Solid State Fame

Rose Madrigal looked through the peephole, saw a Urasaria badge, then frowned as she opened it.

"We're here to ask about your ex-boyfriend." said Iris. "We're involved in an investigation regarding you, or at least in passing; we just want to make sure you're safe."

She looked over them. "Alright. Come in, then."

They went in with her, and her house was not terribly well-kept inside or out. At one time she had lived somewhere far nicer and worked less. A small, white Chihuahua ran up to Iris and clawed at her legs, then began barking at her & Eva.

"She doesn't bite." Rose sat down on the couch.

"It's not the bite that bothers me." said Iris.

She heard Eva hum with an increasing pitch, until the dog whined and ran off into another room. Still they could hear it yapping, which complicated matters as they sat down with Rose. "So, you're here to ask about Ike? Where did you find out about me?"

"We looked you up and saw you played in a few movies. Not recently, though. Any reason why?"

"Because studios only want trim fuckdolls rather than actresses of any discernible talent. Ike helped me be picked from the multitudes of aspiring women, but once we broke up, he withdrew that support."

"Ike Allen, correct?"

"Yes. The musician."

"Hey, this isn't too related, but he was a musician when you were with him, right?" said Eva. "Did you ever listen to any of his albums?"

"Oh, of course. I always thought he could be much more than what he is now. He speaks over the heads of too many people, partially because he never bared enough of himself in his art."

"If he bared any more of himself he'd be jailed for public indecency."

"Let's segue from there." said Iris. "What was your relationship with him like? Anything odd?"

"Oh, rather distant. I always thought it was because of how hard he worked and how harsh he was on himself that we weren't compatible. He was always very self-critical. We broke up, once, although... well. The one romantic act I do remember is a little after we broke up the first time. He had left me for another woman, a musician. She eventually separated herself from him, although I don't recall why.

And yet he said that while he laid there after she left him, he tried to recall what meant most to him in life. He said that his memory became very authentic in that instance. He thought of a few things -- Louie Armstrong's recording of Stardust, Frank Sinatra, the color swatches of Rothko, a plexiglass sculpture he had once seen at a museum as a child... and suddenly, he thought of my face. He took a plane down here to tell me immediately, to tell me what an awful mistake he had made, and I thought it was all very romantic... although he argued with me when I disagreed with him on the reasons why we broke up the first time."

"And you said it was distance?"

"Partially, yes."

"Doesn't seem the type to me, but alright."

"For what?"

"Distance."

"Yeah." said Eva. "You ask him what the time is and he starts telling you how to build the watch."

"He's a perpetual watch-teller." agreed Iris.

"Well, he *was* distant. That was why we broke up again. But he really is rather timid and shy. He shrivels in company, truly. I think that was why he changed his style recently; he wanted to be doing something more important and with lasting value than that awful television gig he once had." She sighed. "Oh, I just have such rotten luck with men. I was married to another man for a year, before I met Ike. You students are very lucky to never have to deal with men. Some men just find it impossible to catch the memo on what romance is. Ike was distant, yes, but there were moments where he would display intense passion towards me, and he spoke much of me to the media, as well."

Iris glanced over to Eva, and asked Rose: "Did he ever spend any time with underage fans?"

"Excuse me? What are you accusing him of, exactly?"

"Our investigation is involving a murdered teenage girl. All evidence is currently pointing to Ike."

"Well, that's an awful accusation to make of somebody. What the hell do you get off asking me something like that, really? Do you students not have any empathy? Do you know who he spent most of his time with when we were together? ME!"

Iris sighed. "I'm just-"

"I refuse to speak any more with you. Get the hell out, and if you come back again, I'll… I'll call... well, I'll call *somebody* on you. Whoever it is that keeps you accountable."

Iris decided to just leave with Eva.

Ross Madrigal was angry, and it would linger for the night. She was not angry for her ex-boyfriend Ike, nor their probes of him, but in that reminder again she was only known in her relation to others; she existed not for her own personage, but of her linkage to others. And bizarrely she felt she had taken an almost Adamic fall in stature, even as little of it had existed prior; she had been doled out the correct amount of success according to her talents, however little life often does so.

Without nepotism, talent or beauty, she knew that she had little chance of being cast again, and time had dried all three. She could not even descend to the level of answer to a trivia question, for that would imply that people could at least recall her name if asked. In sixty years what remained of Rose Madrigal would be shunted off an internet server to clear space for pages yet to be etched, onto a solid state drive that would be disposed of in a place no one cared for. For now the curtains of her eyes lift, briefly, as her daughter watches her sit by the window, and the evening grows steep in her reflection.

Outside, Eva & Iris were talking.

"Why do white women use dogs as penis substitutes?" said Eva sagely.

"In that case I would've thought it'd be a Great Dane." Iris sighed. "All available evidence still pointing to Ike. Most likely he mentioned her offhandedly on the phone with Jane, who looked it up afterwards. Public figure, couldn't be seen visiting an underage girl... she was at his concert. Followed him on social media, although she was into a lot of bands. I know it's hard to view it objectively, but we should try at it. What do you think?"

"I don't doubt it, honestly. He's a celebrity with plenty of access to underage fans. Hard to think he'd murder one, but if he's a host threatened with losing his standing, what else could he do?" Eva shrugged. "Fuck, I was suspicious of him to begin with."

Iris nodded. "Need to keep in mind that there's no confirmation yet, though. Be best if we could place them both in one room."

"What about his hotel room? Do we know where he stayed that night?"

Iris tried to remember, but could not. "I... fuck. Room 4…no, it was 5… He told us, didn't he?"

"He did. Maybe Violet or Olivia remember."

"Maybe."