[TOMT] [Novel/Short Story] Detective Fiction
A quote from a detective story I read at some point years ago has always stuck with me. It came up in discussion during a game night earlier, & I've been trying to remember where it came from.
I believe this was a short story, perhaps part of an anthology. The main character was a detective, with a younger female officer/detective studying under him. I vaguely remember it as being in a sci-fi setting.
The pair are talking about the evidence they'd gathered thus far. The apprentice mentions how all the evidence doesn't tell them the answer.
The mentor responds with something along the lines of: "in cases like these, you must examine the shadow that is not being cast", implying that the evidence was too perfect/convenient. The fact that it checked so many boxes meant what it was covering up for was actually the clue.
I think the mentor also likened it to an eclipse in some fashion. How we only know an eclipse is happening because of light being blocked, or something like that.
Any help would be appreciated!