- Jan. 22
- Jan. 23
- Beginning of Chapter 4
- Back to Chapter 3
- Forward to Chapter 5
Thursday, Jan. 22
Rupert went to the NY Public Library to consult Burke's Peerage (1923) regarding Sir Aubrey Penhew. He found a short article containing the following information:
"Viscount Pevensey, Sir Aubrey Penhew was born in 1869 in Exeter. After attending Eton, he graduated with honors in classics from Oxford. He then served as a Lieutenant with the Yorkshire Guards 1890-1893. He spent the next two decades in Egypt, surveying and performing exploratory excavations. He is credited with founding several branches of Egyptology and for major archeological discoveries at Dhashur. His research was instrumental in establishing the dynastic succession of the Old Kingdom. He was knighted in 1910, and after the death of his parents in 1912 he succeeded to the title of Viscount Pevensey. During the Great War, Sir Aubrey was breveted a Colonel in British Army Intelligence 1915-17 with service in the Near East and then was retired due to injury. His last expedition to Egypt occurred in 1919 and resulted in his tragic death while on safari in Kenya. He was a lifelong bachelor, and upon his death the Pevensey title was allowed to lapse by the Crown. The Penhew Foundation, established in 1910, has underwritten many important researches.
"The Penhew family traced its lineage from the time of William the Conqueror, when Sir Loris Penhew acquired great holdings in the West Country. The Penhews were staunch supporters of the Red Rose, and during the reign of Edward IV Sir Blaize Penhew was beheaded for treason and, allegedly, "black magic". Upon the accession to the throne of the Lancastrian Henry VII the Penhew titles and properties were restored to the family. Sir Edward Penhew was a patron of the noted Elizabethan scholar Dr. John Dee and was the dedicatee of his pioneering treatice on astronomy. Under Cromwell much of the family property was sequestered, with the Restoration bringing only partial restitution. During the Napoleonic Wars Colonel Anthony Penhew served on Wellington's staff in Spain and was killed at the battle of Vitoria."
Alisa telephoned a friend of hers in New York who was a clinical psychologist. She asked him if he would help her gain access to Dr. Huston's files by claiming that they were needed in his research, but he refused on ethical grounds. Alisa then contacted her travel agent and obtained information about steamship schedules and fares. She then phoned her secretary in Boston and instructed her to pack a steamer trunk with gowns and jewelry appropriate for a trip abroad (first-class, of course).
Lya returned Jonah Kensington's call and told him what the group had been doing. On learning that the group was planning on traveling abroad, he reminded her of the need to obtain U.S. passports. He also gave her two contacts in London: Mickey Mahoney, publisher of a weekly taboid called "The Scoop", and Inspector James Barrington of Scotland Yard. Jackson Elias had spoken with both of these men. Jonah also told her that a dockworker named Mike had called with information about Elias' ship. Mike could be found most evenings at a place called "Fat Maybelle's" on 139th Street and 6th Avenue. Lya told Jonah that she would go meet with Mike tonight.
Nell took photos of Lya and herself for the passports, then went to a local camera club to use the darkroom to develop them. She then went down to the passport office to obtain applications for herself, Dan'l, and Lya (Alisa, Rupert, and Prof. Fairwether already had passports). She was told that it would take 2-3 weeks to process the applications. She also obtained information about steamship schedules.
That afternoon, Lya called her brother in Boston and gave him a list of things to pack in a trunk and send to her in New York. She then went to the British Consulate to ask about the Carlyle expedition. She was told that the consulate staff had been completely replaced after Lloyd-George's defeat in 1922 and again after the Labour victory in 1924. She asked for advice about traveling to Britain, Egypt, and Kenya, and was told that a British visa was needed for Britain and Kenya but that an Egyptian visa was needed for Egypt, since it was nominally an independent country. The clerk advised her to drink plenty of quinine water and get out of Mombasa as soon as possible, as Nairobi had much healthier climate.
Lya then went by Propero Publishing to pick up her advance of $1000. She also called Dan'l Boom and arranged for him to meet her at the Waldorf that evening.
Nell called back to Cincinnati to see if "Poppa" could use some political pull to expedite the passport applications. Unfortunately, Poppa was dismayed that Nell was planning on traveling overseas instead of returning to Cincinnati. He blamed "that crazy Lya" for leading Nell astray. "Momma" was no help either, urging her to re-marry and settle down. Nell then went to Thomas Cook and purchased a $1000 line of credit.
Alisa also went to Thomas Cook and purchased a $5000 line of credit.
The three ladies then rendezvoused at the tea-room at Bloomingdale's and went shopping for appropriate gowns for the Opera Gala.
Meanwhile, Rupert went to the Daily Proletarian and found that Raoul Piñera had written several articles about the labor movement after dropping out of NYU in 1919. Raoul was last seen in Honduras, assisting the workers and peasants in resisting the mercenary armies of the United Fruit Company.
At dinner, Rupert, Nell, Lya, and Alisa discussed the days events. Lya suggested contacting Charles Fort, a frequent contributor to Enigma who lived in the Bronx, but was informed by Rupert that Fort was now living in London. Rupert then went home, while Nell and Niles went to see the Broadway hit Cocoanuts, starring the Marx Brothers.
After dinner, Dan'l arrrived at the Waldorf. He, Alisa, and Lya took a cab to Fat Maybelle's in Harlem. Unlike more glamorous nightspots such as the legendary Cotton Club, Fat Maybelle's turned out to be a dingy one-room bar, with the only music coming from a scratchy gramophone. The three investigators walked up to the bar and ordered soft drinks. It was readily apparent that they were the only white persons in the place. Dan'l asked the bartender if he knew "Mike" and was directed to a table in the corner. There sat a burly black man, wearing laborer's clothes, drinking a mug of beer.
