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“And, this is Eric. They’re Annisa’s neighbors.” She smiled, genuinely happy to see them.
“I missed you guys,” she cried when the men engulfed her in a group hug.
“So, what’s going on?” Derrick asked again, but before either Julia or I could explain, the police had arrived.
One of the uniformed officers asked, “Excuse me, we received a 9-1-1 call saying that someone might be dead at this location.”
Derrick and Eric’s eyes bulged at the policeman’s statement.
“Yes, that was me,” I said, opening the door wider as I stepped back to let the policemen in.
The other police officer was a woman, and she looked at us and said, “Do you all live here?”
“Actually, none of us live here. We’re friends of—” I paused, thinking of a way better to say victim. “We’re friends of the person who lived here.”
“And, we’re neighbors of the person living here. We’re friends with Annisa,” Eric explained.
I noticed that I used the past tense to describe Annisa’s state of being, while Eric used the present tense, not knowing that she was dead.
“Fine,” the female officer said. “However, since you don’t live here, why don’t you stay outside and let us inspect the scene.”
“Can we wait in our apartment?” Derrick asked.
The female officer looked at her partner. The other officer answered, “Sure, why not? Just let us know what apartment number you live in.”
“We’re in 301,” Derrick replied. “Is it okay if they wait with us?” He waved his hand at Julia and me.
The officer shrugged. We took it as a sign of acceptance.
As soon as the officers were out of earshot, Eric whispered, “Who died?”
“It’s Annisa,” Julia answered.
“Oh my goodness!” Eric placed a hand over his chest. “I need tea!”
“I agree,” Derrick said and motioned for us to follow him. “Let’s put on a pot. Some chamomile tea will calm our nerves. Then you can tell us what happened.”
We followed Derrick and Eric to their apartment. Just like the way they were dressed, their apartment was fashionably decorated. Derrick brought us over to a grey leather sofa. “Here, sit down, and I’ll make the tea.”
As Derrick walked to the kitchen, Eric sat on a matching grey leather loveseat and asked, “What happened to the poor dear?”
“You tell them, Claire. I don’t think I can do it,” Julia said. Her face was pale, and she was taking slow and shallow breaths.
I nodded and said, “We came to check on Annisa because she wasn’t answering our texts. When we got here, the door was unlocked, so we went in. We saw the living room was destroyed, so we went to the bedroom to see if it was in the same state. That’s when we saw Annisa lying face down with a pool of blood by her stomach.”
At the mention of blood, Julia started sobbing, unleashing the emotions she had been repressing. I reached for her hand at the same time that Eric went over to her.
“There, there.” Eric patted her back, trying to console her. When Julia calmed down a little, Eric said, “Then what happened?”
“Well, when I didn’t feel a pulse, I knew that she was dead, so I called the police. We were waiting for them to arrive when you and Derrick knocked on the door.”
“Oh my!” Derrick exclaimed. He had finished making the pot of tea, and he brought a wooden tray with the pot and four teacups along with a small plate piled with lemon macarons.
The teapot set was a delicate bone China with yellow roses. If the situation hadn’t been so dire, I would have appreciated the beautiful arrangement more.
“You know, Eric and I heard noises coming from Annisa’s apartment last night. That’s why we went over there this morning,” Derrick said as he poured the tea.
“Did you hear any talking?” I asked when Derrick handed me a cup.
