You dragged him further, across the fence and along the road. Then, you brought him to the dam at the pond. There, you were scared by a peasant. What happened to you?”

Post’s face had lost all its color. He looked like a corpse. He stood up and swayed, almost fell, losing his balance.

“I can’t breathe. All right, all right. Let it be as you want, but let me breathe. Please.” The guard removed Post from the room.

“Finally, he has accepted his guilt,” said Rusty, making a sweet yawn. “He finally gave himself up. I did it in a very clever manner. I gave him all these facts.”

“He did not even deny the woman in black,” inserted Dukovsky. “But I can’t forget about this Swedish match. I can’t stand it any more. Good-bye. I have to go.”

Dukovsky put on his hat and left.

Rusty started interrogating Annie. She said that she did not know anything.

“I only slept with you, and no one else,” she said.

At six o’clock that evening, Dukovsky came back. He was more excited than he had ever been. His fingers were trembling to such an extent that he was not able to undo his coat. His cheeks were burning. It was clear that he brought very important news. “We are done with the case,” he said, arriving in the Rusty’s office and dropping into the armchair.

“I can swear on my word of honor that I am a genius.”

“Listen, you damned devil! Listen to me carefully, and you will he surprised, my dear friend. It is both funny and sad. We already have three people involved in this case, and I have found the fourth person; to be exact, the fourth woman, because she is a woman. And what a woman! I would have given away ten years of my life, just to touch her shoulders, she is so beautiful. But listen. I went to Banks’s estate and started making circles around it. I went to all the country stores, drug stores, pubs, and restaurants, asking for Swedish matches everywhere. Everyone said no. I searched all day, until night came.