Chapter Text
Elias Bouchard
Right. Testing this old thing to see if it works.
(Elias sighs heavily)
My name is Elias Bouchard. I work for the Magnus Institute in London, an organization dedicated to studying and investigating supernatural occurrences and encounters.
The current head of the institute, Jonathan Sims, has decided that I will be the new head Archivist after the previous one, Gertrude Robinson,... passed away.
I’ve worked for the institute for over a decade now, mainly in artefact storage, and am fairly confident in my knowledge of most of our major contracts and projects.
That being said…I can’t say I was prepared for the level of work I would be inheriting from Gertrude. I’d thought of her as at least moderately competent at her job. However, this archive is…
(Another sigh)
A mess. More a colossal fire hazard than any sort of organized collection of reports. I… think there’s a sort of organization system based on some of the helpful labels like 86-91 G/H or dates.
I’m gonna have to be careful not to use my lighter in here…
There are no electrical records or audio files. According to Gerard—I’m sorry—Gerard Keay, one of the archival assistants, she did keep audio, but I haven’t been able to find any. He seemed…oddly concerned about that.
I tried to use my laptop to digitise some, but a few seem to…dislike anything higher tech than a cassette recorder. So, a cassette recorder will have to work for at least a few of these.
This is going to take me a…very long time.
(Elias taps his fingers on his wooden desk.)
But!
(Elias claps his hands together)
Let it not be said that I turn down a task I’m given. I’m sure I can manage this.
I’ve managed to acquire some help in this. I, more or less, inherited Gerard from Gertrude. Timothy Stoker and Sasha James also seemed capable and interested in a transfer from their respective positions.
I’d also considered Martin, but Jon seems to believe he’d make a better secretary than researcher.
I can’t offer any sort of theme or plan for any of these as sorting them before recording them would have me at Gertrude’s age before I even finished.
(Elias gives a weak chuckle.)
Right. But, enough excuses. On to our first statement.
Statement of Nathan Watts, regarding an encounter on Old Fishmarket Close, Edinburgh. Original statement given April 22nd, 2012. Audio recording by Elias Bouchard,...Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London.
Statement Begins.
This all happened a couple of years ago, so I apologise if some of the details are a bit off. I mean, I feel like I remember it clearly, but sometimes things are so weird that you start to doubt yourself. Still, I suppose weird is kind of what you guys do, right?
So I’m studying at the University of Edinburgh. Biochemistry, specifically, and I was in my second year at the time this happened. I wasn’t in any sort of university accommodation at this point and was renting a student flat down in Southside with a few other second years. To be honest, I didn’t hang out with them much. I took a gap year before matriculating, and my birthday’s in the wrong part of September, so I was nearly two years older than most of my peers when I started my course. I got on with them fine, you understand, but I tended to end up hanging out with some of the older students. That’s why I was at the party in the first place.
........
I never did find out anything else about it, but a few days later, I saw some missing person appeals go up around campus. Another student had disappeared. John Fellowes, his name was, though I didn’t really know the guy and couldn’t tell you much about him, except for two things that struck me as very important: he had been at that same party and, as far as I remembered, had still been there when I left. The other was just that, well, on the photo they’d used for his missing persons appeal I couldn’t help but notice that there was a pack of Marlboro Red cigarettes poking out of his pocket.
I haven’t quit smoking, but I do find that I take a lot more taxis now if I find myself out too late.
Statement Ends.
Elias Bouchard
(Clears his throat)
This is one that didn’t exactly like my laptop very much.
The investigation at the time, and the research we’ve done over the last few days, don’t corroborate his story much. Though I’m fairly certain I know the exact alley he’s talking about. He wasn’t lying about the Albanach, though. Great selection of Malts…
(Takes a deep breath)
Gerard decided to do his own little research into the area. Took some photos of his own. Wonder if he just wanted an excuse to get out of the Institute.
Anyway, Sasha did some digging into the police reports of the time, and it turns out that between 2005 and 2010, when Mr Watts’ encounter took place, there were six disappearances in and around the Old Fishmarket Close: Jessica McEwen in November 2005, Sarah Baldwin in August 2006, Daniel Rawlings in December of the same year, then Ashley Dobson and Megan Shaw in May and June of 2008.
Then finally, as Mr Watts mentioned, John Fellowes in March 2010. All six disappearances are still unsolved.
Baldwin and Shaw were definitely smokers, but there’s nothing to say either way about the others, if they’re even connected.
Just people in the wrong place at the wrong time…
Gerard didn’t find anything new on his little excursion.
Sasha did find one other thing, specifically in the case of Ashley Dobson. It was a copy of the last photograph taken by her phone and sent to her sister Siobhan. The caption was “check out this drunk creeper lol”, but the picture is of that dark alley with stairs leading up to it.
Yeah, I definitely remember that alley. It leads to Tron Square. I remember wanting to use it as a shortcut once, but something felt…off.
There’s no one in the photo.
Sasha managed to run it through some editing programs, though, and increasing the contrast appears to reveal the outline of a long, thin hand, roughly at what would be waist level on an average bloke.
It… almost seems to be reaching.
I need a smoke.
End Recording.