Investigation 2

The Lady Vanishes

You all were enjoying the first successful investigation at Old Absinthe House when a frantic young gentleman came up to Cis and asked for help finding his sister, Emma Ross. He was worried because she never returned home last night to their shared apartment. She also didn't show up for work and he said she never misses work. He mentioned that he already spoken to all of their mutual friends and relatives but no one has seen her since last night.

You got a photograph of her, which revealed her to be a pretty blonde with a self-conscious smile. He pleas to all of you to help him find her and offers 3 days of investigator fees ($75).

You first go to her work which is at City Hall. You find out she works for the Records Office and plump coworker named Mary Adams was persuaded to tell you that Emma had a beau. Emma was sweet on a young man who'd been visiting the Records Office over the last few months, a young fella by the name of Will Gretz.

Mary told you that she didn't like this Mr. Gretz. She is of the opinion that Gretz is a bit of a shyster, with plenty of Pomade in his hair and a gold tooth. He has brought Emma candies and flowers on many of occasions.

You hit the streets and do a little legwork. You had great success and find some interesting tid-bits on this Mr. Will Gretz. You find out his address and also that he has some fairly sizable debts with more than one bookie. Some lowlife bookie told you that he has been spreading the word around that his ship is about to come in and he'll make good on his loans.

On his way to his apartment you all find out that you are not alone in the search for Will. Inside, the one-room apartment was in shambles. You do a little searching and find these three key pieces of potential evidence:

1. Slightly soiled white smock with the name Blessed Rest Retirement Home embroidered over the right breast pocket.
2. A notepad open to a page with several multi-digit numbers. The numbers are either 8 or 9 digits in length and some have lines drawn through them.
3. Looking through the rest of the notebook finds the previous page holds a series of tick marks, 48 in all. Beneath the tick marks is the number 4 circled several times.

Uptown District

(Garden District, Irish Channel, Carrolton, and Uptown)

When Americans first began moving into New Orleans in the early 19th century, by and large, they settled on the higher ground to the west of the existing Creole settlements. The residents call this area Uptown because it's upriver from Canal Street, the traditional dividing line between the newcomers and the original inhabitants.

Garden District

This stretch of land was originally home to a few plantations, but those were sold off over the years to wealthy Americans who didn't want to live too close to the Creoles in the French Quarter. The mansions they built were elaborate affairs, surrounded by wrought-iron fences and well-tended gardens. Originally, only a small number of houses were allowed per block to allow for the extravagant landscaping that gives this neighborhood its name, but as the city has grown, some of these have broken up into smaller tracts. Money trumps everything, after all.

The Garden District retains its position as the seat of the old gentry of the city. If you're looking for a wealthy patron--or a wealthy sucker, depending on your ethics--this is the most likely place to find one. Step lightly, though. These folks take their reputations almost as seriously as they take their bank accounts.

Irish Channel
In the 1830's, a large wave of Irish immigrants came to the city to work on digging the New Basin Canal. Most of them settled a short distance from the dock they disembarked onto, ironically right next to the highbrow Garden District. The Irish workers died in droves building the canal--from as few as 3,000 to as many as 20,000 depending on who you ask.

Poverty and hard times tend to make for hard people with little money. Street gangs were the kings of the block back then, and they have have had a resurgence lately to the Great Depression. the one place considered neutral ground is a bar named the Bucket of Blood, apparently proving its owner has the gift of prophecy.

The upside of this is that the Black Hand mostly keeps its mitts out of the Channel. even they don't want to mess with a bunch of riled-up Irishmen.

Carrolton
Until annexed by the city in 1874, Carrolton was a separate, incorporated town. it would still be a quaint little burg on the edge of the city if not for Hellstromme Industries' main pumping station. Carrolton's current claim to fame, it sticks out like a concrete and steel carbuncle. Smoke and steam belch constantly from the huge brick towers as the massive screw pumps draw water from the storm drains and sewers and push them into the lower-lying bayous to the east.

Access to the Hellstromme facility is restricted, with heavily armed private guards patrolling the property. The company claims--and the city backs it up--that this is necessary to protect against possible attacks by anarchists, Communists, Unionists, and/or Kangers, depending on the day of the week.

In spite of the virtual private army on site, Carrolton is now overrun with patent scientists and inventors of all sorts hoping to find employment with Hellstromme Industries. As a result, the once quiet neighborhood is now the toughest place to get a good night's sleep thanks to all the racket. It's also probably the most technologically advanced section of the city--and the one most likely to electrify its citizens, disintegrate a streetcar, or just plain explode.


Uptown

One of the largest neighborhoods, Uptown grew as new Orleans expanded and gobbled up smaller adjacent communities. It sits on a natural levee on the inside bank of a bend in the Mississippi, making it prime real estate in a region whose main commodities were once mud and stagnant water.

A large number of residences can be found in Uptown, ranging from mansions and near-mansions where it borders the Garden District, to single-family bungalows as you travel farther from town, to apartment buildings closer to the business districts. There are a few manufacturing firms and warehouses where Uptown meets the city center. For the bookworms, Tulane and Loyola Universities sit at the eastern end of the neighborhood, right above Audubon Park, which houses a zoo and more than one arboretum.