In which let's just call this "From The Void"

I do not know how long it was.

For seeming eons I floated, both aware and yet unaware, at once a part of all creation and yet apart from it, seeing all that had been and was and was yet to be...

Yet, I did not see this. 

The cold green fire, the icy burning, the swirling, mocking, silently shrieking horror that tore me from - where I know not - hurling me through endless space and time until I collided, unaware, with a force that rent me from my senses, left me in unknowing blackness...

Until....

"Hello, Howard."

A voice, human.

I opened my eyes - dumbly aware that I somehow had eyes again to open. The figure leaning over me, white on white on - pink? 

I should have known who she was, but my senses had been torn from me. I attempted to focus my eyes upon her.

"Remember me? The crinkly-haired, slatternly deformed albino slut you so gleefully shamed in your stupid little tale? How much did they pay you for that one, anyway?"

That one? Which one? Which...which.....Dunwich?

"Lavinia?" I somehow succeeded in sitting up. 

"That's right." Her displeasure was evident. "Of all the idiots that idiot had to bring back, he picked you."

"Bring back?" I still could not fathom where I was nor how I had come be there, but my memory was returning. I was - had been - Howard Philip Lovecraft, failed writer of weird fiction. Where I was now, and in what form, I knew not. I knew I was in a body of some sort, for I could move and speak. But where and how I had come to be in it - as well as the identity of the "idiot" Lavinia spoke of - I knew not. 

"We've been afraid of this happening ever since Dr. West escaped from prison over Halloween. We think he had help." The speaker was - a cloth doll?!

"Who - surely you cannot mean Herbert West?!" This could not be. 

"That's him," Lavinia said. "The first idiot."

"Idiot indeed, but just intelligent enough to be dangerous," her companion agreed. "By the way, I'm John Ashton Smith, Paranormal Investigator, Miskatonic University."

Miskatonic.....surely I was mad. Surely this was a product of my fevered imaginings, not....

And yet, the most abysmal shock awaited. For when I raised my hand...

"It could be worse," John Ashton Smith's pink-clad companion spoke. "At least he stuck you in something that was finished. He tried to stick a bunch of spirits in these half-finished doll bodies he got from this obnoxious woman in Arkham."

"Bishop?" Lavinia said. "Yeah, she's a little off. So much for the "undecayed" side."

"Will someone please tell we where I am and what - what is going on? Why am I a nightghast? And how..."

"Okay, first, technically, you're a gargoyle," Lavinia said. "And secondly, Herbert West tried to bring you back from the dead, but he forgot that anyone with half a brain - which is about all you have, in my opinion - is going to be useless for a few days until they get adjusted, so he just left you in the woods out back. And thirdly, I don't appreciate the way you slandered me and my family at all. Not to mention trying to blame my mother's murder on my father, And I don't care how much you didn't agree with my life choices, as they say, you had no freaking right to shame me or my children. Okay, maybe Wilbur didn't turn out the way I hoped, but a mother can only do so much. At least Edwin is a good son, despite you making him out to be a horror."

"Edwin....?"

"They both had names, you know. And I trusted you to tell my side of the story. Not turn it into some cheap, good-against-evil load of garbage!"

"I would agree that you do owe Miss Lavinia an apology," John Ashton Smith added. "She and her son have proved invaluable advisers to the Paranormal Studies department."

"But why would West have tried to - reanimate me?"

"Because you're the one who wrote all of this down." Lavinia's tone softened somewhat. "If he has you on his side, then guess what? We're screwed. If he finds out you've some to your senses, he's going to go after you. You have a choice to make - him or us. The Old Ones aren't the evil ones. It was Wilbur's human side that doomed him. He fell in love with power." She looked square into my face. "You have a chance to help make all this right. What are you going to do?"

What could I do? I had to trust Lavinia and her most unusual friends, even though she had just cause for despising me - truly, I had wronged her.

"Perhaps start by admitting that I was wrong about you," I confessed. "Then perhaps see about finding a different body."

"One thing at a time, okay?" she replied.

