"Oh, dear, you don't have to explain these things to me."

"My house is your house."

"I don't want to hear any of those-- dreadful things."

Oh good, he doesn't have to explain right now that they are getting married. (He'll have the rest of his life to explain it.)

"You're far too kind to fools like me."

"My philosophy is that I refuse to know about anything unhappy."

"It's a very smart philosophy. The best one I've seen yet."

"If I don't know about sad things I can't be made upset by them!"

"I should have just shown up and said I had a week off and no better way to spend it then with you."

(There's no sparkles but-- he knows he actually wants to spend time with Ruby, and that solidity is worth something.)

(Even if the idea of Ruby being 'solid' or 'emotionally grounding' is inherently laughable.)

"I would have believed you entirely, darling."

"Now, do tell me the truth, do I need to get my brother to visit."

"How do you plan for him to help?"

"He is very large and very intimidating and he does hit people, darling, if it is necessary."

"Is he going to hit a lady who, I do need to emphasize this, can mind control people?"

"...probably not."

"I appreciate the thought though!"

...

"Intimidating Parker might help, but there's a good chance I only want that because I've been made to want that, so."

"Well, then, I shan't. We can have more fun without him, anyway."

Meanwhile--

Okay. Goals for this conversation. Explain to Normand Carlisle, her dear(?) scientist friend, what's been happening. Ask for a sanity check. Acquire explosives and possibly chemicals. Maybe get the explosives first.

They are... getting lunch. It's normal for acquaintances from the same workplace to get lunch together. The seclusion of the place they're eating at is coincidental.

"Did you hear about Alexander Roby?"

"No."

"He escaped from a mental hospital the other day. The authorities think he's just insane, but... I was volunteered by a friend to interview him a month ago, and I started looking more into it, and I'm pretty sure he's a lot more than that."

"But -- if I'm right then it's going to talk a whole lot to stop what's happening and there aren't many people who'd be willing to, and if I'm wrong and none of this makes sense I need somebody to tell me. And you're the only person I know who might not be utterly out of their depth here and knows how to keep a secret."

"I do."

"--I should start from the beginning."

And she does. Starting with the performance of The King in Yellow, sketching out the leads they'd followed, focusing on the concrete evidence she's uncovered of supernatural happenings, lingering on their experience with the byakhee, coming to a head with the prophecy. She has an outline she's referencing so she doesn't forget anything.

It takes a while. She's trying to be convincing, to clearly demonstrate why she now believes what she does, to not have the same experience they had with Leo Aarons.

Normand Carlisle nods and asks pointed questions.

At the end of it, he looks unconvinced but says, "what do you need?"

"There are going to be -- hundreds of them there, the byakhee. We don't fully know the capabilities we're up against. We need to be prepared to take the whole place down, if we have to."

"--If I'm wrong and this is a mistake I'll take full responsibility for any and all consequences. You were never involved. But even if I am wrong he's still an escaped murderer, and everyone at that ritual is at minimum aiding and abetting him."

"Explosives."

"Yes."

"...how big of a thing do you need to blow up?"

Sal got the rough size of the place from Oscar. She can convey it.

And Normand can explain to her where to put the explosives.