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Marius holds shut the car door as an angry, tattooed carnie with disturbing facial piercings struggles to open it.

"Mama mia!" exclaims the driver at the situation. He looks both ways down the cross streets and pulls out past the red light.

The carnie punches and cracks the window as the cab pulls away. Cars honk. The passing autos prevent the chasing cab from pursuing long enough for Marius' cab to get in the clear and reach the hospital.

An emergency room attendant greets Marius and Eddie. "What's wrong?"

"This man got bit by a cobra!" Marius yells, his adrenaline still pumping and expecting (or looking for) a fight. "Fix him!"

He glances out the nearest window to see if the carnies have caught up.

Eddie is rushed into see a doctor.

The taxi driver taps Marius on the shoulder.

"You gotta pay for the cracked window."

Marius breathes a sigh of relief when he realizes the carnies weren't able to follow them.

"What?! Oh, well…" Marius looks over the window to and takes a guess at whether he can afford that right now.

Marius, ever the opportunist, looks around a bit nervously, and tries out an idea.

"Er, well… we're on duty with the Arkham Gazette newspaper, you'll have to send the bill there. Here," he tears out a page from his little notebook and writes out Arkham Gazette, c/o Eddie Sharpe, and the Gazette's phone number he used when getting in touch with Eddie.

The Gazette won't mind, he thinks. Newspapers probably have their reporters getting into scrapes like this all the time.

Marius also finds a business card in Eddie's notebook, which helps convince the skeptical taxi driver. "Okay," he says, and leaves.

The doctor comes up to Marius. "We gave him some antibiotic. It'll take several hours before he can walk about."
Marius sits in the waiting room and looks at the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. There is a feature story on the Dark Pharaoh Freak Show & Carnivale, including a picture of the freaks all smiling for the camera.

Eddie eventually comes out. "That was a doosie," he says. "Ready to go back to Arkham?"

"Yeah, I'm good to go." Marius doesn't really know why, but he keeps the exchange with the taxi driver to himself. Maybe he's still a little embarrassed about it and figures it'll sort itself out.

"Hey, look at this news story," he says before they leave, pointing to the article on the freak show. "Do you see any pictures of the Dark Pharoah here?" He hunts the article for information or photographs of the Dark Pharoah, masked or unmasked. If he finds anything, he looks around suspiciously and makes a loud cough as he rips the page out and pockets it.

He heads back to the train station with Eddie, back to Arkham. "I'll drop a line on P.I. Pym when we get back, see what he came up with. I'm sure he saw us bailing out of there, what with all that commotion."

Eddie the Arkham Gazette reporter looks at the newspaper. "Typical feature story. I don't see the Dark Pharaoh in the picture, or quoted. It says: "As for the carnival's namesake Pharaoh, this reporter was told he doesn't give interviews for fear I would have nightmares. Now that's a man who knows how to keep up the suspense."

"Making it so jokingly obvious that no one takes him seriously. How effective..."

On the train ride back Eddie talks about the experience in the gypsy wagon. "I don't remember some of it, like a trance, what did he do?"

The reporter agrees that Detective Pymm should be contacted. Eddie also wants to talk again with Reginald Wilkins, Isaiah Bartlett, and Dr. Harold Matthers. He explains to Marius the murder investigation in Providence, connection to the Arkham murders, alleged cult activity, and the involvement of the BOI. "Last I heard there was going to be a BOI raid on a club suspected of being a meeting place for cult members."

Marius is surprised and alarmed at the scope of this.

Eddie invites Marius to join in his meeting with the Providence investigators.

'What a crook. With teeth like that guy had, I'd be hesitant to show my mug in public, too. I wonder if he was wearing that animal mask at first because he didn't know we were on to him, and was just trying to keep up the mystique.'

Marius tries as hard as he can to remember the order of events in the gypsy wagon, but is surprised himself that the memory is a bit fuzzy around the edges. 'I dunno, Eddie. We were there, but when that guy started talking, everything just sort of slipped away. I can't explain it… I felt like I was floating in outer space, maybe, or getting swallowed up by the universe. Then he let the snake out and you got bit good. Nearly lost you there, and he got away. The rest was just a blur, it was all too quick… Wait! I remember his hand, it had these symbols on them. They glowed, Eddie! His fingers glowed! Was he casting some black magic, like voodoo or something?!'

Marius, ever a man of action, snatches up the offer to join up with the other investigators in Providence. 'When we get in I'll send word to make sure my family takes the animals and heads to my sister-in-law's place, in case those goons come back to the cabin. Whatever these creeps are up to, I want to see them shut down for good.'

Eddie nods his head, some memory returning. "Yes, you're right, his fingers had symbols. It must have been hypnotism."

Marius and Eddie return to Arkham, where the reporter checks in with his editor at the Arkham Gazette.



He shares recent information about the murder and cult investigation, selling the editor on the idea of a scoop that will leave the Boston Globe red-faced. Eddie gets the okay from his editor to continue his research and file a story withing two days, sooner if he thinks other papers are horning in.

Marius secures his family and a few hours later he and Eddie are driving in Marius' Model T pick-up truck



to Providence.

"Right, let's get on the road," says Marius. He packs his rifle and a change of clothes into the back of his Model T and they set off to Providence.

They talk over the events of the past weeks, and what to expect when they get to Providence. On their way to town he asks for further directions. "So these friends of yours, where do we meet up with them? Do you know how to get us there?"

Marius and Eddie make the drive to Providence. During the ride Eddie discusses his thoughts for the story his editor wants him to write for the day after next.

"How far do you think I should go Marius?" asks the Arkham Gazette reporter. "Just the facts I suppose..."

A few hours later the two men pull up in front of Charters Book Shop. They step inside...

Feel free to post car-time conversation with Eddie here. The Charter Book Shop portion continues at viewtopic.php?p=209654#p209654

"Sure, just the facts, Eddie. We don't want to tip our hand by publishing wild ideas and speculation. So far it's been in our favor that these goons aren't sure what we do or don't know, we can bluff our way through before they know we're blowing hot air. If they know we're on the wrong track about something it gives them a lead."

They exit the car and enter the book shop, ready to meet the others.