The investigators walked over to the table and Lya introduced herself. Mike said that he had the information she sought but that it would not be smart to talk in the bar. He suggested they go to his apartment two blocks away. The group agreed but asked him to leave first so it would not be obvious that they were together. Mike then finished his bar and left. A few minutes later, the investigators finished their sodas and walked outside.
Mike was waiting for them and began walking along 139th Street, followed by Lya, Alisa, and Dan'l. As the group passed an alleyway two men stepped out from behind, brandishing knives! Turning to face them, Alisa noticed that the long, curved knives were identical to the ones used by Elias' murderers. Suspecting trouble, Alisa and Dan'l had kept their firearms ready and were not surprised.
One of the thugs slashed at Dan'l, injuring him. Alisa then fired her .32 revolver at the thug, but the gun jammed! The second thug slashed at Alisa, seriously wounding her. Stepping back from the knife-wielding thugs, Lya glanced over at Mike and noticed that he was chanting! She swung at him with a baseball that she carried in her purse and missed. Lya suddenly found herself unable to think clearly, as images of destruction and chaos overwhelmed her brain. Screaming in terror, she ran away into the night, leaving Alisa and Dan'l behind.
Dan'l then fired his pair of .45 revolvers, wounding both thugs but not slowing them down, the mad glint of fanaticism apparent in their eyes Ignoring his wounds, the first thug then stabbed Dan'l again.
Dropping her jammed revolver, Alisa aimed her derringer at the second thug and fired, missing him. The second thug then stabbed Alisa, causing her to lose consciousness. Dan'l fired at the first thug, killing him, then dropped the second thug as well. Drawing a switchblade, Mike then stabbed Dan'l and he lost consciousness.
The next thing Lya knew, she was sitting in a Manhattan police station. A policeman was offering her coffee and asking what kind of hooch she had been drinking. The officer told her that she had been found wandering the streets, screaming and laughing hysterically. Lya frantically told the policemen what had happened and told them to send a squad car to Fat Maybelle's. The sergeant on duty ordered Officers Clancy and O'Hara to investigate. Looking at the clock, Lya noticed that it was 2 a.m.! At least five hours had passed since her mental lapse. She also noticed that she had lost her shoes sometime during her mad journey.
Lya and the two policemen drove to Fat Maybelle's and found the place closed. They went to the scene of the attack and found bloodstains and Alisa's jammed .32 revolver, but no bodies. Lya screamed at the police to start knocking on doors and find her friends! No one living nearby seemed willing to say anything until Lya used her Occult knowledge, threatening an elderly black woman with a hex. The woman muttered the words, "bad ju-ju" and slammed the door, locking and bolting it. Lya suddenly recalled that the Ju-Ju House was only a few blocks away.
Finding it locked, the policement broke down the door of the Ju-Ju House. Noticing that the rug behind the counter was somewhat rumpled, Lya pulled it aside to reveal a trapdoor. The policemen opened the trapdoor and found a narrow set of stairs leading down. Lya grabbed an African spear from a wall display and followed the policemen down the stairs.
The steep stairway led down about twenty feet, ending in a stone corridor. The walls of the corridor were carved with strange runes and symbols. After about fifteen feet the corridor ended in a massive door (oak reinforced with iron strips). The policemen tried to break down the door but were unsuccessful.
Hearing a noise behind her, Lya turned around and saw Mike standing in the corridor! He easily brushed aside her attempt to jab him with the spear and slashed her, inflicting a minor wound. As Lya flung herself aside, the two policemen emptied their revolvers into Mike, killing him. O'Hara performed First Aid on Lya, while Clancy reloaded.
Searching Mike's bullet-riddled corpse, Lya found a key which she gave to O'Hara. He opened the door and saw a large chamber, with dressed stone walls and a fifteen-foot high ceiling. Manacled to the walls were Alisa and Dan'l. In the center of the room was a thick stone block. African drums were lined up along the sides of the room. A curtained alcove was at the far end of the room.
Unable to open the manacles with Mike's key, O'Hara went into the alcove to search. Lya spotted a ring of keys near the stone block and opened the manacles. Alisa and Dan'l were both still alive, but very weak. Clancy applied First Aid and restored them to consciousness.
From the alcove came a scream! Clancy rushed into the alcove to help his partner. Two shots were heard, then a scream. Not waiting to find out what had happened, Lya hustled Alisa and Dan'l out of the chamber and up the stairs.
Emerging from the Ju-Ju House, the trio ran to the empty squad car. None of them were able to use the police radio, so Alisa summoned her last reserves of strength and drove the squad car to the nearest hospital, while Dan'l lost consciousness again.
Arriving at the hospital, Alisa and Dan'l were taken to the emergency
room, while Lya called the police to tell them that Clancy and O'Hara were
in danger. She then called Rupert at home:
Lya then took a cab back to the Waldorf and collapsed in exhaustion."Rupert? They attacked us! We went to that bar, Fat Maybelle's, and the
cultists attacked us - the ones that killed Jackson! They carved up Alisa
and Dan'l like prime rib - and I don't remember anything after that, until I was
at the police station. And the Ju-Ju House - underneath it - it was horrible!
They're in the hospital now - but those policemen....Aaaaaaayyyhhyyy" <click>
