It was Friday, and despite the promising whiffs of deliciousness flowing out from Mrs. O'Flaherty's kitchen, it was decided to investigate the building collapse on East Derby Street as well as the rumors of a "scantily clad man" running from the building. Was this just sensationalism on behalf of the press or something substantial? It was pleasant, if overcast, spring evening, and the intrepid investigators decided to take a brisk walk to the site. The house, which seemed do date from the first half of the 19th century, was in bad shape after an oddly symmetrical hole or opening had appeared in the back of the building. The police had cordoned off the building, and the two families that lived there had been evacuated, so there was not much more to see. Also, the thought of Mrs. O'Flaherty's cooking made Mackie's stomach growl, so it was tome to return to Jules Pollack's comfortable house. Diana Spinoza was still around, and although still in a saddened state, she did join the investigators for a great dinner full of inspired banter and the occasional crude remark.
Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous day. Moira Baker went out early to visit the Arkham PD and inquire further about the collapse of the house. She was greeted by an officer Alex Jones, but for whatever reason, he was not interested in helping the public, and a frustrated Moira Baker stormed out of the police station. Meanwhile, Jules Pollack went out to purchase some office supplies in form of a knuckle duster before returning to studying the books that the late Dr. Spinoza had checked out from the Miskatonic University Library. It seemed as if Dr. Spinoza had spent quite some time studying the Himalayas and the southern extension of the Rocky Mountains, and there were numerous notes scribbled in the margins as well as a newspaper clipping wedged in between the pages of the 1908 National Geological Survey:
ARKHAM ADVERTISER
September 1, 1924
MINERAL FINDS IN NEW MEXICO BAFFLE BOFFINS
Geologists at the The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology claim to have discovered several types of new minerals and possibly even rare earth elements in Lincoln County, New Mexico. The exact location remains undisclosed, as there are concerns of unapproved prospecting as well as issues with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Irwin Bowers decided to go out to do his own investigations, and brandishing his press card for the LA Times, he managed to meet with Corinne Hill, the journalist (and suffragette, and political activist) who he met in Martin's Beach a few months earlier. They decided to have lunch on Tuesday, and it struck Bowers that although Ms. Hill was fun and great to talk to, she was also a commensurate professional. Any information would have to be bartered for.
Corinne Hill
As the intrepid investigators gathered for cocktail hour, an enormous explosion rocked Arkham, with an echo that seemed to rumble across the narrow streets and alleyways. A pillar of smoke could be seen somewhere southeast of J. Pollack Fine Antiques. As on queue, the investigators dashed into Pollack's Ford, and avoiding pushing Dr. Brown's three buttons, they dashed to the site of the explosion. Howard Lake was becoming increasingly anxious as they approached the smoke cloud, and his worst fears did indeed materialize in front of him. Where Lakeview Books used to be, there was only smoldering debris! And what about Melissa and Violet, his mother and sister, who worked in the book store? It took several frenzied minutes before Lake found them amongst the concerned spectators. They were uninjured, but aghast at the destruction.
As Moira Baker walked around the gathering of Arkhamites, she managed to talk to both the Arkham Fire Chief, Marshal Burke, and Lake's landlady, Mrs. D'Agosto. Burke was obviously quite busy, but Mrs. D'Agosto mentioned that a man had been looking for Howard Lake at Lake's apartment, and that he said that he's be back later. Moira Baker instantly made a plan: tomorrow she'd be staking out Lake's building from the restaurant of the Natural History Museum across the street.
Sunday was another fantastic spring day, but Arkham was a town in shock. Houses collapsing, houses exploding, a retiree being gunned down by a presumed mobster. What next? Mayor Bryce called Governor Fuller to discuss mobilizing the National Guard. Howard Lake, on the other hand, decided to lay low and ship off Melissa and Violet to Martin's Beach. Joe Zumwalt of the Most Enlightened Fellowship of the Star of the Sea was contacted to make sure that the Lakes were taken care of. Howard Lake and Irwin Bowers concocted a cunning plan so that the Lakes wouldn't be spotted as they left Arkham, and this seemed to work quite well. But what was going on? Why were the Lakes of Arkham targeted?
Governor Fuller
Moira Baker was drinking her third cup of coffee at the Museum of Natural History when she saw a tall and broad-shouldered man enter the foyer of Lake's building at 110 West Curwen Street. She downed her coffee and proceeded cross the street and up the stairs. The man turned around as Baker was almost at the top of the staircase, and he was brandishing a Tommy gun in each hand! Moira Baker bolted down the stairs as the man fired off a lengthy burst above Moira's head. He followed Moira down the stairs, and a police officer, namely the aforementioned Alex Jones, that happened to be walking by yelled at the man to drop his Tommy guns. Officer Jones fired two revolver rounds at the man, who simply replied by another long burst from his two guns. Officer Jones was torn into shreds before his inert body hit the sidewalk. Moira Baker was fortunate to have avoided a similar fate, and she was quite out of breath when she ran in through the back entrance of J. Pollack Fine Antiques.
That Monday, April 6, was the day of Irwin Bower's appointment with Mr. Bogislav Klimnik at the Topsfield Power Plant. The intrepid investigators had been up late the previous evening to work on their equipment, which included a Geiger counter and various cameras as well as cover stories for all except Howard lake, who'd remain at J. Pollack Fine Antiques, since he anticipated that the machine gunner might turn to other book dealers and antiquarians to find the whereabouts of Howard Lake, or any Lake, for that matter. Bower was going to play the part of the LA Times journalist, Mackie McNamara was the designated photographer, Jules Pollack the driver and Moira Baker the technical assistant.
