Amadeus nods slowly, leaning in to his comrades and whispering. "The actor's sister spoke of this Nectar."
Udko stares at the man and then says, "I've a feeling you're holding something back."
"Nectar seems like quite a lucrative business, surely it wouldn't have stopped. Who's selling it now?"
Buchwald breathes deep, looking between you all.
"Now? I don't know and I don't want to know! I was just involved enough to keep the business, you see? I may have dipped my wick at a few of his parties, but I never took the stuff- it made 'em all come unhinged! One day, Mr. Echavarria calls me up to the house: he's ranting and raving about a police investigation trying to bring him down. He told me that if the cops came around, I wasn't supposed to tell them anything. Pardon my french, but no s#@@."
"Couple weeks after that, there was a big ceremony. I begged out of it. I don't mind admitting I was frightened by the police investigation. Thank goodness I stayed away because that was the night the whole thing blew up. I have the sense that there was a connection between the investigation and the end of it all, but I don't know what happened and I don't wanna know. Once he was gone, I wasn't doing any Nectar accounts anymore; I've been completely above board ever since. I have a family now, children. You understand?"
When you aren't exactly forthcoming on your assurances of privacy, Abraham spills something else.
"Do you know what the strangest thing was that Mr. Echavarria ever said to me? One day, when we were sitting together, going over the accounts in his study, he looked up out of the blue and said to me,'Abraham, would you like to know something truly perverse? Those who follow me in the way of Gol-Goroth are deceived. My work goes deeper than any of them know. Prepare yourself, Abraham. Prepare yourself for that end.'"
"I don't have the faintest idea what he might have meant by that. Prepare myself for what? But if what you're doing here is prying into that- that deeper thing- let me make a recommendation to you. There will be no profit in it. Go home to your families. Hold close the ones you love. There is no profit from dredging up the buried past."
Udko pulls his colleagues together in a small huddle, "I think we've probably squeezed all the juice we can out of this guy. We need to figure out who's running this Nectar business now. Maybe we can find something at the old farm?" he whispers.
"Sure. That seems a logical next step".
Freddy just shakes his head at all of the craziness that he has gotten into. This had to be the weirdest case that he has ever taken; weird religions, orgies and now some new drug that made you go psycho?
Then there were the armed goons at the airport.. but hey, that's why he loved this line of work.
"Yeah. The farm it is. I'll drive!"
The four of you clear out of Buchwald's office, offering neither threats nor assurances of your silence. A few sleepless nights after his complicity with Echavarria is the least he can suffer, if the stories are to be believed.
It takes less than an hour driving north from downtown LA toward the address listed for Echavarria's farmhouse, passing suburbs full of bungalows and ranch houses, then open fields of farm land. The weather is pleasant, as it's been all day though it's growing warm as morning turns to midday and beads of sweat start sneaking out from under your hats (and turban).
Following a packed dirt road, you find the late cult leader's parcel, a wide open space that looks as if it hasn't been farmed for quite some time. Pulling up, you can just make out the tumbling remains of two buildings at the heart of the property. Judging by the trucks that pass while you're parking, there must be construction going on in the next lot over.
"One of these buildings must be the barn where the confrontation occurred...we have a renowned archeologist in the group, maybe he can find something that the police would have missed?" Udko says to the others gesturing towards the ruins of the buildings.
Udko grabs Freddy and pulls him aside and whispers, "keep an eye on Anatoly, he could be a commie spy, probably sent by Roosevelt, you know he's best friends with Stalin don't you?"
Amadeus looks disdainfully at the dirt. "I haven't seen a field this fallow in a long..." He suddenly stops and assumes a haughty air, as if he said nothing.
You walk through the fields of tall grass toward the burned out remains of the two buildings. On the walk, you see some signs of fresh digging in parts of the parcel.
[Architecture or Geology]
In the burned remains of the building, you find little besides burnt timbers, dirt and old ashes. A chunk of rear wall that's still standing has some bullet holes left in it, a last piece of evidence of what happened here a decade ago. Anatoly can tell that this must have been a farmhouse and a barn when it burned down. Little else of worth remains to be found.
Standing on the low hill where the farmhouse once was, you can see construction crews erecting a dozen houses on the adjacent parcel of land.
Keeper screen:
On the walk back through the grass, Dr. Udko hears a hiss in the grass before a sharp pain lances up his calf! A feral cat, apparently disturbed by the four of you trampling through the grass has dug it's claws and teeth into the alienist's leg.
"GAWD DARN IT! THE COMMIES GOT ME!!" Udko shouts out in fear and anger feeling the pain stab into his leg before noticing it's only a cat which he kicks away with his free leg. "Did you all see that, now that Roosevelt has got the animals trained to do his bidding? The country's falling apart let me tell you," Udko announces to no one in particular.
