Private investigator Ian visits his friend unannounced, only to discover the man lying in bed, not asleep but dead. Ian resolves to find out how his friend died and, if he was murdered, to bring the killer to justice. But the details of the case are bizarre: the door of the condo unit is locked and the only other occupant is a bodybuilder, Horst, found sitting on the living room couch, half asleep or drugged. Ian calls 911 and the cops, when video footage showing no one entered or left the condo around the time of death, fixate on Horst as the most likely suspect. Ian is convinced Horst is innocent and offers his services to help the police solve the mystery of his friend’s death. But the situation is complicated, not only by the self-contradictory nature of the physical evidence, but by the fact that Ian increasingly finds himself drawn to Horst. Worse, the lead police detective shows increasing signs of interest in Ian himself. Love and death become strangely intertwined, their resolution not easily discovered. Is Horst as innocent as Ian believes? Can Ian help solve the locked-room mystery?

Bliss

Horst’s expression became horrified. “I knew he was dead?”


“I don’t know. Maybe. Like I said, you got upset.”


Horst groaned, closed his eyes, and rubbed his face with his hands. “Oh, God!” he murmured. “Maybe I did it, then.”


“Don’t say that,” I said sharply. “There’s nothing to support that. I think if we get further, we’ll find out—but I really believe that you didn’t.”


He looked at me doubtfully, but said nothing.


“Maybe we should leave that for tomorrow,” I suggested.


“So,” I said, getting up. “I guess I sleep on the couch?”


Horst shook his head. “I texted Ted. He’s not coming here tonight. You can sleep in his room. There are clean sheets on the bed.”


I went to Ted’s room and, after looking at the gas cylinders again—they all were oxygen—and shutting the closet firmly, I got into bed.


It was a very comfortable mattress, better than the one I had at home, and I fell asleep almost immediately.5: Inner Sanctum


Chapter 19