The Tueur De Fleurs Murders

Sirens were blaring all around me, as I thumped the hood of the police car beside me. 

"Gotten away yet again, Captain. It's the killer's third victim. " 

I nodded to the Constable, and said briskly, "Nearly every other Officer is off-duty or occupied with this onslaught of crime nowadays. This, coupled with our general lack of cops means that we have to finish with this case, Fenella. Quick. Brief me on everything we know about this case."

Constable Fenella Arden was fair, dark haired with piercing blue eyes. 

"Yes sir. ", She replied, "These seemingly random killings started one month ago, on New Years, and there's been one death for every major holiday since then. 

A death on Epiphany, on the sixth, and one today on Orthodox Epiphany. The cause of death is always drowning. The killer always kills his victims in their houses and one queer thing about the killer is that instead of taking things from the victim's houses, he or she leaves flowers there. 

Respectively, the flowers left in the crime scenes were Peony, Tritoma and Tithonia. All of which are flowers associated with their respective holidays. The names of the victims are John Phoebe, Ram Chandran and Lyrik Kane. None of them had any relatives, friends or family members to speak of. Neither did they have a will. "

"Convenient", I muttered under my breath. Then, trying to rationalise the method behind the madness, I asked, "Other than that, is there any kind of commonality between the victims?"

"Well, sir, the Rockwell Family has ties to, and it was indebted to all three victims. "

"That gives us a suspect. I think it's time we pay a visit to old Max. " 

The Max in question was Maxwell Rockwell, an entrepreneur who had taken a financial risk which failed. However, after it failed, he was loaned money by five people, three of which were now in the morgue, and after that, one year ago, he invested in something unknown, increasing his wealth exponentially. 

One appointment later, and the next day, the Constable and I were greeted into the behemoth of a mansion in front of us. 

Someone, with a placid smile and a dangling pocket watch, whom I assumed was the butler, spoke after we walked through the doors, saying "On behalf of Master Rockwell, whom I am afraid is busy now, I welcome you into his humble abode. "

"Busy?", I questioned, scowling, "But we made an appointment. "

Checking his old-fashioned pocket watch, he replied, " He won't be long, sir. He is attending to some important business upstairs. Feel free to make yourself at home. " Saying this, the man bowed and left, presumably to attend to chores. 

"Well?", I said, glancing at Fenella. 

"It's much too soon to give you anything concrete, George. We couldn't have been here for more than a few minutes at most. If you really want my opinion, all I can tell you is that the butler doesn't seem to be the type to murder someone. " She replied curtly. 

I smiled at the lack of formality. The two of us had been working with each other for far too long for her to continue calling me sir. 

I attempted small talk, talking about how unusually hot it was or why the killer chose holidays as their killing days, but to no avail. 

I walked around. There were many people, most cleaning, some cooking, and some sitting idle. I noticed the many staircases going to the same floors and the excessive number of doors leading outside. 

Around ten minutes later, Maxwell himself, accompanied by his two stooges arrived from the floor upstairs.  

He was, strangely, a little sweaty, and breathless. He snapped his fingers, and his two bodyguards retreated. 

"George! Old buddy! Pal! How've you been these days?", Max cried, shaking my hand a little too fast for comfort. 

"And you, little miss?", he said in the same cheerful tone, extending a hand, which she gripped. 

After formalities had been exchanged, we asked him about the debt. 

"Debt? You mean the money I was loaned before I started this business? ", he asked incredulously. 

We answered in the affirmative. 

"Why, I had completely forgotten about that! I'm sure I have enough money to pay them off now. "

"What if we check? ", I asked, keenly aware of how close this was to being illegal. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fenella frown at me. To my surprise, Max answered, saying, "Sure! We don't have to check my phone. After all, that could be false. Let's go to the bank itself. "

He snapped his fingers and his bodyguards appeared anew. He strode out of his mansion, moving to the car waiting for him. It was a long walk under sun. 

We were driven to the bank in total silence. Looking out of the tinted windows, I was glad for the cool air-conditioning. It really was hot outside. 

 At the bank, after verifying it with Maxwell again, we checked his bank balance and compared it with the debts that needed to be paid. It checked out. He had more than enough money to pay of all his debts. 

We were driven to the mansion. 

In it, Max asked me, "What does the police want with me? Is it about the debts?"

"The debts? Yes, I suppose so. ", I sighed. "Three of the five people you owe are dead, Max. And as of now, you are our only suspect. " 

"Me! But-but I have the money! There's no need for me to... to kill them! ", he spluttered frantically. 

Right. Time for alibis. 

We spent an hour there, 'interrogating' him on his alibis and went back to Headquarters. 

Before going home, I told the Constable, "I'll check out the alibis, and you check out the others who loaned Maxwell. "

"Sure, Captain. ", she said, waving. 

I spent the rest of the day checking and double checking the alibis. 

All of them checked out. 

The next day, I met up with Fenella. 

"Mornin'. ", I said. 

"Good morning! ", she replied brightly. 

We made small talk for a while and then got down to business. 

"All his alibis work. ", I said thoughtfully. 

