MoN 033: About in Harlem

The 4th day of February saw much of the group out and about in New York chasing down various leads while others stayed at the hotel to make numerous phone calls. Charles’ visited Doctor Hudson’s old building but discovered nothing of interest there as it was now occupied by an insurance business. He then visited the New York library, where he barely escaped being thrown out of another institute of learning. He had better news on this return to his hotel as Jeffreys—his faithful butler and manservant—had arrived from Boston bringing much-needed supplies.

Meanwhile, Dudley and George worked the phones but uncovered nothing of interest except that Dr Dudley managed to get Erica Carlyle’s old friend—Mrs Victoria Poston on the telephone. Unfortunately, the interview did not go well, and Dr Dudley had a sickening feeling as he hung up that the entire thing would shortly be relayed to the powerful businesswoman he had sought to investigate subtly.

Jacob Rossini, however, fared much better. Along with Carlon Ramsey, he visited Millie Adams at her place of work at the Lafayette Theatre. Here he learned more about her husband’s doings and gained the name of four of his friends with whom he had been patrolling. Jacob also learnt that Hilton had kept a journal but that it—along with a curious strip of red leather he had used as a bookmark—had been confiscated by the police after his arrest. Mille also told Jacob that she thought the Ju Ju House was involved in some way with the killings and disappearances but that she was too scared to do any more active investigations.

Millie Adams Dead

Dr Dudley telephoned his wife in the morning of the 5th as he sought a certain scrap of parchment he had recovered during the strange Washington farmhouse incident of two years previous. His wife, Eloise, promised she would find it for her, and Dudley, in turn, warned her that many things in his study (he provided a long list) should not be looked at overlong or meddled with in any way.

Bad news was on the way, however. News—in the form of a minor story in the New York Times—related how a local woman, one Millie Adams, had been stabbed to death while leaving work in the early morning. This tragedy hit the group hard. She had talked to Jacob under 24 hours ago, and now she was dead, a victim—or so the police surmised—of a robbery gone wrong. None of the group believed that for a second.

No matter, the group still wanted to talk to Hilton Adam’s friends—Millie had told them before she was killed, that they hung out at Teddy’s Saloon, which was surprisingly close to Lafayette Theatre.

Reaching the saloon, Ikil and Dudley befriended the large bouncer outside—all three had served in the Great War—and the group, minus Charles, who elected to stay outside—quickly gained access to the workingman’s club that was Teddy’s Saloon.

Asking around, they quickly identified Hilton’s old friends—all members of the Harlem Hellfighters—and introduced themselves. A long conversation ensued wherein the investigators learnt some small matters of interest but which netted them no revelations of note. As they were about to leave, Ikil put down a $20 bill for the friends’ trouble. This caused a stir, and in short order, Ikil, Dudley and George were invited to the speakeasy hidden below the saloon. A riotous night ensued for the three; Charles, however, got quite bored outside waiting for his friends to emerge. When they did, it was quite evident that the trio were far jollier than when they entered the saloon several long, cold hours ago.

Planning an Assault

The next morning, the group gathered to lay their plans. It seemed that all roads led to the Ju Ju House. However, Tom Washington’s ill-fated assault on the place complicated matters. If the place was a front for a cult or some other organisation, they surely knew that the investigators were interested in them.

Over a leisurely breakfast, the group talked through a wide range of plans…

This post is a session summary for my weekly 7th edition Call of Cthulhu Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign.