Murders of the Zodiac Boxed Set

by Paris Morgan

  “Look around on the floor. Do you see anything out of the ordinary?” Ryan motioned to the space filled with a chandelier, Simon’s body, and lots of tech personnel.

  The ground was clear. I obviously wasn’t seeing what Ryan had. “No, what am I missing?”

  “There’s no sand. The killer didn’t have to use sand to offset his weight because the chandelier’s pulleys did the job for them. I’m going to take a huge leap and say that our killer is a woman.”

  “What? That’s a huge leap with nothing specific pointing to any evidence.” I looked at Ryan in astonishment.

  “Think about it. Last month, we had a man killing women. This month, all the dead are men, so a woman killer would make sense, and the difference in their weights would explain why they had to use sandbags to help pull their drugged bodies into position.” He pulled me into the corner and glanced around to make sure that no one was trying to listen to what we were discussing.

  “Wow! That would mean the killer could be one of the women right here since we have three deaths connected to Simon and his followers.”

  “Exactly. I’ve asked one of the officers to make sure to list all ‘employees’ and residents. Someone with a grudge turned their focus here because we were investigating Simon. We’ll go through all their information and see where it connects.”

  “On that train of thought, though, where does Simon fit into the financial aspect that’s connected the others with Urban Energy?” I continued to watch those hovering around the doorways, certain that the killer was here watching us. “Do I need to change my flight information and stay a few more days?”

  “Nah, I think that the information we have right now is going to lead us in the right direction. We were trying to get Simon to be interested in you and give you information. It worked, just not in the way that we thought it would. I don’t want you to use your comp days up because we might need them again in the future.”

  I was frustrated and tired. This killer was starting to get under our skin by keeping us busy. “All right. I’m going to go back and read through the files again before I take a taxi to the airport. This financial thing is bothering me, and I want to pull at the loose ends a little bit.”

  He started to protest, but I cut him off. “I’ll sleep on the plane. I’ll be fine. I’m used to long hours with short naps.”

  I gave him an awkward pat and headed for the door. Not being here officially did have its perks. I didn’t have to wait around for the techs to be finished or the body to be moved.

  A car arrived to take me back to the hotel, and I knew that I had to keep my adrenaline running or I’d pass out when I was reading through the files.

  ***

  Nothing I’d found in the files on Sunday made any sense. I couldn’t really pull anything up without my work computer. We were going to have to request records from the company, but that could take extra days that would mean more deaths if past history was any indication.

  Adding into the mix Ryan’s theory that a woman was responsible made sense when men were dying. These murders had a more personal feel to them, but that still didn’t answer the question of why was she doing this.

  I mulled this over throughout the day as I worked on my own cases. Finally, I guess Joe had had enough of my quiet thoughtfulness for the day.

  “All right, spill it. What happened up there in Wisconsin?” He placed his boots on the desk with a sigh of happiness.

  “Ugh. So much that I’m just having a hard time wrapping my head around it.” I closed my laptop in frustration, because Joe wouldn’t let me work on the information that Ryan was going to need.

  “Walk me through it, and remember that I have years of experience to work with. I haven’t seen it all, thankfully, but I’ve seen a lot.” He laced his hands behind his head, getting comfortable.

  “Fine. Someone is committing murder and making it look like suicides. Ryan’s friend, Jesse, had an attempt to kill him made and is in the hospital in a coma. We can’t figure out if he saw something or just fit the profile, so they used the opportunity to take out a cop. They’re using two cities again with almost no connections, except through the Urban Energy Company, which also makes no sense. How could one company make two different serial killers upset enough to go on a rampage? We’re still working on that angle, but the paper trail is going to take time to get through.”

  Joe gave a grunt that I learned to mean he was listening.

  “Along with Jesse’s notes, Ryan came to the same conclusion: these men were forced to commit suicide. They checked into local cults or groups that would fit their kind of profile. Only one matched enough to warrant an interview with the leader. Simon and his followers don’t espouse suicide as an option, but because of the emotionally broken people that walk through his doors, it happens frequently.”

  “Which is why you went up there, to play the female in distress and work on his affections,” Joe assumed.

  “Correct. You’ve met Ryan, he comes off as abrasive.” I smiled when Joe grunted again. He wasn’t much different himself. “Anyway, Simon invited us to dinner, which went well, but I’m pretty sure that someone put something into Ryan’s drink. After I talked to Natalie, the girlfriend of one the suicide victims, I was able to get Ryan back to the hotel to sleep it off.” I didn’t disclose the fact that I’d slept on the couch. Even though nothing happened, that was how rumors got started, and you could never get that kind of thing to die down.

  “So you’re certain that Simon had something to do with these deaths?”

  I sighed. “See, that’s where everything was leading to, until Simon’s assistant Matt was found hanging in his apartment Saturday morning. We got approval to watch Simon’s house—although, it was more like a mansion than a house—but nothing happened all night. No one left or went in. Granted, we didn’t have all the doors covered, but it was quiet.” I took a deep breath before I continued. “We hadn’t even made it back to the hotel at seven-ish yesterday morning when there was a 9-1-1 call. When we made it back to Simon’s, we found him hanging from the chandelier with a note pinned to his shirt in his own handwriting, taunting us.”

