Day 2 - The Abode of Memphis

Barrington pours two generous glasses of neat french brandy, then comes to sit down with Wilde, handing over one of the glasses.

"Oh? You saw that I felt a bit odd as I was entering the house? No, thankfully that isn't something that happens to me often."

"As to your question - or, rather, request - earlier."

"As to what happened here? Wilde, I have to say, I am at a loss. An argument over something so valuable that they fought savagely for it? A discovery of a betrayal? Some other person there who somehow compelled them to behave like that? Maybe hypnotised them?"

"Now, though, I would like to hear your thoughts on what could have happened? Both here in the Schwarz residence, but also at Hawkings's show."

"I did. Still, no embarrassment in talking about these things now; not men of your caliber. Talking of our afflictions is all the rage, in fact, in certain academic circles."

He snorts humorously as they work through the possibilities:

"We can agree, to start, that men will fight and kill over valuables such as those found in this house, yes? They’d fight and kill for much less, to be sure.

Whole families will fall upon themselves to divide the spoils of those gone before. Now say… there were artifacts that preyed on that affliction…"

Barrington's eyebrows almost shoot off his forehead at this, they raise so high, so fast. What is this talk of "artefacts' - artefacts that 'prey on that affliction'? What could Wilde possibly mean by that?

But, yes, also, Wilde's reminder that people can do awful things to each in some awful moment - awful things that otherwise they might never have imagined. This rings true to Barrington. And surely something like that has happened here.

"You're right, Wilde. Some of worst I've seen have been what happens within families. Some of the most awful crimes, the most shocking murders. I hadn't thought of it like that."

He pauses.

"But 'artefacts', Wilde? What could you mean by that? Some kind of mechanical device? An electrical device? That can control minds and feelings?"

"Something spiritual perhaps; religious even. Given the man’s history of travel, I wouldn’t be surprised to find more than a few artifacts belonging to religions less… organized." he says, raising an eyebrow to the gentleman.

"The world has no shortage of strange and exotic cults. And this man exposed himself to them more than most due to his globetrotting habit, wouldn’t you say?"

He's doing it again, thinks Barrington. His words are like a bundle of slippery eels - wriggling, writhing, you can touch them but not hang onto them. What is he even TALKING about here?

"Exasperated" would be a fair description of Barrington's response to Wilde's answer here.

"Wilde. Again. Please. I want to understand. Talking with you about this feels like boxing with shadows. Feels like you know a LOT more than you're letting on.

"Spiritual or religious artefacts? Like crosses or shrines or relics? Those are just tools for charlatans to pull money out of the poor and downtrodden! They don't have any kind of power - well, not of the kind that you're describing here.

"And 'strange and exotic cults'? What could you possibly mean by that?"

"Have you seen something like this before, Wilde? Have you experienced artefacts that can overpower, can influence someone as you say here?" - Barrington is scoffing in disbelief here.

And takes a sip of the brandy. And, yeah, it's good.

Deciding he can’t simply answer Barrington’s barrage, Charles slouches forward and props himself up on the table by his elbows.

"What is your experience with the Occult?" he asks, staring at the man now.

"My own experience is rudimentary enough, on a cosmic scale. But frighteningly enough for one human lifetime.

Are you prepared to have an open mind?"

A week ago, Wilde's first question would have just left Barrington scoffing internally. People sometimes assumed that stage magicians were closer to some fanciful "real magic" because of the tricks, deceptions, the engaging performance, the slights-of-hand, because of the illusions they brought into their work. But Barrington had never had any truck with that. Yes, OK, some of his fellow magicians played at rituals they seemed to hope would bring them closer to supernatural powers - but Barrington knew that to all be nonsense. Had never seen the slightest sign or suggestion that any of that had any spark of reality to it.

Until what he'd seen at Harold's show.

Because Harold should NOT have been able to do what he did.

So now. Now. Now, instead of politely humouring the old man with his talk of the Occult. Of Barrington's need to bring an open mind - but considering it ridiculous.

Instead of that, Barrington's eyebrows shoot up, again. Barrington involuntarily leans forward, closer towards the old man.

"I have seen some of my colleagues dabble in practices they said were 'Occult', but I never saw any evidence that it was more than lights and mirrors, never saw that any of this had any grounding in reality."

