Chasing Shadows: A Retired Detective's Pursuit

After receiving a confession letter from the perpetrator of a mass murder, a retired detective decides he must solve the case himself before the murderer strikes again.

The prologue opens in the dismal pre-dawn hours of a struggling Midwestern city as hundreds of unemployed job-seekers line up for a job fair. The job seekers attempt to stay hopeful as they wait in the early morning fog when a maniac driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes. Eight people are killed and fifteen are severely injured, but the driver is able to escape into the fog without a trace.

Months later, BILL HODGES watches Jerry Springer alone in his apartment as he contemplates suicide. Hodges was the lead detective for the Mercedes Killing, but retired with

Hodges reminds Janelle that he is no longer an active police officer, but she insists that she hire him as a private detective to help solve who drove he sister to commit suicide.

Hodges has Jerome explore “Underneath Debbie’s Blue Umbrella” for him. Afterwards, Hodges decides that the only way to catch the Mercedes Killer is if he gets into his head, so late that night, he writes him a message on the Blue Umbrella, saying that he doesn’t believe he is the real killer. Brady freaks out when he reads this message so he decides to poison Jerome’s dog, Odell as retaliation.

Brady goes to computer-service house call and uses the customer’s computer to write a response to Hodges, claiming that he has to be the Mercedes Killer. This message reveals to Hodges that the Killer has been surveying his house, so he goes door-to-door around the neighborhood to see if anyone has notice anyone suspicious hanging around. Hodges returns homes to find an urgent message from Pete on his machine. Hodge returns the call to find out that Donald Davis has not only confessed to killing his wife, but has also confessed to being “Turnpike