Over at snopes there is a question about this: secretary in large office building gets flowers, takes them home with her that evening as she leaves, is killed outside building by sender who used them as a way to ID her.
Is this from a movie or real life? Any help. It sure sounds familiar.
This trick was used by Walter Matthau in the 1973 movie Charlie Varrick.
Great movie too! “this is Eleanor Roosevelt!”
Now why would you want to kill someone if you don’t even know what they look like? I mean, sure, you might want to kill someone that you don’t know due to some kink in you personality, but then why would it have to be specifically secretary X working for company Y in building Z?
Wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper to take the elevator to that floor, open the door to the office, and say “Whoops! I made a mistake.”
Hell, I can think of half-a-dozen reasons. But that’s just the kind of devious-assed mind I have. I should be writing cheap thrillers for the pulp market, except there isn’t any pulp market any more.
How do you mean there’s no pulp market? My grocery store still has an aisle with magazines and cheap novels.
And from reading your post, Uke, I’m glad that I don’t live in the same city as you. I can just see you deciding to implement one of your little plans “for scientific curiosity”.
AW, did you read the snopes link? The alleged assailant was upset with purportedly rude treatment at the hands of a person on the phone.
Ever seen a photo of MarkSerlin? jebus? JohnJohn? bj0rn? Heatherlee? Phaedrus?
I have no murderous feelings, but I’d bet that we could have found people on this board, from time to time, to answer your question in the affirmative.
Heh. bj0rn
Thanks for playing!
Stuyguy wins the first round. And a hearty handshake and a years supply of flower preservative to all you runner-ups.
Charley Varrick is not the context which I remember, but it certainly must be the earliest known.
Arnold You’re just too damn nice for your own good. Don’t they have guys in fedoras with cotton stuffed in their cheeks who talk funny in Switzerland? Who does your contract work???
P.S. Stuyguy posted on snopes. Thanks guy. Another one comes in from the cold.
tomndebb, you’re right, I was too lazy to read the link. I suppose one could conceive of reasons to kill someone whom you don’t know by sight. Heck, I don’t know if I would have recognized Pol Pot or Pinochet in the street either (not that I condone killing them.)
But no, samclem, no mafiosi in Switzerland. For our evil work, we have our bankers, which will scare you more than any mafioso could.
Perhaps someone should send flowers to Cecil Adams at the Chicago Reader, then shoot him when he comes out (with a camera, of course). Might solve the “Who is Cecil, really?” question.
Now that I think of it----this is just a variation on Humphrey Bogart paying a bellboy in the hotel lobby to page someone for whom he is looking. Guy answers page, Bogart “makes” him, and Bingo!