Frozen Blaze - 01

Preface

A relentless killer. A trail of bodies. And fireworks that light the way to a terrifying truth.

In a sprawling northern city, a series of chilling murders shakes the community to its core. Ordinary lives are brutally cut short—an elderly woman found dead in a stairwell, a delivery driver tragically struck by a car, a teacher’s apparent suicide—each crime more baffling than the last. But there's one disturbing common thread: at every scene, the remains of recently set-off fireworks.

Veteran detectives Zane Shaw and Leo King are thrust into a race against time as they piece together the seemingly unrelated deaths. The more they dig, the more elusive the truth becomes, and the more dangerous their hunt for the killer turns. With the clock ticking, the detectives find themselves ensnared in a deadly game where the rules keep changing, and the price of failure is unimaginable.

What drives this faceless killer to murder and then celebrate with a burst of fireworks? And why does each death seem to push the detectives closer to a trap of their own?

Frozen Blaze is a gripping social-deduction mystery that will leave you questioning the shadows of everyday life. Perfect for fans of intricate plots and psychological thrills, this novel will pull you into a dark world where every detail matters, and nothing is as it seems.

Chapter 1: The Corpse in the Stairwell

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

Ethan Xu’s heart pounded as he turned to see the woman selling grilled cold noodles glaring at him, her hand already reaching for the wooden box where she kept her money. He had been too slow.

“Sorry, ma’am, I didn’t mean—” Ethan stammered, but he was already backing away, knowing that the situation was about to get worse.

“Thief! Somebody stop him!” the woman screamed, pointing directly at him.

Without another word, Ethan turned and bolted down the alley, the sound of shouting voices and the clatter of dropped items echoing behind him.

“Stop! Police!” came a voice from behind, sharp and authoritative.

Ethan glanced over his shoulder to see a uniformed officer, Jack Young, sprinting after him. He cursed under his breath, picking up speed as he darted through the narrow, crowded streets. The marketplace was his maze, and he knew it better than anyone.

“Ethan Xu! Stop now, or I’ll take you down!” Jack’s voice was closer now, cutting through the din of the market.

Ethan ignored him, zigzagging between the stalls and knocking over a stack of crates in a desperate attempt to slow the officer down. He heard the apples spill onto the ground, heard the surprised shouts of the vendors, but he didn’t look back. He couldn’t afford to.

“You’re not getting away!” Jack shouted, his footsteps pounding steadily behind Ethan.

Ethan’s breath came in ragged gasps as he took a sharp left into a narrow side street, hoping to lose Jack in the maze of alleyways. He knew he couldn’t keep this up forever; his lungs were burning, and his legs felt like they might give out at any moment.

Just ahead, a young man stepped out of a shop, casually blowing bubble gum. Ethan saw him too late. He tried to swerve, but the collision was inevitable.

“Watch it!” the young man shouted as Ethan slammed into him, the impact knocking them both off balance.

Ethan stumbled, desperately trying to regain his footing, but Jack was already on him, grabbing his arm.

“Got you now,” Jack grunted, tightening his grip.

“Let go!” Ethan twisted, yanking his arm free with a burst of strength fueled by sheer panic. He pushed off the young man, leaving him cursing on the ground, and sprinted toward the only escape route he could see—a narrow alley leading to the bus stop.

“You’re not going anywhere!” Jack’s voice was right behind him, and Ethan knew his time was running out.

He burst out of the alley, but as he made his final dash, he felt Jack’s hand clamp down on his shoulder. He tried to shake him off, but the officer’s grip was ironclad.

“Enough, Ethan,” Jack said, panting slightly but holding firm. “It’s over.”

Ethan struggled for a moment longer before finally going limp, his breath coming in heaving gasps. He knew he had no strength left to fight.

“Smart move,” Jack said, pulling out a pair of handcuffs. “Let’s go.”

In the interrogation room at the police station, Ethan sat slumped in a chair, his wrists sore from the handcuffs. Jack Young entered, a manila folder in hand, and took a seat across from him.

“Quite the run you gave me today, Ethan,” Jack said, flipping open the folder. “But you knew it would end this way.”

Ethan glared at him but said nothing.

“You’re not new to this,” Jack continued, glancing at the papers in front of him. “Petty theft, pickpocketing, trespassing. You’ve been busy.”

“So what? You gonna give me the usual lecture about doing the right thing?” Ethan shot back, trying to sound defiant despite the fear gnawing at him.

Jack leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “No lectures today. Just questions. Who are you working with?”

“I told you, I work alone,” Ethan said, meeting Jack’s gaze with a hardened look.

Jack smirked, pulling out a smartphone from the folder and holding it up. “You said you didn’t have a phone. Care to explain this?”

Ethan’s eyes flicked to the phone, then back to Jack. “Forgot I had it.”

“Right,” Jack replied, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “We found some interesting messages on here, Ethan. Looks like you’re in deeper than just a bit of petty theft.”

Ethan’s face paled slightly, but he kept his mouth shut.

Jack sighed, leaning back in his chair. “Look, Ethan, you’re young. You still have a chance to turn things around. But you’ve got to start by being honest with me.”

Ethan hesitated, his mind racing. He knew he was in trouble, but he also knew that whatever Jack had found on that phone could be much worse than what he was here for.

“Fine,” Ethan said quietly, looking down at the table. “But I don’t know anything big. I was just… trying to get by.”

Jack nodded, sensing that Ethan was starting to crack. “Tell me what you know, and maybe I can help you out.”

Ethan swallowed hard, the fear he had been trying to suppress rising to the surface. “There’s this guy… I don’t know his real name. He gives me jobs sometimes, tells me where to go, what to take. I don’t ask questions.”

“What kind of jobs?” Jack pressed.

“Little stuff, mostly,” Ethan replied, his voice shaky. “But lately, it’s been different. He’s been asking for more. And then there are these… letters.”

Jack’s eyebrows shot up. “Letters?”

“Yeah, weird stuff. They talk about accidents, people dying, things that haven’t even happened yet.” Ethan looked up at Jack, desperation in his eyes. “I didn’t want to get involved, but I didn’t have a choice. He knew things about me, things he shouldn’t have known.”

Jack’s mind raced. Letters about accidents, deaths predicted before they happened. This was more than just a petty thief’s confession. This was something much darker, something that might tie into the cases Zane Shaw had been struggling with.

“Ethan,” Jack said slowly, “I need you to tell me everything you know about these letters. Every detail, no matter how small.”

Ethan nodded, his defiance finally crumbling as he began to spill everything he knew.

[to be continue]