Session 14 - Scene 11 (of 14)

The next morning, everyone meets back up at the church. Father Mulroney first debriefs Gem about his activities, and the youth explains that he took care of the Chinaman/gun problem. Gem notes that everything went smooth, which Mulroney praises, then mumbles something about a little matter of payment later that Mulroney doesn't really catch.

Father Mulroney then starts to ask Biggins about any news in his investigation, when Maisie interrupts to suggest they should head to Ulnovsky's warehouse. She's concerned that he might change locations again soon if they don't act quickly.

Gem is ready for action, suggesting that they make the stop at Ulnovsky's warehouse and try out the guns before delivering them to Chinatown. Mulroney notes that he isn't sure about how good a shot any of them are, though Maisie is quick to point out she is handy with a gun.

Being careful, Mulroney asks how many people are at the warehouse. Maisie gives the number as somewhere between 22 to 30 men, depending on the time of day.

Mulroney tells Gem that's a lot of men, no matter how good of guns they have. Gem suggests they will have an advantage that Ulnovsky won't know they are coming, but the father is convinced they need a better plan.

Biggins, not wanting any part in a gang war, comments that he'd better head back to his office. Gem comments to the priest that Biggins doesn't seem very motivated.

Gem then asks what about Chaos. Mulroney notes he is still missing from the tentacle monster. Gem notes that the kid did leave them a package however, though they can't be sure it was an explosive device.

Maisie perks up at the mention of explosives, noting she likes them. Father Mulroney smiles, and suggests she be the one to deliver it to Ulnovsky. He instructs her to light it then toss it in, making sure to get far away before it goes off. If she manages to pull it off, the priest promises that he'll make her his "new foreman".

The group of them head over to Mulroney's warehouse in Biggins' car and the priest has Maisie grab the package. To everyone's relief, it does not explode when she takes it.

Mulroney instructs Maisie to take Biggins' car and Biggins can take a cab back to his office. The father and Gem plan to get their own cab back to O'Conner's warehouse so they can take the truck and deliver the guns to Chinatown.

Session 14 - Scene 12 (of 14)

Maisie drives Biggins' car straight into the warehouse. Karina Krasnik is there, and comes over as soon as she spots Maisie. She asks what Maisie is doing there.

Maisie gives a story to Karina about needing to talk to Ulnovsky about something. Karina isn't sure Ulnovsky is in a talking mood. She complains that Ulnovsky has become too focused on his war with Carmody and that he is now focused on personal revenge.

Karina goes on to say that Yulian has a better grasp on the overall picture. She tells Maisie the two of them are about to leave on some business Yulian has with a man named Rocco Dillon. Maisie isn't familiar with the name.

Maisie also declines Karina's invitation to join them, preferring to wait for Ulnovsky. Karina tells Maisie they should catch up later, as Yulian has something big planned.

After the two take off, with Maisie noting they seem much more intimately connected than last time, she proceeds with her plan. She just gets the fuse lit when one of the men in the warehouse spots her.

The Russian anarchists proceed with pulling their guns. Maisie takes out hers as well. She fires off three shots, downing one of the men. She takes two herself, wounding her side and shoulder.

With time running out, Maisie decides to make a run for it. But she stumbles as she tries to get out and is still caught in the explosion when it goes off.

Session 14 - Scene 13 (of 14)

Back at his office, Biggins calls up Captain Deakins and asks for another favor. Deakins wonders if he's looking for information on another company, but Biggins clarifies it is for a person named Antoine Prendergast. Deakins offers to call back when he has the information.

The alderman then calls over to the prison. After forgetting the name of the funeral company and having to check his notes, Biggins asks about any pickups scheduled for Destiny Memorial. The prison guard notes they haven't used that funeral home since their head physician disappeared over a month ago; Dr. Krasnik was the only one who ever used that service.

Biggins returns to some of his political work when he gets a call back from Deakins. The only thing he's found out so far is that Antoine Prendergast has an apartment building in the Chinatown area leased for 50 years starting June 9, 1920. Deakins explains the lease was from Jim Moy.

