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Post by TheUdjat on Jul 21, 2008 9:52:23 GMT -5
Tommy-
As Tommy draws closer, it is clear that one of the women is the dancer from earlier—he never did get her name, though. The other woman, also young and pretty, is probably also a dancer. When Tommy introduces himself, it is this other woman who responds, her eyes steady and fixed on him. “Yalesha,” she says in a thick accent. While introductions are made, the first dancer looks around a little, keeping an eye on activity up and down the street—and on the car the others wait in.
“Yalesha knows more about what you’re searching for than I do,” she says, after a moment. “And she is more willing than others to talk of it.”
Yalesha nods. “One of the victims was my boyfriend,” she explains. “He spoke of men talking about strange things at the club, groups of them heading out, but he would not tell me why. When he died, I looked for the things he spoke of. It is difficult to notice unless you are looking for it, but on certain nights—no more than a time or two every months—a group of men will leave the club all together, getting into trucks and leaving as one. I have not been able to track where, and I do not know any of the men—if I pry to close, they will probably kill me, too.”
She fixes Tommy with a steady, intense look. “If you are looking into these things, Tommy, I wish you luck. Nobody wants to speak of it, but the people that die are always the ones most curious, most unwilling to accept what is going on. They look into things, and then they vanish, only to reappear dead in the Thames. I earnestly hope you can put a stop to this—if you cannot, I think I will be the next they find prying into their business, because I cannot ignore what is happening.”
Rebecca, Thurman, Grey-
From the car, it is easy to note Tommy talking with the two women. You take the opportunity to look around the area, ensuring that there is no ambush imminent. [Spot/Listen checks.] With an eye in every direction, you are all certain that this rendezvous has not been compromised—the women seem to be on the level.
List of clues
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Post by VemuKhaham on Jul 22, 2008 8:04:08 GMT -5
Gray stares at the couple, apparently nervously plucking his moustache, or coiling it around his index finger. He seems to be somewhat more at ease when the two ladies appear to be willing to stay out in the open near the car, so that when something happens, he could be the cavalry coming to the rescue, in order to make a quick getaway by car. He continues also to watch to the sides and rear, but otherwise is entirely silent.
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Post by Japic on Jul 22, 2008 8:54:32 GMT -5
{Since they didn't go far I didn't feel like pressing the point Vemu, thanks though.}
Thurman waits patiently, listening to teh conversation going on nearby. He keeps his eyes tuned for trouble, either from the women or another source.
{tommy's really steering this encounter, so I've got nothing}
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Post by Yakumo on Jul 22, 2008 10:10:21 GMT -5
Tommy glances around as he approaches the women, not about to get ambushed. "Nice to meet you Yalesha..." He waits for her to say her part. "Thank you, this is very helpful. I hate to press you further on the matter, but I have a couple more questions. The group of men that leave together, are they mostly the same men every time and are they all Egyptian? And one other thing, you say they do this once or twice a month, what are the dates? And did you see them tonight?"
(If she remembers the dates from her own looking into it, Tommy will try to piece together anything he can with them, if they are the same days as the murders, days after the murders, anything that the cult might have in common with days of the week etc.: Spot hidden (?) 61% [dice=100])
After asking his questions Tommy thanks them both and wishes them well, "Take care of yourself, and ease off your investigation for just a little bit, don't get hurt while others are willing to take your place. Just keep an eye out for those men again. If you feel like you need to get in touch with me, or you have more information, put a personal ad in that newspaper around here....what is it...the scoop? I'll be checking it now and again." Unless their answers beget more questions, Tommy will head back to the car and fill in the rest of the group.[rand=65650521075809486698046244649718522488736538234114751582055350965] |
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Post by TheUdjat on Jul 22, 2008 13:01:53 GMT -5
Tommy, Thurman-"Thank you, this is very helpful. I hate to press you further on the matter, but I have a couple more questions. The group of men that leave together, are they mostly the same men every time and are they all Egyptian? "Not all Egyptian, but most. Some are merely Arabic, or Indian, sometimes, but none are Causcasian, if that's what you mean--though this is not so odd for here. You have seen our customers, yes? Although... I think the drivers might have been English. It is always so dark when they come, it's difficult to say." "Some were here, but the truck did not come--there are always some of them around." She shakes her head a little, frowning. "But as a group, they were all last here a week ago, and there was a truck then. They seem to do this one Saturday a month, regularly, and then another day of the month, but it's not constant." She rattles off a few dates from the top of her head, including last Saturday, the 24th of January. They seem, in general, to be about two weeks apart, but the other date seems to shift by a day or so every month or two.
