Midnight finds Jonas Markham and Ray Brannigan (currently answering to David Malgresh) sleeping uneasily, while Ivy Morgan keeps watch on the back alley of the Tilden Arms Hotel; hopeful that she and her fellow investigators were not followed from Steeplin County. As the evening slowly passes, Ivy is spelled by Jonas, who sees a car pull in to the alley around three o’clock. It is too dark to see, but Jonas can make out the silhouette of a tall man getting out of the car to put something in the trunk. Running to the front of the room, Jonas places his ear to the door and is able to make out a muffled conversation between the front desk clerk and another man (“Good evening, Ed,” says the front desk clerk). Moments later, heavy footsteps quickly pass outside the door and disappear into silence.

As dawn approaches, Jonas wakes Ray and tells him to keep an eye on the car in the alley. Heeding Jonas’ advice, Ray keeps his eyes peeled out the back window. Shortly before seven o’clock, Ray sees a tall, healthy-looking man approach the vehicle (“A Studebaker, by the looks of it,” Rays says to himself), open the trunk, and take out a long, metal cylinder, which he places in the front seat of the car before driving away.

When Ivy and Jonas wake up, Ray informs them of what he saw on watch. To Ivy and Jonas, the description of the cylinder is eerily familiar – a few weeks before, they came in contact with a similar item while investigating the whereabouts of Effram Harris. The thought of another canister concealing a human brain makes Jonas and Ivy’s skin crawl, but they do their best to shield their distaste from Ray, whose emotionally-fragile state needs no further jarring.

Once awake and alert, the group moves quickly, deciding that it is unwise to stay in Arkham and risk being found by Deputy Grietski. Hoping to be more inconspicuous, Jonas believes it’s best to leave Ivy’s Daimler in Kingsport, and then take Ray’s truck back to New York for the weekend. He hopes that by changing vehicles, the investigators will confuse anyone attempting to follow them.

The group walks to the Phillips 66 station to pick up Ivy’s car, and then make their way back to Kingsport. During the drive, Jonas and Ivy both notice a vehicle following them at a distance. Once in town, however, Jonas is able to lose the trail. In a stroke of egocentric genius, Ivy tells Jonas to drive the Daimler to the police station, where she hopes the smitten Officer Stephen Lord is waiting to help a damsel in distress.

Putting on her lipstick and rouge, Ivy enters the station and finds Officer Lord and his ear-picking partner, Otis White, sitting at opposite sides of a desk. Officer Lord stands from his desk and approaches, hand outstretched.

“For what do I owe this unexpected pleasure, Miss Morgan?” Officer Lord says, coyly.

“Well, Officer Lord,” Ivy begins, “I was hoping that I might be able to leave my car at the police station while I return to New York for the weekend.”

“I don’t see that being a problem,” Lord says. “You can leave it in the garage for the weekend, and pick it up first thing Monday morning.”

“That would be wonderful!” Ivy says, smiling.

“Perhaps you’d consent to join me for a cup of coffee when you return from New York?” Officer Lord adds, smiling back.

“I would like that very much,” Ivy says, looking back at Jonas and Ray, who seem slightly sickened by the ease at which Ivy is able to wrap Office Lord around her finger.

Officer White parks the car in the garage, while Officer Lord drives Ivy to the Shoremist Inn to pick up Ray’s truck. When Ivy returns, Jonas jumps in the driver seat, and the three begin the eight hour trek back to Manhattan.

The drive is uneventful. None of the investigators notice any sign of being followed, and by ten o’clock they pull safely up to Ivy’s Morningside Heights home. After consuming mass quantities of Chinese take-out, the investigators fall asleep well-fed and slightly drunk, feeling safer than they’ve felt in days.

Back to Main Adventure Log Page