[MaC] Separations: Hodges, Nicola and Michael

[Mel Mason]

> "Right then, gents," [Nicola] said as they left Flat No. 2.
> "On to the second floor." As the three climbed the
> stairs leading to the second floor, Nicola wished, not
> for the first time, that she had thought to pack the
> .38 Freddy had given her for protection. Foolishly,
> she had thought she would be in LESS danger in London
> than in New York. "And here we are, tracking a
> murderer," she muttered under her breath. She, Michael
> and Hodges reached the second floor.

"So, there are a few empty flats currently, aren't there Hodges?" Michael 
asked. "I suppose someone might've been lurking in one of them for days 
perhaps looking for a opportunity."

"Flats twelve, fifteen and eighteen are unoccupied, sir.  And the insurance 
firm on the first floor is closed for the holiday.  Though we can see if 
there's been any forced entry to their offices."  Hodges suggested.

"And they really think it was strangulation? No poison?" he thinks out loud. 
"Last murder I saw that didn't have to do with this damn war was poison. And 
if someone was disposing of the evidence it explains the hole in the 
blackout cloth as much as a distraction might."

"I'm not one to spread rumors sir."  Hodges coughed apogetically.  "But 
could it have been an accident?  A drug overdose perhaps?"  (OOC: Hodges did 
not leave the room to see the young actresses' corpse)

The flats on the second floor were, if anything, a little dull.  Lord 
Benwick's flat was surprisingly drab for the London pied a terre of a young 
lordling like himself.  The only interesting thing was a manuscript on the 
open writing desk - which puported to be by someone called Emile Harrington.

James Drake's flat meticulously clean, neat and unassuming.  There were 
several novels is Polish - it appeared the Minstry of Food clerk was fluent 
in the tongue.

The writing desk in Warren Worthington's flat (or rather his uncle's flat) 
was firmly locked.up in a writing desk, or something. Not getting around 
much with his injured leg, he seemed to be pretty sloppy with everything 
else; although he did have a small trunk with an investigator's kit, 
something with fingerprint charcoal and a little microscope and a few 
chemicals. There was a space cleared out in one of the rooms - rather 
surprisingly, there was a sword here, resting in a scabbard.  Perhaps he 
exercised with it.  In addition, there was a trunk for his uniforms and 
other clothing, and otherwise his belongings were messy and not picked up.

The fourth flat was that of the Skeffington-Nottles.  Here they found James 
Drake and Anton Barowenksi speaking together in Polish, while Marion 
Mauberley and Oswald Skeffington-Nottle waited for them to switch back into 
English.

Oswald hailed the searchers with something like relief.

"Found anything significant?" he asked.