Page 25 of Stone Coast

By this time, I was in a daze. The place was pure chaos, and first responders swarmed.

A few minutes later, two Pineapple Bay patrol cars pulled up, red and blue lights flashing. The officers hopped out of the white squad cars trimmed with blue and gold accents.

The officers approached the house with hands on pistol grips, ready for anything. Once inside, responders pointed to me, and they started with the questions.

I went through the scenario once again.

"So, you don't live here," Officer Hoskins said.

"No."

"What were you doing here?"

"I was having dinner with my… I was having dinner with Grayson."

"Grayson is the homeowner?”

I nodded.

“Can you identify him?"

I nodded and swallowed. "He's the man by the door."

“And the intruder?"

I looked at him like it was a silly question. "I don't know his name. He didn't introduce himself."

The officer frowned. "Where were you when the incident occurred?"

I told him.

That's when Detective Dickhead arrived. He stepped into the house, observed the bodies, then made his way into the living room.

He was early 30s with slick brown hair, a high forehead, narrow brown eyes, and a medium build. He wore a dark gray suit and a navy blue tie. It wasn't an expensive suit, and it wasn't a cheap suit—somewhere in the middle.

By now, the crime scene had been contaminated—people walked in and out, stepping through blood spatter, even though they tried to avoid it. The forensic team hadn't arrived yet. If this was indicative of their department, it didn't give me a good feeling.

Detective Dickhead flashed his badge. "I'm Nick Scarborough. I just have a few questions for you."

He shooed the plain-clothes officers away and started in with the same questions.

I caught him up to speed.

"Where were you when you shot the intruder?"

"In the kitchen," I said, pointing.

"And you just happened to have a gun on you?"

"Yes."

"You always carry a gun on a dinner date?"

I didn't like the question. "Is that relevant?"

He shrugged. "I'm just trying to figure out what happened here."

"I told you what happened."