The alderman is not familiar with the name Jim Moy. Captain Deakins explains that Moy is head of the On Leong Merchant's Association, a front for the On Leong Tong crime syndicate. Deakins warns Biggins that the syndicate is led by a dangerous man named Chiang Li Ching, a name the alderman does recognize.

Session 14 - Scene 14 (of 14)

Meanwhile, Gem and Mulroney pick up the truck from O'Conner's warehouse but then realize they aren't sure where to deliver them since their contact location, Wing's Emporium, was burned down.

They decide to swing by the Russian warehouse to see how Maisie made out. They find they cannot get too close, for there is a large crowd in the area along with police and fire trucks attempting to put out the fire in the ruins of the warehouse.

Gem exclaims, "Leapin' lizards Father! She really set it off!" Father Mulroney agrees Maisie was a brave young lady and notes he's sure she's fine, though spotting the remains of Biggins' car in the ruins makes him think she's likely dead.

Gem notes that Biggins was fond of his car. Father Mulroney explains that sacrifices have to be made.

With all of the police around, Mulroney doesn't want to get any closer to the scene. He knows they'll need to find a way to contact Fung Xian.

Until then, he has Gem drive them over to his own warehouse so they can stash the guns. Mulroney notes he doesn't want them falling into the wrong hands.

Once that is done, the two head into Chinatown. Mulroney's best bet is they can still locate Wing's grandson who may be able to lead them to Fung Xian.

Session 14 - Session Notes

This was a great session that actually occurred two weeks ago. Because of the Memorial Day weekend and some subsequent activities, it took me a long time to get the notes typed up and posted. Oddly, this Friday's scheduled game was cancelled because one of the guys was off on a business trip so now this thread is all caught up again.

I thought the session went pretty well. The investigators are actually making some progress on putting together some of the clues, several plotlines were resolved, and there was the big bomb scene where stuff got blowed up real good, as they say.

Next session (in two more weeks) should see Mulroney finally starting to rise in the criminal underworld but that's not necessarily a good thing for him.

Notes about the session:
* Father Clink probably should have been in the hospital a bit longer, but we didn't want another session where he didn't have much to do.

* The Ben Whittier kidnapping was supposed to happen a long time ago, but my gf finally managed to make it back for a session to reprise her role as Maisie so we could move the Ulnovsky plot forward.

* This write-up contains a lot more exposition than I gave in-game (something I frequently do to flesh out the story better) for the newspaper story about the Whittier kidnapping. During the game, I just gave a couple of highlights.

* As with the previous time Maisie showed up, my original intent was to discuss the session with my gf ahead of time but once again I kind of forgot and so she made up her story of finding Ulnovsky and what happened on the fly. My version would only have had her locating Karina Krasnik and Ulnovsky would have had far less men around.

* Maisie and Sister Mary not getting along was a great running gag. I love that Mary only (just) tolerates Mulroney and thinks the others are idiots. Also, Jews and Catholics weren't always the best of friends so some of their interactions illustrate that.

* Mulroney has very nearly figured out Sister Mary's secret with Dr. X. Unfortunately, Maisie is the worst person in the world to try and tail someone.

* This session saw Mulroney finally getting back to the books from Ravenscry Manor. Note that all the authors of the books are real historical people (scientists/philosophers) though the books themselves are not.

* Father Noel Furlong comes straight from the show-stealing Graham Norton character on Father Ted. I did my best to act out the character as well as Norton.

* During the session, we actually just said Furlong was at another church. But after looking at a map of Chicago when doing the write-up, I realized the monastery made a cooler setting.

* Maisie didn't actually think Mulroney was being too literal about the river address associated with Destiny Memorial, I just threw that in the write-up as another hint to the players that they are being too literal.

* Mulroney gave Maisie the note for Biggins because all of us forgot that she previously met him at the asylum during the session. I adjusted it in the write-up to make a little more sense.