"But, these last few days. Things are happening. Things are happening that do not seem grounded in reality - or at least the reality I know."

"So, Mr Wilde. To answer your first question - as far as I'm aware, I have no experience with the Occult. And to answer your second question - a few days ago I think my mind would have been closed to deliberating on, to taking any serious consideration of such things. But today. Yes. Today, I think my mind is much more open to such things than it was."

Some time later, Yuna, Idella, and John arrive at the Memphis House. It is just a short bit before their 2pm meeting time. She walks up to the front door and checks the handle.

Yuna opens the door slightly and announces their arrival to those inside. "Mr. Wilde, Mr. Van Ness - we're here as assured. Letting ourselves in!" Yuna comes inside and instinctively takes her shoes off at the door before going around the corner. "I see you two are comfortable. Mind if we sit and we can share with one another what we've discovered?"

Barrington stands up as Yuna enters the room.

"Why yes, Ms Yuna, please join us. Can I get a drink for any of you? Memphis has an enjoyably well-stocked drinks trolly here – Wilde and I can speak to the quality of his french Brandy?"

Barrington walks over to the drinks trolly in anticipation of hearing a yes...

"Wilde and I were just in the middle of an intriguing conversation - we were just getting to the topic of the Occult. Wilde's experience of it. And how it might perhaps be related to what happened both here in the Schwarz residence and at Harold's show."

"Truth be told, we haven't done a great deal of investigating here yet - confirming that evidence points to only the three slain men in the party that broke into the residence, no evidence of a fourth. They appear to have made their ingress from a vacant lot that connects to the back end of this property. We followed three sets of footprints through the dirt from there, leading toward the rear of the house, ending at a boarded up window which is presumably the one through which they entered. There is no sign of any footprints returning."

"As to the occult, I'd much like to stick to the facts that you've laid out here. Quite interesting. We did manage to get in and speak with the detective, learning a good deal about the exact nature of the men's deaths. At least one of them was killed with a prop blade, aptly named Wrist Chopper. I will be curious to find out what kind of trick that might have gone to - do either of you have a clue?"

"Speaking factually… I could hazard a guess. The tamest option being a simple knife trick. You know, you know… the blade passes through the barrel and out the other side, or some variation of such!"

"Yes, quite the collection of spirits inside this house." he says, with a sly smirk.

"Though we’ve only had the pleasure of these ones for the moment. The others will surely come later, despite our reporter-friend’s objections.

Please, please. Sit down, Ms. Schwartz!" he says, standing to give her his own seat as a courtesy.

Barrington greets Ingrid. They know each other, given that they move in similar circles, in the stage magician and performers scene here in Boston - they're not particularly close, but close enough to use first names with each other.

"Thank you for joining us here, Ingrid - particularly as you don't like being here without your father being around."

"We are trying to piece together the events of that awful night - we've spoken with the police, and started looking around the house ourselves. Maybe, given our very particular set of skills, we will get some additional insights into what might have happened."

"To help us with that, we wanted to ask if you could show us around the house yourself. We'd be particularly interested in hearing from you about anything you notice seems out of place, or new, or somehow changed since that night, or indeed that strikes you as unusually different compared to a few months ago."

"Also, whether there are perhaps some concealed spaces or locations or drawers in the house, that the police might have missed, where we might find some useful clues?"

"And finally, Ingrid, I wanted to ask you about what happened at Harold's performance. The way I saw the two of you acting together there - I don't know, it struck me unusual. That things have changed between you over the last few months, over the kind of time in which your father disappeared - and whether, in some strange way, that might be linked to this grim happenstance we are investigating here?"

"Can you help us with any of that? Perhaps we could talk as you guide us around the house?"

Yuna smiles, "A tour of the home would be most welcome. And how familiar are you with your father's tricks and props? Would you be able to identify anything here that wasn't part of his normal repertoir?"

Charles just grumbles along, agreeable to each pertinent point as they are made. He plays up the doddering man once again, in this new and unfamiliar company.

If Ingrid responds to his questions, and indeed takes them on a tour of the house, Barrington falls in step next to Charles - and tries to follow up on their previous conversation. To learn more about Charles's thoughts around the occult, and how it could be involved in these mysteries.