I had just entered my office when somebody dropped off a new file. They had found a new suspect for the Kellis case. Thank God; they were getting desperate. I went to the lounge to get some coffee to drink while I read but spilled some on my shirt. While cleaning it, I noticed I had forgotten my ID badge at home again – what a wonderful day it was turning out to be. I paced down the hall, with its blinking fluorescent lights and brownish gray carpet, and reviewed the evidence. I was sure this guy was going to be thrown in the bin.

I reached the interrogation room and glanced at the surveillance camera, waiting for the buzz. The heavy metal door swung open, revealing the strange fellow handcuffed to the table inside. He had long hair, a beard, and a generally unkempt appearance. His eyes darted around the room, looking at every single camera. The file hit the table with a loud metallic thud.

“Good morning, Mr. Camp,” I said.

“Morning, Officer Schuldig.”

“You seem nervous.”

“Being interrogated for homicide does that to ya.” He smirked.

“Let's get started: Did you know Ms. Kellis?”

“I’ve bumped into her a couple of times.”

I shuffled through the papers spread in front of me. “A couple of times? It says here that you worked in the same office.”

“A large office, and we don't have a lot of teamwork going on,” he said.

“And what exactly do you do in this office?”

“It’s an accounting firm.”

“I see” I peered again at the evidence, trying to find an angle of attack.

"So what impression did you get from Ms. Kellis … from your couple of encounters?” I asked.

“She was pretty, generally kind to everyone, and good with insurance claims.”

“Tell me, Mr. Camp, are you single?”

“I'm afraid not, officer,” he laughed nervously.

“Did you ever make any romantic advancements toward Ms. Kellis?”

“Of course not.” The tone and volume in his voice were obvious tellings of a lie. I stared at him to make sure he knew I noticed.

“I might have asked her on a date once …or twice.” He tensed up.

“I’m assuming you were rejected?”

He gave me an offended look. “Yes, I was.”

“Rejection can lead to very strong emotions, Mr. Camp.”

“I'm not that kind of man, Officer.”

“I'm sure you're not. Now, my records show that you were arrested for DUI on the night of the murder.”

“Tough night.”

“Rejection night?”

“No, that was a long time before.”

“The police report shows that you had a gun in the driver's seat.”

“I have a license.”

“That's not the issue at hand. You were coming from Turnpike onto Southeast Clinton, am I correct?”

“Yes, you are.”

“Are you aware that that route leads back straight onto the crime scene, her house?”

“I am now.” His eyes widened with the sudden realization of the mess he was in.

“You are aware of how this looks, right?”

“I … I am.”

“From all I can gather here, the rejections from Ms. Kellis had a larger effect on you than you are letting on. Now let me just take a wild guess here: You felt alone one day, and while drowning your sorrows in alcohol, you decided to pay a visit to the woman who broke your heart.”

He looked around the room, staring at the camera and the blinking ceiling lights. I was getting to him.

“You took your gun without even knowing what you were planning to do. You drove there and knocked on her door. She was scared, but you forced yourself in. She was terrified and asked for you to leave. Then you shot her. Point blank – like a coward. Except you got desperate and threw the body into the nearby river.”

I was expecting him to break down in desperation, but instead, his wide eyes and terrified expression melted into a smug smile.

“That's not what it says in the file,” he said through his smirk.

“What?”

“The body wasn't found in the river," Mr. Camp said. “Of … course it was,” I said, while flipping through the file. “Oh, right. You buried her in the woods, my mistake.”

“On the contrary. Fred, where was the body found?” Camp spoke to the camera.

“The body was found in the river,” said a voice booming over the intercom.

“So … I was right,” I said sheepishly.

“You were, but it wasn’t in the file. That information was confidential.” He smirked.

It took a few seconds for the realization to finally hit me in the face. The whole room started spinning, I could feel the world collapsing as if Atlas had lost his footing. How did they know? I was meticulous. I wasn’t even a suspect.

“Take him away, boys.”

A few police officers burst into the room, launching the metal door into the wall with a large bang. I was handcuffed, too shocked to even react.

“That was genius, Fred.” I heard Camp, or whoever it was, talking to the camera again.