This is reason enough to commit murder. We have two persons on our hands. Who is the third one? Nicholas and Post held him. But who actually strangled him? Post is a humble man who is afraid of everything. And people like Nicholas simply do not know how to strangle with a pillow. If they kill, they kill with an axe. There must be someone else, the third person who strangled him, but who is it?”

Dukovsky moved his hat over his eyes and became lost in his thoughts. He kept silence until the moment the carriage arrived at the detective’s house.

“I have it now!” he cried out, as they came into the house and he took off his coat. “I’ve got it. I am surprised that it never struck me before! Do you know who the third person was?’

“Stop it, please! Here, supper is ready. Take a seat at the table, and let’s eat!”

The detective and Dukovsky sat down to have supper. Dukovsky poured a shot of vodka for himself, stood up, stretched himself and said, with his eyes shining,

“You must know the name of the third person who acted with the scoundrel Post. You should know that this was a woman! I am talking about the landlord’s sister, Maria Ivanovna.”

Rusty coughed, as he drank his vodka, and started at Dukovsky,

“Are you mad? How is your head? You don’t have a headache, do you?”

“I’m fine, just fine. All right, maybe I am going too far, maybe I have gone mad, but how can you explain her embarrassment when she saw us come in? How can you explain her unwillingness to testify? Let’s admit that this is not the most important thing. All right. But then, remember about their relationship. She hated her brother! She has strict morals, and he is a very dissipated man. Here is where the hatred abides! People say that he convinced her that he was Satan’s angel. And he even practiced Spiritualism in her presence.”

“And so what?”

“Don’t you understand? She killed him because she was a fanatic! She didn’t just kill a bad and dissipated man, but she also relieved the world of a bad man. And she thinks that this was her merit, her virtuous and heroic deed. Oh, you simply don’t know these old spinsters, these fanatics! Read Dostoevsky! Read Leskov! It was her, I am certain that it was her, and you call kill me if I am wrong. His sister strangled him. Oh, nasty woman! She attempted to deceive us. She thought, ‘Let me stay here and pray, and they will think that I am only a quiet, pious woman, and they won’t have any interest in me.’ This is the way all amateur criminals behave! My dear friend, Nikolai Ermolaeveich! Give this case to me! Let me personally complete the investigation and close the case. Dear sir! I have started it, and I want to finish it.”

The detective shook his head and frowned.

“I know for myself how to deal with complicated cases like this one!” he said. “And it is none of your business to interfere, unless I have asked you for your opinion. You should write down what I dictate to you—this is the duty for which you are paid. That is all.”

Dukovsky snorted and left the room, closing the door with a bang behind him.

“A clever young man, yes he is,” said Rusty looking toward the door. “However, he is too hot and unbalanced sometimes. I should buy him a gift at the next fair, a cigarette case or something.”

On the next day, a young man from the local village was brought to the detective.