CHARMED
"AN ALTERNATE DESTINY"
by J. B. Tilton
email: aramath@isot.com
Rating: PG (for mild language)
PART 2: RECONCILIATION
Prue and Piper enlist Darryl's help in tracking down the
warlock. And discovers something far worse. Realizing they need the
Power of Three, Prue decides she must finally confront Piper and try
to get things out into the open.
* * *
ONE
The first step for Prue and Phoebe was simple. Learn as much as
possible about this warlock. The Book of Shadows could have been
invaluable to them. But neither of them had any idea where it might
be. Leo probably knew but he, too, was nowhere to be found.
They both agreed this was no ordinary warlock. Warlock usually
went after witches. To steal their powers. This one seemed less
interested in witches than he was in innocents.
"There has to be a reason for it," said Prue. "Why innocents?
And why prostitutes?"
"Well," said Phoebe, "prostitutes are easy to find. And the
police aren't as likely to be as concerned if one disappears or is
murdered as they are with someone else. It's sad, but that's the way
things are."
"That makes sense," said Prue. "But why these particular
prostitutes? Were they just random or is there something special
about them?"
"The news doesn't say," said Phoebe. "All the police are saying
is that someone is stalking prostitutes."
'Wait a minute," said Prue. "Darryl told me he was consulting
on this case. Maybe he knows something they haven't released to the
public. The police do that sometimes. Hold back some key piece of
information to weed out the cranks. It can't hurt to ask him."
"That's a good idea," said Phoebe. "I think I have his address
around here somewhere. We'll go over and see if he can tell us
anything. What about Piper? What are you going to do about her?"
"I don't know," said Prue. "I can understand how she feels.
But I have to worry about her later. Right now there's an innocent in
danger and that has to take precedence."
"You haven't changed a bit," said Phoebe.
"Well, for me," said Prue, "It's only been a few hours, not
twenty-eight years."
Phoebe found Darryl's address and together they drove to his
place. It turned out to be only a few blocks form the manor. As they
drove past the manor, Prue saw just how rundown it really was. Darryl
was home and invited them in.
"It's still kind of strange," said Darryl, "seeing you as young
as you are. Especially when everyone else has gotten so much older."
"Not everyone," said Prue. "That warlock I told you about?
He's your serial killer, Richard James."
"That's impossible," said Darryl. "Another prostitute was
murdered last night. While he was in custody. It couldn't' be him.
We know for a fact that the serial killer works alone. So it couldn't
be him."
"I know," said Prue. "But as a warlock he can blink. It's a
kind of teleportation. It would be simple for him to get out of the
cell, murder the girl, and get back inside without getting caught.
And it would give him an airtight alibi for the murders."
"Are you sure?" asked Darryl. "Is there any doubt that he's the
same guy you fought twenty-eight years ago?"
"No doubt whatsoever," said Prue. "I got a very good look at
him while we were fighting. I don't know why he hasn't aged like
everyone else, but I know it's the same guy."
"Okay," said Darryl, "so why is he targeting prostitutes? I
remember you once told me that warlocks are more interested in
stealing a witch's power. Why didn't he kill you and take your powers
when you fought him before?"
"We don't know," said Phoebe. "That's why we've come to you.
Besides prostitutes, is there anything else these women has in
common?"
"They're all female, of course," said Darryl. "All are under
the age of 35, but that describes most of the prostitutes in San
Francisco. Each was savagely murdered and then their bodies were
brutally mutilated. Each attack seems to be worse than the last one."
"I remember you telling me that," said Prue. I also know I've
heard of this before. I just can't remember where."
"I know," said Darryl. "You mentioned that when I took you to
see Phoebe. It's probably from before."
"What do you mean?" asked Prue.
"The same thing happened the year you disappeared," said Darryl.
"Five women were brutally murdered and then butchered right here in
San Francisco. That's why I'm consulting on this case. I handled
that one. It appears to be an exact copy cat of the first case."
"Did you ever catch the guy back then?" asked Phoebe.
"No," said Darryl. "The killings stopped as suddenly as they
started. The killer just kind of vanished."
"Darryl," said Prue thoughtfully, "can you get me some
information?"
"Depends on what kind of information you're looking for," said
Darryl. "What are you after?"