The Topsfield Power Plant
Bower, Baker, McNamara and Pollack rolled up to the Topsfield Power Plant just before 9 AM. It was an odd location for a power plant, being built in a marshy area away from major roads and with a small canal feeding the waters of the Miskatonic to the turbines. Lots of photographs were taken, although functions of the vast array of cables, transformers and isolators were way beyond the expertise of the investigators turned journalists.
Bogislav Klimnik
The security of the plant was impressive, and the guards of a security company searched the party thoroughly. The investigators entered a very modern power plant, the paint still fresh on the walls, and with works of modern art adorning the office annex. Mr. Bogislav Klimnik was utterly charming, a tall and thin man who spoke passionately about the power plant and the future of Arkham with a warm and resonant voice. He also showed the investigators some of the schematics for the plant, and he was done after exactly 30 minutes. When asking for a tour of the facilities, Baker, Bower, McNamara and Pollack were escorted by one of the engineers, Mr. Samuel Moss, Everything looked fantastic, but there was one spot that did register on the Geiger counter. What was going on in the Topsfield Power Plant?
Klimnik's office
Meanwhile, a menacing figure entered J. Pollack Fine Antiques, and he towered above Burlington Jones while Howard Lake took a stealthy look from the upper floor. The man pretended to look around the store for a bit before asking if Jones knew of a Mr. Lake. Burlington Jones assured the stranger that he did not, to which the stranger replied that he might return later. As the stranger left the store, Howard Lake slid out to follow him.
*
A conversation in the car going back from the Topsfield Power plant. Jules Pollack's Ford is bulging with equipment, including cameras, flashes, and the odd Geiger counter.
"Jules, darling, hop on the pedal. I am getting snackish." Mackie McNamara was rifling through her kit to find something to satiate her appetite. The breakfast had worn off, but she could only find a half-full tin of breath mints. Quite disappointing, but she nevertheless made a point of handing each of of her friends a single breath mint.
"Well, that was an interesting visit. Positively Buck Rogers like, or to the moon and back. I wonder if we'll ever be able to to into space?" Jules Pollack sucked at the breath mint, hoping that this wasn't one of Doc Brown's reconstituted products.
"I found Mr. Klimnik to be quite informative. He really seems to know what he's doing. Just imagine that we'll have electricity in all of Arkham County with surroundings in a bit more than a year. Why, we should perhaps consider an electric sign for Jules's store!" Irwin Bowers was clearly enthused about these ideas, to which Pollack replied with a curt "nonsense."
Mackie was still going over her many cases of film and handing them to Moira Baker, one after the other. "What am I going to do with a bunch of photos depicting a power plant on a Monday morning?"
"A Futurist exhibition perhaps, although the hoi polloi apparently do not consider mere photographs real art." Moira Baker was however thinking about one of her favorite art spaces, the Mütter museum in Philadelphia. Perhaps it was time to plan a summer vacation? Beach and morbidities?
"We really should write a nice thank you note to Mr. Klimnik for being so accommodating".
"Sure, we can do that". Jules replied to Irwin. "I have some nice cards in my office".
"But first, lunch!" Mackie insisted. "Then, I want to develop the photographs and get it over and done with. Also, what shall we tell Diana Spinoza? Everything seems darb with the Topsfield Power Plant."
*
ARKHAM ADVERTISER
Sunday, April 5, Evening Edition
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TOWN IN TERROR
With Arkham reeling from mob violence, including the brutal killing of Officer Alex Jones as well as random explosions, Governor Fuller has decided to deploy National Guard units to Arkham. Lieutenant Gorman, who is commanding of one of the units, stated that his men are well trained and ready to act on any threat: "This will go smooth, and by the numbers". The Arkham Police Department will continue to investigate the current violence in Arkham. According to Mayor Bryce, there will be arrests within the next 24 to 48 hours.
Striking Miners Clash with Workers
This Saturday, a massive brawl erupted as the Barrow and Locke Mining Company brought in laborers from West Virginia to reopen the mining operations in the Halliburton Hills southwest of Newburyport that have been closed since March 18. The striking miners are once again reminding the Arkham Advertiser about the hazardous working conditions and that several miners have developed a variety of ailments after having worked shifts in certain parts of the mine complex.
Nefertiti Studios Panning to Expand in New York
Famed fashion feature Mr. Patrice Montague, who has been the talk of the town in Paris and London, is planning an opening in New York for his Nefertiti Studio House of Fashion. His inspired fashion design has seen the twentieth century joined with images of antiquity, be it from Ancient Greece or Egypt of the Pharaohs. The couture of Mr. Montague is being torn off the rack at exorbitant prices, and New York is eagerly awaiting his next event.
A Nefertiti Studios dress for the Spring salon.
Field Marshal Hindenburg to Run for President
The retired Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, age 77, will be a candidate for the presidency of Germany. Field Marshal Hindenburg had originally retired in 1911 and subsequently in 1919, but he is now re-entering the political scene as an icon of both the Great war and German patriotism. The elections will be held on April 26, and Field Marshal von Hindenburg claims that he is devoted to "social justice, religious equality, genuine peace at home and abroad."
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