~*~

- Maddy's note - I've been searching for a BJD to turn into HP Lovecraft for awhile, with (obviously) no success. So I settled on a Monster High doll for now. Somewhat appropriate, no? Although if anyone had any ideas for a BJD that's not too out of scale for my crew (nothing over MSD size, please) I'd love to hear them.

And yeah, I tried to write this in Lovecraft's voice. I don't think I succeeded. 

In which it's quiet - for now....

"Perfect. Very Katniss Everdeen." John-John is so happy to have something besides yarn to work on for a change. "Speaking of whom, have you ever considered going back to brunette?"

"Do you think I should?" Fawn looked at him. I don't think she was expecting to have a personal stylist waiting for her here, but that's John-John for you. He loves nothing more than making people (and dolls) think they're beautiful.

"The blonde is lovely - don't get me wrong - but I loved the way brunette brought out your complexion in those pictures you showed me. I'd keep the length and basic style, though. Maybe just a little more of a wave, not much. If it doesn't work we can always switch it back." He smiled. "That's what I like about working on yarn and BJDs. No catastrophes, no drama. You can always re-wig if the worst happens. Not like trying to fix some poor Barbie who comes to you in tears after a buzzcut. Sometimes you can reroot, sometimes you can't."

"Have you ever done faceups?" (For those who aren't familiar with BJDs, those beautiful faces are all hand-painted, either at the factory or after they arrive at their new home. It's called just that - a faceup. See, I'm learning...)

"Not really, I'm licensed - I had to learn basic faceups and makeup as part of my training - but I haven't really done much since." He looked around as Shel came in. "I do remember an emergency case that came in once, though. A poor Bratz doll whose person had done some Kabuki/KISS style experimenting with nail polish and then used remover to take it off. Of course the poor doll's entire face came off with it. It was a good thing she couldn't see what had happened. They waited until last to redo her eyes - that way, by the time she saw herself again, she was almost back to normal."

"Were they able to fix it?" Fawn said.

"Perfectly. They even gave her the violet eyes she'd always dreamed of. She looked even better by the time they got through with her. And her poor little person was so grateful. She hadn't meant any harm, of course. She just didn't know how dangerous acetone is. But it all turned out all right."

"What was the place you attended again?" Maddy said.

"Académie des Stylistes de Poupée New York." You should have heard how weird that sounded with him trying to do a French accent over his Mancunian one. "I wanted to learn how to work with all dolls, even though I specialize in contemporaries. My roommate had completed the basic course and had come back to get a license to work specifically on Jumeaus. She was just amazing with what she could do. There wasn't much she couldn't fix. I really learned a lot from her. We still talk all the time. She's over in France now."

"And I thought you Hittys traveled a lot," Fawn said to me.

"Some of us do, some not so much," I said.

"Were you scared about having to leave the Wylde Kingdom?" Shel said all at once. "I mean, after what happened the first time..."

"Shel!" Sometimes I don't know about him. "I'm not sure that's any of your business."

"It's okay," Fawn said gently. "And no, I wasn't. I knew Wendy wasn't going to just send me anywhere. I knew that she'd find the right place for me."

"Hello, everyone. You must be Fawn. Caroline told me you'd arrived."

Yes, in case you were wondering, my fella is still very much around. :) He's been up at Miskatonic the past week. He was supposed to come back sooner, but "Pax" got in the way. Darn winter....

"You're John Ashton Smith?" she said.

He nodded. "I was supposed to be back Friday, but that didn't happen. We just finally got dug out enough up in Arkham for me to...

 ....uh, hello?"

What can I say? Chicks dig him.

"Dinah, you know better. Wait until you're invited," Fawn scolded gently.

He laughed. "Dr. Armitage asked me to ask you if it would be all right for him to contact you. He's rather interested in getting your perspective on something that's come up regarding the Dr. West situation."

"The professor at Miskatonic?" It's a good thing she'd read this blog before she came here. because trying to explain some of this stuff....

He nodded. "You're familiar with the Fae, having spent so much time with pixies. He doesn't really have an expert regarding the Light and Dark Courts."

