Page 28 of Nothing Left

There was a stunned silence in the room as the two young women processed this bombshell.

"Did the other woman really stab her friend?" Evette asked in a small voice. "I mean, why would she do that?"

Our thoughts exactly, Juliette empathized.

"Your name?" she asked the tawny-haired woman.

"I'm Janice. We're both here on a working holiday. We're waitressing at night and then studying part-time. But I had no idea about this."

"Me, either," Evette said. "That's just terrible. I mean, was it a break-in, or what happened?"

"It's still unclear, which is why we need to ask around, Juliette said. “Were you at home on that night?"

"No, neither of us was home. I was away. My cousin came to Spain, so I went to Madrid to spend a couple of days with her. I only got back late last night," Evette said.

"I was working that night and then spent the night with my boyfriend. He's a chef at the restaurant," Janice said.

Their absence from the apartment building, Juliette guessed, was the reason why the local police hadn't taken statements from them as yet. They hadn't been around at all on the night of the crime. But did they have more to share?

"Did you know if any of the other neighbors complained about the noise from that apartment? Did you notice anything strange or unusual when you left or came home?" Juliette tried.

"I know there are some neighbors who seem to complain about everything," Evette said. "Some of them don't like it that a lot of students have moved in. Particularly the couple on the other side of where those two women live. They've had shouting matches with a lot of the students. It's a husband and wife, and I think the husband works unusual hours and gets very angry when it’s noisy or he can't get his sleep," she said. "But I don't know his name."

"That is very helpful anyway, Juliette said, feeling like they were getting a good picture of the situation and the possible tensions that had flared.

"And, of course, there's that creepy guy from upstairs," Janice said. "I don't think he likes students much."

Evette frowned. "Yes, there is him."

Juliette glanced at Wyatt.

"Tell us more about the creepy guy?" Wyatt asked.

"He's always lurking around, watching people. He just gives off a weird vibe," Janice said, shuddering.

"He's never said anything to us, but we've seen him quite often enough that we look out for him and try to avoid him. The one time, I thought he followed me when I left the building," Evette added.

"Can you describe him?" Juliette asked.

"He's tall, maybe six foot, with dark hair and a mustache," Janice said.

"Do you know his name or which apartment he lives in?" Juliette pressed.

"He lives on the top floor, I think," Janice said. "I don't know his name."

"You think so? I thought he lived on our floor," Evette said. "But yeah, he's definitely a creep, for sure." Then she glanced anxiously at Juliette. "Please don't tell him we said anything about him. I'd hate for him to come and stalk us as payback."

The words were said in a tone that convinced Juliette that Evette was not joking.

"How long have you lived here?" Wyatt asked.

"We've been here a year and a half," Evette said.

"And the creepy guy you mentioned? Is he new here?"

Now Evette frowned. "That’s a good question. I think he is, yes, because I first saw him about a month ago. He was just suddenly around, and one of those people you ended up seeing most times you went out."

"About a month, yes," Janice agreed. “That’s how long I’ve been noticing him.”

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