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Title: Zodiac Murders
Number: 83
Date: Jun 19, 2008 at 11:10 PM
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Divinatas – Jun 19, 2008 at 11:10 PM
[dash][i]Taking place two weeks after the events in the Zodiac Murders game. The Zodiac Killer had last sent a clue suggesting his next mark was Cancer. There have been lots of reports over the past two weeks of cancer related people having accidents, scary events, or being near killed, but no actual body or event suggesting it to be related to the Zodiac Killer has been found. The police are in a desperate search for more clues! Meanwhile there seems to be some speculation that one of the murders might not have been done by the Zodiac Killer at all, but a mob hit cleverly disguised! That may mean there’s another victim out there they don’t know about![/i][/dash]
[solid=http://space-kitten.org/forum/picture.php?albumid=1&pictureid=152][b]Tamara[/b]
Tamara was sitting at home on the floor in front of her coffee table, looking at a set of photographs she had spread in front of her. A highlighter in her hand, she’d circle something here, make an X there and then scribble down a few notes on her notebook. Her cellphone gave off a jingle with some silly little ringtone.
“Are you a prostitute?”
[i]’Shit, Tammy! That’s a great way to greet your sister!'[/i] complained the voice on the other end. [i]’I just got a new job at a diner. Why’d you call anyway? That message you left was creepy.'[/i]
“Hmm, yeah.” she sighed. “There’s some weird stuff going around here lately, so if you had any plans to come back home and get a real job, you should cancel them.”
[i]’Jeeze, I knew everybody was pissed at me, but telling me not to come home? Good one!'[/i]
“I’m not kidding, Summer. We’ve got this serial killer on the loose. All the victims save for one were in the entertainment business. And to top it all off there’s some new wacko going after girls with black hair and blue eyes. It’s better not to take any chances. I already called everyone else.”
[i]’Are you shitting me? You’re not nosing in on that stuff are you? Cause, hello, miss black haired blue eyed beauty, you’re like the poster kid for every action thriller movie victim out there. All you need now is a creepy boyfriend and some background music.'[/i]
Tamara rolled her eyes. Her youngest sister had that flare for being over dramatic. Why was everything a movie to her? “No, I’m not. Not really, anyway. …Besides, I [i]did[/i] have a date a few days ago, with a perfectly normal not-creepy guy. An anthropologist… kind of boring really.”
[i]’Hahaha! At least that’s better than Alexis. That frigid bitch couldn’t get a date with that popsicle shoved up her tw-‘[/i]
The doorbell rang and something was dropped off at her front door. “Summer, someone’s at the door, I gotta go.” Click! As much as she loved her sister, no one wanted to hear dating gossip from Summer. Tamara got up from the floor, straighted her shirt and went to the front door.
Opening it, no one was there anymore, but they had dropped off a package. She picked it up, pulled the ‘open here’ tab to rip over the box… and promptly dropped it with a squeal! It was a huge dead rat practically swimming with maggots. There was a note in there too, but there was no way in hell she was sticking her hand in there.
Tamara slammed the door shut and latched the lock, then snatched up her phone again to dial the police station.”
[i]’Section 14 Police Station, Robert speaking!'[/i]
“It’s Tamara Sparrow… I need you to send someone out to my house. It’s not an emergency or anything, but I have a rat.”
[i]’Hey Tammy! What, a rat? Why’d you need police for a rat? There’s exterminators for stuff like that.'[/i]
“Cause this rat came in a package of death and horror. Just send someone, please? It’s got a note and it’s better if a cop looks at it first. I think I pissed someone off.” Tamara was back at the door again, peeking out the window. It didn’t look like anyone was lurking out there, but she didn’t want to take any chances.
[i]’Right-o. I’ll send someone over right away.[/i]
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Alarice – Jun 20, 2008 at 3:21 AM
Fifteen minutes after Tamara’s call to the police …
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Ring! Ring!
Finally, a voice called, “Ms. Sparrow? My name is Officer Thomas Jenkins. I’m with the police. You called about … a disturbance?” The voice was definitely male and young. And if he was sent over to check on a dead rat, he couldn’t have been on the force for very long.
