Why, what did you have in mind?"

The children are duly thankful, and rush off, possibly in the direction of the nearest sweetshop.

You have an hour or so before Ellis has to think about getting to Mott High or devising an excuse about not doing so.

"Do you want to go see if he's home?" Ellis asks.

"If he is, won't he know we're onto him?" asks Jacqueline.

Ellis shrugs.

"I'm not sure how else we can find out what's going on."

"All right, let's try it," says Jacqueline.

The front door of the building turns out not be locked - there is a postbox beside it, with three slots - in descnding order, these bear the names John and Nora Lafayette, Walter Locke, and "Apartment 3."

Inside it's a walkup - stairs on side, landings and apartments on the other. The apartment on the ground floor is numbered 1. You can hear the sounds of movement and male and female voices through the thin walls - you remember that the children said the old hornman who played on the porch (and wasn't Locke) had a wife.

Heading up to the middle floor you find Apartment 2. There is no noise from within.

"Shall we knock and see if he's home?" asks Jacqueline.

Ellis shakes his head. He gently tries the door handle.

The door shifts then stops, in a way that indicates it's bolted on the far side rather than locked.

"If it's bolted, he must be home," whispers Jacqueline.

The brief rattle of the door provokes no response from inside.

"Do you want to knock now?" whispers Jacqueline, "or should we talk to the neighbors first?"