CoC: A Haunting In Arkham

[Lycan 01]

It is a cold Winter day in Arkham, Massachusetts. The sky is overcast, and the frigid wind is gusting, leaving many people to stay indoors to avoid the chill and the coming storm.

Unfortunately for several friends of Michael Freeman, he has dire need of their services and assistance. He has asked for them to meet him at Jay's Diner, on the corner of 3rd and Flemming, at noon.

As Mr. Freeman's associates arrive at the diner, they will find it to be mostly deserted, aside from a bearded and bored looking cook, a young waitress with one of those new "bob" haircuts the Flappers wear, and of course, Mr. Freeman.

Michael Freeman is an elderly gentleman, mostly bald aside from a few whisps of silver around his ears, a pair of spectacles, and a grandfatherly smile. His attire consists of a cheap black suit, though he's removed the jacket for comfort, revealing a white undershirt and some red suspenders. He is sitting at one of the booths, studying the menu while waiting for his friends. As they enter, he will smile at them and gesture for them to take a seat at the booth or pull up a chair, and allow them to introduce themselves to each other.

[The Duskblade]

Arriving at the Dinner a bundled up Vincent is feeling very thankful to his thick trench coat. Noticing Freeman has arrived he quickly orders a coffee from the waitress and heads to the booth.

"Long time no see Freeman, I take it you have some work for me? Hope it's not as bad as the bloody Derbowski case."

As the others arrive Vincent introduces himself. "The name Vincent Gallo, I'm a PI back in Boston." Saying this Vincent places a business card on the table for anyone who wants to look. It is backed by a large transparent eye.

Vincent Gallo
Private Detective
Phone: 555 3425
Corner of Baker and Down st, Boston
"What do you need to know?"

[Vesth]

Following Vincent is a thin, wiry old man, dressed in an casual suit which is obviously an expensive affair, due to the high quality and the well-stiched seams. Walking with an ornate and elegant cane in one hand, and a briefcase in the other, he strolled into the Diner, and after casting Vincent a curious glance, sat beside Freeman.

"A PI, my dear friend?" he asks Freeman, peering at the card offered by the detective,

"I had assumed that you had arranged a gathering for intellectual discussions of the academic nature, or at least a radical argument over the use of cooling machines to preserve one's life." he said as he placed the card back on the table.

[LTSearchEngine]

A tall, broad-shouldered man ducks through the doorway shortly after the previous entrants. He pulls off his gloves, and looks around, until he sees Michael beckoning to him. He pulls a chair up to the side of the table, and takes off his overcoat, revealing a loosely cut business suit underneath. He places the overcoat across the back, and sits down gently.

In a deep voice, he says, "Michael, it is good to see you. You seem well." To the others: "My name is Jonas, and Michael is an old friend of the family. Nice to meet you. If we're doing business cards," he says, noting Vincent's contribution, "I can chip in."

He fishes in his pocket, and draws out a clip, extracting a small stack of cards before returning it. He deals out two, to the two strangers, and then puts the remaining few on the table in front of him, ready to hand them to any others who arrive.

Jonas West
Valkyr Security
Consultant / Subject Matter Expert
Phone: 867-5309
123 Donton St. Fairholm, MA

On the reverse of the card is a stylized silhouette of a bird, angel, or something similar.

[The Duskblade]

Finding the latest arrival more interesting then a discussion on Cryonics Vincent picks up the offered card. "Security huh? Quite a big field now days. Fortunately for me the people I deal with are rarely both rich enough and smart enough to invest in a decent consultant." The business card is added to a small book containing an extensive list of contacts. Vincent offers a hand to Jonas "A pleasure to meet you Mr. West."

[Vesth]

Jonnah stared critically at the card, before placing back on the table, as he had with the previous one.

"Since we're introducing ourselves, I'm Jonnah Weavers, head professor of the Chemistry department of the University of Middinghan and brillant inventor. I'm not in the business of keeping cards on me." he said politely, before shooting a glance at Vincent, as if saying What sort of rabble do you keep for company?!

