Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. They both flinched – who could it be in such weather? Alexey dressed and walked to the door. He carefully pulled back the curtains… standing on the doorstep was a woman in white…
Thirty years passed.
“Take this,” the district prosecutor entered his son’s office and threw a case file on his desk.
“Dad! I’ve got enough work as it is… Give it to Filatov, he’s got nothing to do anyway.”
The prosecutor sighed heavily, puffed out his cheeks, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Just take a look; it’s an interesting case! Once you start, you won’t be able to stop.”
“Dad,” the son protested, “I’ve got seventeen cases already.”
“And are they all interesting?” smiled prosecutor Sergey Leonidovich.
“That’s an understatement,” joked his son, Alexey Sergeevich. “Alright, fine, I’ll take a look.”
“I’ll tell you right away, you’ll need to get excited about this one, I’ve seen the case. It’s necessary!”
“What’s it about?”
“Last year, there were forest fires in the Moscow region, in the swamps, and two bodies surfaced.”
“Alright, Dad, I’ll take a look.”
– What are you writing? – asked Sergey Leonidovich, already about to leave the office.
– I have a cold case, so I need to write a detailed report – answered his son, staring back at the case files.
– That's right, that's right, a cold case needs to be thick, otherwise they called me into the city because of your Filatov… – anyway, that's all chit-chat, I'm off.
– Dad… drop by for some coffee later.
The old man nodded and left, gently closing the door behind him. Alexey opened the file.
"… Near the forest ranger’s house… two bodies found… Moscow region."
– What a godforsaken place! And I’ll have to get up early tomorrow to go there… – he rubbed his face with his hands, staring intently at the case folder, deep in thought. There was a knock at the door.
– Lesh, – entered his father’s secretary, Lyubochka, a voluptuous redhead, as his father liked to call her for her character and knack for handling things – there's a letter… it arrived… with me… come and pick it up.
– What is it?
– How should I know? – the secretary replied, puzzled. She fixed her hair, puckered her lips like a bow, and left. Alexey then thought, when his father hired her: