As Alex entered the office, it was no surprise that Rose was already there.  She waved happily as Alex approached.

Hey, boss!  Good timing.  Detective Beauchamp is in the back, cooking again.  Says he's got a new dish for you to try, too.  Terry something or other, I think.
___________________________________________________________

I'm going to continue the tradition of our previous game.  Un-augmented talking will be done in blue, thoughts typically italic, others as needed.

OOC will be in red below a line if needed.

As you hopefully have noticed, there is an OOC thread for this case, too, for discussing things like Dramatic Editing and use of Lore to declare Facts.

Alex sighed and put his hat on the rack. If Beauchamp was cooking, that mean there was something nasty going on and he wanted Alex to stick his nose in it.

"Depending on what he wants, this terry-something had better be good." Alex grumbled half heartedly.

---

Gonna go with masculine terms for Alex when she's presenting as male

Rose laughed lightly at Alex's grumbling.

Well, it's got shrimp in it, so there's that, plus he's doing some crazy stuff with rice and veggies... Oh, he also brought his new partner along this time.

Rose paused thoughtfully for second.

He's actually kind of handsome - for a Yankee.

That shrimp had better be damned good. Alex grumbled. Beauchamp was one thing. He could deal with Beauchamp. Other cops not so much.  Any clues what this is about?

Rose shrugged in response.

Nothing specific.  Though Detective Beauchamp was grumbling about tourists.

If it were just the looky-loos, he wouldn't be here. With some of the rumors I've been hearing at the Gator, if he has time for tourists, these tourists are going to be a problem

Alex sat in his chair and pulled out some cold case files. True he had no leads to go ion in them, but he didn't want Beauchamp to think he had nothing to do but wait for him to bring cases to him.

A short while later, the noises in the kitchen (which included the Detective's off-key humming) came to an end.  A few minutes later, Detective Beauchamp and his partner left the kitchen, each carrying some plates, which were loaded with shrimp, rice (mixed with some vegetables and eggs), and assorted other vegetables, all coated in assorted sauces.

Detective Beauchamp, an older Frenchman with graying hair and a nice, if somewhat cheap, suit, handed a plate to Rose, then one to Alex.  He then waved his partner to return to the kitchen as soon as he set his own plate down.

Don't forget the salads, Harry.  What kind of officer of the law would you be if you forgot the salads?

His partner, a younger man with a tanned complexion and a muscular build, with short cut hair and an even cheaper suit, grumbled, his Midwestern twang very noticeable in this environment.

Fine.  Though I'm not going to dignify that question with an answer, partner.

As Harry headed back to the kitchen, Detective Beauchamp grinned and turned to Alex.

Nice to see you again, young man.  Try the food.  It's a new dish I learned about recently.  The salad will be good, too.

And dare I asked what newfound horror you're dropping in my lap to try and sweeten me up with this new recipe? Alex took a bite and it was good, very good in fact. Hopefully something he would get to try when the threat of a nasty case wasn't souring it.

You never show up just to cook.

Detective Beauchamp paused a moment, then sighed.

You might be right about that.  Still, never a good idea to pass up good food.

Harry returned, handing out salads covered in an odd sort of dressing.  As he sat down, he nudged the detective.

You gonna tell him why we're here yet?

Detective Beauchamp smiled.

Of course not.  Food first.  We can discuss the grisly details after, like civilized people.

With that, he dug into his meal with gusto, and moved to small talk for the duration of the meal.  Rose followed suit.  Harry, on the other hand, glared at his partner with barely contained annoyance while everyone ate, and kept his contributions to the conversation to a minimum.

------------

Once the meal was finished, Detective Beauchamp waited a little while - and for Rose to leave and close the door - before bringing up the case.

This is a bad one, my friend.  I've got the photos with me if you need to see them, and we can drop by the scene later as well.  Long story short, a couple of the Chinese mafia types ended up dead.  Killed with... enthusiasm, and great force.  Plus, one of them was torn apart.  Possibly worse, but I'm not sure.  Based on one of the pieces of broken blade that was there, I had reason to talk to one of the Japanese tourists, which is where I picked up the recipe, but not much else.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:56, Wed 31 July 2019.

Torn apart, but not eaten? Alex confirmed, though he knew  Beauchamp would have mentioned if that was the case.  It was a very solid indication that the culprit was supernatural.

I'll give the scene my normal look over later. Anyone local who these 'tourists' might have pissed  off?

Off to the side, Harry shook his head at the mention of cannibalism.  Detective Beauchamp glanced over at him, then returned his gaze to Alex.

Actually, we're not sure about that first part.  That particular body was rather messy, and the examination has so far proven... inconclusive.  I personally think that at least some of that poor soul was consumed.

Harry shook his head once again, and muttered under his breath.

This city must be very messed up if this is a normal line of questioning...

Detective Beauchamp smiled ruefully at Alex, and then reached into his coat to pull out some photos.  As he tossed the photos onto Alex's desk, he continued.

