Arielle went to California that night. She stayed in a hotel not too far away from the construction site where the murder had happened. She took the copy of the file with her and studied it in detail for one whole day. She prepared all that she could prepare on it, notes, index cards, list of witnesses, murder weapons and last but not the least, the suspects list. She took care of all the possible suspects that were not listed in the file and started her own investigation.
She was a tourist in the day and a detective in the night. She used another phone for the investigation process. This was not her first and definitely not her last. So making use of her connections is not a biggie.
The third day into her stay in California, she went to the beach to meet her partner in crime and a detective working for a big firm in California. When she met him, Matt was taking criminal psychology but his intentions were not the same as hers. He is a goofy person that makes you laugh at every 'joke' that comes out of his mouth. And laugh she did.
She confided in him about her taking up her mother's cases and he was dumbfounded. He knew about her mother, everybody in the college did. After knowing how her parents worry and seeing her passion, he conceded and started helping her in the legal matters involving the investigation. She let him take the credit of her achievement and in turn, he helped her solve them. Then he ended up in the current firm he's in and they lost touch.
She called him before landing and they met on the beach. She gave him her findings and he gave her the access to visit the databases under and beyond his reach. He was the tech guy and she was the investigator. Together they made a great team and they both know it. Sadly, both cannot work under the limelight otherwise, with the number of cases they solved, they should already have their own agency.
"So what is so interesting in this case?" he asked her, a bright smile on his face that she mirrored. They knew the nostalgia of working together in New York. "The murder itself. It's simply intriguing" is all she said before taking the suspects list out of her pocket.
The one thing you should know about Ariella is that she absolutely disliked handbags. She very much prefers wallets or rather clothes with pockets. She never understood the point of dumping shit in a big handbag and struggling to find an item in the dump yard. "The list of people. Run it through the database and let me know. I want every detail on them, don't leave anything behind. Also," she paused and gave him another paper containing a couple of addresses "I want the history of all these places. What buildings were there before the construction took place and everything else. I want the list of people who lived in the past, if any, and their current addresses. Also, check whether the previous list matches with any of them." He nodded, prepared for at least a week of sleepless nights and continuous reminders.
"What about the prime suspects?" he asked, having read her mother's file that she mailed him, he was interested in one of the suspects – Carl Thompson. "Included" is all she said before leaving as inconspicuous as she arrived. He shrugged at her retreating form but his interest was piqued.
The whole week was spent searching for the people that Matt sent her. She tailed them, observed their activities closely, preparing her own assessment on each of them. She was surprised after reading the file for the first time. The actual murder took place two years ago and the case is still going on. This was the case her parents feared would disrupt their family and Arielle felt it as a challenge. Well, challenge accepted.