Tommy notes no correlation to the dates that bodies were found, but this might not mean anything. Most bodies were discovered in the Thames, and the river is likely to skew the time of death. Some may not even have been found.
Thurman notices something else. As the woman gives out the dates, he notes that the non-regular day seems to be exactly a lunar month away, each time. Based on the night sky and the last date, he guesses that one of these pick-ups occurs at each New Moon.
The next New Moon is early next month, in about six days.Yalesha nods dutifully. "I will leave it to you, then. Please, keep me updated. I must know what was done to Hoseib." The other woman, the dancer Tommy first met, speaks up. "Her address is on the paper I gave you. Keep it safe." She smiles a little, despite the tense situation. "And if you live through this, Tommy, you know where to find me." She gives him a once-over, a glint of interest in her eyes. "You are... an intriguing man." If there are no more questions, the two women are content to take their leave.
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Aegea
Seasoned Warrior
Posts: 88
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Post by Aegea on Jul 23, 2008 6:12:11 GMT -5
Rebecca is feeling slightly more relaxed as the conversation with the two women progresses; it's seeming more obvious that they didn't lure Tommy here with any malicious intent. She listens as best she can from her vantage point and waits for him to get back so that they can all discuss this new information together.
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Post by Yakumo on Jul 24, 2008 10:15:04 GMT -5
"That's great.. Thank you. I promise, we'll get to the heart of this.." Something is itching at him and has been all day, just before he leaves he asks the girls one more question, "You said a few of them where there today at the club...is one of the men a man named Tewfik? He runs an Egyptian spice shop." Tommy will describe him to the best of his abilities if the women don't recognize the name.
"Thanks a lot. We'll be in touch...with both of you." adding in the last part with a smile to the one woman.
Once in the car, taking a moment to watch that the women leave safely, Tommy relays what he has heard and asks if anyone could make anything of the dates. "I know the cops said the dates mean nothing, but all the bodies were found in the river and well, I had a friend who fell into the Hudson once, we didn't know what happened to him for 3 months when he turned up at one of the docks....it was a cold year." Tommy says sadly, not expecting the rest to know that when the river gets colder and freezes that the bodies sink to the bottom and generally aren't found until the water warms.
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Post by VemuKhaham on Jul 24, 2008 12:43:23 GMT -5
Grey looks sidelong at Tommy, glad to know that this meeting was over. For a moment, he too watches the women depart in safety, then drives off from the area, heading first to Thurman's home, guessing that those staying there might want to go to sleep now. Given his own knowledge of geography and nature, he probably would fairly easily understand the reason behind Tommy's anecdote, though he said nothing of it, fixing his eyes on the road ahead. Though, indeed, his mind was racing to process all the information Tommy was providing him, trying to make any sense of it at all. Indeed, as he drove, he was frowning so deeply in his many thoughts that his eyebrows nearly touched each other. The thing that worried him the most, was how they could possibly find out where these caravans of trucks went off to. Following them by car would probably not be possible without getting detected, certainly not if these trucks would head out of the city into less traveled roads.
