Outright denials. Botched interrogations. Fistfights. Ever since Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, the Kingdom has given all kinds of explanations about what happened and who is responsible. And then, in an early Saturday morning announcement, Saudi Arabia confirmed for the first time that Khashoggi is dead. They say he died after an argument and fistfight with unidentified men in the consulate. It’s the latest in a series of changing narratives from Saudi authorities. First, Saudi Arabia said Khashoggi left the consulate and expressed concern about his well-being. Government-aligned Turkish media said he was brutally murdered by 15 Saudi hitmen. They even released their names and images. Saudi Arabia then started pushing back. In two statements, it denounced “baseless allegations” and called them “lies.” As the accusations and evidence mounted, the Saudis started getting more forceful in their denials. And their messages took on a threatening tone. Like in this tweet from the Foreign Ministry, saying, “Demise is the outcome of these weak endeavors.” The tweet was mysteriously deleted the next day. “As of this moment, they deny it.” When Trump said there would be — “And there will be severe punishment.” Saudi Arabia lashed out, saying it rejected threats. More reports continued to come out. Some of them were grisly. “On the recordings, you can hear Khashoggi was ‘detained when he entered, killed and dismembered.’ One official saying, ‘You can hear how he was interrogated, tortured and murdered.’” That’s when the Saudis seemed to be testing out an eyebrow-raising theory, and using President Trump to help sell it. “It sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers — who knows?” Then, yet another twist. Sources close to Saudi Arabia started teasing the idea that, yes, Khashoggi was dead, but it was because of an interrogation gone wrong. But they also continued to maintain the king and crown prince had no knowledge of it. The Saudis say they’re investigating. And when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Saudi Arabia, there were smiles and pleasantries. It looked like business as usual. But after the head-spinning stories about a suspected gory murder by a key U.S. ally, it was anything but.