The maid hurries back down the hall toward the drawing room.Once alone I wander about, looking for the kitchen and maid's quarters nearby.
There is something foul about this place... 'Bad people' she says. I used words much worse when last investigating the disappearance of a child. Oh Colonel, if you only knew the conspiracies I can imagine.
Wandering around the ground floor, you find the kitchen near the rear of the house and a long white hallway with old wooden doors- the servants' quarters. Most of the rooms are empty and disused except for one closest to the kitchens where an oil lamp dimly lights the bedroom. Inside, you find a modest bedroom with a good-sized bed, a small desk and wardrobe. Taking the lamp from atop the wardrobe and looking beneath the bed itself you don't see anything...
...you find a modest bedroom with a good-sized bed, a small desk and wardrobe. Taking the lamp from atop the wardrobe and looking beneath the bed itself you don't see anything...
Hmm... I wish Anthony were here. What did he and Jasper instruct when examining a crime scene? Taking the lamp I return to the door of the bedroom and check if anyone is following. From the doorway I carefully survey the whole room to take note of any small details. What persuasion is she? Walking slowly towards the bed, I scan the floor, wall and bed for any tell-tale clues and/or religious iconography. I lift the blankets and mattress up and check them. Finally I set the lamp on the floor, get on my hands and knees, and look up at the underside of the bed for any markings or lines in dust on the floor.
Professor Blackwell finds a King James bible by Olga's bedside- a polish translation. A rosary hangs from the mirror where a small card depicting a Saint has been tucked between the frame and the mirror. Testing below the bed, the mattress and box spring feel normal. The light of the lamp casts an odd shadow on the floorboards, however, and after a bit of prodding, Thaddeus finds a loose floorboard. With the recess, he pulls out a cheap pocketbook .
I replace the floorboard and make sure the bed appears as it was. The pocketbook goes inside my jacket for later examination. I pull the bedroom door closed behind me, make my way up the stairs, and look for my Italian cop friend.
Tony looks up and down the hallway to be sure no one is watching, then enters the large study. Immediatelly he begins to survey the room, looking for any clues that may point to the family's current and past dealings. If someone inside the house did it, it may have been the maid, a friend or even the family itself. Didn't the boss say something about them dealing with the occult? Tony glances at the bookshelf.
Giacomini finds the room pretty spotless- no incriminating paperwork left carelessly lying around, the shelves are neat and orderly- weird titles on the spines like "The Golden Bough", "The Divine Machine" and all kinds of other nonsense in Latin and english.
Thaddeus furtively looks around upstairs a bit, quickly honing in on the open study door where Detective Giacomini is looking at the walls stocked with books. It smells like old paper and leather upholstery.
Occult:
"M'am? Sir?" Tommy asks, "Have any of you seen anything out of the ordinary the last few days? Any strangers about? Delivery man? workman? Anything at all that would be non-routine?"
Scanning the shelves discovers a few occult texts but these are mundane. Nothing really indicating a connection to the child's disappearance. I take the detective by the elbow, "Anthony, here is something of note. In confidence the family maid pointed me towards this pocketbook, which was well-hidden beneath her bed. Let us peruse it."
I pull the journal from my jacket and open it on the table for reading.
Tony turns as he notices the professor enter the room. He takes the stub of his cigarette from his lips, only now realizing it has burned out. He fling it away, not carrying where it lands, and approaches the professor.
"There is more going on here. No one would ever be able to go down that room through the window." He checks his pocket for another cigarette, finding the pack empty. With a shrug, he peers over the journal. "Right now I'd bet on an inside job."
"Well the maid, her name is Olga, certainly seemed nervous about her employers. She described the Cornelisz' as a 'bad sort.' My impression is that the maid is more upset about the child's disappearance than the parents."
"M'am? Sir?" Tommy asks, "Have any of you seen anything out of the ordinary the last few days? Any strangers about? Delivery man? workman? Anything at all that would be non-routine?"
"Not at all, everything has been typical.... unless we had a visitor while we were away. Olga?", Jacob responds.
The maid shakes her head.
"No, sir. No one.", she says.
Assess Honesty:
"Well, there we have it, Mr. Brennan. Is there anything more that you and Agent Barley shall require of us?", Harriet says.
"Perhaps it is best to see what... the other detective has found upstairs.", Jacob muses, turning toward the drawing room door to leave.
The Journal
The journal from under Olga's bed is a cheap pocketbook; on the inside front cover, the name "Maria" is written in a corner.
