Daisy let out a low woof. You need a muzzle.
“Psh.” I rolled my eyes at her. She didn’t even know what I’d said—or what that eel had said to me! He’d started it!
Peter shifted on his feet. “So you knew Bim?”
The guy’s lip curled as he looked the officer up and down. “Yeah. I know Bim. She rents that studio from me.” He jerked his chin toward the door we’d been trying to break into.
“Did you run because you killed her?” Peter’s hard eyes bored into the man.
“What?” Jake’s lips curled and he took a few steps back, his eyes darting between Peter and me. “What is this? Bim’s dead?”
Peter edged closer, and Daisy’s hackles rose. “Maybe she and you were fighting….” He gestured around at the dilapidated place. “Maybe you weren’t taking care of the building like you’re obligated to, so she moved her operation to a new location.”
I pressed my lips together and nodded. That wasn’t a bad theory. It would explain why Bim had been taking photos at the office last night.
“Maybe you killed her”—Peter narrowed his eyes—“to get her to stop complaining. Or out of anger for breaking her lease.”
Jake the Snake (fish food—he had me adding on his awful nickname even in my head) dragged a hand down his face and cupped his chin. “I didn’t kill her.” He shook his head and leaned against the wall. “I didn’t even know she was dead.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Snakes.”
“Do you have an alibi for your whereabouts last night?” Peter and Daisy stared Jake down.
The landlord pressed himself up against the wall to get further away from them. I lifted a brow, slightly impressed that Mr. Upright and Honest could flip the switch and get intimidating. Of course, his enormous hairy beast of a dog helped a little.
“Yeah, course.” Jake’s bare chest heaved, exposed by the fact that he’d left the top five buttons of his shirt undone. “I was here all night.”
“Can someone verify this?” Peter arched a brow.
Jake the Snake nodded, his brow furrowed. “Yeah, look, the place has gotten a little run-down, okay?” He lifted his palms. “I admit it.”
One of the pale lanterns overhead flickered out, casting the dark hallway in even starker shadows.
“Ahem.” He cleared his throat. “Bim and I—yeah, we clashed over the state of the place. All the time, though—this wasn’t anything new.” His dark eyes grew round as he stared up at Peter.
“Final straw was the cockroach infestation.” He shrugged his beefy shoulders. “She said she was moving out—a few other tenants agreed with her, so…” Jake rolled his eyes. “So I took care of it.”
“Took care of it, or her?” I lifted a finger.
He shook his head, eyes wide. “It! I was here all night supervising the exterminator—he led all the bugs out of the building, Pied Piper style.”
I shook my head, lips pressed tight together. Another one of my career options, after the curse, had been something similar. There were witches and wizards who could lure things through song, or by playing the flute—but I could’ve just told the roaches to beat it or they’d get potioned to death.
Still… as annoying as dealing with pets and their helicopter owners was, it was preferable to spending all day with pests.
Jake lifted his palms. “You can check with the exterminator—we was at it all night.”
I nodded. It explained why the place was deadly quiet. Jake, shockingly, seemed to be telling the truth.
Daisy looked up at Peter and whined, her tail swishing. True.
Even the vunder dog agreed.
“Besides.” Jake looked down and toed the threadbare carpet. “Why would I kill Bim? I took care of that hassle she was complaining about.” He looked up. “Why would I kill off a steady, paying tenant, huh?”
Peter watched him a moment longer, then let out a quiet sigh. He seemed to be conceding Jake’s point. “Can you think of anyone else who might have wanted to hurt her? Did you know of any issues with clients, for instance?”
“Nah.” Jake kept his eyes down. “She was a sweet girl, mostly.”
Peter nodded, his eyes distant as he mulled it over. He glanced back up at Jake. “Do you have a master key to her space?” He looked down the hall to door 2B.
“Oh, yeah.” Jake dug around in the pocket of his black jeans and fished out a brass ring packed with keys of all shapes and metals.
“We need you to let us into her studio.”
25
THE DARKROOM
Jake unlocked 2B for us and we stepped inside.
“Ew.” I turned my head and coughed into the crook of my arm as a nauseating cloud of chemicals engulfed us. I scrunched my nose. “Smells like burning hair.”
Daisy sneezed, then shook her head, and Peter cupped a hand over his nose and mouth.
Jake the Snake shrugged his beefy shoulders. “It’s the exterminator potion—he used it to lull the bugs into a trance, I guess?” He thumbed over his shoulder. “Look, I’m here ’cause I gotta start airing dese places out before the tenants move back in tomorrow.” His dark eyes drooped as he looked around Bim’s studio. “Minus one.”
The landlord looked around, then grabbed a black chair and used it to prop open the metal door. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”
Peter nodded, and Jake’s footsteps trailed away down the hall. I moved further into the large space. Bim had created several different areas within the large loft. A black brocade backdrop hung in one corner; another featured a bed with white gauzy drapes. She even had a faux fireplace with a tiger skin rug on the ground in front of it. I lifted a brow. Was that real? I hoped not.
I trailed a fingertip down a long table to my right, passing fuzzy handcuffs, several pairs of shiny black stilettos, and various lacy pieces of lingerie. “Wow. Bim thought of everything.” I glanced over my shoulder and found Peter still near the door, arms crossed
