The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

Chapter 804: [THE SHADOW WITHIN] (XIII)

”ANOTHER body? Despite all the patrolling police? What the hell are you doing, Lewis?”

The chief’s voice filled the office as Lewis stepped inside, the shouting starting before the door had even closed behind him. The news had just arrived, and as expected, Lewis was immediately summoned.

He stood there and took the scolding. There was nothing he could say that would make it better, anyway.

Just as Stevens had predicted, another body had been found before the day ended. The report came in a little over an hour before midnight. Like the previous ones, it was an anonymous call made through a public Terminal. The location was traced, but the caller was not. Whoever made it had already disappeared by the time officers arrived.

If their assumption was correct, then the person making those calls was most likely the killer.

The chief continued, his voice tight with frustration as he repeated the same points. The extra patrols had stopped nothing, the investigation had gone nowhere, and now there was one more victim.

Lewis kept his expression neutral, even as thoughts ran through his mind.

They could have set up surveillance on public Terminals across the district. They could have assigned officers to track the three suspects and monitor where they went, what they did, who they spoke to. If they had done that earlier, maybe they would have something by now.

But he already knew what the answer to that would be.

Greyhaven did not have the resources for that kind of operation. The station was already spread too thin. There were not enough officers to cover the entire city, much less assign teams to watch a few public Terminals or follow three men around all day. Even the patrols today had only been approved after some hesitation on the chief’s part.

And in the end, it had not made a difference.

Lewis said nothing and let the chief finish.

When the room finally went quiet, he gave a brief acknowledgment, telling the chief that he would do better, and then turned to leave. There was no point in dragging the conversation any longer. He stepped out of the office and closed the door behind him. Without stopping, he headed down the hall toward the coroner’s department.

He needed to see the body.

***

When Lewis arrived, Vargas had just finished with the autopsy.

The body was on the metal table, covered except for the chest. Lewis moved closer and looked down. The victim was male, about the same age as Mercer. The chest had already been opened and examined. The cut was clean now, but the damage underneath was still easy to see.

Another heart taken.

Lewis exhaled slowly before looking away.

Because the body was found close to midnight, the entire department was still working. They had not identified the victim right away, and Lewis needed answers fast. He called Stevens even though it was late and asked him to check the hospital records for a patient who matched the victim’s description.

Stevens had delivered what he needed.

Lewis still was not sure how. It was already late, and the man should have been at home. The fact that he could access those records without delay told Lewis more than he needed to know. Stevens held more authority in Greyhaven Central Hospital than he let on.

The victim had been identified as Marcus Doyle, thirty years old. His records showed a long history of impulse control disorder, with severe kleptomania. Despite years of therapy, the condition had not fully improved. He had adjusted his life around it, choosing work that allowed him to stay at home most of the time to avoid situations that might trigger his impulses.

Lewis turned back to Vargas. ”Was it done by the same person?”

Vargas nodded without hesitation. ”Yes. The wound matches. The method is the same. The heart was removed while he was still alive, and the same paralytic drug was found in his system.”

Lewis nodded once, already expecting that.

Vargas did not continue right away. Instead, she looked back at the display beside her, her brows drawn slightly as if she was thinking.

Lewis noticed it, of course. ”What is it?”

She hesitated. ”It’s probably nothing.”

”Say it anyway,” Lewis replied.

Vargas let out a small breath before speaking. ”When I examined the tissue under the microscope, I noticed something unusual. The intracellular membranes showed jagged microtears.”

Lewis frowned. She might as well have been speaking another language. ”I don’t follow.”

Vargas shook her head slightly. ”I’m still trying to make sense of it myself,” she admitted. ”Microtears like that can happen under extreme conditions. One possible cause is a sudden and drastic change in temperature.”

Lewis looked at her. ”Temperature?” he repeated.

Vargas nodded. ”Yes. But I don’t see how that applies here. There’s nothing in the scene that would explain it.”

Lewis stayed quiet for a moment, pondering over that. He did not understand what it meant either, but he remembered it. He had a feeling that it’s a very important information.

***

Lewis walked into Greyhaven Central Hospital early the next morning.

He had not planned to come here first. But the moment he walked into the station, the chief was already on him. Mercer was the only lead they had, so he needed to go wake him up and get something useful out of him.

Which made little sense.

Lewis knew that, and normally the chief would have known it too. You could not just pull someone out of a coma because you needed answers. That was not how any of this worked. What would he do? Force the doctor to wake Mercer? But he could understand it. The pressure was building on the chief’s shoulders, and it was showing.

That did not make it any less frustrating.

Still, Lewis came to the hospital.

He was not there to argue with doctors or push for something impossible. He needed to think, and lately, the only time things made sense was when he talked it through with Stevens.

He made his way to the psychiatric department and stopped in front of Stevens’ office before stepping inside.

Stevens looked up from his desk as Lewis entered. ”You’re here early.”

Lewis closed the door behind him.

”It’s been a long night,” he replied and told the other about the things the chief had said to him.

Stevens listened without interrupting as Lewis next went through everything that had happened since they last spoke. The discovery, the confirmation from Vargas, the detail about the cellular damage.

When Lewis finished, Stevens leaned back slightly in his chair.

”We’re still exactly where we started,” he said, his voice tight with frustration.

Stevens was quiet for a moment before speaking again. ”If the department does not have the resources to observe the three suspects, then we can do it ourselves.”

Lewis looked at him. ”Are you serious?”

”Yes,” Stevens replied. ”We already know who to focus on. Direct observation may reveal something that records and reports cannot.”

Lewis was about to answer when the virtual screen on the wall lit up. The morning news had played on its own.

A reporter appeared on the display, standing in front of a blocked-off street with police tape visible behind her.

”Good morning. We are bringing you a developing story from Greyhaven, where authorities are now dealing with what appears to be a series of connected murders,” she said. ”As of last night, a fourth body has been discovered, despite increased police presence across the district. One person appears to have survived a recent attack connected to the case, though details remain unclear at this time.”

Images of the crime scenes flashed briefly on the screen, blurred where necessary.

”Law enforcement has yet to release an official statement confirming a serial case, but sources suggest the killings share several key similarities. The victims, all residents of Greyhaven, were found with severe injuries, and we are told there may be a specific element to the wounds that investigators are not yet ready to disclose.”

The reporter paused slightly before continuing.

”In response, people in the area have already started calling the unknown suspect the ’Asylum Stalker.’ Because of rumors that all the victims were undergoing therapy at Greyhaven Central Hospital. Officials have not confirmed or denied that connection so far.”

The screen shifted back to the anchor in the studio.

Lewis stared at the display for a second before cursing under his breath. ”Great. They even gave the bastard a name. Now this would just cause panic.”

Stevens did not react right away, his gaze still on the screen with a hint of interest in those dark eyes.