Officer Thomas Jenkins was just your average red-blooded American male. He was about 5’10” with a mop of straight dark brown hair neatly combed and warm brown eyes. He was the type who always polished his shoes and always kept his uniform unwrinkled and crisp.
—
[B]Jeremiah[/B]
Two weeks. No other clues–except that damned letter–and nothing to show for it. He closed the door behind him, made sure it was nice and locked, and shuffled through the dimly lit apartment. It was quiet. The TV was off and he didn’t hear anything else. Then again, maybe Donny had gone to sleep early again.
Donny had always been a night owl but lately, he’d taken to hitting the sheets while it was still dark. Jerry figured it was a side-effect of the meds but had asked Donny about it, anyways. All Donny had told him was that the meds made him tired a lot and that he didn’t want to talk about it. Unfortunately, Jerry’s police sense got squashed by his desire to help his cousin.
Jerry found his worn-out leather recliner and dropped right into it. He had just gotten himself comfortable when he realized … he’d forgotten to grab himself a beer on the way here. He lifted his head to glance in the direction of the fridge, thought about getting up to grab one now, and then thought better of it.
He’d just drink two beers the next time he stood up.
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Divinatas – Jun 20, 2008 at 3:30 AM
[solid=http://space-kitten.org/forum/picture.php?albumid=1&pictureid=152][b]Tamara[/b]
They sent her a kid. Tamara smacked her forehead as she unlocked the door and opened it up. She then pointed down at the box containing the dead rat. “I guess I wasn’t specific enough. I had thought they send over one of their CSI boys.” She couldn’t help but wonder if the kid even knew how to do anything besides write parking tickets.
Sighing, she crossed her arms and peered around outside. Still nothing too strange. “Okay, you’ll have to do. There’s a note and I’m… too girly to stick my hand in there.” A rat she’d pick up, but not a rat covered in maggots. “We’ll wanna be careful of fingerprints, okay? And other tidbits.” Tamara probably sounded like a grade school teacher talking to a five year old!
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Alarice – Jun 20, 2008 at 3:58 AM
If Jenkins felt offended by the way Tamara treated him, he didn’t show it. He only knelt beside the box and looked over the dead rat. It smelled horrible. But again, he didn’t show it. All he did was ignore the smell and concentrate on the task at hand.
Jenkins pulled out a pair of transparent latex gloves from the pouch on his belt and slid them on. He liked to be prepared. Then he reached into the box and pulled out the note. He offered it to her. “Ma’am. Did you want me to read it for you or would you rather read it yourself?”
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Divinatas – Jun 20, 2008 at 4:28 AM
[solid=http://space-kitten.org/forum/picture.php?albumid=1&pictureid=152][b]Tamara[/b]
“Just hold it up for me.” she instructed, and when he did just that she took a good look at it. Unfortunately it was done with the newspaper magazine cutouts technique so there wouldn’t be any handwriting traces or links to a computer printer. With the paper clean of anything useful she finally read the note.
[i]Little sparrow, little sparrow. Precious fragile little thing. Little sparrow, little sparrow. Flies so high and feels no pain…[/i]
It actually went on- the entire lyrics to a song. Obviously it had to be a threat, but at the same time it was a warning… or a really insane love note? Whatever it meant, it was [i]weird[/i], leaving Tamara blinking in confusion.
“Okay…” she finally mumbled. “You can take this… all of this with you to the station, and see if there’s anything traceable on it. I’ve got to change my clothes and make a phone call and I’ll be right there to give a list of all the people I might’ve pissed off recently…”
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Alarice – Jun 20, 2008 at 6:13 AM
[B]Jeremiah[/B]
It felt like he’d just dozed off when he woke up to the phone ringing like mad on the table beside him. But the digital red numbers on the clock on top of the TV said otherwise. He slid a hand over his face. Christ, was it 2 in the morning already?
Jerry felt around on the table and finally picked up the phone. “… Yeah?” he half-muttered, half-growled into the receiver.
“Jerry! Sorry to bother you, man. You know where Tammy is? I tried calling her house and even sent someone over. She’s not there.”
