Babes in London: Act Two, Scene Three A (Anika’s House, Part 2: Ground Floor)

SCENE THREE A: INVESTIGATING ANIKA’S HOME:

Once PCs have gained entry to Anika’s house they can begin their investigation of the following rooms:

FIRST FLOOR

ENTRY HALL: This is just beyond the front door. A mirror and bureau of drawers stands opposite the door. A shoe rack sits on the floor on the right-hand side beside an umbrella stand and underneath a coat rack. There are two adult-sized mackintoshes on the coat rack but no child-sized one. Likewise, there is a set of men’s shoes and a set of sensible women’s work shoes on the shoe rack, but no child-sized shoes. Three sets of Wellington boots are also on the rack (two adult- and one child-sized set). There are two doors leading off from the entry hall: one on the left and one on the right. (NOTE: These details are important because they indicate that the parents were forcibly taken, and add to the clues that Anika left of her own accord. The door to the left leads to the lounge room and the door on the right leads to the dining room.)

LOUNGE ROOM: This room can be entered through a door from the entry hall, through another door opposite the front of the house, or via the large window overlooking the front lawn. There is a picture of a mountain lake on the wall on the right and a bookcase stands beside it. The two-seater couch has been turned on its side and cushions have spilled onto the floor. Books have fallen out of the bookcase, and the coffee table is upside down in the middle of the room. A bag of knitting has been kicked over and balls of wool lie scattered over the floor. Part of the knitting pattern is poking out from under the couch and a half-completed scarf in a soft multi-shaded pink has been flung against the window. (NOTE: There is nothing to find in this room but evidence of the struggle involved in the capture of Anika’s father who was watching a late night soccer match when the Servants of Set struck.)

DINING ROOM: There are two entrances to this room. One leads in from the entry hall and is flanked by two large, narrow vases filled with irises. The other entrance is in the back left-hand corner of the room. It stands open and you can see the kitchen beyond it. A large front window overlooks the front lawn and drive way. Gauze curtains hang in front of it. The street outside is quiet. The table has been laid in preparation for breakfast, but nothing has been disturbed. There is no teapot sitting on the heat mat and the cups are still turned upside down on their saucers. A vase containing irises stands on a white lace doily in the center of the table. A large buffet of dark-colored wood stands opposite the door leading to the entry hall. There is a stair case leading upwards in an alcove beside the kitchen door. (NOTE: There is nothing of interest in this room. Exploring the buffet or anywhere else in the room reveals no clues.)

KITCHEN: There are two entrances to this room. One door leads to the dining room and through it you can see a table set for breakfast. The other door is closed but does not appear to lead to the back garden which can be seen through the gauze curtained window above the kitchen sink. Several small pots of herbs stand on the window sill above the sink. All the herbs appear to be healthy, if well-pruned. The kitchen holds what seems to be the usual array of cupboards and shelves, as well as an expanse of clean bench space. There is also a fridge and upright freezer in one corner. (NOTE: There is no evidence of a struggle in the kitchen. Nothing has been removed or broken. All the herbs on the window ledge are culinary and not poisonous or illegal: Air (Knowledge: Plants) or Air (Craft: Cooking) test TH3).

LAUNDRY: A washing machine, dryer, clothes basket and linen cupboard almost fill this tiny space. There is an ironing board folded away next to the linen cupboard. There are two doors leading from this space. One leads into an immaculate kitchen and the other to the back garden. There is also a large sink over a small cupboard just below a window looking out into the back garden. Through the window you can see a neat lawn in the center of which is a clothes line. (NOTE: There are cleaning chemicals in the cupboard under the sink and linen in the linen cupboard. There is also an iron and ironing aid on one of the linen cupboard shelves. The only clue in this room can be found in the dirty clothes in the linen basket where a set of Anika’s jeans and one of her shirts can be found. The label from a nursery plant is to be found in one pocket of her jeans, and crumpled leaves in the other. The label contains a logo, but not the name for the ‘Half-Time Nursery & Landscaping Services’. This will have to be found by looking up the phone book, or doing a search on the image. The label also has the name ‘Camellia sassanqua’ written on it and a picture of dark green leaves and a white flower, which do not match the crumpled leaves (Air: Knowledge: Horticulture, or Air: Craft: Gardening/Landscaping TH3). The leaf is from a Japanese maple – a relatively rare plant for gardening and quite expensive (Air: Knowledge: Horticulture, or Air: Craft: Gardening/Landscaping TH4).

BACK GARDEN: This consists of an expanse of grass surrounded by six-foot wooden fences. Narrow garden beds containing roses and some other kind of flower flank the fences on either side of the yard. There are two larger garden beds on the back right-hand side of the yard and what seems to be a tool shed at the back left-hand side. An empty clothes-line stands in the middle of the yard. (NOTES: The other kinds of flowers in the garden are camellias, daisies, and marigolds – Air: Knowledge: Horticulture or Air: Craft: Gardening/Landscaping TH3. Nothing is concealed in any of the garden beds. No clothes are on the line. The shed contains a lawn mower, a half-empty fuel can, a whipper-snipper, leaf blower and a variety of other garden tools.) The camellias are not sassanquas (TH:3).