Taming a Rhino

Chapter 17. Just a friend.

- If I say husband, will you shut up and let me work in peace? - Lien growled, glaring at Tien, who looked pleased with himself.

- Lum'd sooner get married than you'd say something like that, like I don't know you! - sneered the lieutenant, glancing at Keane.

- Husband! Happy? The husband called! - Raed raised his voice and heard the sound of a scalpel falling to the floor.

- Can I work in silence now? Thank you! - Lien scolded as the four men in the morgue stood in shock.

There was silence in the abode now, only the sound of the camera shutter as Lum took pictures and the quiet rustle of two scalpels working. After an hour, Lien donned a blanket and began a detailed examination. After determining the gender, approximate age, and cause of death - carbon monoxide poisoning - Raed moved on to the mother, because Keene had gotten the father.

"Good thing you died before your body was consumed by fire...a painless death...sleep well, little one..." thought Lien, but his thoughts were interrupted.

Trun trun trun trun trun

Tin's phone rang and he flinched, quickly answering the call, -Yes, Captain... Got it... thank you....

- The fire captain said the cause of the fire was a short circuit in the wiring. So... I hope it was an accident," Tin explained, and just at that moment the detective sent the results of the neighborhood survey to his phone.

A family of three bought this house six months ago. The boy was 9, the mother was a hairdresser, the father a manager in a construction firm. The house was mortgaged, they had no debts. No arguments with neighbors, no drinking.

- Don't you find that suspicious, Tin? - Lien asked and the man looked at the bloodhound, who seemed to understand what the handsome man was talking about.

- Thinking about how the builder didn't notice the poor state of the wiring? - Gan asked in response and Raed nodded.

- Lien, there is not malice in everything. You can't take away the human element. Maybe he just came home from work tired and didn't have time to replace the wiring. Maybe he knew, but put it off for later, for his vacation," Tin explained, and Lien nodded.

After examining the woman's body and determining the same cause of death as the boy's, Lien wrote out the death certificates. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was almost 11 pm and most importantly, no text or call from Nan....

- He really didn't call..." Lien muttered and walked out of the morgue with his phone in his hands.

After taking off his robe, Lien raised his hand and smelled the sleeve of his shirt and realized that he smelled of burning, but he didn't go to shower, but went straight to the condo. Raed was greeted by a security guard with a smile as he entered the elevator. Turning on the hallway light, the man noticed a pair of shoes on a shelf and smiled.

"What a pet...and where are you?"- thought the man, stepping into his slippers and heading first to the bathroom to throw in the clothes to wash.

The light from the hallway just hit the open door of the room where the man slept on the bed. Quietly making his way to the bathroom, Lien undressed and, checking the wash mode on the labels, threw the clothes into the machine, carefully placing the clamp on the shelf.

After taking a shower and immediately drying his hair in the tub, Raed lay down in bed, facing the man sleeping on his stomach. Nan felt the bed rock slightly and reached out and pulled the man to him with a smile.