Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
“She may not be home.” Duke glanced at his watch.
“It’s one. Prime time to be in someone’s home, doing her job.
” He glanced up at the three-story brick apartment complex.
The wood slat shingles that hung well past the windows of the top floor screamed seventies design.
Brick crumbles lay scattered around the perimeter.
“Needs an update.” She pushed the toe of her boot into a huge crack in the concrete step just outside the front door.
“This place has been owned by the same person since they first got their real estate license. So long ago that my parents told me about the party they had here when it was completed. There’s a pool in the back, but it hasn’t been filled in at least a decade,” Duke said.
She didn’t miss her apartment. It hadn’t been a place of excitement when she moved into it on her own, and she still couldn’t sleep well, even with all four locks engaged. She shook her head slightly to shake the thought loose. This wasn’t about her.
Inside, the low-pile carpet was a dull brown.
Worn tracks had formed over time. There was no security door.
A square area of the hallway offered the option of going up either the right-angled staircase or the left, both meeting at the same landing just above them.
One wide staircase in the middle led down.
To the far left and right were halls to the main floor apartments.
“She lives on the third floor.” Duke pointed up.
She followed him up the right-side staircase to room 306. He knocked three times, then three again. Ferd shifted her weight. Her hip throbbed walking in heels, but she wasn’t going to wear running shoes to suspect interviews. The ladies on television never did.
The door swung open. A dark-haired young woman in leggings and a slouchy long-sleeved tee jumped back, her eyes wide. She dug an earbud from her ear, blasting the hall with music. “Yo, what are you doing outside my apartment?” She glared at them.
“Knocking.” Duke frowned, his hand still up, ready to knock again. He paused for a moment, then dug out his badge and held it up. “Can we talk to you for a minute? It’s about Bailey Nosboum.”
“I was just heading to his place. Is something wrong?” Her brows shot up and already round eyes widened.
Was she really curious, or had she already heard the news and wanted to be the first to tell everyone new information from the police?
“We’re investigating his death,” Duke said.
Bingo. She didn’t even flinch.
“Oh, I see. Then I guess I have two hours.” She backed away a few steps and let them inside. “That’s how long it usually took me to clean his place.”
The place didn't exactly inspire confidence in her cleaning business. Kelly’s apartment was clearly not her statement piece. Kelly scooped piles of laundry off the sofa and tossed them on the floor so Duke and Ferd could sit. The sofa creaked loudly under their weight.
“I didn’t know him well, if that’s what you want to know. In fact, he usually wasn’t even there while I cleaned.”
She popped her gum extra loud, reached for an open energy drink on the table and fumbled it, sending the oddly rose-colored liquid flowing toward the floor.
“Oh, man, I’m sorry.” She jumped to her feet, grabbed a dingy towel and sopped up the growing spill.
“You didn’t know him well? We’ve talked to others who say they heard everything they know about him from you. Where would they get the impression that you know him well?” Duke pulled out his phone and opened the notes app.
She stilled her movements as the towel dripped back onto the table. “Uhhh, I’m not sure. Who did you talk to?” She slowly patted the table while focusing on them.
“A few people. All of them said you were the one who told them he was a drunk all the time. If you never saw him, how did you know that?” He set his phone on his leg and focused on her.
Her hand stilled then she sat back against the sofa, straight in her seat. “I never said he was drunk. I don’t know who would tell you I said that. They lied.” Kelly looked away her cheeks turning a little pink.
Ferd leaned closer. “Did you ever see anything in his apartment that would lead you to believe he struggled with alcohol abuse?” She focused on keeping her face relaxed. No judgement. Calling Kelly a liar now would make her clam up. They needed whatever she could tell them.
“Well . . .” She squirmed. “He had a lot of beer cans that I cleaned up every week. I never saw him drink them and as far as I know, he didn’t have friends. So, who else could have left them?” She looked between the two of them but landed on Ferd. “You would believe the same, wouldn’t you?”
Ferd didn’t answer her question. “Is it possible he knew people or had friends over who you didn’t know about?”
She shifted in her seat and avoided eye contact. “I suppose. I was only there once a week and during the day, so he was at work.
He shrugged a shoulder. “Did you ever see anything in his apartment that made you question why it was there? Drugs? Electronics? Anything?”
Kelly frowned. “Bailey hated drugs. That was his one rule for me when he hired me. No drugs. Ever. Not in his apartment or parking lot. He told me if he found out I was doing anything, he’d fire me.
I didn’t love the guy or anything, but he always left me a nice tip from the week before, so I wasn’t about to risk losing that money.
I didn’t do anything wrong. Gossip isn’t a crime. ”
Her statements matched what they’d found in the preliminary examination of Bailey’s apartment.
While there had been enough cocaine in the hull of his boat to land federal charges, his apartment was completely clean.
Not even a full can of beer, much less an empty one.
No prescriptions. The hardest thing Bailey had in his medicine cabinet was Icy Hot.
Ferd lowered her voice and kept her tone neutral. “Is it safe to say that it’s possible he was misjudged for drinking?”
Kelly frowned. “Maybe . . . but those cans had to come from somewhere. He did go to the bar once a week, too. At first, I was mad about cleaning up all of them after what he’d said to me.
Then, he left me tips, so I got over it.
” She looked back and forth between them. “Am I in trouble, or are we done?”
Tips? He was able to have a cleaning lady and tip her? “One last thing. What was he doing all day while you were here?” Ferd asked.
She looked between them quickly and popped her gum like a gunshot. “He worked for a logging company in Cottonwood Bluff. The poplars grow pretty fast. They plant whole sections, then harvest them to sell. He told me about it before he applied for the job.”
“I wasn’t aware there was a paper mill around here, or is it mainly for logging?” Ferd asked Duke.
Duke shrugged, then stood and pulled his card from his pocket. “We’re done for now. If you think of anything more, please call me.”
Ferd held out her hand to shake. As soon as Kelly took it, Ferd held on a moment longer than necessary. “Hey, quick question. We heard a rumor he was seeing a woman from Cottonwood. Any idea who she is?”
Kelly’s mouth dropped open. “He was seeing someone?” She yanked her hand free and backed away a few steps. “No. I don’t know her. Excuse me.” She whipped around and dashed deeper into the apartment and slammed her bedroom door behind her.