Back at home, Leonardo made a telephone call and managed to get his cousin Dr. Brandon Elias, a member of the Medical Affairs Board, on the phone.

"Leo! Good to hear from you," said Brandon.

Leo squinted at the damnable contraption he was speaking into, the hollow, crackling voice never seeming as clear as he'd like. "And you, Brandon! Say, can I pay you a visit? Something has come up that I'd like to discuss with you. Best if done face-to-face."

"But of course, Leo! I have a light day at the office today, why don't you go ahead and stop on by?" he asked.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:01, Fri 08 May 2015.

OOC: Did Brandon not attend the funeral then?

"Indeed I will. I look forward to it! Is there any time that is better than another?" Leo had furrowed his brow upon asking the question, though his cousin certainly couldn't see him.

Updated my post: We'll say that he did attend the funeral.

"The sooner the better. Now is fantastic, if you think you could make it."

Leo nodded, though again the person on the other end was likely to be blissfully unaware. "Sure thing, Brandon! I'll be by in a jiffy!"

Leo replaced the handset and then considered his options. Since everyone had apparently left, driving seemed to be his only choice.

Leo told Avery where he would be, and that he would call should his plans extend further than a visit with his cousin.

"Come in, have a seat. I hope you and Catherine are keeping well. I can't imagine what the both of you have gone through,"  he added, closing the door to his office. On a small side stable stood a fine crystal decanter and a few glasses. "Scotch?" he asked.

Leo nodded at the sentiment from his cousin. "Well enough, under the circumstances. In truth, everything still feels a bit surreal. Now and then I briefly wonder if this all might just be a nightmare from which I'll wake."

He looked over at the decanter and nodded with smile. "Scotch sounds good, thanks." He walked over to where his cousin kept the drink and waited to see if Brandon would join him or if Leo would be drinking alone.

Brandon poured one for Leo, and then one for himself, handing a glass to his cousin. "To Jackson, may he rest in peace," he toasted, sincere solemnity in his voice. He gestured a seat there, and instead of sitting at his desk he took the seat next to Leo's.

"So, tell me."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:30, Tue 19 May 2015.

Leo nodded his thanks for the toast, and clinked his cousin's glass. He took a drink and then inhaled significantly before sighing audibly. "Thanks, Brandon. I needed this more than I knew."

Keeping the scotch in hand to sip occasionally, Leo considered where to begin. "Normally I wouldn't ask this of anyone, Brandon, but I'm hoping you can give me a hand accessing something. I think that Jackson's killers might have had some connection to the Carlyle expedition, so I've started digging into what happened to that ill-fated crew. The presence of Doctor Huston was a bit of a mystery, though it was suggested to me that he may have been treating one or more of those that went on the expedition."

Leo looked at the scotch and took another drink before returning his gaze to his cousin. "I know it's a big ask, but I was hoping you might be able to help me get access to Robert Huston's records."

"The Carlyle expedition? That was the one with that layabout, Roger Carlyle, Erica Carlyle's less talented brother. I do remember that Huston went on that one, which I found odd. I thought it was a publicity stunt at the time. Huston was an asshole who liked to crave the limelight. But yes, I'm familiar with Huston's files. Not the contents of his files, to be sure, but that they were something of an anomaly - usually a physician's files are maintained by him for the necessary period. With Huston at first presumed merely disappeared and not deceased, we held onto them. Because of our records retention policies, we had to keep them around in case any of Huston's patients sought therapy with other psychiatrists in the area," he said. Brandon twisted his mouth to the side for a moment, something he did when he was thinking. Straightening his expression, he stood up and walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out a thick ledger.

This time when he sat he took his usual place, behind the desk, out of habit. He sipped his scotch quietly as he sifted through the tome, which took a few quiet minutes. "Yes, we have them here. There's actually no special restriction to access them, other than that you be a properly licensed physician treating a former patient of Huston. Of course, since we can't ask you for the identity of the patient, it is on the honor system." he said.

"I'd love to do you a favor here, but I'm afraid you don't need one," he offered with a smile. "Just go down to records in the basement and ask for access to Huston's files. They'll probably have you sign a ledger and ask for your license number, but that's about it."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:52, Wed 20 May 2015.

Leo listened and had a faint smile on his face by the time his cousin was finished with his explanation. "Helping me to cut through the red tape is appreciated all the same, Brandon. So what's been keeping you busy of late?" Leo took another sip of the scotch as he waited to hear a bit more from his cousin.

"This and that," he said. "Mostly dealing with complaints and allegations against physicians, the majority of which are bogus. Some have merit. There are some quacks out there, to be sure, but you know how the public is. They get disgruntled with one small thing, and suddenly there's some kind of malfeasance going on." He made a gesture with his hand, as if something was spinning in the wind.

"Of course, there's a little malpractice, but usually those things are mistakes and should be settled in the courts. The more serious cases of malpractice are there every once in a while, and those tend to show a concerning amount of negligence on part of the physician. I have to sit on one of those hearings in not too long here," he said, sipping on his scotch. With a degree each in both medicine and law, Brandon had been an ideal candidate to sit on this board. In fact, he only practiced medicine for a few years before taking a position on the board and had sat on it for most of his career.

Leo smirked as Brandon talked about all the allegations of malpractice. "A difficult job to weed out the quacks from the honest and occasional mistake. Of course as professionals we are held to a standard of perfection, which is all but impossible to achieve. Still, questions need to be asked and I imagine you get to see all sorts."

Leo finished his scotch and then placed it back near where Brandon had originally had it displayed. "Thank you for the drink and the direction, cousin. I don't want to make you late for your hearing. I'll head down to the records department, though I may stop back here if anything particularly noteworthy shows up in those files."

Brandon responded warmly to Leo, gave his love to Catherine, and the two men said their goodbyes not long after.

Leo found the records area quite easily, where there was a single clerk present manning the desk, which was in a window looking out of an otherwise inaccessible room, other than a closed door that lead within.

