Fallen from the stars

Those are the first three chapters of a crime novel.

The story revolves around the murder of Hanna Johnson, a primary school teacher in Manchester whose dead body is found at the top of London's clock tower. When the trail goes cold and the case seems unsolvable, the pressure of the press forces the government to request the services of the best private investigator of the country: Doc.

Victoria Golman, a 17 year old girl, too curious for her own good and chief editor of her school's newpaper, finds this case worthy of her attention. Impulsive and hotheaded, she breaks into the crime scene and meets the man who might just be her ticket to following this highly confidencial crime.

Doc and Victoria end up investigating this seemingly unsolvable crime together. The case draws them to a school in Manchester. The killer isn't as innocent as he seems as Doc suspects one of the children to be it. The involvement of the press, the lack of help from the police, Victoria's family and the parent's children hinder the on-going investigation.

Having the mind of a genius is useful but pointless when involved in a very social kind of case. Victoria may not be the smartess girl on earth but she's a trickster and easily breaks into people's hearts. As the case goes on, Doc and Victoria learn to trust each other and strangely enough, a friendship forms itself.

Doc is reputed the best detective there is but his coldness and arrogant attitude might be a hindrance in the solving of this case. The cheerful and over-social Victoria might just be the help he needs to extract the truth out of a young, shy boy and his drawings.

The eyes of a child see all but understand nothing. Maybe Victoria can make out the truth from all the drawings. But will she be able to decipher them before it's too late? Will the couple run out of time and will the clock strike again?

When Victoria phones her partner to warn him, she doesn't count on the killer to find her. And for the first time in his life, Doc grows worried. The stars are almost aligned now but the clock keeps ticking. Alien abduction? No. This case is as earthly as it can be. And the killer isn't as Doc suspected.

A child's innocence can only last so long.