"He's welcome to, of course, but I don't see how I could help him very much."

"Well, the thing is - you remember that Dr. West vanished right around Halloween?"

"Not really. But that was when we had to pack up and get out, too. The Unseelie had found out about us and we had to run."

John looked concerned. "Dr. Armitage thinks that Dr. West may have had their help."

Fawn shook her head. "They might have taken him for their own reasons, but if this Dr. West tries to use them for his own ends, he's in for a very ugly surprise. You don't want to mess with them. They might let him think he's gotten the better of them, but only because they're setting him up."

"Would he be able to turn them on us or something?" Shel said nervously."

"Not unless they decide to for whatever reason, but they really wouldn't have a reason," she said. "He's the one who's going to be in a lot of trouble."

"You don't think that he tipped them off about the Wylde Kingdom, do you?" John-John said.

"No. And hey wouldn't have listened to him if he had. They really don't think much of humans, in any form. I don't know what happened with that."

"Should we be worried?" Shel said.

"Only if we somehow get caught in the middle," she said. "But you're familiar with the Old Ones, right? Cthulhu and company?"

John (my fella) nodded.

"The only thing the Unseelie really fear is the Old Ones. The many realms of this earth are one thing, but the Old Ones come from the realms outside earth. The Unseelie can't touch them. And the Old Ones don't appreciate their attempts as messing with them." She smiled. more or less. "You do learn some things living with pixies, you know."

Hmmm. Food for thought. And I think I'm off to find that butterfly wing charm, now....

In which JT tells a little more of his story....

"This is a really nice place you have here," JT was saying.

"Thanks. Maddy and I did a lot of work on it," I said. "My friend Miranda gave me this idea for how to put up the lights."

"The original Hitty had a bookcase apartment once upon a time, so that's why so many modern Hittys live in bookcases," John added. "Plus, they're the perfect size."



 "I'll get you set up in something soon, JT. Don't worry," Maddy said, coming in.

"I'm fine," he said with a smile. He and John have been roommates the past few days. It's a little bit strange, because, unlike us, he wasn't born a doll, so to speak. But he's adjusting very well so far.

"So what's it like being a doll?" Maddy said after a moment.

"Not too different from being human, I guess. Except I haven't been in a body since 1991," he admitted. "So I guess I only partially remember what it was like." He paused a moment, then said. "You see, if I did this, then nobody would be able to trap me in a bottle again like that. Not so long as I freely chose to bind myself to a new form."

"What did you do as a human?" I said. Unlike dolls, I don't think humans can get away with just being awesome for a living. I don't think that pays very well.

"I was a musician. In a band, you know?" He shrugged.

"Someone we'd know?" I said.

"Probably..." He left it at that. Maddy and I kind of looked at each other, but decided not to pry. Maddy's take on these kind of situations is that the person - or doll - in question will tell you when they're ready.

"So what exactly happened?" John said after a moment. He's been trying to figure this whole thing out. "In New Orleans, I mean."

"I got into town the afternoon before the show, so I had a free night. I met up with a couple of old friends and we went out for dinner. No big deal. There were these two other guys who came up to us at one point - they recognized me - and talked for a few minutes. I didn't think anything of it at the time. But they must have thought I had a lot of money or drugs or something on me, which I didn't - all I can think is that they followed me back to the motel. I don't remember anything after they broke in until I woke up and there was this huge commotion with all these people in the room. Except that I was on the bed and my body was under the dresser and I couldn't get anyone's attention to tell them I was there. I had no idea what was going on. It was a couple of days before I really figured out that I was technically dead. Good thing there are a lot of unquiet spirits in New Orleans. If I hadn't met a couple of them I'd probably still be trying to figure it out." He rolled his eyes with a wry laugh. "Honestly, it wasn't too bad until that West guy showed up. I was stuck on this plane, but it was okay. At least it's what I'm used to."

"What was he trying to do?' John said. "I know what he told me, but..."