"Can I help you, sir?" asked the woman at the desk.

Leo smiled at the woman before he responded to her question. "Yes, I am looking for some records of a deceased physician needed to treat a former patient, and I have been told that I may access those records here." Leo happily provided whatever information the woman required to verify that he was a licensed, practicing physician.

"You must be Dr. Elias. I just received a phone call letting me know that you'd be arriving," she said. After taking a brief moment to verify his credentials, which she let him know was a formality to a personage with his repute in the medical community, she opened the door to Dr. Elias. Behind the door was aisle upon aisle of boxes stacked as high as the ceiling in a room that reached far and wide. Instead of leading him into that area, she opened the door to a small room adjoining her office.

In the room are a series of boxes clearly labeled HUSTON. Giving him the room, Leonardo is left to his own devices to explore the files. The files have been thoroughly marked and sorted in the boxes, with each box labeled with a range of alphabets, making it easy to locate the information desired. Inside, each record was given in detail, and there were two records present of particular interest - one for Erica Carlyle and another for Roger Carlyle.

Erica's file is nearly empty. There are a few innocuous consultations for which he charges her an outrageous $90 each, and establishes that she was troubled over the death of her parents and relations with her brother, Roger. Huston believed Erica to be of remarkably fine character, and notes that he not often saw such capable adjustment to the problems of living. He suggested to her that he would be glad to talk to Roger.

Roger's file contains minor interview notes over the course of many sessions. Leonardo gets the idea that the more Huston knew about Carlyle, the less he seemed willing to put to paper. One packet of interview notes stood out to him as the only detailed find in that simple folder.

---

11:19, Today: The Keeper, on behalf of Dr. Leonardo Elias, rolled 13 using 1d100 with rolls of 13. Credit Rating (75).
11:20, Today: The Keeper, on behalf of Dr. Leonardo Elias, rolled 75 using 1d100 with rolls of 75. Idea (80).

This message was last edited by the GM at 17:01, Thu 28 May 2015.

Leo thanked the woman for providing him access to the files as well as a place to review them. He suddenly wished that Miss Ashcroft hadn't run off so quickly - another pair of eyes would be good for combing through the file at hand.

He began his reading on Roger expecting to see a discussion concern difficulty coping or adjusting to various factors that affected his life, but what he found was something completely different.

Witchcraft? Leo wondered to himself. He considered the books that had been removed from the Carlyle library safe, rubbing a hand over the breast pocket where the one he had volunteered to read was kept. Sélections de Livre d'Ivon was mentioned, along with summoning and an invocation of some name of power. Leo considered who had the task of going through that parchment bundle. Walter...hm.

Leo continued to read, and his eyebrows crawled further up his face as Imelda Bosch was mentioned. Murder? Or coincidence? Leo's face became troubled as he turned back to the files, his brow now knitted together. And now blackmail. To include his daughter?

"Who is Hypatia Masters?" Leo wondered aloud, though it was more a muttering than a truly audible query. And a god that is not God? What did Jackson get himself into?

Leo sat back in his chair as he continued to contemplate. What about the Anastasia that was mentioned in Jackson's book structre?

Leo took out his notebook and began to copy the important parts of the interview notes as well as his own thoughts. What did Huston's daughter have to do with anything?

Once Leo had finished copying the important parts of the notes into his own notebook, he replaced the files of most interest. To give the appearance of looking at other files besides Roger's, Leo at least opened the other boxes and put a few pages out of order.

He finished by closing up the boxes and exiting the room, thanking the clerk again for providing him room to do his review. He offered to help return the boxes to their shelf, and whether accepted or not, Leo soon took his leave of the medical records file room. He went back upstairs to see if his cousin was around and available or not.

The secretary assured Leo that the boxes did not to be returned anywhere, as they were only stored in that one particular room. His journey upstairs to see Brandon again was less than fruitful, however, as Brandon was out of the office in a meeting.

With a frown, Leo took his leave of his cousin's office. He had wanted to provide Brandon some indication of Leo's discoveries, and had a question for the man, but didn't want to leave a note. Face-to-face conversation would be much better.

Leo headed out of the Medical Affairs Board building and went to catch up with Annabel to see if she had turned up anything else on Imelda Bosch. He tried to be cautious, making sure that no one was lurking about trying to get the drop on him. But he tried appear casual while doing so.

OOC: Presumably Leo knows where Annabel went.

OOC:

Yes, Leo should know where Annabel went to. We can presume they discussed those details earlier. Before moving him onto the library, what subjects is he planning to research, or what is he planning to do there?

I ask as I won't really be actively roleplaying library research encounters, save for special cases, so mostly it will take Leo out of active investigation for the duration of the day, or until Bishop and Cotton are done with their sundry investigations.

OOC: I would like to discuss Imelda Bosch with her and pass along some of the details Leo uncovered. He also may want to call on Dr. Taft, and wants to have a partner for any such callings-on.

He will also spend some time making use of the library to help his reading of the book he took upon himself to read.

OOC: Alright, continue posting in this thread. I will direct Annabel to do the same.

Leo made his way to the library where he expected Annabel was looking into Imelda Bosch or reading through the book they had discovered in the Carlyle safe.

He had some of his own reading to do as well.

   Annabel was sitting in one of the chairs reading a magazine when Dr. Elias showed up. Seeing him, she put down what she was reading and got up, greeting him with first a smile, then a frown.

    "I'm afraid sir that I wasn't as productive as I had hoped. The search for Imelda Bosch only turned up an obituary of when she died. I did get some of the book read though. It's not terribly interesting, but I hope it will give us some of the information we need." She felt bad that she had not been of more use and it showed on her pretty face.

 "What about you Dr. Elias, I'm sure your day was much more productive then mine. What brings you here? Some research that needs to be done?"