[LTSearchEngine]

Jonas rumbles out a quiet laugh. "I imagine not. Even though I don't get into the contracts side of things, I have a general idea of our pricing. Not for the faint of heart at all.

"You know, I once considered going into investigative work, right after I got out of the service... but it didn't really work out. How's business for you? Plenty of intrigue in the city, I'm sure?" he asks, quirking up the corner of his mouth.

Hearing the professor speak, Jonas raises his eyebrows.

"Chemistry, you say? That's what my degree is in. Didn't make it all the way to a doctorate, but fortunately there hasn't been much call for my particular expertise at the office.

[The Duskblade]

Ignoring the glance Vincent simply responds "A pleasure Professor Weaver. In my experience Professors rarely offer their services for hire, so such a card would be rather unnecessary."

Turning back to Jonas Vincent chuckles softly "Depends on the case, cheating spouses and dead beat debtors are a dime a dozen, but they pay the bills. The interesting cases are certainly out there though. Last month I tracked down a missing person, a medical doctor in his forties. He'd spent the last five years living in a church attic and had taken a job as a florist. It's a weird world. Also get the occasional company that wants to run a background check on a new hire. If Valkyr ever have need of that particular service feel free to give me a call."

[Ancient Hippo]

Clarence arrives a little later than the others, having ran into unexpected obstacles. He enters the diner and joins the others, apologizing for his lateness.

"...But having said that, nice to see you again, Freeman! I'm happy to see that you have not broken any bones this time," he says and sits down, before remembering the others. "Oh, excuse me, I have not introduced myself. My name is Clarence Newman, and I am... Well, you could say that I'm a kind of doctor." He takes a look around, quietly wondering exactly why Michael had asked them to meet him.

[LTSearchEngine]

Jonas looks briefly speculative, and then replies to Vincent with a, "I'll keep that in mind."

At Clarence's words, Jonas nods, and introduces himself as he extends a card.

[Inglenook]

A young woman enters the diner, barging in with such force that the glass door slams against the wall and clatters noisily.

Her hair is short, wavy and black, framing a clever, sharp-chinned face. Her lips curve in a mischievous smile as she spots the group. "Yoo-hoo!" she fairly screams, and totters over to the booth on too-high heels.

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"How are you, Mickey?" the woman says, leaning over the table and planting a large kiss on Freeman's cheek. She plops down into the seat beside Clarence and removes her cloche and heavy mink shawl with a flourish.

After making herself comfortable, she calls out loudly to the bearded cook: "Hey, Joe! Whip me up some hotcakes, please-and-thanks!" Oblivious to the death-stare the waitress is shooting at her from across the room, she turns back to the group and introduces herself.

"Sorry I'm late, boys! The name's Rose Cavanaugh, pleased to meetcha!"

[The Duskblade]

"A pleasure to meet you Dr. Newman, does Freeman here often end up in your care then?"

As the new arrival introduces herself, Vincent takes a sip from his coffee only to choke slightly at the announcement of her name. "Ah excuse me, Miss Cavanaugh. Your'e name seems to strike a bell, might I have heard of you somewhere?"

[Ancient Hippo]

"Oh, no, just once, and even that was by accident. Also, no need to call me doctor, I did not complete my formal studies. "Doctor" just sounds better than "generalist medical professional"."

Clarence takes a look at the newcomer, and sighs. In his experience, people like her were living accident magnets. Partying too much, drinking too much, not being quite in charge of the automobile their daddy had bought... It was a good thing he had taken his doctor's bag with him.

[Lycan 01]

Mr. Freeman smiles. He seems happy that everyone is getting along so well. "Well, now that we're all here and everyone is acquainted, perhaps we should get down to business?"

"As most of you likely know, I own a few properties around town, and rent them out for residential purposes. Well, I've run into a bit of a..." he frowns, trying to find the right word. "Predicament."

"One of the houses I rent out has become a bit of a thorn in my side. A few of the renters complained of 'strange happenings,' even accusations that the place was... haunted," he furrows his brow. "I mean, normally it would be written off as superstitious nonsense, but..."

