Menage à Trois Bingo

It was like a murder mystery, only the victim hadn't been killed yet. I and the other investigator were asked to follow up on a man's fear that he was targeted for murder. We found a pack of twelve tarot-like cards, each marked with a sealing wax symbol over the face. The thirteenth card--Invention--was missing. We knew then that he was right, that he represented Invention and would be killed shortly because he was a famous inventor. There had been twelve other recent unsolved murders, and each one easily fit one of the cards in hand.

We went to his house. The victim was a large bearded man with dark hair. He was nearly dying anyway, of consumption or some other coughing wheezing disease. He lay in a big open room with red walls, heavy drapes, and a lot of ornate but heavy furniture. A servant sat on the edge of his bed holding a handkerchief to his mouth when he coughed.

We were just in time to meet the intended murderers. They were three little girls--about nine months, seven, and twelve--who reminded me of Ivy from the Harry Dresden books. They all spoke (yes, even the baby) in a ritualistic and "high" manner, instructing the people in the room (of which there were several others) just what they were going to do. No one was able to lift a finger to stop them because they had some sort of witchcraft power. They told my partner and I to sit on a sofa, and we could do nothing but sit. Then they said we had to sit at opposite ends of it, and we each moved away.

Then I woke up.