Indeed, that, or some variation thereof, might be what happened here. I looked at the corpse on the bed and asked myself the obvious question: What was Clifford doing in the hour before the trigger was pulled? Did he die alone? Or with company?

To Tim I asked, "Is there any indication he was having sex at the time of, or shortly prior to, his death?"

"It does seem an obvious conclusion, doesn't it? I intend to take epidural traces from his penis for the lab. However, from what I've seen… or didn't see-specifically, no visible traces of sperm, or crust of vaginal fluid on his penis-it's possible the victim was stimulating himself."

Tim looked at me expectantly as I weighed whether to ask him another question or just kill myself. When I remained silent, he said, "Can I return to my work?"

"What's stopping you?"

"Well… you are."

"Nonsense."

"Oh… that's a joke." He emitted a sort of high-pitched laugh.

I looked at him and said, "If anything interesting pops up, call me immediately. I'll be in the living room." I turned and started to walk away when I was struck by an afterthought, and turned back around. "Uh…?"

He stared at me.

"How many suicides have you investigated?"

"I don't know. A good many. This is a high-stress area code. Within the county, we experience more suicides than homicides."

"How many of those suicides involved guns?"

"A few. Perhaps three this past year. Overdoses and slashed wrists are the norm. A majority of our suicide victims are teenagers who can't afford-"

"I understand… thank you." I asked Tim, "Did you observe any blood splatter on the gun?"

"Yes, some. It was fired from very close range, and there was a volume of blowback. Also, even visually, I can detect powder residue on the victim's left temple. That means-"

"I know what it means." I asked, "Have we confirmed if the pistol belonged to the victim?"