"The boy is sprawled across the bed with one arm wrapped around the pillow looking for all the world as if he’s merely asleep." This is an absolutely amazing descriptive sentence - very nicely done. I've just come across this story, and am trying to catch up with the chapters. It's very enjoyable so far, and I like the cases you're weaving in. The one thing that's thrown me off a bit is your use of present tense instead of past, but I'm getting used to that too.