Sehkmet turns to her host ”Sorry my lord, but this is human as I get, thanks to all the Gods”
Henrietta begins by searching databases looking for more details about the backgrounds of the women in question.
Sehkmet turns to her host ”Sorry my lord, but this is human as I get, thanks to all the Gods”
"I take it you have a means to go about in public in a more incogneeto gise. If not I have the most amazing designer on staff who would love the chance to make you some clothing to hide your more distiive gody looks. My thinking is we will be Under cover"
And as he says this he strikes a pose, with one arm over the front of his mask.
"HAH, Nos convertimos en Personas Dramáticas!"
He seems in high spirits
"I take it you have a means to go about in public in a more incogneeto gise. "
"Well, all I need to do is to hide my face. My body is just fine. In fact, I often dress in what your prudish society would call a provocative fashion in order to distract from my face, But I've got the big floppy hat, large sunglasses, and N95 mask (Covid had some value). But if I really need to pass unnoticed"
She then suddenly shifts into a small non descript tabby cat
"Meow"
One thing I forgot to mention before. I'd have sent a message to Alex (my fiancee) letting him know that I will be in Boston in a weeks time or so and it would be great if he could make it down there"
Tori saunters into the meeting with a big stretch and an oddly asymmetrical stretch. "Soldier Boy's really gonna make us investigate a few girls who went too wild inna Bahstan Hahbah?" She reaches a hand up towards a vent and an ear inchworms out to plop into her hand for quick reattachment. "Mmm... Not sure I'll be much help till I can get some hands on a body. Was there anything under the first two's fingernails? Any signs of a struggle with them? Even blondes do just drown, so they might not be linked."
Unable to add anything to the computer work, Jonathan stares at the sky, memorizing the Northern Lights, so he can remember them for as long as possible. With his attention skyward, the vampire can not help but taste the air around Colonel Green trying to determine where he's been.
"Arr Tori finally joining us, good points my hope is we will have clearance to the local police files soon."
The Yacht seems to have started moving.
"We seem to be underway. Commander Green do you think you can get us access to the FBI files"
"Good evening Colonel, good to see you in fine fettle. Ghastly business. What have the local investigators ruled out or determined as far as the possibility of the culprit being a run of the mill serial killer? Have we access to the evidence gathered thus far?"Not having received her answer to the question yet, Helen reiterates, hoping to be more clear, "Excuse me Colonel, but I assume law enforcement has files on these cases and the evidence collected. Can we see those things?"
"We have the police files and autopsy reports. I brought physical and digital copies."
Seems like a history check is probably best for looking into Native American legends.
[Dice=history]1d20+14.
Not sure if the one roll would also cover going into old newspaper archives or whether that would be investigate. I'll roll investigate just in case.
[dice=investigate]1d20+11
The closest mythological or legendary connection you can find is the Curse of the Saco River, but that is a few hundred miles from the Charles river, and in Maine. Due to a curse by a grieving mother, the river will take the lives of three white people each year.
You don't find anything in newspapers.
Harker smells the leather of the helicopter seats, oil and gas lingers around the Colonel. There lingering scents of steak and broccoli. Pretty hard to pin much down from that.
"As of now, the FBI hasn't gotten involved. And in this case, I prefer if it stays that way. Ms. Walton, getting our hands on the victims may indeed be necessary, but let's start with what is easier to access."
Relooking at the map again, the vampire asks the team, "can you ask that computer about the river currents? The third and second bodies were found progressively down river. Is there any clue there?"
"Ah, Miss Walton. So glad the rest of you could join us."
When the materials become available, Helen looks at the map and at the details they have about the victims. She deals with the things she can hold in her hands as opposed to looking on the computer if she can (in part so the others more tech savvy have access to the equipment she needs; she is not technophobic--and probably can even suss out a programming language or two--but it's not her medium).
As a linguist, her instinct is to look for patterns. Not assess the details per se but how they relate to one another. On a larger level, patterns of how their movements may trace lines on the map. On a smaller and more language-focused level, any hidden meanings in names or locations, either where they were found or where they died.
She's also especially interested in the situation of the first victim. "E-phemeral? If that doesn't sound like a front for a business that deals with the supernatural I don't know what does. Anyone heard of it?"
Relooking at the map again, the vampire asks the team, "can you ask that computer about the river currents? The third and second bodies were found progressively down river. Is there any clue there?"
Reviewing the information you have (last time seen, time in water, location where found) and cross referencing that with rainfall and currents, you come to the conclusion that each body didn't move far from where it went into the water. (In particular, Victim 1 was found in a reservoir that doesn't flow out except through intakes and overflows).
