Stanley doesn't need to be told to get out twice. He's already on the edge of his wits with anxiety and returns back the way they came, leaving the personal papers where he found them and hoping that they won't be spotted. Despite the worry, he does have to admit to himself that there's an element of exhilaration that goes along with his first, proper and intentional lawbreaking. With any luck they, as a group, will have come away with enough to have made the whole enterprise worthwhile.
Whoever was here, threw many of the scraps under the bed, perhaps in a rush or just in a clumsy attempt to hide them. There are several of them written in short hand:
-- Starkweather, Amherst Hotel. WH-5040; 10:00 A.M.
-- Gerald Brackman GR-7738
-- Philip—10:40, 12:55, 3:10, 8:45 (overnight)
-- Wykes, Grimes, Brewer—Purple Cup
-- A. Lexington QB-0505 [several check marks next to the phone number]
-- A partially written letter from Douglas to a Philip, is also discovered though it appears to be only partially completed.September 9th, 1933
New York City
Dear Philip,
I have arrived, as you see, in New York, and will be with you in a few days. It will not be as soon as I had hoped, however. I am shipping you some personal things by rail which ought to get there before I do. Take care and keep them safe for me. I have some rather sorry business here in the city that I must attend to before I can come.There is a man here named Starkweather who is hiring crew for an Antarctic voyage. He has been hounding me for months, by letter and by wire. I have no interest in his voyage, as you well know. I swore I would not ever return to that hellish place and I will not, so help me God! But the man wants me to captain his ship, and he will not take “no” for an answer. I told him I would meet with him when I arrived in New York. Perhaps he will understand my refusal when I shout it to his face.
You may imagine my annoyance when I got here and discovered that the imbecile has been telling the press that I was already signed on! We are to meet tomorrow. I intend to be quite firm with him. Adding insult to injury, a lunatic German here at the hotel has been after me ever since he learned my name. Again and again I encounter him “by chance;” the man is obsessed with fairy tales.
Each time we meet he asks if I know anything of South Seas folklore, of great statues in the pack ice or of lost island nations. I have told him no: I know nothing of Tsalal, or blacktoothed savages, or a man named Pym, or of anything south of the Antarctic Circle but ice, whales, and misery. If he approaches me again, so help me, Philip, I shall knock him senseless!
It is not bad enough that Starkweather has been misusing my name in the newspapers. He has been using it to attract his crews as well. He has even managed to sign some of the boys from the Arkham and the Lady Margaret on the strength of it. How he got any of the Arkham crew I shall never know. None of us who were on that voyage are ever likely to forget the things that were said about those murdered men, or the howls of that poor mad boy Danforth.
The things he whispered to me, toward the end when he knew where he was, still haunt me. God only knows what he told the others. I am going to do what I can to convince
There the letter stops.
Reggie looks at the notes and the letter. He starts taking notes and muttering to himself. Acacia Lexington, what did you talk about? Gerald Brackman, who might you be? Nosey German. Lost nation? Hmm...Atlantis? Pym?
Reggie hardly notices Seamus telling them to leave. Yes of course. while on the firescape he adds I need to talk to the hotel clerk
Grabbing anything she is told to take Phoebe is quick to begin her dissent back down the ladder and away from the illegal activity.
v
Alphonso nods and takes himself back out the way they came
Ah yes, I remember now.
After searching the room for signs out of the ordinary (further than what is expected), the doctor sums the effort up to bunches of paper and a room laid to waste. With the rest of the crew ready to leave, he awaits their descent before making his.
September 9th, 1933
The climb back down teh fire escape is a harrowing one as the nerves at breaking into the room which is an active crime scene nearly causes many of the Investigators to fall! Luckily, their friends are there to aid them.
You all manage to get to the ground safely though in some cases shaken up by the near falls.
Seamus turns to Reginald, "Arnault is already talking to the clerk. Let's hang out back here, wait for this mess to clear out and then you can head in and speak with the guy again Limey.. er Reggie. I get what you're getting at, you would have made a good cop Professor". He grins at you, perhaps partly due to the insult that slipped out...
Stanley is finding that the adrenaline surge of this evening's illegal activities is giving him an unusual level of heightened physical and mental awareness.
"It would look pretty weird if we're standing around back here if the fire department shows up," he points out. "I'd suggest that we try to blend in with the crowd out front rather than waiting here." Regardless of whether or not they agree, he starts to take his own advice, eager to make sure that nobody has any reason to suspect his involvement in the skulduggery.
"Good idea!"
Then lets go. Phoebe quickly moves out of the alley.
Not so fast now. You'll just look more suspicious if you're running out of here. Don't think about it and we'll be fine.
Without word Alphonso moves the other way around the building to the opposite side of the crowd and stands at the back looking harried and out of breath because he is, which is the best kind of lie...
" So he is... Zank you. "
Arnault strides up to the clerk.
" Hello my good man! I vas lookink for you in zee lobby vhen zee alarm vent off. "
Arnault takes the man's hand and gives it a shake.
