Strangers Wearing Makeup: Chapter Twelve [The End]

"How may I help you, Mr...?" The old woman who I saw in the picture asks me as I stand outside of her front door.
"Mr. Green." I say lowering my hat. "Gustavo Green. I'm working on your husband's...case." I say as politely as I can, but she sees right through it and is broken up.
"Yes, come right in, Mr. Green." She says walking inside. I close the door behind me and follow her into the kitchen. Scattered throughout the house are moving boxes.
"So, you're moving?" I ask sitting on a stool beside a center counter stove-top made of marble.
"Yes, my sister-in-law is going to let me stay in their guest house for a while. Until I can...I'm sorry." She tears up and hides her face in a handkerchief.
"It's quite alright, ma'am. Don't feel embarrassed." I say. She sniffs her nose a few times and then speaks, but it comes out like a croak at first.
"I left for business and came back to this, it was so unexpected. I should have never left."
"But he had help around the house, didn't he?"
"Of course, a house this big he'd have to have help. That damned Allison, we paid her well too. She should have paid more attention to him!" Mrs. Anderson started crying again.
"I'm assuming you're talking about a maid?" I prompted.
"She was his nurse."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'd like to question her, do you know where she lives?" I asked.
"It's no use, detective, she's split. He put her in his will, even though I told him not too-stupid old man!-and she took the money and just...left! It's such a wretched thing to do to a dear old man!" Then Mrs. Anderson broke down completely. After a while she calmed down and politely asked me to leave so she could finish packing.

"You know Gus, you have a really bad weakness when it comes to women." The Ear tells me as I sit beside him on our usual park bench, it's nearing sunset by this time.
"Yeah, I know." I say. I'm hunched over and taking a drag of my cigarette. The taste reminds me just how stale the world really is.
"I mean how could the golden boy, Mr. "Good Cop" Green be swayed by two deceiving lesbians?" The Ear tosses some bird feed onto the ground in front of us, the birds go wild.
"Like you said, a weakness. How was I supposed to know, though!" I said flicking my cigarette somewhere.
"Women are full of deception, any smart man knows to keep one eye on his woman and one on his wallet." The Ear said.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I say leaning back against the hard wooden bench. It creaks against my weight.
"Well, all that aside you did halt their plans to demolish Cotts Town, that should amount for something, right?"
"You always know just what to say to cheer a guy up, don't you old friend?" I say with a smile. I tilt my head back and look into the multicolored, tie-dye sky. For the first time in months I do feel a little at ease. They say that big guy in the sky works in mysterious ways. I think its just a bunch of fairy tales, but I do kind of feel content now.
"So what's new on the circuit?" I ask The Ear.
"Well, a woman's been found dead in a nearby cinema, you might want to check it out."
"What, the fuzz don't want it?"
"Nah, you know better than most: they don't consider prostitutes real people. They're just plastic whores dolled up for a few bucks a night." The Ear says.
"I'll take a look at it." I say and get to my feet. I go to leave.
"Hey, Gus!" He calls, I turn around.
"You really did save this city. Don't forget that." I wave and turn to go. I take a bottle of old whiskey out of my coat pocket and take a swig whereas those tow lesbians are probably somewhere hot, drinking cold margaritas.


-Sir Jestro