The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

Chapter 798: [THE SHADOW WITHIN] (VII)

IN the middle of the room, a large virtual evidence board hovered in the air. Its translucent surface was covered with pictures, case files, and timelines that glowed faintly where thin lines connected them.

Dr. Nathaniel Stevens stood facing the board with his hands resting loosely behind his back. He looked at the images and notes saying nothing.

Detective Lewis stayed a few steps back, resting against the corner of a desk while he watched the doctor go through the files. Stevens moved through the information slowly, using small hand gestures to shift photos and documents across the board. The display responded each time, pulling up timelines, autopsy summaries, and background details for the three victims.

Lewis kept watching him. The small feeling of suspicion that had first come when he saw Stevens in the chief’s office that morning still had not gone away. It was not strange to bring in a consultant for a case like this. But something about the doctor being here still did not feel right.

A few minutes went by before Stevens finally said something.

”There’s a pattern here.”

Lewis stood up a little straighter. ”What kind of pattern?”

Stevens shifted one of the timeline markers on the board, bringing the discovery dates of the three victims into the center of the display. ”The intervals between when the bodies were found.”

Lewis walked closer to the board, his eyes following the dates that now hovered in front of them.

”The first victim was discovered on the morning of the fourteenth,” Stevens continued. ”Four days later, you found the second body. Then nine days passed. Today, you found the third.”

Lewis frowned a little. ”We already know how much time passed between each one.”

”Yes,” Stevens said, his voice still calm. ”But the numbers themselves are worth paying attention to.”

Lewis crossed his arms.

”These numbers follow a very simple mathematical sequence,” Stevens explained. ”They are perfect squares.”

Lewis looked at him.

”If we count the day the first body was found as day one,” Stevens went on, ”then the first victim showed up on day one. The square of one is one. The second victim showed up four days after the first. The square of two is four. The third victim showed up nine days after the second. The square of three is nine.” He stopped for a moment before finishing. ”If the pattern keeps going, then the next victim will show up sixteen days after the third.”

Lewis looked at the dates again. Four days, then nine days. He slowly understood what Stevens was getting at. The time the culprit was killing these victims were not random at all.

He gazed at the board again. ”So you’re saying the next body could appear in sixteen days.”

”I’m saying the possibility is high,” Stevens replied. ”If the killer is deliberately following this sequence, then the next interval would logically match the next number in the pattern.”

Lewis remained silent for a moment. ”I’m not sure how you jumped to that conclusion so quickly.”

Stevens turned a little toward him. ”Patterns like this show up a lot in people who need things to follow a certain structure. The way these dates line up points to someone who finds meaning in numbers or repetition. It could mean the person doing this has some kind of psychological compulsion.”

Lewis let out a short scoff. ”Of course he is. No normal person is going around cutting hearts out of people.”

Stevens did not argue with that.

Lewis looked back at the board again. He had been staring at the same information for days, yet the sequence had never occurred to him. If he had spent enough time reviewing the timeline, he might have noticed it, eventually. Still, the fact remained that Stevens had spotted it within minutes of walking into the room.

He rubbed the back of his neck saying nothing. The doctor might actually be useful for this case. He didn’t want to admit it, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it, anyway. At the same time, he told himself not to let his guard down around the man. The worst thing that could happen was trusting someone he should not, then finding out later that his instinct had been right the whole time.

”Detective,” Dr. Stevens called after a while. ”How were the bodies discovered?”

Lewis looked at him. ”What do you mean?”

”Did someone find them by accident or were they reported?” Stevens clarified.

Lewis thought back to the case files. ”They were reported. All three of them.”

”By whom?”

”Anonymous calls.”

The answer came out automatically, but the moment he said it, Lewis paused. His eyes moved back to the board where the dates were still displayed. He suddenly understood what Stevens was getting at.

Stevens seemed to notice the shift in his expression. ”If the timing of the discovery follows a pattern, then the moment the body is reported becomes part of the sequence. The pattern only works if the bodies are found at the exact intervals we just discussed.”

Lewis remained silent.

”If someone discovered the victims randomly, then the killer would have no control over when the bodies were found. The sequence would break immediately. The only way the pattern stays consistent is if the person responsible for the murders also controls when the discovery happens,” Stevens continued.

Lewis slowly crossed his arms. ”You’re saying the caller...”

”Is likely the same person who committed the murders,” Stevens finished.

Lewis exhaled quietly. ”That would mean the killer reported all three bodies himself.”

”It would also mean that those anonymous calls may contain more information than they appear to. Voice patterns, background noise, timing of the calls. Even minor details could help narrow down the possibilities,” Stevens added.

Lewis looked down briefly. He felt a faint irritation with himself. Anonymous tips and calls were so common in police work he had treated them as routine parts of the case. Someone reported a body, officers responded, and the investigation moved forward. It had never occurred to him that the caller might be deliberately shaping the investigation by controlling when the victims were discovered.

Stevens turned slightly toward him. ”What will you do next?”

Lewis let out a quick breath, his tone depreciating. ”Well, aside from reviewing the anonymous calls that apparently should have caught my attention earlier, I’ll continue looking into the hospital.”