" I don't know if you remember me but I vanted to ask you some more questions about zee commander, Commander Douglas you know. I never caught up vith him and zen... Vell you hafe probably seen zee papers... Do you know, did anyvone else efer come to visit him vhen he vas here? Or leafe a message for him? "
September 9th, 1933
The clerk turns to you, "Oh yeah, I remember you pal. No messages but there was a guy who was always askin' about him. Was stayin' in the hotel too, German guy. Real pest ya know. The Commander gave me a few bits to keep my mouth shut if the guy asked after him.
Come to think of it, I haven't seen the guy since last night".
September 9th, 1933
You are all able to walk nonchalantly away from the back alley and around the block blending in with the crowd easily enough.
Stanley spots Arnault through the crowd. The man's still talking to the desk clerk, so he doesn't approach right away, but watches to see how things go. If any of the others who went up to the Commander's room are nearby, he discreetly points them out in case they need to know or have a visual reference for the desk clerk going forward. Only when their conversation comes to an end will Stanley approach and give Arnault a nod to indicate both that they're finished with their end, and deep thanks for taking this particular job instead of him.
" A Deutsch man you say? Perhaps I know him. " Arnault says, intrigued. " Say you vouldn't know, his name or vhat room he vas in? I'd like to meet him and It could be important to findink out vhat happened to zee Commander... "
If it looks like the clerk is hesitant to answer Arnault will try a subtle bribe passing the man some money with a handshake after a furtive glance around.
Reggie walks up behind Arnault and heard the last part of the conversation. If he had a room, didn't you have him sign the register?
Noticing Arnault but opting to keep back until.
September 9th, 1933
The clerk eyes Reginald suspiciously, "I probably shouldn't tell you guys anything else".
Arnault tries his move, saying " Come on now, just give me zee man's name, zere is no harm in zat. "
Alphonso spots the whole thing and keeps a distance looking for anything else of interest in the area.
Reggie grabs Anault's arm. He's obviously a man of honor, my friend. Why else would he brave being the only eyewitness to a possible murder suspect. Far braver than I'd be. I would worry endlessly about him coming back and eliminating loose ends. Or worry, that the police and prosecutors involve me in a long trial. What with thier conviction rate being less than 50%, I would be a nervous wreck thinking about retribution, should that prosecution fail.
It would be far easier to give us the name and description, where his involvement would be completely secret. No my friend. He is a brave man. Let's follow his example and inform the police of this most important witness.
He turns to the clerk and nods approvingly. You are an inspiration, the police will be most grateful.
Edit: LOL
September 9th, 1933
"Ferget it, you'll need to offer me at least twice that to get me to talk". He crosses his arms and stares at Reginald.
Reggie waves at Mr. Wolf to come over.
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Alphonso sees the wave and then walks over casually and arrives at the desk and smiles at the man behind the desk but something about the smile isn't the most comforting of things.
I would be happy to arrange payment assuming you have something of value to say
Noticing the group, Dr. Roman decides to hold back and listen instead of approaching them directly. Listening for any relevant information. No sense clumping everyone together. Only if called upon for assistance will he join the group as is, choosing to wait until it's time to move on, and following from a short distance.
Reggie can't believe the banker doesn't carry any cash.
He was, of course, just a poor professor and his poverty was come by honestly
Stanley, seeing that things were not going smoothly and that the others grouping around was starting to cause a scene, takes a few deep breaths to steady himself then steps up and puts some cash as grease into the hotel clerk's palm. "You may remember me from the other day as well," he says as he gives the man a chance to check the amount. "We really do inquire only out of concern for friends of ours."
September 9th, 1933
The clerk looks as if he is about stomp away from you and head back into the hotel when Stanley produces a few Greenbacks.
The clerk looks at the coppers and back to all of you. "My shift ends at 2 am, meet me in the coffee shop, Al's Allnighter then and I'll give you what you need. If I bring you in now the cops'll ask questions and I don;t ant no trouble, ok?"
"All right zen, vee vill meet you zen. Stay safe alright? " Arnault says shaking the clerks hand.
As the clerk walks away Arnault looks to his companions and says in a low voice.
" Zank goodness you had some money on you Stanley. It seems a Deutschman, staying in zis hotel vas perhaps hassling zee commander. "
"Did you manage to find any clues in zee room?"
"We found that someone, or someones, had tossed his room looking for something," says Stanley, catching Arnault up. "Based on what we know for sure is missing, and what was chosen to be left behind, it seems plain that whoever did this was unconcerned with the Commander's personal life, and rather his involvement with the university's first expedition. I'm not sure why they decided to kill him, though. His journals seemed to indicate he was intending to refuse to accompany the expedition to begin with. More questions than answers, as far as I can tell."
We should find a telephone and have Seamus pretend to be a police detective in order to elicit information on conversations had with the Captain. Gerald Brackman GR-7738 and Acacia Lexington QB-0505. I should contact Dr. Abbot to see if he can have a few TA's research a few items. I can't, in the time allotted, do it myself before leaving on the trip. Items of interest would be: South Seas folklore, Tsalal, blacktoothed savages, and a man named Pym.
