He turns as we enter, startled. ‘Well, the last thing I expected was the police,’ he says.
‘Mr Logan?’ I ask.
He laughs. ‘No, miss. But I’d like to know where he is.’
‘What do you mean?’ I ask.
‘We show up for work one morning, and everything is shut. No boss. We kept coming back for a week, then realised he was gone. The place was still locked up.’
‘Did you work on the house on Millwall Lane?’ Dario asks.
He nods. ‘Last job we did. Good one, too. I saw the story on the news. Terrible business.’
‘Do you remember the basement?’ I ask.
He gives me a strange look. ‘Of course. I helped renovate it.’
‘Was it furnished when you left?’
‘Furnished? Nah. It was meant to be a gym.’
‘No bed or couches?’ asks Dario.
‘Don’t tell me they turned it into a brothel,’ he says, and chuckles, his voice raspy from too much smoking.
‘Were all the keys returned?’ Dario asks.
‘Oh yeah. The wife was funny about that. Had them all counted. I heard she changed the locks afterwards, too.’
‘Do you know where we can contact Mr Logan?’ I ask, coughing from the smoke.
‘No idea. After the Neal woman disappeared, he paid us and vanished. Maybe they ran off together. Stranger things happen. Have you found her body yet?’
‘We ask the questions,’ I say. ‘When did you last see him?’
He scratches his head. ‘Must’ve been when he paid us. Haven’t seen him since.’
‘Do you have his address?’
‘Never needed it. So no.’
Dario glances around. ‘So why are you clearing the office?’
‘I’m not. I’m looking for my CV and references. I need work now. I’ve got a key, don’t worry, I’ll lock up.’
‘We’ll wait,’ Dario says. ‘Then we’ll take the key.’
The cigarette stench is unbearable, so I step outside. After a few minutes, Dario joins me.
‘We need a warrant,’ he says.
***
We trace Logan to a one-bedroom flat in Cowley. But he has gone and the flat is now available to rent. The landlord says Logan hasn’t paid his rent for the previous month and is now uncontactable.
‘He broke the lease. Haven’t seen him in weeks. Maybe he moved back in with his ex,’ he suggests.
‘Do you have her address?’
