"Oh yuck!," Kate took an involuntary step back as Penny lifted Mrs. Bentley's head out of the box. She'd seen worse in their line of work obviously but she still didn't enjoy it. "I don't suppose we could put the soul back in just her head?" She peered over Penny's shoulder as her friend examined the head. "Well at least our job is half done! All we need is the rest of her."

As she made her examinations of box and head, Penny coolly reported all her findings to Kate, illustrating her method of observation and inductive reasoning. It all fitted what Castiel and Death had told them. 'I imagine the hat box was selected simply because it was readily available to a gentleman. Sending me a hat box for a woman's hat would have been less suspicious, but—' and she tapped her hard men's bowler hat, 'Not unreasonable.'

'So, all the signs point to Belial himself. But why? If he wished to apologise, I would have preferred flowers. Surely he does not think we would appreciate Mrs Bently's head on a platter. So, I believe this was a threat as much as anything. Now, did he kill his own minion for her disobedience or for threatening us?' She was uncomfortable with Belial's interest in the pair of them. Maybe her loathing of the demon's advances had coloured her own reaction to Simon's admission, but there was still no call for his.

With a grimace of distaste, she regarded Emma Bently's head, her sightless eyes, the face contorted in terror and agony. They'd been deadly foes trying to kill each other not long ago, but Penny gained no satisfaction from this. She was growing sick inside, and gently placed the head back in its container and replaced the lid with a shudder.

'If only we could, but Death said the body must be complete, so we have a task ahead of us finding the rest. Still, can we do without the hands? I wonder if we can use this opportunity to gain some insurance over Emma Bently and her powers. Well, as Death suggested, we should bind the assembled corpse before resurrection.'


OOC: Was there an address for the sender?
This message was last edited by the player at 03:46, Fri 19 Dec 2014.

ooc: No, but should you inquire the desk attendant said that a Mr. Richard Bently left the package and said if you wished to discuss the contents you could meet him at his tailor's shop... Let me know when you're ready to continue with your meetings at headquarters. I will skim through most of them but Westbrook we'll slow down for. If I'm not mistaken the plan was to briefly mention what transpired and see if anyone takes the hook? Let me know if there's anything else you want to cover in those interviews.

Penny opened a window to let in some fresh air and let out any lingering smell. Excusing herself, she went downstairs to the lobby to make some further inquiries. She came back up bearing her luggage, which had recently been delivered via Western Union. As Cole had suggested, she'd stopped there to collect her belongings — the same belongings delivered again 123 years hence. Of course, this now left her with temporal duplicates of many items, and the paradox of Western Union now being unable to deliver them to her the first time around. Goodness, what would Castiel say to that?

It was actually a small experiment in temporal engineering. What would happen to her possessions? What would become of her memories? Would she still have had that argument with Cole if she'd not received that insulting note then? She hoped the outcome, whatever it would be, would give her some insight into the much greater change to history, with her supposed death and Belial's victory. She figured that was a much more significant issue for time and history to unravel than the fate of her luggage.

Nearly arranging her duplicated things side-by-side for comparison, Penny reported to Kate 'Curiously, it was Richard Bently who delivered his own wife's head. I wonder if he knew? The hat box may well have come from his shop. Well, we have an invitation to meet him at his store to talk about it. He may be able to provide us with the rest of his wife's remains.'

'First, we must conceal this head somewhere safe... Western Union. They have proven reliable in any era. Let them hold it and send it back in a day or two.' She began transferring the gruesome contents to one of her own hat boxes so no-one got suspicious.

'Then, next, back to the Men of Letters headquarters to meet with Westbrook and begin rooting out our spy.'


OOC: I think that's it. Kate can make any adjustments or addition.

"Belial is a real peach," Kate muttered moving closer to examine the note. "I wonder what game he's playing," she mused as Penny placed the head in a different box. "We should be careful at Mr. Bentley's, in case it's some stupid trap. Maybe leave word at the front that we were headed there in case we run into trouble."

'Quite. I may have to dine with him after all, with a gift like this...' Penny commented coldly, holding back a shudder at dealing with the Worthless One.

'Oh, indeed. Richard Bently is an unknown quantity — where do his loyalties lie? I cannot think he holds much love for his wife. But does he serve the Hand of Baal, or Belial? He may help us or hinder us.'

ooc: Ok, so it sounds like Bently will wait until after finding the spy correct? Also, I have no idea what will happen with the Western Union paradox. I can think on it a bit but if you have a suggestion I'm all ears. Time travel really gives me a headache sometimes. The route I'm going is kind of like in the movie Frequency, where the person who caused the changes has memories of both outcomes but like I said, open to suggestions.

