Inktober 2025 - 10 - Sweep

Gerard sneaked into the apartment hastily, closing the door behind him both as fast and as quietly as he possibly could. Getting rid of the building concierge after convincing her that there was nothing amiss had not been easy, but he had managed it. He didn't like having to distract her in the first place, he would have much preferred being in a position to come in in her absence, but they were running out of time in their investigation; they needed to get in there today. And if he had left his partner to chat that woman up, it would have been a total disaster. He might have directly taken her to that door himself!

Having caught his breath after this tense moment, the investigator finally took in his surroundings. The hallway was so orderly that, for a second, he wondered whether he might be in the wrong unit, before remembering he had used a key to get in. Needless to say, this was not the tidy environment he had expected. Hearing clinking noises, like bottles being put in a trash bag, he turned his raised eyebrows into a frown, and followed the sound. It lead him to the kitchen, where Ernest was indeed putting beer bottles away.

"Ernie…" Gerard called calmly.

He had not expected his partner to be done with his search of the apartment by the time he joined him, so he could not think of a reason why he seemed to be cleaning up the place, now.

"Ah! Ger'! I'm sorry, but this place is a total mess."

"Not so much anymore."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere. I'm far from done."

"All right. Er… What… What's that, there?"

Gerard thought that, maybe if he pointed out the most absurd points of the environment, he could get Ernest to see them too, and realise that what was happening did not make sense. He was not lucky in this endeavour, though, because Ernest's answer came completely naturally and unfazed:

"That? The only broom I could find, that's what. It's a not a very good one, if you want my opinion, but I'm making do."

Gerard opened and closed his mouth a few times before deciding to take a more direct approach.

"Ernie… Why… Why are you cleaning up?"

Ernest suddenly froze. He started shaking his head, in a very clear expression of confusion.

"Well, because you asked me to, that's why."

"What? When would I have asked anything like that of you? Why would I want you to clean what could be a crime scene? Or a the very least a place which could contain evidence?"

"I don't know! I trust your judgement! You know what you're doing, so I follow your lead. And you were very clear about this."

"How? What could I possibly say that would make you think this is what I wanted you to sneak into this apartment while I distracted the concierge for?"

"You're saying you don't remember telling me to do a sweep of the place?"