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Aegea
Seasoned Warrior
Posts: 88
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Post by Aegea on Jul 24, 2008 19:09:54 GMT -5
Rebecca tries to absorb everything Tommy relays to them about what they woman had told him. She feels like something is staring her in the face but that she's somehow blind to it.
"She said that trucks leave all in a group, pretty much at the same time every month?" she says slowly, to the group. "There must be a way to track them somehow. Now that we know that it's the same group of men that leave together, do you think it might be worth going back to the Blue Pyramid to ask if anyone else knows about this? Before we didn't really have any specific leads on when this has been happening or with who. Or, did anybody notice any significance with the dates?"
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Post by VemuKhaham on Jul 24, 2008 19:53:14 GMT -5
Having pondered over the matter and with Rebecca dropping in on his thoughts, Grey finally speaks up: "Perhaps it is best now to inform the inspector now of our findings. They can roll up the entire gang now that we have uncovered this. Indeed, should we ourselves go any further into this, it will be of the greatest risk to our personal safety."
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Post by Japic on Jul 25, 2008 8:58:07 GMT -5
As if echoing the thoughts in Thurman's head Gray is ahead of him and he continues the unspoken thread. "It may also be possible that the Inspector will already know something of a caravan and save us much work."
Thurning to Rebeccs, "As to going back to the club, I do not think that would be wise. People who know too much tend to end up in the river. Based on the looks we were already getting, I don't think it wise to press our luck with that lot. People who know too much are in as much trouble as the people who want to know too much; and I'm in no mood for a swim."
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Post by Yakumo on Jul 25, 2008 9:17:07 GMT -5
"Let's hold on going back to the inspector just yet. I may not know London very well, but I'm pretty sure several men getting in a truck and leaving together isn't a crime. They will probably just say they have a designated driver." Tommy begins musing what a good course of action would be. [Short post, busy today, will post more fully later tonight]
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Post by TheUdjat on Jul 25, 2008 9:25:37 GMT -5
[It's worth noting that Tommy knows the results of what happened the last time the group clued in the police: officers died, the cultists abandoned their hideout for a new, unknown one, and the group was thereafter unable to locate them when they retaliated and killed Joe, and kidnapped Jeremy.
In short, letting the authorities handle cult activities didn't really go so hot last time. And it's possible some of the men going to the trucks have noted all of you.
Grey naturally had no reason to know any of this, but Rebecca and Thurman will certainly know some of it--more if Tommy told them about his conversation with Lt. Poole before leaving New York.
As for Tommy's parting question to the dancers--they don't know all the names of those involved, but there might have been somebody named Tewfik. They aren't sure if he was there tonight.]
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Post by VemuKhaham on Jul 25, 2008 11:10:54 GMT -5
[NOBODY's sure! He must be the most mysterious man alive.]
"No, we cannot go back to the club or by God, we will end up in next day's newspapers. But if we insist on following the trucks, we had better not use my car, for it might be recognized. Ideally, we would all be driving different vehicles, each shadowing the trucks at different parts of the journey - Thurman, have you not mentioned that you own a motorcycle? If not, then indeed, we would not be able to follow them unseen for very far, but we could give it a try."
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Aegea
Seasoned Warrior
Posts: 88
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Post by Aegea on Jul 25, 2008 19:30:04 GMT -5
Rebecca pauses for a second before responding to Grey, trying to think of how to explain what she'd experienced to someone who hadn't been there. "Colonel Grey, I can definitely understand why going to the police now feels like the right thing to do," she begins. "I really wish that we were at the point where we could do that , wash our hands of all this, and go back home. But I personally feel like bringing the police into this would be bad. Back in New York, we contacted the police when we found evidence that some cult activities were going on that were hurting people, and..the police were apparently never heard from again, and that lead went completely dead." She glances at Thurman, and then at Tommy, to gauge their reactions, feeling a bit inwardly surprised at how frank she is being.
