Madalina adjusted the gloves on her hands as she waited for Vianola to come to the door. She was dressed in a grey outfit today with a corset and satin skirts, and high-heeled, brown boots to go with it. She adjusted the hat on her head to cover her left side better, and wrung her hands together lightly out of anxiety.
Though going back to the house had no fruits for her efforts, surely talking to some of the hired help today would counteract that. There was only one way to figure out what had really happened, and it would be talking to the maids and butlers and landscapers and cooks. The people who did the real hard work to care for the mansion, while Madalina and her parents had just lived in it.
She had no time to dwell on that thought, however, as the door opened and Vianola peeked her head out, still groggy from having just woken up.
"I'm terribly sorry to bother you, Vianola. I just thought that we could start early. I'll buy you breakfast as thanks?"
The redhead made a noise in agreement and shut the door so that she could get ready. The dame in white waited patiently in the hallway on one of the apartment's rigid seats, taking out a compact mirror and touching up some of her makeup while she waited for Vianola to exit.
She examined herself in the little mirror. From the right side, she was still herself. But her left eye was gone, replaced by an eyepatch in the shape of a flower. She could barely recognize herself from this angle.
But it was still her, wasn't it? Her hair was still white as snow, and so was her remaining eye. Madalina quickly shed her thoughts as she heard the door open, standing up and smoothing out her layers of skirts.
"How you look so put-together this early in the morning eludes me," Vianola said with a yawn. In contrast, she was wearing a loose grey shirt and a long coat, alongside some tight black pants and heavy boots.
She'd taken the time to comb her hair and fix a hat on top of it; Some sort of wide-brimmed, dark accessory to match the rest of her.
"Well, I couldn't sleep," Madalina explained as they walked, "So I spent the morning cleaning and getting ready."
"Damn, girl. You're a real early birdie."
"You could say that. I just have a lot on my mind." Madalina twisted her hands together. "But enough of that. We've got work to do."
"After breakfast," Vianola urged.
"After breakfast." Madalina agreed.
The two of them enjoyed their food and then Madalina pulled something from her pocket; A new notebook and a pen to write down their findings with.
"Whatcha got there?" Vianola asked, with her mouth still full.
"I'm going to use this notebook to document the things that we encounter while we're looking for whoever did this."
Vianola made a noise as she finished off her coffee, "Alright. Where are we starting, Mads?"
"We're going to go and talk to the head maid. She lives on the other side of Icegrowth." Madalina finished her breakfast as well and paid with a hefty tip, wiping the corners of her mouth with the diner's napkin before standing up.
"We'll take my mother's carriage there. It survived the fire and I've already hired a driver."
"Cool."
Having nothing else to say to each other, Vianola and Madalina exited the diner and hopped into the carriage, where a lithe elf woman was waiting up front. She nodded to them and the carriage began its ride.
"The head maid's name is Adeline Morreau."
"Miss or Mrs.?"
"Mrs."
They pulled up to the house soon after; On the outskirts of the city was a little home with a tall fence and ice-flowers growing alongside the scattered toys across the lawn. Madalina got out with Vianola's help, and she knocked on the door.
There was a little commotion behind the heavy oak door, and when it opened, a younger teenage girl stood in the path and looked at Madalina and Vianola with a baby boy on her hip.
"Hello, is your mother home?" Madalina asked, "I used to employ her. I'd like to speak to her."
The teenager looked back over her shoulder and then nodded, "Yeah, mom's home. I'll go get her."
She disappeared into the house and soon enough, a middle aged woman with a streak of gray in her dark hair and half-moon glasses came to the front.
"Lady Madalina, is that you? Goodness gracious, I had no idea you were out of the hospital already."
"Hello, Adeline. It's lovely to see you too." Madalina smiled, "May my friend and I come in?"
"Name's Vianola, it's a pleasure to meet you." Vianola shook her hand after the two of them entered the house, "I'm just here to help her out."
"How very kind of you. Wait here, I'll brew us some tea." They sat together on the couch and Madalina looked around the living room. It was cozy, there were holo-photos of the family and doilies were abundant on the fireplace. It crackled merrily, and Madalina felt a pang of fear shudder through her.
Vianola noticed, and put a hand over her partner's. She said nothing, but simply squeezed it for a moment. Madalina's tense shoulders relaxed. Soon enough, Mrs. Morreau came back to the front room with a teapot.
"So what can I do for you, ma'am?" Asked Mrs. Morreau, "It's such a tragedy, what happened to you and your parents. My deepest condolences. I hope you got the flowers I sent over."
"I did, thank you." Madalina took a sip of the tea after adding in a sugar cube or two. "I want to ask you questions about that night. I figured you may know something that I don't."
"Ask away," Mrs. Morreau said, sitting on the armchair next to the couch. Madalina felt her fingers begin to shake with anxiety.
"Where did the fire start?"
"From what I remember, miss, the fire department said it began on the first floor. The other maids and I were leaving for the night, so I'm afraid I cannot confirm nor deny that."
"Why would someone do this to me," Madalina asked under her shaking breath, and Vianola frowned, patting her on the shoulder.
"Do you remember anything odd about that night, Mrs. Morreau?" Vianola asked, as Madalina got out her notebook and wrote down:
FLOOR 1, FIRE STARTED HERE.
"I remember seeing what I thought was someone skulking around the grounds, but I was truly convinced that it was just the landscapers or maybe a maintenance person." Mrs. Morreau frowned, "I didn't think it worth mentioning. I told the police department this information already, but from what I saw, they were tall, and wearing a hat."
That could be anyone. Madalina looked over to Vianola, who nodded at her.
"Can you remember anything else that happened during the daytime? Anything strange, anyone saying anything weird?"
"I'm afraid I can't recall, miss." Mrs. Morreau looked saddened, "But apparently, the footprints in the snow came from the surrounding woods. Size 10, male."
Madalina scribbled it down.
"Why don't you two stay for lunch? I was just about to fix my son and daughter some food."
"We'd love to," Madalina answered, "But I've got to keep this trail going. Do you know who else was on duty that night?"
"Well, there were the gardeners – Joshua and Vincent, and of course, there were the cooks, Barry and Tilly. I was the last one to leave, so I'm afraid I can't recall if someone might have still been on the grounds when you locked up for the night."
"You've been a great help," Vianola said, "Thank you. Truly."
"Of course, miss Beniot."
The twot thanked her, stood up, and went back to the carriage with their newfound knowledge. Madalina chewed on her pen's cap in thought as she looked over her notes.
"So I guess we must track down these other people, if the precinct isn't already on top of it." She tapped their names, "Do we want to see the gardeners, or the cooks first?"
"My money's on the cooks." Vianola stated bluntly, "We should see if your investigators have any new information, too."
"Sounds like a plan."
Vianola and Madalina gave the instructions to the driver to take them to the station, and away they went.
Pelleas and Bula were not there when they arrived. Madalina wondered if they were working the case.
"Now what," Vianola asked, "Since they aren't here. Did your parents keep papers on work contracts or anything?"
"They must have," Madalina answered, "I just have to find them in the records that survived."
"Good luck, Mads."
"Thank you, Vianola. I mean it."
Another pang of guilt ran through Vianola's gut. "Let me know when you do. I'll let you be for now. And remember: You aren't in this alone."
"Thank you," Madalina said, climbing back into the carriage as the snow began to fall over the city. "Be careful on your way home."
"You too."
Vianola waved goodbye until she could see her carriage no longer, and then she pulled a cigarette from her pocket and lit it, walking down the street, smoke rising through the snowflakes, leaving ashes in her wake.