  “So, either Simon was in on it, or the killer forced him to write his own suicide note?”

  “Exactly. This person knew about the house and how the chandelier worked to get it down and back up with Simon’s body. They knew we were looking at Simon for planning the murders, or at least knowing about them. Because of the use of the chandelier, Ryan’s thinking it’s a woman, and she’s using things to help maneuver these guys into position, and then pulling the plug so when they struggle, it’s authentic.”

  “That’s a fine mess to wade through.”

  “Hey, Boxe,” Nick called out.

  “What’s up?” I rolled my eyes, waiting to see what he was going to try to pull this time.

  “Those flowers that were on your desk after you left, I took them and gave them to my current fling. It wasn’t what I would have picked out normally, but you saved me a good hundred bucks.” He paused, fumbling in his pocket. “I pulled the card out so I could add my own thing for my girl.”

  I glared at him. “What? You weren’t here for the weekend, and they shouldn’t go to waste just because you couldn’t enjoy them. I repurposed them for you.” He gave a cheerful wave as he moved out of throwing range.

  Out of habit, I opened the card, even though Jerome had told me what he’d written. I gasped.

  “Leslie?” Joe’s feet landed on the floor with a thud, moving faster than I’d ever seen.

  He took the card from my hand and read it. “Don’t leave the state. There will be more bodies dropping and you can’t chase them all because your job won’t pay for it.”

  “That’s a threat for sure. Do you know who would send you flowers?” Joe demanded.

  “Jerome said he sent me flowers, but this isn’t the message he told me. Hold on, just a second.” I recovered enough to realize that I could relieve some worry fairly easily. />
  Leslie: What kind of flowers did you send me?

  Jerome: Purple Hyacinths. Why? They’re supposed to mean, I’m sorry.

  Leslie: One of the guys decided to take them for his girlfriend since I wasn’t here. I was just curious. I’ll tell you more about it when we get a night for dinner.

  Jerome: Okay. Sorry you didn’t get to enjoy them.

  Leslie: It’s the thought that counts. Gotta go.

  Jerome: Bye.

  Standing up, I marched over to Nick’s desk.

  “Nick!” I yelled at his back, causing him to jump three feet.

  “Geeze, Boxe, don’t sneak up on a guy like that.” His eyes widened as he realized that he was in serious trouble.

  “What kind of flowers did you take off my desk?” I ground out between clenched teeth.

  “Some sort of yellow cup things…” He thought a minute. “Buttercups. When I brought them to my girl, she said they were hard to get because it wasn’t the season for them,” Nick stammered as he noticed Joe standing behind me, and others were starting to gather around his desk.

  “Did you happen to take two sets of flowers from my desk?” I poked him in the chest with the tip of my finger.

  “Yes.” He couldn’t look at me. “There were some purple ones too. I threw that card away. I’m sorry, I won’t ever do it again.”

  “Well, you should be ashamed of yourself. A cop stealing from his coworkers? Didn’t your girl get suspicious of flowers two days in a row?” I laughed when I saw his expression grow guiltier. “You took them to two different girls, didn’t you? Wow, just…there aren’t even words for a situation like this.”

  “Don’t tell them, please,” he pleaded, then seemed to realize that most of the people in the office were listening.

  “Oh, I’m not going to do anything this time,” I clarified. “But in the future, I suggest that you keep your hands off other people’s property. You might start getting blamed for things you didn’t do.

  “Besides,” I threw over my shoulder as I started to walk away, “those girls will figure out what you’re doing on their own. You’re not smart enough not to trip up on your own. Two pissed off women isn’t something I’d wish on my worst enemy.”

  “Now, that you’ve figure out there were two sets of flowers, it still doesn’t tell us who sent you the second set.” Joe took his seat again.

  “I know who sent it. It was the person who’s causing us nightmares and getting away with murder. It’s another birthday killer, or killers. I mean, could one person pull something of this magnitude off by themselves.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Okay?” I smiled. “Absolutely. I’m just really pissed off now. Don’t worry, I was surprised to find that, but given the fact that the killer knew to send us newspapers from Wisconsin, it’s not really a stretch that they know where we work. Anyway, thanks, Joe. I’m gonna head out. Night.” I picked up my stuff and walked out of the station, giving Nick a dirty look on my way out.

  What I didn’t tell Joe was that the killer knew when my birthday was. Buttercups were the flower for my zodiac sign, which was in September. I had a little time before this killer tried to kill me, but that just meant that we were on a tighter clock with a personal deadline.

  Chapter 11

  Ryan

  Simon’s death opened up a few more options. He had been very well connected, and when the coroner wouldn’t rule it as a suicide because of the circumstances, they were eager to get things resolved.

  Chief Montier had assigned a new rookie detective to me, so I wasn’t just doing my own thing. I knew that he trusted me, but there was an extra person looking over my shoulder now.

