Wednesday 25 September 2019

Your Mid-Week Update for 09/25/19

This week we’re studying weapons of choice. Specifically hand held weapons. Obviously, Casey seems adept at blunt force but there are so many ways to take a life, and cross-training is essential to any successful endeavor. It’s important to be multi-talented in this economy.

Knives are always an excellent choice. Then there’s the bigger items like axes and baseball bats. Anything you can use to fix a car, you can use to bludgeon someone. Practically. Tire irons, jacks, windshield fluid, road flairs. That gets messy. I try not to deal with guns and then there’s anything heavy enough to cause damage; from statues to kitchenware.

Now, clearly I can’t train Casey how to use every single weapon at her disposal but I can teach her how and when to use them. Taking advantage of an opportunity may seem like the best time for blunt objects but those are messy and if you aren’t properly prepared, the cleanup will be worse. Knives and fine-point items are better. Low external impact but major results. When the murder is premeditated, you can plan how you want it all to go down. Want it to look like a crime of passion? Heavy objects that are commonly found in the location in which you’re committing your kill will do the trick. A failed robbery? Knives with short, messy strokes will do the trick. Murder of opportunity? Seriously, anything you would use to fix a car, and a victim driven slightly out of their comfort zone makes for a small mystery that is likely to go unsolved.

We’re working our way up to axes and baseball bats. That gets into the combat element – of which I am far from a master – and I can teach her that after she’s worked on her more easily accessible weapons. Once you do axes, then you get into ropes, torture, archery, things leading up to patterns of a serial killer. I still think we’re too early for things that close to danger.

Man, the Axe Man was amazing. Ever heard of him? Haunted New Orleans in the 20s, strange moral conviction, no one can figure out how many he actually butchered. Never caught. That’s almost the dream. I’ve ranted before about killers who have such obvious patterns that they’re begging to be caught. But I will admit, there is something inspiring about creating a cloud of fear, knowing the public will never truly be able to protect themselves from your reign of terror.

But that inspiration only lasts for so long. All reigns must come to an end. Whether they’re caught or they’re forced to stop for some other reason. The way I do it.

Did it. They didn’t even know they should be terrified every time they leave the house.

Hopefully, I can teach Casey to follow in my footsteps that way. She doesn’t have to copy me but if I can pass on that wisdom, I can create a better version of myself. That’s why we’re doing this, right? Raising children – even if they aren’t our own. So we can create a better version of ourselves.

Once can only hope.

As always, dear readers,

Stay Safe

Wednesday 18 September 2019

Your Mid-Week Update for 09/18/19


I will never have to go on a diet again!

The thought occurred to me as I was driving home from my new job(!). Oh yeah, I am finally employed. I’m working for a temp agency. Not the most exciting work but I booked a job covering someone’s maternity leave so I’ve got at least a week. That was a joke. I’ve got about 8 months of employment before I have to go back and look for my next gig. I’ve never had a gig before. I’ve always had a job or a career. But the work is in the same field and the temporary nature of the job would allow an anonymity to…kill if I still killed.

But I never have to go on a diet.

Murder, consistent murder, is a fit woman’s game. Chasing victims, strangling them. Carrying their lifeless body, it takes a strength and stamina that is difficult to maintain. I’ve spent every day of my life since I was a teenager watching what I eat, how much exercise and strength training I do. I don/t like doing actual “diets” but intentional healthy eating no matter what. It used to drive my mother insane because her family is Eastern European. They express themselves through food. Annoying my mother was just a bonus.

But now that I’m not killing, I don’t have to care. I don’t have to do anything unless I want to not because I feel I have to. All that freedom.

I’m not going to subject Casey to any sort of regiments like that but she’ll figure out what her body needs to survive.

There’s a lot of things I can do now that I don’t have a nighttime hobby. I got home after work and just sat on the couch. Waited for James to get home from training at the prison. Oh yeah, he did get that job. They’re training him anyways and they’ll decide if they’re willing to overlook the suspicious way he left his job on the force.

We aren’t shying away from it if people ask. When questioned about the sudden move and leaving town in the middle of the night, we do tell people that our family was accused of a heinous crime that we were proven innocent of but it left a strong desire to get away so we picked up and left. It’s not a lie. It’s just omitting some details for deserved privacy. That’s not a bad thing. That’s human. So I hear.

I think we’ve earned a little privacy. We need a little privacy.

