Friday 19th October 1928
Arty MacCloud receives a letter in the post from Dr. Highsmith.
It rather curtly requests that he provide any information pertaining to the Roby family. Arty notes that the address is an Asylum for
the deranged, in Herefordshire. He heads
to the library to hit the newspaper archives to see what he can find. He discovers two articles relating the deaths
of Herbert Roby and his daughter Georgina, both found dead in the family
home. A member of the family was detained
to help police with their enquiries.
The second article, a short obituary, gives details of Herbert Roby’s
funeral. Both articles are under the
name of Leonard Wash.
That the letter is apparently from a Dr. in the same field
as Monty, and remembering that Monty has a connection at a newspaper, Arty
telephones Monty to arrange a meeting. He
would like to know if Monty knows anything about this Dr. Highsmith.
Monty suggests that they meet at the Punch & Judy on Fleet Street
again, and then telephones Liquid Len of the Daily Express.
The good Professor, also keen to discover more about the
play, spends the morning in his private library looking for any mention about
the King in Yellow and the Yellow Sign.
His researches do not provide him with anything concrete; his books
never speak of this in a direct fashion.
Instead, when they are referred to at all they are merely allusions and
suggestions. The subjects are never
addressed directly, and it is not at all certain whether they even refer to the
same entity. Each uses a different name,
some of those being He Who Is Not To Be Named, The Feaster From Afar and Haita
the Shepherd. Other books make mention
of The Tattered King, the Stranger and
the White Acolyte. These names
immediately bring the play Carcosa to mind.
The Professor also finds reference to the constellation of
Taurus, and of Aldebaran and the Hyades that occupy that stellar
congregation. He makes specific note
that Taurus rises in October, peaks in early January, and finally disappears in
to the west at the end of March. That
the apex is in January he finds to be somewhat disquieting, but cannot explain
why this might be.
Meanwhile, Ferris O’Rourke is increasingly desperate to
discover as much as he can about Talbot Estus’ play, Carcosa, that had such a
profound effect on him. Ferris contacts
a friend of his that is a well known collector of esoteric books to enquire of
him as to whether he knows anything about the mysterious play. His friend certainly knows of the play, and
that the original books are very rare, and very expensive, if they even
exist. Ferris asks whether he has heard
of a book named Der Wanderer durch den See.
His friend suggests he contact a collector named Richard Smythe, who
lives in Primrose Hill.
Having arranged to meet Arty and Len, Monty telephones the
Professor and Ferris. The professor will
travel by train to attend the meeting, and Ferris decides to walk from his Soho
office. The walk to Fleet Street is an
unpleasant one, and Ferris slips on the icy street, landing on his elbow. Though painful, there is no damage other than
a bruise.
Settled in at the pub, the investigators ask Len what he
knows about the Roby murders. Len
remembers them well. Supplying him with
another drink, Len relates what he knows.
He tells them that the gruesomeness of the killings were not generally
reported. The family is, or was, rich
and powerful and were able to suppress the more bizarre aspects. Len tells them that both bodies were
discovered in the downstairs drawing room at the family home in Mayfair. Herbert’s body showed a gaping, stabbing
wound above the left collar bone.
Georgina’s wounds were worse, having been killed by two slicing blows,
one to the front of her torso, the other to her neck and head. One was a left handed blow, the other right
handed. The wounds on both bodies
indicated the attacker possessed great strength, and the forensic surgeon
speculated that two different weapons had been used. No weapons were found at the scene.
He tells them that Alexander Roby, the youngest son and
brother to George, was detained, but not arrested, and that he was sent to an
asylum. Monty quickly asks why Alexander
was arrested, and Len tells him that he confessed to both murders. Alexander would not say how he had committed
the murders, and the glass balcony door to Alex’s upstairs room had been broken
from the outside. Len also tells them,
talking in a slightly quieter voice, that he was told that Herbert’s body was
found to have been entirely drained of blood.
Asked who the investigating officer was, he gives them the name of
Detective Inspector Andrew Taylor of New Scotland Yard. The investigators leave Len to his journalist
friends, and depart for Monty’s practice rooms.
Ferris is very keen to get his hands on Der Wanderer. Knowing that the book will be either not be for
sale, or very expensive, the investigators discuss whether there might be
another means of obtaining the book.
Without anyone actually mentioning burglary, it is decided that it would
probably be best for Ferris to simply visit Smythe directly.
Arriving at Smythe’s address in Primrose Hill, the door is
answered by a rather bohemian gentleman wearing a skull cap and a long smoking
jacket. He is willing to allow Ferris to
have a look at the book, and leads him to his study where is unlocks a glass
fronted book case and places the book on the table. Ferris opens the plain white, cloth bound
book, noticing that the book contains passages both in German and English. Realising at the last moment that he has no
knowledge of the German language, he opens the book and proceeds to read one of
the English passages. Ferris is unable
to understand the meaning of the passage, but recognises references to Hali and
the Yellow sign. Reaching the end of the
passage, Ferris is overcome by a feeling of nausea, but also strange
exhilaration before his knees give way from under him and he has to lean
against the table. Regarding him with a
penetrating, mirthless, even hostile gaze, Smythe helps Ferris to his
feet. In a shaky voice asking if the
book is for sale, Smythe tells him it is not.
Ferris is shown to the door.
Meanhile, Monty has been to New Scotland Yard enquiring
after D.I. Taylor. He is told that he
will not be available until the following Monday.
Meeting once more at Monty’s rooms, the investigators share
their thoughts with each other. They
appear to be observers of, or maybe even participants in a surreal and
disturbing set of events. With a last
brandy, they each return to their homes, anticipating an uninterrupted night of
sleep before tomorrow.
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