Paint the town red

Chapter XIV

Workdays went on as usual and, thank God, we no longer received reports of new murders. Frederick made it clear to everyone that I could be the third victim of our elusive maniac, which made me feel a little annoyed. I was supervised by literally everyone in our police station and I felt more like a criminal, but not a potential victim. Although I myself highly doubt that possibility.

Speaking of work: just a couple of days ago, the body of the second victim was taken to his homeland, where the Australian M.E. only confirmed Esteban's conclusions. Oscar's relatives were able to adequately escort the guy on his last journey, and now we are constantly in touch with the Melbourne police station.

I was able to meet my old friend George several times this week, as promised, I told him where my neighbor Yuki came from, who Max was and what conclusions about the case we came to at the station. While chatting in a cafe, I received several texts from people who care about my life: Max, Yuki and even from Esti and Logan. The first person on my list sent especially a lot of texts. At one of these meetings in a cafe, George also joked that "Max is too worried about you, and you're just partners," and he highlighted the last word with a very nasty intonation.

"We're just partners, nothing more. Although he's damn attractive.... And I'm attracted to him."

"So what's the problem?"

George took a sip of tea from his mug and looked at me intently, as if waiting for a reasoned answer. And that was the answer I was having trouble finding.

"The problem is that we're partners. And couples can't work together, because..."

"Yeah, yeah, I've already heard about the stories of couples whose relationships fell apart because of working together. But you haven't even tried."

"What's the point, if everything is clear as a day? Firefighters aren't allowed to work in the same brigade as their loved ones, so what makes you think the police are any different?"

My friend shrugged because he knew it was useless to argue with me. I wouldn't mind trying to date Max myself, but first of all, what makes me think he'd agree? And secondly, then we can't be partners, because our relationship will interfere with our professional activities. So we agreed not to bring up this topic anymore and talk about something else.

Russell talked about how he graduated from law school and how he practiced at a famous law firm, but eventually decided to open a personal business so that he wouldn't depend on anyone and work for his own pleasure. And according to my buddy, he's pretty good at it. I, in turn, told how I was brought to our police station in general and about my mentor, I told him about the cases in passing, because we both understood the legal aspects of disclosing any particular details. He was even amused by the fact that I am still considered a "rookie" among detectives, but the current case was entrusted to me for some reason. I remember asking Frederick about it, and he said that sooner or later I'd have to deal with it anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to have the experience. But that was long before everyone found out that I knew both the first and the second victim, and that I could become the third.

George came to Monaco for a couple of weeks – he wanted to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the Albion and just "warm his bones under the sun". And when I found out that I was still living and working here, he felt it was his duty to find me and meet a few times. We always got along well with him, which is why such meetings were pleasant for both of us and allowed us to distance ourselves from the terrible realities of our daily lives.

At one of our meetings, we were talking about me and Max again. I was reluctant at first to talk about it, but eventually I gave up, and because of my friend's attentive gaze, I felt like I was at an appointment with a psychotherapist who would now slowly pull things out of me that I was afraid to admit to myself.