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I took one step forward and then another and another. And there, as I crossed the living room to head for the door, I saw her. Between the coffee table and the sofa, hidden from sight of the front door, was Chloe’s body.
“Oh shit,” I whispered, my eyes wide with shock and my voice hoarse. She lay there with dead eyes wide open. There was blood everywhere. “Oh my god.”
“Ma’am,” the operator’s voice said. “Ma’am, could you tell me what you see?”
But I couldn’t quite get the words out, and I turned and ran out the door, not stopping until I was out of the building and huddling in the brightly lit 7-Eleven across the street.
***
What seemed like an eternity later, I was back in the apartment, which was now filled with crime scene technicians and police. Lots and lots of police, and a few detectives who kept shooting rapid-fire questions at me.
“You didn’t see her when you first walked in?” The skepticism in the younger detective’s voice was clear.
“No. I wasn’t sure if she was here or not, and I wanted to avoid another run-in. I didn’t turn the lights on.”
He perked up at that. “You two didn’t get along?”
“No. She has terrible hygiene and cleaning habits and we fought about it often,” I said honestly, before noticing his expression. “But it never got physical.”
He scribbled something in his stupid notepad. “Do you know who would have done this?”
I shook my head. “We weren’t close. She used to bring guys back all the time, but that stopped a while back.” I rattled off my alibi, giving Lisa’s and Nolan’s names as witnesses to my whereabouts, suddenly very glad of all the digital surveillance everywhere these days. But the young blond guy kept angling his questions as if he expected I’d done something suss, and after the stress of the whole situation, I finally snapped at him.
“Look, I didn’t like her, but I didn’t do this. I wouldn’t just murder someone.”
“Yeah, and why is that?”
“Because first of all, now that I’ve graduated and classes are over, I can work more hours and find a place of my own. Why would I wait until now, if I was gonna off her?”
“Maybe you’re not very smart,” he sneered.
My hackles rose. “Okay,” I growled in response at the cynical asshole. “If that’s how we’re going to play this, I’m not answering any more questions.”
His brows shot up and his partner, a slightly older woman with long black braids, who had been silent up until now, grunted.
“Alright, Jackson, I think that’s enough.” She turned her gaze towards me. “We’re just covering our bases, ma’am.”
“Yeah, and I just found my fucking roommate dead.” I shook my head. “How am I ever going to get that sight out of my head?”
Her expression softened. “Do you have someplace to sleep tonight? This will take until morning, at least and until all our preliminary investigations are complete, this apartment is an active crime scene.”
“Yeah, I’ll call my best friend and see if she’s home yet.” Knowing Lisa, she was either already enjoying a post-orgasmic sleep or still bumping and grinding the night away. “Can I, um, get some of my things?”
The detectives stared at each other as if they were communicating silently and then they both shook their heads. The female detective came to stand beside me. “Ma’am I’m afraid not. But once the crime scene techs have dusted for prints, we can let you back in to collect some belongings.”
My hands shook as my reality started to sink in. “Not even a pair of sneakers?”
The detectives looked at one another again, before the female one said, “Okay.”
I went to shove on a pair, and then suddenly remembered what I’d walked through. “Can I go to the bathroom and wash up?”
The detective shook her head. “Sorry, but no, it’s a mess in there.”
“Oh. Okay,” I said numbly and shoved on the shoes, trying not to think about what was on my feet, and stood.
“We’ll let you know when the place has been cleared. In the meantime, we might have more questions,” she said, and handed me her card. “Call if you think of anything that might help us figure out who did this to Chloe.”
“Yeah, sure.” I accepted the card and shoved it into my purse with a nod and left the apartment, where it felt as if dozens of sets of eyes were fixed on me.