* Deakin's initial conversation with Biggins contains some info in the write-up that actually occurred during a later conversation in the game. My write-up notes are just a sort of shorthand that I enhance with memory, but I don't always remember things precisely correct; particularly if there are multiple conversations about the same thing during a session.

* An error I made in-session (that is corrected in this write-up) was I called the prisoner associated with the fingerprints "Vasily Rossovich" instead of "Arkady Rossovich". Vasily is Ulnovsky's name, not Rossovich's.

* Deakins wanting to become chief of the park police was planned for a while. Why else would he help out Biggins so much.

* Biggins not agreeing to just hire the nephew of the city hall clerk was considered quite a boneheaded move by the rest of the players.

* Archer taking the bus to Harrigan's was made up for the write-up. During the session, we kind of forgot Gem didn't have a car to drive over there with.

* The Gem player totally forgot he didn't already tell O'Conner about the Chinatown connection for fencing the necklace, so his scrambling to cover the mistake was real.

* I don't recall if I mentioned it last time, but Rock River is my expy for Rock Island, IL (with Arsenal Island being the Rock Island Arsenal).

* John Looney was a real gangster in control of Rock Island. Billburg and Conner were also real (though I'm misspelling his name; it was actually Connor). Billburg and Conner are also anachronistic; Billburg became enemies with Looney long before this point and actually was part of a group that killed Conner Looney in 1922.

* Arthur's Deli is a complete anachronism / in-joke. There is a real deli in Rock Island of the same name that I tend to stop at to eat when I'm travelling back from visiting Chicago. It's a decent deli, but despite several large billboards advertising it along the freeway, the place is quite tiny (it is oddly cramped with a very low ceiling). The other part of the joke is that in real life, Billburg owned a rather large establishment, complete with a  117-foot long bar.

* The Lost City of Iram and its stories in the Qu'ran are a real thing. The only thing I've changed is to have Shaddad finding the Nameless City of the Cthulhu mythos and that his city was smote for worshipping the idols that matched the mural from Ravenscry Manor.

* Mulroney going insane was the result of a particularly bad SAN check and subsequent loss of sanity points. I came up with the humorous consequence.

* There were lots of groans when Biggins contacted the hospital because everyone else knew Biggins wasn't going to find anything new. To make the whole affair have a little more of a point, I gave Biggins the clue about Antoine Prendergast (which would have been a bigger clue had Shoes not kept that note he found to himself).

* The Zhili-Fengtian War was a real thing in 1924. I didn't name it exactly during the session itself, I just referred to the Chinese fighting the Japanese back in Manchuria.

* In the actual game, all of the dialog with the NPCs was essentially done by Looney himself. I find it difficult to switch between NPCs in the heat of the moment of conversation (particularly as I am also taking notes at the same time). So, when I do the write-ups, I sometimes split out the dialogue more to make the conversation seem more natural.

* The Rock River Diamond Company is based on a real jewelry store in Rock Island. As is Tony's 11th Street pawn shop. I've never been in either of those, just used Google for some quick business names.

* I really liked Gem's plan for stealing the ring as a down payment. Technically speaking, the timing doesn't make much sense (careful readers may note this would be taking place late in the evening on a Sunday), but I'm using dramatic license.

* Speaking of, careful readers may also note that sometimes the time of day and/or day of the week are rather fluid things in the game; especially session to session. I have several references to previous events in this write-up and so when I went to write it, I finally started to map out the timeline of the sessions so see precisely how much in-game time had passed. What I found was that we often forget what time of day a session the previous session ended and the next one began, and you'd end up with what appeared to be afternoons that appeared to go on for 20 hours or more. We also don't pay any attention to day of the week, as Biggins is making all kinds of calls to city hall, etc, on the weekend when they would be closed. I claim dramatic license (which kind of fits; this is supposed to resemble a pulp crime novel after all)

* Carmody getting picked up by the cops was somewhat anti-climactic, but his fire-bombing was a planned event and Biggins did request the extra police, so with the help of a good luck roll, I let the issue resolve itself off camera.

