Chapter 7

“Could you describe what you did and what you saw since you first entered the apartment?”

I looked at him, and smiled. “Just the facts?”

“That’s right.”

I told him everything. He said nothing until I had finished. Then he tapped the pad with his pencil and looked at me.

“You say the door to the apartment was open.”

I nodded.

“And you say you’ve never visited him here before.”

I nodded again.

“Why not? You were friends.”

“Well, Quentin was an idiosyncratic person, not easy to maintain a friendship with. I had lost touch with him a couple of years ago. Frankly, we had a disagreement. I gave him some time to cool off. After that he had moved out of town. It was only recently that I learned he’d moved back to town. So, I thought I’d visit, rather than call. See him face to face.”

The detective tapped with his pencil again.

“Knowing the deceased, do you find it surprising that the front door of his apartment was unlocked?”

“Quentin was generallysurprising, so—no.”