Penny/Kate: Leaving the package and retrieving your things goes easily enough. Soon you are back at headquarters and making your rounds. Your interviews with Ian and Frederick go well and if you give your room number to Victoria she will dutifully jot it down. They all seem genuinely intrigued and concerned about your adventures, though it is hard to say if they are perhaps exceptional liars. Soon you find yourselves at Mr. Westbrook's door and he admits you in surprise. I heard you were back he nods approvingly. Victoria was supposed to brief me but I suppose this is even better. I trust your time in the future was...eventful? Though I must say I'm surprised to see you back Miss Kate.

OOC: Sure, one thing at a time. There are enough hanging plot strands, I'd like to close one or two. No worries on the time travel. :)


Beginning to feel her adventurous attire was perhaps more at place in the future after all, Penny changed back into a conventional dress and a women's fedora before setting out with Kate. With a few errands, they were soon back at the Men of Letters' lair, where Penny spoke enthusiastically about her time-travelling adventures and dropped the necessary clues for her plot.

'Good afternoon. Yes, I felt it better if we reported to you directly.' Penny said to Westbrook, stepping into his office and taking a seat when offered. 'Oh, indeed. Very eventful. The demons were most persistent, I scarcely had time to explore.' She waited for Kate to answer Westbrook before she supplied 'We learned that the situation with Belial may be worse than we expected. Miss Piper has come back to aid us in our struggle.' Did Westbrook even know about the plot to resurrect Emma Bently? If he was a traitor or a monster, then they could not let on about their plans. 'But first, how have the Men of Letters fared in out absence?'

As they spoke, Penny observed Westbrook closely, noting the details of his dress and grooming, his habits and patterns of speech. In particular, she looked out for his nervous habit with his father's pocket watch. She compared all she observed and deduced to what she recalled of the man from their first meeting. Goodness, had it only been a few days ago?


OOC: Running the Sherlock Scan on Westbrook: Investigate 20, Sense Motive 13, Spot 19.
20:11, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 20,13,19 using d20+13,d20+7,d20+9. sherlock scan: investigate, sense motive, spot.

Westbrook seems calm, collected and does not touch his pocket watch in the least. We fare well enough. Lily and the priest have managed to get some valuable intelligence on undercover demons here and there. They've been brought in for questioning and we are gleaning some results. I'm sure we'll get things sorted out in the end. Though I must confess, I feel that Victoria has been a bit strained as of late. Have you noticed her acting oddly at all?

Seeing that Penny had changed Kate asked to borrow a dress so she wouldn't draw so much attention.

Mr. Westbrooks surprise to see her brought a smile to her face. "1890 was just too fun to stay away," she figured it was best to leave out the real reason they'd come back  since they didn't know if Westbrook was good or bad. She added "I was attacked on the other side of the portal. Like Penny said things are worse than we thought. I'll be here to help until it's over."

Westbrook was perhaps characteristically reserved, but where he displayed signs of stress and preoccupation with worry before, he was surprisingly calm now, though the situation had hardly improved. There was still the matter of the untouched pocket watch. Penny needed to push him a little for his habit to be revealed, or to confirm him for a fraud. She frowned. 'Yes, in fact. She is naturally rather agitated by the idea of spies and monsters within the Men of Letters. It's quite understandable — we've found our own clues that your organisation is lousy with enemy agents. Doesn't this concern you?' she pressed critically, trying to put Westbrook on the defensive. It was under stress and deception that people were said to reveal their tells.

Naturally it concerns me, but I have a handle on it. You really think me not attuned enough that I wouldn't have my own suspects? he arches an eyebrow. Victoria has been...erratic. Considering our history I hope she is not as I fear, but evil runs deeper than any of us know. I cannot trust even her. Ian and Lily too. Who else but my most trusted members would have the access to infiltrate so deeply? There are wards, protections. Who else could have surpassed them?

ooc: Roll a sense motive

OOC: It's late, so I'll just roll and run. Sense Motive 19.
00:00, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 19 using 1d20+7. sense motive.

"It looks like it's hard to trust much of anyone here," Kate muttered upon hearing Westbrooks suspicions of Victoria. Honestly she didn't trust either of them.

ooc: Sense motive 24

ooc: You do sense that the man may be trying to throw you off track, but it is hard to say for certain. Hopefully Penny's little plan will be revealing...

Indeed he sighs. But I've been keeping tabs on Victoria. She has been trying to throw suspicion on me for some reason and I don't know if it is because she genuinely is confused or if she is a traitor herself. I even allowed her to see one of my agents in order to throw her off in hopes she would reveal her hand later. It is a difficult situation I'm afraid. You should take care of who you believe.

We did find it a little suspicious that she was so eager to send me back to my own time. And that there were demons waiting to kill me on the other side. It was mostly the truth and she didn't want Westbrook to know that they suspected him as well.

'Who indeed?' Penny mused. That was twice now John Westbrook had tried to shift suspicion onto Victoria Green, but was it deflection or did he truly suspect her? Each accused the other; it was too much of a coincidence. Surely they couldn't both be innocent? The Men of Letters would be better off with both of them out of the way for a while.