Leo pulled out his notebook and kept his voice at a low whisper. "Very fruitful, yes. Doctor Huston kept copious notes on his interactions with Roger Carlyle. Imelda Bosch features in several of the most interesting of them." Leo took out his notebook and opened it to the first page of Huston's notes that he had copied over. "Read through these and let me know what you think. I'm going to crack the book that I volunteered to read and see if it helps us understand things better."

OOC: Notes are contained in the Campaign Journal thread

Library Use for speeding up Leo's reading (Fails by 9):
16:47, Today: Dr. Leonardo Elias rolled 84 using 1d100 with rolls of 84. Library Use (75).

  Annabel nodded and blushed a bit. "Oops, sorry, I forgot where we were, just excited to see you I guess."

Taking the notebook, she said. "Ok, let me know if you need anything."

 Leaving Dr. Elias to read; Annabel sat back down and looked over the notebook. It seemed her was right. they had to find some way to find out more about her.

Leo waited until Annabel finished reading, and then closed his own book. He continued to whisper. "So what do you think?"

  Annabel read it over, blinked once, twice, then looked at Dr. Elias and said simply, "wow."

     Handing the notebook back, Annabel continued, "This Roger Carlyle was really messed up wasn't he? Talking about strange Gods, blackmailing his psychiatrist, and being bewitched by this strange negro woman. Hey, do you think she has any relation to that Harlem cult? I mean she sounds a little classy for them, but still, does not mean she is in league with them some how." She shrugged, "maybe they are her minions or something like that."

 "So this Doctor went with Carlyle on the expedition? Does that mean he died along with him?"

Leo nodded at Annabel's conclusions and continued to whisper to her. "Yes, Carlyle ended up being quite a mess, but it seemed to get worse over time. Doctor Huston was one of the expedition members, yes. The named members were Carlyle, Penhew, Huston, and Jack Brady. However, Jackson apparently turned up another member of the team - 'Anastasia' he called her. He speculated that it could have been Carlyle's lover. But is it possible that it was Huston's daughter? And what do we know about the other team members? Who are Hypatia Masters and Jack Brady?"

Leo shook his head. "As for Huston dying, Jackson doesn't seem to think any of them died. I'm inclined to believe him. One of Jackson's notes from London seemed to indicate that he was afraid of something coming for him. Perhaps even the members of the Carlyle expedition. He hoped that traveling across the Atlantic would protect him." Leo paused, realizing he had gone off on a tangent.

He gathered himself briefly, then continued at a whipser. "We only have one witness that saw Jack Brady, but at least it's something. I wonder if we can find anything in here about the other members of the expedition? Or perhaps we can speak with Mr. Gray? You seemed to get on well with him, perhaps you can make a phone call to see if we can visit with him today?"

    "Hmmm," Annabel said, "If none of the expedition did die, then where did they end up? I mean it's not like any of them showed up after what happened to Mr. Carlyle. Maybe they want people to think they are dead."

   Annabel brightened when Dr. Elias mentioned Bradley. "Yes," she said nodding, "I can do that. i might be able to convince him to at least check for us if nothing else. We have his card right?


 After she received Mr. Gray's business card, Annabel went to find a phone and placed a call to his office.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:06, Sun 07 June 2015.

OOC:

Remember, Bradley Grey gave Leo his business card. No need to look it up in the phonebook.

OOC: Ah ok, I changed my post reflecting that.

A receptionist at Dunstan, Whittleby, and Grey answers the phone, and when the call to Bradley Grey is mentioned, the call is transferred first to another receptionist, and after taking her name the call is transferred again to Grey.

"Yes, Miss Ashcroft, how can I help you?" he asked.

"Mr. Gray," Annabel said, her voice mixed with friendliness and relief that she was able to catch him. "Thank you for taking my call, I know you are a busy man." She hurried getting to the point.

"The books Miss Carlyle lat us borrow are proving to be most fruitful; but we have run into a sort of well, 'road block' as one would say. We need to get information on some of the members of the Carlyle Expedition, particularly three, a Jack Brady, a Hypatia Masters, and one other woman, we think her name was Anastasia."

  Annabel paused for a moment, making sure she had not forgot anything, then continued.

"We were hoping Miss Carlyle would have some information not in the public records. It would be most helpful to Dr. Elias if it were so." She sounded eager and hopeful that statement was true.

"Miss Carlyle will unfortunately be unable to attend to these questions personally, but I myself am quite familiar with some peculiars relating to the expedition," he said. "At the moment, however, I have pressing matters that should take up the majority of the day. However, I am staying in the city today, and I could arrange to meet with Dr. Elias this evening - perhaps at his residence - if he is available. Does 6:30 work for you?"
This message was last updated by the player at 20:13, Wed 10 June 2015.

  Annabel looked at her watch to check the time then said a little surprised; "Oh, I didn't expect that Miss Carlyle would be the one looking. No, I just meant that.. Never mind. Yes, I believe 6:30 would be fine, Mr. Gray, I will let Dr. Elias know. If there is some reason it needs to be changed, I will call and let you know. Thank you Bradley," Annabel said with a little affection in her voice. "This will be a great help. We will see you this evening then." 

"In the evening then," he said politely before disconnecting the call.

Finished with the call, Annabel went back to Dr. Elias and informed him of the meeting this evening.

"I said 6:30 would be fine. I don't believe you have any prior commitments. If I'm wrong I can call him back and let him know."

Leo looked up as Annabel approached. He smiled at her statement and shook his head. "No prior commitments and 6:30 is perfect.  Where does he want to meet?"

The engine purred as Bishop sped through New York, confident and familiar with her streets and ways. Tommy did his best to recount all he knew of the previous victims and when at last they pulled to a stop at Columbia the young reporter almost wished the journey had not come to and end.
N'kwane. Africa. Carlyle. At each thread Bishop revealed Tommy felt both clearer and yet infinitely more perplexed by the case. Still, that was good news. A good story needed a hook and this case had them aplenty.

When at last the car came to a halt he nodded appreciation and let himself out, ready to investigate those darn maps.

