“MR. RUSSELL, COULD YOU please tell us what you saw on the Burke-Gilman Trail that night?”
“I’m sorry, Officer, I was really drunk. I barely remember anything from that night.”
“You were with a group of friends?”
“Yeah, we’d just come from one party and were headed for another.”
“One of your friends said you all ran into, how did she say it, a shadow carrying a white guy on his shoulder. That sounds pretty memorable to me. She said you talked to this so-called shadow.”
“I don’t remember, Officer. I mean, I just don’t remember.”
“What did this shadow look like?”
“I don’t remember. I remember long hair. But that’s it. I don’t think any of my friends remember much, do they?”
“It’s pretty sketchy.”
“Officer, can I be honest?”
“That’s what we want you to be.”
“Well, you see, there was this fog that night. Not like a real fog. But something else was happening, you know? It’s like when you get real drunk and nothing seems real. You know how that feels? Well, it was like that, except worse. It was like everything was turned around. Up was down, left was right. I mean, I started looking at my friend Darren and thinking he was pretty damn cute. It was like everything went contrary, you know?”
“Did you take any drugs that night?”
“No, Officer. I was just drunk. And I know this sounds crazy. But you know what I think? I think I don’t remember anything about that night because somebody wants me not to remember.”