Sleuth Home - Message Boards - Role Playing Stage

Jan-5-2009 03:44


To know what happened previously in this story please review the following threads.

The USS Sleuthetania:

http://noir.playsleuth.com/map/cityhall/post.spy?id=29404

The Any Location Place:

http://noir.playsleuth.com/map/cityhall/post.spy?id=29603

Jan-17-2009 20:26

*meanwhile*

"Oh, Clift!" Violet fell into his arms crying as Ace came running up. It was the first time Ace could ever remember her losing he composure.

Everyone was crowding around the shattered chandelier and the sobbing woman, as Ace raced up to them.

"Oh my gosh, what happened?" He asked frantically.
"Violet was sitting in that armchair." Clift replied, pointing to a smashed mass of wood.
"Oh my. Violet?" Ace asked, "Are you okay?"
"Clift pulled me... out.. of the... way..." Violet spoke between sobs.
"C'mon, honey, why don't you come and lay down?" Clift started to take her to the cabin when the Captain showed up. He had just missed them.
"Sir, do you know where they went? I want to apologize to that poor woman!"
"There's no need for that sir." Ace replied, "This was no accident."
"Are you implying that..."
"I'm saying that someone tried to kill her! Those are two of my best friends, and I need to find out who did this." Ace turned to go.
"Wait... sir? How do you know?" The captain asked.
"Look at the cord that held it up."
"Oh my..." The captain said aloud. The cord had been cut, evidently from someone standing on the balcony above. It would take some doing, but it was possible.
"That is Clift Garrent and his wife, Violet Parr. She is in 213b."
"Okay. Thank you, sir." He turned to go, but then looked back, "And I am still terribly sorry."

Ace knew he had to find out who cut that cord. He also had to find Mak. Where could she be? Everyone on the ship must've heard that crash!

Jan-17-2009 20:27

((Whoops! I forgot that I was in my new altar ego... sorry... ;-)

BTW from now on, make sure Ace doesn't drink...))

Jan-18-2009 01:27


As soon as they entered her room at 213b, Violet Parr collapsed on her bed.

She rested for a few minutes and then, normalising her breath intake, she dried her tears using a scented mauve handkerchief. Then to Clift’s surprise she started getting ready for the Masked Ball.

“Violet are you okay?” Clift spoke in his most calming voice.

“I am fine, Clift… Yourself?” Violet looked to him inquiringly.

He was puzzled. “Well, let’s say that there at least hasn’t been any attempt on my life!”

“It would not have been the first time.” Violet nodded in his direction knowingly. “I cannot let whomever it is, believe, even for a second, that they have got me frightened and feeling victimised in anyway.” She turned to him. “At times the best action is non-action.”

“So what are you planning to do?”

Violet started combing her long dark hair. “Nothing really for now… Attend the Ball, have a good time and keep my awareness heightened, since I have a very good feeling I may know who is behind this.”

“Who is it?!” Clift rose. “Just tell me Vi and we will act immediately to cease whose responsible.”

“I can’t be sure.” Violet spoke. “We need to wait for now and see if anything comes to light.” She suddenly turned to him. “Clift, could you do something for me?”

“Anything Vi…”

“Then be a dear and fetch me a prawn cocktail… two… or four if you could.” Violet looked anxious.

“A… prawn cocktail?”

“As soon as physically possible… get it from the restaurant below…” Violet urged.

Suddenly Clift realised the rush. “Is it a craving?”

Violet nodded. “I would rather eat before I get dressed. Any drop of the cocktail dressing would be an evident eyesore on my deep indigo gown.”

“Will you be safe?” Clift spoke as he reached the door.

“Forever and for always,” Violet assured him with a smile as she took out her purple mask.

Jan-18-2009 01:33


***

As soon as Clift left closing the door behind him, Violet Parr collapsed on her bed once again.

She was feeling exhausted.

It was a terribly strain being pregnant: She tired easily, always needed the ladies room and was hungry more often than appropriate for a lady. However, the thought of a new person in her life, one whom would love her unconditionally filled her heart with joy.

She turned her head to the side and saw herself in the mirror, she still wasn’t showing. Makensie Brewer on the other who was not as far along as she was but has already been showing her pregnancy slightly.

Violet then thought of the effort of Clift and the warning given by the Mr. 'Boxer' Bane. Their joint effort had saved her life. She suddenly felt deeply grateful to, and highly appreciative of, being alive.

Violet rolled over her bed wanting to sleep and wake when all this was over… suddenly… she heard the sound of paper crumpling underneath her bed cover.

Her left hand instinctively went underneath the sheets and she pulled out a handwritten note.

The note was written on yellow, seemingly expensive paper with a very fine hand. Violet sat up and read the contents:


“When one is awarded the great responsibility of carrying a title, one may not allow himself the luxury of getting caught up with trivial events and unpleasant and, at times, vile attacks against one’s honour & integrity.

My social status is more important to me than your foolish actions and his. So you will understand that my actions against your person, Miss Parr, are but natural.

For never could a woman who loved her husband, bring herself to love his ... “


Violet stopped reading and shook her head in shocked disbelief. “Oh Lady Lancaster, you didn’t...”

Jan-18-2009 04:51

[Author’s note:

Now that was funny Ace. I think it would be good to bring your sister into this…maybe we could pick her up in a small harbor on the way. Only…please do keep her away from Clift…we wouldn’t want another knocked up lady on our hands, now would we?...hehehehe”]

Jan-18-2009 04:52

[back in Joey Bane’s cabin…]

“Ok, the truth is…I was actually looking forward to meeting you in person, Miss Brewer” said Joey reaching slowly for his chest pocket. Makensie, startled by his move, rose up the gun a little higher. “A little tense tonight, aren’t we?” smiled Bane while lighting the cigar that he had just pulled out.