September 9th, 1933
All Together now. In Al's Allnighter near the Westbury Hotel
Seamus grins at Reginald, "Acacia Lexington is leading a rival expedition. Interesting that her name appears in our Captain's records. Gerald Brackman doesn't ring any bells for me though".
Mick shrugs, "Me neither. Wait Reggie you want Seamus to call the precinct or the clerk?"
Gretchen sips on coffee, "I could go to zeee library here in zee zity tomorrow to research zome of those items Reginald, vould anyvone care to join me? I agree, a call to Dr. Abbot would make zense too".
-----------------
The hours tick by and the clerk finally comes to the coffee shop, he seems paranoid about someone following him.
"Alright, here's what I know. The Commander checked in two days ago but some of you already knew that. What you don;t know is that he made several phone calls from the phone on the desk. I don;t know who he called, but I did overhear part of one conversation where the name “Lexington” was mentioned.
I can't give any details as to the exact time these calls were made, I think sometime in the morning yesterday.
The only visitors he had were a few o' you and no one inquired about him at the desk. He spent little time in the room, and was gone during most of the days and evenings".
"By any chance you saw or hear about a German man?"
" I vill go to zee library vith you tomorrow Gretchen, so long as everyzink else is cofered... "
Arnault looks about furtively, and speaks hurriedly.
" Yes vhat about zee German fellow you mentioned earlier?... "
Feeling immensely more human after a rinse of and fresh clothing. Hair brushed and neatly hanging past her shoulder with a simple white blouse and black skirt. Collecting the precious coffee and joining the others.
Sitting quietly and listening as conversation starts up. I will need to check on Christopher but once I am done there I could join you at the library.
Watching the skittish man walk in and glancing behind him but not seeing anyone currently. Twisting the a ring around her finger as everyone listens to him. Why are you behaving as if someone is following you? Has there been someone following you or anyone else around recently?
"Your willingness to help is appreciated, friend," says Stanley in a jovial enough tone to cover the distasteful feeling of having to bribe someone. "But given that two people so far have been attacked, and one of those was successfully murdered, I think it would be in everyone's best interests if I kept a pair of eyes on you to make sure that, in the event that the wrong sort of people get wind of your willingness to help somehow, they won't be able to do anything to you without a witness there. I can sit unobtrusively in the lobby until you shift is over. And," he lowers his voice conspiratorially, "if in the process of making sure you stay healthy I should happen to get a look at your guest register to see if maybe I can spot the man that's been doing all this, then that could only be a bonus for everybody." He's curious about this Purple Cup mentioned in the captain's papers, it's a small detail but the fact that it's capitalized makes it seem important. It's something he'll want to look into in more detail once they've gotten all the information they can out of the desk clerk.
"I don't think anybody followed him," Stanley says, hoping to be calming, but he's not entirely sure. He only has a vague idea of what to look for when trying to discover a tail.
September 9th, 1933
The Clerk shakes his head, "No way, too risky. I can let you see the book when the cops leave in a few days but not right now!"
The clerk looks at Phoebe and points at Stanley, "Like your friend said. People are being attacked, the cops are looking into this, I don't want to be caught in the middle, I'm just a clerk".
He pauses for a moment after Arnault and Meeley ask about a German man, "A German guy. Sure I remember a German guy. Guy asked for Room 21 said it was his lucky number. He was a large and muscular guy, very well dressed, dark hair and speaking with a strong German accent. I don't remember his name but I can put a call in to the desk right now and see if I can get more info on the guy if you like. Though I would need some coin for the call..."
Nodding, Please do so.
Meeley smiles at the clerk. Discreetly she handles him a 10 dollars bill.
"Room 21?" asks Stanley, a little surprised. "I'm pretty sure that's the room right next door to where Commander Douglas was staying. That can't be a coincidence, and that name would be greatly appreciated." He tries not to sound frustrated that they could have already had the name if he'd gotten a chance to look at the register before now.
September 9th, 1933
The clerk heads to the back to make a call, he comes back five minutes later, "Alright. Mr. Anthony Sothcott is the name you are looking for. The guy just checked out this morning. You think that has anything to do with the murder?"
Seamus grins then his face takes a dark look as he stares down the clerk, "I think that's too much of a coincidence. You done good and made some good dough. Don't flap your lips ya hear?"
The clerk nods and stands, "Yes, ysssir!" He bolts out of the Coffeeshop.
Gretchen rubs her eyes,"Zis man ees likely our killer but how do we track him now Zeamus?"
we might check the room he was in for any left over clue to begin with?
"Maybe, but zee room may hafe been cleaned already.
we will never kniw unless we check and with that He will go back to the hotel and ask if that room has been rented or cleaned as he had spent the night recently with a friend and I left a valued pair of shoes within. If it wasnt cleaned or rented I would love to look for them as would pay for the privilage of the room for ten dollars?
"It's an awfully big city to look through if it turns out he didn't leave any clues behind," Stanley says, thinking. "Even if we did find him, would any evidence gathered in such a manner even be admissible in court? What if instead of trying to track him down ourselves we held a press conference and announced that Master Saint Claire was able to identify his attacker upon waking up, and give the police the name that way?"