From Layoff to Murder Campaign

The Ax

This thread follows Burke Devore from losing his place in the paper industry to targeting applicants he believes stand between him and a job.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Yellow Notice The Yellow Notice from "The Ax". The Yellow Notice The Job Ends Burke Devore receives notice that his position at Halcyon Mills will cease to exist after a transition period.

The Yellow Notice from "The Ax". The Yellow Notice The Job Ends Burke Devore receives notice that his position at Halcyon Mills will cease to exist after a transition period.

The Yellow Notice The Job Ends Burke Devore receives notice that his position at Halcyon Mills will cease to exist after a transition period. The company frames the cut as orderly and humane, but the work is being moved to Canada. A Fragile Landing The severance package offers temporary financial protection, not a replacement career. Burke understands the practical danger, though he has not yet grasped how long unemployment will last.

The Search Narrows The Search Narrows from "The Ax". The Search Narrows Applications Without Answers Burke sends résumés, attends interviews, and waits for replies that rarely come.

The Search Narrows from "The Ax". The Search Narrows Applications Without Answers Burke sends résumés, attends interviews, and waits for replies that rarely come.

The Search Narrows Applications Without Answers Burke sends résumés, attends interviews, and waits for replies that rarely come. His expertise remains substantial, but employers can choose from a crowded pool without investing in retraining. A Private Conclusion Repeated rejection turns job hunting into a comparison of tiny advantages. Burke begins to believe that a better-qualified applicant is not merely competition but an obstacle to his family’s survival.

The First Victim The First Victim from "The Ax". The First Victim Preparation Becomes Action Burke takes his father’s Luger pistol and travels to Fall City, where he locates Herbert Coleman Everly.

The First Victim from "The Ax". The First Victim Preparation Becomes Action Burke takes his father’s Luger pistol and travels to Fall City, where he locates Herbert Coleman Everly.

The First Victim Preparation Becomes Action Burke takes his father’s Luger pistol and travels to Fall City, where he locates Herbert Coleman Everly. He has spent weeks convincing himself that eliminating a rival could secure a livelihood. A Threshold Crossed Burke shoots Everly at his mailbox and escapes. The clean, immediate act persuades him that he can continue, even as he has entered a moral and criminal world he once would have considered unimaginable.

The List Expands The List Expands from "The Ax". The List Expands A Campaign Against Rivals Burke pursues applicants whose résumés suggest they could compete for the position he wants.

The List Expands from "The Ax". The List Expands A Campaign Against Rivals Burke pursues applicants whose résumés suggest they could compete for the position he wants.

The List Expands A Campaign Against Rivals Burke pursues applicants whose résumés suggest they could compete for the position he wants. The list turns anonymous job seekers into targets while disguising his private violence as a practical response to scarcity. Complications Accumulate The killings of Edward George Ricks, Mrs. Ricks, Everett Boyd Dynes, and Kane Bagley Asche become progressively more frightening and difficult to control. Burke continues despite remorse, police attention, and the growing cost to his sense of himself.

A Job Call A Job Call from "The Ax". A Job Call The Vacancy Opens After Upton Fallon dies, Arcadia Processing contacts Burke about an immediate opening matching his experience.

A Job Call from "The Ax". A Job Call The Vacancy Opens After Upton Fallon dies, Arcadia Processing contacts Burke about an immediate opening matching his experience.

A Job Call The Vacancy Opens After Upton Fallon dies, Arcadia Processing contacts Burke about an immediate opening matching his experience. The delay in the call has made him fear that his violence might not produce the result he has pursued. Hope Returns, Uneasily Burke treats the interview appointment as the beginning of restored life. Detective Burton’s renewed visit immediately complicates that relief, reminding Burke that a professional future and criminal exposure now occupy the same moment.

October 1995

The months after the layoff, before May 1997

May 8, 1997

May and June 1997

July 1, 1997