An impromptu meeting was called. Many things discussed. Captain
Tromos,Undead persons,powerfully big rats,Slasher types,Whether or
not Emily is actually dead or horribly deluded,Professor Rausch, the
late Mick Beller and other sundry things. It was becoming clear to
Cordelia that their plate was fast becoming too full and she still
had to deal with her own personal quest to bring her husband's killer
to justice and smite her mentor. There was a lot of talk and
unfortunately it wasn't getting them anywhere....And Desiree had just
recieved more of her trunks from France. Cordelia began to look for
grey hairs.
Finally it was decided that the Rat problem was fairly static, so they turned their attention to the Slasher problem. With Emily's story and their police files they began to sift clues as to the whereabout and methods of the vampire responsible. A look at the evidence didn't seem to indicate that the madman was attempting to create some sort of summoning pentacle with the the deaths he'd caused and from Chelteham's story it appeared that the Vampire had some sort of vendetta against another of his kind who fed primarily from actresses. (allthough some of the victims could only be called actresses in the most kind of characterizations, each had at least been on the stage at one time or another.)
Summoning Thomas, they set out to look over the crime scenes and gather what clues they could. Working in conjunction, Emily and Desiree used their unique talents to discover the following information:
After looking over numerous crime scenes, they retired to the safety of the Nyles household. (after all it was getting dark.) and they planned to figure out their next move...Well except for Desiree. She planned to drink a bottle of wine and retire directly to bed. They were met by betsy at the front door who was in something of a state. It seemed that Professor Hawthorne Rausch had arrived and was in fact waiting in the parlor for our intrepid heroes. Desiree went upstairs to look after Jo and stay out of this mess. And Betsy was dispatched to tell Thomas if thing should get ugly.
Gathering their resolve, they entered the parlor to meet the esteemed gentleman. 6'10" rapier thin, curly blond hair, and the face of an angel. With bright blue eyes that gave away his obvious intelligence. Speaking quickly, he assured Cordelia that allthough he had made off with Justine, he fully intended to return her to her mother as soon as the interview had concluded. Cordelia was naturally not mollified but was at least restrained.
And then, he did the most bizarre thing. He apologized to them. It became apparent after Cordelia had blasted Mick to his component atoms that the denizens of the theater were no ordinary persons to be pushed around with impunity. Deciding that he'd enough enemies he made it very clear that he had no intention of attempting to extort monies from them again or to bother them in any way...Save that he was a fan of the theater and hoped he would be allowed to come when the place was up and running.
Meanwhile, Desiree was having a vision. In 7 out of 10 frames, Jack Anniston would arriving and start unleashing his own brand of holocaust on these miscreants without a clue that Justine was being held somewhere. Moved to action she pelted downstairs and warned Cordelia who set Emily and Jules to watch for him and stop him if necessary. She then gritted her teeth and accepted Rausch's apology. Having what he came for, He set out at once and Jack and Thomas narrowly missed them as they arrived. A tense 5 minutes passed and then, as promised, Justine was delivered safe,sound, and slightly puzzled at their doorstep.
The Cabalmates retired for the evening shaken but wit fewer problems than before and unsure as to thier next move. That evening, Emily had another one of her strange prophetic dreams. She was in a wood paneled room that was burning. The Woman with no Face and the Paled eyed Man were sitting across from one another playing a game of chess on a board with all white pieces. She noticed that they were manacled together at the ankles. She also began notice that a intense eyed man was making vigorous love to her. She started awake immediately...and still has no idea what it all means.