Chapter 1: Chapter 1
The house was dark. I could see the faint glow of the streetlamps shining through the windows. I was standing in the living room, with my back pressed against the wall, listening to the sound of my heart beating in my ears. I was in a state of shock. My boyfriend was dead. He'd been stabbed to death in his own home. The police were here now. They would be asking me questions. I needed to think. I needed to calm down. I needed to get a grip.
I had no idea how long I'd been standing there. It felt like hours, but it couldn't have been more than ten minutes. I heard the door open and then a woman's voice calling out my name. I looked up and saw two officers standing in thedoorway. One of them was holding a flashlight. The other one was holding a plastic bag containing a knife.
"Hello," I said, taking a step forward. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you," the officer said. "Weunderstand that you're the girlfriend."
"Yes," I said. "I'm his girlfriend."
"And you were with him when he died?"
"Yes."
"Would you mind coming with us to the station? We need to ask you some questions."
"Of course."
The officer holding the flashlight led me out of the house. As we walked down the driveway, I noticed the front door was wide open. I glanced around to see if anyone else was watching us, but there was nobody around. I just hoped the neighbors hadn't seen anything. I didn't want to get into trouble.
"Are you okay?" the officer asked.
"Yes, I'm fine," I said.
"You don't look fine. You look really pale."
"I'm fine," I said again. "I just need to sit down."
The officer led me to the patrol car parked in the driveway. She opened the back door and motionedfor me to get in. I sat down on the back seat, feeling shaky. I was still trying to process what had happened. I was glad the police had arrived so quickly. It might have been too late if they'd taken longer.
The officer closed the door behind me and got into the driver's seat. She turned the key in the ignition and the engine started. She pulled away from the curb and drove off down the street.
"Doyou know why your boyfriend was stabbed?" she asked.
"No," I said. "He'd been drinking, but he wasn't drunk. He was fine."
"What did he do before he died?"
"Nothing. He was sitting at the kitchen table. He was reading a book. He wasn't acting strange or anything."
"Did he mention any problems? Did he say anything about being threatened?"
"No. Nothing like that. He was just reading a book."
"How long had he been dead?"
"I don't know. I don't think it was very long. Maybe a few minutes."
"You said you were with him when he died. How long wereyou with him?"
"Only a few minutes. I was upstairs."
"So you didn't see what happened?"
"No. I was in the bathroom when I heard the screams. I came down as soon as I heard them."
"Did you see anything? Did you see who did it?"
"No. I didn't see anything. I was in the bathroom."
"Can you describe the man who did it?"
"I don't know. I only saw his face."
"Describe his face."
"He was wearing a hoodie. He had a beard. His hair was messy.