The Prologue

## Escape From Rittenhouse Square

#### **Where They're At**

Zachariah Silversmith, responding to a call he'd received informing him that he'd won a free boat, reported to the Rittenhouse Square Police Department in Philadelphia. Traveling from the other side of the country in the belief that a contact was trying to send him a coded message, he arrived in the station's lobby in the early hours of the morning. After speaking with the receptionist, he was introduced to Detective Michael Whetstone, who showed him to a holding cell to await the boat paperwork's finalization. Once Zach was locked in the cell Whetstone went back to work, chuckling to himself in disbelief that they'd gotten a "boat guy". Zach was then left to acquaint himself with the inhabitants of the nearby holding cells.
Tea Mongerer was sitting in his holding cell, waiting for his lawyer to arrive before beginning his questioning in relation to an assault on members of a rival tea company. He'd been given his own cell by way of thanks for his frequent donations to the Policeman's Ball and Children and Widows' Fund. A young man with a cane was shown into the cell next to his, and Detective Whetstone chuckled to himself as he left the holding cells. Tea Mongerer had been in and out of this station frequently in the past few years, and knew the local force fairly well as a result. He knew Whetstone was a no-nonsense cop who wouldn't let frequent charitable donations stop him from booking a popular local Luchador and questioning him thoroughly, well into the night. So, he'd called in a favor from an old friend of his who was a Public Defender in the area. He was hoping to be done with the questions and back in his own bed by daylight. He noticed the young man with the cane kept glancing at him - which was not uncommon, being that Tea Mongerer was, well, Tea Mongerer - but the intensity of the young man's stare gave him pause. He felt that he knew the man, but did not recognize him... Tea Mongerer shrugged, and kept waiting.
Aldrich Gresham had been sitting in his study, enjoying a cup of tea. As he finished it, the leaves began to shape themselves in a way that Al had come to despise. Heaving a sigh, despite there being no one in earshot to appreciate it, he made his way to his phone and waited for the call he knew would come. Moments later, he answered it on the first ring and tapped his fingers irritably as he waited for the prerecorded message to finish. "Yes yes, this call is from a station, it may be monitored, et cetera, et cetera..." he muttered to himself. "Philadelphia PD, we have a man--" "Yes, I'm on my way," Al interrupted. "Sir, this is the Philadelphia Police Department, and we--" "Yes, and I am on my way. Tell him I'll be there shortly." he interrupted again. As the receptionist tried a third time, Al dropped the phone in the cradle and grabbed his coat, heading for the Rittenhouse Square station.
Frank Smith, still shaking from his brief encounter with the Naga and not fully convinced that his hero's long-time Heel, El Dragón, was telling him the truth about what he'd run over, drove his battered van and slumbering passenger back towards the PECO depot in northeastern Philadelphia. He pulled into the first police station he could find, the Rittenhouse Square PD.
Delta, or El Dragón as Frank continued to call shkler, awoke from a nice nap to the harsh lights of a police station. "You going in?" shklee asked shkler new friend. "I hit something! I have to turn myself in!" he replied. "Well have fun with that," shklee muttered, getting out of the electrical van, "I'm not really into police stations. Or crowds. I'm gonna grab some food." As Frank headed into the station to 'confess' to - as shklee saw it - *roadkill,*Delta wandered down the street looking for a late night munch. Finding a kebab shop nearby, shklee pulled shkler hood down lower over shkler face and went in for a kebab.
#### **And Now...**

Al made his way back to the holding cells, brushing past the front desk and assorted cop-types. Making a beeline for his 'client', he noticed Zach in the next cell over. After briefly catching up, and Al introducing Zach and Tea Mongerer, Al advised Zach not to say or do anything, and that he'd be back shortly to help him out as well. Det. Whetstone ushered Al and Tea Mongerer to an interview room on the other side of the lobby. As they passed, Frank burst in to confess to running something over. Al noticed his cousin and paused to greet him, as Frank's spirits rose. It had been a hard day - a hard month, actually - and meeting his hero *and*his Heel in the same night was a wonderful surprise! Al told him to sit tight, Tea Mongerer questioned if Al knew *everyone,*and the pair followed Whetstone into the interview room. After a brief interview, in which Al pointed out that all the evidence was circumstantial and his client couldn't legally be held, Tea Mongerer was released pending further investigation. As Whetstone left the room, he was pulled aside by JJ McAdams, a station clerk, who was obviously shaken. Al, Tea Mongerer, and Frank strained their ears to catch what they could. Zach, still in his holding cell, heard a bit of the commotion and surreptitiously wove a spell to enhance his hearing and listen in. The group overheard that there were bodies found at the Academy of Natural Sciences. JJ also mentioned that Det. Pat Eagan was the nearest to the scene, and was on his way over. Al poked his head out of the room, and asked if his client was free to leave. "Yeah yeah," said Whetstone, "We've got bigger problems, and we know where to find him." On the way out, Al remembered Zach and asked for him to be released as well. "Fine," Whetstone snapped, "Give your info to JJ here and we'll release him to you." As they were leaving, Frank stopped Det. Whetstone, still trying to get someone in authority to do *something*about his accident. "Is anyone hurt?" Whetstone asked, irritated. "The snake is!" Frank wailed. "Get out." Whetstone replied, and turned back to JJ. The two moved into the back room to continue coordinating the museum situation, and Zach was able to overhear JJ informing Whetstone in a hushed, shaking voice that "the bodies are messed up. They're burned, and melted, and- and I don't *know,*but they're messed *up.*"
The group left the police station, and Tea Mongerer insisted that they stop for food before going anywhere else. The group agreed, being that it was nearly 4am and most of them were hungry. Tea Mongerer, being a frequent 'visitor' of the station, had a favorite restaurant nearby, and steered the group towards it. They walked into the kebab shop, which was mostly empty, to a warm welcome from the owner, Pavun Shetty. "Tea Mongerer!" he exclaimed, "Please, my friend, your table is open. Sit, sit! I'll bring your usual, plus extras for your friends." He disappeared through the kitchen curtain, and the group took their seats around a table overlooked by a large, framed glamor shot of Tea Mongerer. Hearing the commotion, Delta finished shkler plate and joined them. "Seems like a destiny thing," shklee muttered, pulling up a chair. After a round of introductions, as well as a round of "Do you know *everyone?*" directed at Aldrich, the group was served a half-dozen gleaming platters heaped with food. They ate, swapped information, Tea Mongerer took some selfies with Pavun and his son, and the group piled into Frank's van to head to the Museum.

< Previous Mystery | Next Mystery >