It was Monday morning, February 9, and the new year had so far provided opportunities to rest, recuperate, study and catch up with work in a winter wonderland Arkham. It was only when Mackie McNamara woke up and realized to her utter horror that Karen, the indomitable Californian chica hen, was gone that things started to get strange once again. The door to the coop was ajar, and there were signs of a struggle: drops of blood on the white snow and the tracks of at least two pairs of men’s winter boots led out onto the sidewalk. Mackie immediately rang Moira Baker to figure out what to do next.
Meanwhile, Howard Lake
and Jules Pollack were sitting over at Jules Pollack Fine Antiques and discussing
antiquarian matters. Henry Chester had his way by the cozy antique shop, and he
poked his head in through the door, only to be invited for coffee by Burlington
Jones. As they were enjoying their strong late morning coffee, they all heard
Jones yelling “Stop! Thief!” and running out of the store without his winter
coat in hot pursuit of someone. Jones eventually came back, fuming, but without
the culprits. “Two older boys, perhaps between 15 and 17, came in and claimed
to be looking for a gift to give to an aunt. They were polite and
well-mannered, but all of a sudden they grabbed an expensive book, the Beatus Methodivo (an edition from 1756,
including a rich commentary by Sir Edgar Trevarry of Oxford, a leading
alchemist and mystic of that era). I could not catch the hoodlums”. How
strange! Why would two seemingly well-off youngsters steal an old book about
esoteric matters?
Meanwhile, Mackie McNamara was hoping for some good advice from Moira, but although Moira was quite sympathetic, she showed signs Mackie didn’t recognize at all. Moira Baker was almost maniacally insistent on using one of the rituals that Mackie had found in the Thaumaturgical Prodigies in the New England Canaan. She grabbed hold of Mackie’s shoulder’s, and in a voice that went from reasoning to a coarse whisper, Moira hissed that Yog-Sothoth is the key, but they know how to use it, and that Yog-Sothoth could show the true way to Karen. Moira was now standing uncomfortable close to Mackie, and her repetitive phrases made Mackie flinch as droplets of Moira’s saliva hit Mackie’s face. Then the doorbell rang, as two Arkham PD officers had been summoned to survey the scene of the crime. They had very little to add.
All roads seem to lead to the Miskatonic University Library, and in this case the Intrepid Investigators went to seek out a copy of the Beatus Methodivo to find out what secrets the little book might hide. It turned out that the book had actually been on loan to the Economics Departure, which struck the investigators as somewhat odd. The head of the Economics Department, Professor Reginald Thornton Smythe seemed to be an economist with few, if any, other interests. He was known to be quite successful, a prolific publisher, and quite arrogant. Trying to book an appointment with Professor Thornton Smythe proved to be impossible, as his secretary, Ms. Annabell Cox, was a true avatar of Cerberus. The Beatus Methodivo did seem to be an interesting piece of work for the occult-minded, and it contained instructions on how to prepare for what seemed to be a Satanic mass, which included the use of a silver dagger, a chalice, a human skull, a candelabra, and a sacrifice during the Satanic mass as well as a ritualistic text or incantation. Was somebody preparing a black mass? With Friday, February 13, approaching, that seemed a distinct possibility.
CHRISTCHURCH GRAVE ROBBERYArkham, February 10The grave of musician Mr. Robert "Bobby" Smith (1842-1902) was plundered by unknown perpetrators last night at some time after 10 pm. Unconfirmed rumors claim that there were ritualistic elements to the robbery, and the Arkham PD is currently investigating these claims.
Lake and Moira (who
was still incessantly going on about the need for a ritual) came to the
conclusion that Smith’s grave had been picked due to its proximity to the fence
surrounding the Christchurch Cemetery, and that skull had been removed from the
rest of the body. The undertaker, Mr. Richard O’Brien, could tell Baker and Lake
that the suspected graverobbers were two sturdy, or rather heavy-set, older
boys who had been strolling around the cemetery just before the gates were
closed and locked for the evening.
Mackie spent that Tuesday morning looking into Professor Thornton Smythe, and he apparently was married, and the father of an 18-year old son and an eleven-year old daughter. But there was other interesting information as well, as the Economics Department had checked out the sole copy of the mystical Remigius’s Daemonolatreia, a grimoire of some notoriety in the Miskatonic University Library, and kept under lock and key. The Daemonologia contained heretical descriptions of creatures from the very pits of Hell, and it has been claimed that weak-minded men had been turned into gibbering idiots after reading the tome. It could only be checked out by a department head. Much later that afternoon, it struck Mackie that the son, Harrison Thornton Smythe, had applied to the Department of Egyptology for an undergraduate degree, but that his application was appalling and included at least one case of plagiarism. A stakeout of the Thornton Smythe residence and a discreet after-hour search of the Economics Department did not find anything noteworthy regarding Professor Thornton Smythe, but Young Harrison Thornton Smythe was in all likelihood elsewhere: it turned out he was a student at a boarding school, namely the Oliver P. Hoover School for Young Gentlemen. This school was founded in 1862 by, obviously, Mr. Hoover. He found Arkham to be a fine, cultivating and healthy place for young gentlemen to grow up, and although he had no connection to the Miskatonic Valley, he was willing to invest in a grand school building for some 80 students between the ages of ten to 18, providing a classic curriculum and character development. In 1925, the Hoover school is a respected second-tier boarding school. However, a new headmaster, Charles H. Winchester II, has assumed office for the fall semester of 1924.
Oliver P. Hoover Charles H. Winchester II
The Oliver P. Hoover School for Young Gentlemen.
As
the Intrepid Investigators woke up on Wednesday, the following article was
noticed by Jules Pollack:
SYNAGOGUE BURGLARY
Arkham, February 11
The Arkham Police is investigating a mid-night burglary of the Temple Sinai synagogue on 11 Whately Street in Downtown Arkham. According to Rabbi Samuel Cohen, a silver challah knife is missing as well as some small change and a box of chewing gum with individual packets being sold for charity. The Arkham PD is currently investigating the case.
All of this, and why was Moira Baker STILL going on about the immediate need for a ritual?
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