Houghton Apartment Investigation - Thu, Aug 25, 2016

The session begins with technical difficulties and casual conversation among the players.

Luke, the Handler, recaps the previous session’s investigation into Kerry Houghton’s murder at the former Cornucopia House, now a warehouse for the Zion Correctional Facility.

The agents focused on Kerry Houghton’s murder, uncovering disturbing details and syncing up with their liaisons in state and local police.

Detective Sergeant Almudena Velazquez of the Maryland State Police and Deputy Michael Costa of the Cecil County Sheriff’s Department are introduced as liaisons.

Velazquez provides security camera footage from the Strawberry Hills Apartments, showing Kerry Houghton being attacked by three people, beaten unconscious, and taken away in her own car.

Elle Gable is seen on camera entering Houghton’s apartment and leaving with a keyring.

Velazquez shares her personal recollections of the 2001 investigation into Cornucopia House, revealing some political angles and possible improprieties.

The agents prepare to head to Whitehall, Maryland, to investigate the Strawberry Hills Apartments.

Mark asks if there was a list of children’s names from Cornucopia House, but Luke explains that those identities are protected and redacted from records.

The agents discuss the possibility of cross-checking Crystal Killian, a dead woman in Florida, to see if she was connected to Cornucopia House.

Luke clarifies that Crystal Killian is in her early 30s, too old to have been at Cornucopia House, but her death led to the agents’ names being found at the scene.

The agents decide to contact Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonia Pitzerelli for help in accessing Child Protective Services (CPS) records.

Pitzerelli responds, indicating that national security blocks have been placed on the records, but they need to find a way to access them unofficially.

The records are only available in hardcopy at the Dr. Edward C. Papenfus State Archives building in Annapolis.

The agents consider the possibility of obtaining a warrant, but Pitzerelli advises against it due to the time it would take and the need to avoid official records.

The session ends with the agents planning their next steps in the investigation.

Luke explains that accessing certain records involves a lot of scrutiny.

Robert agrees with Luke’s statement.

Chris asks if they can put a layer of people between them and the records.

Luke mentions that they have a couple of liaised investigators.

Brian suggests tabling the discussion for now and thinking about their next steps.

Chris agrees to table the discussion.

Brian notes that they are about to visit a woman’s apartment, which may contain interesting paperwork.

Chris mentions that while Brian is in the car with Velasquez, they are all texting.

Brian humorously responds with “how about them Orioles?”

Chris makes a reference to Zap Brannigan, indicating a lack of attention.

Luke states that Velasquez is interested in talking about the case while driving.

Luke mentions that Pizzarelli showed up the day before to take charge, and Velasquez has heard the name.

Brian asks if Pizzarelli’s name is known among the others.

Luke confirms that it is not a secret.

Luke describes Velasquez driving her SUV with Brian’s character in the passenger seat.

Luke humorously corrects himself, saying Velasquez put Brian’s character in the trunk.

Velasquez asks about Brian’s character’s history with the DOJ and his specialty.

Chris jokes about mathematics and probability.

Brian states that his character is a digital signals expert.

Luke notes that Velasquez saw Brian’s character demonstrate his expertise with the video.

Velasquez nervously taps on the steering wheel and asks why the DOJ took over the investigation, hinting at child trafficking.

Brian responds ambiguously, implying child trafficking without confirming it.

Velasquez nods thoughtfully and expresses her commitment to concluding the case.

Luke suggests a helplessness sanity check for Brian’s character due to the unnerving situation.

Luke confirms that Cortez is resigned to his fate.

Luke asks if the others in the second SUV want to discuss anything before reaching the apartments.

Chris wonders if Drummond has noticed McCarter’s paranoia.

Robert confirms McCarter’s paranoia.

Luke instructs Chris to make a human check, which he fails.

Chris does not notice McCarter’s state of mind.

Robert asks to make an alertness roll to see if they are being followed, which he fails.

Luke humorously confirms they are being followed.

The group arrives at Strawberry Mills Apartments, a nice suburban complex.

Velasquez informs them that Houghton’s apartment is 12-121.

Velasquez has the key and there is police tape across the door.

Chris jokes about cutting the tape with a pocket knife.

Velasquez unlocks the door and swings underneath the tape.

Chris cuts the tape after Velasquez goes through.

The door opens to a strong smell of rot.

Luke describes the smell as a mix of decay and something appealing, like freshly made french fries.

Chris steps out to get Vicks Vapor Rub from the SUV.

Mark asks about the pungency of the smell, wondering if it indicates a dead body.

Luke instructs the players to make alertness checks.

Everyone except McCarter succeeds, identifying the smell as mostly garbage with a hint of decaying flesh.

Chris observes Velasquez’s reaction to the smell.

Luke rolls for Velasquez, who reacts to the bad smell but does not think anything is wrong.

Drummond, after applying Vicks, primarily smells an appetizing odor, possibly donuts.

Drummond expresses disinterest in donuts, preferring a chicken parmesan sandwich or meatball parmesan sub.

The apartment is described as messy, not tossed, but cluttered with items stacked on tabletops and in corners, indicating a hoarding problem.