"Pretty much what you said. His idea for reanimating the dead went nowhere in a hurry, so he was going to try to stick a bunch of us unquiet spirits into those half-finished doll bodies he got from that Bishop chick. You would have thought he'd have learned his lesson the first time."

"The first time?" Maddy said.

JT nodded. "That is you're going to reanimate someone, have the common decency to sew any missing parts back on first."

"Wait. Are you saying....?" John's eyes were wider than usual.

JT nodded again. "Reanimator wasn't fiction. HP Lovecraft was merely recounting the facts of the story as he heard them. However, Dr. West couldn't reanimate himself. So he had to make do with coming back as an old Ken doll."

Barbie's not going to like that, I thought.

"I thought he looked familiar," John said. "So who were the others in the bottles?"

"Anyone he could find. Of course, when you make an open call to the unquiet spirits like he did, you're going to end up with some who are more unquiet than others. I don't think any of them are specifically after me or anyone else - at least, nobody we know. But they're not exactly the kind of people you want to have around."

"I need to update Dr. Armitage on this...." John went to find his laptop.

"That sounds serious," Val said, coming over.

JT smiled at her. "Don't worry. I've dealt with their kind in this world before. And now that they're spirits, they're even more vulnerable."

I hope we're not going to have to find out just how powerful that athame really is....

In which my first Halloween is a very strange one, indeed....

Yesterday was really weird. I'm still trying to figure all of it out...


Remember that little bottle thing that Maddy found out in the yard? The one Rich took up to Dr. Armitage in Arkham? He told us it was a spirit bottle, but he didn't know whose spirit was trapped inside. Not knowing that, he was more than a little nervous about releasing it. He suggested Rich bring it back here for Maddy to bury in the yard or something...

And Rich, of course, totally forgot to tell Maddy that he had the bottle. He left it in his bag on her sewing/dining room table and Maddy being Maddy, she didn't look in the bag or ask him to move it. She just set it in a little plastic storage basket with some of her works in progress, including a doll body.

And last night was Halloween, aka Samhain. Also known as the night when pretty much anything can happen, supernaturally speaking....

So really, I guess what happened next wasn't too surprising at all....

~*~

Around midnight, I was getting ready for bed and Maddy was in the bathroom, brushing her teeth, she said, when we heard a big thump in the dining room, followed by all of the birds pretty much freaking out. We all ran in, thinking something was trying to break down the door....

Instead, we found the plastic bin had fallen over, and.....

"Where am I?"

"Did I give you a face?" Maddy was stunned, to say the least.

"I - did you...?" He didn't know what was going on any more than we did. "I don't know. The last thing I knew, I was in New Orleans."

"New Orleans?" Maddy, John and I said more or less together.

He nodded. "I don't remember much. I remember one of them kicking in the motel room door. I knew I was in big trouble. I knew one way or another I was dead."

"Were you in that bottle?" John said, figuring out what was going on before we all did. Everyone needs a paranormalist in the family.

"Bottle? I don't know. I know I was in something and couldn't get out. I kept working at it and I guess I knocked something off..." He looked down at himself. "This could have been much worse. I have a body, at least...."

~*~

He told us that once upon a time , he'd been from New York City - not too far away - and to just call him JT. Like he said, he didn't remember very much about what happened. He'd been in New Orleans for a show, he said, and had gone out to get something to eat. He thinks someone he talked to briefly followed him back to the motel, perhaps assuming he had a lot of money or something, which he didn't.

"The police never bothered to look into it. They put down that I died of a drug overdose and never investigated further. Because of that, my killers got away. And because of that, I can never cross over to the other side. I'm stuck here. So I was pretty much helpless when that West guy went looking for spirits to kidnap. He planned to - well, do something like this. Force us into those discarded doll bodies he'd gotten from that Bishop woman."

"Which is kind of what happened anyway..." Maddy said, looking a bit guilty.

"No, this is great, believe me. I picked this one. It has all the limbs and everything, and all of them work." He smiled. "I didn't mean to cause trouble. I just had to get out of that- you said it was a bottle?"