* Maisie got really lucky and managed to not blow herself up when picking up the explosives from the warehouse.

* Note that Karina and Yulian escape the ultimate explosion and Karina's comment on Yulian having something cooking with Rocco Dillon. That will likely come up again.

* Maisie getting caught in the explosion was more a rule of funny than anything. Since my gf wasn't necessarily interested in playing any more sessions, there was no issue in her getting blown up. At the same time, she's only presumed dead for now...

* Jim Moy was also a real person associated with the merchant's association in Chinatown.

* Mulroney and Gem were dismayed when I reminded them they had no where specifically to drop the weapons in Chinatown after Gem burned down the antique shop.

Session 15 - Cast of Characters

Father Clink Mulroney - Irish Roman Catholic priest running a bootlegging operation out of his church

Alderman Jethro Biggins - Corrupt city alderman on the take from Mulroney

Colin "Gem" Archer - Mulroney's newly-promoted lieutenant for his bootlegging operations; sidelines as a jewel thief

Session 15 - Scene 1 (of 9)

Mulroney has Gem drive their truck through Chinatown and over to the area where Wing's Antique Emporium used to be located. They look around for someone around, but only spot a ten year old girl sitting on a nearby stoop. The priest has Gem pull the truck over and stop so he can get out and talk to the girl.

Father Mulroney approaches the young girl and gets a friendly greeting. She gives her name as Lei Ming and asks him in broken English if he wants "love-love", which he misinterprets as the name of another Chinese gang. A couple of exchanges later he realizes she is a child prostitute and offering him her services.

Cringing at the depths of despair this girl lives in, he staunchly refuses and instead explains he is only looking for information. When Lei hits him up for money anyway, he tries to convince her that Jesus would want her to help, but she insists on getting paid.

They settle at a price of $3, though Mulroney again must convince her he is not in need of any of her other services. He then asks about the family of Mr. Wing, and the girl points him to another shabby tenement house a block away.

Mulroney thanks the girl and pays her, but only $2 as his greed outweighs his compassion. Lei does not appear to notice she is being shortchanged, and lets him know to come back when he needs something other than information, causing him to wince.

Once he reaches the car, Mulroney avoids explaining the details of his uncomfortable dealings with the minor and instead directs Gem to drive the truck over to the house the girl pointed to.

Session 15 - Scene 2 (of 9)

As they approach, the two carefully scan the area for any more of Chiang Li Ching's zombis; they do not wish to be the victims of a third ambush by the gangster sorcerer. When they are satisfied none are around, Mulroney gets out and approaches the door.

No one answers as he knocks on the door. He tries the handle and finds it unlocked. He opens it slowly. It appears to open into a traditional Chinese parlor.

Looking around, Father Mulroney spots a young boy attempting to hide behind the ice box in the kitchen. He calls out to the kid. When the boy emerges, he recognizes the youth as Wing's grandson.

The boy is agitated with Mulroney and clearly does not want him around. He asks the priest what he is doing there, and says that Chiang Li Ching will kill him and the rest of his family for talking with him.

Mulroney reminds the boy he made a deal with his grandfather. The boy does remember, but explains that dealing with Mulroney is what got his grandfather killed.

After talking with the boy for a few minutes, Mulroney finally gets the boy's name, Baojia, and convinces him that he would be upholding his family's honor by helping the priest complete the deal they made with his deceased grandfather, Pang.

Baojia does remember his grandfather was helping Mulroney meet  with Fung Xian, though he won't say the man's name aloud (hinting that Chiang Li Ching has forbidden it to be spoken). The kid then confirms he is home alone, as his mother is at the laundry. Baojia explains that the man they seek can be found there as well.

The child agrees to take Mulroney to the laundry to meet with Fung Xian, but only if he agrees to never come back to his home again. The priest confirms, and gets back into the truck where he and Gem follow Baojia from a discreet distance until they reach the laundry.

