"Alright, Semyonych, I’ll be back."

"Yeah," Semyonych nodded. "Oh, right, Leon… you asked for this." He pulled a small box from the desk and handed it to Alexei. "These are the items found with him. The ring’s the main thing; the rest didn’t survive."

"Semyonych, thanks," Alexei smiled gratefully. "I almost forgot." He opened the bag and took out the silver ring with a garnet stone.

"Beautiful," Alexei muttered, slipping the ring back into the bag as he headed for the hallway.

Leon Filatov was easy to spot from afar. Though he was 45, short, and starting to go gray, he had a certain charm. He often attracted people with his amusing expressions, his ability to listen, and the way his small, dark eyes lit up in a lively conversation.

There was always a lot of noise around him. At the end of the hallway, he was standing surrounded by young female employees from the prosecutor's office, apparently entertaining them with some tall tale, as the laughter echoing through the building didn’t quite suit the setting.

"Leon!" Alexei called out to him.

"Alexei, hey!" Leon responded, excited, clearly catching his breath between jokes.

"Where are you supposed to be working?" Alexei asked jokingly.

"Alright, girls, the jokes are over," Filatov turned to the ladies he had been entertaining.

The young women shifted their attention from Filatov to Alexei, who was younger and more handsome than their storyteller. Noticing this, Filatov fell silent, darting his eyes between the women.

"Ah…" he stretched out. His expression grew serious, as if he were about to say something very important. "The guy had a tough childhood, his dad’s the district prosecutor."

The girls burst into laughter again.

"You're such a rascal," Alexei said with a smile, looking at his friend. He took Filatov by the arm, and they moved aside.

"Hey, Alexei, have you eaten yet?" Filatov asked before Alexei could speak.

"I have. I had lunch before I came here."

"Lucky you. I haven’t eaten yet… Let’s go grab something, you can keep me company."

"Alright," Alexei hesitated, "let’s go, I’ll have some coffee."

They both walked toward the exit. After settling nearby in a café, Alexey asked:

"Lenya, how long are you going to keep arguing with your father?"

"Well… you're asking some tough questions…" Filatov retorted.

"I'm sick of both of you!" Alexey said, opening the menu.

"Alright, what are you doing here anyway?" Filatov asked.

"My dad gave me a case."

"That one about the bodies in the swamps?!" Filatov asked eagerly.

"Yeah, why?"

"Damn, I asked for that case myself! There's just a cold case report to write up and that's it."

"Well, that's why I got it… he said they needed to open a case."

"Why?" Filatov looked at Alexey in confusion.

"I don't know," Alexey shrugged it off.

"There are wildfires in the region, the swamps are burning, and now all the old 'who did what where' is floating up," Filatov sighed sadly.

"It's an unusual case. I'm curious what happened there 30 years ago."

"When are you planning to go?" Filatov asked, waving to the waitress.

"I'll sit with you for a bit. Semyonich said he'll have the results after lunch, so I'll probably head straight there to check the crime scene. By the way, why are you here?"

"You heard about Goryainov getting whacked?" Filatov asked.

"No… seriously?! That's crazy! Goryainov himself? What's going to happen to the Goryainov criminal group now?" Alexey closed the menu.

"I took the case myself," Filatov bragged, "just waiting for the forensics, then I'll wrap everything up and send it to court… it's clear whose hand was behind it… Have you seen the new girl?"