He took another sip of his coffee and nodded solemnly.

"Might involve the cemetery, the mortuary, any buildings on the property. We're going to see what we can do to make sure this doesn't happen again, but it's been a little difficult to get information."

"Yes, Professor, and with a bit of luck, we'll come upon the right path forward shortly. It hasn't been easygoing, looking into this, even when we've learned a lot."

Arthur, for his part, had found it difficult to order poultry of any sort, or in fact any meat. He had ordered some eggs and potatoes, and some coffee.

Sully is quiet as he eats, listening to the others. He is curious about Arthur and the Prof's close inspection of their meals but asls for no explanations.

At length he pushes his empty plate aside and lights a cigarette, careful to expel the smoke away from Miss Surrette.

"So, Jake, as our experienced investigator. How do we get into this supposed catacomb beneath the Bishop establishment? Through the old, blocked sewers? Or over the fence and down the tunnel from the mausoleum? Or do we bid farewell to the idea of solving the mystery and go about our business?"

Jake's been attacking his open turkey sandwich and studiously avoiding Victoria's lively eyes since he blurted out his question about her married status. He's acutely aware of his disheveled state and his unshaved chin, his cheap clothes and his poor table manners, the dozen -- maybe fifteen -- years he has on her and his unlikely prospects. He's also curious that these things have never really bothered him before, but that the very presence of this lovely young woman has brought them all center stage into the bright lights. He wonders if he's becoming soft, a sissy. But the tilt of her chin, the kindness in her eyes, and the warmth of her smile all put him in mind of new possibilities.

When Sully speaks to him, he's a million miles away with vague daydreams of pushing a baby carriage in Central Park.

And then he's back. Bang. Back in the world where creepy old guys cut up pretty girls like this, and keep dead zombies in drawers to act as guards. And suddenly he's burning with rage at Bishop, and determined to take him down, no matter what the cost. It has to be done to protect lovely young women like Victoria Surrette. He may not be much in the way of husband material, but he's pretty good at handing out a big fat walloping when it's needed.

"Maybe we could open a few manholes on the streets where the sewer got shut off," he shrugs. "Doubt they bothered to brick them all up."

Then another thought strikes him that he likes.

"Or maybe Miss Surette can get us a detailed map of the sewers?" He looks at her now with a lopsided grin.

He nods as he listens to Jake's ideas, fixing his eyes on Miss Surrette to see if Jake's question would be answered and if she'd be able to provide such a document.

Arthur frowned a bit, then chuckled. "I don't...necessarily...want to go down into the muck, but it seems like the logical next step, doesn't it?"

”Yes, Miss Surrette probably can,” Victoria says with a smirk, ”So long as you fellas promise to be careful,” she continues, her expression turning serious, ”If these people are what you think they are, they’re not the sort to play around with. Find out what you need and get it to the police!”

“Meet me at five in front of Blancato’s corner store. It’s two blocks west of the Public Works office. I’ll get you all that I can turn up.”

"I think I'll go by a couple of pawn shops to look for some firearms. Chiefly, I think, a shotgun."

Jake offers to walk Victoria back to her Public Works office. On the way, he tries not to curse or spit. He tries to remember to walk standing upright rather than hunched over like a gorilla. He makes sure he walks between her and the curb. He will stiff-arm anybody who looks to be getting too close to her, and will generally behave in ways that show he likes her.

"See you at five, then," he says, holding his hat and twisting the brim as he speaks, the very picture of awkwardness.

"And maybe, when this is over, you might like to go to the picture show with me one evening? Or Coney Island?"

OOC: He will only say this if none of the others have come with them.

"I'll come with you, Sully. I figure that, uhh, a rifle wouldn't be too awful different from a camera, right?"

When he had the right angle to be seen by Jake, but not by Miss Surrette, Arthur threw Jake a wink.

He thought that, when this all was over, he ought to drop by Harper's to see that girl he was sweet on--well, after a bath and maybe some time spent in an analyst's office.

As he walked away, he chanced to ask the Professor under his breath: "Say...you don't suppose a chicken laid those eggs, do you?"

He was rubbing his chin, and his hand was shaking. It would have been funnier, probably, if Arthur hadn't been giving off the look of a man teetering on the edge of seeing his worldview crumble to pieces.

"I don't know, Art, I'm not very experienced with guns myself. But from what I've observed, a fellow has a better chance hitting something with a shotgun. It fires a bunch of bullets rather than just one, as I understand.

"Maybe we can get Jake to come along, if he's not...uhh...otherwise engaged." He smiles broadly, "How about you, Prof? Know anything about firearms?"

Sully lags back a bit, giving Jake some space to chat up the young woman, if he chooses.

"A chicken? Oh, no most certainly not. They appeared to me to be most likely duck eggs," he said thinking on his feet. He knew his comrade had an extreme aversion to chickens and didn't wish him to experience undue upset on account of such a silly bird.

"But perhaps I will join you both as you consider purchases of weapons for the purposes of defense. I don't know how well I'd fare with such, as I have little experience with them, but it couldn't hurt to look, could it?"

Jake catches up with the others, very tight-lipped about his conversation with Victoria.

When they start talking about buying weapons, he throws a bucket of cold water on their plans.

