𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 | rini & jolivia oneshots

i ain't letting up till the day

murder, adultery, and a wronged ghost. dare to enter?

-

They were married for more than sixteen years now, but it was evident to anyone who knew the couple that their union was falling apart. I was one of them.

Salutations. You don't know who I am, but I know you. I'm simply someone who has been wronged, and I'm only working to solve this tedious case, with so many dangers and red herrings around every corner to throw me off. Almost every private detective in the upper West Side has come forward, eager for the massive sum that the patriarch of the family, Richard Bowen put out, to see who was responsible for the murder of his beloved childhood sweetheart and (late) wife, Nina Roberts.

I happen to know the Bowens; I'm Nina's childhood best friend. While she ended up getting married at 17, widowed a year later, then engaged to an old acquaintance of her family's connections: her husband turned widower, I'm still a spinster, haunting this corner of the bar and watching people pass. Over the years, I have perfected the art of blending into the background, listening to the patrons and their gossip. That is how I know things. I am not part of the action, I am the observer.

Few know of my profession, and I'd like to keep it that way. I am my own company, I do not require the help of others. Somehow, word-of-mouth had spread, and that was how I found myself roped into this case that seemed impossible to solve, even more so to deduct.

I still remember the day Richard stumbled into the bar, his hair a disheveled mess, and his eyes weary with sleep, and his clothes worn. "Detective, I must speak to you," he spelled out in ragged breaths.

Immediately, I could tell that he had been running at a rapid pace to get here, like he was in urgent need of my assistance. "Sir, what is your hurry on such a day? Shouldn't you be at home with your wife?"

I knew I wasn't his first choice; there had been dozens of other private detectives, more renowned in the area hired before me. I was just a last resort, maybe because my skills were only known among certain circles.

"Detective...I've been searching all over New York for you," he said. "Please, come with me."

-

Apparently, I have been missing a lot of things while being cut off from civilization. 

One, Nina died about a year ago. It never reached my ears at the bar; perhaps because she was a respectable member of New York high society and they didn't want to utter her name under such circumstances. 

Two, he had been hunting me down to find out who killed his wife. 

I followed Richard back to his mansion, where a blonde woman sat in the parlor. She looked about ten years my junior; I assumed she was a visiting cousin of the Bowens. 

"This is my mistress, Lilianna," Richard hastily introduced, and I tried to contain my surprise. 

I nodded courteously. "Pleasure, Miss Buchanan."

She giggled prettily, holding out her hand for me to see. "About to be Mrs. Richard Bowen."

A large ring, something that was fashioned from one of the most expensive and exquisite gems that could be found in all of New York. It was more than I could make in more than a year, though I really didn't have many clients.