Murders of the Zodiac Boxed Set

by Paris Morgan

  “Do we know that John Reed is a killer?” I questioned. “I mean, I can put together a case for fraud, money laundering, and criminal conspiracy, which is perfect for a RICO case, but has he put out a hit one anyone?”

  “Kevin is dead. Now, I’m not sure if that was the ZM lashing out for the bust on the sex trafficking ring, or if it was just to put us behind while we mourned. Either way, we should be able to uncover something in his past. There’s no way he could be the head of the company that owns a club of that nature without getting his hands dirty somewhere.”

  “So I’m going to guess that you had no idea I was working with Kevin on finding the paper trail for the Black Tie Club?”

  “I’d contributed it to Kevin, but it makes sense with the little bit that Adam was able to tell me about you.”

  “Thanks, I think.”

  “What I’m wondering is, what I can do to help while I’m stuck here in this safe house to make this go faster?”

  “Well, I will admit, I just spent hours going through and trying to piece together enough to put these guys out of business. Kevin wasn’t really working on the ZM angle, but it sounds like it all connects.”

  “They sent him undercover because every case that they’ve worked on since January has connected in some way to the Urban Energy Corporation. It’s only recently that we’ve put together the information about John Reed’s son, who we believe is the Zodiac Master.”

  I was silent as I processed the information. These guys had no idea that the company they’d been investigating held many more secrets that would make a huge difference in their case.

  “Have you heard of the Gold Money Exchange?”

  “Yes, but we haven’t been able to find out much about it. We know that it’s somehow connected to John Reed, but there hasn’t been any evidence of that.”

  “Kevin had made the connections, and we were working on the final pieces when he died. It’s a lot of work, but I think in another three days or so, I should have it all done.”

  “That’s amazing. So, what can I do to help?” Mac offered again.

  “I’m matching the transactions from the Urban Energy Corporation and the Gold Money Exchange.”

  “Oh my gosh, they’re the same thing! How did we not see that before? It’s been right under our noses.”

  I grimaced. “See, that’s where it gets really tricky. This has been going on for almost 100 years. They set the company up to cover their tracks, and have made it work all this time. Which is why no one has suspected it.”

  “Whoa! That’s a huge discovery. The amount of arrests that can be made with this will be so many, the jails will be full for a while.”

  “That’s where the problems start,” I warned.

  “How so?”

  “For one thing, you can’t just arrest everyone who works there because most of them are just doing their jobs. They have no idea that the projects they’re working on aren’t real. They put together proposals and stuff, which the criminal client just puts to the side. There are legitimate jobs being done, and so the few that aren’t just fall to the wayside as projects that didn’t meet the client’s expectations. The clients use what they’re given and then put it into their building or projects to keep the local governments from looking too closely.”

  “Basically, they’re taking a well-respected name and using it for their fake corporations or their real ones that are on the shady side.” Mac gave a low whistle.

  “Exactly. It appears that the company is doing a good thing by trying to help these people up their game in being environmentally friendly. Then the companies take the plans at the projected costs and buy cheaper materials.”

  “Which gives them a large overage of money, but they look like they’re up to code,” Mac surmised.

  “This is done over and over to help launder the money, but they also have other ways to cut corners and accept money from one group and use it for another as clean money,” I added.

  “You said over 100 years? That’s a long time to get things perfected and under the radar.”

  “Yes, which is why it’s taking a while for me to put it all together and cross-reference everything. Is there any way you can come here?”

  “I’m not sure that Adam would be okay with that, but I can check. Where exactly is here?"

  “I’d have to pick you up. You know, undisclosed location and all that jazz. In fact, you could stay here until we got all of this sorted out,” I offered.

  It wouldn’t be the same as if Kevin or one of the others were here, but if Mac was the other person they’d sent undercover, then he could probably handle anything I threw at him.

  “Okay, he said that’s fine,” he chirped, and within a few seconds, a message popped up with an address.

  “Right. Give me about thirty minutes and I’ll be right there.”

  “Roger that. How will I know it’s you?”

  “Really? Now I’m rethinking this. You should be able to figure that kind of thing out.”

  “Just asking…geeze.”

  “I’ll be in a sports car. I look exactly like my name implies, a real Barbie doll.”

  “Great, I’ll be waiting.”

  ***

  Leslie

  Home alone wasn’t something that I normally did a lot of. In fact, over the past few months, I hadn’t really been alone for much more than to sleep.

  Now that I thought about it, it was kind of nice to be home with nothing super pressing or making me travel the country.

  The Libra killer had been taken out by the very person that had hired her, and it would be a few days before another one took her place.

  I thought I’d done the research on the zodiac signs, but obviously not enough to really figure out what it was all about. Each of the killers had some personality traits of their zodiac sign, but there still wasn’t enough information to understand what we were looking for.

  Ryan was home with Shea and their baby, Hope, so for the moment, I was going to have to do this by myself.