Ooc: feel free to npc Tommy to the library first, or drop him off to explore the maps and rendezvous later as you wish.

Bishop drove over the bridge and into the city. Heading up the east side before turning onto 42nd street and pulling up near the main library. Arriving at the library he sought out Miss Ashcroft. Her good looks made it simple as she was easily remembered.

Seeing her speaking with Leonardo, Bishop approached the duo after taking the chance to see if anyone else was showing an unusual interest in the duo.

"Doctor, Miss Ashcroft. We spoke with Poole, despite my efforts we had no luck convincing him to search Nkwane's place. After we headed out to Queens to check on Abraham. No sign of him at his place. But his car is gone so I figure he might have blown town. Finally after coming up empty all morning we drove over to Brooklyn to check on one of the victims, the bookseller. Turned up something interesting there. His wife said he had an interest in maps of Africa and that he had been spending a lot of time in Harlem."

"We got this collection of maps from her, some interesting stuff. Thought it might be worth brining up to Rosalie to give them a look. Figured we stop by here and see if you wanted to join us at Columbia. Strength in numbers and all that."

  Annabel looked surprised, she thought she had mentioned it. "Oh, at your house; Mr. Gray suggested it, it seemed the most convenient place."

 As they were talking, Stanley came up to them. "Mr. Bishop," Annabel said with a welcoming smile, "has your day gone well?" She listened along with Dr. Elias at Stanley's accounting of his activities. It was disheartening to hear about Abraham, but she supposed the man just did not want to deal with any of this. Annabel really did not blame him; murders, odd cults, awful, horrible books, why did she keep thinking about that nasty thing anyway?  When he got to the trip up to Columbia, Annabel looked a little surprised.

  "Do you think it will take long," she asked. "We just scheduled a meeting with Mr. Gray at 6:30 at Dr. Elias's house."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:06, Fri 12 June 2015.

Bishop was curious why they were meeting with Gray, but did not want to discuss it in front of Tommy. The reporter seemed OK but making an enemy of Carlye would not be helpful "No I would think we would all be home by then. I do not think it would be safe for you and the others to be out on your own at night."

"So do you want to join the others at Columbia or stay here and make it home on your on?"

Leo shook his head. "I don't think there's any particular reason to remain here. Let's head to Columbia."

Since Dr. Elias confrimed that they were free; Annabel said, "There's your anaswer, looks like you have some company." 

She got up, gathered her things and walked past Stanley whispering to him,

"Thank God, it was getting a bit dull being around all these musty books. But I guess we get to be around musty maps now, right Mr. Bishop?" she gave him an amused smile and winked.

Tommy waited patiently outside while Bishop spoke to the others. He looked up at the clouds rolling across the grey sky, wondering absently why they looked so angry today.

"My investigations are often far less glamorous."

"Well hopefully we find some clue in all this. Mr Cotton has some expert at Columbia, but Rosalie is likely to have some expertise as well." Bishop said moving on.

"Shall we go."

Leo arched an eyebrow. "Mister Cotton?"

"Cotton is the reporter we found lurking about outside the house - the one looking into the murders. He has a connection with a regional expert at Columbia through his paper, and he thinks that expert might be able to help us see if there's anything to these maps," he said in response to Leo's question.

They picked up Cotton on the way out, and with no objections Bishop and the others headed uptown to Columbia to the library where they had dropped the others. On the way he took the time to see if they had picked up any tails.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:21, Tue 16 June 2015.

Bo shuts the book and gathers up his notes, folding the pages and slipping them under the back cover. If I'm going to play academia again, I'll need to get a satchel.

He stands and stretches, yawning silently, then looks over to where Rosalie is studying her own text. He walks over to her and crouches beside her, whispering quietly: "It's almost noon. Shall we break for some lunch?"

Leo, Stanley, Thomas, and Annabel arrived at the Low Library, passing through its columns and between the busts of Zeus and Apollo that flanked the entryway, and they were easily able to locate Rosalie and Walter, who appeared to be speaking quietly.

  Annabel entered the library with the others, trying to hide the fact that she was once again in another place with books and not particularly thrilled about it. Why couldn't their searches take them to more parties like yesterday? Well, maybe maps would be more interesting? She did not think so.

  Seeing Rosalie and Walter, she waved to them as the group approached, but they did not seem to see her. She was about to call out but remembered where she was and thought better of it. "At least they were easy to find, maybe they would like to come with us to eat; I don't know about you but I could use something after all that reading."

Pulled from her studies, Rosalie offered Walter a smile and leaned back in her chair.  "Oh, you are a dear.  I would have worked right through despite my rumbling stomach.  This tome is proving to be quite a challenge."  She gathered up her own notes and the book she'd been sifting through and tucked them into her purse.

Rising from the table, she threw her coat over one arm and took up her hat, though didn't put it on.  Pushing her hair over her shoulder as she turned, she quirked a brow.  "Where to?  On campus or off?"

"Rosalie and Bo, glad we found you. Found something of interest and thought we all might ant to circle the wagons and have a look." Bishop said after he approached the duo directly.

Leo followed Stanley in to meet the others. "I found some very interesting information as well." He noted that Rosie was standing and appeared ready to leave. "Are you heading somewhere?"

Arriving at Columbia Tommy felt his heart beating faster than expected. With a glance at Bishop he offered his hand to Leo by way of introduction.
"Mr Elias? It is an honour to meet you.

Tommy cotton, New York times.".

He nodded to annabel politly, glancing North across campus to where his cartographic contact was housed.

Leo took the young man's hand in a firm handshake. "Doctor Leonardo Elias. It's nice to meet you Mister Cotton." Given that they were in a library, Leo didn't want to engage in too much chit-chat, but a little would be forgivable so long as he kept his voice low. "How long have you been with the Times?"

"My apologizes I forgot that you two did not meet this morning." Bishop said.

"Perhaps we could find someplace more private to talk. Tommy hear said he has a friend here that might be able to help us with some items we picked up."