The entries start about two years ago and the first several detail mostly mundane things in broken english. After a point, however, the diarist switches to Polish and the handwriting starts getting more and more shaky.
"April 12th: Hello diary, my new friend. I write this on English to practice. It was a strange day in this new house, so differently to the small dwelling in New York. Is it, thus calmly out here, missies I the noises of the roads.
April 15th: Mr. Jacob and Mrs. Harriet seem very friendly, but not the kind of people, which would be friends with Jerry Grant. I do not trust Jerry Grant, it have cruel eyes. Old eyes have the Corneliszes, like deep wells.
April 25th: They never seem like my cooking. I know that I am a good cook and they eat whatever I set before them. They say even that they like it, but it never each possible joy in their voice gives."
The next entry is in Polish in a distressed hand.
May 2nd (Polish):
The journal then resumes in English.
"May 10th: I feel very sick today.
September 16th: I can feel it kicking inside me. When mother was pregnant with Ela, she did not feel the baby kick until much later. The baby is very healthy.
October 31st: I heard them leave the house. I tried to run away, but I am too big to move. I crawled as far as the top of the stairs before the pain was too much to ensure.
December 3rd: Today it is my birthday. I wrote a letter home, telling them that I would not be coming home because I have too much work. It makes me laugh. I miss work. I miss walking. I miss being able to leave this bed, this room. My back is covered in sores.
December 5th: Mother visited me, and brought Ela with her. She is a whore now and the whole city has her. I screamed at mother, and woke Jacob. He did not strike me, but he looked at me with eyes of fire, and it was the inside of my head was on fire.
January 10th: There are one hundred and seventeen stars on the wallpaper on the wall. There are sixteen panels in the wardrobe door.
January 15th: I have read all the books they wil give me a dozen times. Mother visited me again, and we talked for a long time. She told me that all this was because I was a disobedient girl, and that God was punishing me. I am in hell. Jesus said, in my father's house there are many room, and it is like that in the Devil's house, too. In the night, I hear all the other sinners whispering through the walls.
February 20th: I decided today that I would kill myself. It won't let me.
March 12th: I think it's coming. Jacob haunts me, never leaves my side. I beg him to cut it out of me, but he wants it born naturally! Naturally! As if anything about this unholy abomination was natural!
March 15th: Free.
March 16th: Jacob brought me a bitter tea to drink. Harriet came in and she had the child with her. My child. She has named him Adam. He is perfect, beautiful, the child I always dreamed of.
I am very tired. Too tired to write.
Goodbye, goodbye.
I am so sorry."
Finishing the journal I look at Giacomini, "My God. Anthony, do you know what this means?" I put the pocketbook back inside my jacket. "Now what?"
On my own pad I record a few notes:
Find the maid's mother. Ela--prostitute? sister?
Inside her an abomination
But then a perfect child?
What was 'it' that would not let her commit suicide?
May-Morning sickness
March 15-Delivery 10 months??
To the detective: "Maybe we should get the maid out of here."
"Well, there we have it, Mr. Brennan. Is there anything more that you and Agent Barley shall require of us?", Harriet says.
"Perhaps it is best to see what... the other detective has found upstairs.", Jacob muses, turning toward the drawing room door to leave.
"No. no more questions that I can think of at the moment. Thank you, sir."
Tony shakes his head, puffing out some smoke. "Either the maid is nuts or this family has sunk lower than I did."
He looks around, before walking out of the room and towards the stairs. "We will take her for questioning." He says as he takes the stairs down.
"No. no more questions that I can think of at the moment. Thank you, sir.""Well, there we have it, Mr. Brennan. Is there anything more that you and Agent Barley shall require of us?", Harriet says.
"Perhaps it is best to see what... the other detective has found upstairs.", Jacob muses, turning toward the drawing room door to leave.
Jacob walks out of the drawing room, headed for the staircase.
Jasper idly strikes his pen against his notepad's cover.
"Let's get our flashlights and check around the garden, Tom. Quite a few points of entry out there- we might be able to turn something up before weather conditions change."
With a word from Harriet, Olga goes to retrieve your coats. You can hear Jacob saying something- presumably to Giacomini, in the hallway.
Tony shakes his head, puffing out some smoke. "Either the maid is nuts or this family has sunk lower than I did."
He looks around, before walking out of the room and towards the stairs. "We will take her for questioning." He says as he takes the stairs down.
You are met at the bottom of the stairs by Jacob. Maybe it's the lighting, or what you read in that crazy journal, but his eyes seem cold and deep- an old man's eyes in a younger man's body.
