The Detective's Puzzle

Detective Harding stood in the sterile quiet of Lily Evans’ bedroom, the air thick with the scent of lavender and unspoken dread. It was a room that screamed ‘teenager’ – posters of bands he’d never heard of, a scattering of makeup on the dresser, a half-finished book splayed open on the nightstand. Yet, the most striking feature was the absence. An absence so profound it felt like a physical presence, a gaping maw where a young life should have been. The bed, neatly