Private investigator

Lonely

Katya worked all day on Elliot's murder with the police. She had a particular knowledge about the mafia that was needed for this case, so they accepted her help. Looking closely into Mr. Mattel's finances, going back to when he started his toy company in 1945, they saw that he received huge amounts of money from untraceable accounts. Surely he wasn't able to pay back the lender, who decided to take him out. What didn't make sense was that the threatening letter was not about that, not clearly at least. Besides, the killer could have robbed the house to cover the loan he gave, but they didn't touch a thing. Katya concluded that the murder must have been done by a henchman who did not know the details and had no revenge to take. She wanted to talk more with Beatrice to know if her husband had been stressed out lately, if he met with unusual people... So she called the widow, who told her to come around 5 pm the next day.

Katya arrived on time and she settled in the living room with Beatrice. The woman was wearing all black, but she seemed to feel better than the day before.

"I must say that Elliot didn't talk to me a lot about his job... He had a secretary who handled all his meetings, and he never received people from work at home. Sometimes he would argue with someone over the phone, and he might have been doing this more frequently lately, but I don't really know." Beatrice said and took a sip of tea.
"Mhm... And what about his behavior? Any changes in that? Was he tired, angry?" Katya asked, taking notes.
"My husband was kind of hot headed... He easily got furious, when he was frustrated he could become quite aggressive. But he would calm down quickly. I don't think he was in a good mood on his last day, he spent the entire day sighing and cursing under his breath at his desk."

Katya nodded and saw Mrs. Mattel pull her sleeves down.
"Okay, thank you for your answers. Do you mind if I search around the office?"
"No, you can go. But I don't think I can ever be in that room again." The blonde replied. She set her cup down and looked at Katya.

"Alright, I understand. I'll be quick."
Katya stood up from the sofa and walked to the room. She opened every drawer and searched for any suspicious document. Katya found a safe behind a pile of books, and she asked Beatrice for the key. Inside laid two files; one was a testament which Elliot wrote on the day of his wedding with Beatrice, and the other was empty. The widow had no idea what it could have held, and Katya assumed the killer's name was certainly indicated in the file before its content was stolen.

"Thank you again Mrs. Mattel. We will solve this case as soon as possible so your mind can be at peace." The private investigator said while getting ready to leave.
"I appreciate your dedication. The funeral will be held Friday at 10 am, at St Mary church."
"I'll be there. Good bye."

Katya shared all the new information with the police and studied the profiles of mafia members she knew to establish who was in town on the night of the murder. A day later she got down to three names, and one of them was too high up in the hierarchy to do a simple kill like that. She was satisfied with her work and would tell Beatrice about the progress the next day, at the burial.

When Katya arrived at the church she was surprised to see it was almost empty. Beatrice was alone in the front row, and some of Elliot's family members and colleagues were sat on the other side of the main alley. Katya sat down a few benches behind the widow and the ceremony started. Once done, they went outside and the blonde threw a rose on her late husband's coffin before two men covered it with soil. Beatrice sobbed, then turned around and scurried away. Katya followed her out of worry, and she found the woman on a bench behind the church, holding a tissue under her nose. She approached slowly and saw Mrs. Mattel's body shudder.

"May I sit with you? Or do you want to be alone?" Katya asked, keeping her distance. Beatrice looked up, her eyes were red and her mascara was runny.
"You can come" She sniffed, and stayed silent for a minute before she began speaking.
"I'm scared for the future. Now that Elliot is gone I have no one. No family, no friends, nobody. I don't have anyone to cook for, to wait for at the end of the day, to kiss goodbye in the morning. My life's empty. Sure I have Niles, but as nice as he is he's still my butler." The blonde confessed.
"Oh... It is clear you'll need time to adapt to your new lifestyle. But you must not stay locked up in your house all day. You're young, you have to go out and meet new people." Katya advised, in hopes of cheering up the widow.
"I don't know if I can do that. I am not outgoing at all. I never had friends since I met Elliot, which goes back to my teen years." Beatrice shrugged.

Katya tilted her head at the last sentence, which depicted another example of how poorly Elliot treated his wife. It felt like she was some sort of object to leave at home during the workday for him. "I'll be your friend." Katya said and faced Beatrice.
"Please no, don't pity me. Oh god, I am miserable. I need to go back home." She replied while standing up hurriedly.
"No, wait, Mrs. Mattel. I want to be your friend, I'm not doing charity. Let's go out together, how about the museum. It will help to make you think about something else." Katya went on.

Beatrice's frown softened, she considered the proposal for a moment. She eventually decided to accept it, Katya's smile was too bright to turn her down. "This sounds nice. Thank you, Miss Zamo. When would it be?"
"Sunday at 3 pm? I can come to pick you up. And please call me Katya."
"Perfect. You can also call me by my name" Beatrice smiled.

Katya linked arms with her and led the widow to her car. She greeted Niles and they drove away, which Katya did too right after. She was happy to help make Beatrice feel better, and looked forward to seeing her two days later.

Katya opted for beige slacks and a white shirt with ruffles on the chest. She applied her red lipstick and fluffed up her hair quickly before going to Beatrice's place. When she arrived the woman was in the doorway, smiling. She was wearing a yellow midi dress patterned with flowers, small white heels and a matching purse. Katya was in awe, Beatrice was effulgent and she wasn't even trying. Her hair was loose and shiny, and Katya wanted to run her hands through it badly. She knew it was dangerous to get close to a woman whom she found so attractive, only seeing Beatrice made Katya's body warm up. Nevertheless she did not mind admiring the blonde knowing that she could never feel the same way about her. Katya opened the passenger's door for Beatrice and then settled behind the wheel. She drove them to the MoMA, a contemporary art museum that she already visited several times. From their small talk in the car Katya learned that Beatrice never went to a museum before. It was a shame, but made Katya even more excited to show the girl each artwork and explain everything she knew about them.

Soon they stepped inside and began walking around, Beatrice's arm intertwined with Katya's. They were getting judgmental stares from a lot of people, since Katya was wearing pants and standing beside the blonde like a man would do. But Beatrice was too focused on the art pieces to notice and Katya didn't want to disturb their moment, so she stayed in the same place.

"This was so interesting Katya, thank you for bringing me here. I'm impressed by how cultured you are" Beatrice praised once they had seen every art pieces.
"I'm glad you had a great time. And don't give me too much credit, it's only basic knowledge. But I liked sharing it with you. There is a cafe upstairs, should we go?" Katya proposed. Trixie nodded with a smile and let herself be lead by her friend.

The two women sat face to face and ordered drinks, which Beatrice paid. Katya wanted to since the blonde also bought the tickets, but she insisted that it was fine. After all she just inherited a million dollar company.

"Are you moving forward in the case?" Beatrice asked. They had chatted about lighter subjects, however it was now quiet and the woman wanted to know.
"The police is tracking down the two men I've talked to you about. They will be prosecuted, don't worry" Katya replied, and slid her right hand close to Beatrice's.
"Okay. I just want all of this to be over." Mrs. Mattel sighed. She moved her hand on top of Katya's and kept her gaze down.
"I understand. It's only a matter of time, and I'll wait with you." The private investigator affirmed. She turned her hand around and held Beatrice's soft palm, then gave it a light squeeze. They made eye contact and both smiled shyly.