The apartment’s condition contrasts with the nice exterior of the building, suggesting the tenant would not have been allowed to stay if the management knew.

The windows in the bedroom are blacked out by piles of clothes, shopping bags, and thrift store bric-a-brac.

The group discusses the discrepancy between the pristine exterior and the hoarder-like interior.

Velazquez mentions not having talked to the main office about the tenant’s duration of stay and notes the absence of a mail slot in the door.

The group finds a large pile of mail, some dating back months and even years, indicating the tenant has lived there for at least a couple of years.

Cortez and Drummond succeed in their respective accounting and alertness checks.

Cortez tallies up the tenant’s possessions, noting thrift store bags and signs of poverty, suggesting she was living beyond her means.

Drummond finds a bottle of carpet cleaner and paper towels in the hallway, indicating the tenant had a pet, likely deceased.

Velazquez mentions not seeing anything during her brief visit the previous day.

The group speculates about the presence of a live animal, which would have been noticeable upon entering.

Cortez searches the bedroom, finding a set of drawers containing personal items, including diaries dating back to the late 90s.

Cortez flips through the diaries, noting a change in handwriting style around 2001-2002, with neater, more regimented writing.

A photograph from the late 90s shows a younger, happier Carrie Houghton.

The diaries contain repeated text about sanitary conditions, chore loads, and children’s happiness at Cornucopia House, indicating possible brainwashing or coercion.

The group discusses the implications of the repeated text and the potential brainwashing abilities of Yelena Kalamatiano.

McCarter recalls that Monroe and he decided not to discuss their experiences with Kalamatiano’s mind-twisting abilities.

The repeated text in the diaries is recognized as Houghton’s handwriting but more uniform and controlled.

The group notes the dates associated with the repeated text, providing context for the changes in Houghton’s behavior.

Houghton was a CPS representative responsible for inspecting Cornucopia House, visiting periodically to check conditions.

Brian (David Cortez) Inquiry:

• Brian asks if the events in the diary continue until 2001.
• Luke confirms the events start in 1999, increase in frequency until 2001, and then decrease but continue.

Diary Discovery:

• Brian (David Cortez) finds three diaries.
• The first diary is from late high school through college and does not contain “crazy writing.”
• The other two diaries contain disturbing content.
• Brian decides to pocket the two disturbing diaries and bring the first one to Velazquez.

Interaction with Velazquez:

• Brian (David Cortez) attempts to distract Velazquez by showing her the first diary.
• Luke asks for a stealth check with a +20 bonus.
• Brian rolls a 3, but Velazquez gets a critical success.
• Velazquez suspects Brian is hiding something and asks if there are more diaries.
• Brian denies finding more, but Velazquez remains suspicious.

McCarter’s Paranoia:

• Robert (Matthew McCarter) searches the apartment, convinced the murdered woman was a cult member.
• McCarter looks for religious or occult symbols tied to the Skoptsi cult.

Dead Cat Discovery:

• McCarter finds a decaying British short-haired cat hanging from curtain cords.
• The cat appears to have been healthy but died from asphyxiation about a week ago.
• McCarter feels an unsettling kinship with the dead cat and loses 1 Sanity point.

Monroe’s Forensic Analysis:

• Mark (Steel Monroe) examines the cat and confirms it died about a week ago, likely the same night as Houghton.
• Monroe detects a faint smell of buttered cornbread coming from the cat.

Monroe’s Intuition:

• Monroe makes an intelligence check and deduces the sequence of events:
  • Houghton cleaned up a mess made by her cat and took out the garbage.
  • Three attackers waited for her, kidnapped her, and took her away in her car.
  • The cat got caught in the curtain cords and died after Houghton left.

Luke explains that the surveillance footage shows no one else in the room except for a cat, suggesting the cat closed the door.

The group humorously considers the cat as a co-conspirator.

Luke asks for a sanity check, and Mark rolls a critical success, avoiding any sanity loss.

The group discusses the cat’s name, settling on “Madame Blob,” with the tag abbreviated.

The players joke about the absurdity of the situation and the cat’s involvement.

Luke describes the crime scene, noting a series of coincidences that make the crime seem almost orchestrated by the cat.

The group makes additional sanity checks, with Chris failing and losing one sanity point, while Robert rolls a critical success and rationalizes the coincidences.

Chris decides to project his sanity loss onto a bond, reducing his willpower and bond score but avoiding further sanity loss.

Brian rationalizes that the coincidences make sense based on his character’s research, maintaining his sanity.

Luke describes finding an old computer in Houghton’s apartment, containing emails that reveal her deteriorating mental state and demoralization before and after the Cornucopia House raid.

The emails show Houghton repeatedly claiming she saw nothing wrong at Cornucopia House, and her predecessor, Franklin Price, also found nothing concerning.

Price was in long-term care for early-onset dementia by 2001, preventing him from being interviewed.

Houghton’s emails grow desperate, and she is eventually fired from her job, leading to a series of low-level retail jobs.

The session wraps up with the group discussing potential leads, including looking into Elle Gable’s connection to Houghton and the possibility of investigating Franklin Price’s records.

The group plans to follow up on these leads in the next session.