He looks around uneasily. "Well, there was an incident. The last family staying there... Well, they claimed there was something in the house. A presence, or some nonsense like that. But the husband wound up dead from a heart attack, supposedly out of fear, and the wife's in Arkham Asylum, since she couldn't handle the shock of his death," he sighs. "Like I said, the haunting stuff is nonsense, but it... Well, it looks bad. Nobody wants to rent the place."

Mr. Freeman smiles softly. "So, I need a 'professional' opinion on the matter. Proof, from reliable sources, that the place isn't haunted. No one will take my word for it, even though I've looked the whole place over. It needs to be a respectable third party..... such as yourselves."

[The Duskblade]

Vincent appears slightly amused by the notion of a haunting. However the case before him has the potential to be intriguing. "So basically we'd be looking for something to calm down superstitious renters? Maybe find some background on this property of yours before going in to check there's no one living under the floor boards."

Stretching slightly Vincent drains the last of his coffee. "I'd be interested to know if there's any history behind these claims. Might be some violent death from years back kicked off some rumours, and our unfortunate heart attack victim certainly didn't help matters. I suppose the obvious place to start is to speak with the Widow, if she's up to it."

[Vesth]

Jonnah frowned visibly.

"My friend, you cannot possibly be suggesting that I am called here simply to quell the tongue of gossipers? Even if there is something...macabre in there, I hardly see how this require my skill as a chemical and medical professional...although I do feel that our dear friend Clarence would be unneccesary as well, unless we would all fall prey to falling timbers and disappearing through holes in the floor of this...decrepit building?" he said as he leaned back, his hand waving as he called for a coffee.

[Ancient Hippo]

Clarence smiles at the idea of a haunting. While he is not a man to completely rule out the possibility of the supernatural, he is sure that a real ghost would not waste it's time spooking strangers. No, most of the time these happenings could be explained with completely mundane things. Rigor Mortis causing corpses to sit up, for example.

"I don't think your presence will be unnecesary, Mr. Weaver. It will give our word much more weight if we have someone such highly educated with us. The general public will probably not notice that chemistry has little to do with ghosts."

[LTSearchEngine]

Jonas quirks an eyebrow while the others speak, and slowly allows a wry smile to cross his face.

"Mr. Freeman, this sounds quite interesting. It just so happens that I am on vacation,"he says, glancing at his watch, "as of about 30 minutes ago. I'll be glad to help you out here."

"However, I must clarify - I can only offer my own opinion. Obtaining the official opinion of Valkyr Consulting would be much more problematic, but I assume that is not your intent.

[Inglenook]

Rose's eyes flicker for only a moment when Vincent asks about her name. "You might've heard of my father," she says airily, pulling a cigarette from her handbag and lighting it. "He works in the, uh, embalming business, you might say."

The scowling waitress delivers the pancakes, which Rose immediately digs into as Freeman explains the reason he called them all there. When the topic of ghosts is broached, Rose grins expansively. "Ghosts! You called the right lady, Mickey. I've been pretty interested in that sort of thing lately. Has anyone died in the building in the past? Aside from the heart attack fella?"

[Lycan 01]

Mr. Freeman's wrinkled features form into a kind smile. "Thank you all so much. I really appreciate this."

He looks over to Jonnah and nods. "Your field of expertise may not be directly applicable, but you're still a man with reputation and authority. If a professional such as yourself can conclude that the place is safe, why should the average joe doubt what he says?" he asks with a wink.

He then sighs, and looks back and forth between Rose and Vincent. "Well... That's the thing. I don't know the full story. I bought the place a few years ago, after looking around the property and finding no real problems. A stuck door or two, a rickety staircase... Not too bad, considering their price. It wasn't until after I had the deed and was renting it out that I heard some of the stories about the place. Looked through the records at the local paper to see what I could actually find out for myself. Seems that place has seen it all. Folks going crazy, a suicide, illness..." he shakes his head. "Just a long, long stream of bad luck, if you ask me. Still, bad for business. And Mr. Marciano droppin' dead sure doesn't help things..."

