Delusions With Murder: A Rilynne Evans Mystery Read Online Free PDF

page from his notebook.
    She stared at the paper without moving.  The only part of her that shifted at all was the expression on her face, which went from somber to stunned.
    “Is there a problem Evans?” asked Detective Wilcome.  She looked up to find all eyes on her.
    Rilynne started blankly at him for a moment before responding.  “This is my apartment building.  It’s the apartment directly above mine.”
     

Chapter Five
    T he apartment had the same layout as Rilynne’s, though it was obvious it was a man’s apartment.  The entertainment center included every gaming system on the market, and the shelves were lined with movies and games.  The furniture was very basic, and there were no personal touches other than a few framed pictures of his family and a young woman who Rilynne recognized to be his girlfriend.
    “It looks like he had just walked in,” Detective Matthews said, examining the room.  “His jacket was dropped by the door.  There are no other clothes on the floor that would suggest he was in a habit of leaving them strewn about.  There’s no obvious sign his girlfriend was with him.”
    “I can sometimes hear him through the ceiling.  It carries anytime he gets a little loud.  Or I could hear him walking if he had dress shoes on.”  Rilynne was sitting at his desk in the corner, sifting through his files, looking for anything of use.
    “Did you hear anything last night?  Did you hear voices, or a struggle?” Matthews asked.
    “I heard him walk in around two-thirty, but that’s it.”
    “How often did he have loud arguments?” Matthews had taken out his notebook and was jotting down her answers.
    “I could hear him and his girlfriend occasionally, but it was never anything serious.  I never heard anything physical.  Just a verbal spat here and there.”
    “Did you know anything about his personal life? Anyone you have seen him with or any behaviors you’ve noticed?”
    “I only saw him a few times in passing.  I never saw anyone with him other than this woman here.”  She held up the picture of his girlfriend. “From what I could tell, he seems to be a pretty normal guy.  I did hear him coming in late on weekends, but I rarely heard him on weekdays.  Life of a law student, I guess.”
    “Did you see anything suspicious in the building last night?”
    “I got in around two, but I didn’t see anyone else.  We should talk to Ben.  He helped me get Nicole back to her apartment.  He might have seen something on his way out.”
    Rilynne and Detective Matthews went through every nook and cranny in Derek’s apartment, gathering every piece of paper related to places he went and people he was connected to.              
    When Detective Matthews went into the bedroom to look through the closet, Rilynne took a good look around the room, and concentrated as hard as she could on the victim.  She pictured his face, recalling every detail she could.  Then she tried to picture him sitting on the couch with his schoolbooks, or with a game controller in his hand.  She imagined him sitting at his table, eating the Chinese food from China Hut, which was left in the fridge.
    Then she saw a dark room.  She could see Derek’s face, with what looked like dried blood streaming down the left side.  He also appeared to be drugged.  He was not fully unconscious, but seemed to be very groggy.  He was saying something, too.  It was so low, though, that she couldn’t make it out.  Maybe if she tried just a little bit harder.  “Why are you doing this?”  He seemed to be repeating it.
    Rilynne opened her eyes just in time to see Matthews walk back in.  He was carrying two boxes that seemed to be completely full. 
    “Well, this guy seems to keep everything.  Hopefully something in here will give us an idea of how he crossed this guy’s path.  Did you find anything else in here?” Matthews asked as he stacked the boxes with the three that were already by the