  A meeting with Simon’s lawyer shed some light on a few things. All his money was invested, and he’d only been living off a portion of the interest. His actual cash flow wasn’t great, and the donations from his followers, while substantial on occasion, merely helped to get others in the group on their feet.

  “Who stands to inherit his wealth upon his death?” Motive was established time and again on who received all the money when someone died. There was some truth in the statement: follow the money.

  “He’s put it into a trust to be run by a board made up of members of the community. His house is to be an open shelter for those in need. The board will be rotated every two years, with some members coming off and new ones going on to keep any one group of the community from taking it over for their own purposes. He’s named the first three members, who will serve longer, and suggests others to be named to the board.”

  “How long can a trust like this last?” I glanced through the papers that the lawyer had given me.

  “Indefinitely. It can only be dissolved if all the board is in agreement that it’s no longer a viable option to help others. The amount of money that Simon has is from his shares of the Urban Energy Company. It’s one of the few decisions he made on his own as an investment.” The lawyer continued to drone on, but I’d stopped listening when he mentioned Urban Energy.

  Everything came back to this Urban Energy Company. Even the killer last month had brought it to our attention. The only problem with such a large company was that they wouldn’t just let us have access to their records. It would have to be for a very specific reason, and we would only be able to check those financials or personnel records.

  “I’m sorry, what was the question?” I tried to appear interested.

  “Since Simon isn’t here to discourage it, and the board isn’t in place yet, I have the power of attorney to give you this list of people who had a grudge against him. There are a few names that continually come up that you’ll want to pay special attention to. I just asked that you keep me in the loop as to what you find so that we don’t put anyone on the board that shouldn’t be there.”

  “So you think Simon and Matt’s deaths were done by someone associated with the group?”

  “I’m not at liberty to speculate on things of this nature. Some of his people have shown themselves to be very self-serving, but it was difficult to convince Simon of the need to vet his followers. He preferred to give them the benefit of the doubt. Not all of us have that privilege when it comes to protecting our assets.”

  “I couldn’t have said it better myself. I’ll look through the reports and see if there’s anyone that has a past that isn’t what they claim.”

  He held out his hand as we stood. “Thank you. While I know that many considered Simon to be the leader of a cult, his heart was in the right place, offering help to those that needed it. I’d like to see his legacy continue.”

  As I left the building, I knew that our answers were going to be found in the Urban Energy Company’s files.

  ***

  Monday morphed into Tuesday, and then Wednesday, with more bodies being discovered each day in Madison. I was still waiting for something good to happen with Jesse, but so far, there was no change, and his mother faithfully stayed by his side during visiting hours.

  We’d filed a few different inquires with the Urban Energy Company, but they were dragging their feet in having an actual meeting with us.

  This was the one piece of information I felt was missing from the puzzle. Leslie was working on it from her end, but hadn’t had much success either. The company was too large to pin any one person down. Someone could be transferred or moved, and unless they let us into their files, it was hopeless.

  My time in Wisconsin was running out because my own station needed me back, and this was becoming a colder case every day.

  ***

  Thursday morning, I finally got some good news. The head of the local Urban Energy Company had agreed to meet with me to answer some questions.

  Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting to be escorted into the top floor conference room.

  “They will be in shortly.” The secretary backed out of the room, leaving me sitting there with so many questions.

  A group of four men and one woman came into the room, and I suddenly wond
ered if I needed a lawyer or backup.

  “Mr. Fox, welcome to the Urban Energy Company. I’m George Hamilton the third, and these are the other managers of the Northwestern division of our company. We’ve heard that a disturbing number of our employees or associates have been dying. It’s our hope that we can help you narrow the field to find out who is targeting our company.”

  “Um, it’s a pleasure.” I shifted uncomfortably. “I’m not sure why we needed all the managers to get some information on your employees.”

  Something was going on. This was completely crazy.

  “Hear us out, Mr. Fox. Simon Templeton’s family was instrumental in getting our company established here in the Upper Midwest. In fact, until his death a few days ago, he was the last living member of his family, and owned half the shares for this portion of the company. Since you were investigating his death, we decided that we would answer your questions if it helped to close the case surrounding his untimely death.”

  Now, it all made sense. The lawyer hadn’t told me everything about Simon’s trust fund after all.

  “Until his case is closed, then his will can’t be executed, leaving your company unsettled. Otherwise, I’d never have gotten even a toenail in the door of your main office, much less a conference room with the heads. The others who are dying because of their connections to your company are just collateral damage.” I looked at each of them in disgust. “If I wasn’t desperate to save lives, I’d walk out of here and let you fight it out in court for a few years. Since I don’t have that luxury, I’m going to take your help.”

  Taking the list of dead men from my folder, I slammed it shut and shoved the papers toward Mr. Hamilton. “Twenty men are dead. This killer has at least ten more planned, and I hope to God that your name isn’t on their list.”

  Mr. Hamilton didn’t bother to look at the papers, but pushed them toward the secretary, ignoring my outburst.