The Figure Of Eight

The Situation

There were tales of serial killers or murderers but there were no real connections apart from there were always eight, but that was it. They occurred in Britain and on the European Mainland and incidents had happened on the North American land mass. But the only thing that connected them was that there were eight corpses sometimes the result of violence, and sometimes the diagnosis took longer to decide. Drugs and poison had sometimes left their trace.

The Protagonist

Today he was in a city he knew well. He took out a map pinned it to the wall and then threw a dart. That identified the street he would choose for tonight’s work. Next, he was to decide on his eight individual targets. He took out his pack of Tarot cards and drew eight cards and placed them on the table in front of him. Each card had basic attributes and he would use them to identify the target and decide the action to take to dispatch the target.

The cards he drew were

The High Priestess - Psychic

Temperance - Healing and Connection

Page of Swords - Talkative, Curious and Energetic

Ten of Disks - Wealth and Inheritance

Six of Cups - Reunion, Memories and Inheritance

Lovers - Sex, Trust and Passion

Ten of Wands - Burden, Hard Work and Stress

Two of Cups - Partnership and Attraction

So, who would be the High Priestess and what would his plan to dispatch her be? He had access to the electoral roll, which had linked to Google to find more information about people and Google maps meant he could virtually visit the place where the person lived right up to the front door.

08:00 PM: The High Priestess - A Psychic Solution

The protagonist has put his gloves on and carries a briefcase. He knocks on the door it is still light so she answers and opens the door.

P: “Hello we are in the area and have a psychic crystal collection that we are giving away to people who are interested, would you be interested? I have a box in my briefcase. They can soothe your spirit and help you run your life more “

HP: “Yes, come in, I would like to see, would you like a cup of tea?”

P: “Yes please, milk, no sugar”

HP: “Just sit in the front room, I will bring your tea through”

She wouldn’t though, the protagonist, followed her to the kitchen, and took out the heavy crystal box. He then hit her hard on the back of the head, and she dropped to the floor. He then carried her up to her bed, still was still alive for now.

He broke her neck, and her breathing stopped. He then placed three crystals in her mouth, and two on her eyes, and then packed his bag and left.

He had more work to do tonight.

09:00 PM: Temperance - A Sort of Healing and Connection Solution

The next visit by the protagonist was a man who lived alone according to his information, he also had a drink problem. The door was unlocked and the protagonist let himself in.

The man was asleep in an armchair, possibly drunk. The protagonist had brought gaffer tape and he taped the man’s mouth and also used the tape to secure him to the chair. This was the healing process, closing up the wound that was his mouth.

The protagonist then connected two wires to the man’s chest and plugged them into the mains. The shock killed him immediately, but he never woke.

The protagonist took the plug and wires but left the tape, then he closed the door and left. Two murders for the police to ponder over.

10:00 PM: Page of Swords - Engaging Curiosity and Talking To Create An Energetic Solution

The third target was a lecturer so he must do a lot of talking. This was going to be a bit convoluted and the protagonist did not want to be discovered immediately so had created a package that he left on the porch in an Amazon Prime box and we know how much packaging they have for the smallest items. Also, Amazon Prime deliver at any time of day or night and do not necessarily come at the date or time designated.

The lecturer took the package in. Five minutes later the protagonist saw a bright flash in the lecturer's curtained front room.

Three down, five to go.

11:00 PM: Ten of Disks - An Inheritance of Dangerous Wealth Provides A Solution

This was the third man on his list, he was a coin collector. It was getting late so a knock on the door was not now an option.

Luckily there was a passage down the side of the house, and he found the back door was open. There was no alarm.

The protagonist had a sock full of heavy coins and he found the man immersed in a virtual reality game with the headset covering his eyes and ears. Two blows to the back of the head did for him.

A quick check for breath and pulse confirmed the action had been successful and he left for the next target on the street.

Midnight: Six of Cups - A Reunion, Memories and Inheritance

The protagonist found an old work colleague and had a photograph of him to provide a reunion and a memory and the inheritance was to be the protagonist's wrath in the form of a lethal injection.

This was another break-in as would be the rest of tonight’s visits. Round the back once more, and the house was in darkness.

He made sure all his targets were solitary, which meant that it would be a few days before they were discovered. Also, he made sure that the houses were not adjacent to each other so when the police came knocking there would probably be a neighbour to answer questions and say they had neither seen nor heard anything suspicious.

Upstairs and he was in the bedroom and the target was asleep. He could not leave the photograph as that would be a clue for the police, so an injection to the neck.

TOD: “What the F?”

Then he was out. He would never wake again.

01:00 AM: Lovers - Sex, Trust and Passion as a solution

He chose a man and wife for this one. He donned his police jacket and hat and knocked on the door, several times. Eventually, it was answered.

P: “Excuse me Mr XXXX could I come in we have some important news”

LM: “What is wrong?”

P: “Can I come in sir?”

His wife was now down, this was working out well.

He let me through the door and I shut it behind me.

A long stiletto blade through his heart stopped him. His wife screamed before she met the same fate.

There was little blood on the floor put the bodies on the couch, and linked their arms around each other before cleaning the little mess, and making his exit, switching the lights off and locking the door behind him.

02:00 AM: Ten of Wands - Burden, Hard Work and Stress Solution

This was a woman bodybuilder who he knew worked through the night. He picked the lock on the back door and let himself in.

He found her ready to lift the weight on her workout bench. No weakling himself he lifted the heavy weights and dropped them on her neck. The result was not pretty and could possibly be construed as an accident.

The protagonist left and picked the lock to relock it. The police would find no evidence that anyone had been in the house.

03:00 AM: Two of Cups - Partnership and Attraction

The final target was another man who lived alone. He had devised a particularly nasty demise for this one. He let himself into the house and dragged the startled target out of is bed and tied him securely to a chair with leather straps and chains.

This would be seen as a real vicious murder by the police.

He then coated his head in honey and put a sealed helmet on his head which had a tube leading to it. He then connected a jar of angry wasps to the tube. They smelt the honey and went for it.

To ensure the target’s eventual demise the protagonist injected a lethal dose of slow-acting poison.

Conclusion

His work was done. Tomorrow another town and another set of cards drawn from his Tarot deck.

Three Weeks Later In The Local Paper

There have been eight deaths reported in XXXX Street. Police are treating some as suspicious.