Behind him, in the blurry background of his own photo, a shadow was standing in the doorway of his kitchen.

"Copycat Killer Strikes Again in Kochi: Third Victim Found with Blue Scarf."

And somewhere in the static of the finished film, a blue scarf fluttered in the wind of his open window.

Aravind pulled his blanket tighter. The protagonist, Anwar Hussain, was brilliant. The way he connected clues—a forgotten bus ticket, a specific brand of tea left at a crime scene—made Aravind feel like he was inside the mind of a genius. Or a monster.

The shadow had no reflection.

"You clicked the third link. The one marked 'HD CAM.' That wasn’t a pirate stream, Aravind. That was a live feed."

The power came back on with a violent flicker. Aravind didn't dare turn around. He only looked at the reflection on his dark laptop screen.