Aydar Salimov (Apt #203)

Following his failure to find anything of substance in Rose’s apartment, Aydar found himself disheartened. He was frustrated at himself for making so many mistakes. Even through his meeting with Stephanie Greene was comforting, it was nice to have someone else to share theories with, he still felt stupid. After all, the rose in question wasn’t Pittus, it was Dorothy. It made perfect sense. She was constantly sneaking around with her camera, taking photos, asking questions. But, despite their conviction that Dorothy had something to do with the murder, Stephanie and Aydar’s fixation on her whereabouts had lead to no new discoveries. Just last night, as Aydar had sat outside of Dorothy’s apartment, his ear pressed to the door frame, he was startled by the sounds of a conversation inside. So he sat there, eavesdropping. Aydar was pretty sure that Dorothy lived alone, so the conversation puzzled him. Nevertheless, the snippets he overheard were boring, mundane at best. “Coffee grinds....

When he first met her by the carousel, her mind seemed to be elsewhere. As she scanned the crowd, as if looking for someone, Aydar approached her nervously. Perhaps it was his desperate search for an answer that brought him to her or perhaps it was the loneliness that had moved into his apartment upon his arrival in this town. “Hello Rose,” he said quietly. She turned at the sound of her name and motioned him towards a less populated area of the carnival. After handing her a wad of bills, they turned and headed for the exit. They walked in silence for a few minutes, the carnival getting smaller and smaller in the distance. “Why Rose?” Aydar blurted out suddenly. Rose smirked, “My parents wanted me to be perfect and beautiful, just like the rose.” Aydar thought about her answer for a moment. “Do they know about…?” he began before trailing off. Rose shook her head and kept walking. “How long have you…?” he started again. Rose looked at him, her eyebrows knitted together. It was bec...