The somewhat large industrial building has several signs in Chinese on it, as well as a single one in poorly written English identifying it as Li Lui's Laundry. Baojia has Mulroney and Gem wait outside for a minute while he heads in to arrange the meet.

Session 15 - Scene 3 (of 9)

After a minute, Baojia emerges from the back door and tells Mulroney to come in. The priest gets out of the car and heads towards the door, nervous about heading into a trap.

Inside, he finds himself in a dark back room of the loud facility with sheets hanging all around. He sees no one, but hears the familiar British accent speak from somewhere in the room acknowledging that he has returned.

From his hidden location, Fung Xian asks where the guns are. Mulroney, circling as he speaks, explains that they didn't bring them yet since they were ambushed last time.

Fung Xian agrees that Chiang Li Ching is more entrenched in the area than he first believed. The two ultimately agree that the best course of action would be for Xian's men to pick up the weapons at Mulroney's warehouse later that night.

After settling on a meet time on 10 pm, Mulroney no longer hears any further conversation. Although he never heard the man approach or leave, he suspects he is now alone in the room. Baojia then reappears, suggesting to Mulroney that it is time for him to leave. Mulroney gives the kid a dollar and thanks him for his assistance.

Session 15 - Scene 4 (of 9)

With the meet arranged with the Chinese, Mulroney decides to head over to Harrigan's to keep Deanie in the loop. Gem wants to come in with him, noting that he believes Deanie is starting to warm up to him. Mulroney suggests that Deanie only likes having more targets around but agrees.

The two get a nod from John O'Rorke, the bartender, and he motions them to the back room. Once in back, they see Deanie playing cards with Yiddie Neumark and a couple of Deanie's other guys.

Deanie is winning, as usual, and in a cheerful mood with Mulroney for once. Mulroney explains they are there to drop off his truck. O'Conner is more interested in discussing Carmody being picked up by the cops, which he sees as a great development.

Mulroney notes he has some related news about Ulnovsky. Deanie asks if they spotted the Russian, and Gem notes they spotted him all over.

When Deanie doesn't get what Gem means, Mulroney explains about the explosion. O'Conner is ecstatic at the idea of the war at the docks being at and end, and wastes no time having Yiddie get Merlo on the phone.

As Yiddie arranges the call, Deanie explains another big meet will be required. He then jokes that Spike O'Donnell probably won't attend this time, as he claims someone stole his wallet last time. O'Conner laughs at the absurdity of the story, saying he believes Spike is simply busy meeting with Governor Small, who is set to be in town for a couple of days.

Changing the subject, Deanie tells Mulroney that another problem, or rather opportunity, has come his way. He brings up their "old friend" Cody Powers, who Deanie says hasn't been right since he whacked his own crew after that bank robbery went bad.

According to O'Conner, Cody has been spotted hiding out in Bronzeville under the protection of a man named "Bad" Leroy Brown. Deanie describes the large black man as being the toughest man in town.

The problem, Deanie explain, is that Brown works for Whisper Jefferson's crew, which of course operates under the protection of Tolino. Deanie notes that if Powers let something about the robbery slip to Brown, it might make its way back up the chain, and Tolino finding out he was behind the bank robbery would be a troubling development.

Since Brown is running protection for Powers, Deanie figures the logical thing to do is get rid of Brown first. But in a way that can't lead back to them.

Gem notes that it could be like what happened to another Tolino soldier, the Basque. Mulroney obliquely notes they "ran into the Basque" a couple weeks ago. The less subtle Gem clarifies that they ran "right into him".

Continuing the oblique conversation, Mulroney suggests their meeting "left quite a mark" with the man and had "quite an impact". Deanie is clearly growing weary with the puns and changes the subject to talk about another issue.

The mob boss goes on to explain that he's also dealing with Ralph Sheldon being upset about Gem running the guns through Ragen's Colts territory without getting a kickback. Sheldon, Deanie explains, is threatening to close off routes to Rock River.