"Come on, let's talk to those construction workers," Udko says in a particularly normal tone of voice, his earlier outburst forgotten. "Maybe they know who owns the land now and who's been digging."
As the group moves, Udko turns his sharp gaze on Amadeus, "so, you know about farming do you?"
"I do not know what you speak of, sir. Perhaps you overheard a Communist speaking and misheard me?" Amadeus says with a mirthless smile.
The four investigators cut across the property to the housing development. Teams of laborers in dusty coveralls and work boots are framing out almost identical houses.
One of the men taking a cigarette break looks you over guardedly.
"Hey, you fellas lost? Be careful over here, lots goin' on."
Udko chats with the men asking them about the buildings they are working on and trying to find out why the Echavarria land seems to have been worked on and then abandoned.
"Buncha houses, mack, moving some city people out here where they can get more space; everybody and his uncle's moving to California now that their farms are blowing away. That other plot? We'll move out there once these houses are done. You fellas in the market or something?"
"Not us in particular, but it is of interest to some of our clients. They've asked us to look for any potential construction sites. I'm sure anything up here is out of my price range".
"It looks like somebody's been digging over there as well. Was that you guys, or somebody else? And, do you know who we might contact to look into that plot of land"?
The workman glances over at his foreman nearby, somewhat nervously. The foreman takes up the question.
"Well... the original plan was to break ground on the other plot but we hadda bunch of accidents- some snake bites, even a rabid dog attack, so we thought we'd start work over here instead. Maybe working over here would send the message to the local wildlife that they need to shoo.", he says.
The construction worker pipes up as well, stubbing out his cigarette.
"I don't think any of us liked working there- felt creepy.", he says before returning to work. The foreman nods to this in agreement.
Assess Honesty:
Udko watches each of the men carefully as they speak and notices the nervousness of the foreman, his inability to look the likely communist spy Anatoly in the eye, the flushed neck and the thin sheen of perspiration on his upper lip...this man is not telling us everything he know.
Once the other man returns to work, Udko turns and glares at the foreman. "Alright buddy, you're holding out on us. Spill the beans. Don't make me mad, you wouldn't like me when I'm mad."
Amadeus notes the dishonesty, but rolls his eyes at the Alienist's threatening tone. "Yes, do not anger the pudgy man, for he is sweaty when he gets angered and your fists would get all moist from pummeling him." Amadeus clears his throat. "Sir, we are investigating a death at the behest of the victim's sister. We know that this site was previously used for nefarious purposes, including possible human sacrifices. Have you ever heard of the Incan Death Curse? Quite nasty, really. Leads to the member of the victim rotting and falling off. Very slow to act, very painful. Have any of you noticed any strange itches recently?"
The two of you start to browbeat the foreman; for a second it seems like the construction workers might intervene, but they soon walk off to get back to work, leaving their boss in hot water.
"Whattaya mean, Death Curse? What are you talkin' about? Crap, this is more trouble than it's worth...", he says, fishing a scrap of paper from his pocket and handing it to Dr. Udko. The note says the name "Jack" and contains a phone number and an address downtown.
"The guy gave me five bucks and told me to call him if anyone came asking about the lot next door or anything that happened in the '20s. That's all, honest."
Udko shoots a dirty look at Amadeus, pulls his battered notebook out of his shirt pocket and writes a few words down while still staring at his colleague.
Turning back to the foreman, Udko gets a description of Jack and if no one else has follow-up questions dismisses the man.
"Fascinating, this is like an onion, there's always another layer to expose. I'd suggest we pay this Jack a visit."
After Dr. Udko has a moment to treat the scratches received from the stray cat, the four of you pile back into the car, address in hand and pointed back downtown. By this time it's late afternoon following the interview with Buchwald and the visit to the farm plot. On the drive, Anatoly notices that he's gotten a pretty bad horsefly bite on the back of his hand while at the property. It's actually looking a bit swollen.
The address from the foreman leads you to an office building, of the type very common in California- a two story building with a second story walkway, each office opening to the outside. The building contains the offices for a number of white collar proffesionals: insurance salesmen, transcription service providers, etc.
On the second story is an office labelled "Jack Pizner, licensed Private Investigator".
Keeper screen:
It doesn't look like anyone is in the office- testing the knob, the door is locked.
Freddy slips a bobby pin out of his vest pocket and slides it into the doors lock.
"Strange, you would think that Mister Pizner would think to lock this exterior door." Freddy says with a wink as he turns the now unlocked knob.
"You're a criminal genius, aren't you, doing that in daylight where anyone can see you." Amadeus sighs deeply.
Freddy bends down to "tie his shoe" in front of the doorway while Amadeus prompts the rest of you to fan out and take a cigarette break on the walkway. For a tense few minutes, Amadeus acts as lookout while Freddy works the lock- tapping his shoulder when passers-by might be watching.
