“The guy was just lying there, like he was done and had fallen asleep, the way you do, you know? And the girl started backing away from the table.”

“Yes, then what happened?”

“Then the skylight caved in and I started falling into the room.”

“Then what?”

“I don’t remember.”

“What do you mean, you don’t remember?”

“Well, I must have been out for a little while, and when I came to, I was lying on top of this guy, and he was dead.”

“Wait a minute,” Stone said. “How do you know he was dead?”

“Because he was just kind of staring up with these dead eyes. He wasn’t blinking or anything.”

“What did you do then?”

“Well, I got to my feet and brushed glass and stuff off me and kind of walked around to see if anything was broken. Anything of mine, I mean.”

“But you were all right?”

“Yeah, but the guy was dead. I think I might have broken his leg, though.”

“When you fell on him?”

“Yeah. I fell on his legs.”

“That shouldn’t have killed him.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I didn’t kill the guy; I couldn’t have.”

“What happened then?”

“I heard all these guys coming,” Herbie said. “It sounded like a lot of them coming up the stairs.”

“They didn’t use the elevator?”

“No.”

“What happened next?”

“I figured it was the cops, so I looked around for someplace to hide my camera, and I saw this wood box by the fireplace. So I went over and opened it and took out a log, and I put my camera inside and put the log back on top of it. I was looking for another way out of the room when the door opened and all these guys came in.”

“Were they cops?”

“I guess so.”

“Were they in uniform?”

“No. They looked like detectives, in plain clothes.”

“And what did they do?”

“A couple of them grabbed me and threw me up against the wall, and a couple more went over to see about the naked guy on the table. I heard one of them say his leg was broken, and another one said he was dead.”

“And then what happened?”

“Then they left.”

“They left? You mean they left the apartment and left you alone there?”

“Yeah. One of them said, ‘You stay put.’ So I did.”

“And then what?”

“I tried to find another way out of the apartment, except by the door, but there wasn’t one. So I sat down on a chair and looked at the dead guy for a minute. Then the cops arrived. This time they had uniforms. And guns. And they arrested me and took me to a police station, where they put me in a van with some really badass guys and brought me here.”

“So the detectives just walked out, and a few minutes later the cops came?”