Deanie notes that Sheldon has been a pain to deal with ever since he took over after Frank Ragen quit the gang to become police commissioner and his brother James left to run the General New Service to publish racing results. O'Conner scoffs at Sheldon's insistence that his gang be called the "Sheldon Gang" instead of "Ragen's Colts".

O'Conner goes on to say that Sheldon's shifty lieutenant, Ryan O'Reilly, seems to be the kind of guy they could actually deal with. Deanie suggests finding a way to kill two birds with one stone and get rid of Sheldon and Brown at the same time. He notes that since Ragen's Colts are known for fighting with the blacks, it shouldn't be too much of a stretch; though he admits the Klan is Sheldon's biggest enemy at the moment.

Mulroney agrees the opportunity sounds promising and that they'll work on a plan. Deanie is delighted, noting that now that he's gotten rid of Carmody and Ulnovsky, he'll be in a position to reward Mulroney for his service. The priest and Gem wisely keep their mouths shut and don't comment on O'Conner appropriating all the credit for resolving the dock wars.

Instead, the priest explains to O'Conner that he has a problem of his own with his parish being closed down and being reassigned to Cleveland. Deanie is concerned, noting that the Cleveland mobsters will eat him alive. Mulroney agrees that he is fonder of the Lakefront City area, but doesn't answer Deanie's question about being ready to hang up his collar for good.

In any event, Mulroney also explains about the delivery for Fung Xian that evening. O'Conner likewise notes he'll let the priest know about the new meet with Merlo. Mulroney and Gem then take a cab back to the church.

Session 15 - Scene 5 (of 9)

Meanwhile, Alderman Biggins' work for the day is interrupted when his secretary Cheryl explains that a couple of policemen are there to see him. He has her show the men in, whom he recognizes as the detectives he spoke to before – Det. Goren and Det. Eames.

Eames notes that the alderman looks much worse for wear than the last time they saw him. Goren carefully looks him over, noting the missing finger digit and the eye patch along with his other scars.

Biggins tries to play it off as the difficulties of working with the people on the streets. Eames suggests he may be taking too hands-on of an approach.

The detective then explains that they are at Biggins' office because they thought he might be dead. When Biggins shows surprise, Det. Goren explains the remains of Biggins' car were found at the site of a warehouse explosion.

The alderman gives the detectives no explanation, saying he didn't know how his car got there but insinuates it may have been stolen. Eames smiles and says there is something strange about the car theft – it seems that the explosion was at the warehouse of Vasily Ulnovsky.

Goren wonders if Biggins has any idea of how that may have happened. He asks the alderman why Ulnovsky, a man Biggins had been asking about around the docks, would have stolen his car and used it to blow himself up.

Eames continues to say that the explosion was even worse than what happened with the Irish Rose. He suggests it could have been an accident, he supposes, but maybe they'll never know. Biggins wisely keeps as quiet as he can, agreeing with the detectives but on guard against saying anything stupid.

The detective goes on to lament that Biggins is now out a car. Goren expands on the thought, noting that Biggins is also recently out a house. The alderman agrees with a smile, passing it off as a "run of bad luck" but that he's still "here to serve".

Goren smiles at the alderman's statement. He gives his admiration of the alderman's "plucky attitude" and says he can see why Biggins is on the short list for Parks Commissioner.

The two detectives leave, but that gives Biggins little comfort. He can tell the detectives smell something rotten with his story and worries they'll continue to dig. He makes a call over to the church to talk with Mulroney about it, but reaches only Sister Eunice who explains the priest has not returned yet. He settles for leaving a message.

Session 15 - Scene 6 (of 9)

Shortly after Biggins makes his call, Gem and Mulroney arrive at the church. Sister Eunice greets the father and tells him he has several messages – one from Alderman Biggins, one from the janitor at the orphanage, and one from Bishop Duggan about the Marduk Institute.