With the lock surpassed, you enter a small and mundane office with a desk and two chairs, a telephone, filing cabinet, coat rack and a floor safe.
[dice=Sense Trouble, spending 4 points]1d6+4
"You're a criminal genius, aren't you, doing that in daylight where anyone can see you." Amadeus sighs deeply.
"I figured a man with your senses could warn me of any incoming troubles. Nice job." Freddy says with a smile.
Freddy rubs his hands at the sight of the floor safe. "Nice. Leave this one to me."
Will spend a point of Locksmith.
Keeper screen:
Freddy puts his ear next to the combination lock, carefully listening for the tumblers to line up. After a concerted effort, he finally gets the last number in place with a satisfying *click*. The safe door swings open to reveal a sizable pile of money- a quick count puts the amount just under $1000.
"Eh. Just money. No info." Freddy quietly closes the safe. "I'm not looking to rob the man."
The PI stands up and wipes the sweat of his hands on his slacks. "How about you all? Find anything?"
"I'll keep an eye on things out here. If you hear me whistle "Take me out to the Ballgame" scram".
Amadeus and Dr. Udko are so far empty-handed, going through the papers in the man's filing cabinet- case files organized by contact alphabetically. Freddy roots through the trash and turns out the drawers until he finds a sheaf of handwritten notes tucked under a half-finished bottle of vodka.
The notes contain unflattering descriptions of the four of you:
Amadeus Ra, bony, turban and cape (fairy), almost famous NY huckster
Paul Udko, shrink, middle age, glasses, dandruff farming on his scalp
Annatoly Dudko (related?), youngish Ruskie, leather jacket, in shape but probably yellow (or red)
Freddy Elliot, 40s, grey hair, P.I., fridge in a cheap suit
A phone number is also scrawled near the top of the first page.
While the others are searching, Anatoly is casually hanging out on the walkway and enjoying the cool evening as the sun sets. Professionals from the other businesses on the strip have started leaving their offices and locking up for the day.
Sense Trouble with (2) point spend
Keeper Screen:
Anatoly is watching the street outside, the last of the offices closing for the night. He can hear the sound of police sirens in the distance.
Freddy holds up the note to the others. "Looks like he's got description of all of us. Wouldn't be surprised if he's been trying to track us down too."
Freddy gives the note another look before passing it around. "Fridge in a suit? Maybe shoulda robbed the guy.." He murmurs under his breath.
A patrol car, siren blaring, pulls into the office building parking lot- only to be followed shortly thereafter by another. In Pizner's office, the three of you can hear the sirens outside while Anatoly sees them both pulling in.
Anatoly whistles a tune and you all pick up the signal. There's a rear window in the office, should you wish to escape that way.
Amadeus has seen many moments like this, when the con has gone wrong and the fuzz is here. He flees!
Amadeus books it for the rear window, opening it and climbing out in one smooth motion. He hangs on to the ledge by his fingers for a second before dropping to the pavement. He can hear car doors slamming shut and the police running toward the office- and around the back.
Keeper screen:
Amadeus knows this racket... He ducks down an alley, looking for an open door or dumpster.
Hearing Anatolys whistle; "Uh oh. Scram!
Freddy easily drops himself from the window, hitting the ground at a crouch before springing up and heading in the opposite direction from Amadeus and sprinting a block down to a tobacconist's shop to blend in.
Dr. Udko exclaims that the PI must be in league with Roosevelt and the WPA and runs for the window himself: Fleeing (2 points):
And while the alienist falls like a sack of potatoes, he recovers quickly, brushing himself off and running toward an alleyway.
Fleeing:
Keeper screen:
But a patrolman, rounding the corner, spots the fleeing doctor.
"LAPD! STOP WHERE YOU ARE!", he shouts before blowing his whistle.
Amadeus takes a series of abrupt turns, darting through traffic and between buildings. After a few blocks separate him from the scene, he puts down a nickel and catches a newsreel at a movie theater to let the heat die down.
Anatoly looks for an office that he might be visiting, and goes to the door to knock on it. If the police question him, he'll state that he is simply here to visit... "Insert Business name here".
He absently scratches at the worsening bite on his hand.
As the police show up, Anatoly is knocking insistently on the closed door of a travel agency. After the private eye's office door is kicked open, one of the patrolmen approaches him.
"Hey! What are you doin' up here, pal? Talk quick, before I take you downtown!", he says, quickly getting in Anatoly's face.
"I have done nothing! My Mother is sick, and I have to get a ticket to go home. My cousin sent me here to make arrangements, but the bus is so slow... I think I must come back tomorrow No"?
"Are there bad men over there"? Anatoly asks looking fearfully at the just kicked in door.
"You would give me a ride downtown? That would be grand, the bus is so slow. Can you recommend a good cheap hotel"? "The policemens are so kind here... not like in Russia.