The most obvious pattern that Helen and Jonathan would both notice in different ways is that each subsequent victim was found closer to the ocean. The first is in a contained reservoir, the second in the river, the third in a tidal basin.
"Humanoids from the Deep"?" Henrietta muses, her mind referencing an old horror film. It was a silly notion and she quickly dismissed it. She considers the photos again. "This looks like it could be an alligator tooth." She turns to Green. "What did the boys at the lab make of it?"
"So, errm," Tori wriggles in to get a closer look at the files. "Not trying to skive off from a big project, honest, but why is it we feel so certain they're related? One's in a reservoir, only one -a different one- shows any signs of a struggle. All three of them are miles apart too... We have any notion of who the party was for? That Lucky #3 punched her ticket after?"
Greenway turns to Tori. You notice, maybe for the first time, maybe it is old hat to you by now, that his eyes flash a sort of blank silvery gray. "Ms. Walton, as you know from your intake briefings...since my...incident a few years ago, sometimes I know things and don't know how I know them. Our analysts have posited that this could be psychic communication, quantum interpositionality, or a variety of other possibilities. For now I'll just say I've learned to trust my instincts."
Benjamin flips through the files, not really knowing what he's looking for, and not finding anything that he thinks is helpful. He tosses the folders he was looking at on the table.
"They're each aged four years apart, increasing each time? The next blonde victim will be 35 years old?"
He throws his hands up. "I don't know, I think we should go visit where each lady was found and where the police think they 'fell' into the water. If there's anything there, we're more likely to see it because we're looking for signs the local investigators aren't."
"Yeah, I think we've done pretty much what we can do until we get on site"
After sharing her observation about the bodies showing up in increasingly larger sizes of water, closer and closer to the bay, Helen muses, "I've read too many murder mysteries, I expect, but those narrative patterns suggest we should particularly figure out the killer's relationship with the first woman. If it's a sort of a serial killer situation, usually the first time is unplanned and the killer knows the victim. Subsequent killings then aim to match the first, efforts to recreate the first thrill. If it's not a serial killer, it may still be a good place to start regardless. Start tracing the path as it were."
She shrugs. "As for the boa's vestigial claw, I've no idea what to make of it. They themselves obviously weren't eaten by a giant snake or something or their bodies would never have turned up in the state they were in. And I'm otherwise perplexed as to why you'd bring a boa to a drowning."
She leans back. "And yes, do let's go. Although I don't suppose it would be too unreasonable to get our dinner first before flying off?"
"Okay look, I'm willing to take it as a given that these three are linked, but let's please not force patterns onto three datapoints, yeah? Even once we do get there."
"If you would like to suggest a different place to start, by all means, please do."
"Data not gathered by a pack of baboons would be a good start, yeah? First gal's a good start though, even if she just woke something up."
"I think we should start by looking at that actual case notes for all 3 cases (even today many of the notes do NOT make it online, or even onto paper) and just talk to the investigators. I know that in Archaeology one trap that is very easy to step into is to have preconceived notions and to then try to fit the evidence to ones hypotheses. Far better to try and look at the evidence and see where the evidence leads us.
I'm supposing that some cover for us is being arranged? Some reason that we can expect the local police to cooperate with us?"
The vampire makes himself another drink while all the investigators hypothesize and argue about counter-factuals. Having only become an investigator, due to his recruitment, his skills are a century old. He feels very out of his element when the young ones start typing on screens.
With a half a glass left, Jonathan holds his glass of red liquid up in a toast and offers, "Good morrow and sweet slumber for those of you who can. I bid thee farewell as I retire to my chambers. A tome awaits my eager consumption." He then descends toward his state room.
The Colonel nods. "I don't have any reason to believe the situation is an emergency. Hathaway's connections should get you what you need from the local authorities. Take your time to get to Boston and look into things. I've got to look into a situation in Oregon."
CUT TO BOSTON HARBOR.
Lord Hathaway lifts his Glass,
"See you new eve Janathen"
he makes some more calls and then to the others sayd.
"I have to go see that captain. But keep me informed of what you find out."
And he heads off too.
As the party approaches Boston, Helen contacts the Boston University linguistics department to find out if they'd be willing to show a visiting professor from Oxford around campus. She's doing some "personal research" in the area.
If they're game, she tells the group she'll try to get more information on the second girl, and also have an excuse to explore the area near where she died. "I know I said to start with the first, and we, collectively, can hopefully get some information on her, but I believe I'm the most likely of us to get an 'in' at a university, and we have the least information on Ms. Harrington."
Arriving at Bawstin Hawbaw, Jonathan asks his teammates, "Should we start with this E-phermeral company's location and look for anything supernatural? Greenway does not deploy us unless something is supernatural. Is there a better place to begin?"
