The Black Maria Incident ~Fire vs. Ice~
The investigation was more difficult than initially expected.
Due to the many relationships that the victim, Vivian, had with the opposite sex, there were several men whose ire she had incurred over the course of her life. As a result of her vast numbers of associates, it became nearly impossible to narrow down the number of suspects in the case.
An urban legend began to form that her death was the work of a ghost, due to the considerable impossibility of seeing what the perpetrator actually looked like.
After the flurry of reports and gossip about the case ceased, it remained forgotten until five months after the incident, where on December 1, it once again caused trouble.
On this date, a boldly written confession arrived from the murderer to the police and mass media services. With its written proclamation of "I'm not a ghost" (which was all the newspapers chose to publish), it seemed to be openly sneering at not only the police who had failed to catch the murderer, but also to society itself, saying, "I'm still here!"
In addition, as proof of his guilt, he had enclosed a photograph of the murder scene where Vivian's body was prominently featured as well as the Queen of Spades from a deck of Bicycle playing cards.
No fingerprints were found.
The next day, the LA Sunshine newspaper published the murderer's photograph of the crime scene, proclaiming it "The World's Most Beautiful Crime Scene".
Through the mention of the body's resemblance to the Virgin Mary, the Queen of Spades, and the black lipstick used on the body, from that point on, Vivian's murder was christened the "Black Maria Incident".
The name spread into common use far and wide, and the mass media that had once been lukewarm toward the case once again picked it up and spread the story all over again.
At the same time, LA police inspector Hank Wild (age 50 at time of incident), who had been put in charge of capturing the murderer at the time of incident, once again returned to the scene of the crime after taking a year sabbatical, taking command of the investigation.
A veteran of the force who had worked his way up through the ranks by solving several brutal cases, he was something of a small-town hero, being dubbed "Mr. JUSTICE" by the mass media.
He was known to, when completing a case, to say "Q.E.D.".
He appealed to the city of LA, appearing on the mass media outlets to say, "I will not give in to the tricks of a murderer! Justice does not succumb to evil!"
However, several days after the return of the police inspector, another murder case occurred.
On December 12, the mutilated body of Elisa Cell (age 20) was found in the general store where she worked outside of the LA suburbs.
Her lips and vagina had been painted black, a tear drawn down her cheek in the same fashion as the victim of the Black Maria Incident.
Police Inspector Hank declared his opinion that the two murders, with the same
modus operandi, were the work of a serial killer.
However, there were many aspects of this murder that differed from the Black Maria Incident.
Nevertheless, the mass media picked up the story, focusing on the one similarity—that the bodies had been painted in the same way. The mass media was not supporting Hank's theory outright, however—it was that the content of the story allowed for an increase in reader and viewership.
Following the New Year, the FBI dispatched Special Investigator Mike Quiet (age 31) on January 25, 1955 in the hope of bringing a swift resolution to the incident. A graduate of Harvard and an elite officer, he was touted as the FBI's best hope for solving the case.
Disturbed by the unrest caused by the media's daily coverage of the incident, the LA mayor had called for the FBI's assistance, taking no heed of the pleas of the Police Inspector and the other higher-ups at the police department, who insisted that the assistance of the FBI was entirely unnecessary.
Then, Special Investigator Mike declared, "There is no way that the perpetrators of these murders can be the same person."
With the implication that more heinous murders could arise, especially with the brutality of Elisa's murder, Hank was instructed to make a list of the similarities in the crime, as well as construct his own criminal profile. However, he disregarded these orders, insisting, "These are serial murders, committed by the same person!"
Other officers of the LA police force supported Hank's theory, leaving Special Investigator Mike in a state of isolation.
The mass media picked up this story, sensationalizing it into a battle between the hot-headed, wild police inspector Hank (Fire) and the cool-headed, intelligent Special Investigator Mike (Ice).
Then, another incident occurred.
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