Elwin was sitting in his flat, in London, waiting for his dinner guests to arrive. A knock came at the door, and as he placed down the spoon with which he had been stirring the stew, he realized it went on forever. He got up from his chair, crossed the room and opened the front door. There stood two men in ill-fitting suits. 'Hello,' said Elwin. 'Can I help you?' The two detectives stepped inside. One of them held out a piece of paper. 'Elwin Lambert?' he asked. Elwin nodded and took the note from him.

It was a photograph of a woman with her finger to her lips as though blowing a secret whisper into the ears of those she spoke with. She looked hauntingly familiar, but Elwin didn't recognize her. 'Should I?' he asked, handing the photograph back to the detective. He watched as the officer placed the photo back into his pocket. "Elwin lambert, you do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention something you later rely on in court, anything you do say may be used in evidence." What? said Elwin? "I haven't done anything" why am I being arrested? You'll have plenty of time to have your say down at the station. Elwin couldn't believe it, he found himself being marched out of the block of flats in handcuffs, he felt deeply embarrassed as the faces of people he knew glared at him. He got into the police car wondering what was happening. Elwin was escorted into the police station, and checked into custody.

He stood in a desolate, gray room with one lonely wooden chair. Harsh light burned down from an exposed bulb in the ceiling and made him squint. He felt as though he had been left to rot in this bare cell, facing a hard bed and an even harder chair. Cold trickled through his bare arms and legs. He looked around for a clock or watch to measure the passage of time, but there was nothing on the walls. The only thing here was the black metal door that slammed shut with a loud bang.

The minutes ticked by as he waited for the officer to arrive. When the officer finally showed up, his face was unreadable and he gestured for the Elwin to follow him into the interrogation room. The door closed with a loud click behind them. After a few moments two officers entered the room before one spoke up"Do you recognize this woman?" He asked, sliding the photograph closer to Elwin.

Elwin shook his head, he had never seen her before in his life. "I told the other officers this at my flat," he stammered. "What is this about?" His voice was trembling slightly as he spoke.The officer cleared his throat and seemed hesitant to speak before finally saying it all in one breath; "This woman was found murdered."

Elwin's hands trembled as he heard the words. His cheeks drained of color and his jaw dropped slack. He felt as if he had been punched in the stomach, like all the air had been sucked out of him. He opened his mouth to speak but only managed a croaking whisper: "And you think I'm responsible for this?"

The two officers shared a look before one of them finally spoke. "We don't know who's responsible yet, but we do know you were the last person seen with her." Elwin shook his head, insisting they had made a mistake. The officer then pulled out a laptop and opened a CCTV clip. He hit play, and Elwin squinted at the grainy video. "Is this you?" he asked. Elwin peered closer and confirmed it was him - but he had no memory of ever meeting the woman in the footage.

The police officers leaned forward in their chairs and fixed Elwin with skeptical eyes. One of them slowly slid a plastic wallet across the table. Inside was an ID card with his name on it, but Elwin couldn't recall ever losing it.

The officer studied the card with a look of disdain. Wading into this murky situation was like putting his tongue on an electric fence. "We found it near the body," he said finally. Elwin had no clue what to make of it, yet suddenly he felt faint. His palms were sweaty and his jaw quivered as he attempted to say something.

"I... I don't know how that got there," Elwin stammered, his voice shaking. "I never saw this woman before in my life." He swore he knew nothing about her death but the officers remained unconvinced, and now their suspicions had grown deeper.

The officer pushed back his chair and motioned for Elwin to follow him out of the room. He was led down a long hallway lined with cells until they reached one at the end where they stopped. The officer opened the cell door and gestured for Elwin to enter, before closing it shut behind him with a loud clang.

Elwin's head swam with questions as he sat alone in the cold darkness of the cell, trying to piece together what had just happened. He reviewed all the clues and evidence in his mind, but nothing made sense - who was this woman? How did his ID card get there? What did it all mean?

Elwin sighed heavily as he curled up on the hard floor, feeling utterly defeated by the lack of answers and desperate for some way out of this mess. Suddenly, he heard a noise outside his cell door - someone was coming closer! He sprang up from the floor, alert and ready for whatever would come next....

The officers seemed skeptical of Elwin's entire story, and did not give him much time to speak. They escorted him back to the interrogation room. His legs scraped against the concrete floor as they dragged behind him, like tree branches caught up in a river current. Elwin sat down. The cold metal chair made his legs feel numb and heavy with tension and adrenalin. They wanted to his whereabouts on the night of the murder,The officers listened intently as Elwin recounted what he remembered from that night.

Elwin stated that he had been out with friends but he didn't think that they would beable to help them as they had all been drinking heavily. But Elwin did recall an arguement he'd heard between a woman and a bloke, he couldn't say for certain if the woman matched that of the photograph and he didn't see the bloke clearly enough to identify him.

The officers exchanged glances before the same one who had been questioning him spoke again; "Do you recall anything else from that evening which could help us establish your whereabouts?"

Elwin shook his head sadly, before remembering that part of the conversation was something to do with Money he wasn't sure if the man and woman were an item or if they had just met, the bar had been quite full, and he couldn't get close enough to hear to much detail.

Elwin recounted the events of the evening in precise detail, and the officers looked thoroughly impressed at his clear recollection. After discussing the situation, they decided to release him pending further investigation and he would have to come back first thing in the morning to provide fingerprints for elimination or further implication in their investigation. His brow furrowed with determination as Elwin nodded solemnly, agreeing to do whatever it took in order to clear his name and eliminate himself from their investigation.

Elwin shuffled into the police station the next morning, his stomach in knots. He was led down a long hallway to a sterile room with fluorescent lights and metal table. Ink pads were placed out on the tabletop, alongside a magnifying glass and several sheets of paper containing the mysterious fingerprints found at the scene of the crime. Elwin's hands trembled as he pressed his fingertips onto the ink pad one by one, and then transferred them onto the paper. After what felt like an eternity, one of the officers finally announced that none of Elwin's prints matched any of those they had found.

The relief Elwin felt was immense; he knew he had been telling the truth all along. The officers thanked him for his cooperation and apologized for putting him through such a difficult process.

After leaving the station, Elwin reflected on how lucky he had been that his story had been believed and that the evidence had supported it. He vowed to remember this moment as a reminder to always tell the truth no matter how difficult it may be.