The Tangled Suspicions

"What happened inside this apartment?"

Officer Pyotr's eyes widened as he examined the living room, joining the other officer along with Vasili. The cushions were scattered, and one of the couches was slightly out of place, as if someone had bumped into it in a hurry. On the floor, right by the entrance, tiny droplets of blood were splattered, dark under the lamp's glow. There was no doubt… it was the blood of the husky puppy, which meant it had been killed here.

Pyotr, the officer, and Vasili exchanged wary glances before the former hesitantly whispered,

"Was the perpetrator trying to rob the apartment, and while doing so… killed the puppy?"

"Maybe… but something doesn't feel right."

Vasili muttered as he walked cautiously, scanning his surroundings, while the other officer shrugged.

Near the entrance, the high-heeled shoe was still there, its missing pair had been found in Sophia's apartment. Vasili thought to himself that Charlotte hadn't yet realized she would never find her other shoe again.

"Excuse me."

Suddenly, a cold voice interrupted them. The officer turned to find Leonid standing at the door, his sharp eyes surveying the apartment as if weighing every detail.

Pyotr furrowed his brows and said firmly,

"What are you doing here, Mr. Leonid? This is a crime scene. No one is allowed in."

Leonid raised his gaze indifferently and replied without hesitation,

"So what? This is my girlfriend's apartment, and I'm the second person after Charlotte who knows exactly how it looked before the break-in."

Pyotr cast him a suspicious look but didn't stop him as he stepped inside. Leonid observed the mess in the living room, cast a brief glance at the kitchen, then narrowed his eyes as he approached the slightly open bedroom door.

"Nothing seems different here… just traces of blood. But where's the murder weapon?"

Suddenly, Leonid moved past the officer, heading toward the bathroom. He picked up a towel, dried his hair, then returned with his eyes locked on the slightly open bedroom door.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'nothing seems different'?"

Leonid didn't answer. Instead, he gently pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Who does he think he is?!"

Pyotr pressed his lips together in frustration at being ignored, but he stopped when Vasili raised a calming hand.

"He's the boyfriend of the apartment's owner, which means he knows every little detail about this place" 

Pyotr eyed him warily before muttering,

"Or maybe he's the perpetrator."

Then, adjusting his uniform, he followed Leonid into the bedroom. In his eyes, everyone was a suspect.

Unlike the living room, the bedroom was perfectly neat, as if untouched.

"Stay right there and explain."

Pyotr stood in front of Leonid, his green eyes searching for answers as he added,

"And what exactly is your relationship with Charlotte Smith?"

The other officer moved to block the door while Vasili stood behind him, tense, watching Leonid carefully, as if expecting him to explode at any moment.

But Leonid remained calm, his cold eyes staring into Pyotr's without emotion.

"Don't you understand the meaning of "girlfriend"? We're in a romantic relationship."

He said it calmly, but he didn't linger on the officer. Instead, he continued examining the room as if something didn't sit right with him.

"I understand, fine. Now, explain what you meant when you said 'nothing seems different'?"

Without lifting his eyes from the bedside table, Leonid replied,

"As for that…"

He paused for a moment before running his fingers over the surface of the nightstand.

"The mess in the living room was caused by us, not anyone else. We were playing before heading to the rooftop to enjoy the rain."

Pyotr let out a sarcastic chuckle.

"You went out to enjoy the rain? What are you, children?"

It was clear he was annoyed, not just by Leonid's cryptic responses, but by his disregard for police authority.

"By the way, I haven't liked your answers from the start."

He stepped forward, scrutinizing Leonid's appearance. He had been soaked just minutes ago, yet now he was completely dry. Pyotr slowly pressed his lips together before saying sharply,

"You are… very suspicious."

Vasili closed his eyes for a moment. He could feel it, the tension before the storm, radiating from Leonid without a doubt.

In the hallway, a firm female voice broke the silence.

"When will the lawyer arrive?"

Alia raised her wrist, checked her watch, then glanced at Kaiser, who appeared indifferent as he calmly responded,

"I don't know."

Alia took a step forward, her voice filled with anger.

"What do you mean? Didn't you say the building's policy prohibits questioning victims or suspects without a lawyer present? Where is he?!"

Kaiser didn't seem affected by her frustration. He simply cast her a brief glance before replying indifferently,

"Charlotte is still unconscious, so no one has contacted him yet."

Alia's brows furrowed sharply.

"So I've been waiting for nothing?!"

Kaiser merely shrugged, while Maxime raised his arm, positioning himself between them in a clear attempt to de-escalate the situation.

"Officer, please respect the building's security and privacy policies. As for the lawyer, didn't we clarify this earlier? Why would an innocent tenant call a lawyer when the victim herself hasn't?"

Alia's jaw tightened, and fury ignited in her eyes. Her hand clenched and unclenched in a desperate attempt to control her temper. She wished she could unleash her combat skills on this young man who showed her nothing but disrespect!

