with ornamental elbow patches.
«May I?» he indicated the armchair next to the desk.
Elena nodded and Krasin sat down. From behind his glasses, his clingy gaze traversed across the desk and down to the detective’s feet; it clambered its way up the detective’s figure and stuck intently to her face. Petelina found herself the subject of an unabashed examination by a pair of hazel, half-squinted eyes. She began to feel uncomfortable: She was accustomed to observing the faces and mental states of her guests – not vice versa. Petelina sat down behind her desk, shuffled some papers, opened and closed a drawer and adjusted her laptop’s screen.
«Please, feel yourself at ease, Detective Petelina,» Krasin said graciously.
Okay, this is too far!
The detective shut her laptop and looked defiantly at the psychiatrist.
«I’d like to remind you that it was I who invited you here and not the other way around,» she said.
Krasin leaned back in his chair and let a smile ooze across his face.
«Your uniform flatters you. I like women in uniform. The female body in a male guise connotes a volatile admixture of emotion and reason. Two opposing elements and which will be victorious remains an open question.»
Petelina made a show of turning on the voice recorder and rattled off in an icy voice:
«I am more interested in a different kind of question. I called you, Dr. Krasin, to discuss a patient of yours with you.»
«I am all ears.» The psychiatrist leaned forward officiously. «Whom do you have in mind?»
Elena could clearly make out his aquiline nose with its prominent bridge which looked custom made to support the glasses resting on it. Or had his toucan’s beak evolved to accommodate the hefty frames’ tectonic pressure?
«Inna Maltseva.»
«Inna… is not a simple case.»
«How long have you known her?»
«About three months. I was treating her for depression.»
«Is her affliction related to her familial relationships?»
«Yes and no.»
«Could you explain what you mean, please?»
«I am a doctor. For me, the physician-patient privilege is sacro – »
«Inna Maltsev is the main suspect in a brutal murder.»
Krasin threw up his hands.
«I am aware of the horrible tragedy that has occurred in her family. It is a very sad – »
«How did you find out?» the detective latched on.
«He husband, Dmitry, called me. He was cursing, accusing me of being unprofessional, that kind of thing. Tell me, did Inna really commit such a horrible act?»
«Let’s not change the subject, Dr. Krasin. Please answer my questions. And so, what were the symptoms of Mrs. Maltseva’s depression?»
«Please understand that in our society, people go to the psychiatrist as a last resort – they are at the end of the line and have nowhere else to turn. More often than not, their relatives force them to take this step. Accordingly, Inna’s husband first brought her to me.»
«Did you know him prior to that?»
«No. One of his acquaintances recommended me to him. Word of mouth is the best advertisement for a doctor. For a lawyer too, by the way. As for a detective… Well, obviously your clients aren’t exactly eager to find you.»
«Unfortunately, I am not lacking in clients.»
«You know, me too,» Krasin laughed. «What is happening to this country!»
«I would like to know the cause of Inna Maltseva’s depression.»
«That is a sad topic. Inna was being treated for a long time. Not by me, but by an OB/GYN. She was diagnosed with recurrent pregnancy loss. This disease causes systematic early-term miscarriages due to genetic errors. Do you have children Detective Petelina?» Krasin asked suddenly.
«We are talking about Mrs. Maltseva at the moment,» the detective reminded the psychiatrist yet again.
«Of course.» Krasin splayed out his palms before himself in a peacemaking gesture. «You know, I am happy to see a woman in charge of this case. A reasonable woman. You will understand Inna’s condition better than a man would. I am sure that you have a child. Just one. Did I guess correctly? A girl, most likely. A lovely girl who resembles her mother, who loves her very much. Now, imagine that the daughter vanishes. Dies!»
Elena started. Even though twelve-year-old Nastya would sometimes get sick, Elena refused to ask for medical leave. Of course, the grandmother lived right next door, but last winter when Nastya came down with a 104 degree fever…
«I’m not interested in discussing this.» Elena stood up from her desk, noisily scooting back the chair.
The psychiatrist seemed satisfied with her extreme response.
«And here are the emotions! You are uncomfortable, anxious – though I only mentioned death in passing, without going into detail. But Inna lost her child four times. Four times! She sensed and witnessed their deaths with her own eyes. Her own body took part in the deaths of her children, rejected her fruits like something alien and she could do nothing about it. Nothing! Can you imagine?»
The psychiatrist fell silent. Elena recalled her own fears during her pregnancy. Her stomach whined.
«Inna has an obsessive fantasy of having a child. It is, unfortunately, impossible,» continued Krasin in a calm voice. «This is the cause for her depression. I tried to remove this dependence, but… Hers is a very difficult case.»
Elena returned to her desk and forced herself to go on with her work.
«Did Mrs. Maltseva suffer from nervous breakdowns or sudden fits of rage?»
«Who doesn’t?» smirked the psychiatrist. «I just observed one myself…»
«Did you come here to piss me off?»
«Honestly?»
«I don’t advise lying to a detective.»
«This is my method Detective Petelina. Mere talk does not suffice in helping one understand a person’s internal world. One must compel the subject to lose its cool. Induce stress and one may observe the psychosomatic state of the individual – as plainly as with an MRI. Then, the psychic pressure points are revealed and one may press on them as one wills. Or, if the opposite effect is desired, one may apply pressure to the areas of tranquility and appeasement and thereby return the subject to a state of psychic equilibrium.»
Elena realized that she herself had resorted to such methods during her interrogations. She smiled.
«And