She turns back towards Grey, her eyes thoughtful. "I think the police would be in over their heads, here, personally. Not only do I not want to feel responsible for laying something on their heads that they know nothing about, but I don't think it will help at all. They could get hurt. And I know this is risky for us too, but I know these groups tend to be more...unforgiving when the police are involved. " To Thurman and Tommy, she says more quietly, "Last time, they didn't even strike at us, personally, until we involved the police."
She still gets chills when she remembers that they never found out exactly what happened to Jeremy.
"However, I'm not saying we should blindly dive into danger either, unprotected. I simply don't want to involve more people when I think it could do more harm than good."
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Post by Yakumo on Jul 25, 2008 21:51:06 GMT -5
"Some of New York's finest were killed by the cult too, I don't want to jump the gun here and cause Scotland Yard to lose men too. Rebecca is right, let's keep it to ourselves for the most part now. There are still other avenues to look into. Particularly Edward Gavigan of the Penhew Foundation. Mr. Tewfik, I refuse to believe that a well-known member of the Egyptian community is not even the least bit scared about getting hurt. There are the libraries to look at, hell even that newspaper might be a good lead; I mean why would a newspaper offer money for information about the killings? What do they have to gain? If nothing else, it can be a way for me to get paid for what I plan on doing anyway." Tommy laughs hollowly.
He is glad for even the little bit of information that they got tonight, and brushes of Rebecca's comments about being affected by the cult at all...he didn't want to think about that again. "You know, we should probably get some rest for tonight, maybe even tomorrow. Just until the Foundation is open again, we can get our feet under us and a clear head on things. I know that I could sure use a little break. Plus," he turns to Rebecca, "if you don't mind, I'd like to take a look at that book you said detailed the Cult's activities here. Did we have one about the Bloody Tongue too?" Tommy smiles weakly, clearly more exhausted than he has been letting on. He is pleased with the group's patience and their ability to work together. Thurman and The Colonel for working out of their comfort zone. Sam for putting up with him and providing a solid medium ground. And Rebecca he was most surprised with, she was starting to think more and more like a Private investigator herself.
[Tommy is suggesting a day or two off. We have at least 6 before the truck from the blue pyramid. It will give us time to check the other leads and hopefully dig up enough to give Scotland yard a reason to investigate. Tommy also wants to closely read the books we picked up for himself during this time. The ones that are relevant at least. Anyone else have some ideas they might want to look into?]
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Post by TheUdjat on Jul 29, 2008 7:57:20 GMT -5
[Hoping for a plan on how you next proceed. If I hear nothing today, I will assume Tommy's plan is a go and have everyone rest Sunday and plan a meeting with Penhew for Monday morning.]
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Post by Japic on Jul 29, 2008 11:04:34 GMT -5
{no arguements outta me, I'm feeling at a loss for character motivation and intuition on this case.}
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Post by VemuKhaham on Jul 29, 2008 12:29:22 GMT -5
"Yes," colonel Gray nods. "we have no reason to hurry ourselves, as wait - and rest - we must. Besides, I have certain things I must attent to, and I will have to wire my dear Emily that my return to Mombasa shall be delayed indefinitely." Gray said the latter with a tough, resolute voice, though a keen eye could've spotted the worry on his face. For James feared that this investigation was becoming ever more dangerous, and he dared not tell his wife everything of it, or she would be worried beyond belief. When arriving at Thurman's, he said: "Let us meet again monday, at my place. I will go about arranging a meeting with Penhew, and wire Thurman when I am done. Meanwhile, if some of you are still seeking accomodation, you can come with me."
The next day, Gray would sent a telegram to his family in Mombasa.
DEAR EMILY AND HUGH,
AM DEEPLY SORRY BUT I CANNOT RETURN TO MOMBASA NEXT WEEK. MUST ASSIST AN OLD FRIEND IN IMPORTANT MATTERS. WILL KEEP YOU INFORMED AS TO MY RETURN HOME. LOVE, JAMES
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