Resurrection City IV: Et In Arcadia Ego

[Andrew D. Gable]

Insp. Diggory: Broad Sanctuary, Westminster

Charles nods. "So--you're thinking that maybe Dr. Bond's death has something to do with his work on that affair? It stands to reason that if there were some sort of conspiracy behind the Ripper--a theory I don't subscribe to, mind you--it stands to reason that if there were, that some elements of that conspiracy would be left." He walks over towards the file cabinet and places his hand on it. "Did you know that one of his case files was missing, Diggory? Based on what you just told me, I'd imagine you could guess at which file it was, could you not? I admit, things are certainly put into another light."

 

[Old Fezziwig]

"Ripper file, then, sir? As to a conspiracy, I'm not sure what I should be thinking — I'll mostly take it as it comes for the time being and wait until it all sorts out one way or the other before deciding. In the meantime, ye've got the right of it. Until there's conclusive evidence in favor of a conspiracy, there wasn't one."

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Trevor: Charles Street, Westminster

Trevor hails a cab which conveys himself and Dr. Hewitt to Charles Street. Walsingham gets out, but Hewitt continues on to his home in Kensington.

"I'll be seeing you in the morning, Trevor," he says, waving as the carriage sets off towards Piccadilly and thence to Kensington. Trevor waves farewell for now to Dr. Hewitt and fumbles with his key, eventually getting the front door open.

"It's alright, it's Trevor," Willie's voice calls out. From another room emerges Ferris, the butler, carrying a pool cue like a club. "Sir," he says, dropping the club.

"What on earth's going on here?" Trevor asks. Ferris says nothing, but beckons him into the sitting room. The room is a complete shambles - books ripped off bookcases, hurriedly leafed through, and thrown onto the floor, the desk drawer opened and papers scattered.

"I'd gone out for some time, to buy a few things," the butler explains. "Mrs. Osborn was downstairs cleaning, Bridey was upstairs. Mr. Stemple here had arrived at the house just as I was approaching. Said you'd sent him here. When we got here, both Mrs. Osborn and Bridey were locked in one of the upstairs bedrooms."

An instant later, Bridey comes from the direction of the kitchen. "Thank goodness you're alright," she says. "Mrs. Osborn is upstairs. Poor woman got a dreadful fright. What can have happened?"

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Insp. Diggory: Broad Sanctuary, Westminster

"Ripper file, then, sir?"

"It was," Charles says. "The one on the Kelly woman. We know about the marks he found. We didn't let that detail out, we believed it a bit too lurid for even the press. And likely of no import," he adds a moment later. He glances at the window. "Perhaps we'd best be getting these things back to the Yard," he says. "We'll look through them some more there." The other patrolman in the room nods and strolls over to the desk, grabbing a stack of files. "You're welcome to join us, Diggory, or call it a night, whichever you'd prefer," Inspector Charles says as he picks up another pile of file folders.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

"I'd be happy to join, see if I can help for a while." Diggory will stay as long as he can before he needs to go home and get ready to join Hewitt and Walsingham to travel.

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Insp. Diggory: New Scotland Yard

"Very well, then," says Inspector Charles. All three of you depart Dr. Bond's offices and head across the square to the Scotland Yard buildings. Once there, Charles leads you into a third floor office. Here, Charles, Diggory, and the other officer set their stacks of files on a heavy wooden desk against one of the walls. Inspector Charles himself takes a seat at the desk, motioning to chairs in other parts of the room.

"Well, we'd best be getting to work," he says, dividing the files up evenly. "We won't be looking through them all. I'll get someone else to finish looking through them later." He looks at his files and sighs.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Diggory examines his files carefully, looking tor anything related to Mary Kelly, the Hawksmoor churches, Verdain (EIECET), or even Ann Harrington and the jewel. He wants to see if he can draw out a pattern, something to see if the events of the day and the murders from that fall can be connected.

[Research, roll of 14 on d20, +4 skilled, total 18]

 

[JimAde]

"That's what I'd like to know," Trevor says grimly, looking about at the mess. "Are either of you hurt? Did you see who did this?"

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Trevor: Charles Street, Westminster

"That's what I'd like to know," Trevor says grimly, looking about at the mess. "Are either of you hurt? Did you see who did this?"

"I'm not hurt at all, for one. Just have a bit of the nerves, of course. There were two of them," Bridey says. "Came to the house about an hour ago, shortly after you'd gone up to the Museum. One of them was a foreigner, real dark, in his early middle years I'd imagine. The other was a youngish man. I didn't like him at all, sir, so cruel-looking. They said they'd met you in India, and that was when I knew they were strangers, for I knew you'd never been in India. I told them you weren't in, sir, and they forced their way in. That ugly foreigner locked me and Mrs. Osborn in a bedroom and they went about their work."

"They'd run off just as I was approaching," Ferris says. "They hopped into a carriage. Queer big carriage it was, too. I've sent Cooper 'round to fetch the police."

"They knocked me clear on me arse bustin' out of the house," puts in Willie. "I tried to stop 'em, but I couldn't. I think that were one of those big ambulances they put dead folk in, Ferris."

"Eddy!" Bridey exclaims. I heard that foreign fellow calling the younger man Eddy."

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Insp. Diggory: New Scotland Yard, Westminster

Perusing the files, Diggory finds accounts of Bond's autopsies on Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes. In both of these, he mentions the presence of some sort of unidentifiable alkaloid in their blood. Diggory is about to read the file more in-depth when the silence of the office is disturbed.

A patrolman enters. "Begging your pardon, sir," he says when he sees the men reviewing the files, "but we have a spot of trouble. A house up on Charles Street has been broken into. The butler of the house is here now. Says he works for the Baron Walsingham, sir."

Inspector Charles nods. "Gather up three or four men, Smithson. I'll be down shortly." The patrolman nods and ducks back out. "I suppose we'll need to cut this short," Charles says, rising. "I'd best be getting up there and see what's what."