Hal Lancaster On the Case

[Grognardsw]

Hal Lancaster’s Apartment
Baltimore, MD
3:07 am, August 25, 1925

Hal Lancaster wakes with a start, his body drenched in sweat. The dream again. His old friend Sam Archer, driven to murder over wild conspiracies. Or are they wild? Hal never saw Sam again after he sought out that freakshow leader. That was more than two months ago. Hal thinks back to his final words with Sam...

"True," said Hal. "Listen, Sam," he stopped and faced his war buddy, "I can't see it, what you're saying about hypnotism and all the rest of it--madness ... your madness. Give it up, man. ...I can't murder folk!"

What happened to his old buddy? Hal resolves to find out.

[Grognardsw]

Hal Lancaster, ex-soldier

“Move over, woman!” he says irritably to Mathilde. God! his pillow is soaked, nightmares again—no, not the usual horrors, war and death, this one was about Sam. Where are you bud?


ooc: Typing on my tablet, sorry no colour or anything. Will do so in future.

[Grognardsw]

Hal Lancaster, ex-soldier

In bed, the early hours: He cups her breast. "'kin gerroff!" she mumbles, "The bank's closed." Right! he's gonna give her buttock a playful, albeit mighty, slap. Then he stops himself, Do you want coffee and eggs for breakfast? He settles back, lying on his side, the one opposite to his mustard gas ruined lung. The stink of his stale sweat fills his nostrils and keeps him awake. What did happen to Sam? The poor guy was raving, wasn't he? Well, he seemed calm enough, but the bullshit. ...Hypnosis, freak shows... Freak shows, the carnival. Where is it now?

"Mathilde," he says, tucking into his third egg, "that carnival still showing?"

[Grognardsw]

Hal Lancaster’s Apartment
Baltimore, MD
7:00 am, August 25, 1925

Hal wonders where Sam is, or if his old friend is even alive. What was the name of the detective agency he worked for? Pinkerton’s, that was it.

And it was The Dark Pharaoh’s Freak Show and Carnivale that was the outfit Sam was obsessed with. Hal remembers that place well from his visit there with Sam.

"How the hell should I know if the freak show is still around?" Mathilde answers irritably, adjusting her bra. "That was two months ago."

[Grognardsw]

Hal Lancaster, ex-soldier

Mathilde's right, how the hell would she know where the carnival is now. He realises that he can't be bothered with a witty quip, he just hands her his greasy plate and taps his coffee cup.

She brings the pot across to the breakfast table. "I better be in your will."

"Top of the list."

He lights a gasper and unfolds the morning paper, scanning its advertisements for mention of The Dark Pharoah's Freak Show. Then, he'll place a call.

"Operator, put me through to the Pinkerton Detective Agency."

[Grognardsw]

“Pinkerton Detective Agency. How can We help you?” an authoritative woman‘s voice answers the phone.

[makken123Tabs]

"I'd like to speak with P.I. Sam Archer or a colleague of his, it's Mr. Lancaster."

[Grognardsw]

“Please hold.”

Hal waits for a long two minutes, hearing some clicks during that time.

“Jensen, I need those tomatoes ripe by the end of the week.” Followed by static.

Hal rolls his eyes at the crossed line. These new phone contraptions still have kinks to work out.

”This is Detective Sipowicz,” a rough voice comes on the phone. Sam Archer isn’t available. In fact, he’s been missing for some time now. How do you know him?”

[makken123Tabs]

"We're buddies, served in France together. I've not heard from him either, not since we visited a carnival together, 'bout two months back."

[Grognardsw]

“Archer went rogue, shot someone, went missing. It sounds like you saw him after that. We’d like to talk to you in person. Come on in.”

Hal gets the downtown address.

“I’m going to work,” says Mathilde, putting on her jacket as Hal hangs up the phone. She works in the hosiery factory on Allen Ave.

Downtown Baltimore

[makken123Tabs]

Hal Lancaster, ex-soldier



"This is it, mister. Where the rats live."

