Chapter 4

The air in the planetarium had grown thick, heavy with the scent of old carpet, polished wood, and the lingering, electric buzz of a thousand conversations that had slowly dwindled into silence. I stood just inside the shadow of the massive dome, my back pressed against the cool, curved plaster of the wall. Above me, the artificial constellations were still projected, a frozen galaxy of white dots against a velvet black void, but I couldn’t see them. My eyes were fixed on him. It was late. The event coordinators had long since packed up their clipboards, and the last of the guests had shuffled out, their laughter fading into the cool night air outside the heavy glass doors. We were alone. Truly alone. The main auditorium was empty, the rows of tiered seating like a silent audience waiting for the show to begin. But here, in the narrow corridor that wrapped around the back of the dome, the acoustics were different. Quieter. Intimate. The only light came from the emergency exit signs casting a faint, reddish glow and the soft, ambient light filtering in from the small windows near the floor. He stood a few feet away, his suit jacket