Mark stepped back outside into the sweltering heat of the summer evening and began walking away as quickly as he could to get away from the institution before the cops arrived. That's all he'd need to get by.

He decided that that was enough for one night and made his way back to his house. Perhaps a good night's sleep will be the panacea for whatever ails him right now.

He saw the flare of flashing lights just as he was about to make the last turn on his street. When he came around the corner outside his building, he saw the large number of emergency cars parked outside. Five police vehicles were parked on one side of the street, and an ambulance was parked on the opposite side, according to him.

"Oh, no!" he exclaimed. "I'm curious as to what transpired." He was fortunate enough to live in a safe neighbourhood. Because life in the great metropolis was full of ups and downs, there was the odd disruption, but danger was always only a short arms-length away.

He made his way closer, sliding around people to get a better view through the tiny throng that had gathered on the sidewalk. He was getting closer. He spotted a vacant parking space by hiding behind the crime scene tape that had been wrapped around the sign posts at the entrance to his apartment building's parking garage.

As he was walking out of the building, he saw someone who he presumed to be a detective. The officer's wrinkled uniform and badge that was dangling from his breast pocket were the only giveaways. He stood there and observed as the senior officer approached a uniformed cop. As the two of them started to converse, he moved closer to them.

"Is it accurate that you were the first on the scene, Officer?"

"Yes, sir, I understand. I got a phone call reporting that a gunshot had been heard in flat 307..."

307, The notion crossed Mark's mind: "That's MY apartment." I did not file a police report after hearing a gunshot. What exactly is going on?

"I walked inside the building with my weapon drawn, and made my way up to the third storey. " As I made my way down the hall to the apartment, I observed that the door had been damaged, as if someone had used a pry bar to open it," I said.

When exactly did this occur? Mark pondered his options. I don't know how long I was wandering about tonight.

The room cleared when I pushed open the door and walked through it. I yelled out, introducing myself as a member of the police department. I went from room to room in the apartment. It had clearly been burglarized, as shown by the fact that things were strewn around the place."

That's great, now I have a big mess to clean up. While rolling his eyes, Mark imagined a long night spent cleaning and determining which of his valuable possessions had been stolen. "It'll be fun," he said. He was certain that the police would need a list of any objects that had gone missing.

The investigator inquired, "When did you discover the deceased?" as he was prepared to identify himself as the occupant of apartment 307, and he was about to do so.

Deceased? Deceased? Who was deceased?