"I'd like to know if there have been any similar serial murders
in the past," said Prue. "Not jus here in San Francisco, but anywhere
in the United States."
"That's easy," said Darryl standing up. "My computer is still
linked to the one at the station. And they're linked to a central
computer that compiles statistics nationwide. I should have that
information for you in a few minutes."
A check of the database revealed eighty-three similar serial
murders. Murders where the victims were mutilated after death. They
dotted the United States like the spots on a leopard.
"Let's narrow the search," said Prue. "Let's say, murders where
the killer was never caught. And where the killings stopped as
suddenly as they began."
Narrowing the search brought the number down to twenty-seven.
They narrowed it even further by concentrating only on cases where the
victims were prostitutes. This brought the number down to fifteen.
"Can we narrow the search any further?" asked Prue.
"Not without more information," said Darryl. "That's about as
narrow as we can get it right now."
"No it's not," said Phoebe. "See if any of them were committed
equal number of years apart. If there is a frequency to the
patterns."
Darryl entered the information and waited for the computer to
correlate the data. Within seconds it displayed only four entries.
Let's see what we have," said Darryl. "In 2005, five
prostitutes were murdered then mutilated here in San Francisco. I
told you abut that one. Before that, there was an identical set of
murders in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1972. Before that, in 1944, the same
thing happened in St. Louis, Missouri. And before that, it was New
York City in 1916. Each involved the murder and post mortem
mutilation of five prostitutes and each was twenty-eight years after
the previous one."
"Those locations," said Phoebe, "they're almost a straight line
across the United States. Almost as if someone was making his or her
way across the country killing prostitutes along the way. Every
twenty-eight years, of course."
"There's more than that," said Prue. "I remember now where I've
heard of these kinds of serial killings before. Darryl, you said the
first one was in New York City in 1916. 1916 minus twenty-eight years
is 1888."
"That date sounds familiar for some reason," said Darryl.
"It should," said Prue. "Nearly identical murders occurred that
year in London. They became internationally famous.
"Five women, all prostitutes, were savagely murdered, and then
mutilated. Just like those other cases. And while they never did
catch the killer, he was given a name.
"Jack the Ripper."
"AN ALTERNATE DESTINY"
by J. B. Tilton
email: aramath@isot.com
Rating: PG (for mild language)
PART 2: RECONCILIATION
Prue and Piper enlist Darryl's help in tracking down the
warlock. And discovers something far worse. Realizing they need the
Power of Three, Prue decides she must finally confront Piper and try
to get things out into the open.
* * *
ONE
The first step for Prue and Phoebe was simple. Learn as much as
possible about this warlock. The Book of Shadows could have been
invaluable to them. But neither of them had any idea where it might
be. Leo probably knew but he, too, was nowhere to be found.
They both agreed this was no ordinary warlock. Warlock usually
went after witches. To steal their powers. This one seemed less
interested in witches than he was in innocents.
"There has to be a reason for it," said Prue. "Why innocents?
And why prostitutes?"
"Well," said Phoebe, "prostitutes are easy to find. And the
police aren't as likely to be as concerned if one disappears or is
murdered as they are with someone else. It's sad, but that's the way
things are."
"That makes sense," said Prue. "But why these particular
prostitutes? Were they just random or is there something special
about them?"
"The news doesn't say," said Phoebe. "All the police are saying
is that someone is stalking prostitutes."
'Wait a minute," said Prue. "Darryl told me he was consulting
on this case. Maybe he knows something they haven't released to the
public. The police do that sometimes. Hold back some key piece of
information to weed out the cranks. It can't hurt to ask him."
"That's a good idea," said Phoebe. "I think I have his address
around here somewhere. We'll go over and see if he can tell us
anything. What about Piper? What are you going to do about her?"
"I don't know," said Prue. "I can understand how she feels.
But I have to worry about her later. Right now there's an innocent in
danger and that has to take precedence."
"You haven't changed a bit," said Phoebe.
"Well, for me," said Prue, "It's only been a few hours, not
twenty-eight years."
Phoebe found Darryl's address and together they drove to his
place. It turned out to be only a few blocks form the manor. As they
drove past the manor, Prue saw just how rundown it really was. Darryl
was home and invited them in.
"It's still kind of strange," said Darryl, "seeing you as young
as you are. Especially when everyone else has gotten so much older."