As to your second question... well, I understand that these tourists - yak-oo-sah or something like that - are moving in on both the Chinese and the Italians, and possibly the voudoun, too.  Though there is one bit of news which might prove useful.  The Chief indicated that we do have someone inside the yak-su-hah, which should help some.  The contact man is named... Harry, what was his name?

Harry sighed again, not bothering to hide his annoyance at having to discuss this matter with a P.I., especially with undercover officers involved.

Myojin.  Yahiko Myojin.  You'd think with a name like that, even you'd be able to remember it.
_____________________________

If you want to examine the photos, it's an Int + Investigation roll, at a -2 die penalty due to being poor quality and not showing a complete view of the scene.

Diff 3 shows that superhuman force was used to cut and rend through the Triad soldiers.

Diff 4 shows that it is very likely that the culprit has a sword of rather substantial size.

Diff 5 shows that the man who was dismembered and broken was attacked with bare hands, and was partially eaten as well.

Alec frowned at the photos, not able to get much off them at all. Most places are if you stick around long enough and look deep enough. And sounds like these tourists are going to get wiped out if they're not careful.

He put down the pictures, deciding he wasn't getting anything out of them. I can be at the Gator tonight if you want me to talk to this Myojin guy.

Detective Beauchamp shrugged.

Up to you.  I've left orders at the scene to let you in if you show up, and the bodies are at the station morgue.  Again, the coroner knows to let you look.  As for Myojin.  I'm not sure where he's located, but since he's an older man carrying around a sword, he shouldn't be that hard to find.  I'd not be surprised if someone at the Gator knows something.

"I'll check the scene first to see if it's the usual. We'll go from there."

After he finished his food.

Detective Beauchamp nodded, and then wrote down an address for Alex, which was located on the outer edge of the Triad territory, not too far from the naval base.

They'll be expecting you.  And let me know if you need anything else.

---------

It wasn't long after that the meeting wrapped up, leaving Alex free to investigate.

His first stop, as he said, was the crime scene. It was interesting the new group was so close to the naval base. Usually criminal would do their best to steer clear of a place close to so much scrutiny. Either they  to be unpredictable, of they thought the were selling something the G.I.s would want

As Alex arrived at the crime scene, the warehouse was already most empty of police officers.  A few remained, on guard, while a single junior detective was going over the scene.  Recognizing Alex from previous cases, they waved him inside.

-----

Inside the warehouse was the remains of a scene of carnage.  There were broken boxes, places on the floor, and even one wall had a sizeable hole in it.  Also obvious were a few places where it looked like long blades had been used, also to leave marks in assorted places.  And all that was before taking into account all the now mostly-dried blood, spread around in copious amounts.

Most of the boxes around the area were opened and mostly emptied, except a few that had broken Tommy guns.

The junior detective looked up at Alex as he entered, and then sighed.

Hello, Thorne.  Beauchamp thinks he's got an odd one again?
_________________________________

Here's some fun stuff for you:

1) Per + Socialize, Diff 1 to realize that the officers outside have just a little bit of dread now that Alex is involved.

2) Int + Investigation, Diff 2 to notice that superhuman force was used, and Diff 3 to recognize that one of the blades was oversized.

3) Per + Socialize, Diff 2 to notice that the detective doesn't seem all that surprised that Alex is getting involved.

I'll leave the amulet up to you, but it will definitely be glowing here.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:32, Tue 06 Aug 2019.

Alex ignored the reactions of the officers outside. Yeah, and seeing this I don't think I blame him.

From his breast pocket Alex pulled out what looked like a sphere of Alexandrite on a thin silver chain. He held it out, allowing the gem to twist and dangle in the air. It caught the light then began to glow an angry red. Malice was here in abundance. The gem don't lie, sorry. Not too surprised. I don't think any thing with human strength could have done this.

He put the jewel back in his pocket. Any witnesses? Who called it in?

The detective nodded at Alex's conclusion.

No witnesses, unfortunately.  At least none that are talking.  It was called in by the warehouse's morning shift manager, who is currently at the station enjoying our hospitality.  We also found a broken Japanese blade, too.  It'll be in evidence.

Do we think the blade belonged to the victim or the killer? He almost hoped it was the killer. If it was the victim, it could mean those were standard issue for the new gang in New Orleans. Guns were lethal, but quick. Blades, well, blades could be used by some sick people who wanted to take their time.

The one that attracted Beauchamp's eye was a Japanese blade.  Long one, too.  Kind of odd, since most of them carry the shorter or knife-sized version of those swords.  Not that they seem shy about guns, mind you.

He paused, then shrugged.

Of course, the Triads use all sorts of crazy stuff, in addition to guns, too.

Define Crazy Alex asked, stiffling a groan. If crazy meant random ninja weapons, that was fine.  If Crazy meant curses and voodoo that was a whole other kettle of fish.

Let's see...  I've heard that some of them use claws, some use some sort of crazy sword with a hook and too many extra blades, and I've heard that at least one uses a fan with blades in it.

The detective shook his head.

Honestly, I think those chinamen do nothing but spend time thinking of stupid things to use to try to kill each other with, then they call 'em something fancy, and add foo to it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:58, Tue 13 Aug 2019.