The Sun

Inspiration

The Killer sat in the dark at his desk. The large room was empty of all but the huge desk that sat under the massive window and the thick lush carpeting. The only adornment in the room was a large flowing picture of a beautiful woman. Her naked form was loosely covered by a sheer fabric entwined around her voluptuous body, her hair swirling around her floating form. A fair-sized brass plate, barely discernable in the darkness, hailed her as Wisdom.

The only light in the room was the soft glow of the surge protector for his computer, which while on had slipped into sleep mode and for now, the screen aided the room’s dark air. There was no movement at all. Even the male figure clad in a very fine and expensive suit was completely still. He leaned back in his chair with one elbow perched on the edge of the table. The same arm supported his chin and his feet were crossed in gentle repose.

Only his hostility stirred the air in this room and it was thick and rife. The gentle hum of the tower instead of distracting him had served as a hypnotic and had put him in a deep trance of sinister thought. He was no closer to deciding how to kill the Detective and it was taxing him greatly. That and the fact that he had had to move his offices under the pretext of working for another fat, greedy, slovenly aristocrat had him all but fed up. 

Indeed the Detective remained very much alive and not for lack of ideas either. He had plotted many demises for the Detective but was forced to scrap them all. They were either too shallow or immature.

He sensed that he was on the cusp of a deeper awakening, a higher calling, and the realization had excited him. He had been forced to, one by one, lay waste to his masterful plans as they failed to give him the deeper satisfaction he needed.

He had thought of poison but it was too feminine and besides some idiot Doctor might overlook it as food poisoning and what was the fun in that? He had briefly considered running him down but discarded that almost immediately. There was no challenge to that. No, he wanted the Illustrious Detective to fall from grace while he died. Nothing else would do.

His previous plots had lacked the true essence of genius of which he knew he was capable. He had become so frustrated with the problem that it was blocking his creative energy in every arena. He just needed inspiration. This had to be perfect! It was no longer about Coleden. It was about proving himself.  He needed to come up with something that would draw attention to the detective. Something that would allow even a simpleton to see that the detective had been out-maneuvered by a smarter foe, bringing much-deserved glory upon himself, without exposure.  He sighed deeply as he pulled himself from his contemplations.

He turned on the desk lamp and pulled the Real Estate guide from the desk drawer. It was a new one for this week and having had no time to spare on it earlier decided to glance over it now. There on the third page was his inspiration.

Beautiful two-bedroom cottage:
11/2 acres of land w small orchard
All appliances, cherry wood floors throughout
Deck, sunken living room and newly reno kitchen
163,000 firm

He knew that photo anywhere. The Detective was selling off his love shack. What better place for the setting of his demise than the cottage of his beloved dead wife? He abandoned the magazine and it slid unnoticed to the floor. Now how to lure the detective out to the site…hmm? An idea struck him and He looked around for the booklet.

Impatiently picking it up off the floor he took a closer look at the ad. His evil smile slowly spread to encompass his entire face. He knew this agent well. This weak-minded fellow would offer no murmurs as he fell into his plans and would be none the wiser in the end, the fool. He picked up the phone and laughed, a surprisingly light-hearted sound. This would be fun!♠️