He looks around the table. "Mrs. Marciano is currently locked up in the asylum, but you might be able to see her and ask some questions. Her kids are staying with local relatives, but I don't know the details. Folks at the asylum may be able to point you in the right directions, though..."

[Vesth]

Jonnah sighed as he leaned back in his chair, carefully putting down his coffee on the table. Not the quality he had come to expect, but it'll do.

"I...usually don't do people favors, especially those regarding the macabre, but I suppose I have nothing better to do than to help an old friend. You owe me, Freeman." he said after a moment's thought.

"Who has confirmed the cause of Mr. Marciano's death? Not some half-brained quack, I hope. People today...I have met 'doctors' who claim to be the best, but can't even test for Arsenic in a dead poison. No wonder poisoners can get away so easily. New York City even issued a report saying publicly that poisoners could operate with impugnity in New York if they were smart about it. I had quite a good laugh over that."

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During the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, a number of arsenic compounds have been used as medicines, and it was used as a poison as well. This mentions how bad people were at determining poisoners in that time.

Also, this was a period of very poisonous alcohol...Jonnah might bring that up later on.

[The Duskblade]

Well that doesn't sound ominous, Vincent thinks to himself at Rose's comment about her father. Focusing back on the matter at hand Vincent responds to Freeman.

"Well the Asylum is as good a place to start as any. Though if these rumours have been around for a while it might not lead anywhere. If the Paper isn't giving any decent information the police probably have some records at least for that suicide you mentioned and of course Mr. Marciano's autopsy if there was one, would be good to see, just in case."

With a sigh Vincent added "Course getting information out of the local police could be tricky. I don't have any of my contacts in Arkham"

[Ancient Hippo]

Clarence raises his brow at the suggestion of visiting the asylum.

"With all due respect, I don't see what we can accomplish by going to bother a woman who has been driven over the edge by his husbands death. Rather we would probably just impide her recovery."

[The Duskblade]

"If she is not up to the conversation then of course we would leave her be. However in that case a word with the staff might be just as illuminating. At the very least it would be good to know where the rest of the family is. As Freeman said the staff at the asylum would likely know."

"Of course that is merely one option, I am quite happy if we decide to look elsewhere."

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Also who doesn't want to visit Arkham Asylum

[Inglenook]

"We could always split up," Rose suggests. "Maybe a few of us could head to the asylum, and the rest could do some research. I'd be mighty interested to see those newspaper records on the history of the house for myself."

[LTSearchEngine]

Jonas readjusts, easing pressure from his holster, and speaks.

"Well, I believe if Mr. Freeman thinks that a conversation with the unfortunate woman might be beneficial, I'll put my stock in that. I say we visit her."

He quirks an eyebrow. "I'll volunteer to drive, but we may need more than one car if we all go."

[The Duskblade]

Vincent order's himself another coffee, in a takeaway cup this time. "Miss Cavanaugh's idea strikes me as a good one. With such a large group everyone going to the one destination would be squandering our resources. Best to cover as much ground as possible."

"I would suggest everyone choose their preferred destination and we can get to work. Mr. West if you're happy to drive it would be a pleasure to accompany you to the asylum."

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Assuming the decision to depart is made soon, before leaving Vincent will first grab a case from his car holding his firearm and ammo as well as some basic first aid supplies.

[Vesth]

"There's no need to drive, gentlemen. I can order cabbies to come and drive us along." Jonnah muttered, as he finished the last of his coffee.

[Ancient Hippo]

Clarence nods in agreement with splitting up to gather information.

"I believe splitting up is a good idea. Unless someone objects, I'd also like to go to the newspaper records. Those places can be quite poorly organized, so two persons can likely find more relevant information than one."

He takes a look at a clock.

"Well, I suppose we should decide when and where we meet to complie our information."

[The Duskblade]

Vincent ready to leave places his hand on the edge of his seat as if about to push himself to his feat.

"My suggestion is that when we are done with our work we head to a Hotel, we will most likely need accommodation after all. I believe their is a place by the local university called the Miskatonic Hotel."