"Are you a detective?" Having found no other answer to give, he decided to come clean.
"A detective… I guess that's one way to describe me, yes." He kept the formalities, and couldn't risk throwing himself into discountenance.
Fiona gave Golden a short observing look before dismissing her butler and walked, expecting him to follow. They talked as they walked, beginning with a simple introduction by Golden, both parties knew Fiona didn't need the introduction from Golden's initial approach.
"I must ask…" Golden climbed the stairs as she did. Fiona didn't bother turning her gaze and simply waited for him to speak. "What made you trust me enough to lead me yourself, alone with no body guards?"
Fiona didn't answer for a brief moment, holding each side of her green skirt until she eventually came to the end of the stairs, that's when she decided to answer. "I no longer worry about my life, Golden. My daughter was murdered not long ago, I simply seek retribution."
This should make things easier… Thank you, your ladyship. Golden thanked under his breath, giving a nod of acknowledgement and climbed the stairs then followed the lady inside her office.
Her office was spacious, filled with books and a typewriter on her desk with a lot of documents piled up and she already had tea ready at the round table in the middle of the room. Whether it was just made or not was a wonder but the steam coming out of the pot said it was fresh.
"Sit down." She said with an unintentional commanding voice which she changed right after but to Golden, the message was clear and he was more than happy to sit down for tea after a long day of working.
Fiona poured herself a cup of tea and asked Golden if he wanted some and he responded noddingly, "Yes, I am fond of caffeine."
"I can tell." Fiona noticed the heavy bags under his eyes and immediately understood the kind of detective he was.
Whatever that means... He dryly chuckled and took a sip, finding the taste to be delightful and refreshing but since the conversation was already dragging on long enough, he decided to skip the compliments.
"How often did you speak to your daughter?" The statement followed with another sip, each one waking his tired mind more.
Fiona placed her cup on the table and clasped her hands, reserved with her stoic personality masking her sadness. "Recently, not much. She stayed with me for a year before falling in love with Hans who worked as a writer for our company. She moved in with him once they were wed, after that it was once or twice a month though unfortunately even less the last month due to my travels."
His eyes kept aim on her face to avoid missing any contradictory expressions but not once was she out of character. "I see… that is unfortunate." In the same way, Golden sat his cup down and asked another important question. "Do you recall either of them having any conflicts or issues with any particular person or groups?"
Fiona immediately shook her head, completely confident in her response. "Neither of them bothered anyone or anything, I doubt they had many friends outside the company." She paused for a moment and fixed the parts of her dress that seemed unruly on the comfortable couch.
A brief moment passed before she continued, "And certainly, I would be the target if a group was behind the murder, all the reports about them are under my name."
Golden scoffed as he shook his head, "Sorry Fiona- I mean, Your Ladyship-"
"Fiona is fine." She interrupted, even though she was of aristocratic origins, formalities were not high on her tolerance scale.
Golden nodded and continued, "It is normal for the children of the targets to be targeted to send a message and I see no way you'd be an exception." It was not uncommon in the Wainwright Settlement or just the world in general, people often took more pleasure in outright suffering of their enemies rather than their death. After all, nothing hurts a parent more than outliving their child.
"Now… What about your employees, were they happy or at least content with the couple? If I'm correct, you're only filling in for the spot your daughter and son-in-law left empty."
The current head of the company, Fiona Relené nodded and responded as honestly as possible, "I have noticed no abnormalities and I very highly doubt they were any less satisfied with my daughter filling in my shoes, she was much kinder than I was."
Hmmm… it does seem Lady Fiona is trying her best to remain polite with my ongoing question. I better wrap everything up quickly. Golden thought in his mind, a brief analysis before he asked a final question. "Now for the last question, have you specifically angered anyone? Like someone that could target either of you, someone who may be resentful." All his questions were placed in order to lead to this one.
After a moment's thought, Fiona slipped a handkerchief from her sleeve and gently wiped a tear from each eye before responding. "Yes. My ex-husband… though he would never go as far as taking his own daughter's life. Ashamedly, my divorce came to him at the wrong time."
From her reaction, it seems like she's still fond of that man and hopefully, he does too, otherwise a parent being a suspect in a case for their child's murder is truly cruel… wait, do we even know if he was present in the settlement, let alone the district? I have to make sure before I jump to any conclusions.
"If you don't mind another question, my lady…" Golden wasn't socially extroverted so questioning someone for so long was a hindrance to him the same way it was to the other person but thankfully, Fiona didn't mind and waited for him to ask. "Has your husband—ex-husband been present in Miss Julie's life?"
Fiona shook her head, "Not recently." She took another sip of her tea which had unfortunately gone cold. "We took turns caring for her as our work had different schedules, his line of work was especially taxing so after our divorce, I moved into this settlement and she lived with me and then with her husband. It has been around 2 years since she met her father."
So this rules him out as the direct murderer at least, leaving the question if he hired someone… Well, it's better I meet the man before any more of my assumptions… He was about to ask another question but Fiona answered without letting him ask. "I was sent a letter about a month ago, pretty sure my daughter received it too since she was expressing how excited she was. Jared should be arriving anytime soon. I can mail you with a Fleeting Bird once word reaches me."
Hearing that, Golden stood up and solemnly nodded, "I am most grateful to you, Your Ladyship."
Fiona nodded in response, "What is your address?"
Golden froze up, his whereabouts were known to none so he never thought of installing a mail flask to keep discretion but at times like this… he wondered if it was a bad idea…
His lips curled into a grin as he replied, "25503 Owen Street." Otherwise known as the residence of one of the current suspects, Walker Soliraine.
Fiona wrote it down on a tissue laid on the round table and nodded once more.
"Now if you'll permit it, I wish to interview your employees as previously intended…"
The Head of The Company took no time to wonder if it was a good idea, their conversation sparked a sense of confidence within her in Golden. "Granted." Then she took the final sip of her tea and emptied her cup.
His right hand to his heart, Golden nodded and left her study, going over the details as he descended. She certainly seems like a genuine lady but still, can't afford to trust her the same way I don't with her husband but maybe I'll get a different angle once I interview the remaining people in the company… It'll be easy to figure out the culprit if the employees bear any grudge against them. This has certainly become a pain in my neck.
•••
Beside the publishing company in a tiny alley, Walker and Lucille hid from the crowd and the eyes of the passersby and awaited Golden's return patiently.
The wait had extended in an unwelcome manner as Walker imagined all the things he could've been doing with the time he just spent hiding, like reading a fictional book or sharpening his skills or maybe even explore the strange dimension Lucille put him in which he was fairly excited about but he could do nothing but sigh at the thought, he had waited this long, a few more minutes wouldn't hurt.
But just as his mind became thoughtless, Lucille brought him back out just like she did with the strange dimension. "Mr. Soliraine!"
Startled, Walker looked over and asked, "What is it?"
"Look!" She held a newspaper in her hands, ready to offer it to Walker anytime he asked.
Walker rolled his eyes and waited for her to hand it over. When he got his hands on it, he simply added, "Walker is fine."
His eyes gapped as he read the news, "Hunter Under Suspicion, Yet Still Free
Walker Soliraine, a skilled hunter, finds himself under suspicion for a recent murder. Despite the gravity of the accusation, authorities have allowed him to remain at large…" He kept reading but the voice in his head gradually became muffled, he could no longer make sense in his head. All that remained in his mind was that now, he was a suspect for a crime he never committed.