I sat on the couch and waited for Artie to get in touch with me. In the past week we have spent every evening together, either at the apartment from one of us or we went for a walk. We got on better each day and had a lot of fun together.
The doorbell rang. Full of anticipation for Artie, I ran to the door and opened it. It wasn't Arthur. There were two men. They both wore long coats. One brown, the other blue. "Hello, Miss," said the obviously older of the two. "Hello ..." I answered slowly. "I'm Detective Garrity...," the older one started again, removing his police badge from his jacket and running two fingers across his broad mustache, "...and that's my partner Detective Burke," he pointed to the man next to him, who just nodded. "How can I help you?", I asked.
For a moment I wondered if I had done anything. Was the music too loud? Did I accidentally ride black? "We're here for your neighbor, Arthur Fleck," said Detective Burke, revealing a photo. I knew exactly what he looked like, but I took it in my hand. "Has something happened to him?" I asked and slowly fear spread over me and on my face. "Not exactly. Do you know Mr Fleck well?" Detective Garrity asked. I nodded. "Would you say that he's a violent person? Aggressive features?" He asked. I shook my head. "Why do you ask that? I don't understand." I let go of the door so that it stood out.
"Did you hear about the 9th Avenue murders?" I shook my head again. "The week before last Thursday, a man shot three young men. On the subway and at the train station. We suspect it was Mr. Fleck, as eyewitness accounts say the perpetrator wore clown makeup." I didn't know if the man was ready, but I started to speak. "Arthur would never harm anyone. He is one of the dearest and most caring people in the world, although he is treated less well by most."
Both men wrinkled their foreheads. "Can you go on with this?" I nodded. "Arthur has an illness. He sometimes has to laugh uncontrollably and that's why he's considered a freak. He gets beaten up and screwed by his colleagues almost every week ..." They nodded. "All right. So you don't think it was him?" Detective Burke asked. I nodded. "Ask him again personally," I suggested. "We would, but he's not at home. We've been trying for hours now."
"Oh ... Okay. Well, anyway, you can trust me. I've spent a lot of time with him the last few days and he didn't appear to have committed a serious crime." I laughed slightly nervously.
"All right. Thank you for your help. Can we continue to trust you with any further questions?" Detective Garrity asked, smiling. I nodded. "But of course." Detective Burke pulled out a white card. "If you have anything else, please contact us immediately." I took the card from him. "I do." The two men looked at each other briefly. "All right. Have a nice evening, Miss Jones." The men turned and knocked again on Artie's apartment door, but after a few seconds they ran back towards the elevator.
For a moment I wondered why Penny didn't open, but quickly rejected the thought. Maybe they were at the doctor together. I closed the door and looked at the card in my hand: "Detective Garrity & Detective Burke; Gotham Police Department; Telephone: 21258799" I opened the drawer of my dresser and put it in. I went back to the couch and turned on the TV to pass the time. However, my thoughts about Arthur didn't leave me for a second.
