‘You’d think so, wouldn’t you?’ said the estate agent, giving Sarah a shrug and opening the door.
They climbed a shabby staircase that ran up the side of the building. Sarah tried to hide her shock at seeing the front door. There was a splintered dent at the bottom, a boot mark in the middle, and the tangled remains of police tape hanging down the side.
‘My God, what happened here?’
‘Ah, yes, sorry, I should’ve mentioned that. The previous tenant got into a bit of bother with the police. Drugs.’
‘Why the police tape?’
‘An unhappy customer assaulted the man, put him in hospital. Hence the crime scene. Right, let’s get you inside.’
If anything, the inside of the flat was worse than the outside. Devoid of furniture, the rooms were a decent size, but that was the only positive Sarah could find. A lingering smell of cigarette smoke hung in the air, the walls a telltale yellow colour. The frayed, dirty carpet housed a suspicious stain covering the middle of the living room floor.
‘Is that where…?’ asked Sarah, pointing to the stain.
The estate agent shuffled his feet, whilst wringing his hands. ‘Yes, well, it’s possible, although it could be a red wine stain.’
Sarah looked at him in horror. ‘The landlord didn’t think it would be a good idea to change the carpets?’
The estate agent coughed. ‘Shall we look at the kitchen?’
‘I think I’ve seen enough,’ said Sarah, leading the estate agent out of the flat. ‘How much did you say they’re charging in rent?’
‘Seven hundred a month.’
‘Including bills?’
‘Um, no.’
Sarah felt her positive mood slipping through her fingers. ‘Shall we go to the next one?’
‘Yes, of course. It’s only a couple of streets away. Are you all right to walk?’
‘Yes, that’s fine.’
The estate agent made awkward small talk as they walked the short distance to the next flat. ‘Right, here we are,’ he said, pulling out a set of keys.
Sarah looked up at the building in front of her. It was a definite improvement on the last place. The house was part of a nineteen seventies terrace. Some houses in the row even had pots of flowers outside. ‘At least there’s no police tape here,’ said Sarah.
The estate agent gave a nervous chuckle. ‘Now, it’s the ground-floor flat, so no stairs this time.’
‘And the listing said it has a garden?’
‘A yard, yes.’
‘Great, let’s have a look.’
The estate agent unlocked the front door, then paused before letting Sarah in. ‘I think I told you, but this flat has lain empty for quite some months. An elderly gentleman occupied it, so it may require a bit of imagination to see its full potential.’
A ball of dread settled in Sarah’s stomach. ‘Let’s just get in there, shall we?’ Sarah followed the estate agent inside. Their hands flew to their noses. ‘My God, what is that smell?’ The previous flat smelled like roses compared to this one.
‘I think the previous tenant had cats…’
‘How many cats?’
‘A few…’
‘And no litter tray if this smell is anything to go by. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to see any more. I need to get out of here.’
