nearly a dozen other apartment buildings. The building itself was two stories with twenty-four units in all. Past the entrance, enclosed by the units, was a large open air garden. All the apartments faced inward towards this garden. Living in the garden was an assortment of flowers, trees, potted plants, and general garden dcor. A knee-high row of shrubbery surrounded it. The victim's apartment was on the second floor. She lived in unit number twenty-three. She and unit twenty-four shared a common staircase. The open air staircase didn't lead anywhere but to the front doors of these two units. At the foot of the staircase were the doors to the two units below them and a few steps away was the garden. My mother and I ascended the stairs to the victim's apartment. There was a police officer standing outside her door, guarding the crime scene. He curiously eyed my mother. I introduced them to each other. The officer snickered as he shook my mom's hand. "Take a lunch break," I ordered. With a smirk and a nod, the officer was gone. I moved aside some police tape and we entered the apartment. My mother immediately gasped. Thinking she had already spotted a clue, I eagerly asked what she had found. My mother's eyes were locked onto the window curtains. She hurried over and carefully ran her fingers down the seam. "These are the exact curtains I need for my bedroom." I groaned and asked her to focus on the