A heavy silence filled the meeting room. Only Leonid cleared his throat, ran a hand over it, then rose steadily to his feet.
He spoke calmly as he smoothly pulled his phone from his pocket:
"After the secretary told me it was impossible to meet with the suspect, I contacted a friend of mine moments ago. He sent me a clear photo of the suspect without much effort, I might add."
He opened the image and carefully zoomed in before passing the phone to Vladimir, who handed it to his father, and then it was passed around the room.
"As you can see... this photo doesn't match Daniel's description of the suspect on the night of the incident, especially during his second interrogation today in the police car. Daniel specifically stated the killer had green eyes. This man doesn't."
Leonid turned his gaze toward Alia, whose face showed a mix of surprise and irritation. She hadn't expected him to reach the same conclusion she and Pyotr had discovered let alone beat her to it.
He continued in a firmer tone:
"As for Charlotte, she spoke to me tonight before falling asleep. She told me that the man we believed was threatening her life... never actually threatened to kill her. He enjoys watching her collapse under the weight of his vile actions… and beyond that, he wouldn't hesitate to hurt her."
Leonid clenched his fist tightly, trying to suppress his anger so it wouldn't disrupt the atmosphere of the meeting.
"Still, this doesn't make the situation any less dangerous. To me, what he's doing is a clear threat to her life. As for the rest of the details... they won't help you much, so I won't go into them."
For a moment, everyone stared at Leonid. His final sentence stirred suspicion, making them think of inappropriate matters.
"What do you mean?"
The only one who dared ask was his father.
But Leonid paused, stared at him, and then said in a calm tone laced with obvious sarcasm:
"By the way, the day after tomorrow I'll be accompanying Charlotte to her best friend's birthday party. I just hope my absence for a day or two won't affect the team… the way it did earlier when I was five minutes late."
"Stop spewing nonsense and just go with her!"
Kozlov snapped, on the verge of exploding at his son's arrogant behavior. He couldn't believe he'd ignored his question so blatantly in front of everyone.
He clasped his hands on the table and said sternly:
"But don't get the wrong idea. You're going to ensure her safety not for a vacation."
"I know."
Leonid replied coolly, sitting back down with complete indifference.
Kozlov shot him a sharp, furious glare, then turned to Alia.
"And you, Alia? You said you had important information that might help the investigation."
"Yes."
Alia answered confidently as she stood, then continued in a tone that barely masked her sarcasm:
"Actually, I was about to share the results of Daniel's interrogation, but as you can see, someone with excessive professionalism... stole the honor from me. Anyway, I won't repeat what was said. Instead, I'll talk about Charlotte's interrogation."
Kozlov gave a brief nod, signaling her to proceed.
"Today I accompanied Officer Pyotr to interrogate Charlotte Smith. But when we arrived, she was already in the middle of a violent argument."
"An argument?"
Dmitri whispered in surprise he hadn't imagined Charlotte to be the confrontational type.
"There was a blonde girl named Natalia, and a man whose identity I haven't been able to confirm. He seems to be one of the new tenants, so we have no information on him yet."
Alia narrowed her eyes at Leonid, who remained calm, watching her in silence. She continued:
"In any case, the man appeared close to her... he was wiping her tears gently, while Charlotte stayed still comfortable in his hands."
"Couldn't he be just a friend of hers?"
Vasili asked.
"I doubt it… he seemed more than just a friend."
Alia replied, still staring at Leonid, whose expression hadn't changed.
"He whispered to her... and she didn't pull away. And more importantly, no friend wipes a woman's tears with his bare hands and cradles her face gently. Am I wrong, Leonid?"
A heavy silence fell. All eyes turned to Leonid except for Kozlov, who closed his eyes in weary frustration.
Leonid remained still, then relaxed in his seat, leaning slowly on the armrest. He spoke coldly, his gaze piercing Alia:
"What are you trying to suggest?"
"You heard me."
They stared at each other, for seconds that felt heavier than time itself, until Leonid gave a cold smile:
"You've just proven how badly you read romantic scenes... It's a pity your average skills don't extend to your supposed area of expertise."
Alia furrowed her brows but didn't reply. The tension was high enough; any additional word might ignite things further.
