The Long-Sealed Case File

It was midnight in X City, and rain poured down in sheets. Fine raindrops pelted the ground, while water pooled across the streets, reflecting the faint glow of streetlights. Yellow police tape cordoned off the crime scene, and the blue-and-white lights of police cars flashed through the rainy night, illuminating the faces of everyone present and making them look especially pale.

Crime scene investigators hurried back and forth inside the cordon. The forensic team had begun its initial examination beside the body, while several officers maintained order outside the alley, holding back the arriving media and onlookers. As time passed, more and more curious spectators gathered, their whispered conversations mingling with the sound of rain