"Have you found anything to indicate who could have stolen my child?", he asks.
"Alright, Agent Barley," Tommy says, relieved to have something to do.
Tony eyes Jacob intently as he slowly drags on his cigarette.
"Possibly," he says, exhaling smoke from his nostrils."Though we will need to speak with some of you in particular." He looks over Jacob's shoulder towards where Olga has gone. "Starting with the house help. We need your maid to accompain us to the station."
Following behind the detective I say, "We've yet to complete our search of the manor. Which way to the basement?"
Tony eyes Jacob intently as he slowly drags on his cigarette.
"Possibly," he says, exhaling smoke from his nostrils."Though we will need to speak with some of you in particular." He looks over Jacob's shoulder towards where Olga has gone. "Starting with the house help. We need your maid to accompain us to the station."
Mr. Cornelisz's eyebrows rise with surprise.
"I could never imagine... but I suppose that's why you're the detective. You'll have no opposition from me, sir."Following behind the detective I say, "We've yet to complete our search of the manor. Which way to the basement?"
"Yes, the basement is in the rear; I keep it locked typically, so I will accompany you. "
At the bottom of the stairs, Tommy and Agent Barley are getting their coats back from Olga.
"You find anything, Giacomini?", Jasper asks as he shrugs on his coat,"Mr. Brennan and I were going to take a look at the grounds and some of these entrances."
"Yes, the basement is in the rear; I keep it locked typically, so I will accompany you. "
Hearing that Cornelisz keeps the basement locked, I raise an eyebrow and look at Giacomini, "Anthony, do care to have a look as well?"
Tony keeps his eyes on Jacob's, a thin humorless smirk hardly visible on his lips.
"Yes," he answers the professor. "Why not. Let us check the basement before we head out."
Finally turning towards Jasper, Tony nods in answer. "May be," he says dryly before turning back to Jacob."Lead the way."
That Jacob certainly is a cool one. What do those eyes hide?
As we make our way to the back of the house I remember the .32 revolver hidden inside my jacket. Despite several cases the gun has never been fired in anger. I sometimes wonder why I even bother with Anthony at my side... There's a first time for everything, I guess.
Outside
Agent Barley and Tommy step outside into the night with their flashlights at the ready. The shrubberies are overgrown and poorly tended and a hush blankets the grounds, only a tentative cricket or night bird breaking the evening's calm here and there.
When you're finally alone, Jasper turns to Tommy and says,"There's no way that woman gave birth to a baby a year ago. You see that figure?"
He whistles.
"Must be some diet she's on..."
Jacob leads you toward the back of the house, your footfalls echoing off the marble floors in the empty hallway. Mr. Cornelisz stops at a heavy antique wooden door and fishes an old key from his pocket. With a twist of the key and a click from the iron doorknob, he swings the door open.
"My laboratory is below, so I tend to keep it locked. My meditations often involve experimentation in alchemy; the grandfather of chemistry is an old practice and largely discredited, but there is something to say for tradition."
Mr. Cornelisz flicks on a hanging light above to reveal narrow staircase and motions for you to descend. Following closely behind the Professor, the master of the house closes the basement door behind you.
The cool stone basement is illuminated only in small parts by several incandescent lights; it remains rather dark. A chart of elements hangs above an elaborate, if old-fashioned, chemical laboratory. In one corner is a more conventional workbench with a large hunk of stone, a hammer and a chisel along with an open book.
"Forgive me for my impertinence, but you said that my servant had something to do with my son's abduction? How do you intend to deal with her, if I may ask?", Jacob says.
I ignore Cornelisz' question, assuming it is directed towards the detective. Despite the poor light I walk about examining the walls of the basement, gauging if some sections appear to be newer than others. At the workbench corner I see if the tools are genuine and used or simply ceremonial. The book certainly merits attention.
Tony goes down into the basement in silence. As Jacob questions him about the maid's supposed guilty, he remains silent for a few minutes, walking around the basement. "I didn't say she did. I said we must speak in private, starting with the house help."
Tony stops near the sculpture and the open book, glancing at the pages with idle curiosity before moving to other objects on the laboratory.
"You spend a lot of time here?"
After fetching the flashlights, Tommy looks at Agent Barley, shrugs and says, "I guess we should start with a search of the perimeter, especially the grounds around the child's room" With that he draws his coat close about him, noticing how quiet the night is around the house, and sets out, sweeping his light over building and ground.
