‘It is always a pleasure to receive a visit from Yaroslav Nikolayevich. I’m sure today will be no exception,’ said Porfiry with a tense smile.
‘Whom did he murder?’ The question came, unexpectedly, from the drifting girl, who angled her head in the direction of the ceiling, while regarding Porfiry out of the corner of her eye.
‘The victim, I believe, is known to you, if I am correct in assuming that you are Tatyana Ruslanovna. It is Colonel Alexei Setochkin.’
‘Alyosha!’ There was a moment in which her disconnected gaze latched on to Porfiry hungrily. She even turned her head to face him. But then she rolled her eyes upwards in a gesture of dismissal. ‘He had no need to do that. I had finished with Alyosha.’
‘Tatyana,’ said Nastasya Petrovna darkly. ‘What is the meaning of this? Who is this Alyosha?’
‘A nobody. I’m glad he’s dead. I will congratulate Daddy.’ For the first time, the girl seemed to notice Virginsky. She looked at him with a glance that invited complicity.
‘Good grief! What has got into you?’ To Porfiry, Nastasya Petrovna added: ‘See what you have done? Yaroslav Nikolayevich will sort this out. We will do nothing until Yaroslav Nikolayevich arrives.’
‘I am afraid that will not be possible. At least not as far as I am concerned. I have my duties to attend to. I will have to ask you to wait outside, Nastasya Petrovna.’
‘Really!’
‘There are seats provided for your comfort.’
‘You expect me to rub shoulders with common criminals?’
‘Of course not.’ Porfiry turned to Zamyotov. ‘Alexander Grigorevich, would you kindly see to it that no criminals are seated next to this lady.’
‘But it is so difficult to tell these days,’ said Zamyotov airily. ‘Anyone may turn out to be a murderer.’ He fixed Virginsky with a pointed look as he said this.
‘Your sarcasm has not gone unnoticed,’ said Nastasya Petrovna to Porfiry. ‘Yaroslav Nikolayevich will be made aware of it when he arrives, rest assured. Come, Tatyana.’
‘If you please,’ put in Porfiry quickly, ‘Tatyana Ruslanovna will stay. I have a few questions I wish to put to her alone.’
‘Alone? But she is a child. I will not have you intimidating her.’
‘I am not a child. You’re worse than Daddy. He’s always treating me as a child and now look what’s happened.’
Nastasya Petrovna’s eyes enlarged significantly at this outburst.
Tatyana Ruslanovna softened her tone to her mother. ‘It’s better we do what they want. Better for Daddy.’
‘But Yaroslav Nikolayevich — ’
‘Yaroslav Nikolayevich is not coming. Yaroslav Nikolayevich thinks you are a tiresome old woman. He barely remembered you. And didn’t remember Daddy at all. He only agreed to help us to be rid of us. We were disturbing his breakfast and he wanted us out of his sight. So he sent a man to find out what had happened. It does not greatly inconvenience Yaroslav Nikolayevich to have his man running to the police headquarters. There were probably papers that he needed picking up. Didn’t he make us wait in a shabby drawing room while he finished his breakfast? And he did not even have the grace to say goodbye in person. He left that honour to his pimply servant, who as good as escorted us off the premises. Do you not know what it is to be insulted, Mother?’
‘How can you say such things? In front of them?’
‘It is the truth. Why will you never face up to the truth? You have deluded yourself about Yaroslav Nikolayevich. You have deluded yourself about Daddy. You delude yourself about everything. ’
Nastasya Petrovna put her hands over her ears and began screaming. ‘Cruel, ungrateful child! I will not listen to another word!’
‘Then wait outside, Mother. You need not concern yourself on my behalf. I’m not afraid of these men.’ Tatyana Ruslanovna’s gaze swooped imperiously over Porfiry and Virginsky. She angled her face upwards imperiously.
‘Please sit down.’ Porfiry gestured with both hands to the sofa. Tatyana Ruslanovna viewed it suspiciously, but at last deigned to lower herself into it. ‘Please be assured’, continued Porfiry, ‘that I earnestly desire to eliminate your father from my investigation and that I will do everything in my power to bring that about as soon as possible.’
‘Don’t trouble yourself on my account. I’m sure you had your reasons for arresting Daddy.’
Porfiry froze on his way to his desk, turning his head sharply back towards her. ‘But do you really think your father capable of murder?’
‘It’s like that other man said, isn’t it? Anyone may turn out to be a murderer.’
‘I wonder, do you include yourself in that philosophy?’
‘Certainly. I have come close to it many times. I would not be surprised if one day I find myself in one of your cells.’
‘I sincerely hope not.’ Porfiry at last took his seat.
‘Me too. I’ll be very clever and escape your detection.’ Tatyana Ruslanovna gave a glassy little laugh.
‘I rather think a better course of action would be to avoid murdering anyone in the first place.’
‘Well, of course, I will try. But I am only human.’
Porfiry flickered his eyelids in an attempt to gather his thoughts. ‘What did you mean when you said that your mother had deluded herself about your father?’
‘There are things that I am not supposed to know. For example, Daddy has a bookcase in his library. It is kept locked. But I know where the key is. And I have read the books that he keeps in there.’
‘Novels?’
‘I think there is another word for the type of books they are.’
‘I understand. I know the kind of books you are referring to.’
‘I expect you do. I expect you like to read them too.’
‘I have encountered them in a professional capacity.’
Her brittle laughter rang out again. There was something broken and cynical to the sound which, given her youthfulness, disturbed Porfiry. ‘You men can never own up to your natures, can you? Well at least Alyosha was honest in that respect. He knew what he wanted and was not ashamed to ask for it.’ She looked at Virginsky, who was standing by the window. Her smile was a fragment of the same laughter. He was not able to return her look.
‘Were you aware that your father received an anonymous letter concerning your relations with Colonel Setochkin?’ asked Porfiry.
‘Oh yes! He was furious about it.’
‘Did he show you the letter?’
‘Of course. He thought it would shame me into mending my ways, or some such nonsense.’
‘I see. I take it that it did not have the effect he desired?’
‘I will not be lectured to by a hypocrite. All his sanctimonious bowing down before the icons, and he was no better than me.’ Once more she tilted her head upwards, a gesture of contempt.
Porfiry flexed his brows thoughtfully. A small, almost pained, smile flickered briefly. ‘Strange. Those were almost the same words he used to me.’
‘My mother has fallen for his act, but not I. She hasn’t seen what I have seen.’
‘You are referring to the books in the locked bookcase?’
‘Yes, the books. And the diaries. He keeps dirty little diaries, you know, of all his dirty little antics.’
‘Diaries? You mean there’s more than one?’ said Porfiry.
‘Oh yes. Five or six.’
‘And you have read them?’
‘Oh yes.’
‘That must have been hard for you.’
‘Oh yes. He has a terrible style.’
Porfiry’s head trembled towards a bow. ‘And does your father know that you have read them?’
‘Oh no.’ Tatyana Ruslanovna smiled her self-satisfaction.
‘These diaries are in the locked bookcase in your father’s library?’
Tatyana Ruslanovna nodded.
‘Where is the key to the bookcase?’
Tatyana Ruslanovna laughed, the same broken laugh as before. ‘You’d like to read them, would you?’
‘They may have some bearing on the case.’