The Case of Known-Unknown

A Breakthrough

   '1 A.M.' he said to himself. '1 A.M. and I'll have my answers.'

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   'Look at this quote.' Dexter pointed at the copy. '"Even the great Zodiac Killer would have approved of me as his successor" What comes to your mind when you read it?' He questioned them stirringly.

   'That he thinks of the Zodiac Killer as his inspiration?'

   'Or maybe that he thinks he is as skillful as him. Or even better than him?' Akash suggested, and Dexter snickered at them.

   'That's what everyone thinks, it is the first thing that comes to mind. Although reality speaks otherwise. This quote is in no manner in correspondence to the Zodiac Killer.'

   'Wait, then is it an anagram?' Syna asked taking out her pen and paper.

   'That's wrong.' He said, making the symbol of the cross with his hands. 'The keyword in this quote is obviously "Zodiac Killer", but its purpose does not serve as a name, it serves as a link.' He quickly grabbed the paper and separated Zodiac and Killer.

   'Now what does it read?' Akash quickly figured it out.

   'Zodiac Killer? He is a Zodiac Killer? According to the Zodiac signs?' He asked impatiently and Dexter nodded with a smile. Upon this Akash quickly grabbed an entire pile of sheets, which had various details of all the victims.

   'What are you looking for?' Syna asked.

   'If he is a Zodiac killer, then it is obvious that his victims would have been selected and killed according to their zodiac signs, their date of birth.' He said hurriedly, whilst looking at all the sheets he could. 'So the pattern would be the sequence of the killings according to their zodiac signs.'

   'Erm.' Dexter coughed and cleared his throat, catching their attention. 'That's not the theory. In fact, his victims are random, no zodiac signs have ever been matched.'

   'How do you know that? He committed numerous murders, there must be some-' Akash said in disbelief.

   'I was the one who was asked to bring up all the details of single murders, and I helped them check for any signs in a pattern.' He said and Akash halted his search.

   'Look, I don't remember the precise details or the story that one of those detectives and Officer Siddharth Agrawal were discussing about.' He said looking at them. 'But I remember that they talked about the four elements of Zodiac which were used and found in those early years by the Greeks.' Their curious minds grew more alert.

   'The Four Elements.' Akash said in a revealing look. 'Fire, Water, Air and Earth. The foundations of the Twelve Zodiac signs.'

   'Exactly!' Dexter supported. 'Since Mark Hallows kept on mentioning about History, the officers strongly believe in this theory.'

   'The Greeks had contributed the idea that the Earth was divided and governed by these four elements.' Akash said. 'And later on, it was researched by Aristotle who worked on his ancestor's ideas and confirmed their theory. These four elements are the pillars of traditional, and even Modern Astrology. These were the very elements that gave birth to Astrology in a manner, during that period of time.'

   'Precisely. One of the detectives offered similar knowledge to which Officer Siddharth agreed, saying that the theory made sense, since humanity has considered that they are made up of these very elements, so the theory has a very high possibility of matching with The Stalker's manner of viewing life.' Akash and Dexter were very thrilled with the discussion, while Syna felt like she was being lectured by two history professors.