Of pirates, conspiracy, and exploitation

The events in babbage had intrigued me, I needed to know more, could I perhaps help rid the streets of this murderer. News had spread bringing many more visitors to the town, some not so welcome as others. It has also brought out the better side of many longer term residents.

I undertook to examine the trail of clues if such a thing existed. I headed immedaitely for the roof of Loki's bar to gain accees to the murder scene. As I approached and climbed to the roof tops I saw a man, a pirate is the best that I could assume, perhaps a vulture seeking plunder from the crime scene, perhaps the murderous fiend himself. He flew beneath a pedal powered airship and was scouring the rooftops presumably seeking to land. I hid behind the chimney stack and held my breath. He passed me by. I headed down into the attic room to be greeted by a scene more bloody than I could have dreamed. I'm afraid that this lady for one is not used to such sights and on more than one occasion I had to head outside for the succour of fresh air.

I took note of the letters and artifacts left at the scene, the murderous dagger glimmering in the faint light where it had been thrust into the desktop. I descended back to street level and entered the bar. A man was there moving suspiciously around. Hiding in the doorway I saw the face of the sky pirate once again. I decided to confront the gentleman and greeted him cordially. He claimed to be looking the L'Algiers bar and to not have known of the nurders until shortly before I arrived. Not wishing to be discourteous I concluded our conversation and went on my way. The name of Mr. Skusting Dagger now held within my notepad.

I went home and spent a few hours reading and re-reading the evidence, the news in the Cog including the latest evidence released by the New Babbage Bow Street Police and my own notes. A picture was emerging, an unpleasant scene indeed. I do not believe that Mr Eliot himself was involved but at some stage the orphan children, those poor unfortunates of our society were being preyed upon by at least one of Mr Eliott's assistants, a Mr Moriarty, Jason Moriarty. The letters expanded little upon the secret groups known only as "the 13" and "the Van Greed society" but pointed another location that needed to be examined.

I will not speak for others but what I have discovered since has chilled me to the bone. Under our very noses, our complacent, conservative noses, the poor and underprivilegd were being preyed upon by sinister men in dark secretive societies. It is not without some guilt that I say this, for it is not a month since I was berating young Mckay Beck and his rascally pals for painting on my fresh walls, barely longer since I was asking the mayor whether something could not be done to control the exuberance of these children having been pestered, nagged and insulted while trying to focus on a complicated building problem. Such piffling trifles as these fall away to nothing in the light of what these poor mites have had to suffer. I do not intend to let my patience grow so thin again, I would like to do whatever I can to keep these children safe from the likes of Moriarty, the 13 and any others that come in their stead.

That evening I also happened to meet with Mr Sprocket, our creative if rather overbearing mayor. I ventured to ask him as to when the Bow Street Police office would be open. Rather dismissively he informed me that the police had been a little busy of late with a double murder and other strange occurences. He assured me however that it would be open with a day or so. For all his bluster and bluntness he can at least be taken at his word. He asked me what I had on my mind and I reported my encounter with Mr Skusting Dagger, the mayor assured me that Mr. Dagger was no murderer or indeed pirate to his knowledge and that I should not consider him a risk.

Now I may not have the highly honed detective skills clearly required for a job with the Peelers at Bow Street but I would have thought that any stranger to this town seen lurking without a good alibi at least needed more than a verbal dismissal. Nonetheless, I later encountered said Mr. Dagger and have found him to be a very courteous and knowledgeable fellow. What's more we have agreed to work together and share information both having acquired an interest in this episode. I remain to this day surprised that noone has questioned his motives, and I ask myself, would not a murderer, cunning and manipulative seem courteous?