Emily's Obsession

CHAPTER 11 : different views

Matthiew was engrossed in cleaning the platform, surrounded by the aftermath of the tragedy, lost in his thoughts as if replaying the scenario over and over in his head. Emily approached cautiously, unsure if she should announce her presence and risk disturbing him. Finally, she mustered the courage to say, "Hello."

Matthiew paused his cleaning and turned to Emily calmly, returning her greeting with a simple, "Hello." He then resumed his task, focused on clearing the blood-stained platform. Emily, feeling a mix of sarcasm and frustration, muttered to herself, "Welcome to the world where everyone cares about you, Em," rolling her eyes at the situation.

However, Matthiew, seemingly aware of Emily's actions despite facing away from her, admonished her, saying, "Don't roll your eyes behind my back." Emily, taken aback by his perceptiveness, attempted to defend herself, starting to say, "I was not..." but Matthiew cut her off, teasingly noting, "You weren't rolling your eyes?" his tone subtly mocking Emily's small lie.

After gathering his tools and moving to another corner of the room, Matthiew addressed to Emily, " No need to lie with me. I can feel it before you even think about doing it."

With a hint of embarrassment, Emily admitted, "Sorry, I didn't mean to." Matthiew, now finished with his task assured Emily, "It's okay, I understand."

Matthiew's hands moved meticulously over the furniture as he worked, and Emily hesitated, debating whether to broach the subject of the recent events. Finally, she spoke up, introducing herself, "I am Emily."

Matthiew, without turning, responded, "I know who you are. You're the new worker, isn't it?"

Emily confirmed, "Yes, it's me."

Matthiew, still focused on his task, extended a welcoming gesture, "Welcome to our humble company, especially into my special area," referring to his theatrical room.

Emily's voice trembled slightly as she delved into her inquiry, "About what happened earlier... What was really happening? Did... Did you kill him?"

Matthiew turned to face her, holding a ball in his hand, his voice calm, "I didn't kill him. The main goal of all of this is to pressure him and make him spill out his truth."

Emily pressed further, questioning the necessity of such pressure, "Why did you all need to pressure him? Why didn't his wife find a way herself to make him talk?"

Matthiew sighed heavily before responding, "If you're blaming us for what happened, then that's your view. But let me tell you that it was the first time that one of my clients died since I've started working here. He was my responsibility, yes, that's right. But, as you know, people never spill out what they're hiding unless they know that it might be the last time they'll open their eyes. That's why I made him think that I'm not responsible for what might be happening to him. And people prefer to blame others for their own mistakes, as..."

Emily interjected, noticing the irony, "Like you're doing right now, isn't it?"

Matthiew chuckled slightly, admiring Emily's perceptiveness, as he poured himself a glass of whisky and offered one to her, "Do you drink?"

Emily shook her head, declining the offer, "No, I don't drink."

Matthiew took a sip of his drink, nodding in understanding, "I know. I just wanted to be polite. '' he paused then continued ''You must be wondering why we're doing all of this, isn't it?".

Emily focused intently on Matthiew's gaze, waiting for him to continue. Matthiew, in his characteristic calm demeanor, explained, "It's our job. We're just following what our clients need. We offer many services as you saw earlier. Some people use us to scare their enemies, some to make the truth come out from their target... There's many, but our main service is doing investigations. We're kind of FBI or CIA, but we just have our own method, and there are a lot of things that they can't do but we can."