After fetching the flashlights, Tommy looks at Agent Barley, shrugs and says, "I guess we should start with a search of the perimeter, especially the grounds around the child's room" With that he draws his coat close about him, noticing how quiet the night is around the house, and sets out, sweeping his light over building and ground.
The gardens and grounds are overgrown and unkempt, but you catch a glimpse of metal in the garden, not far from the mansion. Approaching, you find a long metal ladder laying on the ground. Your sweep takes you closer to the home and you find sets of tracks in the flowerbeds and two deep impressions beneath one of the windows on the side of the house.
I ignore Cornelisz' question, assuming it is directed towards the detective. Despite the poor light I walk about examining the walls of the basement, gauging if some sections appear to be newer than others. At the workbench corner I see if the tools are genuine and used or simply ceremonial. The book certainly merits attention.
The entire basement seems to be the same kind of stone. Beneath one of the stained and scarred wooden tables is a porcelain tub. The carved stone has some spiral markings on it, Celtic in origin by your reckoning... which makes sense, since the book open on the table is about the folklore of the British Isles. The book states that markers of that kind were placed on the borderland of the mortal world and the underworld. Another chapter discusses stories of children stolen by fairies and relate the tale of the Green Children of Woolpit.
The Green Children:
Tony goes down into the basement in silence. As Jacob questions him about the maid's supposed guilty, he remains silent for a few minutes, walking around the basement. "I didn't say she did. I said we must speak in private, starting with the house help."
Tony stops near the sculpture and the open book, glancing at the pages with idle curiosity before moving to other objects on the laboratory.
"You spend a lot of time here?"
"Yes, it's something I do to keep myself engrossed. Finance can be so dry, you understand- my passion for Spiritualism and these old practices provides a welcome distraction. When Adam was birthed, fatherhood naturally eclipsed the practice but I still find time now and then.", Jacob says.
The entire basement seems to be the same kind of stone. Beneath one of the stained and scarred wooden tables is a porcelain tub. The carved stone has some spiral markings on it, Celtic in origin by your reckoning... which makes sense, since the book open on the table is about the folklore of the British Isles. The book states that markers of that kind were placed on the borderland of the mortal world and the underworld. Another chapter discusses stories of children stolen by fairies and relate the tale of the Green Children of Woolpit.
As I pass by the table and tub, I stop and examine them. Is there a hole in the table? Are there any bits of hemp which might indicate a rope had been used? I look to see what may have been the cause of the stain, fearing the worst.
"Ah. Celtic mythology. Some of my favorite." I browse through the book, looking for ear-marked corners or seeing if the spine is creased to a favorite section. Turning to Cornelisz with a glint of mirth I ask, "Jacob, what make you of the Green Children? Is it a mundane or fantastic tale?"
The tub is stowed under a solid wooden table. The Professor can tell that the stain isn't blood- not the right color, it's far too yellow- but cannot otherwise think of what could have caused the discoloration.
"It is a fanciful story, sir, but perhaps there is a grain of truth to it. 'There is more in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than what is dreamt in your philosophies' as Hamlet said. Are we through here, gentlemen? I may not be a detective, but it seems clear to me the malefactors that abducted my son did not come through the basement."
Tony eyes Jacob, then the doctor and finally shrugs.
"Let's go, then. We still have a long night ahead of us."
Tony heads for the stairs and out of the makeshift lab.
The gardens and grounds are overgrown and unkempt, but you catch a glimpse of metal in the garden, not far from the mansion. Approaching, you find a long metal ladder laying on the ground. Your sweep takes you closer to the home and you find sets of tracks in the flowerbeds and two deep impressions beneath one of the windows on the side of the house.
"Jackpot," Tommy says under his breath upon finding the ladder. Once he finds the tracks and impressions, he gives the ground and surrounding area a thorough examination (evidence collection) before suggesting that him and Agent Barley join the others to tell them what they found.
I follow the policeman up the stairs but stop and take a look back at Cornelisz' nascent sculpture. Can't help but think I'm missing something. I wonder if I can make out a shape from here but it pretty much looks like a simple block of stone.
"Jackpot," Tommy says under his breath upon finding the ladder. Once he finds the tracks and impressions, he gives the ground and surrounding area a thorough examination (evidence collection) before suggesting that him and Agent Barley join the others to tell them what they found.
The gardens and grounds are overgrown and unkempt, but you catch a glimpse of metal in the garden, not far from the mansion. Approaching, you find a long metal ladder laying on the ground. Your sweep takes you closer to the home and you find sets of tracks in the flowerbeds and two deep impressions beneath one of the windows on the side of the house.