'Yes, the timing was too close to be coincidental. The demons had to have known we were coming through. Whether they knew I would be there too, we shall never know.'

'Ah, "considering your history"? How did you come to know Miss Green? What can you tell us of her?' Penny inquired; she'd heard Victoria's story and wondered if they might give different accounts. How could she draw one of them out?

ooc: It's been a while since I posted her story, so if there are any inconsistencies it is MY mistake, not his, lol

John proceeds to easily explain that he was a Union soldier in the war, and ended up staying in Louisiana when all was done. There, he met a former slave woman and her young daughter, eventually taking the woman as his lover and taking in the child when her mother died several years later. She was raised in Hoodoo, her family had practiced it for generations and you will be hard pressed to find a better practitioner. She also has clairvoyance as I'm sure you have noticed, though she cannot always control it. I can't help but wonder if this didn't provide some kind of opening for something to take over. I don't want to believe she could have betrayed me willingly. Of course, all is just speculation at this point. he adds.

John Westbrook's account tallied with what she'd learned from Victoria Green; she found no lie or discrepancy there. If one of them was a shapeshifter or possessing entity, then they had access to the victim's memories. She had to seek more subtle clues. 'Yet you suspect her.' Penny continued digging, pushing him, trying to break his calm. 'You fear her. You set your spies and your agents on her. Clearly she was more than a negress servant to you. You have been like a father to her, yet you do not trust her. Why? What is this fear fathers have of their children?' she pressed, on the attack, putting her own familial frustrations into her words.


OOC: I'm not sure what to roll. Intimidate? I got a 6.
14:46, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 6 using 1d20+3. intimidate.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 06:51, Tue 30 Dec 2014.

Kate held back and let Penny question Westbrook. She was obviously a better reader of people and was taking the conversation in a certain direction. It was hard to know who to trust. Hadn't Cas been in touch with Victoria? Did that mean they could trust her? She wished they'd thought to ask him more details on what to expect.

Westbrook looks irritated at the question but maintains his calm for the most part. I do not want to take any chances, even amongst someone as important to me as Victoria, but she has been spreading rumors about me and I cannot ignore that. Either she truly thinks me corrupted or she is corrupted herself. Either way, I need to set things to right without inadvertently lending credence to her accusations. If you hadn't noticed, this place is a hotbed of betrayal as it is. he shakes his head. If she is possessed, it must be a very powerful entity indeed or it couldn't get past our wards. If it is a shifter we would have known by now as I've seen her handling silver many times and if it pains her I've not seen it. If she has been turned against me then of course there would be no test for it I'm afraid. I need proof against her though before I do anything. If my Victoria is still there somewhere I will not harm her.

Mild irritation?! Could nothing break the man? Penny sighed, apparently defeated. 'Thank you for making your position clear; I had to be certain of your feelings in this. I shall investigate Miss Green as closely as I am able.'

Then she asked 'Oh, do you have the time, sir? Errands, you know.' Did he still have his father's blasted pocket watch?

She looked across to Kate, to see if she had anything to add, then addressed Westbrook. 'Was there anything else you wished to discuss? ...Ah, if you need to communicate privately, we can be reached at the New York Hotel, room 102.'
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 03:03, Thu 01 Jan 2015.

"For now we can assume trust no one but you?" Kate asked innocently. "You should keep in mind that someone may be spreading rumors to turn you guys against each other. After all what better way to weaken you?""

Westbrook seems satisfied with your words and nods in appreciation that you will watch Victoria. At the question of the time he shakes his head. There should be a clock or two about though on your way out he offers. And yes Miss Piper, that is a good idea. It could be just an attempt to create chaos and unrest or there could very well be real threats amongst us. Until we know which I would take care who you trust. He seems to note the room number with interest and bids you both a kind goodnight.

'Yes, indeed. We must be very careful who we trust... Good day to you, sir.' Penny farewelled formally, then glided out the door with Kate, trying to move away from Westbrook's office as quickly as decorum and discretion allowed.

Once they were safely away and in a secluded area, Penny confided in Kate. 'Well, one thing is clear: that is not John Westbrook.' She sighed, then explained her reasoning. 'When we first met, Westbrook had a nervous habit of compulsively checking and handling an old silver pocket watch, well maintained. I guessed it to be his father's, and that Westbrook still sought his approval. He confirmed as much when I demonstrated my observational skills for him.'

'Yet now, when his organisation is in even more dire peril, his daughter has turned against him, and I confront him on the issue of fathers, he doesn't even touch his pocket watch. He cannot even tell us the time, so I doubt he has it at all. He must be some kind of shapeshifter, one unaffected by silver and holy water. Perhaps a ghoul...'


Does Penny know of an appropriate creature? Ghouls would fit.
11:22, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 26 using 1d20+9. arcane lore.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:25, Thu 01 Jan 2015.