Meeting Clark Gable!

10th November (Saturday) – evening:

I have managed to catch up on some much-needed rest, and tended to the injuries on my face. I don’t think anything will scar, not more than my pride anyway. Erik came to see me, and together with Frank (now I’ve seen his reaction, we’ll have to remember to include him more often) met the others for a nice dinner at the new hotel.

I’ve brought the files with me, reasonably secure I’ve gleaned all I can from them without weeks of tedious study (probably to no further end). I’ve read more about “old gods” in the past forty-eight hours than in my entire career (boy do I miss Mary at times like this). Even among this group of “friends” it appears there was distrust, and political maneuvering – all about power, of course. What else is there, really.

Erik has found Ayers’ papers in the UCLA library. From 1911-1921 there were fairly regular publications; they became sporadic until 1924, then stop entirely. He has also found unpublished papers, which are more about spiritualism. The librarian, however, has a pile of books not yet categorized into the libraries system (with a telegram on top – this telegram is from Ayers to Prof MacDunn, instructing him to acquire a portion of Echavarria’s library; telling us MacDunn lied to us about knowing Echavarria). There are 5 books of different sizes and age: Cults of the Aksumite Empire; Fishing the River of Stars, Rift of the Maw,Unaussprechlichen Kulten, and Ziggurats of the Pre-Helletic Period.

At dinner I learned a bit about what the others have been up to in my absence. It seems their move to this hotel did not go unnoticed, as my assailant – Jack Pizner, Private Eye – has followed them, and made his presence well known. Our PI, Quincy, followed Mr Pizner the best he was able in unfamiliar territory, and observed Mr Pizner meeting with a very well-dressed (and well-automobiled) gentleman. He and Otto have come into possession (I won’t say how, and am glad of not knowing the details) a note signed “Walker” with descriptions of each of us (not including Frank) and an offer to pay us off, not wanting the hassle of us right now.

“Right now” feels just as important a phrase as “shame on you” – something is afoot, something more than these “cultists” and parties-gone-wrong from a decade ago. We learned a bit more about what that might be the next day.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, as we had a rather fortuitous encounter at dinner. None other than Clark Gable came in to dine nearby. I recalled reading Mr Gable’s name in association with the deceased Richard Spend’s, and hastened to use the connection to try to reach Ms Olivia Clarendon. Which actually worked! By the end of the next morning, the kindly Mr Gable had not only passed along my message to Ms Clarendon, but she had responded – agreeing to meet with me.

11th November (Sunday)

The next day proved most productive. Included in the note from walker, was the address of an old farm (Highland Park Agricultural District Lot 12). Quincy having departed for a family emergency, the remainder of us set off early the next day to see what we hoped would be the site of the incident. Which, it undoubtedly was. Nothing remains there now but the burned-out shell of some buildings which were likely the farmhouse and the barn. Anything of interest was long ago removed. But it was nice to see a visual confirmation of the site and the story of two madmen locked away in Savannah – and know we weren’t merely chasing ghost stories.

What was interesting was the amount of real-estate development occurring in the area, and even more interestingly the ceased work which included this very farm. Trenches had been dug, which looked like the beginning of construction, and then abandoned. Could this be what “Walker” wanted to keep us away from or out of? Might he be involved in the re-development? Was this all about money? Or is there more to it? Was something buried here, and removed after the dust of that night settled?

Erik (who had taken a nasty bite from a feral cat) and Chastity spoke to a neighbor, who were none too pleased to see strange folk about (not that that’s any surprise). They remembered the “raucous” night with shotgun fire and city folk left dead. These neighboring farmers had tried grazing their cattle on the abandoned land (which hardly sounds legal), but two of them got attacked by “wolves” (chewed right down to the bones), which put a stop to that. It may behoove us to find out who currently owns the land, and who owned it ten years ago.

Some of the others whispered a bit about the “wolves” perhaps being the creature. It’s interesting to learn more about who are the “believers” among us.

When we returned to the hotel after our foray into the countryside, there was a message for me to meet Olivia Clarendon. Which Chastity and I did just a few hours later. She was gracious and sent a car (a limousine, really, which was a bit much) for us, and saw us before her evening engagement. Its too bad Quincy couldn’t come along, I know he’s such a fan.

Ms Clarendon admitted attending a few of Echavarria’s parties, but said she found they weren’t to her taste. She described Echavarria himself as a Satan-worshipping pervert, and said she disassociated herself from him even though Richard Spend continued to attend. She insisted they were more acquaintances and co-workers than close friends.

Its hard to say with these Hollywood types. It’s possible Mr Spend considered them closer, or she could be “mis-remembering” in hindsight, or it could all have been for the press in either case.

Mostly, Ms Clarendon told us what we already knew, and plead innocence and ignorance over most of it. She did, however provide us with a new name. In addition to Ayers and Echavarria, whom she described as good friends, there was a third major player - a Sam (Samson?) Tramell who was in property, a realtor perhaps. Ms Clarendon also mentioned that often at the parties there was a particular, honeyed drink, shared amongst the participants. This could have been anything from a bathtub hooch to a hallucinogenic, herbal mood enhancer, really. I’m not sure it’s much to go one, but if she remembered it, the least I can do is note it down.

A new lead and two ties to real estate. Well, we have a new direction to take our investigation it seems. Time to follow the money.