Prologue
Contains spoilersOverview
Police interrogate an unnamed woman after a dead body is discovered in the attic of a lavish home. She admits finding it an hour earlier after hearing a noise but withholds details, frustrating Detective Connors. As he hesitates to arrest her, a younger officer urgently calls him upstairs to a shocking new discovery.
Summary
An unnamed woman sits in a luxurious living room, convinced that if she leaves the house, it will be in handcuffs. Police are present after discovering something upstairs: a dead body in the attic. Detective Connors, stocky and graying, questions her on the sofa.
Connors asks when she found the body. She answers that it was about an hour ago. When pressed on why she went upstairs, she says she heard a sound and offers nothing further, considering whether to ask for a lawyer while refusing to incriminate herself.
Connors studies her and seems unsure if he has enough to arrest her. His hesitation suggests the evidence is incomplete, and her minimal answers stall the interrogation.
Suddenly, a younger officer at the top of the stairs, pale and shaken, calls down for Connors to come immediately, insisting, “You won’t believe it.” The interruption hints at a new, potentially game-changing discovery upstairs.
Who Appears
- Unnamed narrator
First-person narrator; questioned about a body in the attic, evasive, and contemplating asking for a lawyer.
- Detective Connors
Lead detective; interrogates the narrator seeking a confession, hesitates to arrest, then rushes upstairs when summoned.
- Younger officer
Junior cop; visibly shaken and urgently calls Connors upstairs to witness a startling discovery.