An elderly couple are arguing in the living room of their downtown ninth floor apartment. The overwrought husband heads for the coat closet to retrieve his shotgun.

Meanwhile, a young man on the tenth floor has decided to end his life. He dives out the window for what he believes will be a life-ending act. It is. As the young man’s falling body passes the ninth floor window a shot rings out, striking the young man in the head.

Split seconds later the lifeless body lands in a safety net set up at the eighth floor level to protect bricklayers working on the edge of the roof.

The police have multiple options here. Death seemed certain for the young guy who dove out the tenth floor window. He didn’t know a safety net was in place at the eighth floor level.

Back to the ninth floor. The old guy and his wife say they argue all the time and he always threatens her with a shotgun — an unloaded shotgun. But the cops say this shotgun was loaded — hence the dead guy.

During interviews it’s learned that the older woman had recently cut her son Ronnie out of her will. From the old guy, cops learn that Ronnie had asked his father numerous times to shoot his mother during one of their numerous fights. Each time dad refused, so son Ronnie decides to load the gun secretly with the hope that during the next argument his dad will (mistakenly) shoot and kill his mother.

Looking at it one way — you can say that Ronnie was really the killer here. He’s the guy that loaded the gun and had a murderous intent.

Then the coroner comes forth with the dead man’s identification — it’s Ronnie — the good-for-nothing- son who tried to have his mom murdered. In a way, Ronnie had himself killed.

It’s all very confusing until, finally, the case is cleared by the medical examiner. His ruling: death by suicide.