The alley behind Fifth Street was narrow, lined with dumpsters and flickering neon signs from the bars across the way. Detective Marcus Lane ducked under the yellow tape, the stench of garbage mixed with rainwater stinging his nose. A body Read more…

The body was discovered just after dawn — sprawled across the carpet of a luxury penthouse in downtown Chicago. Blood had soaked into the cream-colored rug, and the air smelled of iron and expensive cologne. Detective Evelyn Drake stood by Read more…

Rain drummed on the cracked window of the small-town radio station, WNTR 98.4 FM, the only light on Main Street still burning after midnight. Inside, the “ON AIR” sign glowed red. “Good evening, folks,” said the smooth voice of Tom Read more…

The wind coming off the docks smelled like rust and secrets. Detective Laura Benton tugged her trench coat tighter around her and stepped over the yellow tape. The night was heavy with mist, the kind that turned the city lights Read more…

The rain came sideways that night, washing the color from the streets of Marston City. Inside a narrow brick townhouse on Ledger Street, a man was dying — slumped before a half-finished canvas, brush still in his hand. Detective Clara Read more…

The bell above the shop door jingled as Detective Evan Rourke stepped inside. The air was thick with the scent of oil and brass, and hundreds of ticking clocks lined the walls — each one slightly out of sync, creating Read more…

The night was wet and heavy when Detective Lena Carrow got the call. The kind of night that soaked through your coat and into your bones. A homicide at The Alder Hotel, room 609. By the time she arrived, the Read more…

Rain fell in fine threads over Greyford City, turning the streets into ribbons of reflection. Detective Jonas Kade lit a cigarette beneath the flickering sign of the Rook Hotel, watching the smoke twist into the damp air. Inside, the air Read more…

The knock came just after midnight — three soft taps against Detective Caleb Strayton’s apartment door. He was halfway through a bottle of bourbon and a report he didn’t want to finish. He froze. Nobody came to his door unannounced Read more…

The rain didn’t fall on the 80th-floor penthouse; it attacked. Sheets of water, driven by a wind that howled like a banshee, hammered against the floor-to-ceiling windows of Arthur Vance’s sterile kingdom. Inside, it was silent, save for the faint, Read more…