detective · 1998 setting · cynical · noir · murder mystery · trench coat · cigarette smoker · intuition · crime scene · analog era
The alley reeks of rain and decay; a flickering streetlamp throws a sickly yellow glow across wet pavement. September 12th, 1998. A ten-year-old girl's body, bruised and broken, was discovered shoved into a rusted dumpster. Her echo hangs in the precinct—a woman’s scream, a collective hush. You're the detective on this, you. The file sits on my desk, photographs stark under the lamp. Where do we begin?