I saved the FAQ to my drive and looked next at the Current Log.
Entry #: 57
Points to date: 21
Entered by: NumberThree
Entry date: 13 Nov 2000
Kill date: 9 Nov 2000
Kill location: Rio de Janiero, Brazil
Victim specifications: 2 street children in Brazilian slums
Kill description: Strangulations in a back alley.
Media files and URLs:
Photographs here, here and here.
Copy of police report by People For Children here.
Scores:
NumberOne
5 substance, 2 style. "Multiple but otherwise unremarkable."
NumberTwo
5 substance, 3 style. No comment made.
NumberFour
5 substance, 1 style. "Not up to NumberThree's high standards."
NumberFive
No score yet.
Entry #: 56
Points awarded: 27
Entered by: NumberFour
Entry date: 5 Nov 2000
Kill date: 18 Oct 2000
Kill location: Gunsang, Nepal
Victim specifications: Stanley Goebel, Canadian backpacker
Kill description: Ambush in an abandoned village near the trekking trail.
Media files and URLs:
Pictures available here and here.
The Nepali police called it a suicide(!), but the kill was corroborated on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree here by its discoverers.
Scores amp; Comments:
NumberOne
5 substance, 4 style. "Neatly done. Aesthetically pleasing."
NumberTwo
5 substance, 4 style. "Pretty lucky you got that corroboration."
NumberThree
5 substance, 4 style. "I've been on the Circuit, I have some idea how difficult it would have been to find the right moment. Good work."
NumberFive
No score yet.
Entry #: 55
Points awarded: 18
Entered by: NumberFive
Entry date: 21 September 2000
Kill date: 19 September 2000
Kill location: Bangkok, Thailand
Victim specifications: Thai prostitute, name unknown
Kill description: Lured victim to hotel room for assignation, strangled.
Media files and URLs:
Digital video with audio is located here.
Corroboration from the Bangkok Post's "Nite Owl" column here.
Scores:
NumberOne
5 substance, 1 style. "Thai prostitutes are exceedingly banal."
NumberTwo
5 substance, 1 style. "Boring and frankly I find the sexual aspect disgusting."
NumberThree
0 substance, 0 style. "I'm not convinced. The video is blurry, the audio could be faked, and lots of Bangkok prostitutes turn up dead."
NumberFour
5 substance, 1 style. "Real, but that's the only good thing to say about it."
Entry #: 54
Points awarded: 35
Entered by: NumberOne
Entry date: 9 August 2000
Kill date: 30 July 2000
Kill location: Luxor, Egypt.
Victim specifications: Eric amp; Lucy Hauptmann, middle-aged American tourists.
Kill description: Gunfire ambush during a camelback safari in the desert.
Media files and URLs:
Photographs and audio here, here and here.
Lengthy article in The Times of London which suggests that the attack is that of a terrorist faction here.
Other related articles here, here, here and here.
Scores:
NumberTwo
5 substance, 5 style. "Again the standard we strive to meet."
NumberThree
5 substance, 4 style. "Very impressive."
NumberFour
5 substance, 5 style. "Well worth the wait."
NumberFive
5 substance, 3 style. "Pretty good."
Entry #: 53
Points awarded: 32
Entered by: NumberThree
Entry date: 14 April 2000
Kill date: 11 April 2000
Kill location: Jungle, Suriname
Victim specifications: Thomas Harrison, British backpacker
Kill description: Multiple stab wounds. Night-time ambush.
Media files and URLs:
Digital video with audio here.
Corroboration from London's Guardian newspaper here.
Scores:
NumberOne
5 substance, 3 style. "Neatly done, a worthy target."
NumberTwo
5 substance, 3 style. No comment made.
NumberFour
5 substance, 4 style. "Often, paradoxically, kills are more difficult at night."
NumberFive
5 substance, 2 style. "Its okay. Not real memorable."
View archive of previous entries
"Aw, shit," I said aloud, when I was finished. I felt sick.
I didn't want to read any more but I had to see one more thing. I saved the Current Log file and went to the archives. Fifty-two more entries, dating back to May 1996, when NumberOne initiated the whole thing. NumberTwo had joined in July 1996. NumberThree had shown up in 1998 — he was Southern Africa's The Bull. NumberFive was a recent recruit, less than a year on The Bull.
And NumberFour, Morgan Jackson, had began his career with this:
Entry #: 28
Points awarded: 27
Entered by: NumberFour
Entry date: 9 July 1998
Kill date: 15 June 1998
Kill location: Limbe, Cameroon
Victim specifications: Laura Mason, British traveler
Kill description: Ambushed on the beach at night, eviscerated.
Media files and URLs:
Photographs here and here.
Corroboration from various British papers here, here and here.
Scores:
NumberOne
5 substance, 4 style. "Well done. Welcome. An impressive debut."
NumberTwo
5 substance, 4 style. "Central Africa? You've got more guts than me. (sorry)."
NumberThree
5 substance, 4 style. "Bienvenue. I wish you a prosperous career."
I didn't want to look at the photographs, but I did. Laura on the beach. I'd seen her there, but it was far more horrific seeing this picture now than it was discovering her then. My hands shook so badly I couldn't shut down the window and I had to stab at the computer's OFF button instead. I was making grunting noises with every breath. I felt as if someone had kicked me hard in the stomach.
The Bull was a fucking game. And Morgan was only one of five.