I don't think I'd agree to lie. About the only thing I'd agree to is to tell the inquirer to ask the landlord, and let HIM lie.

When I was in the Air Force, in Korea, there was a young man whose boss let him go home early because he wasn't feeling well. It was on a Fri, I think. Anyway, when nobody heard from him, folks from his office went to his apartment, got the landlord to unlock the door and found him dead in what can only be described as a blood-chilling hell-on-earth. They asked my office (Public Health) to investigate because food-borne illness was a possibility. My boss and a couple of the younger folks went, while the body and the military police were still there. My boss couldn't sleep for about two weeks. The younger folks were ok - maybe because they didn't identify as much with the dead person or maybe they were just better at covering up their reactions.

I didn't sleep for a while either. I kept replaying what I imagined his last moments to be like. Why didn't he call for help? If it had been me, I would have opened the door and crawled into the hallway. Maybe he was embarrased by the mess? Maybe he thought his condition wasn't that serious and everything would be alright if he just rested for a while? Maybe he thought someone would check on him before they did? I don't know. He was gone, and everybody involved was probably seeing themselves in the same situation and wondering. I don't think about it much because all those questions are still alive in my mind along with all the meanderings of my imagination.