“Why the hell are you looking for Tammy?” he demanded, now awake enough to realize what a weird call this was.
“Well … I sent Jenkins over to check on something. She got a weird package and mentioned a dead rat. Anyways, she was supposed to come by to check on it but … she never showed up. That’s why I’m calling you, man. Can you help me find her?”
Jerry didn’t have a clue on where to start looking but he couldn’t just sit here. “Yeah. Fine. If I find her, I’ll give you a call.”
“Thank you and thank you.”
Jerry hung up and ran his fingers through his hair. What the hell had Tammy gotten caught up with this time? If it wasn’t serial killers and mafia, it was carjackers and boy scouts conning little old women out of pocket change. He grabbed his keys and just as he got to the door, it opened. His gun whipped out–
“… Donny? What the crap,” Jerry growled as he put the gun away. “I thought you were asleep.”
“Hmm?” Donny paused in the doorway, looking at his cousin with sleepy dark gray eyes. Whereas Jerry was athletic and dark-haired, Donny was physically weak and had light blonde hair. He looked more like a kid than a grown man, wearing clothes two sizes too big, despite the fact that Jerry got him clothes that fit.
“Donny! Goddamnit!” Jerry snarled only to back down. Relax. He was overreacting. There was a perfectly good reason why his cousin was out for God only knew how long. “Look. I have to go somewhere. Just stay inside, alright?” He couldn’t possibly deal with this now. Better to go looking for Tamara and let off some steam. He left Donny standing inside the apartment, in his own little world.
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Divinatas – Jun 20, 2008 at 6:36 AM
[solid=http://space-kitten.org/forum/picture.php?albumid=1&pictureid=152][b]Tamara[/b]
Tamara wasn’t at home and as soon as she realized that she tried to sit up. Which resulted in her cracking her head on something, and now that her brain was less fuzzy, if not aching double bad now, was the second time tonight.
Groaning at her faux pas, she rubbed her head and climbed out from under the row of metal plumbing pipes she seemed to have rolled underneath. Piecing together what she could remember clearly, Tamara had taken her keys and left for the police station. Then there was… Hmm. A sickeningly sweet smell… someone grabbing her. She forgot her phone in the house, but she slid down the basement steps instead.
“Oh good.. home after all.” she muttered, staggering up to her feet and towards the stairs. At least she knew she could fight off a stranger, she was stiff and had the cuts and bruises to prove it. Though she wished she would’ve had the sense to run back in the house and not down the stairs. Then again, it must have been the right place to hide, cause she was still there even if she did pass out.
Carefully peeking out the double doors that led outside on to the street, Tamara climbed back out in to the night. She was muttering under her breath as she rounded the corner. Keys…keys… she dropped her keys out here somewhere. She couldn’t get back in the house without them, and she needed to call the cops.
A sound of footsteps startled her and she whirled around with her fingers aimed like a pistol! “I’ve got a gun, and I’m ready to use it.”
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Alarice – Jun 20, 2008 at 7:16 AM
A snicker. The sound of clothes rustling. The [I]schicckkk![/I] of a switchblade. Whoever this creep was, he meant business. He certainly wasn’t out for a midnight stroll. He was dressed in a jacket and slacks and shoes, not sweats. His face was marked with scars and he was thin, as thin as the blade he held up to show her. His hair was slicked back with gel.
“Sure thing, lady. But hey, if you want to shoot me that badly go right ahead.” He paused. “Who knows, that might make my job a lot more fun.”
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Divinatas – Jun 20, 2008 at 7:25 AM
[solid=http://space-kitten.org/forum/picture.php?albumid=1&pictureid=152][b]Tamara[/b]
Tamara didn’t think she was the type to scare easily, but this had her scared. Was he the same one before, or someone different? She didn’t like the thought of two different people jumping her in one night. Right in her own front yard.
Hoping he hadn’t realized she didn’t have a gun at all, Tamara kept her finger pointed and took a few steps back towards the side of the house. If she hid once, she’d hide again. Tamara took off running for the basement doors!
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