OOC I thought we all left together. Sorry.

Surprised to see the entire crew had come to visit, Rosalie offered a smile.  "I'm very interested to hear what you all dug up.  We were just taking a little break for lunch.  Perhaps we can all talk over a nice meal."  She eyed Thomas.  "Glad to see you didn't strangle the reporter, Stanley.  Admirable show of restraint."

  Annabel gave a polite smile to Mr. Cotton as he introduced himself to Dr. Elias. He seemed nice enough. She watched as Rosalie and Walter came over to join them and tried to suppress a giggle at Rosalie's quip to Stanley but did not do a very good job of it.

  "Oh Rosalie, you read my mind, I am famished. Yes I do say our dear reporter was lucky indeed. Are you sure you want to hang around us Mr. Cotton? From what I have seen, it can be quite unexpected at times. Oh, you don't take pictures do you," she asked curious.

Bo extends his hand to the reporter: "Cotton? I'm Walter Brandon."

Formalities out of the way, he turns to the others. "There should be a couple places along Broadway below 116th, mostly Jewish delicatessens and such. Not a great place for quiet talk. Leo, you have any pull around here that would get us a meeting room?"

"Days still young Rosalie." Stanley said with a sober expression.

"Probably best we get a conference room and telephone for a delivery from a deli." Bishop added.

Leo gave a non-committal shrug to the question from Walter. "Possibly. Though it's been quite a few years since I walked these halls as a student, I have several friends among the faculty. I'll see what I can do. In the mean time, everyone should have a look at these notes. They are from Doctor Huston's files on Carlyle."

Leo left his notes with the rest of the investigators and then went to see about obtaining a room for their use.

OOC: Notes are contained in the Campaign Journal thread

Tommy smiled and eagerly shook Elias' hand.
"I've been with the Times a year or so sir. A new story every week; keeps things interesting.". He stepped back as the PI approached and spoke.

"Yes, as Mr Bishop says, I've had some contact with Dr Blake, somewhat of an expert on East Africa.". He gestured to the maps he carried. "We picked up these maps of the region and I figured my man might be able to tell us a thing or two.".

The group began to walk together as Leo led the search for a more private space. Tommy suppressed a chuckle as Rosa gently teased Stanley, and when Annabel chimed in he chuckled warmly. "Perhaps I am a little lucky. I confess I was fairly sure Mr Bishop was going to squash me this morning, but we've made friends since eh Bish?".

Seeing Leo looking for a room Tommy nodded to the left. "Not so long since I graduated chief. I'm a Columbian too". His youthful eyes twinkled happily. "I think if you head down there you'll bump in to one of the administrators offices, they might have a room we could borrow.".

Delighted to be meeting so many new faces, when Brandon reached out in greeting Tommy took his offered hand too. "Walter, great to meet you.".

A recent gradate of the university, Thomas is able to guide Leonardo to the appropriate staff members who are tasked with stewardship of the conference rooms, among other things. Usually reserved for students and current staff, the famous name and reputation of Dr. Elias is persuasive enough to open doors that wouldn't otherwise be open to the group, and they are able to secure a conference room, and a telephone through which to place lunch orders from a local deli.

Soon enough, they find themselves in a suitable conference room, awaiting an order of sandwiches that are on the way.

OOC:

10:30, Today: The Keeper, on behalf of Thomas Cotton, rolled 11 using 1d100 with rolls of 11. Knowledge.
10:26, Today: The Keeper, on behalf of Dr. Leonardo Elias, rolled 64 using 1d100 with rolls of 64. Credit Rating (75).

Leo nodded at Tommy's response and thanked him for pointing them in the right direction. The staff at Columbia tended to stick around for a while, but there were new faces mixed among the old. Leo did notice that the reporter didn't respond to Annabel's question about pictures. "Always nice to meet a fellow graduate of this fine institution. We're not such a fearsome bunch once you get to know us. Being secretive is mostly for safety - the people that we are interested in have shown willingness to kill anyone that gets too close to their trail. Including my son Jackson. So we appreciate you keeping this out of the news for time being. The day may come when that will change - it seemed that Jackson was convinced that writing a book to expose all he discovered would be a good idea."

Leo gestured toward Annabel. "Miss Ashcroft's question was a good one - are you an experienced photographer? I can imagine that being able to reference pictures could be quite useful."

He looked back and forth between Stanley and Thomas. "Now that we seem to have privacy, tell us about East Africa."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:15, Mon 22 June 2015.

Tommy waited for the group to congregate in the room and for the helpful university staff to disappear down the adjacent corridor. While they waited he nodded to Elias.
"I understand sir. And yes, I've done a little photography in my time though its not my major.". He suppressed disappointment that it turned out Annabel wasn't looking for pictures of herself. That might have been a fun shoot. "But I'll do what I can to help.". He resisted the urge to ask about Jackson's book for now. The time for him to ask questions would come later.

When they were alone he carefully laid out the maps Bishop had purchased and ushered the others closer to examine.
"Mr Bishop and I had a busy morning visiting Poole, and a Mr Hargrove who I believe you all knew?". He glanced at the others to see if they recognized the name, and if they did he would continue with a shrug "Though it looked like the guy was outta town.

Anyways, we took a visit to see the widow of one of the previous victims. A bookseller in Brooklyn named Thurmond. When I spoke to the family when the murder first happened it didn't occur that there might be a link between Jackson and Thurmond. But since then...well Bishop asked her about a few specific connections.".
He gestured to the maps.
"Turns out Thurmond had developed an unusual obsession with maps. Maps of East Africa to be precise...and isnt that where the Carlyle expedition where killed?

So we came over here to see if we could do a little digging...".
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 17:46, Mon 22 June 2015.

"Thurmond was also caught up in the nightlife of Harlem at the time of his death." Bishop added.

"One more link to both the Carlyle Expedition and to Harlem. "
This message was last edited by the player at 02:36, Tue 23 June 2015.