Kozlov finally intervened, cutting through the tension:
"Enough. It's been less than ten minutes since I reminded everyone of the importance of working as a team."
Vasili lazily raised his hand and asked:
"Okay... what about the argument? Were you able to find out what caused it? Who started it?"
Alia answered with a sigh of annoyance:
"Charlotte Smith refused to say anything."
Then she added in a softer tone:
"Actually, it wasn't an argument in the literal sense... it was more like a heated confrontation. And it's clear the tension between them wasn't just a passing moment."
Silence returned to the meeting room until Leonid broke it with a soft, mocking laugh that cut through the air.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Kozlov muttered nervously, narrowing his eyes at his son.
Leonid waved his hand in the air dismissively, then said in a calm but provocative tone:
"Alia, is that all that happened during Charlotte's interrogation?"
Alia replied flatly, scanning the room:
"The rest wasn't important..."
Leonid raised an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly:
"That's... only in your opinion."
His fake smile faded, replaced by a neutral, icier expression.
"Because of your aggressive behavior, Charlotte was psychologically harmed. And on top of that, she was already exhausted after the fight with her closest friend."
Alia furrowed her brows, responding defensively:
"I don't understand what you mean. All I did was try to get her to open up and talk."
Leonid gave a quiet, sarcastic chuckle:
"You? Please… you don't even have the skill to get a chatterbox to open up, let alone someone buried in trauma."
"Wait, are you saying what happened affected Charlotte Smith negatively?"
Vladimir interjected, his eyes moving between Alia and Leonid, awaiting a clear answer.
Alia avoided his gaze, while Leonid turned to him and said coldly:
"She's already suffering... but she's holding on, to some extent."
Vladimir gave a slight nod, then said firmly:
"Let her rest for a few days. If she's not pressured, she might open up on her own... understood?"
Leonid replied calmly:
"Understood."
Vladimir turned to Alia and said sternly:
"This goes for everyone but especially you, Alia. Try to keep Officer Pyotr away from Charlotte as much as possible—"
Leonid cut in, his tone laced with mockery:
"That idiot was smarter than her in that moment. While Alya was firing accusations at Charlotte, Pyotr was trying to stop her in any way he could."
Alia stared at him, her eyes narrowing in a mix of shock and fear:
"...How would you know that?"
Leonid replied coldly, as if it wasn't even worth discussing:
"Simple. I talked to him. When and where? That's none of your concern."
He then folded his arms over his chest and stared at her with lethal silence.
"In any case… I hope you don't repeat what you did. Next time, I can't guarantee how I'll react."
Alia raised her eyebrows and asked skeptically:
"Is that a threat?"
"Not exactly."
Dmitri answered in Leonid's place, then stood and added:
"It's just a warning. In any case, I believe this meeting is over, yes?"
Kozlov closed his eyes and sighed deeply before saying:
"It's over. But remember all of you, we have to work as a team."
Vasili grumbled as he followed Dmitri out:
"I try my best, and all I get is scolding."
On the other side, Leonid remained in place, unmoving and silent. As for Alia, she rose with difficulty and left the room without looking at anyone.
"You're being too harsh on her."
Kozlov spoke suddenly, his tone carrying a hint of reproach. It was clear he was affected by Leonid's harsh treatment of Alia.
"Was I harsh?"
Leonid replied coolly, as if he saw no issue in the matter.
"Not excessively... but you were a bit too blunt,"
Vladimir commented calmly, then added while looking at him with interest:
"What exactly happened between the two of you?"
"This is about Charlotte, isn't it?"
Kozlov said this time, folding his arms before adding coldly:
"You're letting your emotions get involved… and that's not like you, Leonid."
Leonid narrowed his eyes slowly, his features hardening for a moment before he exhaled deeply, as if restraining something heavier than anger.
"If I hadn't arrived in time, Charlotte would've been in a bad state."
"A few harsh words wouldn't have hurt her,"
Kozlov said quietly, but his response was swept away by Leonid's words, which struck like a thunderclap:
"Alia didn't stop at words… she raised her voice and her hand against Charlotte."
A moment of silence fell, before Vladimir asked sharply, his eyes narrowing with growing suspicion:
"Are you saying… she actually used violence?"
Leonid looked at him steadily and replied in a calm but firm voice:
"Yes."