"They were sitting together, so… it's a diagnosis," she said with a condemning tone in her voice.
He took the rifle and left.
– "What kind of rifle?"
– "A hunting one, he had a permit. Mom cried for a long time then. And later, he disappeared, well… anyway… When can we go to see him?"
– "Yeah, anytime," Alexey sighed.
– "I'll go now," she placed her coffee cup on the table and started gathering her things hurriedly.
– "Excuse me, maybe it's not my business – is something wrong? Are you upset? And why are you with security?" he asked as she walked away.
– "Yeah… my ex-husband was a businessman, and he left it for me. We got divorced."
– "Hasn't the era of slavery been abolished?" Alexey joked.
– "You know how it is," she yelled from the staircase, "divorce doesn't exist in the criminal world. You’re responsible for your ex as well. Everything's fine, but it's better to be safe…"
– "Got it. Lena, may I see a picture of your father?"
– "Yes, of course." She flitted around the second floor like a butterfly in her robe. She came back with an album. After flipping through a few pages, she looked surprised.
Alexey walked up to her and saw the damaged photographs.
– "I see… Did you do anything with the plumbing recently?"
– "Yes, but how did you know?" Lena asked in surprise.
– "Well… can you describe him?"
– "Sure," she said thoughtfully, "A short man, well, I’d say medium height, in a baseball cap, you couldn't really see his face. He had a broad nose, around 55-60 years old, but sturdy, you know? Stocky. His eyes were small, barely visible. Well… that’s all… Could he have stolen something from me?" She panicked and ran off somewhere. She came back— "No, everything's fine. What's this all about?" she looked at Alexey, puzzled. "Why do I even need security!?"
He didn’t answer, just said:
– "Thanks, Lena, let’s go."
On the way to the morgue, Alexey asked about this Sergey. Of course, Lena had been a child and didn’t remember much, but she said her father had served time with him and had gone on two jobs together. At the morgue, she quickly identified her father by the spiderweb tattoo on his shoulder, his gold tooth, and the ring found with him.
She felt nauseous, and Alexey had to take her out into the hallway.
– "Oh! He’s shown up already! The meeting place can’t be changed! How are you here?" Filatov walked up to him.