The Investigation Begins
November 2nd (Friday)
The remainder of the investigative team met me for an overnight in Virginia, and were perfectly punctual in their arrival. I still have much to learn of each of them, but as every hour passes we become a bit more comfortable in each other’s company. We have a catch-up over dinner, and I learn the following from their exploits in the Boston area.
We’ve been given:
1. A letter to Mr Winston’s doctor giving us permission to access notes from his file.
2. A catalogue of his belongings which were sold off. (This was verified by Erik, who handled the auctions through his consultation service.)
Mr van Achthoven has met with Dr Udko, Mr Winston’s therapist and learned the following:
Mr Winston let the Dr go after his wife’s death
The doctor, who was less interested in the incident itself than in the results of his psychosis/suffering, had no luck in breaking down the walls. Mr Winston simply refused to speak about it and had put up many mental barriers, preventing the Dr from getting through. He alluded to an incident in 1924 and a loss, but never gave any names.
Collectively we have learned the following:
Mr Winston had certainly been shocked by something, and was suffering in a manner similar to returning soldiers.
Mr Winston experienced rages and ranted about a need to “purge the filth around him”.
The Dr recommended he make a journal, but Mr Winston never wanted anything written down.
The Dr always went to the house, as Mr Winston only felt safe at “his family home”.
Mr van Achthoven, Mr Wolf and Mr O’ Neill visited the family home and learned the following:
Mr Winston experienced terrible rages (“get the filth out”; “this place must be cleansed”) according to one house servant
The pair observed strange stains in the library/study on the wallpaper, alike but in different position. It has possibly been cleaned as it seemed faded.
The wallpaper itself, when they showed it to me, looked merely like old staining. But the sketch, made my Mr O’Neill, on the other hand, looked just as they had described it – resembling a mouth. Creepy.
November 3rd (Saturday)
Early today we flew on to Savannah. The plane is remarkably comfortable, as is the hotel Mrs W-R booked for our stay in Georgia, the Hotel De Soto (in suites, of course). Mr Wolf took some time out to order a summer suit, as it is unseasonably warm, even for the deep South, and the Europeans have only the limited luggage they were able to bring over on the zeppelin.
We researched the two addresses we found in Mr Henslowe’s letters. We learned the first,
23 Old Hope Road,
is the Henslowe Family mansion and grounds. Located 13 miles south of the main city, the land has been in the family since 1801, and is still home to a Virginia Henslowe (whom we’ve learned since is Douglas’s mother). The land is an unusual estate – a peninsula, which is occasionally an island during times of heavy rains, known as Moss Island Peninsula. Like most plantations of the area, the land isn’t nearly as valuable or busy as it would once have been, but it’s nice to see one kept in the family – so few were, really.
The second address,
513 W. Henry Street,
turned out to be the location of Joy Grove Sanitarium – which wasn’t much of a surprise, really, other than that we expected the two addresses to be opposite in their disposition based on the dates and frequency of the letters’ origins. The sanitarium is only about 40 years old, and located in an old Antebellum Hospital, not far from town.
November 4th (Sunday)
The evening before, Mr Wolf and I decided to pay a visit to the Sanitarium, to see Mr Henslowe’s doctors. After a lengthy discussion with our peers about what strategum to use to retrieve the journal, and anything Mr Henslowe could possibly share with us, we decided I would use my FBI credentials to try to get ahold of patient files and as much of the story as was feasible from his doctors. It worked, mostly. They did ask to follow up on my credentials, and I’ve given them George’s phone to call. I hope he’ll understand, in consideration of my great curiosity, and our long-standing friendship.
We there met a Dr Keaton, who joined the staff of the sanitarium in 1924, and therefore has been present for the entirety of Mr Henslowe’s treatment. Before long, we learn that Mr Henslowe is not the only patient here of interest to us – a surprise indeed! There is also a man here called Edgar Job, who was also involved in the cult business and the incident.
From Dr Keaton, we glean a little of what was going on. Mr Henslowe, and his companions (including Walter Winston) were hunting down a cult. A cult in which Edgar Job was involved. The two men hate each other. Mr Job came from Los Angeles specifically to confront Mr Henslowe, there was a fight which turned nasty and involved a knife.
Both men were arrested, and before long found themselves interred here at the Joy Grove Sanitarium. After Mr Wolf had an unexpected, disturbing and unprovoked confrontation with another patient (he was bitten by a Mr Culver), we were able to interview both men.
(see interviews with Douglas Henslowe and Edgar Job)
Following the interviews, Dr Keaton invited us back to his office, where we hope to review the patient files. In the course of the interview with Douglas Henslowe, he gave us a letter to take to his mother’s estate. The letter is addressed to a Mr Frank Hickering, and grants us permission to retrieve the journal.
