William Jodeit: new episode page

2026-10-29T09:41:48Z

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==Synopsis==

The investigators regroup in the entrance hall of Tulane and weigh their leads: St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, where the Doucet twins died; the Meridian House near Lafayette Square; and Detective Russo's house, though they still don't know where he lived. [[Major Bakersfield]] phones the Arkham newspaper of his old acquaintance, the reporter Ricky "Jazzman" Dubois, and learns that Ricky is already in New Orleans on assignment, staying at the Hotel Monteleone. He reaches Ricky there. Ricky, who grew up in New Orleans and once worked the music beat at the ''Times-Picayune'', has been sent down by the New York Times to cover the [[The Axe Man|Axe Man]] murders. He has heard about the carnage at the Hotel Couronne Creuse, and in exchange for the promise of an exclusive he gives the Major Russo's address, 1123 Barracks Street, just off the French Quarter. They agree to swap notes and meet up that evening, and the Major advises him to leave jazz playing all night.

The group decides to stay together and take cabs to the cemetery first. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, the oldest in the city, is a walled maze of whitewashed, above-ground tombs that seems cut off from the noise of the city. Splitting up to search, [[Shrimp Puerto Rico|Dr. Shrimp Puerto Rico]] finds a shabby tomb broken open, and [[Tallahassee Turner|Tallahassee]] finds a grander tomb decorated with astronomical designs, its door forced and the area cordoned off with strips of cloth. It belongs to Nathaniel Vane Orialis and his wife, Penelope Mecklin Vane Orialis, and blood is splashed across the stones all around it. Inside, the bodies in the tombs are undisturbed. On the floor are melted candles, crude ritual symbols, feathers, blood and a small twine doll. The Brotherhood of Orion's sigil is carved into the far wall, and the Amduceus symbol is painted on it in blood with the same eerie precision as the one at the Couronne Creuse. Behind one of the tombs Tallahassee finds an old ''Times-Picayune'' clipping from September 15, 1918 reporting the killing of Orialis, aged 70. He was found in his observatory at the Meridian House with his skull crushed by repeated blows. Neighbors heard hammering and a low humming before the screams, and one man glimpsed "a great shadow with a horn" fleeing into the mist. Scrawled at the bottom in handwriting are the words "He can't be the last."

[[Devon Black|Devin Black]] hears humming and footsteps and goes to look. He finds the groundskeeper, James Barbier, who orders the group away from the crime scene. He says he hasn't seen [[Mister Corbitt the Character|Corbitt]] himself but admits that the photograph looks like a man people described. After Tallahassee's hard success at fast talk, Barbier opens up. Woken by screams, he was among the first to find the Doucet twins "splattered all over the place." The same night another tomb was broken open and its body is missing, and the police showed no interest. It belonged to Big Benny Benoit, a strange swamp-dweller from the bayous south of the city who was rumored to dabble in dark voodoo and to be involved in the first Axe Man killings. Benoit was shot in some altercation soon after the killings stopped, and he was related to Clara Benoit, a survivor of the first wave who had made noise as if she knew who the Axe Man was and then moved away. Barbier recommends the Hotel La France if they want somewhere fancy. At Benoit's tomb, his date of death is November 6, 1919, and the debris lies outside, showing that something burst out.

The group now suspects that Benny Benoit was the original Axe Man: the killings stopped when he died, and he rose again on the night of the Doucet twins' ritual. Tallahassee rolls a 1 on a pushed handwriting analysis with Shrimp on his shoulders, and is certain the note on the clipping is in Corbitt's hand. The group concludes that Corbitt believes Orialis's bloodline survives and is hunting the living key so he can open the gate and take its power for himself, possibly in league with the Order of Scorpius. Tallahassee wonders whether Corbitt is actually trying to close the gate, with the Axe Man trying to stop him, and the others call it the dumbest thing they have ever heard. It is about four o'clock and will soon be dark. Rather than split up, they take cabs together to Detective Russo's house on Barracks Street.

==Funny Moments==

* Ricky's colleague at the paper has heard of "Ricky Jazzman Dubois," but not "Ricky Jazz Hands Dubois."
* "Has anyone ever told you you're a real peach?" "Only every day."
* The investigators insist on taking one taxi each, "ten cabs."
* Shrimp sits on Tallahassee's shoulders and covers his ears to help him concentrate, and Tallahassee rolls a 1.
* "I award you zero points": the group's verdict on Tallahassee's theory that Corbitt might be the good guy.
* James Barbier's favorite Tallahassee Turner books are "Tallahassee Turner and the Bayou People" and "Tallahassee Turner and the Bayou Bonsai."

==Notable Quotes==

* "Oh, it's these Axman murders, man. Big news all over the country." —Ricky Dubois
* "Hey, fellas, I found it." —[[Tallahassee Turner]]
* "He can't be the last." —the note on the clipping, in [[Mister Corbitt the Character|Corbitt]]'s handwriting
* "I don't need no more looky-loos, thrill-seekers coming out here." —James Barbier
* "Guys, look, something blasted out of this." —[[Shrimp Puerto Rico|Dr. Shrimp Puerto Rico]]

608: Jazz Hands - Revision history

William Jodeit: new episode page