LITMIR.BIZ

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tell me exactly, and I’ll decide,” he said.

      “Exactly? You mean how often?” Katia did not even try to hide her anger. “When I ask him.”

      “Do you ask him often?”

      “Andrei Vladimirovich,” for the first time Katia addressed Captain by name, “what are these games you are playing? You were convincing enough. I believed you. I am one of the suspects, but I hope,” Katia smiled charmingly, “I am not the only one. Now we are wasting time.” Katia glanced at the large wall clock and, breaking her comfortable position, leaned forward in her chair.

      “Sorry, I have to get ready. I have an evening class today.”

      “You study?” Katia grinned unkindly.

      “I'm visiting shaping classes.”

      Andrei thought about his Annushka, who could not afford this sort of classes because of the high fee. “Thank you, Ekaterina Yurievna,” Andrei said, rising from his seat. “You helped me a lot.”

      “Really?” Katia was surprised. She wanted to ask why, but the desire to escort the Captain soon gained the upper hand, and she silently followed him, showing her intention to say goodbye.

* * *

      Tatiana Vladimirovna didn’t open the door for Captain Kudinov for a while. Finally she opened the door and unfriendly invited: “You again. Come in.” There was order in Tatiana’s apartment, but there was no cosiness in the understanding of Andrei Vladimirovich. Silly blue wallpaper; windows hung with curtains made of expensive sand-colored fabric, without tulle curtains; upholstered furniture, covered with colorful green and brown bedspreads; unsettled parquet floor. In the corner behind the cabinet there was a roll of carpet, seemingly red. On the wall above the sofa in an expensive frame with stucco work there was a reproduction of a forest landscape. The forest in the picture was unhealthy, with some rotting stumps in the foreground, a rotten swamp and an old crow. Andrei noted that this picture was not perceived as part of the interior, but rather seemed to be hanged by mistake and forgotten.

      After standing for a few seconds in the room, Tatiana Vladimirovna turned and went into the kitchen. Andrei Vladimirovich followed her. The kitchen was also clean, but Andrei did not like it here either. On the wall there was an old glossy calendar with the image of white kittens on a blue background. On the old refrigerator there was a red samovar painted with gilding, gilded macrame, white flowers, artificial flowers in a crystal vase on the table, a yellow teapot on the stove, three cutting boards painted with red roosters in black background. Other kitchen utensils, a green sofa covered with a red plaid, a yellow sconce above him – everything was in disharmony and spoke about the poor taste of the hostess. Tatiana herself had an unpleasant look: she was wrapped in a red terry bathrobe and was wearing soft blue slippers with white fur. At first Andrei thought that she was going to shower, but judging by how Tatiana thoroughly sat down on a stool, by the way she pulled cigarettes and lighter from her coat’s pocket, looking at her freshly applied makeup, or maybe for some other reason, Andrei Vladimirovich guessed that the girl was wearing her everyday home clothes. Tatiana Vladimirovna, who, apparently, had sat down on her favorite place, facing the window, pointed a place on the stool at the end of the table, lit a cigarette without offering Andrei, took out a clean crystal ashtray from the table drawer, and despite the fact that there was no ash on the tip of the cigarette yet, gracefully tapped the tip of the cigarette over it with a long, beautiful manicured finger. After making two more puffs, she finally turned to Andrei. “I'm listening to you.” These words somehow sounded distantly, with poorly hidden notes of reproach and irritation.

      “Tatiana Vladimirovna, I want to apologize…”

      “For what?” interrupted Tatiana. She rose her eyebrow, but there was no interest in her look. A mask of arrogant emptiness remained on the woman's face. “I'm afraid my questions can irritate you. This is a common thing in our work. And I want you to understand me correctly.” Andrei Vladimirovich was outwardly calm, but in fact he started to get a little annoyed.

      “Do you like your job?” girl's voice sounded sarcastic. “Yes,” Andrei answered firmly. “In the end, we catch the criminals.” Tatiana turned away from Andrei towards the window and said distantly:

      “But still they keep on committing crimes.

      They are in power, they’re among us,

      You say you catch them, or is it lies?”

      “Do you write poetry?” Asked Andrei in order to establish relations with the girl, but Tatiana, letting Andrei understand that she did not intend to spend time on conventions, ignoring his question, asked her own question:

      “So what should I understand?” This time there was a question in her gaze.

      “I want you to understand: by asking “stupid” questions, I want to come to the truth.”

      “I can tell you right away that I did not kill miss Frolova. I didn’t kill anyone.” Girl’s voice sounded resented, irritated and arrogant. “Tell me, do you always have a habit of taking a walk during morning hours?” Deliberately not responding to Tatiana’s irritation, Captain asked in an even voice.

      “No, usually, if I don’t work, I sleep at this time of day,” Tatiana replied without looking at the Captain, with the same expression, but more calmly. “Why did you go for a walk yesterday?”

      “Because I just wanted to go for a walk,” saying these words, Tatiana even shook her head in stubbornness. Her answer sounded defiantly, and behind it there was a rebuke and a request not to meddle in her affairs.

      “Or maybe you had insomnia yesterday?” Andrei still asked exactly.

      “No. I got up on the alarm clock,” the girl replied with an evil pressure, without developing an answer, deliberately provoking the next Captain’s question.

      “So you got up at a certain time?”

      “Yes. I told you, I woke up yesterday with an alarm clock.”

      “What about yesterday? You just decided to take a walk in the morning?” Andrei asked the question Tatiana expected.

      “Officer Kudinov, isn’t it…” the girl flashed her evil green eyes.

      “You can call me Andrei Vladimirovich.”

      “Officer Kudinov, I’m not going to report to anyone about what I did yesterday. I’m telling you, I didn’t kill anyone!” Tatiana pronounced these words looking evilly into Captain’s eyes, emphasizing every word and swaying a little to the beat of each spoken word.

      “A hysterical girl,” thought Andrei about Tatiana, “what was she doing? Seeing some guy or what? Okay, you have to give it another try.” He spoke softly, even a little insinuatingly:

      “Tatiana Vladimirovna, I knew that my questions would annoy you, but I'm here to protect you.”

      “Protect me? From whom?” There was still anger and indignation in girl’s voice.

      “You don’t understand that you play the killer game with your silence. I believe you didn’t kill anyone. I’m more than sure about that, but the facts… The facts speak against you. You are one of the suspects.”

      “Am I a suspect? Do you have facts?” Tatiana almost screamed, turning her whole body to the Captain. “What are the facts? What are you talking about?”

      “We know,” Andrei spoke as indifferently as possible, “that you have been in love with your neighbor, your former classmate, Leonid Alekseevich Izmailov since school.” According to the testimony of witnesses, you dislike his bride, Bychkova Clara Yurievna. It was her whom they tried to kill, not Frolova Nadezhda Yakovlevna. Nadezhda Yakovlevna was only an accidental victim. And we know that you, Tatiana Vladimirovna, for some unknown reason stayed somewhere at the time of the murder, while on other days you sleep at that time. Doesn’t it seem strange to you?” Andrei Vladimirovich said this and watched the woman. She seemed to be more and more shocked with each of his words. Her lips pursed, her hand with a cigarette trembled slightly. After a pause of thirty seconds, Tatiana asked in a stone voice: “Who are

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