“Not that we saw. Certainly no stab wounds.”
“Strange,” Ella said. She glanced over at Paige, huddled in the corner. It was almost like a mirrored version of herself from a year ago.
“The coroner will be able tell you more. I believe the feds are fast-tracking this one through the system so you’ll have your answers in around an hour.”
“Excellent. Could we speak to the landlord?” asked Ella.
“Yeah. Follow me.”
Reed led them back into the living room, then out into the corridor. Two men, both in red work shirts, were standing at the end of the hallway. One had a cigarette in his hand and his head stuck out of the window.
“I’ll take it from here,” Ella told Reed. She summoned Paige over to the two gentlemen who both regarded her with suspicious eyes. “Good afternoon. I’m Agent Dark and this is Agent Ellis. Which one of you discovered the victim?”
“Both of us,” the window smoker shrugged. “But it’s me who owns the place.”
“And your name?”
“Larry Bilston. This here’s my brother.” He flicked his cigarette out of the window.
“Brian,” the other man chimed in, like a brooding henchman selective with his words.
“I’m sorry we’re meeting under such circumstances,” Ella said. “This must have been quite a shock.”
Larry shrugged and then rubbed his neck. “Nothing surprises me with this girl.”
It was a fool’s game to speak ill of the recently deceased, especially ones who died under suspicious circumstances. “How do you mean?” Ella asked.
“She was a cowboy. Silver-tongued, but as soon as you let her in it was pistols at dawn.”
“Teri was unreliable?” Paige asked.
“Very much so. Promised me the world but then never made a single rent payment. I know that makes me sound like an asshole, but sometimes you gotta just be honest, right?”
Ella brushed the comment off, saving it in the back of her mind for future reference. “Can you talk us through what happened? Why did you come here today? How did you find the victim?”
“I came here for my damn money. I’ve been coming and going for two weeks now, never seen any sign of this woman. I gave her an eviction warning. Nothing. So I drilled out the lock and barged my way in.”
“And you brought your brother with you?” Paige asked.
“I know we’re in the land of the free, but apparently you need a witness to break into your own property these days. That’s why he’s here. He filmed it all so I could cover my ass. Plus, I didn’t know if this chick was running drugs or what. Bri was the muscle in case anything kicked off.”
Ella noted it all down. It wasn’t unreasonable.
“Then you walked in and found her like this?” she asked.
“Yup. Nothing else to really add.”
Paige began inspecting the doorframe wreckage. Ella had a few more questions.
“You didn’t have a spare key for this place?” she asked.
“Not allowed. Tenant’s agreement states the landlord can’t hold any spare keys. Something to do with privacy.”
“What can you tell us about Teri? Do you know anyone who might want to do this? Or maybe anyone who has a vendetta against you?”
Larry held his palms up. “The only thing I knew about that girl is her name. I haven’t got a clue what she did for work or anything like that. And me? Doubt it? I’m a Goddamn saint.”
Ella doubted it, but she had to take the man at his word. “You didn’t get her employment history when you took her in?”