Rich nodded. "I shouldn't have listened to Dr. Armitage. I should have just let you out. I'm sorry."

"Listen, a couple of the other spirits he trapped, you would not have wanted to let out, believe me." JT said with a shudder. "I don't blame you at all."

"I'm sorry..." It was Val, looking kind of shy. "I found some clothes that might fit you."

"If they don't, I'll make something," Maddy said.

They fit, but she probably will anyway.

JT said he doesn't know what happened to the other bottles. Rich said they found four others and JT said there should have been at least five more.

I don't think Dr. Armitage is going to be too reassured by that.....

In which John Ashton Smith solves one mystery, if not another....

"Dear Dr. Armitage,

We have solved the mystery of Dr. West, but I regret to inform you that we have not yet found Richard Morris.

Here is what I do know:

Today I returned alone to the lot we investigated yesterday. Although Miss Caroline implored me to take her along, I bade her remain at the house, hoping she would be safe.

In hindsight, it was a mistake to investigate alone. As I entered the woods. I was struck from behind and knocked unconscious.



When I revived....

"You're John Ashton Smith, the famous paranormalist? You're just a little pipsqueak."

"Who are you?" I demanded, trying to sit up.

"You may call me Dr. West. And you're just in time to witness my triumph," he sneered. "I have found a way to revive the dead through the bodies of that idiot Bishop woman's castoffs. And she really believed I was running an orphanage!" He snorted. "The only hing stupider than a woman is a little pipsqueak Brit doll, apparently...."

"Are you insane?" I demanded.

He didn't reply to that; just reached for an all-too-familiar silver box...

"What are you doing?! You're going to get us all killed!" I knew he wasn't about to listen to the voice of reason, but I felt I had to point put the obvious anyway.

"With the power of the great Yog-Sothoth..." he started.

"ALL RIGHT, YOU! IT'S HITTY TIME!"

I was never so grateful to have someone not listen to me in my entire life. Dr. West wasn't expecting to be struck down from above. 

"Don't even think of moving," she cautioned.

"No..." He tried to get to his feet, but his left arm had been knocked from its socket in the fall. One of the perils of being molded plastic, as I understand. Nevertheless, he was able to reach the silver box and knock it to the floor, spilling its contents and exposing...

"That's not the bloody Shining Trapezoidhedron!" I was so stunned that I forgot to mind my language around the lovely Miss Caroline.

"Wh-what?" Dr. West moaned.

I looked at him. "It's a crystal wing talisman from the lost city of Ydmos. It's a protective charm that will render worthless any of your reanimating spells."

He stared at me, unbelieving. "Y-you..."

"I think we know who the idiot is here," Miss Caroline said, then called the not-so-good Doctor by a term which, although highly appropriate, I shall not repeat here.

"Tell your girlfriend there to shut up or I'll smack her one in her fat mouth," Dr. West sneered.

"If you even try it, I'll dislocate your other arm, you..." I won't repeat the name I proceeded to call him, but be assured it was also highly appropriate. 

I am pleased to report that Dr. West has been turned over to the appropriate authorities. As for me, I shall remain here to continue my investigation into Richard Morris' disappearance..."

"So, this isn't bad after all?" I was looking at the wing thing that John had brought back with us.

"No. If anything, it's a talisman against evil," he said. "However, being that it set of the aether detector, I couldn't take any chances."









He looked at me. "Wait. It's "Hitty Time?" What does that mean?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, It sounded gangsta." I had to say it. "He called me your girlfriend."

John looked down for a moment, then back at me. "Well, even idiots have to be right sometimes, I guess. I mean, if you..."




Sometimes, it's just better to cut to the kiss....

In which we find a posssible lead and John explains about salts....

"Here?" Maddy said, pulling cautiously into the almost-empty lot and looking around.

"According to what Percy said." John was trying to get a signal through Maddy's phone for his laptop, but she only had one bar at most. "What was this place originally?"

