Morning in Ashwood was strange.
The sun was technically up, but the fog was so thick the town still looked like night.
Eva, Nora, and Zoe walked slowly down the street.
The silence of the town made everything uncomfortable.
Nora kicked a small rock across the road.
"I hate this place."
Zoe looked around carefully.
"Yeah… it feels like something is wrong here."
Eva stopped walking.
Something caught her attention.
A newspaper stand near the corner.
She picked up one of the papers.
The headline made her stomach drop.
ANOTHER BODY FOUND IN ASHWOOD
Nora leaned closer.
"What?"
Eva read the article quickly.
Her voice became quiet.
"Another girl was found dead last night…"
Zoe frowned.
"Another?"
Eva nodded slowly.
"Same injuries as Lana."
The three girls looked at each other.
Nora whispered,
"That can't be a coincidence."
They sat down at a small café to read more newspapers.
Each one had a similar story.
Eva flipped through them quickly.
First article.
Three weeks ago — young man found dead near the forest.
Second article.
Two weeks ago — woman found in an alley.
Third article.
Ten days ago — Lana Pierce.
Fourth article.
Last night — another victim.
Zoe's face turned pale.
"This… this is a pattern."
Nora shook her head slowly.
"So Lana wasn't the first victim."
Eva closed the newspaper.
"And probably not the last."
Searching for Julien Kane
After leaving the café, the girls began asking around the town.
They visited:
• small shops
• grocery stores
• the post office
• a bookstore
But almost everyone had the same answer.
"Julien Kane?"
"Yeah, I've heard that name."
"He moved here a few years ago."
"Quiet guy."
"Lives alone."
"Doesn't talk much."
But no one seemed to know anything important about him.
Zoe whispered as they walked down the street,
"It's like he exists… but no one really knows him."
Nora nodded.
"Like a ghost."
Eva crossed her arms.
"Or someone who doesn't want to be noticed."
Finally they stopped at a small bakery.
The old woman behind the counter recognized the name.
"Julien Kane?"
She thought for a moment.
"He moved here about five years ago."
Eva asked,
"Do you know where he lives?"
The woman shook her head.
"Somewhere near the north side of Ashwood."
"But he hasn't been around lately."
Zoe leaned forward.
"What do you mean?"
The woman lowered her voice.
"I haven't seen him in about ten days."
Nora and Eva exchanged a glance.
Ten days.
The exact time Lana died.
Outside the bakery, the wind picked up again.
Fog moved through the empty street.
Nora whispered,
"That's the same day Lana died."
Zoe looked nervous.
"You think he disappeared because of the murders?"
Eva stared down the road quietly.
"I don't know."
She paused.
"But we need to find him."
Nora asked,
"What if he's the killer?"
Eva didn't answer immediately.
Instead she said something different.
"What if he's running from the killer?"
Just then a police siren echoed somewhere in Ashwood.
Another one.
Then another.
People on the street started whispering.
A man passing by muttered,
"Not again…"
Nora stopped him.
"What happened?"
The man looked pale.
"They found another body."
Eva felt a chill run down her spine.
Another murder.
Same town.
Same pattern.
And Julien Kane was still missing.