A person who loves the rain. Алексей Аркадьевич Мухин
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me – he said, somewhat pensively and sadly, looking at the new employee. Then he stood up. – Katya, I need to do one thing quickly. Will you sit with me?
She spread her hands to the sides.
– You’re so persuasive.
He hesitated. In the office, Aleksey pulled a bag from the desk with the label "Evidence for your new case" and took out one bullet, placing it next to the one he found in the forest.
"Same! Twins! I'll wait for the experts, of course," he thought. Then he locked the office and returned to Katya.
– Are you tired? – she sat down beside him. He nodded, indicating he was.
– Have a drink with me – Aleksey turned to her.
– With pleasure – she agreed – Let me take care of you. She grabbed a plate and served two kinds of salads.
– Thank you – he brightened up. – I’ve been sitting here without lunch.
– What, really?! – Katya sat across from him, folding her hands on her lap, watching as he devoured the plate’s contents.
– If you keep looking at me like that…
She realized she was making him uncomfortable and picked up her own plate.
"I’ll join you."
Aleksei poured cognac into the glasses.
"To getting acquainted!" he raised his glass.
"To getting acquainted," Katya echoed.
"How were you received?" Aleksei asked.
"Quite well, good guys. We already spoke with your father… Filatov is… no comments."
"Yeah… something like that," Aleksei replied. "So why did you transfer?"
"Family reasons. I’d rather not talk about it."
Aleksei nodded in agreement.
"And it's closer to home here. At my previous job, it took a long time to commute, but here, it’s just two trolleybus stops away."
"Shall I walk you home?" Aleksei asked.
"That would be nice," she smiled, then asked, "And what about you? How’s work? You’re home late."
"It’s better to finish everything and not worry. I’ve done all I wanted, so now I’m calm. The area’s quiet, though the city’s been getting noisy lately. Well, work’s still there, but not like before, when… it feels like we used to sleep here. Did you hear about Goryainov getting whacked around here? It was a big event for the neighborhood, such an honor," he added with sarcasm.
"I heard, Filatov filled me in… Lyosha, and what about him? He seems like a nice man… but alone."
Aleksei raised his eyebrows, "I don’t know, I think maybe his time just passed, so he's alone. Or his time hasn’t come yet… These are big philosophical questions, and only God knows the answers. As for us… we just talk, complain about life, and
"…and nothing more."
"Fair enough," Katya smiled.
"I’ll have a quick bite and help you with the dishes."
"Lyosha, that’s a woman’s job… don’t make a fuss."
But arguing was pointless; he helped wash the dishes and then walked the lady home.
"Why didn’t you show up yesterday? It was great! Katya is quite a catch," Filatov called as Aleksei was driving.
"Lyonya, I’m still sleeping," Aleksei answered.
"Sleeping?!" Filatov was surprised.
"Well, metaphorically speaking. I’m heading to see Elena Skrynnik. But I’ll be at work today."
"That’s good, because your father’s being called to the city office…"
"For what?" Aleksei interrupted.
"They want to take over the case," Filatov explained.
"Which case?"
"Yours, the one about those two bodies in the marshlands."
"Hm," Aleksei smirked, annoyed. "Interesting. I’m glad you guys had fun. I stopped by later and met Katya. Nice girl… Alright, Lyonya, later." Aleksei hung up and quickly picked up speed.
Shepelev Street was in a private sector. He was just pulling up to it. Slowing down, he began looking closely at the house numbers.
House 33 was two stories tall and looked very new among the older buildings. It was clear that it had been built recently; the sand around the house hadn't yet been cleared, and the fence was unnaturally clean for the area. Aleksei stopped the car and got out. He rang the doorbell at the gate. A dog’s barking could be heard.
"Coming, coming—Mitya, open up," someone yelled. The voice seemed to be a woman's. A tall, thin young man in uniform, holding a radio, appeared—probably the security guard.
"You are…?" he drawled.
"Senior Investigator of the Prosecutor’s Office, Aleksei Sergeevich Martynov."
– What did you want? – Does Mrs. Skrynnik live here? The guard nodded. – I’d like to speak with her. – What's the reason for the conversation? – Young man! Isn’t that too many questions for a guard?! I could come back, and I wouldn’t be alone. – Alright, no need to get upset – he backed away – I'll call her. – Lena, – he spoke into the radio. – Yes? – Prosecutor’s Office. – Prosecutor’s Office? Well, I don’t know… let him through… escort him, I’ll get dressed. The guard nodded and led him into the house.
Alexei entered a small living room. He sat down on a black leather sofa, placed the folder on the table, and waited for the hostess. Soon, she came downstairs. She was a woman of average height, with long chestnut hair that fell on her shoulders. She was wearing a brown robe and had her hands tucked into her pockets as she approached.
– Good afternoon. My name is Elena Skrynnik. How can I be of service to the prosecutor's office? It was clear that she had been crying, and she was trying to hide her emotions with a smile, but it wasn’t working very well.
Alexei introduced himself. Then he asked: – Lena, may I address you informally? She nodded. – Tell me, who is Pyotr Skrynnik to you? – That’s my father, but he disappeared 30 years ago… Wait, have you found him?! – She stood up at these words. – Please, sit down. We have found him. – My God – she clutched her chest. – Now, now, don’t worry – he tried to calm her down. – How can I not?! – Lena protested. – Would you like some water? – Alexei asked. – No, no – she motioned for him to sit down and sat herself. – Dad, daddy, they found him, I can’t believe it… Is he dead? – Lena… yes, let’s take it step by step. What do you know about his disappearance? – Mom told me… Oh, sorry. Let’s have some coffee; I didn’t offer you anything, and this conversation will probably be long – she stood up and headed to the kitchen – There’s so much to say about Dad – she explained – What news! My morning started off with a shock! Dad. – It’s okay, it’s okay… no need to worry – Alexei tried to calm her down. – Let’s have coffee – she insisted. Alexei nodded. From the kitchen, which was located at the end of the living room near the stairs, Elena continued her story. – You know, my dad wasn’t exactly a law-abiding citizen. He had dealings with your office. He was imprisoned twice and used to joke that his time in prison counted toward his pension… A minute later, she returned with coffee and sat down. – So, how did he disappear? – Mom told me the story, though I remember a little myself; I was very young at the time.