I need a new hobby. Any suggestions?

As always, dear readers,

Stay Safe

Wednesday 11 September 2019

Your Mid-Week Update for 09/11/19

Location is essential for every part of a murder. The kill site, the secondary location, the burial or disposal site, the alibi location. Where you are is essential to your survival.

Choosing any or all of those sites is not something you can necessarily teach without impeding a killer’s style. You can’t tell someone where to kill anymore than you chose their weapon. You an only instruct on how to read the world.

Suburban areas are great for camouflage but there’s a human/witness factor that you don’t have in rural or urban areas. Rural areas are wonderful for burial sites and secondary locations but not so good for alibis. Urban areas are lousy with opportunity and anonymity but technology makes witnesses and kill sites difficult to guarantee. But if you know all that, then you can plan accordingly.

For example, we are currently living in a generally urban area so Casey and I have spent a lot of time driving and walking around, getting a lay of the land; taking note of what areas have minimal surveillance, quiet or absent neighbours, a history of violent crimes. If James was working for the police department, we’d be able to use their resources to get a more accurate profile of the area but since he has – with my support – made the decision to pursue other career paths, we have to do it the hard way.

I’m not opposed to do the hands-on method. Obviously. It’s just been a while. Technology is a wonder and hinderance. A fact I’m careful to bring up, less I sound like a “grouchy baby boomer” – though I am neither. People forget Gen Xers in the generation discussion all the time. Who decided how the generations are divided, anyways? What is the distinguishing factor that can define over a decade of people? Cause it’s not even 10 years. It’s all weird arbitrary numbers. It has been fascinating to talk to Casey, however. As a “Gen Z”, there is a language barrier that I am trying to overcome without being the lame parent who tries too hard. Or lame Aunt. I’m not her mother.

How did her mother die? James told me (I might have told you about it) but I wonder if it warrants another look. Given our little one’s penchant for secret violence. When did it start, I wonder. A killer’s origin story is incredibly important. Are there traces left behind for others to follow years from now? Or is she undetectable?

She will be when I’m done with her.

As always, dear readers,

Stay Safe

Wednesday 4 September 2019

Your Mid-Week Update for 09/04/19

Murder is such an ancient tradition, yet steeped in progress. In a contrarian way, begs for no traditions to be passed down through the generations. Everyone has to be their own inventor and yet, somehow, we’ve progressed passed beating our neighbours with clubs. Barely. Imagine what we could do if we could pass down our passions to the next generation.

I’m not advocating for everyone to become a serial killer. Everyone has their strengths. Everyone has their way of contributing to society – or not. And being able to share those skills is essential for human progress.

And now I’ve finally found someone who I can pass things on to. Of course, I’m excited. I want to create lesson plans and homework assignments and hang her victims’ fingernails on the fridge. But James says I have to keep my excitement on the inside. And I listen to my husband. Sometimes.

Casey’s education has become more covert. We drive outside of town to practice her technique on unsuspecting wildlife. It’s harder on livestock because farmers keep track of their property. Animals that can pass as roadkill are a lot easier to use. I just don’t want her going out into the wild until she’s perfected her skills. As she so often reminds me, she’s done this before. Multiple times. But I also remember why I don’t want her to end up like Sandra. So I’m going to be a little overprotective and she’s going to have to deal with it. Those are the facts.

I gotta admit, though: she’s good. She listens and asks questions and puts effort into her work. It’s easier to teach young people new things than to break old habits. I can teach her what I took years to learn. I can teach her to be better than me.

Now that she’s starting at a new school, I’ve emphasized the need for secrecy and what will happen if she gets caught. I have to put my trust in her for that but maybe trust will do me a bit of good. Besides, she’s 15. It’ll be fairly easy to hide her body.

Beyond that, I’ve just been settling. We’ve rented an apartment for way too much money, Sandra’s at school, James has an interview with the local detention centre, and I am still job hunting. I don’t really know what I’m looking for. I took my old job because it was convenient. Finding a new job with my qualifications is not impossible but I can’t just walk in off the street and ask for a job. So I keep checking Indeed and other job hunting sites and hope James gets that job next week. And I teach Casey what I know. Maybe that’s enough for now.

No it isn’t. I want a job. I am far from retirement and I am going to find a job. Eventually.

If you have any ideas, let me know.

As always, dear readers,

Stay Safe