"This whole place was a mall at one point. Then a lot of the stores either closed or moved to the Galleria after they built that. I know at one point Wal-mart wanted the property - I think they got as far as tearing most of the old mall down before the town told them no freaking way. I'm not too clear on the details. Then it turned into a battle when a group of Republican council members up in Hyde Park wanted to raze the entire business district and put in a Wal-mart and Sam's Club. That went nowhere either, thankfully. The one down on the other end of Route 9 is one too many, if you ask me." She looked at us. "You won't believe this, but my mom knew the old man himself, Sam Walton, when he managed a Ben Franklin's in Newport, Arkansas. Ironic that the store he started ended up putting Franklin's and a lot of other stores out of business."

I'm not sure what Ben Franklin's was, but putting it and/or a lot of other stores out of business sounds bad. I've never been near the Wal-mart anyway - Maddy won't shop there. From what I've heard, that's probably good...

"Anyway, off my soapbox. What did your sister find?" Maddy looked at John. "I thought it was all houses back there."

He got up to look. "Was there a farm over there at one point?"

Maddy nodded. "Yeah. Really small, though. They had a farm market in the summer. I think it changed hands in the late nineties and the new owners don't plant anymore."

He looked at her. "She thinks that's it. She also thinks that what we're looking for is underground."

"Underground?" Maddy looked around. "Okay, this is getting really seriously creepy." She looked around apprehensively as a white pickup truck drove slowly around the perimeter of the lot, slowing slightly to look at us before driving off. "We'd better get out of here."

~*~

"Did Dr. Armitage ever got back to you about that book?" It was later, back home.

"He did. As luck would have it, the Tyson translation is in fact quite true to the original Latin," John said. "Not that it tells us much, though. And he couldn't get any more information from Mrs. Bishop, I'm afraid. I shouldn't speak ill of anyone, but the poor woman is - well, not the brightest." He looked down a bit. "She's not a bad person, not by any means, but she's rather naive and - what's the saying - easily led? She's far too quick to trust anyone who has an air of authority, especially if it comes wrapped in a cloak of faith. Not that her beliefs are wrong - anything but - however, she's too quick to trust anyone who claims to share them."

"So what's all this about salt?" I was totally lost.

"I'm not sure, but if whoever this Dr. West is was talking about essential salts, we might have a huge problem on our hands," he said. "It's a way of taking a body and reducing it to its essence so that the person can be brought back to life through certain magickial means."

"In other words, Instant Human. Just add water." One of these days I really need to stop saying the first thing that pops into my head.

John laughed, though, "Pretty much. Except in practice it doesn't seem to work very well. At least we've never heard of anyone actually doing it." He sobered. "What I don't understand is what any of this has to do
with him buying her rejected dolls." 

Something had occurred to me. "Did she make you?"

He nodded. "Percy and I were intended to be toddler dolls, but neither of us came out right. Rich I'm not sure about. Dr. Armitage wanted us for his daughter, but his wife didn't want her to play with dolls. She felt it was unseemly for a modern child to play with what she called "gender-based toys." He didn't know what else to do with us, so he had us trained in paranormal studies."

"Do you like it?"

"It's interesting. It's all I've really known - until now." He looked at me, then back at his computer.

He's staying. One way or another, I'm going to convince him to stay. And Maddy just might be finding herself copying my ancestor Hitty's wedding dress for me after all....

In which John Ashton Smith makes his second report...

"Dear Dr. Armitage,

I am pleased (and relieved) to report that we have made some progress in our investigation, although the information I have uncovered is certainly troubling.

Persephone arrived today, as you promised. Miss Caroline and I briefed her on the situation here while Maddy was at Hudson picking up Miss Gardiner. She has been released into Maddy's care for the time being. Her recovery has been nothing short of remarkable.

She was more than willing to speak with Persephone at some length regarding why and how she came to be here. It appears that Mrs. Bishop has been in contact with a certain "Dr. West" (which I suspect may be a pseudonym) who has been purchasing dolls which, for various reasons, were never completed and/or sold. Mrs. Bishop believes that this Dr. West is purchasing these dolls to rehabilitate them as companions for children in a "church-run orphanage." Miss Gardiner fears the God(s) in question may not have anything to do with the one Mrs. Bishop believes. She mentioned that Mrs. Bishop had stated, in a befuddled way, that this Dr. West was using "salt" to fill the dolls, and wondered aloud why he didn't use pellets. Perhaps this is something you could question Mrs. Bishop about? Persephone also asked about the box and key, but Miss Gardiner had no knowledge of either one. For the moment, she will also remain here while she recuperates.