"Right. The two others that loaned Maxwell are Everest Abbot and Rebecca Ryka. If our hypothesis is right, the killer will be gunning for these two. Both of them have families and friends. This may be why they are targeted last. Should I take precautions to guard them?" 

I frowned, "Everest Abbot is the CEO of a security company. I don't think he'll really need protection from us. Rebecca Ryka, on the other hand, is the CEO of a software company. If our killer is taking these victims in order of... difficulty, he should be going after her on the next holiday. Which is... Mardi Gras, more than a month from now. "

Things passed by fast after that. 

We alerted both Rebecca Ryka and Everest Abbot to the danger and offered our protection to both. Everest politely declined while Ms. Ryka wholeheartedly consented. They lived close to each other, not more than five minutes away. 

A few weeks passed. 

Then, a few days before Mardi Gras, I visited Maxwell again. 

"Hey, George", he said, a little sullen. 

"Hello, Max. Paid off your debts yet? ", I asked, smirking inwardly. 

"Oh! Uh, I was... just getting around to it. ", he stammered. 

I knew this already, of course. I had established a plainclothesman system a little over a year ago and it was simple enough to use them on Maxwell after our little meeting with him before. 

After a few more awkward exchanges, I went and met up with the Constable. 

"Hey", I began, "I've been thinking and... the flowers. They may be the key to this whole case. "

Fenella looked at me quizzically. 

I sighed, "You remember that one case? The assassin who left flowers with his victims?" 

Fenella's eyes dawned with newfound knowledge and fear. 

"Tueur de Fleurs. ", she breathed.  

"Yes. ", I continued, "Flower Killer. The flowers, the way of killing always being drowning... reputation-wise, he was on par with Jack the Ripper. "

"But that's impossible! ", Fenella cried, on the verge of hysterics. "Tueur de Fleurs died three years ago in London! "

"Who really saw him die, Fenella? "

"But... he can't be..", she said helplessly. 

Her unusual behaviour was probably due to an incident three years back, when Fenella was investigating a huge drugs cartel. The cartel needed her to stop, lest she stopped the gang. They knew that killing her would only bring down more investigation on top of them, so they hired Tueur de Fleurs to attack her family. This brought her entire family to the hospital. The family survived, but have permanent psychological scars. 

Needless to say, Fenella gave up the case. The cartel was later caught due to action from Everest Abbot, two years ago. 

If Tueur de Fleurs really was the killer, then this was a personal vendetta. 



Two days passed. Mardi Gras was today. 

I was at home, eyes closed, thinking. 

If the killer really is Tueur de Fleurs, why reveal yourself? 

Why kill only on holidays? 

Why only the set of individuals that lent Maxwell money? 

Why have an obvious killing pattern... which... we can predict? 

My eyes snapped open. Why have an obvious killing pattern? Because the killer could be banking on us predicting it. 

I called Fenella and told her my theory. 

She told me to meet up with her at Headquarters. 

A forty minutes later, the two of us were en route to Everest's house, me driving while Fenella informed Everest of our arrival. I also called for backup. 

We arrived and used our police badges to get inside the house. Everest was inside, asking us what was happening. 

"It's alright, sir", Fenella told him in a soothing voice. "It's just that you might need extra security. As you know, there's a killer on the loose. " 

"Extra security? But I was told that the killer wasn't after me. " 

"Well, we think that that could be false information. ", I said in an equally reassuring voice. "Just continue with your work, but whatever you do, do not leave this room without us. " 

The globally famous man looked at us quizzically, and gave his assent. Seeing this, I nodded to Fenella. She took up a position next to the door while I called for backup to stand by on the radio mic. 

Twenty minutes passed. The two of us were still along with the Everest, who spent most of his time answering phone calls and signing document. Occasionally, he went out of the room, but never without one of us in tow. I readied a recorder, hidden in my uniform. 

Ten more minutes passed. 

Then, someone knocked on the door. Our collective ears perked up. Another knock. 

Everest looked at us. I looked at Fenella and she gestured to the door. I wished there was a glass opening in the door. 

Placing one hand on the butt of my gun, I opened the door. 

The sight of a familiar young man, with a smile and a gun greeted me. 

"Oh, hello there. ", he said before firing. 

Fortunately, after seeing the gun, I had immediately dived out of the way. 

I rolled after reaching the floor, drawing my gun in the process and coming up at my feet. Pointing it at him, I rose. 

"Oh, don't do that. You're at a loss here. The rest of the group should be nearly done with the pathetic guards he put up. ", the young man said, jerking his head towards Everest. 

He was right. Everest didn't place enough precautions, thinking he wasn't in danger yet. The fact that Fenella and I were able to get inside at all proved this. 

"Now, why are you two here? The police is supposed to be protecting Ms. Ryka. ", he said. 

Ignoring him, I glanced at Fenella, meeting her eyes. She nodded, almost imperceptibly and drew her own gun. This caused the man to look at her for a second. At that moment, I might have been able to shoot him before getting shot myself, but I couldn't, not yet. Instead, I used the moment to turn the recorder on. 

"So, who are you? ", I asked. He really did look familiar. 

