[IC] Prologue - A Mysterious Meeting Beckons

Lillian had taken coffee and one of the small cakes, but it was so good that she'd reached for another.

She was listening, however.

"I'm flattered you thing so kindly of me, but I need time to think about my circumstances. That said, are these your father's books, Ms Winston Rogers? Also, would you permit us to read the letters? It might be important, there could be something hidden or deducible from a reading between the lines, if you will."

Gabriel listens carefully.
Hmm... not dissimilar from the hallucinations some of our Sanitorium patients describe. Could the woman have a latent psychotic trait? I must try to talk to Dr Hardstrom about this family. His take on Janet's father could reveal crucial, he thinks.

He then reacts to Lillian's words. "The letters, of course. Mrs Blakey. Good thinking!"

"Of course." She pulls out a bundle of letters and passes them to Lilian.

























The letters have pencil marks here and there - underlining particular letters and words, some words connected by lines and arrows.

Lillian found herself looking at the curious marks where a cypher or code might have been cracked by the recipient, faintly wondering if the letter dates had anything to do with it or if something else known to both men was in play.

After Lillian read the first one, she passed it to the Doctor, but then expressed her initial opinions of the markings after starting the second.

"Just a beginner's guess, you understand."

Dr Walker waits for Lillian to pass the letters, as she finishes reading each one. He reads them in turn.

hmm. This Douglas Henslowe's struggle to be beleived by 'the doctors' is interesting. And so is the mention of his committing all the details of that August 1924 to paper. It sounds like some people died, that night? I would be very curious to read his notes...

He focuses on the calligraphy, and on the loneliness that transpires from the man's words. Then on the dates. Almost ten years of trying to get a reply, poor man...

He then looks at Walter Winston's own notes and markings, trying to find a pattern, what logic the man used in his scrutiny of these missives...

As Dr Walker scans the letters, one after the other, searching for clues as to what kind of code is embedded in the letters...

...he discovers that the letters are, in fact, completely as they appear on face value. It seems that Walter Winston was searching for a possible code, but none can be found. He considers this; it appears evidence of what his daughter has been saying - a distinct paranoia, searching for hidden meaning where this is none to be found.

"When you're ready to leave, let Frank know. The books and maps here are from father's study; use them as you see fit. As I said before, most of his books and notes he burned. I'm not sure why he kept the letters, or spent so long poring over them. But please, find Mr Henslowe, and find out what happened to my father all those years ago."

As the others look at old letters Samuel has no interest in, he instead turns to their host. "I am genuinely sorry for your losses, Miss," he begins. Glancing to the others as they read the correspondence in question, he looks back to Janet and continues. "I will take some time off from the bank. I'm not sure what benefit I can provide during this errand -- a warrior's place is on the battlefield, not in the halls of academia -- but I will provide whatever aid I can. You have my word."

As Dr. Walker starts to read the last letter, Lillian asks Frank for access to her suitcase. Discreetly opening it to broadly conceal the contents, she removes some easily accessible pencils and an unused notebook before closing it again, ready for Frank to replace it in the car.

Armed with her stylus, she begins to make a list of things to consider.

Gabriel is impressed by Lillian's methodical approach, as she explains her list of points to follow up on.
"My compliments, Mrs. Blakey. I have colleagues in Academia that could do with some of your sharp thinking, I can assure you."

He points at the different address from which the letter writer seemed to have written during 1933. "This Old Hope Road, Savannah, that you spotted... could it be a Hospital? A Sanatorium, even?"
He scans his memory to remember if he has ever heard of that address in his clinical duties.He also takes a look at the selection of books that Winston Rogers has gathered here for their perusal, looking for a Savannah, Georgia map or directory.

"Mr Weston, I fear that your help might be invaluable and indeed necessary. The letters refer to enemies and leaving people behind dead. I would prefer not to see any of you perish while asking questions for me. Therefore, I see your presence as not just important, but pivotal. Please keep everyone safe, if you can.

The maps on the table are of a variety of scales, and cover a lot of the US (though often not to the level of city maps that show particular streets) and global ones, though those are larger scale in general, covering whole countries in one map. Still, as a reference, they are useful.

The books are mostly introductions to folklore and the occult - nothing too advanced, presumably those were among the books he burned - and encyclopedias, reference works, etc. Again, nothing you'd generally read over but that would act as a reference point for Archival Research rolls on fairly broad subjects or if you have a particular thing in mind you'd like to read up on.

Dr Walker thinks he may remember a colleague from Savannah that he met at a conference a few years ago, though just by looking at the addresses, he isn't sure whether or not that would be the one, or even the name of the institution.

He frowns at the Savannah address. "Nah. Nothing springs to mind."
Addressing Samuel, he mentions, "It sounds like we could definitely use your expertise, Mr. Weston. This is a... rather unusual task for me, but I am glad to be accompanied by someone handy with... extreme situations. Thank you."

"Miss Winston Rogers, so shall we regroup with you here in, say, three days? I can surely use them to put my things in order for this unplanned sabbatical, and to see what I can find out from Dr Hardstrom and other contacts..."

"One moment, please, Doctor. Ms Winston Rogers, regarding these other companions, the missing, did you find anything that may give possible clues to their identification, such as an address book? Also did you find anything such as a scrap book and have the books been checked for notes hidden inside them?' Lillian asks, almost breathlessly, warming to the puzzle.

"No; as I say, they met secretly, and neither myself nor mother were ever introduced to any of them. Quite often they'd meet at night anyway, and we'd never see them. I do know that one of them was wheelchair-bound, I saw him a couple of times. But as to notes...everything was burned by my father other than you see here, I'm afraid. You're welcome to check each book individually, though that might take a while, an most would likely have fallen out if anything had been placed within during the transporting to this hangar."

Lillian is somewhat deflated, but then says, "Thank-you, that description makes me think that there may be a survivor we don't know about yet. Surely someone so afflicted would be unlikely to go exploring somewhere off the beaten track?"

You meet with Dr Hardstrom the next day, but he's fairly unforthcoming. He maintains that he saw Mr Winston as a private patient, not through the sanitorium, and that it was clearly after the events of August 1924. He says that Mr Winston was very hazy about any details especially of what had occurred - just that it was something bad, and seemed to exhibit signs of paranoia and delusion, and that Dr Hardstrom suggested a stay in the sanitorium and a course of medication, but that Mr Winston rejected both and eventually, after just a few sessions, decided not to continue with psychotherapy.

Lillian's rhetorical question had provoked little more than a "maybe," and a "perhaps," so she'd moved on to consolidating hers and others' ideas into her notepad for possible following up.

She had asked Ms. Winston Rogers another question, "Ms. Winston Rogers, do you think that there any remnant travel records or bills from around August '24 for your father in company or personal records that it might be appropriate to have checked? I'm wondering if it is a viable way to track his movements."