Talk of "salt" has me greatly concerned. I reviewed both the Herbert West and Randolph Carter files, as well as Maddy's Donald Tyson translation of the Necronomicon, but found nothing regarding using essential salts to animate (or reanimate) dolls. Perhaps you could cross-reference the Wormius version with the Tyson translation? The section I am referencing starts on page 143.

Percy has been using GIS, cross-referencing with Google Maps, to try to determine possible locations for Chester's Farm. As of tonight, she hasn't come up with anything promising. Maddy has some knowledge of local farms from a previous position, and this is proving invaluable in narrowing down prospective locations.





Speaking of books, Maddy and Miss Caroline were kind enough to bring me along to the local Barnes & Noble today so I could look for another book I needed. (I admit that I'm not accustomed to traveling in a handbag, however!)

Miss Caroline did offer me the use of her little studio flat (in a bookcase!) while I'm here, but I didn't want to put her out. Maddy has cleared a shelf of a nearby bookcase off for me. It's quite comfortable. I've not been made part of a family like this on any other assignment. It's quite pleasant.







I know I shouldn't say this, but I'm not looking forward to leaving.....

Yours,

John Ashton Smith

In which I learn more about John, if not about what's going on....

"Oh dear..." John fretted, looking at his laptop in dismay. "It looks like Pete Riley is on another case. I was hoping Dr. Morgan would send him here."

"How many of you are there?" I said.

"Three who report to Dr. Armitage - myself, Rich and my sister, Persephone. I need to ask your person if it would be all right if my sister joined us."

"It will be," Maddy said, coming in. "Are you guys ready to go see how Sparrow's doing?"


~*~

As it turns out, not much has changed, although she's been upgraded to "fair." They do expect her to recover. At the moment, she's being kept sedated, so John couldn't really talk to her.

After we left Hudson, Maddy said she had to make a stop at that place with the garden center.

"Do you get to go everywhere with her?" John asked as we looked around.

"Pretty much," I said. "Every now and again she doesn't bring me. Don't you go places with your person?"

"Not really," he admitted, watching the fish in the indoor pond. "I'm sent places on my own, of course, but I don't really associate with Dr. Armitage outside of the university. He's told me on more than one occasion that his wife finds dolls to be quite - disturbing - and doesn't wish for him to bring any of us to his home."

"Where do you stay, then?"

"I live in his office. He's got an old cardboard box up on one of his file cabinets that I've turned into a bed. I've got Rich and Percy with me, of course, but it does get a bit lonely sometimes."

It doesn't sound like much of a life, to be honest. Before I could say as much, though, Maddy came back.

"Hey you, smile!" she said, snapping John's picture before he could really react. I don't think he minded, though.



~*~

"My sister will be here tomorrrow," he was saying a bit later.

"Great. You did ask her," Maddy said, coming back from making a phone call. "They said they're bringing Sparrow out of sedation tomorrow. If all goes well, she might be released by the end of the week."

"That's good news," I said.

"Very," Maddy agreed, looking at John. "I see you never go anywhere without your towel."

"It's actually my blanket," he admitted. "Sometimes it's a good idea to bring your own. You can never be certain of where you'll be sleeping."

Not the highest-quality washcloth I've ever seen, I thought, but didn't say as much.

~*~

"You know he sleeps in a cardboard box on a file cabinet?" I said to Maddy when he was out of hearing range.

"He doesn't live with the Armitages?" She sounded surprised.

"No." I told her what he'd told me at the garden center.

"That's no life for anyone," she said, then looked thoughtful. "I wonder if we could convince him to stay here when this is all over?"

That is exactly what I was thinking, too....

