Arkham Investigator
Music
on
Music
on
Responding eagerly to the telegram sent by your new mentor, you rush to the Miskatonic Library in Arkham. There is a warm summer breeze rustling the trees gently and letting the dappled sunlight filter lightly onto the streets of the Massachusetts town. You quickly cross the university quadrant to reach the gothic entrance of the great edifice.
Dr. Henry Armitage greets you at the ornate, polished wooden door to his office. He leans heavily on his cane, his wrinkled face cracking into a smile, “Well then, I have an interesting little problem for us to start your education with. Obviously, there is a chance that the events that I will lay out for you this morning are nothing more than a simple crime. However, after my experiences of last summer, one can never be too careful.” He shudders visibly as he alludes to his experiences in the cankerous village of Dunwich. He then settles down behind his heavy oak desk to lay out the facts for you...
“Detective Garrison came to call on me over breakfast this morning and precipitated my note to your good self. It seems he is at a loss, and requires our...ahem...somewhat specialist assistance. Last evening, as you may have already noted from the morning edition, a disturbance occurred in West High Street. It was a pleasant enough evening, as you remember, sun favoring our town for once; and at 7 o'clock the streets were relatively full. A young woman, well dressed and of seemingly good health, collapsed to the sidewalk after emerging from the Uptown Park in a state of distress.”
“A small crowd of onlookers quickly gathered to assist the poor young lady. An orderly from the Hospital and his wife stooped to revive her, and a policeman was sent for. The orderly immediately noticed a growing crimson stain seeping onto the woman's white blouse. As the bloodstain blossomed and saturated the fabric, he slit the garment free with his pocket knife. At once the horrific nature of a wound in the lady's chest was apparent and he stemmed the steadily increasing flow of blood. I'm happy to report that the disaster was averted by his quick thinking. An ambulance arrived in good time to take her to the Hospital and they have managed to stabilize her condition.”
The librarian pauses to sip coffee from a delicate cup before continuing, “The policeman's first thought was that this was an attack from an unknown assailant. That was until the woman regained consciousness momentarily as she was being placed in the ambulance. She suddenly and shockingly raved non-sensical syllables before crying out that the trees were alive. Clearly the policeman was one of Garrison's own inner circle himself, as he referred the matter immediately to his superior.”
“There is another fact that leads me to the conclusion of the policeman's quality: Whilst dealing with the mysterious, injured lady, he was also sharp-eyed enough to spot a man acting suspiciously in the small crowd. The man was acting in a rather furtive way, watching the proceedings with a curious detachment. He was tall, over six feet, according to the officer, with a worn brown suit and had dark, unkempt hair. The policeman was also able to discern a distinctive blemish or birthmark under his left eye. When the officer called out to him, the man fled the scene with alarm in his eyes. Being preoccupied with the lady, the policeman was not in a position to pursue him and merely noted the description in his pocketbook.”
Armitage sits back, the leather of his chair creaking slightly. He steeples his fingers, “The identity of both the woman and this mysterious fugitive remain a mystery. Clearly there has been a crime committed; it is for us to determine if there are forces beyond the mundane at work here. You'd better get going; just let Garrison's men take care of the crime scene. They do get rather protective...”