"I'm not at my best talking to people. Either I meow at them and get ignored or I scare them. I think perhaps I'll instead go talk to some others who may have seen something, may know something"
With that, she leaves the ship and heads towards the site of the 3rd death. Once there, she will look around to find some local feral cats, hopefully a nearby colony or two.
After turning into a non descript cat, she'll approach any cats she sees
"Blessings of Bastet be upon you. Do not worry, I am just a visitor passing through and no danger to your territory. I am hoping that you can help me. A two legs died in the water over there a couple of moons ago. Did you see anything? Do you know of any dangers in or near to the water, dangers greater than dogs or human scum? I promise you I will give you lots of tasty food for anything you can tell me"
Henrietta nods. "I'll go with you to investigate the company, Mr. Harker."
Three Black 4x4 limos are waiting for them at the harbor Helle pad. Each with its own drivers. There is also a van with Hathaway farasic written on it.
"We have clearance, and I have our team with us to check the scenes"
"Excellent, Henrietta. Perhaps Lord Hathaway would be a potential investor in the E-Phemeral company? And would like an investor's visit after hours? Hmm?" Jonathan smiles at Henrietta and looks at Lord Hathaway.
A lonely moon hangs low over the harbor as the Eleanor Roosevelt motors in. The salty air clings to every breath of those of you who breathe. It carries a faint, fishy odor. Tall lamp posts along the waterfront sputter, weakly haloed by the persistent fog rolling in from the Atlantic. Cargo cranes and many eyed warehouses stand like ancient sentinels, their shapes twisted and obscured by swirling mist.
Shadows move strangely near the water’s edge, a trick of light and haze that hints at things half-seen and half-imagined just below the surface. Somewhere in the distance, a buoy bell tolls a hollow clang...clang...clang.
Surrounded by this brine and gloom, even the most rational and unsuspecting mind might ponder the secrets kept by the ever moving water.
As the party approaches Boston, Helen contacts the Boston University linguistics department to find out if they'd be willing to show a visiting professor from Oxford around campus. She's doing some "personal research" in the area.
If they're game, she tells the group she'll try to get more information on the second girl, and also have an excuse to explore the area near where she died. "I know I said to start with the first, and we, collectively, can hopefully get some information on her, but I believe I'm the most likely of us to get an 'in' at a university, and we have the least information on Ms. Harrington."
Helen ends up on the phone with the assistant for Dr. Saul Wilson, head of the Linguistics department. She transfers Helen's call to Dr. Wilson, who answers on the first ring. His voice is warm and welcoming even through the phone. "Dr. Wise. So excited to hear you are in town. I'd love to show you around, as long as I can pick your brain on a few topics."
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"I'm not at my best talking to people. Either I meow at them and get ignored or I scare them. I think perhaps I'll instead go talk to some others who may have seen something, may know something"
With that, she leaves the ship and heads towards the site of the 3rd death. Once there, she will look around to find some local feral cats, hopefully a nearby colony or two.
After turning into a non descript cat, she'll approach any cats she sees
"Blessings of Bastet be upon you. Do not worry, I am just a visitor passing through and no danger to your territory. I am hoping that you can help me. A two legs died in the water over there a couple of moons ago. Did you see anything? Do you know of any dangers in or near to the water, dangers greater than dogs or human scum? I promise you I will give you lots of tasty food for anything you can tell me"
A constellation of green eyes float in the darkness as Sehkmet approaches. Two of the green orbs and the shadow wrapped around them detach from the darkness and resolve into an old battered tawny tomcat. His whiskers twitch as he attempts to measure this intruder. He is surprised to find that this is neither threat nor challenger. He perches on a steel drum, clearly ready to flee if the situation changes. "Two two legs go into the water, a tom and a molly. Tom is smells weird, like two legs and dead fish and some else. Tom two legs is trouble. Kick barrel, tear fence, yowl, swat molly-two-legs with paw. Pull into water."
As the party approaches Boston, Helen contacts the Boston University linguistics department to find out if they'd be willing to show a visiting professor from Oxford around campus. She's doing some "personal research" in the area.
If they're game, she tells the group she'll try to get more information on the second girl, and also have an excuse to explore the area near where she died. "I know I said to start with the first, and we, collectively, can hopefully get some information on her, but I believe I'm the most likely of us to get an 'in' at a university, and we have the least information on Ms. Harrington."
"Well, if we're splitting up, there's no need for anybody to go alone. Want some company?"
Hathaway gets in the front limo, and sets off to the 1st death scene, with the paranisc van. Once there he has a look at it while the team works. Recording everything they can.