"Right. You mentioned the Carlyle expedition before. They went some place in East Africa right? Were they part of whatever book Jackson was writing?".
Tommy's brow furrowed as he thought back to his interviews with the other victims families. "I don't remember any association to the Carlyles in the other cases though. Maybe it's a red herring. Have you investigated that lead much? My man Dr Blake might know a thing or two about it.".

"There are some things that will may never see print. At least for now this is one of them, if we are going to discuss these matters we will have your word to respect our wishes in that regard and refrain from writing about these matters. Do we have your agreement Mr Cotton?" Bishop asked.

The young reporter's expression turned solemn.
"Cards on the table time? Ok.
Sure, I'm a journalist. When these killings first began I'll freely admit my only interest was the story. But its more than that now. These aint a few one off murders. They are something different. And the last man who died...your son Doctor...well the fact we were both Columbia brought it home.".
He looked around the group gauging their reactions.
"I still want a story. But I'm starting to think the story aint murder. Its bigger than that.". He shrugged. "I dont want to lie to you. Africa, the Carlyle expedition, death cults in New York, thats page turning stuff. The sort of thing a reporter could make his name with. But journalism 101: dont burn your sources.".

There was an honest eagerness in his voice and he looked Leo in the eye.

"You have my word that I wont release a thing without your permission first.". The telling smile crept back.
"And right now in all honesty I have no idea what I'd write anyway. For better or worse until this thing is unraveled we share the same interests. Figure out what happened and get the perpetrator behind bars. We can talk story after that.".
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:30, Tue 23 June 2015.

"Well said, Mister Cotton," Rosalie said, glancing up from her uncle's notes.  "So long as you are a man of your word, I doubt any of us will have a problem.  You are correct in that this isn't just one incident, but an entire string of them that leads somewhere dangerous.  This is not simply an investigation.  It is very personal for us, and we simply will not tolerate anyone interfering with our efforts.  I hope that you shall be an asset for us.  Heaven knows that we can certainly use whatever help we can get."

Leo nodded at Thomas' indication that he wouldn't release anything without permission. "That will do. And as you say, the real trick is trying to figure out exactly what to write, anyway." He turned his attention to his niece as she spoke, nodding in agreement.

He then returned his attention back to Cotton. "The Carlyle expedition appeared to have been lost in Kenya. That and their previous visit to Egypt are the links we have to East Africa. So what did you discover in the maps of that region?"

There are ten maps that Tommy laid out in on the table with different views of different sections of Africa. The maps are all from different companies and to different scales. There are small 'X' markings on all of then where the Kenya Colony is, but none of them seem to match up. One of them in the margins says "Mountain of the Black Wind" in a  neat handwriting.

Bishop looked at Tommy "Perhaps you can call up your expert and have us meet us here to go over the maps or suggest a place and time."

Then back to the others "No real idea why he became obsessed with the maps."

Leo let out a low whistle as he read the neat handwriting. His finger stabbed at the notation. "Mountain of the Black Wind...wasn't that mentioned in one of Jackson's notes? The one about when he visited the massacre site?"

"Sure thing bish.".
Tommy slipped from the room, ears pricking up as the word massacre tugged at his attention. It nudged his memory, as he tried to recall what he knew of the expedition. But right now Leo was right. A little expertise from a regional expert wouldn't go amiss.

Glancing left and right to familiarise himself he wandered down the halls to the front desk. If he found a helpful member of the faculty he would politely ask to make an internal call, and see if his African contact might be free to meet.

"You can call me Stan or Bishop." Bishop said in reply to the moniker Cotton had used again.

Thomas managed to find his way to the right place and make the right inquiries and made contact with Dr. Blake, who with luck, happened to be headed to the library to conduct some research of his own. He agreed to meet them in the conference room in which they were located. In a few minutes, the door opened, admitting a kindly looking clean shaven older gentleman wearing thick black spectacles and a shaggy mop of white hair that sat behind an impressive expanse of forehead.

"Tommy! Good to see you. What does the Times have for me today?" He seemed to notice first the maps on the table as he took a seat, and then the others present in the room.

"Forgive me. I'm Dr. Howard Blake. I teach History and Anthropology here at the university."

OOC:

I used Thomas's ideas to locate the right place to use the phone, and Stanley's Luck (as it was one of the group's highest) to see if Blake was nearby.

09:48, Today: The Keeper, on behalf of Thomas Cotton, rolled 26 using 1d100 with rolls of 26. Idea (60).
09:46, Today: The Keeper, on behalf of Stanley Bishop, rolled 27 using 1d100 with rolls of 27. Luck (80).
This message was last edited by the player at 14:55, Thu 25 June 2015.

Tommy clasped his hand across Howard's broad shoulders and grinned warmly at the friendly man.
"As always doc the Times begs the wisdom, nay genius of Columbia's finest African expert!". The pair joined the gathered investigators and Tommy pointed out each of his new companions in turn.

"And this time I've even brought friends, who will no doubt be fans if you astound them as reliably as you always do me.". He winked. It was fun indulging Howard, the man was always friendly and Tommy liked him.
"Allow me to introduce Dr Leonardo Elias...Stanley Bishop...Walter Brandon, and of course..." he stepped back to flourish a wave at the ladies, allowing Howard a moment to nod his head amiably.
"...of course, Ms Annabel Ashcroft, and Ms Rosa Elias. Infact, I imagine you may even have met one or two of them before. Dr Elias, you were Columbia too right?".

While the academic settled himself Tommy chatted amiably.
"That piece you helped me on about those Neanderthal bones caused quite the stir you know. We had all kinds of folk, mostly religious, awfully flustered at the very suggestion man might have evolved from somewhere.

But this time, I hope you wont mind, our topic is a little less precise. Infact to cut to the chase, I dont even know exactly what to ask you.".
Tommy leaned closer, drawing the maps out to expose them in turn. He treated them gently, bringing them forward for Blake to inspect.

