Cannich Part Nine: March 22, 1926 (Afternoon)

On Creag Dhubh

Johnny and Kane manage to grab ahold of a naked and raving Tommy Hayes and keep him from going anywhere until he calms down. Once he recovers from his temporary insanity, Tommy finds that he still has a pair of pants to wear. Johnny also gives him his shirt, so that he’s at least presentable.

At about this time, Dr. Black has also recovered from his madness. Johnny and Kane untie him.

Tommy relates that he was abducted at knife point by a bearded, red-haired man and taken up to Creag Dhubh. Tommy seems not to remember being murdered—probably a good thing, all things considered—but is grateful to the trio for scaring off his abductor. He assures them that, though he has never seen the man around the village before, he will definitely recognize him if he saw him again.

The trio have a quiet meeting a short distance away from Tommy. Kane and Dr. Black decide to go to Mullardoch House and inform the others what they have done. Johnny will stay behind on the hill and babysit Tommy.

At Mullardoch House

Ian MacLennan demands to know what the hell is going on and why the hell Judge Putnam, Ron, and Mikhail have tried to murder his university friend and house guest. While calmly reloading his gun cane, Judge Putnam explains that Peter Dubner (aka Belphegor) is a murderer and a kidnapper, and that the trio was trying to stop him from committing more crimes.

Mr. MacLennan is not convinced and has his butler, James, call the constable. The already overworked Constable MacNeil arrives a short time later with Dr. MacParlan. While Dr. MacParlan treats Belphegor, Ron, and Mikhail, Constable MacNeil tries to get to the bottom what’s happening. He seems reluctant to arrest the critically injured Belphegor just on someone’s say so, but does say that he will compare Belphegor’s likeness to that of the wanted poster in the post office.

At about this time, Dr. Black and Kane arrive. They are detained in the foyer by James the butler, who has had quite enough excitement today, but overhear the judge accuse Belphegor of murdering Tommy Hayes. The doctor, fearful that this will cause issues with the group’s plans, runs back up Creag Dhubh to warn Johnny.

“They think he’s dead, but he’s alive! What do we do?”

Johnny decides to take the direct approach and has Tommy accompany him down Creag Dhubh to Mullardoch House.

While this is happening, Dr. MacParlan calls back into town to find a truck to take Belphegor to a hospital in Inverness. News of this odd request, and the reason for it, spreads like wildfire through Cannich Village. Vivian and Luca, who are prepping for the afternoon meeting at the distillery, hear about what’s going on and immediately suspect that whatever happened is Ron’s doing.

Luca drives Vivian to Mullardoch House in the other rental car. Upon arrival, they find that numerous onlookers have gathered from the village, whispering and pointing as Belphegor’s unconscious body is loaded into the back of the truck. Vivian catches up with the others and finds out what’s going on, while Tommy Hayes positively identifies Belphegor as the man who abducted him.

Dr. Black surreptitiously shows off the murder weapon to Vivian and Ron. Vivian identifies it as the Dagger of Nephrem-Ka, confirming Dr. Black’s suspicions. Ron finds himself quite taken with the look of the knife. The others grow concerned, but Ron insists that he’s just interested in the knife’s aesthetics.

At Vivian’s request, Luca, under the pretense of “taking a leak,” does a quick walkaround of the house to see if anyone is attempting to escape. He finds no evidence of that, but he does tell Vivian that he saw a letter in a typewriter that mentions, “some of that stuff that youse all talk about when youse thinks I ain’t listenin’.”

This statement makes Johnny extremely wary of Luca.

The Partially-Written Letter

Vivian follows Luca to an open window, where the typewriter and the letter are in easy reach. She swipes the letter and shares it with the group. It confirms that Belphegor, Ian, and Annie are all in cahoots and working for or with Carl Stanford. Johnny is dismayed that Annie convinced them to let her go.

Dr. Black takes Constable MacNeil aside and asks if he can ride along with the truck to the hospital in Inverness. MacNeil tells him no, especially considering all the accusations flying around. Dr. Black then says that he suspects that Belphegor might try to escape, or that people might try to come after him, and could Constable MacNeil call ahead to Inverness and have a police presence around Belphegor while he recovers? To this, MacNeil agrees.

A short time later, the excitement dies down and the truck transporting Belphegor leaves the scene. As the villagers disperse, the group makes plans. Vivian, Ron, Mikhail, and Luca will go back to Dunne’s Distillery to plead their case, while Kane, Dr. Black, Johnny, and Judge Putnam follow the truck to Inverness so that they can kill Belphegor.

The Kerfuffle in Inverness

The Royal Northern Infirmary, Inverness

The quartet reaches Inverness undetected and enters the Royal Northern Infirmary. They talk to the nurse at the front desk and learn that Mr. Dubner has just been brought into surgery, so that they cannot see him at this time. She instructs them to wait in the hospital waiting room, and promises to call them once Mr. Dubner is out of surgery and in a room.

Judge Putnam is still suffering from a deep knife wound inflicted by Belphegor, asks to be admitted to medical care. He is taken upstairs, treated, lightly sedated, and brought into the post-surgical ward to rest.

The other three kill time in the waiting room and plan their next room. While there, they notice a disheveled man in a threadbare and bulging trench coat come in, go up to the front desk, and ask about his friend Peter Dubner. The nurse explains that Mr. Dubner has just come out of surgery, and an orderly will be by to bring him upstairs. The nurse then informs Kane, Johnny, and Dr. Black, and has them stand next to “Mr. Smith,” who is also waiting to see Dubner.

