A Killer's Mind (Zoe Bentley Mystery #1)(42)

“That’s nice,” Zoe said. She had only met two guys at college, and both had turned out to be crappy boyfriends.

“Have a seat, please,” Daniella said, nodding at the one couch in the room. Zoe and Tatum sat, and she set their cups of coffee on a low round table that stood next to the couch. For a moment, Zoe thought Daniella would sit on the couch between them, an awkward arrangement for questioning, even more so since the couch was a two-seater. But to her relief, Daniella walked back into the kitchen and returned with a small chair on which she sat, facing them both.

“I saw in the news that they found another victim,” she said. “That’s so scary. I don’t dare leave home after dark now, and I check that the door is locked at least four times a day. Are you any closer to catching this guy?”

“We’re making progress,” Tatum said. “Can we ask a few questions about Susan?”

“Sure. Whatever I can do to help. Hang on; maybe my boyfriend can answer some questions too. He met Susan a couple of times.”

“Sure,” Tatum said.

“Ryan!” Daniella shouted, and Zoe’s teeth gritted at the piercing sound. “Can you come here a sec?”

A tall, wide-shouldered man with rich black hair came from the bedroom. “Yeah? Oh, hello,” he said, noticing Zoe and Tatum. “Sorry, I was wearing my headphones. Didn’t hear you come in.”

“Ryan, these are Special Agents Gray and Bentley. They’re here to ask some questions about Susan. Want to join us?”

“Sure,” Ryan said. “Anything to help.” He looked around, searching for a place to sit down. Eventually he grabbed another chair from the kitchen and sat down with them.

Zoe sipped from her coffee cup, the taste jolting her. Seemed like Daniella loved everything strong and intense. She watched Tatum as he began questioning Susan’s friend.

“How long did you know Susan?”

“I met her about a year before she was killed. Maybe a bit more,” Daniella said. “But Ryan only met her after we started dating. So he only knew her for a couple of months.”

“Right,” Ryan said. “She was nice.”

“Were you two good friends?”

“Yes,” Daniella said, her voice softening. “She was my best friend. And I think I was hers too. She didn’t have many friends.”

“Why not?”

“Oh, she was a quiet type, you know? Always preferred to stay home and study or paint. She didn’t go out much.”

“So she didn’t ordinarily invite many people to her place.”

“No, not at all. And her apartment was even smaller than mine. She couldn’t really have large gatherings there, you know?”

“Did she date?”

“A bit. She went through a big breakup two years before she . . . died. Never got over him, really.”

“Did she date anyone just before she died?”

“No. I don’t think she had any dates in the six months before she died. At least, nothing she talked about.”

“Did she seem worried about anything or anyone? Can you think of any man who knew her and might have . . . bothered her?”

“No. I don’t think she even had any male friends.”

“Any male relatives? A cousin? A brother?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Didn’t she have an uncle living nearby?” Ryan said. “I’m pretty sure she mentioned him once or twice.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Zoe nodded. Susan did have an uncle in Chicago. He was seventy and in a wheelchair. But he was on the list, and someone was bound to talk to him soon.

“Did she mention any of her neighbors?” Tatum continued.

“No.”

A plethora of negatives. Zoe sighed and intervened. “When was the last time you saw her?”

“Uh, a week before . . . before she disappeared. I went over to visit her.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Just the usual. Studies. Art. Guys. She said she wanted to move out.”

“Did she say why?”

“Oh, yeah. Tons of reasons. The apartment was crap. The insulation was terrible; the place was freezing cold in the winter. I remember she mentioned that. What else?”

“There was a real problem with moisture and mold on the walls,” Ryan said. “It was really serious.”

Daniella nodded. “Right. It even ruined some of her paintings once. Oh, and the sewage kept backing up. One time it actually flooded the apartment. We had to go there with Ryan’s van and get her furniture to a storage facility until the place dried up.”

“Yeah. We just threw away the carpet,” Ryan added. “Also, the landlord was an asshole—”

“An asshole how?” Tatum asked.

“He kept dodging her when she needed stuff,” Daniella said. “She had to pay for the sewage thing herself once. And a real bastard when he needed the rent. Kept threatening to raise it too.”

“Do you know his name?”

“No.”

Zoe and Tatum exchanged looks. It was likely that the detectives had already checked the landlord, but Zoe made a mental note to make sure.

“Anything else you can think of?” Tatum asked.