Henri dressed carefully, charcoal suit suitable for a hospital visit, primrose tie and orchid colored shirt, peach pocket square. He tucked pearl grey kid gloves in his pocket. The ritual of dressing calmed him as always. He smoothed his hair back with lilac-scented pomade and went downstairs to await the others.
Friday, February 20, 2009
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Thelonius pressed his face against the glass window of the shop, cupping his face with his hands to block out the reflections as he peered inside.
Satisfied that the shop was empty, he walked up to the front door and rapped loudly, hoping Henri was somewhere inside.
Henri heard the rap on his door and hurried down the stairs. A glance showed him it was Jones outside. He smiled despite himself. He'd grown to like this strange man and respect the odd knowledge he seemed to have at his fingertips.
He opened the door.
"Bonjour, M. Jones. Come in. Mlle. Predoviciu is not here yet. Can I offer you coffee? I was about make some now for myself. Come upstairs to my flat."
"Uh, yeah...I could go for a cup of Joe. Thanks, Henri."
He followed the man upstairs, walking carefully so as not to trip on the richly carpeted stairs.
"How is everything?" He asked, as they entered the sitting area of the apartment.
Thelonius flopped down on the couch, his lanky form draped haphazardly over the arm of the plush setee.
"I am well; merci," Henri said over his shoulder from the tiny kitchen. "Pierre is well too. He settles in nicely. He is on the terrace if you wish to see him."
Henri set the percolator on the burner and stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. His face was blushing lightly and he looked a touch embarrassed.
"You think I am ridicule maybe with my bunny and my dresses, but I discovered a few interesting things also. Mlle. Whitcombe was fiancée to Richard White of the American Bank of Prussia before she became amoreuse of M. swami. There was a private investigator hired, perhaps, to see what she did with the swami. Also Mlle. Whitcombe spoke often of a bohémienne, a gypsy called Ecatarina. Her second name begins with a P. Perhaps we can find her?"
"Perhaps, but maybe we should talk to the Swami first." He began.
"And I never said you were ridiculous. you want to keep the rabbit as a pet, that's fine with me. Hell, I just want to find out what Gerloch was doing with the Swami all trussed up in the basement. I'm guessing that he thought he could enhance his drug with some bodily fluid of the Swami."
Thelonius shook his head in disgust, " Crazy occultists, always interested in one insane idea or another."
"That reminds me," Henri said, as he got out cups. "That chapeau of skin, maybe it is just because it is simple, but similar shapes have been used for ceremonial garments for thousands of years, all the way back to the Vedic god Rudra and to Mesopotamia. How will you take your coffee?"
"Uh, black, thank you. The stronger the better."
A small smile crept over the reporter's lips. He removed his hat and set it on the coffee table before him.
"You surprise me, Henri. Been doing a little research of your own?"
Cati arrived at Henri's shop. She caught a glimpse of herself in the glass and frowned. She looked tired.
She put on a smile and knocked on the door.
"Mais oui, M. Jones, I wanted to feel useful," Henri said. He tilted his head.
"Excuse-moi; I hear the door. It must be Mlle. Predoviciu. The coffee is ready. Please pour yourself some. I will bring her up."
Henri hurried downstairs and opened the door.
"Bonjour, Mademoiselle," he said, smiling at her. "Do come upstairs for some coffee before we go to see M. Swami. What a very pretty frock."
"Thank you, Henri. And I'd love some coffee."
Cati went with Henri upstairs and smiled over at Jones. "Sp how're you fellas doing? Learn anything interesting? And how's the bunny?"
Henri smiled, delightedly.
"Pierre is very well. Merci. He is on the terrace if you want to see him. He is still shy, but he eats well."
Henri fetched another cup from the shelf of his tiny kitchen.
"I have not learned much, but some things. Perhaps M. Jones will tell us what he has learned first while I get your coffee. How will you take it, Mademoiselle?"
"Milk and sugar would be fabulous," Cati replied.
"I can't say I've learned anything important," she went on. "Other than ol' Magsy had been engaged to that big cheese from the Bank of Prussia."
She looked over at Jones. "So... find out anything useful?"
Thelonius sipped his coffee and nodded to Cati,
"A bit more background on Gerloch's occult interests, but nothing germain to the case at hand."
He proceeded to relate the details of the Hyperborean myths that he was able to uncover.
"I believe that Ramanjula may be able to fill in the missing pieces and explain how Gerloch and his associates occult obsessions tie in with the criminal events."
Thel can provide a summary of the information contained in the Grivale entry, but he also offers information regarding the role played by the Hyperboreans in the occult.
As he had expected, the Hyperboreans figured most prominently in Theosophy and Ariosophy - two of the sects that also made use of the Black Sun symbol.
In Theosophy, the famous Madame Blavatsky's branch of occult science, the Hyperboreans were considered to be a race of spirit beings, which had degenerated (by way of becoming flesh-and-blood material beings) into apelike forms that, in turn, slowly evolved into humanity.
The Ariosophists, those occultists who sought "Aryan wisdom", held broadly similar interpretations, with a racial twist. They considered the Hyperboreans to have been an ancient race of perfect humans, or near-gods. Most Ariosophic authors, of course, consider Germans to be the most direct and purist descendants of the Hyperboreans. Even in the work of Ariosophists who, like Lanz, didn't have much use for the term "Hyperborean" itself, the notion of a degenerated race of god-like humans is prominent.
Those occultists who bothered to conjecture about their geographic location of the mythic country inevitably put it in the polar regions north of Europe.
(You may move to the new post, The Swami, in the Manhattan blog, whenever you are ready. Of course, please do take your time and conclude this conversation to your satisfaction.)
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