Ray Brannigan wakes at six o’clock. He quickly washes, brushes his teeth, and puts on a new suit. After studying a map of the area to determine the quickest route to Arkham, Ray grabs the letter of introduction he received from Rudolph Pearson and heads down to breakfast.
Mother Gamble looks at Ray reproachfully as he sits down at the table. Preoccupied, he takes no notice; choosing instead to skim through the local paper and drink his coffee. The other boarders come and go over the next hour and at eight o’clock Ray rises from the table and heads out the door.
Heading north on Bluff Road in his Model T truck, Ray makes the three-mile trip to Arkham quickly. He stops briefly to get directions to Miskatonic University, and finds the campus near the center of town. Situated off the corner of College and Garrison streets is the Orne Library. Entering, Ray seeks out a librarian and asks to speak to Dr. Henry Armitage.
After a brief wait, an old, bespectacled man approaches Ray and introduces himself as Dr. Armitage. Shaking his hand, Ray reaches into his suit pocket, pulls out the letter of introduction, and hands it to the head librarian. Armitage skims the letter, inquires about Professor Pearson’s well-being, and shows Ray downstairs to the lower level.
Leading Ray through a labyrinth of bound periodicals and old reference books, Dr. Armitage approaches a door. Producing a key, he unlocks it and leads Ray through to the Special Collections room. While not overly large, the room contains a few bookshelves, desks, and chairs. The manuscripts and tomes on the bookshelves appear old and, in most cases, handwritten. Armitage walks over to one of the bookshelves and removes a stained, leather tome. He undoes a large bronze clasp, decorated with what appears to be a human eye, and opens the book.
“I must warn you, Mr. Brannigan,” begins Dr. Armitage, “that the study of such tomes has been known to take an awful toll on the minds of the most learned.”
Taken aback, Ray tries to digest the warning as Armitage continues. “It is said that the book’s author, Friedrich Wilhelm Von Junzt, was found strangled in a locked and bolted chamber shortly after the book’s publication.”
Realizing that diving headlong in to an occult tome with an evil reputation may not be the best idea, Ray tells Dr. Armitage to close the book and place it back on the shelf. Remembering the reason he came to Arkham to begin with, Ray asks Dr. Armitage if anyone else has recently presented a letter of introduction from Rudolph Pearson (“A gentleman from Maine, or a young woman from New York City, perhaps?”). Ray is disappointed to learn that neither Jonas Markham nor Ivy Morgan has visited the Orne Library. Thanking Dr. Armitage for his time, Ray leaves the Special Collections room and walks back to his truck.
Ray drives around Arkham aimlessly for a few hours, unsure of what exactly he’s looking for. Discouraged and downtrodden, he returns to Kingsport. Around five o’clock, Ray notices a pillar of smoke rising in the distance. Driving towards it, he eventually stops in front of a burning church that is being gutted by a devastatingly hot fire. Exiting his vehicle, Ray sees police and firemen surrounded by a throng of shocked and horrified townsfolk. A nearby sign reads St. Francis Catholic Church.
Meanwhile, Ivy Morgan and Jonas Markham have noticed that the round-the-clock police surveillance on the Shoremist Inn has ceased. The trip back to New York City is a long one. A trip to Miskatonic University, mere miles from Kinsgport, won’t prove fruitful until classes resume Monday. The two agree to spend one more night in town.
Heading down to the dining room shortly after five o’clock, Ivy and Jonas are greeted cheerfully by the landlady, Caroline Weeden, who serves up a very tasty seafood chowder. She gives them each a glass of milk and some hearty bread, and asks if they’d like a copy of today’s Kingsport Chronicle to read.
Perusing the local paper, Ivy notices an obituary for Sister Evangeline. She wonders silently if she and Jonas should pay their respects, but decides against it, based on their last meeting with Father Alighiero (and two of Kingsport’s finest).
Jonas is reading an article buried in the middle of the paper, when he hears the sound of bells in the distance. The bells get louder and louder until they cannot be mistaken. Going to the window, Jonas notices a fire truck pass with a police car following. Running behind appears to be several local residents carrying buckets of splashing and sloshing water.
With Ivy following closely behind, Jonas runs outside to find out the cause of the hullabaloo. Stopping a local resident, he and Ivy find out that there is a fire at St. Francis Catholic Church. Shocked, they jump in to Ivy’s Daimler and speed towards the pillar of smoke.
As they pull up to the church, Ivy and Jonas can see that it has been gutted by a major fire. Firemen work feverishly alongside local volunteers to put out the remaining blaze, while two policemen patrol the area to control the crowd of onlookers who have gathered at the scene.
Stepping up on the running boards, Jonas is able to see over the crowd. He notices what appears to be three bodies, presumably dead, covered in white sheets over by the convent. Two paramedics are moving a forth body on to a stretcher.
Motioning Ivy to follow him, Jonas walks over to the ambulance to get a better look. Amid the sobs of horrified onlookers, Jonas and Ivy hear a police officer ordering bystanders to get out of the way. Through the crowd, Jonas and Ivy see the injured person being loaded in to the ambulance – it is Father Dario Allighiero. Badly burnt but still alive, he is raving in Italian.
“è un demone nella chiesa,” he repeats over and over again.
The doors close and the ambulance pulls away.
Walking back to the car, Jonas notices that one of the policemen he and Ivy encountered on Tuesday is patrolling the crowd. Ivy walks up to the policeman, offers him a cigarette, and asks what happened.
“Looks like a fire, miss.” he says sarcastically, digging his finger into his ear. “Why don’t you mind your own beeswax?”
Realizing that she’s not going to be able to get a closer look at the fire, or the victims near the convent, Ivy begins to look through the crowd. She is surprised to see Ray Brannigan amongst the throng, and announces his presence to Jonas. Soon, the three are reunited and begin to quietly discuss their adventures over the last few days.
When the fire has been put out and the crowd begins to disperse, Ivy, Jonas, and Ray decide to head back to the Shoremist Inn to talk privately. Ivy and Jonas tell Ray about their experiences in The Dremlands, and their encounters with Sister Evangeline and Father Alighiero. Ray tells Ivy and Jonas about his meeting with Rudolph Pearson, his trip to Kingsport, and his visit to Miskatonic University. When the landlady finally retires, Ivy and Jonas sneak Ray upstairs and the three continue their conversation in to the night.
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