Kione's POV:
The visitors' room looked more like a hall and it was the most traditional Niveh room I ever came across all the years of my life. The books were neatly arranged on the three shelves in the room and I could see that they were mostly monastic books.
One of the people in this house must have a strange love for monks or monasteries. The clock was old-fashioned too and the wooden floor has been mopped earlier with scented water, the windows were locked but the room was far from dark even after the maid locked the door behind us and —yeah it wasn't my first time here but I had the opportunity to look around today as much as I please. The other two occasions I visited were to finalize the wedding plans between my daughter–Diane and Alfredo –the young master of the house.
Other things that piqued my interest were the portrait of each person in the family that hung on the wall, the water pot, and the straw mats too added to the room's special look.
The footsteps were quiet but I could still hear them faintly as she walked down the stairs, her face had no expression and I couldn't tell whether she was excited or sad to see me, there was someone else that followed closely behind—Alfredo. I heaved a sigh as I was glad I met him at home.
He was wearing a traditional outfit and his hat has a jade bead all over it, this established the fact that they were hardened, traditional people.
'Good to see you again' she greeted. She was Alfredo's Mother even though she looked very young. Rumors had it that she was married off to Alfredo's father at a very tender age. The executive system of Niveh was so threatening and dangerous that some rash decisions were always taken. Alfredo's Mother was one of the few young women that survived visiting Motherhood earlier than usual. And she did well igniting her husband's love for her until this day remaining the lady of the house. Things had gotten better on this page; Diane was in her early twenties when she became betrothed to Alfredo Davina and she had clocked twenty-five before her death.
Alfredo bowed alongside his Mother, her hairdo must have taken a lot of skill and energy and of course, it looked good on her. Her dainty figure was covered away in the too-large Kiso—the female traditional dress but she still looked smart and her heavy hairdo—it sure looked heavy. She managed a smile as a maid ushered us into the dining hall.
'It must be hard for you I spoke pitifully. The oil lamp burnt brightly and I could see the color of it in Alfredo's eyes, he blinked.
'I'm sorry for your loss Father-in-law' he said and was quiet.'How is Mother-in-law?' he asked.
Then it hit me too, I have been too busy to know how the dead girl's mother felt or how she was feeling presently. She has been out of my sight since the body was discovered.
That's not my fault I believe. 'Noone will feel the pain like her, she's the one who had lost a child' I replied coming out of my thoughts.
'So, did you find out anything?' Alfredo's Mother asked curiously. She was a woman that just lost her daughter-in-law and even though she should be happy it didn't happen after the wedding, she should still be worried it happened a few weeks before the wedding.
'It certainly was murder, someone killed Diane' I announced, observing their reactions and as expected they were both shocked.' So Alfredo....' I quickly cut in. 'Do you know something that might be of help?' I raised an eyebrow; I could feel the uneasiness around his Mother but Alfredo's innocence probably made it easy to play along.
'She was here that night together with Eloise, we discussed for about an hour then she told me she might not meet up with our appointment the next day if she finished her class late again'
'Did you escort her?' I questioned.
'No. Eloise was with her and they came in Diane's car'
'Diane's car?' I exclaimed in confusion and he regretted telling me that.
'I got her one after we had a small fight last month' he explained, his Mother was lost too. It must have been a little secret between the young couple. 'It's not her fault, she complained about how you would never support it but I insisted'
'So...Did you beat her during the fight? Why would you have to get her a car to get her forgiveness?'
'No. She kept visiting me at late hours so I told her to stop coming. I must have hurt her pride saying that; so she didn't show up–not even a single day and when I visited the Academy, she refused to see me or talk.'
So he got the car to help her be on the safer side when she comes visiting. Another thing that caught my attention was the fact that he could even defend Diane even now that she is dead, they must have loved each other dearly. Can I do the same for Sathiya? No. I wouldn't risk my life for anyone again not after Kathy's incident, it turned out to be a useless effort after all—not even Kathy acknowledged my pain and grief for her.
That was the last time Alfredo saw her, she left with Eloise and what does that mean?
Only Eloise could probably know where it all happened.
'Give a detailed description of the car here' I nudged as I pushed my notepad in his direction. As he wrote down, I saw the pain in His Mother's eyes not for Diane this time but for her son but this is—I couldn't understand.
'Please find her killer' he murmured pushing the notepad towards me. He cried quietly.
*****
There was grave silence as they escorted me to the door and Alfredo's Mother thanked me because he hadn't talked to anyone since Diane's body was found. I also promised to show her corpse to her after the autopsy had been concluded and it was ready for burial.