  Ordering a pizza, I settled into my comfy chair and pulled the laptop over onto the pillow in my lap.

  I typed in Zodiac signs and came up with a few sites that had information about all the characteristics most likely to pop up for each sign. While I should have been studying this more in depth back in the beginning, it couldn’t hurt to start with our current sign: Scorpio.

  Scorpios are fiercely passionate. They keep things close to the vest and like to find the mystery in the world. Always ready to experiment or find the meaning to something, they tend to move groups of people or friends in a direction to help them find their way. Always loyal, they take it personally when a person hurts someone they consider theirs, becoming a matter of revenge.

  Considered pot stirrers, they are the catalyst for the emotions and actions of those around them. A deep wave that brings out the feelings in others that have been locked away.

  “Great, that didn’t tell me anything to help figure out what killing method he’s going to use next.” I clicked on a new site, hoping it might hold better answers to my question.

  I typed in: Weapons used by Zodiac Signs, and was rewarded with a page of results.

  Each page I checked held various ideas for each sign, but they were mixed up. Some months said the same thing, like smothering someone with a pillow.

  We did have a copycat like that back a few months ago, but none of these matched the cases we’d had. Where had he gotten those descriptions of weapons to match the signs?

  When the doorbell rang, I glanced through the window to make sure it was the pizza guy. I picked up the tip money from the table since I’d paid online when I ordered, but kept my gun hidden in my hand behind the door.

  “I’ve got a pizza here for Ms. Boxe?”

  “Yep, that’s me.” I held out the money and took the box from his hand.

  He smiled at the extra money and turned to leave as I closed the door behind him and breathed a sigh of relief.


  Before the Zodiac Master, I’d never had problems ordering a pizza and wondering if the delivery guy was going to attack me. Now, everything and everyone was suspect. I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

  I sat back down at the computer and decided that I wanted to scroll through something more appetizing for dinner. Social media was just the thing.

  The pizza I’d ordered, half-pineapple and ham, was mouthwatering. It might have been a while since I’d eaten, which was the reason I consumed half the pizza before I stopped to pay attention to the social site I was on.

  “What if?” I wondered aloud, typing in the search bar the same question for the hundredth time.

  I whistled as a meme, or a game type thing, popped up, giving the exact list we’d been dealing with.

  “Well, don’t that just beat all? Here’s a list just out there on the internet for anyone that wanted to go on a killing spree.”

  Aquarius: Nunchucks

  Pisces: Noose

  Aries: Bow and Arrow

  Taurus: Rocky Water Death

  Gemini: Knife

  Cancer: Chainsaw/Axe

  Leo: Gun

  Virgo: Poison

  Libra: Katana

  Scorpio: Tear out the soul of your enemy

  Sagittarius: Kill them with kindness

  Capricorn: Grenade

  “Explains what we’re facing, but how on earth do you tear out the soul of your enemy?”

  I took a deep breath as I thought about all the pain the Zodiac Master had already caused me by killing Chris, my new friend Kara, and then Kevin. How could he tear out my soul any better than he already had?

  Not a pleasant thought, but at least we had something to work with. We had missed it because it was a simple little game on social media. It was right there on the internet, and even the FBI had looked right over it.

  Seriously, was this where the great mastermind, the Zodiac Master, got his ideas? From the internet? It wasn’t some great higher meaning or part of some ritual for evil?

  I stood up and went to the kitchen, needing a drink. If this was the type of thing we were dealing with, I needed to be completely drunk to interpret, or come to some great conclusion because this was really out there.

  ***

  Zodiac Master

  This was it. I’d let others do my dirty work for me for months, sitting on the sidelines only watching. It was my turn to get started with my main goal of bringing Leslie closer to me.

  I had tried everything I knew to make her notice and consider me worth her time. I knew that she was the woman for me. I could feel it.

  Then she started trying to get my attention in the most hurtful way by having my father arrested on a trumped-up charge. It was one thing to be chased by the woman I wanted, but it was another completely for her to go after my family like that.

  The thought made my blood boil. What was she thinking?

  I shook my head to clear the thoughts out that would keep me from being on my game like I was supposed to be. I needed to be absolutely focused to make this work.

  Each life that I took had to be reminiscent of the previous ones so that they knew what they were looking for this month. I’d had a few days to contemplate as to how this should go down, but some of the joy was gone.

  Watching my potential victim, I couldn’t even find the “umph” to do the one job that I had.

  “Oh, well,” I mumbled aloud. “It has to be done.”

  She came outside to put her trash at the curb, and as she returned to her house, I slid up behind her to grab the door.

  “What…?” She turned to push it closed, only to find me standing there in front of her.

  “Let me get that for you.” My foot closed the door as my hand with the chloroform cloth slid over her mouth.

  Her eyes looked at me in such shock as they closed for the last time. I took her into the bedroom and laid her carefully down on her own bed.

  “Sorry, sweetie. It’s a lonely way to spend your birthday, but it’s what has to be done.” I shook my head. I was breaking my own rules because I wasn’t born in this month, but I was doing what I should have been doing all along.