"What the security guard is saying is correct. Please remain calm, ma'am."

Natalia's calm voice only made things worse. Alia shot her a sharp glare, resentment simmering in her chest. What kind of disrespect was this?! But before she could say anything, she noticed movement in the hallway.

Daniel.

He stood there, his pale skin looking even paler, his tired eyes heavy with exhaustion. Slowly, he made his way forward until he stopped behind Kaiser, then spoke in a barely audible voice.

"Charlotte woke up."

"She's awake? Go inform the other officers in Apartment 399 that Charlotte Smith has regained consciousness!"

Alia immediately ordered Maxime. At the same moment, Kaiser's eyes widened, and he shouted without thinking,

"She woke up?!"

He rushed straight to his bedroom, with the others following behind.

There, they found Charlotte curled up on the bed in a fetal position, her frail body wrapped in a blanket as she trembled softly. Her swollen, tear-filled eyes glistened under the dim light.

"Charlotte…"

Kaiser called her name gently and approached until he sat beside her. For a moment, he hesitated, then raised his left hand and softly wiped her tears away with his thumb, as if afraid she might break even more.

"There's no need to grieve over the puppy…"

Kaiser whispered, his voice carrying both comfort and plea.

"The police are doing their best to catch the killer, so… don't cry anymore."

In the background, Natalia and Alia remained silent, observing the scene. Alia exchanged a quick glance with Daniel, then seized the moment to gather information.

"You're Daniel Belovsky, right?"

Daniel nodded slowly, far more cooperative than his friends.

"Tell me what happened, please. Don't hide any details."

Daniel remained silent for a moment, as if the words were suffocating inside him. Then, in a faint voice, he began recounting,

"Before I returned to the building, my girlfriend asked me to invite Charlotte to her birthday party. So, I had to stop by her apartment. When I was about to knock… I noticed the door was open."

He swallowed hard, his voice growing quieter.

""But before I could push it open, a tall man suddenly rushed out, coming from the inside violently."

He stopped abruptly, his gray eyes freezing for a moment as he stared at Kaiser's back, which completely blocked Charlotte from view. Then, his voice trembled as he continued,

"I saw that man… raise his hand suddenly, then he threw Hunter onto the floor."

His face contorted, as if the words themselves were suffocating him, and he continued in a broken voice,

"The only thing I remember… is falling to my knees, staring at Hunter as he… he…"

He stopped again, trying to hold back his tears, but he failed. Pressing his lips tightly together, he averted his gaze from Alia, leaning against the wall as he harshly wiped his eyes, as if trying to erase the pain by force.

He kept Charlotte's wish and didn't tell anyone what he saw afterwards. 

Meanwhile, inside Charlotte's bedroom, a smirk played on Leonid's lips. The corners of his mouth curled up slowly as he stared at Officer Pyotr.

"So, in your eyes, I'm a suspect too?"

His voice was calm, yet there was a clear provocation beneath his words, prompting Vasili to intervene quickly, raising his hands in an attempt to defuse the tension.

"Please, please, let's all stay calm."

He stepped between the two, acting as a barrier between Leonid and his colleague. Then, turning to Piotr, his tone was firm yet neutral.

"Officer Pyotr, you need to remain professional. You can't throw around accusations without clear evidence."

But Pyotr didn't back down. His voice grew sharper as he shot Leonid an accusatory look.

"I'm not accusing him for no reason. This man is highly suspicious. Maybe the mess in the living room wasn't from 'playing' as he claims, but from him assaulting Charlotte Smith. And who knows? Maybe he killed the puppy because it tried to protect her."

A heavy silence fell over the room. Leonid's eyes narrowed, and his smirk slowly faded. Then, in a low voice, sharp as a blade, he said,

"My God… Not only do you suspect me, but now you're falsely accusing me?"

With one swift motion, he pushed Vasili aside and took a step forward, standing face-to-face with Pyotr. The height difference wasn't significant, but Leonid's overwhelming presence made him seem much taller.

He looked at him coldly before whispering with pure disdain,

"You're making mistakes like a little boy who pretends he can read when he doesn't even understand the letters."

Pyotr's brows furrowed, and his fist clenched tightly in anger.

"Are you mocking a police officer?!"

"And what about you? Are you accusing an innocent citizen without evidence? What kind of education did you even receive?!"

Leonid completely lost his temper and shouted in the officer's face. In a moment of fury, he raised his hand, almost grabbing Pyotr by the collar, but Vasili was faster, rushing in to separate them.

"Leonid, what are you doing? Have you lost your mind?!"

Vasili spoke in a low voice, but the emotions he held toward Leonid were impossible to conceal.

He couldn't believe how easily Leonid had cracked in front of a rookie officer, someone with no real experience handling situations like this.

Leonid scowled, biting his lower lip sharply before muttering, his fists tightening.

"He's a disgrace. Let me teach him a lesson so he learns how to use his brain!"

Leonid was at his breaking point, and that arrogant officer who understood nothing wasn't helping.