In which John Ashton Smith makes his first report....

"Dear Dr. Armitage,

I fear I am no closer to finding my friend and colleague Richard Morris; if anything, my investigation has taken a strange and troubling turn. But let me explain....

The lead that we had been given in Amenia, NY, led to nothing but a facility housing the offices of an organization that rescues unwanted dogs. An entirely legitimate and quite honorable organization, quite unlike the entity we're looking for.









However, I did talk to another doll in the area who directed me a bit further south, to the area around Poughkeepsie. Here I have found yet another incident which may or may not be related to our investigation. I have also made the acquaintance of the lovely Miss Hitty Caroline and her friends. (I should add that I won't be submitting hotel receipts for this part of the trip, as Miss Caroline's person, Maddy, has kindly offered me a place to stay. Perhaps the University could find some way of reimbursing her?)





I should also add that despite the claims of Mrs. Sally Bishop, I have seen no evidence that the so-called "Hitty Cult" is anything but a "cult" in the most affectionate sense of the word. Although they share a common philosophy and heritage, they do not participate in the bizarre "treelove" rituals she alleged in her last letter. Miss Caroline and her sisters are quite delightful company - Miss Caroline in particular.




Speaking of Mrs. Bishop, I believe I have also  debunked her allegations of one of her recent dolls "turning evil." The doll in question, Sheldon Dean Baylor, was in fact disowned when it came to light that he was gay - this after he was badly injured in a domestic dispute with his then-boyfriend. After escaping the broker he'd been consigned to, he was rescued and adopted by Miss Caroline's person, Maddy, in late September of last year. As you suspected, the claim was baseless and I believe we can close it as such.

However, this leads me to one of my new concerns. A day or so before my arrival, Maddy and one of the other dolls, a Miss Hitty Jade, discovered a female doll of about Shel's size, disoriented and semiconscious but apparently uninjured. Miss Jade reported that the unknown female was coherent enough to ask for Shel, saying something about "warning him," but subsequently lapsed into unconsciousness. Maddy took her to the nearby Hudson Doll Hospital, where she remains in serious but stable condition. I accompanied Maddy and Miss Caroline when they went to visit her today, and I believe that she is one of Mrs. Bishop's dolls. If I remember the adoption website correctly, I believe her name is Sparrow Gardiner. Perhaps you or Dr. Morgan could inquire about the whereabouts (or what she believes to be the whereabouts) of Miss Gardiner without arousing suspicion? I would not advise revealing her location, however. Given what we know about Mrs. Bishop's mindset and her baseless allegations regarding Sheldon Dean Baylor, I fear that we may endanger Miss Gardiner and possibly Sheldon as well.

This brings me to my other immediate concern. After we returned from Hudson, Maddy, Miss Caroline and I decided to make a thorough search of both her property and an adjacent lot. What we found was disturbing to say the least.

We were well out into the adjacent lot when my aether detector sounded. Following the signal, we found first an old key.












Maddy wondered aloud if it might have been Randolph Carter's, but I told her the University is in possession of that particular key. I am hoping you might be able to identify it from the photo included, It is old and quite heavy, with no markings or other clues as to why it set off the detector. For the moment, Maddy has the key in her safekeeping.








The other item is far more disturbing...

The detector was still sounding, and upon further investigation we found this small round silver box hidden in the undergrowth.












Despite my misgivings, we brought it back to the house. Miss Caroline was going to open it but I bade her not to. I fear it might hold a fragment of the Shining Trapzoidhedron. If that is so, then I fear what other forces are at work here....









I'm horribly worried at this point and fear I may in fact be well out of my depth. Perhaps Pete Riley or one of the others could be sent to assist me?

Maddy has reassured me that she can handle anything, but I fear for what might happen to her and the lovely Miss Caroline should, as I fear, my discoveries in fact be related to the situation with Richard and the Chester's Farm investigation.





Yours, concerned

John Ashton Smith
Miskatonic University Paranormal Incidents Team
Occult Studies - Doll and Toy Division
Arkham, MA 01914"