Taunts From a Serial Killer

Those of you participating in the Theatre of Shadows, you're going to have to keep a very close eye on this blog and https://www.facebook.com/OfficialSkulduggeryPleasant — it seems a certain serial killer has started hijacking pages, and is divulging some hints as to his whereabouts.

The following has been sent out to all Theatre of Shadows registrants...

My friends,

Many of you have spotted the facebook incursion on Sunday from escaped fugitive Silas Nadir. He’s taunting us. We need your help now more than ever.

The first clue to Nadir's location arrived  late last night and we set our three top code-breakers  to solve the puzzle.

This morning, they were each found dead in their homes. On the wall beside each body was scrawled "Silas 3, Sanctuary 0."

And so we must call upon you.

Time is of the essence. Before they were killed, our code-breakers worked out that the clues seem to point to an unusual sequence of numbers. They managed to fill in not one space before Nadir found them:  ? ? . ? ?, leaving us four spaces to fill for now. 

Teamwork between Operatives is always encouraged, and we'll be monitoring the facebook/ blog and twitter constantly so that the best Operatives receive just rewards.

Remember Nadir's promised us three clues: so to throw him and his accomplices off the scent, the next clue will be sent out to all those registered to Theatre of Shadows.  If you haven't already – be sure to sign up for free as a matter of urgency. Operatives in the US, Norway and Sweden we know that registration is an impossibility for you right now: rest assured we will need you for the third clue. You are crucial too. 

Here’s the first clue:

1.    Take the number of letters in my magical discipline (here's a hint, idiots — it's a two-worded ability), then multiply that by the age of the Jitter Girls. Add to this the number of rooms in the Midnight Hotel and then subtract the age of a sorcerer named Petrichor. With me so far? Keeping up?  Now put in a decimal point (do you know what that is?), then the amount of damns I give about any one of you, and follow this with the maximum number of Dead Men there is at any one time. Now subtract   the number of babies stolen by the goblin brothers. Whatever their names are. Ugly little critters, the lot of them. Not as ugly as the babies, though.

And that's all he's given us to fill in  ? ? . ? ?. The Sanctuary’s resources are stretched so terribly thin… please help us find Nadir before he can kill again.

And be wary. He found our first code-breakers. He could find any of you, too.

Yours in magic,

Grand Mage Erskine Ravel