Johnny attempts to cast the Wrack spell on Mr. Smith. Smith retreats from the spell, but trips over a wheelchair and breaks his arm. Johnny, shocked by what has happened, loses control of the spell and it rebounds on him. He does not take the full effect of the spell before it dissipates, but he suffers enough pain that the nurses and orderlies fear that he has suffered a heart attack. Both Johnny and Mr. Smith are wheeled into the emergency department, while Dr. Black and Kane are taken upstairs to see Belphegor.

They find that Belphegor has been put in the same room as Judge Putnam. There are two policemen standing outside the room and two standing within the room around Belphegor’s bed. Kane, Dr. Black, and the judge have no idea what to do in this situation, and so make small talk with the police.

The Kerfuffle in Inverness, Part Two

The Mysterious Mr. Smith

Johnny, in a johnny coat (appropriately enough), has been given a battery of tests and also a clean bill of health.  Now all that remains is for him to be discharged. He shares a room with Mr. Smith, who has a fully plastered right arm and who is also waiting for discharge.

Mr. Smith, still wearing his trench coat, asks to use the loo. Johnny follows him out into the hallway, only to discover that Mr. Smith has not gone into the bathroom, but through the door leading to the stairs. Johnny follows him and a chase ensues! Johnny manages to close with Smith just as the other man goes barreling out of a door in the stairwell onto one of the hospital’s upper floors.

It turns out that this is the floor is Belphegor on. The two constables posted outside Belphegor’s door see Mr. Smith and Johnny and come running. Mr. Smith attempts to convince the constables that Johnny has snapped and is pursuing him for no reason. The constables do not buy this, however, and ask Mr. Smith to open his heavily laden trench coat. When he does, both the constables and Johnny see that Smith is carrying a rune-covered metal rod and a variety of other occult paraphernalia.

Dr. Black, Judge Putnam, Kane, and the constables all hear this exchange from inside the hospital room. One of the constables leaves to support his comrades, and Dr. Black sticks his head out into the hallway to inexplicably ask the constables why they aren’t searching Johnny as well. Fortunately for Johnny, he is wearing a hospital gown and has noting incriminating on him.

The constables decide to take both Johnny and Mr. Smith into an unoccupied office for some questioning. Dr. Black uses this opportunity to send the last constable on an errand, leaving himself, Kane, and Judge Putnam alone in the room with Belphegor. The three men soon discover that they are unable to kill Belphegor in cold blood. Dr. Black ultimately satisfies his need for revenge by altering Belphegor’s chart and scheduling him for numerous unpleasant, unnecessary, and invasive procedures.

Meanwhile, Mr. Smith and Johnny are given a stern talking to and sent back to their room under guard. They are told to remain there until they are discharged, at which point they will be escorted from the hospital. Johnny and Mr. Smith, knowing that each has foiled the other, knowingly smile at one another and share some words of professional respect and courtesy.

A short time later, Judge Putnam, Johnny, and Mr. Smith are all discharged from the hospital. The group leaves Inverness for Cannich. Meanwhile, Belphegor is prepped for the first of several enemas.

Showdown at the Distillery

On their way back to the distillery, Vivian explains Bianco’s financial situation to Luca, Ron, and Mikhail. She says that she knows that Bianco doesn’t have the resources to back the financial deal he wants to make with the distillery, but the trick is proving that to Dunne somehow.

As fortune would have it, when they pass through Cannich on the way to the distillery, they see that Yacovangelo, Rizzo, and Russo have all piled into their rental car and have pulled onto the road ahead of them, presumably to go to the meeting.

Vivian has Luca pull over while she, Mikahil, and Ron go into the Slaters Arms to search Yacovangelo’s room for evidence. Without prompting, Ron destroys yet another of the inn’s interior doors, allowing the group easy access to Yacovangelo’s room. Mikhail soon finds a ledger hidden among Yacovangelo’s personal effects that contains all the real numbers for the Bianco holdings. He explains the significance of this to Vivian, and tells her that all the numbers shows how shaky Bianco’s finances are.

Realizing that this is the ace in the hole she’s looking for, Vivian hustles the group down the stairs and back into the car, and has Luca drive them to the distillery.

Dunne is once again his jovial self, and even makes jokes about how the MacQuarrie boys are trying to pressure him into getting them off the hook for their crimes. He then goes on to say that, while he respects Vivian’s father very much, Bianco is going to pay him more and, therefore, he must accept that offer.

At this point, Mikhail goes full “simple country lawyer” and reveals the Bianco ledger. Yacovangelo swallows his tongue as Mikhail goes over the numbers with Mr. Dunne. The scales swiftly tip in Bernouse’s favor, and Dunne tells Yacovangelo to take a hike while he has his secretary draw up papers for Vivian to sign.

A short time later, the documents are signed and, with a final toast of whisky, Vivian and company dash off a quick telegram to Mr. Bernouse before returning triumphantly to the Slaters Arms.

Epilogue

Ron is confronted by Hamish, Fergus’ son, and is asked to pay 20 quid for damages to two doors. Surprisingly, Ron acquiesces.

Yacovangelo and the Jimmies check out of the inn and prepare to drive to Inverness to return to New York City. Yacovangelo, sternly but politely, congratulates Mikhail and Vivian on their skillful negotiation. The Jimmies try to say nice things to Vivian, Ron, and Luca, only for Ron to tell them to go fuck themselves.

As they depart, the group who went off to Inverness return, joining Ron and the others around a table in the Slaters Arms. They discuss what happened to each of them, as well as their future plans…