With a quick trip back to Agent Barley's car, you retrieve a plastic bucket of plaster compound and a trowel. With the Agent holding the flashlight, Tommy pours the plaster into the footprints and carefully spreads it into the depressions with the trowel to force out any trapped air. You leave it to set for a moment, Jasper stopping halfway through the overgrown hedges with his flashlight.
"Hey, Tom! Check this out..."
Barley points to a spot where the grass and vegetation have been scorched away by something- a blackened wet patch of irregular shape, like a coffee stain. Within the hedge, you can see a broken hunk of stone- parts of which may once have held a pattern. Jasper pushes the brim of his hat back off his forehead.
"Whattaya make of that?"
I follow the policeman up the stairs but stop and take a look back at Cornelisz' nascent sculpture. Can't help but think I'm missing something. I wonder if I can make out a shape from here but it pretty much looks like a simple block of stone.
Looking back, it looks a little like a menhir or similar marker- or just a hunk of rock with a spiral carved in it. There is a primitive quality to it, despite it being half finished.
At the top of the stairs, Cornelisz waits for the Professor and locks the door once more, shutting the lights with a switch.
"Well, then; shall I call my servant for you? I can recommend a Polish translator for you- she has poor english and it may speed up your investigation if you were able to overcome that inconvenience.", Jacob volunteers.
Looking back, it looks a little like a menhir or similar marker- or just a hunk of rock with a spiral carved in it. There is a primitive quality to it, despite it being half finished.
Great Scott--Might that be a standing stone? Allegedly used by Celtic druids for human sacrifice? Hmm...
"Thanks for the offer but no. We will be able to communicate well enough with the maid."
As Cornelisz locks the basement I pull Giacomini aside and quietly ask, "Seen enough or should we search the rest of the house?"
"Later, maybe," he says back to the professor in a low tone. "Let's get the woman out of here first. Then we see how to proceed".
Tony approaches Tom and Barley. He looks up at the window and back to the ground, wondering how he didn't notice this from the inside. With an irritated sigh, he rubs his tired eyes and shakes his head. "Anything interesting before we leave?
"Hey, Tom! Check this out..."
Barley points to a spot where the grass and vegetation have been scorched away by something- a blackened wet patch of irregular shape, like a coffee stain. Within the hedge, you can see a broken hunk of stone- parts of which may once have held a pattern. Jasper pushes the brim of his hat back off his forehead.
"Whattaya make of that?"
"I've got no idea, Agent Barley. Maybe somebody dropped a torch?" With that, Tommy reaches down and touches the blackened patch, and then inspects his fingertips, rubbing then together. Frowning, he then takes out his camera, and shoots pictures of the stain and the bushes with the stone in them. Once satisfied he's captured things from a number of angles, he puts the lens cap back on and starts to remove the stone from the bushes, carefully laying it out on the ground piece by piece.
Tony approaches Tom and Barley. He looks up at the window and back to the ground, wondering how he didn't notice this from the inside. With an irritated sigh, he rubs his tired eyes and shakes his head. "Anything interesting before we leave?
"I'd say so, Detective," Tommy says standing over the stone fragments. "Besides this," he says gesturing at the pieces, "there seems to be some kind of scorch mark over there."
The stone fragments that Brennan found seem similar to the small stone marker that Jacob was working on in his basement.
Once the plaster has had time to set, you pull it out and look at the impressions of the footprints- two men, each wearing heavy boots. One set belongs to a steel-toed brand popular with hikers and lumberjacks.
Tony approaches the scorch mark and looks down at it, grunting with mild surprise.
"Have you had anyone recently working in or around the mansion?" he asks Jacob without looking him directly. He yes the plaster cast, rubbing his tired eyes. This is too late for such a complicated case.
"I'm guessing the housekeeper had nothing to do with this," Tommy whispers to Detective Giacomini.
Seeing the menhir shape again is too much of a coincidence. I think of the poor maid being locked up for months on end. Since the detective is talking with Jacob I go back into the house and wander around. I poke around, opening shut doors and looking for anything unusual.
Tony approaches the scorch mark and looks down at it, grunting with mild surprise.
"Have you had anyone recently working in or around the mansion?" he asks Jacob without looking him directly. He yes the plaster cast, rubbing his tired eyes. This is too late for such a complicated case.
Jacob stands outside without a coat, surveying the stain on the ground and the shattered stone impassively.
"Not for several months.", Jacob responds,"I have retained a groundskeeper but his next visit for maintenance is not for another several weeks."