Green Vials, Green Valleys

Monday, Feb. 2, and Tuesday, Feb. 3, 1925

Once they are in full force, the gang decides to return to the Shipley home and check for boogadees in the basement. It is a relatively calm trip, though. A careful search of the house, top to bottom, reveals only a few new things: a lacquered box in Miles's closet that contains a syringe and a vial of weird-looking green stuff. A secret room in the basement contains some strange symbols on the wall, large jars full of various substances that are beyond anyone's reckoning, and a stone tub. Sullie does not hesitate. He opens the tub. A severed (and chewed on) head looks back at him. The gang decides to leave the place, but take along all paintings, along with the green stuff in vials.

Back at the hotel, they finally decide to let Miles Shipley go, paying him a sizable amount of money for his paintings. He'll probably be fine...

At the bar that evening, feeling very sad and confused about the Oscar's fate, the gang happens to meet a certain Raju Thomas, a former Sikh soldier who now hosts safaris in the Punjab jungles for spoiled Brits. He hears some of what the investigators are up to and is fascinated, having some experience with murder, Thuggee, and the unnatural things happening in jungles. He asks if he can tag along...

After leaving Oscar's special mask in the hotel safe, everyone hops into the car and heads north out of Lodon towards Lesser-Edale. About 130 miles north of the city, near Derby, is the valley of Derwent, one of the most picturesque parts of England. Its valleys are covered in a new snow today as the gang finds the tiny town of Lesser-Edale: thirty homes with thatched roofs, the Laughing Horse Pub, limestone cliffs with waterfalls. Atop one of the cliffs is the Castle Plum, home to Sir Arthur Vane and his family.

The investigators waste no time entering the pub, chumming up to the locals, and finding plenty of people who will cheerfully talk about the strange night-time attacks of the area that have left two dead and one out of his mind.

Farmer George Osgood was "torn to shreds" on the first night of attacks, several months ago. Miss Lydia Parkins, twenty-year old daughter of horse-dealer John Parkins, was killed the next night. His neighbor Tom Corty witnessed it, and the investigators got from Tom Cortny that he saw Lawrence Vane, son of Sir Arthur, fleeing the scene. Wheelwright Harold Short survived the attack on the third night. He lives alone in Lesser-Edale, but is now recovering at his brother's house in Norfolk County, half a day east of Lesser-Edale. One villager reports that after the attack, the only word he keeps repeating is "Gavigan."

Mickey discovers that the University of Nottingham is only an hour away, and decides to try his hand at doing some research on the area. Maybe he can dig up something useful. Suzie drives him out there for the day.