R. Morris - The Gentle Axe

“You disguised yourself? How did you disguise yourself?”

“Is it important?”

“It may be. If he saw you and recognized you, it could have a bearing on the case.”

“He did not recognize me.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I disguised myself as a woman.”

“I see.”

“He looked straight at me and did not see me.”

“And so you followed him to the Nikolaevsky Station.”

“I stood behind him as he bought his ticket to Tosno. I heard him say the destination. I saw him take the ticket.”

“You were so close, and he didn’t recognize you?”

“He had no idea. I bought a ticket to Tosno myself. I took the train. I did not sit in the same compartment as him, but I had a good look at him. He was on the train. I saw him on the train.”

“So what happened?”

“I got off at Tosno. I was one of the first to get off, I swear. I saw everyone who got off that train.”

“And?”

“Ratazyayev did not get off the train.”

“He decided to continue his journey?”

“But here is the thing that is strange.”

“Go on.”

“I saw a man, a man I had noticed in Ratazyayev’s compartment, get off at Tosno, and he was carrying Ratazyayev’s case.”

“But it was not Ratazyayev.”

“Precisely.”

“I see. Can you be sure?”

“I was not sure at the time. I doubted the evidence of my own eyes. But now I am sure of it.”

“Why are you sure of it now?”

“Because Ratazyayev has not returned. From wherever he went, he has not returned. He should have been back, he promised me he would be back, two days ago. But he has not come back, and I have not had a single letter from him for the whole time. That is not like him. I know we quarreled, but he would not punish me so much. We have quarreled before, and he has always come back. There have been tears. And reproaches. But forgiveness also. He knows I would forgive him. And he would forgive me.”

Porfiry paused to allow the prince to master himself. Then he asked, “Can you describe the case?”

“It is a brown case.” Prince Bykov mopped his cheeks with an enormous handkerchief. “A brown leather suitcase.”

“But how can you be sure it was Ratazyayev’s case? There must be many people who have brown suitcases.”

“It was the same size and shape, and it was scratched in a certain way.”

Prince Bykov watched expectantly as Porfiry finished his cigarette and stubbed it out in his crystal ashtray. “It is inconclusive,” he announced.

The young prince became crestfallen. “However, if you bear with me for one moment, I would like you to look at something.”

It took several minutes for the case to be brought. There was some doubt as to its whereabouts, whether indeed it was still in the station. Lieutenant Salytov put his head around the door at one point to challenge Porfiry’s order. “You are aware that as of today this investigation is officially over?”

“I am aware of that, Ilya Petrovich, though I am grateful to you for bringing it to my attention. However, this is to do with another investigation. This gentleman-a prince, no less-has reported a missing person. His testimony makes mention of a piece of luggage. In order to get a more accurate impression of this particular article of luggage, I wished to compare it to the suitcase that you found in Petrovsky Park. That is all.”

Salytov seemed dubious, suspicious even. And no doubt the necessity of instigating a search was inconvenient to him. But in the end the case was tracked down. It had left the room in which evidence is stored, but not the station, and was found under an officer’s desk. Clearing out the old case files that had been temporarily stored in it took only a few moments.

Prince Bykov nodded tensely when the case was put on Porfiry’s desk. “That is it. That is Ratazyayev’s. The scratch on the front is the same.”

As Porfiry entered the main headquarters of the St. Petersburg City Police Department, he was impressed not so much by the grandeur of the building as by its immaculate preservation. The contrast with the Haymarket District station was marked. The very uniforms of the policemen, even when they were of the same rank as the men in his own bureau, seemed crisper and smarter. He had the sense of visiting wealthier relatives and felt that he should be on his best behavior.

The building was situated at 2 Gorokhovaya Street, close to the Admiralty. Prokuror Liputin’s chambers were on the third floor. Porfiry walked slowly up the stairs. The echoing clip of his heels drew disapproving glances from those coming down.

He was kept waiting, as he knew he would be, for over an hour before being admitted to an office similar to his own, except larger, cleaner, and with newer furniture. The prokuror was seated at his desk, his head bowed as he studied a case file. When he finally looked up, his face was puckered by a scowl of displeasure.

“Porfiry Petrovich.” He made the possession of such a name sound like a crime.

“Your excellency.”

“What is this about?”

“I wish to apply for permission to reopen the investigation into the murder of Goryanchikov.”

“The dwarf?”

“New evidence has come to light.”

“What are you doing seeking new evidence?”

“I did not seek the evidence. It came to me.”

“What is this evidence?”

“It is the testimony of a prince. As you know, our law makes clear that the rank of a witness has a bearing on the reliability of his testimony. The testimony of a prince cannot be discounted.”

“Who is this prince?”

“Prince Bykov.”

“What is his testimony?”

“He has identified the suitcase in which the student Goryanchikov was found as belonging to an associate of his. One Ratazyayev. This Ratazyayev is now missing.”

Liputin screwed his face up in distaste. “How did he come to see the suitcase?”

“I showed it to him.”

“You showed it to him!”

“There were certain details concerning Ratazyayev’s suitcase, which is itself pertinent to his disappearance. I felt that if Prince Bykov saw the case found in Petrovsky Park, it would help him to describe the missing man’s luggage.”

“You were playing games, Porfiry Petrovich.”

“I was pursuing a connection.”

“Who is this Ratazyayev?”

“An actor.”

“An actor!” exclaimed Liputin disdainfully.

“A very good friend of Prince Bykov, who is himself accepted within the highest echelons of our society. He speaks warmly of the Stroganov-Golitsyns.”

“The dwarf was killed by the yardkeeper. The yardkeeper committed suicide,” recited Liputin.

“Perhaps that is true. But still the question remains, how did Goryanchikov’s body come to be found in Ratazyayev’s suitcase? And where, indeed, is Ratazyayev?”

“How can he be sure that it is the same case? It is a nondescript kind of brown suitcase. There must be thousands of them in circulation in St. Petersburg. No, it is not enough. You may only investigate the disappearance of Ratazyayev. You may not assume any connection between the cases.” Noting the look of disappointment on Porfiry’s face, the prokuror added with an insincere smile: “I am only protecting you from yourself, Porfiry Petrovich. The last thing I want is for you to make a fool of yourself over this. Besides, it’s not like you to be seduced by a minor member of the aristocracy.”

That night Porfiry dined in his chambers: fish soup, sturgeon and beans fetched from the Palais de Cristal restaurant on the corner of Sadovaya Street and Voznesensky Prospect. Or rather, the food was laid in front of him by Zakhar, the aged manservant provided for him by the government. Zakhar took it away hardly touched.