The Ninth Case (5)

I slump in my chair, staring at the computer screen with a mixture of determination and despair. The criminal database looms before me, a digital ocean of information. Where do I even begin to search for our suspect in this vast sea of data? Sexual assault records, as Manson suggested, but that could be thousands of cases. It's like trying to find a specific grain of sand on a beach.

Frustrated, I push away from my desk and make my way to the briefing room. The familiar smell of coffee and dry-erase markers greets me as I enter. The walls are a tapestry of our investigation - photos of victims, crime scene snapshots, timelines scrawled in different colors, and maps dotted with red pins marking each attack site.