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 face clouded over, he seemed on the verge of weeping.


“I tried mouth to mouth, it made me dizzy. But—it didn’t work either—”


He began to sob. “He just laid there, like that. And I couldn’t do anything.”


“And then?” I prompted, but he didn’t seem to hear me. He was deep inside his pain now, crying and murmuring, so that I decided I had pushed him far enough. I brought him out of his hypnotized state—without moving.


He woke up gradually, slightly confused. As he became aware of me holding him, he pushed his head back and turned it, to look at me. I lifted my head so that our eyes met. He smiled, and pushed back against me while holding the arm that was wrapped around his chest.


I felt vastly relieved, though I wasn’t entirely sure he was fully awake yet. I started to pull out, but he reached back and pulled me forward, pressing me against him. He chuckled.


Chapter 24