Strike in the Shadows

I had solved countless cases as a homicide detective, but my first serial killer case was leading me to multiple dead ends. The case stumped everyone working on it, for it seemed that the killer was always ten steps ahead. The victim count rose to double digits within two months, and we still had zero evidence. No leads, no witnesses, it was as if they were a ghost. Based on the swiftness of the execution of each kill and the subsequent cover-up of evidence, some of us speculated that it was most likely two or more people carrying out the crimes—and we especially agreed on the idea that they most likely had a background, or at least extensive knowledge, in Law Enforcement and Forensics. I asked my mother, the Chief Medical Examiner, about her thoughts on this case, and even she had no direct response. Another month passed, and the case was still leading us nowhere. At this point, our team was sidelined and the case was taken over by the higher-ups. They surprisingly showed faster resul...