[IC] Act One: Savannah

As Lillian walks down the corridor and into the common room next to the stairs, her eyes are drawn to a drawing of some sort on the wall. As she looks more closely, wincing a little as she bends down, she notices that there are several small pictograms here and there, some drawn, some inscribed with some sort of implement, some even seem to be smeared bodily fluids (blood if she has to guess). They're all different, and some she doesn't recognise at all, but the ones she does resemble things like the evil eye, and various protective symbols, particularly ones that are supposed to stop scrying, though they're from a variety of different cultures. There's also one that looks like a mouth of some sort, and weirdly, depending on how you look at it, it seems to be moving its lips, as if it's whispering. Getting closer, Lillian is even half sure she imagines it is whispering to her, but that's obviously silly. Come to thin of it, now she's closer, it's not a mouth after all, and m=not moving, of course, more like a water damage mark that must be glistening a little of the dampness and humidity. In fact it really doesn't look anything like a mouth at all now. Why on earth should she think it did? Does she have some sort of concussion? She doesn't feel too bad though. I mean, how could she think this mark was a moving human-sized mouth, with chapped lips, and showing broken, brown teeth within it as it the lips moved and it whispered at her?

Gabriel offers the chair to Mrs Blakey, silently encouraging her to rest a moment to recover from the shocking attack she suffered.

He then addresses the man they came all this way to meet.
"Mister Henslowe... I am Doctor Walker, and these are my collaborators. How are you feeling today," he starts, in the warm, interested tone he uses in his first encounters with patients.

"The family of your old friend Walter Winston asked us to find out more about his past... We travelled from New England for this purpose. You see, unfortunately Mr. Winston passed away at the beginning of this year." He pauses to observe Henslowe's reaction to the news.

"We understand Mr. Weston Winston spent time years ago here in Savannah, and possibly... in California. If you don't mind me asking... what was the nature of your acquaintance?"

At the mention of Winston, Henslowe perks up, but at the news of his death, he seems to deflate, shrink in on himself, crestfallen, and stays silent.

Lillian leans forward slightly, studying the poor fellow. The news of his friend's passing clearly hurt even after all this time.