SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1934: Luke Davis stirred from a mental haze to find himself, naked in SAMSON TRAMMEL’S study. He was staring at a strange painting of an alien landscape that was hanging on the wall, while Trammel sat on the floor nearby, sketching him. Trammel showed him the bundle of papers and effluvia in which he was drawing. It was stained with what might’ve been blood and other human secretions and bound with hair. Trammel snipped a little of Luke’s own hair and mashed it into what he called his “testament.” He allowed Luke to glance over the pages, which contained peculiar occult meanderings intermixed with business records and correspondence. The information here seemed to link Trammel /or drug trade to locations in Mexico City, Valetta, and Bangkok.
Meanwhile, Chantelle, Dorothy and Tick Tock were locked in a guest bedroom. CAPTAIN WALKER entered and questioned them about who sent them and why. If the Investigators agreed to leave Los Angeles and not return, Walker said he would release them. He cited their powerful friends and his desire to keep the Nectar operation functional. He distanced himself from the religious side of Trammel’s operation, saying he just handled the business. He made it clear that doing so was difficult, given Trammel’s unstable nature.
Luke was brought back to the room, and he and Dorothy exchanged awkward greetings. (At this point, no one in the group was probably finding it easy to look anyone else in the eye.) The Investigators were led outside by one of Trammel’s men. They were given a car with keys. They made haste for the airport, where FRANK KEARNS remarked on their disheveled appearance, before piloting them back to New York.
Tick Tock went to church and gave confession to a priest. He felt somewhat comforted. Dorothy spoke with her mother, ABIGAIL HOWARD, and mentioned that she would be traveling overseas with her friend Chantelle. Abigail suggested that Dorothy join the family for dinner. Chantelle turned on her French charm to win the approval of the Howards.
ELMER WICKER delivered The Communion Rites of Victorian Death Cults to Luke. He and Dorothy met up to study it and the UCLA texts. They also had sex.
The Investigators made their way to the Manhattan office of JANET WINSTON-ROGERS. They briefed her on their recent experiences. She asked that they dig deeper, and Tick Tock asked if she really wanted to know the truth about her father, WALTER WINSTON. She said that she did, and that she hoped that Tick Tock would get some answers about his lost friend VINCE STACK as well.