The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era [BL]-Chapter 802: [THE SHADOW WITHIN] (XI)

DETECTIVE Lewis took off the moment the paramedics reached the victim.

He did not stay to watch them work. He had already told them what they needed to know, and there was nothing else for him to do there. The image of the man bleeding on the ground tried to stay in his head, but he pushed it away and kept his mind on what mattered.

The suspect probably had not gotten far yet. Unless he had a vehicle waiting somewhere. Lewis doubted that though. He had seen no signs of one when he was running toward the abandoned apartment.

Lewis ran out of the building and onto the street. He caught a glimpse of the figure in the gray hoodie just as they turned the corner up ahead. They had a head start, but it was not a big one.

He pushed himself harder, breathing fast as he closed the distance between them. The rain had started to fall, the drops coming down harder now, and the pavement was getting slippery. The figure moved quick, ducking through tight spaces and turning into smaller roads, but Lewis stayed close behind.

He did not let himself think about anything else. He just ran as hard as he could and kept chasing.

Until the gap between them shortened.

The figure looked back once, then ran faster and cut sharply into a narrow alley. Lewis went after them without stopping. His shoes hit the wet ground in fast steps as the rain came down harder.

Lewis ran through the heavy rain, his shoes hitting the wet pavement as he chased after the figure in the gray hoodie. The streets were mostly empty now. The rain had gotten bad enough that people had gone inside.

He pushed harder, his breath coming sharp in his chest. Rain dripped into his eyes, but he did not slow down. The suspect in the hoodie turned fast into a narrow alley. Lewis followed without stopping.

When he came around the corner, the alley was empty. It was a dead end with nothing but overflowing dumpsters pushed up against the wall. There were no doors, no fire escapes, no other way out. And yet the figure in the hoodie was nowhere in sight. Lewis stood there for a moment, rain soaking through his coat, and clenched his fists at his sides.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath, frustration creeping into his voice. He turned his head slowly, scanning every corner of the alley, looking for something he might have missed.

Then, abruptly, the rain stopped hitting him.

Lewis turned, blinking water from his eyes, and found Dr. Stevens standing beside him, holding an umbrella over them both. The doctor’s expression was unreadable. He looked perfectly put together as if it wasn’t raining cats and dogs.

He narrowed his eyes at the doctor. "What are you doing here?"

"I was heading to the crime scene when I saw you run down this alley," Stevens said. "Given the rain, I figured you could use an umbrella." He turned to face the detective, a faint hint of amusement in his dark eyes. "And no, it’s not for whatever suspicious theory you’re cooking up in that head of yours."

"How did you even--?"

Stevens simply raised an eyebrow. "I am a psychiatrist, Detective. Reading people is what I do."

Lewis let out an annoyed and embarrassed sigh. He should have thought of that before being suspicious. Of course he knew logically that the hoodie-wearing figure couldn’t be Stevens. Just look at him. The man stood perfectly composed, not a hair out of place, his clothes pristine without a single drop of rainwater. There was no way this was the same person who’d been sprinting through the rain moments ago.

He rubbed the back of his neck, rainwater dripping from his hair. "Look, Doctor...sorry about that. I’m soaked, pissed off about losing the suspect, and my brain’s jumping at shadows." He gestured vaguely at the empty alley. "Didn’t mean to give you the suspicious stare. Old habit."

"It’s fine," the doctor said, looking at the alley ahead with an unreadable expression on his face. "We should return to the crime scene."

***

Back at the underground parking lot of the abandoned apartment, the area had already been secured.

Yellow tape stretched across the entrance and around the section where the victim had been found. Several officers stood guard near the perimeter, keeping anyone from getting too close. Inside, crime scene technicians moved around the concrete floor in measured steps, marking positions, taking photos, and scanning for any trace that might have been left behind. Portable lights had been set up to brighten the darker corners of the space.

Lewis and Stevens stood just outside the marked area, watching them work in silence.

Lewis glanced toward the spot where the victim had been lying. "He was still alive when I got here, but barely. His shirt was cut open, and a long gash ran down the center of his chest, as if his attacker had already begun to cut him open."

Stevens turned his attention to him. "You think it matches the way the first three were cut?"

Lewis nodded once. "That’s what it looked like. But they obviously didn’t finish it." He paused briefly before continuing. "We won’t really know for sure until we get the hospital report. If the injuries match the previous cases, then we can confirm it."

Stevens gave a small nod. "And the victim? Do you think he’ll live?"

Lewis exhaled quietly. "I don’t know yet. When I left, he was losing a lot of blood. The paramedics were working on him, but it didn’t look good." He glanced back at the scene again. "If he makes it, he could give us something we don’t have. A description, a detail, anything. That would change the tide of this investigation."

Stevens did not respond immediately. Before he could, Lewis’ Terminal suddenly rang.

Lewis pulled it out and accepted the call. "Lewis." There was a brief pause as he listened. "...Understood," he said after a moment.

He ended the call and looked at Stevens.

"He’s alive," Lewis said. "They managed to stabilize him during transport. He’s in surgery now." He paused briefly before adding, "They said he lost a lot of blood. He’s unconscious, and there’s a high chance he’ll remain that way for a while. They’re not sure when he’ll wake up."

Stevens considered that. "So he cannot tell us anything."

"Not anytime soon," Lewis replied and let out a slow breath. "If this is the same person who killed the other three, then that man is the first one who survived. He might be the only one who can tell us what happened."

"If it is the same offender, then this interruption may not stop him," Stevens said calmly,

Lewis frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"The pattern," Stevens said. "It is important to him. The timing, the sequence. If this victim does not result in a body being found, then the pattern is broken."

Lewis’s expression hardened as he understood. "You think he’ll try again. Find another victim to kill today."

Stevens gave a small nod. "It’s a possibility. If maintaining the pattern matters to him, then he may look for another victim as quickly as possible to replace this one."

Lewis’s jaw tightened when he heard that.