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some yelling from upstairs. It sounded like Frank, so I turned around and started running back up. Then I heard him scream, and then there was silence. I had a very bad feeling. You know how you can sometimes tell when something really terrible has happened?”
    Hannah nodded. She also knew that, nine times out of ten, that bad feeling was completely unfounded. It didn’t matter. People remembered the one time they were right, and walked around convinced they had a sixth sense
    “So I ran faster. Then someone came fast down the stairs. He nearly ran into me!”
    Both detectives tensed. If Jerome wasn’t the killer himself, then this was probably their murderer.
    “Did you get a good look at him?” Bernard asked.
    “No. The stairway was dark. He was a man. About my height. I didn’t catch anything else.”
    Bernard sighed. “Go on.”
    “Well, I got to the top. The door to Frank’s apartment was open, and he… he…”
    “Was Frank still alive when you saw him?” Hannah asked
    “I… I don’t think so. He seemed dead, and there was a lot of blood…”
    “Do you remember if Frank locked the door when you left his apartment?” Bernard asked.
    “Yeah, sure. He walked me to the door, and then closed it and locked it.”
    “What did you do when you saw Frank?”
    “I uh… I screamed.”
    “I woke up when I heard Jerome scream,” Petal said, putting two mugs on the table in front of the detectives.
    “You didn’t hear anything before that?” Bernard asked her.
    “I thought I heard a crash. And maybe some yelling.”
    “And you didn’t do anything about it?” Hannah asked
    “Well… Frank’s place was sometimes a bit loud at night, you know?”
    Hannah nodded. When using the various toys in his drawer, staying silent probably wouldn’t be on the participants’ mind.
    “So I peeked out and I saw Jerome in the hallway. And I asked what was going on. And then I invited him in here. I think he was relieved he could sit here and calm down.”
    “I’m sure he was,” Hannah said.
    “What was the time when Frank was stabbed?” Bernard asked
    Jerome hesitated. “I don’t know exactly.”
    “It was twenty-five past midnight when I woke up,” Petal said. “I checked the phone.”
    “What time did you two go out?” Bernard asked Jerome.
    “Around nine-thirty.”
    “Where did you go?”
    “Leroy’s, down the street.”
    Hannah and Bernard exchanged glances. They both knew Leroy’s. Patrol officers needed to break up a fight there every other night.
    Hannah glanced at her watch. It was one-forty. She wondered if there was anyone still there.
    “And what time did you return here with Frank?” Hannah asked.
    “About twenty minutes before I left,” Jerome said. “So I’d guess… around midnight?”
    “Was Frank supposed to meet someone tonight?” Bernard asked. Hannah took a sip from her coffee and let him take the lead
    “He wasn’t,” Jerome answered. “He was getting ready to shower and go to bed when I left.”
    “Any idea what he did before you two went drinking?”
    “No. Wait, hang on. Yeah. He mentioned visiting his sister in the autistic center.”
    “His sister is autistic?”
    “Yeah. There’s a care center nearby. That’s why Frank got this apartment, to be in walking distance of his sister.”
    “And he went there yesterday?”
    “Yeah. Yesterday afternoon.”
    “Does Frank have any enemies?”
    Jerome hesitated again. “No.”
    “Are you sure? Anything at all could be of use.”
    “I don’t know of any specific enemies.”
    “Anyone he owed money to?”
    “Not to my knowledge.”
    “Did he use drugs?” Hannah intervened.
    “Probably, some. Who doesn’t, right?”
    Hannah stared at him, narrowing her eyes. “Do you do drugs?”
    “What? No, of course not.”
    “You just said that everyone does drugs.”
    “I didn’t.” Jerome looked panicky.
    “You implied it.”
    “I don’t do—”
    “Did you do drugs this evening?”
    “No!”
    “Did Frank