"These maps belonged to book seller who apparently developed quite an obsession with the region of Africa depicted...and that interest drew him unwelcome attention.". The reporter glanced at the others, unsure how much detail to expose. If they felt it appropriate to bring up talk of Jackson and the murders all well and good, but for his part he wasn't about to break their trust.

"So its a bit of a riddle really Doctor Blake. Are these maps significant in any way? It may be nothing, but we had a hint of association to the old Carlyle expedition...and here... he shuffled the maps until the mountain of the black wind was prominent ...here, we wondered if this was significant?

What do you make of them sir?".

Dr. Blake offered polite and reserved greetings to those in attendance. Unlike the exuberant young reporter, he seemed a much more somber individual. The flattery that young Thomas seemed to think was necessary didn't cause any noticeable reactions from the older gentleman. He listens to the strange request posed by the reporter

"Well, young Thomas, I'm not sure what you want me to say here. Everyone knows the Carlyle Expedition went to Kenya. These are a variety of maps of Kenya. I suppose that's all that connects the two.

"Nothing really stands out to me here, other than this Mountain of the Black Wind. Now, neither in my travels to the Kenya Colony,nor during any reading of books and journals have I ever heard the name. It sounds like the sort of name a local tribesman might use for such a thing, but it also might be baloney. In any case, if it's a real name, it's an obscure one - probably a translation from a regional language," he said.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:11, Fri 26 June 2015.

Tommy listened with interest.
"Are these maps particularity rare or notable? We think they have garnered somewhat unwelcome interest, which would mean something in them is important for some reason.
For example, do they cover regions that are not usually exposed? Or are there differences in them to traditional maps? Or perhaps they are hard to get hold of...where would one buy maps like these?".
He mused for a moment, recalling what he knew of the Carlyle expedition from stories at the time.
"The Carlyle Expedition disappeared somewhere near the Rift Valley or some place like that didn't they?". Tommy raised a questioning eyebrow. "Which general area is that in?".

ooc: I presume the maps are generally in English and don't have any clues as to local dialect (i.e. local names) on them?
This message was last edited by the player at 10:12, Fri 26 June 2015.

"There is nothing rare, notable, or otherwise special about these maps. You could get them from a catalog if you wanted to order them yourself," he said.

He shook his head when asked about the Carlyle Expedition. "I'm afraid I don't know where they disappeared. I do believe they intended to explore the Great Rift Valley, but that encompasses a large part of the country so it's hardly a specific area."
This message was last updated by the player at 13:54, Fri 26 June 2015.

Tommy suppressed a frown. It was tenuous, but if Thurmond had been killed because of those maps there surely had to be something notable in them. Maybe Blake's response simply proved that wasn't why the bookseller was killed, and they'd missed something else.

The academic's comments on dialect reminded young Cotton of another matter that their expert might be able to shed light on.
Reaching for his notebook he flicked to the page where he had scribbled the motif that had been associated with all the murders so far.
"How about this symbol. Does that have anything to do with the region, or is it used in any particular tribe?".

He sighed. "Thomas, I don't know every symbol associated with every one of the myriad tribes in East Africa. You're looking for a needle in a haystack. To be clear, off the top of my head, I'm not familiar with it. Have any of you done any research on this symbol?" he asked, looking around at them.

Bishop had offered a polite greeting but then had been silent. This was not his specialty. Bishop had remembered the mention of the Black Wind in Elias' notes and on the map made it almost certain to be important. But Cotton's expert did not have any answers and they did not know the questions.

Bo breaks his silence to underscore Blake's point: "Yeah, I'm not familiar with this patch, but there are dozens, maybe hundreds of native dialects and myths and superstitions in every part of Africa, especially below the Sahara."

Tommy nodded. Instead of being discouraged he felt a surge of enthusiasm.
"Ok so now we are getting somewhere. I've had no real idea where to research that symbol. But Doctor Blake, maybe you could point us in the right direction? I mean you know more about this region than anyone I know. Where would you start looking for this symbol?".
He bit his lip, hoping the academic would be gently encouraged.
"I'm more than happy to do leg work. Just point me in the right direction and I'll make sure next time we visit our questions are more precise.".

"Ever hear of the cult of the bloody tongue? They are connected to the Black Wind Mountain. known for human sacrifice and such things?" Bishop asked Blake.

"I'm sure a librarian could direct you to the appropriate section to find a book, though you should know there are works that focus on pictorial languages specific to the region, which may be a good place to start. That having been said, our collection here is not what we'd like it to be with respect to this subject. If you're intent on serious research on this subject, I would visit the library at Harvard which would be much better equipped to identify the symbol you're showing me," he told Thomas and the others.

"Bogeymen," he said to Stanley when asked about the Bloody Tongue cultists. "I have heard of this Bloody Tongue group on a visit to Africa once but only in passing. I was studying some tribesmen not far from Nairobi at the time. Children carried off in the night, human sacrifices, that sort of thing. There's no credible evidence that the group exists, though. I believe most of their rumored depredations are supposed to be carried out in the mountains north of Nairboi. So if you know of some Black Wind mountain, I suppose it is possible the two are related. I haven't specifically heard that name, but it sounds suitably ominous. Here where it is indicated on the map, that is in fact north of Nairobi. It seems many of these markings are there." He seemed dismissive of the idea that this group existed, but serious in his analysis of what they presented him - and there was a glint of curiosity in his eye.

"It would be only the crudest speculation, but from the smattering of clues you've given me, I can presume that these may be presumptive locations for some sort of headquarters of this Bloody Tongue cult, or perhaps sacred site. If not some manner of red herring, you might also wager a guess that this symbol is associated with the group. That might at least help guide your research," he said.

"I'd be curious to know where this man came about these maps. Even in Africa, very little is known of this group. Most educated people - Negroes and whites alike - believe it a fairy tale, and only the uneducated Negroes that live in the wilds in huts believe the sort of nonsense presented here. Certainly a map of locations even theoretically associated with the group would not be an easily available thing. Even presuming that they do exist, they would have to be very secretive to evade credible notice or colonial justice by this point if their acts can be said to be true."

