After the debacle at Harvey's Lake, two of our investigators were looking for a change. Dr. Nathaniel Millheim had lost more sanity and blood the past two years than he had all the other previous years being a part-time charlatan and part-time parapsychologist. A rest was needed.
Steven O'Hara was tired of his superiors berating him at Wyoming Seminary, the restrictive teaching schedule, and of course, his wife Angela complaining about money. A new job was in order.
Only crooked bookkeeper Brian Nichols didn't have a big reason to leave Wilkes-Barre, except for those two fictional murder raps which might come back to haunt him.
Dr. Millheim had been dabbling in fictionalizing the adventures, stories, and wacky encounters he had experienced over the years. With numerous magazines popping up in everyday, he decided to take what little funds he had left and move to New York City.
He announced his intentions to move to New York in June at a Memorial Day celebration, much to the surprise of the O'Haras and Nichols. For Nichols, it was an instant decision to follow the good Doctor, whether he wanted it or not. He had picked up some extra cash through the Spring with some illicit bookkeeper endeavors, so he had some funds to allow him to make safe entries into the much more "competitive" money laundering market in New York.
For Steven, panic struck. Although he had seen less of his friend this year. Nathaniel was his only connection to this podunk town. His job was getting less and less bearable. With one mention of New York, his wife Angela went completely gaga over the concept of living in Manhattan. Steven decided to head his wife off at the pass and actually inquire about work on the island. Unfortunately, all teaching jobs at private schools for the following semester were filled by June and any government connections he had back at the war had been labelled socialist... or worse.
By August Dr. Millheim had achieved unparallelled success for an amatuer writer. His first story "Hoyce Roberts versus the Beastmen of Appalachia" was picked up by the first magazine he submitted it to, met with incredible acclaim, for a pulp, and by August he already had two more stories ready for publication and a small advance on a book or full collection of short stories.
This success netted a few other perks. His position as the new hot pulp writer garnered him a few guest invites to the Belvidere Supper Club. The Belvidere was an eclectic group of writers, researchers, "adventurers", and other oddities who met to discuss far-fletched theories, upcoming projects, and of course, violate the Volstead Act. Dr. Millheim (and his "agent" Brian Nichols) were the toast of the club.
When Steven came along in August to visit, he became his "plus-one" to the Club for a night. He became surrounded by a number of members during a discussion of "dimensional travel." After escaping he was confronted by Dr. Rudolph Pearson. Dr. Pearson was a professor of Medieval Literature at Columbia and he asked the investigators to search for Dr. Ephraim Harris (see CoC #8 - Transgression). Realizing the Steven was actually a physicist, and he offered him an interview.
A literature professor offering a position in the Physics department? Not quite. The department had considerable trouble finding a suitable replacement for the talented Harris. Pearson had begun having lunch with the department head after Harris had been declared truant of his duties, and a friendship developed. Pearson could bend the department head's ear and at least grant an interview on positive footing. Of course Steven jumped at the opportunity and was granted adjunct faculty status at the university. An Ivy League school. Without a Doctorate. Professor Pearson was a good contact to have.
So now the investigators are residents of the Big Apple. Through the early Fall, Dr. Millheim has developed a surprising fanbase for his "Hoyce Roberts" stories, which now total six. His new paranormal book is scheduled for release around Halloween, and even his old publisher of his crackpot books of yore, is looking at reprinting. Someone is definitely need to act as his manager, as his former lawyer Selwyn Robards, was deceased (see CoC #9 "Dust to Dust"). Perhaps, if he's not completely off his rocker, that Nichols chap that kept following him around might formally become his agent. A crooked bookkeeper almost equals a normal lawyer.
"Professor" O'Hara was enjoying the collegiate lifestyle a bit more than prep school. The Manhattan lifestyle cancelled out the increase in salary, so there were still arguments with Angela. However, as low man on the department totem pole, he was forced to wear a monkey suit and attend university functions deemed too insignicant for the other faculty (which was often). Angela loved dressing up and attending the galas, and may have picked up a contact or two within New York City (semi) society, or at least some Columbia alums.
Brian Nichols still wanted to read the damn books that Dr. Millheim accumulated, but he contented himself with Dr. Millheim's previous works, and the outrageous stories from the Belvidere. Dr. Millheim had developed a few friendships with the new acquaintances, such as Jackson Elias, a hard-living, world reknowned expert on death cults, Charles Tatum, amatuer marine biologist convinced on the superior intelligences of fish, and Paul LeMond, acclaimed spiritual medium, or at least that's what his manager Herb says.
In fact, Paul had invited the entire Millheim brigade (Nathaniel, Brian, Steven, and Angela) to a weekend of seances and spirit contact in Upstate New York. Despite being all-expenses paid, Dr. Millheim had meetings with a different publisher, and the O'Haras had university obligations. To be fair to Paul, Dr. Millheim requested that Nichols attend the weekend and "report back his findings." Some of the people at the club were quacks, so it was nice to know who was legit before they started asking for membership dues, rather than complimentary visits. The book trade seemed like a good occupation, particularly after the last few years, but as "Fighting Jack" Mosher, the mentor to Hoyce Roberts, had said in his last story, "You can't retire from saving the world. The world won't let ya!"
Next up for CoC: #10 - "Suffer Little Children"
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