La Melange

I smell her perfume before I see her. Despite being sickeningly sweet, it does a poor job of disguising the odor of sweat underneath. 

"Sorry for making you wait" the lady, who I assume is Reese, says. She strolls to the seat next to me, aiming for an air of nonchalance, though clearly in vain.

Her hair is ruffled from the wind and heat is rolling off of her. If that wasn't an indicator enough of her running, it would be the sweat beading her forehead.

"It's all right," I say. I push aside my crossed out paper. After all, I did call her in the middle of the night to an open bar. I shouldn't have thought she'd turn up. But the matter was of grave importance, and I didn't have time to think it over before I called her. 

"Hello?" I said. I could make out the deafening beat of music and a distorted voice, a party, but I didn't have the patience for a response. "Miss Reese, can you meet me at La Mélange?"

The music eased and the voice was stronger; she must've gone outside. 

"-ello? Yeah. I'm sorry could you repeat that again?"

I did, to which there was an answering silence. "Now?" she questioned, unsure and hesitant. I couldn't have any of that. 

"It's about your case, Miss Reese, nothing else. I have received a piece of information I must tell you. Urgently. Confidentially."

There was another pregnant pause before she sighed and agreed, telling me she'd be there in a minute.

 It had been forty minutes since that conversation.

She adjusts her knee-length red dress as she sits next to me, and runs a stick over her already glossed lips. As she makes herself comfortable, I look around the place. 

It's a quiet area, but then again, it's just a little past the dead of night. The bartender means business, now busy serving a slumped man on the next table. The slumped man is wearing a hat and a black coat, his shoulders are narrow. He is the only other customer other than me and Miss Reese. 

"So, my case," she reminds, with steepled fingers.

I wonder...

I discretely point to the slumped man. 

"That man. I followed him all the way here. He's the one that got your mother killed." I hear her gasp, but I'm not quite finished yet. "And... I have found out that he was sent by your father."

Miss Reese looks horrified, as though she's about to start retching at moment's notice. Her skin has turned pale and

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her eyes are so wide, one could see the whites of it. With her drained skin, I see a building regret. I scoff. I should have guessed.

"Are you alright, miss?" I try, and her attention snaps back to me. She somewhat collects herself.

"Ah yes. It's just my mother's death. The reminder of it..."

"Must be painful."

"Yes? Ah yes. Very painful. Indeed..."

"To know that your friend was going through this much, while you snuck behind her back suspecting her of abandoning you."

The woman jerked back in shock. "Excuse me?!"

I was right. But I couldn't believe how careless I'd been. If Miss Reese was at a party, anyone nearby could've picked up my phone. It could have been the very killer himself. I was simply fortunate enough that it was her friend who answered it. 

"You aren't Miss Reese, are you?"

"How- what- ?!"

"That man over there, is not a man. It is her mother. She is wearing her husband's hat and coat in his memory. She had been missing for four years."

I can make a rough guess at what happened. Due to the case and frequent meetings, Miss Reese must've canceled her plans with her friends. The emotional weight of the matter must've contributed to shrugging them off. Her best friend would've felt abandoned and it could've led to hatred and jealousy. This was why she didn't give the phone to Miss Reese, and jumped at the first opportunity to confirm her suspicions.

It was all a tragic misunderstanding. 

My phone pinged. I looked at it. Suddenly, the misunderstandings seemed all too trivial. I gathered my hat and coat.

"Are you leaving? How do I believe this is true? Are you running away?"

I stopped her. "I am a detective, Miss. I have several cases I'm working on. After the dying, it is me who has the least amount of time. I suppose you should settle this with Miss Reese herself, I believe it will be better if she hears this from you. I leave the matter in your hands. Can I trust you to be there for her?"

The anguish left her eyes and was replaced by a burning fire. "Of course I will stand by her! She has gone through too much without me as is. Poor girl! And to think I was blind to her pain!"

She turned to me then. "You're still here? I thought you had something to do?"

I shook my head and I walked away. Not a while later, I could hear the resounding sobs of Miss Reese, her friend and her mother.