"You gentlemen may never have heard of The Sullivan Act," he speaks with a cigarette hanging on his lip, the smoke curling up into his eyes. "But to buy a firearm of any description in the city requires a permit issued by the police. And it takes time, believe me."

He lets that sink in a moment and then he grins.

"But we got plenty of time to go to Jersey. Just over the river. Different set of laws altogether. We can catch the commuter train to Newark, hit the pawn shops, and be back for tea time."

Despite the loophole of being able to travel out of state fairly easily from New York City, Jake advises against buying shotguns for the simple reason that they are very hard to hide.

"If we had a day or two, maybe we could cut a couple of blunderbusses down out of a double barrel, but we'd need hacksaws and vices. Not likely.

"But a couple of these babies," he holds up his 1911 Colt. "They will get the bad guy's attention, I can assure you."

He's actually hoping they find .45 revolvers. Plenty of stopping power and much more intuitive to use and reload.

"Clearly you know your business, Mr. Morris, and make a number of very sensible points. If I am to procure such a thing, I will certainly use your advice," he said respectfully.

Arthur scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, you caught me Jake, I'm a bit clueless about all this gun stuff."

"But surely Jake, the Sullivan Act only restricts --ah, let me see if I can recall the exact language.-- 'firearms small enough to be concealed.' That's it. There was no intent to inhibit the sporting arms of gentlemen, such as shotguns. I did a story on the law's tenth anniversary and was fortunate enough to interview Bat Masterson, the former Wild West lawman and Tim Sullivan's friend, just before his death. Remarkable fellow.

"But if you think New Jersey is the place to go, I am quite agreeable."

Jake nods at Sully.

"Yeah, the Sullivan Act is about handguns, but you are sure enough going to get stopped by the cops parading through the streets with a shotgun or a rifle."

He scratches his chin.

"But maybe we carry them in a bag and don't take them out so's anyone can see until we're down the sewers. That would work."

Remembering the tenacious zombies of the evening before, he's thinking a double barrel scatter gun may be the best option himself.

Blancato’s Corner Store is quite busy at the five o’clock hour, with several customers entering and exiting the small grocery, picking up items for evening meal preparations, or patronizing the apparently popular deli counter.

Victoria Surrette awaits the investigators on the western side of the red brick building, a pair of folded papers in her hand, which she hands to Jake. ”I was writing and drawing as I could while helping customers,” she explains, ”but I think I was neat enough that you shouldn’t have any trouble reading.”

“I double checked, and I can’t tell you fellas if it’s an oversight on the part of the city, or if someone somewhere got their palm greased to look the other way, but there’s no documentation anywhere that shows that the underground access under the Bishop residence was ever sealed up when they expanded the basement. My guess is it’s still there. I’ve tried not to think too much about why anyone would want such an entrance inside their home.”

“The next closest way in is an old access that’s in the alley that runs between Stanton and Rivington. It’s a manhole that’s positioned just west of where Sheriff Street crosses. It’s definitely never been sealed up. Doesn’t look like it’s been used in years either, at least not by anyone on the city payroll. The cover’s made from cast iron, so it may take some doing to lift it off. You might need a pry bar.”

Sully tries to put the young woman's mind at rest: "Probably for smuggling purposes. I believe there was a lot of smuggling in that neighborhood in the good old days. Yes indeed."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:05, Thu 25 Aug 2022.

Victoria gives Sully a grateful smile. ”Right. Hadn’t thought of that. Who knows? They could have a still down in that basement of theirs, cooking up moonshine, then sneaking it out underground.”

She sighs. ”Based on what you suspect, I almost hope that’s all it turns out to be.”

She glances over at Jake and whispers something in his ear.


OOC: Let me know if there are any other preparations the investigators will be making. Otherwise, I’ll move things forward to evening. I will need to know whether the group plans to sneak in and explore Bishop House, or if they intend to use the alleyway access to enter the sewer directly.

I’m for the alley.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:27, Thu 01 Sept 2022.

OOC:

Alley-oop!
This message was last edited by the player at 00:26, Thu 01 Sept 2022.

OOC: Alley! If anything, I figure we might sneak into the Bishop house from the sewer, instead of the other way around. :)

Jake has a smile on his face as he and the others make their plans for later.

"They'll know we came in from the graveyard last night," he says as they assemble various weapons and a kit bag to haul the shotguns in.

"So it makes sense to go in another way. Plus it sounds like this underground operation is something they didn't want to be discovered. So I agree -- we go in through the manhole in the alley."

As part of their preparation, Jake will obtain a crowbar to lift up the edge of the heavy manhole cover -- and to act as a secondary lock pick, if needed.

He eschews a long gun, feeling more confident in his ability to hit targets with his trusty .45 Roscoe. He does load two spare clips for the pistol and drops them in his pocket. Along with the crowbar, he carries a flashlight and a switchblade knife in his trouser pocket. And, of course, a pack of Luckies and his well-used Zippo lighter.

He pretty much clanks when he walks.

Sully put his new pistol in his right hip pocket and a dozen or so shotgun shells in his right jacket pocket. In his left jacket pocket is his blackjack with a flashlight. As always, he has his notebook and lighter and cigarettes and such. And his flask, mustn't forget that.