"You lack heart." I simply shrugged at the famous private detective.
"What do you mean?" She asked me to elaborate, but I'm not sure if she was actually listening at the time. The waitress had, you see, just placed down the French fries and orange juice she had ordered and Claire was getting that same look in her eyes that I so often saw as her self-enforced substitution for drooling.
"You just told me all about how you caught the murderer," I began pointing out, "and described everyone else involved like they were just... um..." I tried thinking of a proper expression.
"Pawns?"
"Well... yeah."
"How cliché, even for you." Claire returned the same shrug I had given her and began filling her mouth with the greasy stuff. Ugh. I never liked French fries. Then again, I was always picky when it came to food. I'm more of the 'fruits and vegetables' kind of person, you know?
Yeah, sure - you're in your rights to call me a weirdo. I doubt I'll care much, honestly. I was a weirdo, after all. Still am. Though, the same thing could be said about her as well, I assure you.
"But you approached one of the suspects and asked if he was cheating on his wife!"
"So? Contrary to popular belief, people can still be honest these days, you know. And isn't it my job to ask questions?"
"...In front of the wife. You asked him if he was having an affair in front of his wife! And then when he told you 'no', you shoved evidence that proved he WAS having an affair right in his face! Again -- in front of his wife!"
"Well, he obviously wasn't one of the aforementioned people that can still be honest these days. I don't see why you think he should've gotten anything better."
"See?! That's what I mean! You don't even care that you ruined the man's marriage when he wasn't even the murderer!"
"It was necessary to get to the truth." She took a sip of her juice."
"You'd already caught the murderer at that point!"
"The truth about his marital affairs, I mean."
I sighed. "Again - see what I mean? There was no reason to butt into that."
She looked up, as if she had only just then started to listen. "Wasn't there? I saved their marriage."
"I... you what?"
"Ignorance isn't bliss. Chances are when she found out, she would've killed him. She had that look in her eyes, you know."
"You don't know that!"
"Fine. Then I guess I just don't like cheaters. In any case, I don't see why you're cracking down on me here. I am a detective. And it's my duty to reach the truth. Everyone is treated equally and objectively for that pursuit to have even the slightest chance of being successful."
"But Claire--"
"And don't give me that 'humanity' spiel. I've heard it all before, you know. 'Claire, you don't treat them like human beings! Claire, you need to show some respect!' To hell with respect! There's a reason why I'm called in, you know! And it's the same reason they can't crack a damn case unless I'm around! It's because they can't take a step backwards and look at the whole situation properly - like a puzzle!"
"Not every crime is a puzzle."
"It is. Every crime is a puzzle. The only thing that changes is the nature of clues left at the scene."
"I don't think that's a good way to look at things."
She was slowly getting frustrated. That's how she always got whenever you would try to talk some sense into her. In the end, she had completely ignored my last statement and continued:
"Of course, not every case I take on is overly complex. Not every culprit is clever enough to even be bothered to cover their tracks. But there are instances when all the facts seem to point to a rather bizarre conclusion that doesn't seem to make much sense. Then, it becomes my job to interpret those facts in another way and see the truth. Then - it's a puzzle."
"It's still playing with people's lives."
"My results speak for themselves."
"So you're never wrong?" This, I was truly skeptical of. While I had heard much about my friend and her exploits thanks to the newspapers... To always be right... surely, that was impossible, I thought.
She calmly nodded. "There are two occasions when a detective's reputation is tarnished. One - when they themselves become a culprit, and two - when they fail. I assure you, I've done neither so far and I don't intend to. In addition, please don't bring some kind of... morality into this. I've merely giving into my natural human curiosity to seek answers to questions posed before me. If, to reach that answer, I need to look at people a different way that, say, you would, I don't see how I could be blamed." I couldn't think of a response to that.