Chapter 2:
Cole spent the next few hours sifting through files and records, trying to find any information he could about the graduating class of 1999. He discovered that there had been a number of incidents at the school during that time, including a fire that had destroyed part of the building.
As he dug deeper, he found a name that kept popping up: Maya Fox. She had been a student at Aurora High School in 1999, and had been involved in several of the incidents that had occurred that year. Cole decided to pay her a visit.
He drove to the address listed in the records, a small house on the outskirts of town. He knocked on the door, and a woman in her early thirties answered. She had long brown hair and tired eyes, and looked like she hadn't slept in days.
"Maya?" Cole asked.
"Yes?" she replied, looking wary.
"My name is Detective Cole Hunter. I'm investigating a series of murders that have been occurring in Aurora. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions."
Maya hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside and let Cole into the house. They sat down in the living room, and Cole began to ask her about her time at Aurora High School.
"I remember you," she said. "You were the new kid in school. You and your partner, Quinn."
Cole nodded. "That's right. Do you remember anything unusual happening around the time of your graduation?"
Maya looked down at her hands. "There were a lot of things that happened back then. Things I'm not proud of."
"Can you tell me about them?" Cole asked.
Maya took a deep breath. "There was a group of us. We called ourselves the 'Aurora Five'. We were troublemakers, always getting into trouble. We started out just pulling pranks, but things got out of hand. We started stealing, vandalizing, even setting fires."
Cole leaned forward. "Did any of these incidents have anything to do with the murders?"
Maya shook her head. "I don't know. We didn't kill anyone, if that's what you're asking."
Cole studied her face. He could tell she was holding something back. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"
Maya hesitated, then looked up at him. "There was one incident. It was the night of our graduation. We had a party at the abandoned mill on the outskirts of town. Things got out of hand, and one of us ended up getting hurt. We never talked about it again."
Cole's interest was piqued. "Who was hurt?"
Maya hesitated again, then finally spoke. "It was Mason. Mason Gray."
Cole felt a chill run down his spine. Mason Gray had been one of the victims of the murders. "What happened to him?"
Maya shook her head. "I don't know. He left town after graduation. We never heard from him again."
Cole thanked her for her time and left the house, his mind racing. He had a new lead, but it only raised more questions. Who had hurt Mason Gray? And why had the killer targeted him and the other victims? He knew he had to keep digging, to find the answers before it was too late.