Father Mulroney decides the bishop's call is likely the most important so he calls him first. The bishop begins the conversation by inquiring about Mulroney's preparations for heading to Cleveland. The priest notes he'll have a hard time leaving the parish behind, but Duggan comforts him by saying they must go where God calls them to.

Mulroney isn't so sure God is the one doing the calling. He turns the conversation back to the reason he called Duggan, information about the Marduk Institute.

Bishop Duggan explains that he spoke with the lawyer at the institute, but "Mr. Prendergast" won't have time to see him in the next 2-3 weeks so Mulroney might not be able to meet with him before shipping off to Ohio.

Mulroney picks up on the mention of the name Prendergast. He recalls two different Prendergasts being identified at Ravenscry Manor: a poster for Enoch Prendergast's snake oil show from the early 19th century and the news clipping about a missing man named Jeremiah Prendergast in the great fire of 1871.

Outwardly, the father simply asks the bishop for information on Prendergast. The bishop gives the name as Antoine Prendergast, with an address and phone number. Mulroney notes the address is the same dummy address used for Destiny Memorial, but the phone number doesn't match.

Session 15 - Scene 7 (of 9)

Mulroney's next call is over to the janitor, Abel Brown. The old man explains that he called because he found one of the boys hiding out down in the boiler room of the orphanage.

When the priest asks which boy it is, Abel explains that it was the "White boy... Alan..." Mulroney is someone surprised to hear that Chaos is alive and asks the janitor if the lad is all right; but Brown notes the youth is "not all there".

According to the janitor, Chaos was ranting something about a squid. Brown reckons that Chaos must have gone crazy reading Jules Verne. He explains to Mulroney that he had the boys from Dunning Asylum come and haul Alan off, under the care of a Dr. Bronfenburgher.

Mulroney gets Brown to clarify that this all occurred a couple of hours ago, and then asks if there was anything else strange at the orphanage. Brown is slightly confused by the question, wondering if finding the disturbed youth wasn't enough.

Before ending the call, Abel notes he plans to go clean out White's room. Worried about what might be found there, Mulroney offers to come over and help.

Once he's off the phone, the priest explains what has happened to Gem. Mulroney is very curious about the comment about the squid, noting it is consistent with Biggins' description of the tentacle that attacked him. Gem, however, isn't so sure and notes that Biggins did have a shard of glass stuck in his eye at the time so wasn't seeing right.

Mulroney and Gem agree the situation is very odd.  They discuss picking up Chaos at Dunning, with the preference that Gem handle business there as Mulroney is still technically a patient of Doc Bronfenburgher's.

The priest then tells Gem of his plans to go help the janitor with Chaos' room. The youth cautions Mulroney about going in there, reminding him that Shoes once made an off-hand remark to Chaos about setting up explosive traps in his room. Mulroney's eyes widen as he realizes what is likely to happen.

Cold and calculating, Mulroney then decides he can rid himself of another impediment and calls in kindly Sister Eunice. He explains to the elderly nun about White being discovered and being taken away. She is very sympathetic, expressing her hopes that the father will visit the boy so that his spirit, along with his mind, can be healed.

The father then tells Sister Eunice that she can help by assisting the janitor cleaning out the boy's room. He explains that Alan will recover more quickly with his personal things around. Sister Eunice is happy to have a way to help, and plans to head out right away. Gem says nothing during the discussion.

As Eunice is heading out the door, Mulroney inquires as to the location of Sister Mary. The nun explains that Mary hasn't been around lately, but tells the priest that she doesn't think she is feeling well.

Eunice goes on to say that a friend of hers has spotted Mary coming out of a doctor's office in a bad part of town. When Mulroney asks her who the doctor is, she tells him her friend identified the office as having a sign listing a Dr. Thomas Kingsley.

After the nun finally leaves, Father Mulroney remains intrigued. He wonders if Dr. Kingsley is the real identity of the mysterious Dr. X that Sister Mary uses for her heroin supply.