"Me?", he said, grinning inhumanly. "She should recognise me. I'm Antonio. I'm his son. Flower Killer's son. " 

Fenella's eyes widened in fear, her knees shivering before her eyes took on a furious sheen of blue with her knees completely stable. Her gun trembled in the air, though I suspect that that was due to anger, rather than fear. 

Then, making matters worse, three people entered the room. 

"How're things going in here, Tueur de Fleurs? ", the one in the lead said, almost mockingly, before stopping dead at the sight of me. 

This one was horribly familiar. 

"Hello, Max. ", I said, my tone registering none of the shock I was experiencing. 

"Wh-why is he here? ", Maxwell asked frantically, to no one in particular. No one answered him. 

The two others with him frantically pointed there guns at me, only to be lowered by Antonio. "There's no need to point guns. We're all friends here... aren't we? ", he said, grinning that grin with a glint in his eyes. 

Throughout the entire fiasco, Everest had remained behind his desk, still. I hoped he would stay that way. 

I recognised the two with Maxwell. They were both members of the huge drug cartel that was brought down... by... Everest Abbot. 

Seeing Maxwell with them, it all just clicked together. 

The revelation must have shown on my face, because Antonio laughed, "It seems our friend here has realised something. ", he said derisively. 

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Fenella glancing at me, puzzled. 

Keenly aware of the recorder, I started. 

"Why kill those who lent Maxwell money? 

Because of two things, Everest Abbot was among them and the fact that they lent Maxwell money. 

Why would you kill only on holidays? 

You wanted us to know when you strike. 

Because you wanted to give us a pattern. 

Why kill in a way in which you went from a higher and higher difficulty? 

Because you wanted to give us an idea of which victim would be next. 

Rebecca Ryka was never in any danger. She was a red herring, the variable put in the equation as a decoy. 

Why the flowers? 

Because it was the new Tueur de Fleurs' debut. 

Maxwell invested in the drug cartel, after it had been taken down, with the money that he was loaned. This turned out to be very, very beneficial, increasing his wealth exponentially. 

The only reason he was loaned the money in the first place was because of his family name. 

But why? What was the point of all this? The point of all this, was so that they could kill Everest Abbot. Everest Abbot brought down the entire cartel. They, in short, wanted revenge. 

That's why they waited until now, when they got back the money and influence they once had. They used their clout to set an onslaught of criminals upon us, making sure that the police were spread out thinly across the city, thereby making them less effective. 

After his Max's investment proved successful, he continued, giving more and more money to the cartel. So much so, that, while waiting for the money to come back, he didn't have enough money to pay the debts off. 

When Constable Fenella and I made an appointment, he assumed that that was what we had come for, and frantically rushed to the bank in order to forge his bank balance. Maxwell was breathless and moist when we came. Seems strange for a person for a person attending to important business inside the house. Until you consider how hot it was that day and the long walk to the house from his car. But we were in the house, how could he have come in? 

That's where the excessive amount of stairs and doors come in. He entered from another door, went up the stairs, and came down to us. 

This entire project worked out wonderfully for Max, as well, as each victim being killed made it less money for him to pay. "

Throughout my speech, Antonio was agreeing. More and more people had appeared, joining him in the room. 

"Wow! You got it all right! ", Antonio exclaimed, clearly impressed. 

"Wait. ", I said, "There's more. Fenella, you tell them. " 

As their attention drifted to her, I casually moved to the radio mic and whispered hurriedly into it. "Backup, backup! Bring everyone from Ryka here! The rest of you, attack! "

Meanwhile, Fenella, who had nothing to say, was struggling, "Well, um, that is to say, what George over here said is completely right, and we're taking all of you in. " 

Antonio laughed heartily, joined by Maxwell. "What makes you think that we're going to let you take us in? ", he asked, still smiling. He didn't give a signal, but Maxwell and his two accomplices pointed their guns at us anew. 

Now to buy time. 

"We're all friends here, right? You don't have to shoot us. That's not how friends behave. "

Antonio played along. "I suppose not, but this is what I'll do to anyone standing in my way. Especially in between me and my target. It'll be a shame to waste two extra flowers, but it can't be helped. "

Hearing the familiar quiet shuffle of padded boots against the floor, I said, "I'm afraid you're wrong, 'Tueur de Fleurs', I'm not going to die today. We're taking you in. 

"Oh? ", he answered with that grin, "You and what army? "

"This one! ", I announced, my hands spread out, grinning my own grin. 

At that moment, everything the Police Force had left was behind Antonio's little group. We outnumbered their group, but they put up a good fight, until our reinforcements came from Ryka. Suffice to say, loss of life on our side was minimal. 

All of them were taken in, except for three, who died, one of them was Maxwell. 

A few weeks later, there was a trial, and with the evidence, mainly the recording and the forged bank balance. 

We won the trial and they were all arrested. 

Fenella and I were awarded with promotions and a medal each. 

Many days after the trial, I met up with Fenella. 

"Good work on the case, Captain Arden. ", I said casually. 

She flushed, "You too, Deputy Chief of Police. " 

We shook hands. 

I suppose this was good work. 

After all, a happy ending isn't impossible.