---

OOC:

15:08, Today: The Keeper got the result "As I see it, yes" on the magic 8-ball. Does Blake know about the Bloody Tongue?

The young reporter furrowed his brow as Bishop mentioned the cult.

Bloody Tongue? It sounded grim. Or theatrical.

Did these people really think some African tribe of 'bogey men' as Blake put it,  was behind all the killings? Surely it was more likely there was just one deranged maniac going around. The suggestion there might be a whole gaggle of mad Negroes was...

The idea sent a chill down Tommy's spine and in his naivety he pushed it away. No, the Elias group are too close to the case. They are being paranoid, this isn't some backwater jungle.

Blake's intimations that the maps might hold secret head quarters though appealed to Tommy's exuberance. Not treasure maps, but maps to a secret mountain base! He could see the story writing itself, and why a misguided fanatic might go after such things.

"Bogey men. Right.". Tommy nodded enthusiastically. "But some folk love tales of such things. I can see why the maps might be interesting whether or not that cult lot are real. People are always paying for stuff like this, whether its to do with Jesus, the Holy Grail, whatever.

As you say then Howard, the question is where did our book seller get these maps?".

No expert in such matters Tommy absently leaned in to examine the corners of the uppermost map. Did it hold a printing mark? An authors note? He was looking for any trail that might lead to where the maps had come from.

ooc: Are the black mountain notes part of the map, or do they look like they are added (i.e. if they are part of the map, then the map/maker itself could be critical. If it was added later, then the person who added the note seems more important).
This message was lightly edited by the player at 21:34, Mon 06 July 2015.

"Might be your bookseller kept a record of wherever he got the maps," Bo suggests, "A notebook or bills of sale, something like that."

OOC:

The maps are printed from well known map publishers, but the markings upon them have been obviously added to them. As stated previously, the words in the margins are also handwritten.


This message was last edited by the GM at 12:57, Tue 30 June 2015.

Dr. Blake furrowed his brow a bit. "Just to be clear, where the maps were purchased may not be of import. The important piece of information is where he got these locations that have been drawn onto the map by some third party, as is this handwriting in the margin."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:18, Tue 30 June 2015.

Tommy glanced at Bishop .
"Did you see the mans hand writing when you we looking through the other items? Or...". Tommy hazarded a wild guess, "Does the script look familiar at all?".
It was a long shot, but given the entwined nature of the cases, was it possible that Jackson himself or some other familiar party had annotated the maps? There had to be some connection.

Ooc: I think Tommy and bishop looked through thurmonds things but found nothing notable. Having done that, is it obvious to them that the writing on the maps is the same/ or different to the black mountain note? Or maybe ambiguous?

OOC:

The only handwriting is the comment in the margins that says "Mountain of the Black Wind." That is the only writing on the maps. As you went through Thurmond's office, you will notice that it is Thurmond's handwriting.

I'm not actually sure where you guys are going with this right now, but I'm just rolling with it as best as I can. I suspect you're looking for or are imagining clues that just don't exist...so in case it has been unclear up to this point, I would like to state it once more explicitly:

The maps in Thurmond's possession are fairly basic commercially available maps of the region. The ONLY thing special about these maps is various areas marked on the maps - marked by someone (NOT the publisher of the maps) using a writing utensil - and the comment in the margins "Mountain of the Black Wind."
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:09, Wed 01 July 2015.

  Annabel stood back and listened to the men discussing the map that they found. it was all very droll,but they seemed to be very focused on it. Cult of the Bloody tongue, the place sounded awful, she REALLY hoped she would never actually have to go there. Maybe that awful book came from there, she wouldn't be surprised if it did.

  Annabel piped up, "maybe Dr. Blake is on to something. This bookseller could have been killed because he asked too many questions and got himself noticed by the wrong people; so they well...., dealt with him before he could learn any more. Is there anyway we could find out where he got his information from?"

Leo shook Dr. Blake's hand once they had been introduced, and listened to Tommy explain what he had found from the maps.

Leo was mostly happy to listen, and they had gained at least one or two more good suggestions from Dr. Blake. But he was curious about one other thing. "On a possibly unrelated note, do you know if there are any African legends concerning a sand bat, father-of-all-bats, or rainbow snake?" It was a shot in the dark, but perhaps there was a connection.

Bishop stood by and listened until Tommy asked him about the writing.

"The maps matched his hand. As far as where he picked up the information, his wife had little idea, but as I said before mentioned Harlem." Bishop said.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:36, Thu 02 July 2015.

"Sounds like you attended Professor Cowles' lecture a few days ago. No, I'm afraid there are no parallels to what he was talking about in African folklore as far as the Sand Bat and Rainbow Snake, though he did also mention some kind of rumored Australian cult that performed human sacrifices, if I recall correctly," he said, standing.

"If there's anything else that pertains to my expertise in the region, I'd be glad to answer it now, but I fear there is more guesswork and detective work involved here than there is anything I can help with," he said. "Otherwise, I'll be going now to continue my research. You know where you can reach me, Thomas."

He waited to see if there were any more questions before he left.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:14, Thu 02 July 2015.

'I don't have any other questions. You have our appreciation for your time. I am sure it goes without saying, but we would appreciate your discretion in this matter." Bishop replied.

Tommy echoed the PI's words of thanks.
"As always doc, we appreciate your time. Quite a riddle this one.".
He stood, giving the academic room to depart, walking with him to the door.

Leo nodded at the Doctor's informed guess that they had in fact attended the lecture by Cowles. As the man stood to leave, Leo offered his hand again. "Thank you for your time, professor. We appreciate your willingness to help."

Dr. Blake took Leo's hand and shook it. "Of course, and if you should have any further questions, please feel free to ring me up or visit my office. Good luck." With that said, Dr. Blake left the meeting room.