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THE GREEN TIE
THE GREEN TIE
by: Joanna Porte
At work I always deal with simple cases, when you think about a detective you most likely believe they are in crime scenes trying to figure out who killed Mr. Mustard with the crowbar. My job is nothing like that; I wish I could be in the middle of the action. I deal with insecure trophy wife’s that believe all man are a bunch of unfaithful adulterers or just too paranoid to consider their birthday is coming up and their husband has recently become secretive because they are planning a party.
Oh yes, I have had those kinds of people around my office crying that their life’s will be ruined without their beloved houses, cars and of course the beloved husband who answers to every whim. What a shame. As I said there is no action in my line of work, I don’t even know how I ended here apart from the need to pay my life expenses.
Like I said I deal with this kind of people every day and today would not be any different. My assistant Berta called from the intercom. She had almost a nasal way to say things that I despised.
“Det.Mort, Mrs. Catherine Naïf is here.”
“Tell her to come in, and offer her something to drink”
“Okey Nathan”
Sometimes I wonder if she really respects my work.
The door opened slowly and gave way to a thin and shy women, her eyes were red but with no sign of any runny makeup. Her hair curled below her shoulder with green olive eyes and almost coral colored lips. She wore a vintage beige colored dress and pink accents in her heels and accessories. She was taking a tissue to her nose and blowing as lightly as she could.
“Mrs. Naïf, did you sleep well?”
“Yes, it’s nothing, just a little cold.”
She was probably desperate but didn’t want to show it since she hid her dark circles and crying eyes under makeup. She would have answered my question about her sleeping differently if she would have not connected the idea of not sleeping with the fact that she cried all night.
“What brings you here? Mrs. Naïf, is there anything I can help you with”
She placed her bag besides her as she sat down.
“It’s about my husband…” (It always is) “He has been stressed lately and he won’t tell me what it is, and he constantly goes out of the house and comes back late. His calls…” She stopped and looked to the roof as she tried to keep herself calm. “He talks about not being able to do it then the girl on the other side of the phone says she needs it fast, and then they appointed a time and place to meet…” She could not stop herself from crying. She gave me a picture of a man and a piece of paper with an appointed time and place.
Berta came in with coffee and cookies.
“I like your tie Detective”
“Berta I have no time for that”
I told her to stay with Mrs. Naïf as I went to investigate the meeting place where her husband would meet the presumed “other women”.
It was an abandoned textile factory. This did not look like my usual espionage sights for the typical adulterer. The building was fenced and the front entrance was locked with chains, luckily I had found a crowbar and forced the chains to break. The sight seemed suspicious; there were big vans with black windows, almost bullet proof looking. I grabbed my gun and proceed with caution. I climbed the side ladder and as I entered the building it looked abandoned and with building pieces all around. I could hear voices that came from below.
I could see a woman in a black suit and a very similar guy to the one of the picture, surrounded by men with very large guns. As I got closer to the edge I stumbled on a piece of metal and it echoed.
I could feel all their gazes falling to me, and with no delay the guns started to shoot towards my direction. I ran to the stairs as I noticed someone climbing, I shot with no bullets in my gun to work with and ran back.
I heard a gun going out. I fell to my knees with red dropping from my forehead.
“Those house wives made me soft.”
”Excellent, my green tie is dirty”.
