Session 2 - The Locked Room Mystery Pt. 2

The GM dropped some clue clarifications from the previous session:

1. The chimney looked as if it had been cleaned even though there had recently been a fire. As if someone wiped the sides. Or someone who could barely fit went up and down the chimney.
2. With Miss Forsythe questioning the dead Billy Heathering a bit more, Mr. Turnbull was able to ascertain that the clothing the murderer wore probably was a worker’s uniform from the Whitechapel workhouse and thus a definite clue.
3. In the journal found in the library was a card with the words “Spirit Communication Society” printed on it. Also the address 47 Mount St Mayfair and the date March 13 were handwritten on the card.
4. The journal itself was clearly a handwritten copy of another work (one could tell by the regularity of the writing) and it seemed to be a meditation on the spiritual experience of taking a life, with the goal of communing not just with “the other side” but with “the Master” from whom one could gain understanding.

Summary & Commentary (the TL;DR):

The group has been tasked with solving the murder of Hubert Heathering. They are following clues left by a supernatural creature that is apparently strong and athletic and can stick to stuff (Spider-Gentleman?). This has led them to the perhaps overly complicated murder of Bert Remington, through the workhouse where he stayed, the solicitor’s office to which he was lured, and perhaps to a witch and a house in Mayfair. It appears that victims of these two crimes were people in despair who had recently received a bit of hope to lift them from it.

The collective powers and skills of the group (including Miss Greene's prowess at physical stuff), was necessary to discover all this in a timely fashion, but as each member of the group carries his or her own history, it has become clear that the pasts of some of them may rise as impediments to their quest.

Bullet points of session:

• Miss Greene climbed the roof and followed the trail of someone who clearly somehow climbed up the chimney and ran across rooftops to escape.
• She recovered a sack with a work house uniform that had “Bert Remington” sewn into it.
• Miss Croft noted that the fleeing person must have been exceptionally strong to clear the distances between some of the houses, and Mary realized the broken tiles suggested someone as heavy as an adult. But how could an adult have fit up the chimney?
• The group went to the Whitechapel workhouse (that’s where the uniform was from) in hope of finding a lead.
• They discovered Bert Remington had apparently gotten a letter, left site under his own recognizance, and never returned.
• They managed to get into the good graces of the residents and staff of the work house because they brought food.
• A bit of social jiggery and also pokery (Dr. Dallinger did not go unnoticed, but between his earnest intent and willingness to spend money, he did help the cause), and Mr. Turnbull’s gift for interacting with the working class, they managed to get into Remington’s room.
• Turnbull got a whiff of the supernatural.
• Dallinger’s detection machine illuminated the residue of hand and foot prints all over the walls and ceiling and window sill.
• Croft used her powers to see into the past, and determined that the crawling creature was person sized and shaped and had a humanish face (actually Nina since windows have good reflective capabilities I think Croft got enough info to recognize the person if she saw them), but clearly an inhuman ability to leap, climb, stick to stuff etc… The creature paid the most attention to Remington but did check pout the rest of the work house. And had been here before…
• Someone also went through Remington’s stuff, and found his letter and a business card for a solicitor’s office (Billington and sons), so they went, assuming it was a huge setup.
• Miss Greene went into the office under the pretense of searching for a job, met Lemon Learmonth and then Reginald Billington. The office is legitimate but new, a franchise of the Whitby Billington & Sons solicitors
• The group planned to come back under cover of night, but while they were waiting in an eating establishment, it became clear that some people were watching them, especially Mary.
• After some awkward attempts to avoid confrontation, the confrontation happened. The group merely wanted to know if Miss Greene happened to ACTUALLY be called “Brockhurst”. The group said no.
• BUT, the ringleader, Reg, was also apparently a debt collector and was supposed to collect from Dallinger, so there was a small punch up and the baddies left, tails between legs.
• Then, back to Billington and Sons, where Dallinger made it look like the place had been robbed, but the group got some information, not the least of which was that one of the small number of clients of Billington and Sons was a Mrs. Wode, who had an address (45 Mount St. Mayfair) next door to the address on the Spirit Communication Society card.
• Mr. Turnbull paled as his olfactory senses were overcome by the scent of aging roses, the telltale spoor of a witch he had encountered previously...

Leads.

• The City of London police may know something about the dead Bert Remington
• The house in Mayfair is an obvious lead
• From a TV Procedural perspective, it might be useful to figure out whether Remington and Heathering have anything in common
• Similarly, a closer look at Remington might reveal why they went to so much trouble to murder him in such a complicated way, a way that caused them to leave clues to Heathering’s murder

This will end up on the Roll20 in some capacity. I will email when it has happened.

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