MAG 112: Thrill of the Chase

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Statement of Lisa Carmel, regarding her involvement in a series of murders.

## Statement

Lisa Carmel was never a violent person, but has always been a fan of true crime stories. They give her a voyeuristic thrill that fictional horror just cannot manage. When she moved to London, she co-founded book club focused on true crime, which they referred to as Murder Club.

In November 2011, Lisa hosted a meeting of Murder Club at her flat. The five other regular members were present - Jamie Sanders, Ananya and Evelyn Kaleka, Andrew Cochrane and Debbie Truss. Just before the were about to begin the discussion, there was a knock at the door. Jamie answered it, and a very tall man wearing some sort of demon or wolf mask entered the flat, wielding a knife.

Lisa ran into the kitchen to get a knife of her own, while the others attempted to evade his attacks, but no one actually fled. The man's movements gradually became clumsier, until Ananya was able to kick him in the back of the knee. He struck his head on the corner of a table as he fell and went still.

The members of Murder Club did not call the police. Instead, Lisa realized she had gathered six sharp knives from the kitchen, and passed them out to the others. Then, as if a signal had been given, they began to stab the man in the mask. Afterwards, Lisa described feeling deeply satisfied, and silently sharing the feeling with the rest of the group. Andrew volunteered to dispose of the body, and the others departed shortly after.

Lisa's flatmate was horrified by the blood on the floor and her clothes the next morning, but she felt she was beyond needing to explain the thrill of violence to him. She took the same knife she had used to stab the masked man and went looking for Andrew. She instead found Debbie and Jamie outside a whiskey shop in Andrew's neighbourhood and was just in time to see Debbie kill Jamie with a bread knife. Debbie then gave chase to Lisa and Lisa, understanding that she was now the prey, managed to evade her.

Over the next five days, the remaining members of Murder Club hunted each other across London. Lisa killed Evelyn, and she heard that Andrew killed Debbie. She says she came to The Magnus Institute because, though it feels natural now, she knows that none of them would have been interested in violence or comfortable with hunting and killing others before the man in the mask appeared. She apologizes if Andrew or Ananya harm anyone at the Institute while pursuing her, then reflects that at least Murder Club will not have to change its name.

## Post-Statement

Basira remembers this case, though it happened before she joined the police force. Lisa Carmel was killed by Ananya Kaleka near East Croydon Station about two weeks after the killings began; Kaleka pled guilty and died in prison shortly after. The information about the man in the mask is new, and while Lisa did not give a detailed description Basira speculates that she might be able to find something by looking into missing persons' reports from the period.

Daisy interrupts Basira during recording to let her know that Jonathan Sims has returned to London. She comes back as Basira is finishing up, saying that John has taken the others to look into Gertrude Robinson's storage unit, and asked them to distract Elias. Daisy suggests starting a fire, but Basira points out that a fight in the break room would be more subtle.

Daisy also expresses concern about Basira and hints that she misses working with her. Basira, for her part, is concerned about Daisy's dreams and insists that she, Martin and Melanie are all working on a plan to free themselves from Elias's control.

## Continuity

* **Related Entity:** Primarily The Hunt, with possible influence from The Slaughter