My mother shook her head frantically. "Officer, we don't know. We just don't know."
They secured the body on the spot and began a full autopsy examination. My mother and I sat by the front door in silence, waiting.
This was the fourth time.
Even the task force and the forensic team felt like old acquaintances by now.
During a break, one of the medical examiners leaned in close and whispered to us.
"Mrs. Henson, you don't think it could be the house itself? Bad energy or something?"
"Every time your daughter brings a boyfriend home, someone dies. It's like a curse. Terrible luck."
"If it were me, I'd sell this place and move somewhere else."
My mother pressed her lips into a tight line, her face pale as she shook her head.
"It's just the two of us. Debbie's father died young. This place is all we have. Where would we even go?"
As she spoke, tears slid down her cheeks.
"I just feel sorry for my Debbie. She finally had something stable with a boyfriend, and now... this." She trailed off with a broken sigh.
A boyfriend had died in our home. That made my mother and me the prime suspects.
The neighbors gathered around, shooting us dirty looks.
"Another death. There's got to be something going on with that family. It's unnatural."
"I bet those two did it. The mother and the daughter."
"Oh, stop talking nonsense. The best task force in the city is standing right there. If those two were really the killers, they would've been arrested after the first boyfriend died."
"There has to be more to this story."
Hearing everyone whispering, gossiping, pointing fingers, dragging my mother and me through the mud—
My mom was frantic, panic written all over her face.
"We'll cooperate fully with the investigation, officer. My daughter Deborah is studying for the civil service exam. You have to get to the bottom of this. Please don't pin it on innocent people!"
Chief Finch reassured her over and over.
"Mrs. Henson, don't worry. We'll do everything in our power to solve this case."
"If we can confirm you and your daughter had nothing to do with it, you'll both be released."
But we waited until our stomachs were growling, and they still hadn't found a single thing.
Even the forensic examiners with decades of experience were shaking their heads.
"This is bizarre. We can't determine a cause of death."
"Same as the previous three bodies. Clearly sudden death, but no explanation."