Spectral Investigation, The

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. The rain drummed against the windows of Edmund Blackwood's photography studio with the persistence of an unwelcome visitor. Inside, surrounded by the familiar scents of developing chemicals and old leather, Edmund studied the photographs spread across his mahogany desk with growing unease. Each image told the same impossible story—faces that shouldn't exist appearing in mirrors, shadows that moved independently of their owners, and figures that seemed to shift between frames. Edmund had been a photographer for thirty-seven years, documenting everything from society weddings to criminal investigations for the Metropolitan Police. His reputation for capturing truth through his lens was unshakeable, which made the current collection of photographs all the more disturbing. These weren't the products of double exposure or chemical accidents. Every technical aspect was perfect, yet each image contained something that defied rational explanation. The bell above his shop door chimed, and Edmund looked up to see Inspector Margaret Thornfield entering, her dark coat dripping with November rain. Her sharp green eyes immediately fixed on the photographs, and she approached with the measured steps of someone accustomed to examining crime scenes. "Inspector Thornfield," Edmund said, rising from his chair. "I wasn't expecting you today." "Your telegram was rather cryptic, Mr. Blackwood. You mentioned photographs of an unusual nature that might interest the authorities?" Margaret removed her gloves and moved closer to the desk. "These are the images in question?"