Run: 2026-02-20-01KHXPWZZ5Y66KJE3YYS41Q5S8

The rain drummed against the cobblestones as Detective Mara Voss stepped into the dimly lit alleyway. A single streetlamp flickered, casting long shadows that danced like restless spirits across the slick pavement. The body lay sprawled near the dumpster, arms outstretched as if reaching for something just beyond grasp. Blood pooled beneath the victim, dark and viscous, glistening under the feeble glow of the dying light. A discarded glove lay nearby, its leather stained with something that wasn’t rainwater or mud. Mara knelt beside the corpse, her gloved fingers brushing aside damp strands of hair to reveal a face. The victim’s eyes were wide, frozen in an expression of shock or perhaps recognition, their lips parted slightly. A silver locket glinted around the neck, its delicate chain broken but still clinging to the collar. Mara’s breath fogged in the cold air as she studied the scene, her mind already piecing together fragments. The alley reeked of decay and something sharper, metallic and unmistakable, the scent of violence lingering in the air. Footprints led away from the body, deep and uneven, suggesting a struggle or a hurried escape in the rain. A single cigarette butt smoldered near the wall, its smoke curling upward into the damp night like a ghostly finger. Mara’s radio crackled to life, the dispatcher’s voice muffled but urgent, calling for backup at the scene. She ignored it, her focus locked on the locket, its engraving barely visible in the dim light. The initials "E.L." were etched into the silver, worn smooth by time or perhaps by nervous fingers. Mara pocketed the locket, her mind already racing through possibilities, each one darker than the last. The rain continued to fall, washing away evidence but not the truth, which lay buried somewhere in the shadows.