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Why would buying a dude with a minivan buying plastic wrap be weird? Chances are he’s a contractor or something, maybe a painter? You obviously don’t want paint spatter all over the floor if you’re repainting the walls.
Always pay in cash; never shop in the same store twice; travel out of town if you have to. Buy in bulk, too, so it lasts. Between big-box hardware stores and warehouse wholesalers like Costco, BJ’s, and Sam’s Club, he’s got options.
Also, nobody has any solid reason to make a connection between serial killers and plastic wrap; Dexter is very thorough when it comes to disposal and cleaning up after himself. He could be using it for home renovation projects; he could be using it for private events involving lots of baby oil. Lots of weirdos in Miami, and nobody working in retail would care enough to ask questions.
This is one of those things which is only evidence in hindsight – that is, if you suspect someone’s a serial killer than them buying a lot of plastic wrap will support that suspicion, but if you don’t then them buying a lot of plastic wrap won’t make you suspect them.
There’s lots of perfectly plausible reasons someone might need a lot of plastic wrap, and it’s not like most shop clerks care what their customers plan to do with the stuff they buy. Unless you already suspect that Dexter’s a serial killer this doesn’t really matter, and even if you do it’s hardly a smoking gun
Restaurant supply shops. Especially those focusing on catering work. Those companies use miles of the stuff to wrap entire carts filled with hotel pans of food (and the hotel pans themselves) as well as wrapping up tons of bowls of salad and fruit.
One average funeral or corporate luncheon might use a literal mile of shrink wrap to get everything from the caterer’s kitchen to the event venue and they’d be doing several of these a month (or more ideally).
And you can also get all kinds of other things at these supply stores like entire flats worth of latex gloves, shoe protectors, and aprons. I’d safely bet he could get everything he needs aside from the chains and scalpels from any decent restaurant supply store and that includes carving knives and meat saws.
And there’d be no way to tell if he was a serial killer, caterer, or or restaurant contractor doing deliveries. There’s honestly good money in just loading up a van with that sort of supplies (shrink wrap, containers, gloves, towels, and cleaning supplies) and going to county fairs, expos, and food truck rallies and just walking around to see if anyone is out of supplies and making on the spot sales.
You could make bank just transporting toilet paper to some state fairs and back it up with napkins. Just load up a hand cart with them and walk to every food vendor and bathroom and see if the people contracted out to work those areas are low. Maybe not on day one, but by Day five I am sure you’d be clearing that cart every time you entered the fair.
So yeah, no one would suspect him of doing anything dodgy unless he was buying a hacksaw, bleach, garbage bags, duct tape, and a mask all while coated in blood. And even then if he made an off hand comment about how the bone saw at the butcher went down he could still likely pass.
“Sir? Is everything okay?”
“Sure! Why do you ask?”
“Well, you’re buying all these serial killer items and you’re coated in blood from head to foot.”
“Oh, I work at Big Steer Meats and the fucking saw went down right in the middle of cutting up a deer. And whoever shot it didn’t properly clean it. I think we hit the heart or liver just as the motor died. Got me splashed good. But hey, it’s not the first time I took a splash of blood, haha ha.”
Second guy in line, also covered in blood, “Can we hurry up? I got five more sides of beef to cut tonight and we just ran out of cling film. If I don’t get back soon I’ll be there all fucking night and I ‘m on open shift tomorrow.”
Many people go through massive amounts of plastic wrap for all kinds of jobs.
I used to work in a shipping warehouse and we’d go through it so fast. I might have 30 pallets shipping out today, every one with a top sheet of plastic which may be taller than I am, and then side wrap multiple times to make sure nothing moves around during transit.
Most of his killing supplies were pretty basic items that wouldn’t raise any alarms. The only exception was the drug he used to knock people out which was a highly controlled substance and he had to get it under a pseudonym. And I don’t think he would have had access to it at all if he didn’t work in law enforcement.
Well, for one thing, he’s probably smart enough to NOT buy it all in one go. Hit up a Home Depot, then a Lowes, then Walmart, then a local hardware store, buy two or three rolls per store – like enough to paint a typical living room say – and no one will ever notice. Bonus points if you choose stores a bit further away from the others (don’t just hit one town, spread it out a bit).