“Quit stalling, Bane. My patience is starting to run out.”

“Ok ok…don’t sweat it. If you’d’ve used that patience to listen up to Ace’s story you would’ve known by now part of the truth.”

“I guess I’ll have my information at first hand.”

“Well, here it is then. ‘Bout a week ago I have received 2 letters in my office in New York. They came both in one envelope delivered all the way from Delhi. The sender was a man, known by the name of Frank Lancaster. He was the author of the first of the 2 letters in which he was briefly informing me he needs to find a certain woman who may be carrying his child. He mentioned her name was Violet Parr and that her life might be in danger if she was truly delivering his baby…or for that matter…if only she was suspected of doing it. He urged me to come to London as he had received news that she was there. No information whatsoever on who might be this supposed killer or his motives. He did though mention his intention was to take away Miss Parr to a place where she would never be found.”

Bane pulled another smoke deep in his chest and continued.

Jan-18-2009 04:52

“The second letter was…I guess…some kind of evidence to prove true his first one. It was a letter written by Violet Parr, or at least carried her initials, in which she was basically ending their relationship on account of him being married. Didn’t contain many details about what happened between them, but just the fact that they had met in Delhi while she was working on a case in which he was involved.”

Joey took a small break and added with a slightly malicious smile: “I don’t know how she ever ended up into his bed, but that would be a piece of information I would gladly listen to…in detail…hehehe.”

“Please move ahead and cut the comments, Bane! So…you came to London”

“Yes I did. He was, in fact, going to me pay quite a large sum of money for this case out of which that envelope had already contained a fat down payment. But before I left I did a little research on my own regarding Mr. Lancaster’s identity. The name had sounded somehow familiar to me…and I was right. Apparently the Lancaster family was one of the oldest in Delhi and a prolific figure inside the Dies Arcanum Brotherhood for that matter. Our very own Mr. Frank Lancaster was in fact next in line to be appointed as Bishop of them all. There was a lot of shallow information contained inside the papers, but one more thing attracted my attention: the custom for deciding the next leader in this organization was by blood. The current Bishop didn’t have a son, so Frank was now the closest one to him. He also didn’t have a child and for that fact apparently there were a lot of comments he would have not been able to.”

“So…he couldn’t have…” said Makensie with a slight ray of hope in her eyes.

Jan-18-2009 04:53

“Now hold your horses there, Miss Brewer; the good part of this story has not started yet. As I was saying, I managed this way to make myself a pretty good idea why this very own baby could be important to someone enough to take the action of trying to murder it. I left for London then and decided to check in into a little hotel by the ocean. I was not supposed to meet Mr. Lancaster until a couple a days from now. The very next morning to my arrival though I have received a note from him, telling me he has managed to reach England sooner and he was urging me meet at his hotel as we were to depart together on some boat trip. I packed my things and went there just to find him stabbed.”

“Stabbed” she exclaimed in a complete surprise. “He was killed?”

“Yes, a stiletto was run all through his heart. He was not dead yet though when I entered his room. With his last breath he handed me a black book and managed to say “Violet”…then he passed. He had a pair of boat tickets on his desk. I picked them up and obviously boarded on this ship leaving his corpse behind for the police to find. In the beginning I didn’t want to follow up with this, but then I realized I was the last seen person to have visited his room, which makes me the main suspect. Thus I have reached the conclusion I have to find out who did this.”

Bane stood up and opened the drawer of a small cabined besides him. Mak didn’t make any move as she was not considering him yet not to be a threat. He pulled out a small book dressed in black leather with some golden initials printed on its cover: DAB.

Jan-18-2009 04:54

“Now this, Miss Brewer, is Mr. Lancaster’s very own journal. I have read it. I have thus learned that he indeed feared a conspiracy inside the brotherhood. The position he was about to take was apparently yearned for by someone else in this organization. Another thing that I have learned is that his health condition was not great. To be specific…actually…he was dying. He believed he was slowly poisoned by someone, but he couldn’t prove anything. One thing was certain though…he had no more than maybe 1 year to live.”

Joey headed towards the bottle of whiskey on the table and finally poured himself a shot.

“Another piece of information I have extracted from this journal was that in fact, our dear Mr. Lancaster had reason to believe he was not the one shooting blanks inside his marriage, if you know what I mean. If he were to produce a child, that child would’ve been HIS next in line…of course, as long as it would’ve had been a boy. About 2 weeks ago he was informed by Violet’s doctor, who was a close friend of his that she was expecting. He realized the threat that would hang upon this baby’s head if someone would have found out it could be his and decided to take action. So…he contacted me. I don’t know why he chose me…I guess my somehow obscure connections and the fact that I am not a common figure out of New York made him think that I was well fit for the job.”

He took a sip.

Jan-18-2009 04:55

“Now, as you can imagine, my first suspicion landed upon Mrs. Parr. I figured they have met and in a desperate attempt of protecting her child she had killed him. He was, after all, going to take this baby away with or without her consent and nothing showed that someone else might have been found out about this. Her reputation told me that clearly a direct confrontation with her would not do any good, so I have started to conceive a little plan of shaking her small world on this ship by planting suspicion amongst her friends about her actions and intentions. I was hoping that somehow she will make a mistake and that could help me find out more or even point her out as my murderer. Apparently…I was wrong.”

“You must have been” replied Makensie in her usual quest of defending her friend.

“I was. Up there on the deck, a bit before the incident, our dear Mrs. Crab just handed me unknowingly a piece of information that positioned Miss Parr out of any suspicion. I have established thus she couldn’t have been at the murder scene, as she was already at the docks when it took place.”

“So this means…” Miss Brewer’s face got all covered with worry.