Clara feels like she's not going anywhere anytime soon, and well, it has to be said that her feeling is correct.
There are hands holding her from both sides, as firm as iron now.
"So tell us what you know about the case of Mrs. Mary and James?"
"Yes, don't play dumb!"
Elizabeth and Emma approach her with sharp eyes that pierce the young woman in front of them, who is pressed against the wall, muttering, "Well...it's...impossible...this is none of your business." She can hardly believe that a policewoman like her could be questioned so easily; the situation is completely reversed.
"I'll tell my aunt," Elizabeth whispers to her slyly, sending shivers down the poor girl's spine at the mere thought of Isabella's angry face.
"No, no...wait," she says, stopping Elizabeth in a panic, clinging to her like a koala. And so, Emma's smile widens as she continues, "Good, then, speak!" with greater confidence.
The only certainty is that Clara's courage has now gone to waste.
After a short silence, she stammered: "That...all I know is...well...
Mr. James was Mrs. Mary's ballet teacher and then became her husband! "
"What!!!" Emma gasps, her face completely shocked. She seems to be imagining it."?!Wh_what" she says again anyway...
Elizabeth, however, is slightly confused, perhaps because this was the last thing she expected to hear. "Ballet? Her teacher? Was Mary a ballerina?" she says, her voice filled with suspicion.
"Yeah!! And also, how old is Mr. James if he married her...were they that close!!" Emma continues, her face filled with shock and disgust.
A heavy silence filled the room. Clara seemed more nervous than ever before she slowly looked down at the ground:
"8..."
She speaks in such a whisper that the two girls approach her without realizing it, in order to hear her.
"8..58"
"HU..h!!!!"
This is what comes out of Emma's mouth as she gasps with her eyes wide open.
On the opposite side, Elizabeth stands silently but with a very expressive face, before muttering, "Fifty-six... I mean—" but she doesn't even finish the sentence .
The two friends look at each other for a while, lost in thought. Emma's mind goes blank at the mere thought of it, while Elizabeth's imagination conjures up the image of Mary, the young woman she saw in the news.
"I mean—how old was Mary, if I may ask—?" Elizabeth finally asked. It must be the only question on her mind right now; she'd forgotten all about her father.
"Yes, and what kind of relationship did they have that he would kill her like that!" Emma continued, her voice a little grim.
The minutes ticked by, filling the awkward silence of this conversation, before Clara finally took a deep breath and looked directly at both of them:
"She was 19 years old..." before she clasped her fingers together in a kind of discomfort, saying, "I don't understand why anyone would ever kill a young woman like that!! she was burned beyond recognition ... This is just... very sad."
"19!!"
This time the two girls scream almost in unison; it seems as if all the sounds around them have disappeared for a moment... She's about the same age as them.
* This is insane!! ... Why would a grandfather like him marry a girl the age of his granddaughter? What a **^ *&"
Emma finally screams angrily, completely forgetting about the policemen around her. It seems she won't be stopping the swearing anytime soon. Luckily, Elizabeth puts her hand over her mouth to stop her before she says anything more.
"I saw what he wrote in his diary in the news...it seems like he was..." before she paused briefly, which piqued the curiosity of both Clara and Emma.
"What?!" Clara asks, completely forgetting her own tension.
"Honest and in lov_"
Elizabeth finally mutters, but before she can finish, she feels hot breath behind her before a voice behind them speaks sharply, making them stand up straight.
"Didn't I tell you not to move from your place?!" It's Isabella, standing with arms crossed, leaning towards them with ,clearly impatient , it seems she has finished her interrogation.