As others have said, no one is going to blink if you DID buy it all in one store anyway… but the smart serial killer doesn’t even risk that much when the solution is as simple as an afternoon or driving and store-hopping.
The big plastic sheets (and tape) are the same ones he uses at work. He’s always covering his room there with plastic while he experiments with stuff. It’s a regular expense, and nobody’s going to bother counting the sheets. He’d just take some home when he needs them and report that he needs more when they’re running low. If anybody does ask questions, he was working on this new method of estimating a killer’s height from the patterns of blood on the walls and ceiling. Want to see the pictures? No? Didn’t think so.
The stretch wrap (stuff he wraps victims in) comes in rolls that are 12-1500 feet long. It’s incredibly thin. Buying a roll or two at any building supply place won’t cause questions. If somebody does ask, he sold a dresser to somebody in Tennessee and the movers want it wrapped and attached to a wooden pallet. Rant about spending more on the shipping than he’s getting for the dresser.
Trash bags, of course, you can buy anywhere. People buy boxes of them all the time, and nobody would notice that he’s buying a new box of 60 after only putting out 52 for the trash collectors.
That film is heavily used in several industries. It would be nearly impossible to track even if you figured out a serial killer was using mass quantities of it.
To add to other people pointing out that bulk buying stuff is normal, no one knows to be suspicious of the materials he uses for the kill rooms because nothing he leaves with the body indicates he uses it. The police and media don’t see the plastic tarp, gloves, or slides. Just cling wrapped chunks of meat and while Dexter does use a lot of wrap for each kill, he’s only buying new ones at twice the rate as a normal person who cooks as a hobby given the time between his kills.
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not all at once, different stores
You can just walk into a restaurant supply company at 4am and buy several miles of clingfilm without anyone batting an eye.
Why would buying a dude with a minivan buying plastic wrap be weird? Chances are he’s a contractor or something, maybe a painter? You obviously don’t want paint spatter all over the floor if you’re repainting the walls.
Always pay in cash; never shop in the same store twice; travel out of town if you have to. Buy in bulk, too, so it lasts. Between big-box hardware stores and warehouse wholesalers like Costco, BJ’s, and Sam’s Club, he’s got options.
Also, nobody has any solid reason to make a connection between serial killers and plastic wrap; Dexter is very thorough when it comes to disposal and cleaning up after himself. He could be using it for home renovation projects; he could be using it for private events involving lots of baby oil. Lots of weirdos in Miami, and nobody working in retail would care enough to ask questions.
This is one of those things which is only evidence in hindsight – that is, if you suspect someone’s a serial killer than them buying a lot of plastic wrap will support that suspicion, but if you don’t then them buying a lot of plastic wrap won’t make you suspect them.
There’s lots of perfectly plausible reasons someone might need a lot of plastic wrap, and it’s not like most shop clerks care what their customers plan to do with the stuff they buy. Unless you already suspect that Dexter’s a serial killer this doesn’t really matter, and even if you do it’s hardly a smoking gun
Restaurant supply shops. Especially those focusing on catering work. Those companies use miles of the stuff to wrap entire carts filled with hotel pans of food (and the hotel pans themselves) as well as wrapping up tons of bowls of salad and fruit.
One average funeral or corporate luncheon might use a literal mile of shrink wrap to get everything from the caterer’s kitchen to the event venue and they’d be doing several of these a month (or more ideally).
And you can also get all kinds of other things at these supply stores like entire flats worth of latex gloves, shoe protectors, and aprons. I’d safely bet he could get everything he needs aside from the chains and scalpels from any decent restaurant supply store and that includes carving knives and meat saws.
And there’d be no way to tell if he was a serial killer, caterer, or or restaurant contractor doing deliveries. There’s honestly good money in just loading up a van with that sort of supplies (shrink wrap, containers, gloves, towels, and cleaning supplies) and going to county fairs, expos, and food truck rallies and just walking around to see if anyone is out of supplies and making on the spot sales.
You could make bank just transporting toilet paper to some state fairs and back it up with napkins. Just load up a hand cart with them and walk to every food vendor and bathroom and see if the people contracted out to work those areas are low. Maybe not on day one, but by Day five I am sure you’d be clearing that cart every time you entered the fair.