"Not everyone," said Prue. "That warlock I told you about?
He's your serial killer, Richard James."
"That's impossible," said Darryl. "Another prostitute was
murdered last night. While he was in custody. It couldn't' be him.
We know for a fact that the serial killer works alone. So it couldn't
be him."
"I know," said Prue. "But as a warlock he can blink. It's a
kind of teleportation. It would be simple for him to get out of the
cell, murder the girl, and get back inside without getting caught.
And it would give him an airtight alibi for the murders."
"Are you sure?" asked Darryl. "Is there any doubt that he's the
same guy you fought twenty-eight years ago?"
"No doubt whatsoever," said Prue. "I got a very good look at
him while we were fighting. I don't know why he hasn't aged like
everyone else, but I know it's the same guy."
"Okay," said Darryl, "so why is he targeting prostitutes? I
remember you once told me that warlocks are more interested in
stealing a witch's power. Why didn't he kill you and take your powers
when you fought him before?"
"We don't know," said Phoebe. "That's why we've come to you.
Besides prostitutes, is there anything else these women has in
common?"
"They're all female, of course," said Darryl. "All are under
the age of 35, but that describes most of the prostitutes in San
Francisco. Each was savagely murdered and then their bodies were
brutally mutilated. Each attack seems to be worse than the last one."
"I remember you telling me that," said Prue. I also know I've
heard of this before. I just can't remember where."
"I know," said Darryl. "You mentioned that when I took you to
see Phoebe. It's probably from before."
"What do you mean?" asked Prue.
"The same thing happened the year you disappeared," said Darryl.
"Five women were brutally murdered and then butchered right here in
San Francisco. That's why I'm consulting on this case. I handled
that one. It appears to be an exact copy cat of the first case."
"Did you ever catch the guy back then?" asked Phoebe.
"No," said Darryl. "The killings stopped as suddenly as they
started. The killer just kind of vanished."
"Darryl," said Prue thoughtfully, "can you get me some
information?"
"Depends on what kind of information you're looking for," said
Darryl. "What are you after?"
"I'd like to know if there have been any similar serial murders
in the past," said Prue. "Not jus here in San Francisco, but anywhere
in the United States."
"That's easy," said Darryl standing up. "My computer is still
linked to the one at the station. And they're linked to a central
computer that compiles statistics nationwide. I should have that
information for you in a few minutes."
A check of the database revealed eighty-three similar serial
murders. Murders where the victims were mutilated after death. They
dotted the United States like the spots on a leopard.
"Let's narrow the search," said Prue. "Let's say, murders where
the killer was never caught. And where the killings stopped as
suddenly as they began."
Narrowing the search brought the number down to twenty-seven.
They narrowed it even further by concentrating only on cases where the
victims were prostitutes. This brought the number down to fifteen.
"Can we narrow the search any further?" asked Prue.
"Not without more information," said Darryl. "That's about as
narrow as we can get it right now."
"No it's not," said Phoebe. "See if any of them were committed
equal number of years apart. If there is a frequency to the
patterns."
Darryl entered the information and waited for the computer to
correlate the data. Within seconds it displayed only four entries.
Let's see what we have," said Darryl. "In 2005, five
prostitutes were murdered then mutilated here in San Francisco. I
told you abut that one. Before that, there was an identical set of
murders in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1972. Before that, in 1944, the same
thing happened in St. Louis, Missouri. And before that, it was New
York City in 1916. Each involved the murder and post mortem
mutilation of five prostitutes and each was twenty-eight years after
the previous one."
"Those locations," said Phoebe, "they're almost a straight line
across the United States. Almost as if someone was making his or her
way across the country killing prostitutes along the way. Every
twenty-eight years, of course."
"There's more than that," said Prue. "I remember now where I've
heard of these kinds of serial killings before. Darryl, you said the
first one was in New York City in 1916. 1916 minus twenty-eight years
is 1888."
"That date sounds familiar for some reason," said Darryl.
"It should," said Prue. "Nearly identical murders occurred that
year in London. They became internationally famous.
"Five women, all prostitutes, were savagely murdered, and then
mutilated. Just like those other cases. And while they never did
catch the killer, he was given a name.
"Jack the Ripper."