Dr. MacKenzie MacNamara from the Miskatonic University's Department of Egyptology believed in being prepared, as long as she herself didn't have to deal with the actual practicalities of being prepared. In this case, however, she had decided to use her Spanish language skills to read up on Mexico in general and Campeche in particular. She ordered several stacks of news clippings before leaving Havana, and they were promptly delivered at the concierge's desk at the hotel she was staying at. Now, she had been busy for the first couple of days of their sea journey, after the interlude at Punto Aguirre she could comfortably stretch out in the aft section of the Cormoran and start going through the clippings:
- Local politics? Boring.
- Financial news? For twats.
- Fine arts and culture? Interesting as such, but nothing relevant to this expedition.
- Strange criminal cases, catastrophes, and general gossip? Now, this seems promising!
Mackie spent several hours going through clipping after clipping, carefully sorting them in three piles: irrelevant, background information, and special interest. The latter pile only held three articles, and she had already read them twice. She was smiling gleefully as she carefully arranged and re-arranged the articles. Just wait until she could tell her comrades about this, and just embellish the stories a little, little bit...
EL INVESTIGADOR
Campeche, March 1, 1925
Fire Engulfs Workshop of Suspected Molester, Killing Twelve
Last night saw horrific scenes unfold in downtown Campeche as suspected molester Guillermo Ruiz, 47, set alight to his workshop where a dozen young boys were working as cobbler's apprentices. Early last evening, Guardia Civil had surrounded the workshop, demanding that senor Ruiz give himself up. Senor Ruiz has been suspected for quite some time to force the young apprentices to engage in truly unnatural practices, both with each other and with senor Ruiz. As the Guardia Civil closed in, Senor Ruiz did not surrender, but instead blockaded the entrance and set the entire workshop aflame. There were no survivors.
El Pelicano
Periodico politico y mercantil de Campeche
April 22, 1925
The half-ruined mansion of the late socialite Vera Varroquin has apparently acquired new denizens. Several late-night workers have seen strange, winged creatures skulking around the mansion at night, and sometimes these apparitions seem to have made weird, unearthly sounds and even threatened terrified by-passers with some form of hellish damnation. To The Pelicano, this seems more like the fruits of vivid imagination fueled by mescal, but then, one cannot be too sure.
EL INVESTIGADOR
Campeche, November 26, 1924
Mad Clergyman Shot, Killed and Drowned
Father Jean Victor de Galba, also known as "Frenchie" was pronounced dead this morning after his body had been dragged up from the Campeche harbor. He had been shot several times before throwing himself into the water. Father de Galba, or "Frenchie" was fleeing from the law when the Guardia Civil caught up with him and opened fire.
This was the culmination of a long and disturbing investigation. Over the course of the last eighteen months, Guardia Civil had found at least six victims, two men and four women, who had been violently strangled to death and at some point had had their eyes gouged out, supposedly so they "wouldn't be able to see God". Initial investigations pointed towards Ernest de Galba, a local eccentric artist and the brother of Father Jean de Galba. The priest had apparently framed his brother for reasons unknown to El Investigador, and it was only through the superior and persistent detective work of Locotenente Eduardo Alvarez that he found the true villain. Father Jean de Galba was apparently arrested on November 24, but he managed to escape after brutally strangling a member of the Guardia Civil. A wild chase followed, and Father de Galba was eventually and repeatedly shot by members of the Guardia Civil.
No comments:
Post a Comment