So yeah, no one would suspect him of doing anything dodgy unless he was buying a hacksaw, bleach, garbage bags, duct tape, and a mask all while coated in blood. And even then if he made an off hand comment about how the bone saw at the butcher went down he could still likely pass.
“Sir? Is everything okay?”
“Sure! Why do you ask?”
“Well, you’re buying all these serial killer items and you’re coated in blood from head to foot.”
“Oh, I work at Big Steer Meats and the fucking saw went down right in the middle of cutting up a deer. And whoever shot it didn’t properly clean it. I think we hit the heart or liver just as the motor died. Got me splashed good. But hey, it’s not the first time I took a splash of blood, haha ha.”
Second guy in line, also covered in blood, “Can we hurry up? I got five more sides of beef to cut tonight and we just ran out of cling film. If I don’t get back soon I’ll be there all fucking night and I ‘m on open shift tomorrow.”
It’s Florida. Don’t ask.
Many people go through massive amounts of plastic wrap for all kinds of jobs.
I used to work in a shipping warehouse and we’d go through it so fast. I might have 30 pallets shipping out today, every one with a top sheet of plastic which may be taller than I am, and then side wrap multiple times to make sure nothing moves around during transit.
He’s a blood spatter analyst. If anybody asks, he needs that stuff to do his job or he’s running an experiment at home or something.
The clerk at the checkout counter honestly could not give less of a shit what you buy.
I once went into a 24-hour home depot at 3 am and bought a hatchet, rat poison, duct tape, and a tarp, no one batted an eye.
And when I got back from my camping trip there were no mice in my pantry anymore. Easy peasy.
I doubt anyone would think twice if he’s in Home Depot buying supplies with his Miami Metro lanyard.
The dude owns a boat, of course he needs crazy painting and cleaning products.
Most of his killing supplies were pretty basic items that wouldn’t raise any alarms. The only exception was the drug he used to knock people out which was a highly controlled substance and he had to get it under a pseudonym. And I don’t think he would have had access to it at all if he didn’t work in law enforcement.
Hes a blood spatter analyst. Its a business expense to him. He probably submits his expenses for reimbursement too. lol
Well, for one thing, he’s probably smart enough to NOT buy it all in one go. Hit up a Home Depot, then a Lowes, then Walmart, then a local hardware store, buy two or three rolls per store – like enough to paint a typical living room say – and no one will ever notice. Bonus points if you choose stores a bit further away from the others (don’t just hit one town, spread it out a bit).
As others have said, no one is going to blink if you DID buy it all in one store anyway… but the smart serial killer doesn’t even risk that much when the solution is as simple as an afternoon or driving and store-hopping.
The big plastic sheets (and tape) are the same ones he uses at work. He’s always covering his room there with plastic while he experiments with stuff. It’s a regular expense, and nobody’s going to bother counting the sheets. He’d just take some home when he needs them and report that he needs more when they’re running low. If anybody does ask questions, he was working on this new method of estimating a killer’s height from the patterns of blood on the walls and ceiling. Want to see the pictures? No? Didn’t think so.
The stretch wrap (stuff he wraps victims in) comes in rolls that are 12-1500 feet long. It’s incredibly thin. Buying a roll or two at any building supply place won’t cause questions. If somebody does ask, he sold a dresser to somebody in Tennessee and the movers want it wrapped and attached to a wooden pallet. Rant about spending more on the shipping than he’s getting for the dresser.
Trash bags, of course, you can buy anywhere. People buy boxes of them all the time, and nobody would notice that he’s buying a new box of 60 after only putting out 52 for the trash collectors.
OP you are severely overestimating how much the people at Home Depot care about your purchases.
That film is heavily used in several industries. It would be nearly impossible to track even if you figured out a serial killer was using mass quantities of it.
Asking for a friend?
To add to other people pointing out that bulk buying stuff is normal, no one knows to be suspicious of the materials he uses for the kill rooms because nothing he leaves with the body indicates he uses it. The police and media don’t see the plastic tarp, gloves, or slides. Just cling wrapped chunks of meat and while Dexter does use a lot of wrap for each kill, he’s only buying new ones at twice the rate as a normal person who cooks as a hobby given the time between his kills.