"It appeared to me to be a quick death in all cases, followed by some ritual cutting and the symbolic carving, and such," he said, in his detached and clinical manner.

"It is difficult to tell the exact delay in time involved, but it does not appear that there was torture first."

Bishop started running through what he had learned about the deadmen so far  "So they were not mutilated to gain information, or to cause pain. Rather these appear to be purely ritualistic."

"As a private detective Buskirk might have been digging into something and been captured and tied up so he could be questioned."

"If this is a cult then Reverend Johnson might have been seen as the competition or might have stuck his nose into things. The hood might have crossed paths with them as well. The Italians have there fingers in Harlem, women, drugs and the numbers. Maybe some of the cult members are involved in those rackets. Not sure how the others might fit into things. Maybe they were witnesses to some other killing or crime. If that is the case the seamstress might live someplace close to where the killings are done."

"When was Buskirk murdered?" Bishop asked.

"On the third of January," Nefen replied calmly.

"Thank you." Bishop nodded.

Someone had likely hired the detective to dig into the killings. If Buskirk had a partner they might be able to see if he had any idea of what the dead man might have been working on when he was killed. There was a chance that the detective had paid his rent early and that his office might not have been cleaned out yet. If so it might be worth poking around his office.

Otherwise with a list of the victims, the location where their bodies and the dates when they were discovered it might be possible to find a pattern that might point at a possible location where the murders were commited.

"Well, gentlemen, as much as I would like to spend all of my day answering these questions, I must get back to my work," he said.

Leo smiled and nodded at Franz. "Again, thank you so much for your time. Let me know if you ever need anything, I'd be happy to return the favor." Leo offered his hand to the man before turning to leave.

"Thank you." Bishop said simply as he waited for Dr Elias to say his good byes.

OOC:

Where to next?

OOC: I think we're headed back to Leo's house at this point.

OOC we still have lots to do. Perahaps a phone call can spare us a trip uptown.

"I would like to see if that detective's office might offer any answer. If someone hired him to look into the killings, he must have gotten close for someone to have grabbed him and killed him. If that is indeed what happened it might be best to rethink have a bunch of amateurs running around town asking questions."

"Having a look around his office or talking to his associates might offer us some insights and save us some shoe leather." Bishop said as they headed out.

"I would also like to get a map and have a look at where the bodies were discovered and see if we might not find a pattern."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:28, Fri 03 Oct 2014.

Leo nodded at the suggestions. "Sounds like a good plan. We can get a map at a filling station."

"We can take a look at the yellow pages and see if this detective had an office." Bishop said as they made their way out to the car.

Realizing that they Poole had already given them an address for Buskirk's office, Leonardo and Stanley headed there directly. Making their way into a dingy building in Queens, they went up one flight of stairs to arrive at the office. The wooden door had an opaque, clouded glass upon which was lettered 'BUSKIRK & JONES, PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS.'

Leo shrugged. He couldn't see any reason why they shouldn't just try to walk in. He tried the handle.

The door opened, revealing a dark office with light streaming in from a large window. The room was sparsely furnished, with two desks, a bookshelf and a filing cabinet. Only one of the desks was occupied, the man looking up at them.

"What can I do for you fellas?" he asked.

That his dead partner's name was still on the door either meant the man was sentimental or just had not gotten around to having it scraped off.

"Name is Stanley Bishop." The big man said handing over business cards. Pinkerton was a big fish, so Bishop soft peddled it and left it unstated.

"We were following up on a case that might be related to your partner's death. I was hoping we could compare notes and see if you might have something that would help us find the killers." Bishop saw no reason to introduce Elias hoping that Jones might assume he was also a Pinkerton man.

"Pinkerton, eh? Why don't ya close the door, grab a seat," he said, referring to the two other chairs in the room.

"I don't know nothin' about Walter's death, though I'll tell you what I can. Got my own cases now that I'm gettin' paid to work. What do you wanna know?"

” We appreciate that time is money.”

”Can you tell me what cases your partner was working on when he was killed?” Bishop asked directly.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:16, Wed 08 Oct 2014.

"He was lookin' for some rich broad that had gone missin'," he said. "You know, blonde hair, sparkly blue eyes and all that. Last time I sees him, he says he's gotta lead in Harlem and he's gonna go check it out."
This message was last updated by the player at 17:24, Wed 08 Oct 2014.

"Did he keep case files? We would be grateful for the chance to have a look at them. It might end up helping us bring your partner's killers to justice." Bishop replied as wondered if there might be more victims.
This message was last updated by the player at 17:16, Wed 08 Oct 2014.

He raised an eyebrow. "I dunno if I should be givin' you his files...You guys gotta warrant?"
This message was last updated by the player at 17:24, Wed 08 Oct 2014.

Leo remained quiet during the exchange. Chatting with another professional detective was something that Stanley was best suited to handle.

PM:
This message was last updated by the GM at 18:57, Wed 08 Oct 2014.

Bishop acted a bit surprised "We are not the police. Just working on a matter that likely ties in to your partner's death."

"So just hoping to have a look. Consider it a chip, one you could call in down the road."

OOC:

Bishop, make a Persuasion roll against half your skill.