  It would have been nice to be able take my fingers and simply let them sink into her flesh before ripping her heart out, but that wasn’t physically possible.

  Instead, I had to use a tool to cut through the soft tissues of her skin to open up her ribs and expose her heart. It was a little on the expected side, but I didn’t have a lot to work with.

  The organ continued to beat in my hand for a few moments until it shut down, and I placed it in the small box I’d brought for just that purpose.

  Making sure that my glove was on correctly, I dipped it into the blood of the woman on the bed and wrote a single word on the wall above her—Scorpio.

  There, that should do it. They wouldn’t be running around like chickens chasing their tails. It was all laid out for them.

  I couldn’t wait to see Leslie’s face. It would be so priceless.

  Chapter 2

  Leslie

  “Ugh!” I groaned, rolling over in my bed. I’d made it from the couch last night at some point, but I didn’t really remember doing it. I hadn’t done anything like this since college.

  Alcohol was a nice way to forget things, but I felt like I’d discovered something important that I couldn’t remember now.

  I stumbled out into the living room to find an empty pizza box, a cup with wine rings in the bottom, and a ton of papers all over the floor.

  The phone rang as I pulled the curtains shut, blocking out the extra light before my slight headache became massive.

  “Yes?” I answered a little testily.

  “Whoa! Sounds like you had a long night.” Adam’s voice held a hint of mirth at my expense.

  “I think I discovered something, but I can’t remember what it was right now. What’s going on?” I picked up the trash, needing to have a clean space to start working in.

  “We need to get together to discuss our problem. Also, your blonde friend is working with the other friend on the stuff from Kevin. We should have some probable cause in the next couple of days and I’d like a plan of action.”

  “Okay,” I agreed. “Let me get a shower, and then I’ll join you out there so we can decide what our next course of action should be. Maybe by then I’ll have figured out what was so important from last night.”

  “It’s the only way we could get Ryan to agree to leave the baby, only he’s not really leaving the baby.”

  “Did you really expect him to?” I stacked all the papers in a pile on the coffee table.

  “Nah. If it was my kid, I’d do the same. See you soon.”

  I was going to need something to eat to counteract the alcohol, but cereal didn’t really sound that great either. I opened the freezer and pulled out a bag of frozen bacon and sausage.

  Placing the meat in a pan, I turned the oven on and slid them inside. By the time it warmed up and started cooking, I would be out of the shower and could scramble a few eggs.

  The shower’s warm spray was temping, but I got out quickly, already feeling much better.

  Breakfast didn’t take much longer, and I was sitting at the bar with the stack of papers in front of me to look through.

  There were tons of notes on the different aspects of being a Scorpio and what kind of lover they should be, but it wasn’t until the end of the stack that I found what had been nagging at me.

  The list of weapons was written neatly out with more details beside it.

  “Why hadn’t I called someone last night with this list?” I wondered aloud as I finished the last few bites of food.

  Leaving all the other papers on the counter, I took the list and set it aside to take with me after I got dressed.

  On the drive over, I kept repeating the stuff I’d read over this morning. The one thing that stood out to me was the fact that what we’d thought to be the main purpose behind his killing sprees was really just a stupid whim.
This wasn’t some great mission or reach for higher consciousness from some all-knowing person. It was as if he’d pointed a finger, and whatever it landed on was what he went with.

  It was so nice to be in the country, away from the noises of the city and the fast-paced atmosphere that urged you to go and go constantly.

  Other than a simple gate with a code, there wasn’t really any security to speak of, and that was something I needed to address with them today. I had a bad feeling that the precautions we’d been taking weren’t going to be enough to keep everyone safe.

  Adam walked over from the small cabin next to Ryan and Shea’s to join me. Flora waved from the porch before going back inside.

  Ryan walked out, holding a little blanket covered burrito that held little baby, Hope.

  “Isn’t she just the cutest?” He held her up for us to see.

  I took her from him and cuddled her for just a second. New baby smell was hard to resist.

  “Well, I hate to be a party pooper, but I think we need to take a few precautions out here on the Demeter Ranch. I had a horrible feeling as I drove through the gate that we need to make sure these guys are protected.”

  “The Demeter family have asked that we not have any guards or do anything that will destroy the energy of their ranch,” Adam cautioned.

  “I get that.” I looked down at the precious bundle in my arms. “We just have to take measures for their safety. If that means we need to move out, then…” I left my meaning clear.

  “Was it a vision?” Ryan asked, hands itching to take the baby back from me.

  “No, just a feeling of doom. I did some research last night, and think I’ve come up with a new perspective on our guy.” I was being careful with what I said, because even if Hope was just a baby, they could pick up on things that we as adults didn’t even realize.

  “Let me take her into the house.” Ryan stood protectively next to me with his hands out.

  With a quick kiss to the top of her head, I relinquished her back into Ryan’s care.