Lou was on the verge of telling the child to run away and have that be the end of it — the boy likely wouldn't tell anyone what he'd seen, if he was as scared as he looked, and even then it was unlikely he'd be able to give a good description of Lou to anyone who would matter. The arrival of another adult in the alley complicated matters significantly, and Lou drew back into the shadows, though he wasn't quick enough to slip his cloak back on before the other man saw him. The way that he'd made a beeline for the child suggested, at least to Lou, that perhaps he knew the boy, and that complicated matters, too.

He contemplated just apparating away, but if he did then the other man would think he had had something to do with the death, and being chased for a murder he hadn't committed was hardly how Lou had pictured starting out his career as a detective. "Of course not," he said quickly. "I only saw it happen."