Session 15 - Scene 8 (of 9)

Before getting involved in anything else, Father Mulroney wants to meet back up with Alderman Biggins. He calls over to the alderman's office, but Biggins explains he doesn't have a car so after making sure to pick a route that won't expose them to Biggins' surveillance, Mulroney has Gem drive Maisie's car over to pick him up.

Once Biggins gets inside, he explains about his visit with the police as Gem drives around the area. At first Mulroney is confused about the destroyed car and explosion, but then recalls that Maisie was using Biggins' car to take out Ulnovsky.

Mulroney chastises Biggins for being irresponsible in loaning out his car for a bombing (despite it being the priest's own plan) and notes that he hopes Maisie is all right. Gem, recalling the aftermath they saw, suggests that she likely didn't make it back. Mulroney mockingly suggests that Biggins must have a terrible sense of guilt over the tragedy.

Putting aside the matter of the dead Russians and Maisie, Mulroney asks Biggins if he's been able to make any progress on his investigation of Destiny Memorial. Biggins relates the information about the lawyer being Antoine Prendergast, and Prendergast being given a lease in Chinatown by the On Leong Tong.

Gem asks Biggins if he happened to get the address of the leased property but the alderman admits he did not think to get it, though he doesn't believe it would be difficult to do. Gem is curious if the lease is related at all to the properties controlled by Chiang Li Ching himself.

Mulroney instructs the alderman to keep following up on the Marduk Institute and Destiny Memorial. He explains that he and Gem will be busy this evening with tasks of their own. Gem tries inviting the alderman along, but Biggins is very cautious about going out on another of their dangerous missions.

Session 15 - Scene 9 (of 9)

After dropping off the alderman a couple of blocks from his office, Mulroney asks Gem for his ideas on what they should do next. Gem wonders if they shouldn't follow up on Dr. Kingsley to see what Sister Mary is up to.

Mulroney, however, is more interested in finding out more about Antoine Prendergast. After failing to find the man listed in the phone book, Mulroney uses a story about reuniting an orphan to get a clerk to trace back the number for Destiny Memorial.

The clerk at the phone company identifies the number as being assigned to a Dr. Stephan Krasnik. The clerk also gives the address associated with the number to Mulroney, who notices it is the same as the address of the warehouse registered to Krasnik where Cody Powers' man was found dead.

The priest has Gem drive him over to the area of the warehouse, but they keep their distance. Finding the closest pay phone, Mulroney attempts to call the number over and over to make sure no one is there. Eventually, the phone operator has to tell him to stop.

Gem is sent in for a closer look. The thief circles around the building carefully, noting any exits. Everything looks quit in the back and Gem gives the all clear signal to father so he can move in closer as well.

The two look in the back windows of the warehouse, but don't see much going on inside. They do notice a hearse sitting in the loading bay. Destiny Memorial is stenciled on the side.

Gem finds the loading bay door unlocked. Mulroney cautions him to get ready, and they both ready their guns.

Opening the door, Gem hears little except the creaking door and the scurrying of rats. There's no one around. Looking at the hearse, the thief jokingly suggests to Mulroney that they have found a replacement vehicle for the alderman.

Gem looks around the warehouse but finds little other than rats and an old work table. The table is largely empty, but does have some liquid residue on it. Gem identifies it as the green liquid that Dr. Cooper injected into Biggins. The table also has several large claw marks on it.

After talking it through with Mulroney, the two examine the hearse. They find little inside except for a matchbook on the passenger seat.

Mulroney takes the matchbook, prompting Gem to comment that the priest doesn't smoke. Mulroney responds that he does, however, hunt down clues. The matchbook is from the "Bamboo Room Club", a nearby tiki bar night club.

After putting the matchbook back where he found it, the priest finds the vehicle registration in the glove box. The car is registered to Dr. Antoine Prendergast at the warehouse's address.

Once they've made sure there is nothing more of interest, the two leave to head to Dunning Asylum. Some distance away, Alderman Biggins is taking a cab there himself, after having no luck reaching anyone at the state level about Destiny Memorial.