"Keep the change." Hal hands over a couple of bucks.

Inside the Pinkerton building.

He strides up to reception. "Detective Sipowicz. He's expecting me, Mr.Lancaster."

[Grognardsw]

“I’m Detective Sipowicz. We’ve checked your military service and you were in the same squad as Sam.”

“Sam was a friend and we’re trying to piece together what happened leading up to and after his disappearance. He was investigating a series of museum thefts which brought him into contact with an alleged cult that was also being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Sam recovered many of the artifacts during his stay on the cruise vessel The White Ship. Chasing down the ring of thieves got him into hot water and he lost a hand, and along the way cracked. Then during a BOI-led inquiry he shot and killed a person-of-interest, Konstantin Chertovski. After this he disappeared and has yet to resurface. We fear he may be dead.”

“You are the first person we’ve found who was in contact with him after his disappearance. You mentioned you went with Sam to a carnivale. What was the name of that? How was Sam’s mental state? What did he talk about in regards to the investigation? When did he part ways with you? Did he give any indication of his next moves?”

[makken123Tabs]

"Dead!

"I'll tell you everything, Detective," says Hal, his hands open, and he proceeds with all that he knows, The Dark Pharaoh, etc. "Sam was jumpy, on edge but not scared; he was determined, like an unpleasant job needed doing. I realised he meant to kill folk and that is when I cried off, I could't do it. Frankly, he sounded cracked, talking of hypnosis and shit.

"I want in, Sipowicz. He was my pal. And I may think of something else."

[Grognardsw]

Det. Sipowicz lights a cigarette and puffs away as the two men talk.

“We appreciate the help. We’ll try to get a line on this Dark Pharaoh Freak Show and Carnivale and investigate that.”

“Before you called, we were about to contact the BOI and see if they could share their side of the investigation.”

“Sam wasn’t great about keeping notes per the Pinkerton method. He kept a lot close to the vest. But we do have some names of people who he spoke to as part of the investigation. We’re trying to figure out what triggered his murderous impulse. Was it the loss of his partner on The White Ship, the undisclosed tragedy at the Mt. Latmos expedition, the loss of his hand in a “cultist” warehouse... or all of them?”

“You said Sam spoke of being put under hypnosis? Could his mind have been turned that way?”

[makken123Tabs]

Hal bums a cigarette and puffs away too.

"Maybe... The loss of his hand was a big deal for Sam, I think. Hypnosis? Again maybe. But I felt that he'd escaped that. And I guess he had, otherwise why would he want to murder those who did the hypnosis."

[Grognardsw]

“I think the next steps are talking with the BOI and finding out where the Dark Pharaoh Freak Show is,” says Det. Sipowicz.

[makken123Tabs]

Hal nods. "A luncheon appointment beckons. Here's my card, my address and telephone number." I need to do some digging.

[Grognardsw]

Hal returns home with much to think about from what Det. Sipowicz has said. He mulls it over until lunch time then tries to get if off his mind by reading the current issue of a pulp.

Several days pass before Hal hears from Det. Sipowicz.

"We've tracked down where the Dark Pharaoh's carnivale is. They're not touring at the moment but are camped outside Aiken, South Carolina. Up for a trip?"

[makken123Tabs]

Hal is totally honest with himself.Are you lazy, Lancaster? These pulps pass the time, along with bourbon, but have you forgotten Sam, your buddy, remember him? "Absolutely, Detective. I've been waiting eagerly."

[Grognardsw]

Two days later Det. Sipowicz and Hal Lancaster get off a train in Columbia, South Carolina. It is hot and humid. They procure an auto and find themselves driving down Rte. 20 to Aiken, about an hour-and-a-half away.

The sun is setting as the two drive and make small talk - their backgrounds, jobs, and Sam Archer stories. The scenery is lush green but the poverty is everywhere.

About a half-hour outside Aiken they see to the right up a hill, a good distance away, a burning cross near a house.