The Mist of Martin's Beach

 Doctorow looked at Lookwood over the narrow desk in Lockwood's hotel room at the Wavecrest Inn. It was mid-morning on Thursday, December 2, 1926. The quaint and sleepy seaside town of Martin's Beach that looked so inviting when they drove into town barely two days had become less appealing as cold and thick fog rolled in from the Atlantic last morning, a fog that seemed to blot out much of the daylight as well as muffling sound. The Wavecrest remained a cozy bastion against the December weather. 

"So, what have we got here?" Doctorow looked tense, and far removed from his typical carefree self. "Frank disappears in the middle of the night after some sort of, well, episode. He then resurfaces in Arkham, sounding oddly apologetic over the telephone." Lockwood continued: "Then we have the longshoremen strike. You know, I am all together convinced that their leader, Sean Murphy is a swell fellow, and so is Brendan O'Malley, his right-hand man. Definitely not Commies, despite what Tony DiPaola might claim." Doctorow nodded and lit a cigarette before passing his fancy cigarette case to Lockwood. Lockwood declined, at least for now. "Then there's the adorable little local secret society, 'The Most Enlightened Fellowship of the Star of the Sea.' They also seem to be ok, and the members - Joe Zumwald, Johanna Glover, Vernon Morrison, and Brendan Hill may be more than a little bookish or even weird, but basically nice and helpful. Vernon Morrison, you know the guy with the card trick, did mention that business with the strange and fatal storm here last year, though, but I guess that was just the ocean playing with his imagination"

ARKHAM ADVERTISER

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Storm Ravages Martin's Beach, Kingsport

Sunday, March 8, 1925

The spring storm of March 8 and 9 is feared to have led to the disappearance of M/S Mary P. Benjamin, a fishing vessel from Kingsport, as well as her crew of four. The captain, Jerome K. Philbin, decided to ignore warnings against leaving port during the storm, and it is assumed that the sea swallowed both the vessel and her crew. Elsewhere, several buildings in Kingsport were damaged, while Martin's Beach saw significant damage to the main pier, which also was covered by pieces of foul-smelling fish. Mr. Vernon Morrison and Ms. Johanna Glover of Martin's Beach were swept out to sea, but rescued despite the terrific storm by Mr. Jules Pollack and Ms. Moira Baker of Arkham in an astounding feat of swimming and compassion. 

Joe Zumwald, Vernon Morrison, and Brendan Hill

Johanna Glover

It was Doctorow's turn to continue while Lockwood poured two cups of Joe. Mildred Vaughn, one of the two employees at the Wavecrest Inn, had been most forthcoming, providing meals and ample amounts of coffee as well as other, less legal, beverage alternatives. It all helped keep the damp cold away. The other employee, Herbert Flocks, was perhaps not the sharpest tool in the shed, but quite well-intentioned. "But that self-made lawyer character, Tony DiPaola, he seems rather unsavory. He works for the Silver Star Shipping Line, he does not have the credentials he brags about, not at all, and the Silver Star Shipping Line seems to be shipping booze out of Canada, or something equally illegal. The Silver Star Shipping Line is owned by a guy by the name of Belvedere Gilman, and then there's the strange issue with the ship, the S/S Ladylove, or as was known until recently, the S/S Balrooney of Innsmouth, Massachusetts." 

"Innsmouth?" Lockwood looked quizzical. "Never heard of it". It's an old fishing town with some small-scale manufacturing up the coast. There's a bus line to Innsmouth from Arkham. It is, to the best of my knowledge, a dull and uninteresting place". Doctorow slowly shook his head. "Don't you remember? Eunice Saunders had distant relatives in Innsmouth, and she had that strange diary that's locked in the office safe. Also, I knocked out a stinky man that was supposedly from Innsmouth".

"But why should the captain of a small coastal freighter insist on unloading the cargo without having the local longshoremen handle it? It makes no sense! Did DiPaola really bribe someone in Boston to get this permit? This must be a booze smuggling operation. That would also explain why there seems to be thugs around trying to intimidate us at night. Just wait until I can get my hands on those filthy crooks! Also, did you see the crew of the Ladylove? What a repugnant horde of mongrels!" Lockwood refilled his coffee cup. "Not feeling too sensitive today, are we?" Doctorow grinned at the fuming Lockwood.

Brendan O'Malley

S/S Ladylove