“Did you hear about the murder last night, Zach?” his neighbor, Melissa, attempted to make conversation on the elevator. Of course Zach had. Between the blaring sirens, shouting, and news coverage, it was impossible to not have heard about the young couple next door that had been killed.  

“Yeah, I heard it was pretty gruesome,” Zach responded, putting his earbuds in. He was too exhausted to hold a conversation, and he was hoping Melissa would take the hint. 

“They lived right next to you, Zach! What if we’re next?.”

Ugh, she won’t shut up, Zach thought, taking out his earbuds to not appear rude. “I’m not too worried.”

“But what if the murderer has a way to climb up and get into windows?” 

Zach laughed, the idea was so preposterous. “I don’t think that anyone could easily climb eleven stories, they probably had a key to the apartment.”

The elevator dinged and Zach stepped out, Melissa following. 

“Hmm… That would make more sense. Wait… don’t you have a lot of keys since you clean the building?.” Melissa suddenly looked apprehensive. 

Dang, she’s suspicious of me, Zach thought. He started to sweat as he considered what would happen if Melissa reported him to the police. He had to appear nonchalant to prevent her from getting any more suspicious.

“Yeah, I just do it to get money off of my rent. Only the landlord has the master keys. I just take out the garbage… Anyways, I’ll talk to you later, I’ve got to get some chores done.” Zach waved as he walked over to his apartment. 

Later that night, Zach retrieved the stolen set of master keys from his nightstand and the wrapped-up knife he had used to murder his neighbors. 

I’ll frame Melissa for the murder since getting rid of her would make me look too suspicious to the police. 

Zach waited until he couldn’t hear Melissa’s TV through the wall and then he made his move. Zach’s hands shook when he slid the key labeled with Melissa’s apartment number into the lock. The lock gave a tinny click that seemed to echo through the halls. 

Zach took a deep breath. I can do this. If I don’t, I’ll definitely get caught, he thought.

Once he was inside the apartment, Zack gently laid the keys in one of Melissa’s messy kitchen drawers, then deposited the knife underneath the kitchen sink.

Now I just need something to tie her to the crime scene. 

Zach crept into Melissa’s bathroom and plucked a few of her hairs from the brush she had left on the counter, then carefully placed it back where she had left it.

He walked out of Melissa’s apartment and heard the locked door click behind him when he realized that he had made one crucial mistake. Zach had left all of the keys in Melissa’s drawer and had no way back into the crime scene. 

There’s no way I can get away with this, Zach realized as he stood outside Melissa’s apartment.