7 December 2016 (Soho Square)
First, though, Audrey looks through the papers. Wigson was single, and there’s a basic quote from his landlady and an official statement of regret from his bank, but it doesn’t sound as if the reporters have dug up anyone who knew him well.
Going by Wigson’s address, Gertrude reckons it’s in a block of significant size.
Milly, Lin Tan and Audrey plan to spend the evening in the bars, restaurants and clubs of Soho, asking whether Wigson has been seen. The police will be doing this too, but it seems that they’re being unusually obstructive about sharing their reports, with no obvious reason.
They spend time in a couple of venues, getting occasional flashes of magic but nothing significant. While they’re crossing Soho Square between venues, at about half past nine, Audrey spots shine coming from one of the houses, followed some seconds later by the sound of breaking glass.
The front door of number 22 is closed, and there are no lights on; there’s no sign of damage. Audrey knocks, noting the plate reading British Movietone/Kay Film Laboratories, and gets no answer. Lin Tan moves round to look for a back way in, which takes a few minutes as she moves through yards and miniature gardens then squeezes through a loose window (seeing no broken glass at the back either); Milly heads down into the area to look for a way in, and quietly breaks a window, then gets the door open. She and Lin Tan meet in the basemant, which is being used as a storage area for cans of film; Audrey joins them.
As the three head upstairs, they hear the sound of wood and glass being broken. Lin Tan goes ahead sneakily, and eventually gets sight into the film processing lab on the first floor. She spots the large figure, at least seven feet tall, engaged in wrecking the place; he’s glowing with magic, as are his heavy workmen’s clothes, though it’s not rubbing off. Lin Tan gets a brief look at his face, and it’s crude and unformed, as if someone had carved holes into a potato.
After a bit of consultation, the three decide to observe rather than interfere. Lin Tan sees the man unreeling film stock and throwing it onto a pile in the corner, as well as smashing up enlargers, glassware, and so on. After some minutes, he starts to fade out and become transparent; his behaviour doesn’t change, but after a point he’s no longer moving the things he’s swiping at, and soon after that he’s completely disappeared.
The three search the room: the films seem mostly to be drama rather than news, and are all unspooled, even the undeveloped ones. Lin Tan makes a list of them. Milly takes a look round the other offices (and gets some information on upcoming film releases, but nothing terribly valuable). Upstairs is another lab, which hasn’t been touched.
The three leave casually via the area, and have several stiff drinks, followed by several more, as they decide that they really don’t know anything like enough – even whether this whatever-it-was is connected in any way to Wigson.