style="font-size:15px;"> “You and Clara Yurievna are also the heirs of your father.”
“Ha ha! You must be joking about inheritance. Although, if you think about it…” Katia beautifully lifted her head, wondering something in her mind. “Perhaps you are right: Clara and I will inherit our summer house, car and gas station after his death. For some people this is unimaginable wealth. For example, as far as I know, Leonid Alekseevich gets miserable wage.”
“She only listed a small fraction of what they should inherit,” thought Andrei, looking at the beautiful good-looking girl. “She has an alibi, but she could hire a killer. She didn’t have to throw knives herself. But why knives? It was easier for a hired killer to arrange a car accident for his victim, shoot her, or even slaughter her in a dark corner with the same knife. It doesn’t make any sense. Such a maniacism. I wonder what kind of men surround this woman?”Andrei voiced his question, giving it a slightly different shape:
“I'm sorry, but are you dating someone? Or have a groom?” Katia smiled indulgently. Her eyes became playful as she asked: “Do I look very much like a woman who does without men?”
“No, you are not at all like that, but I had something else in mind. Do you have an intention to cast in lot with someone?”
Katia laughed softly: “I do have an intention, but I have not yet decided who and when would it be.”
“This one will never cook borscht for her husband,” Andrei thought about Katia, admiring her. Katia was dressed in a sleeveless dark blue dress with a shaped collar, which resembled sailor’s costume with its size, white stripes and a white tie. Her hair was neatly gathered into a bun and locked with a white hairpin. Her home look was not “home” in the common sense of the word; the only home thing was the slippers that matched to the girl’s dress. The decoration of Katia’s apartment showed the wealth of its hostess and the good design work. Andrei noted the skillful use of color, light, the absence of unnecessary things, which, as a rule, get into an apartment by chance and litter it. All the things in Katia’s apartment were in place complementing each other, were in harmony with each other and were not cheap.
“You probably won’t drop in here,” thought Andrei, wondering who, in his opinion, could. “The apartment has been cleaned well, obviously not by this young lady. She probably holds a servant. Where does she get the money?”
“Ekaterina Yurievna, excuse me, I will ask you a tactless question – however, all the questions of the investigators are tactless. What means do you live on? Are you supported by your parents?”
“No, I wouldn't say that. They help me. But I earn myself.”
“What do you do?”
“Different things, for example, translation.” Captain noticed that the girl was not at all embarrassed. “Translation costs a penny,” thought Andrei, “she is skillful at lying. She didn’t even bat an eye.” Katia, in turn, hastened to change the topic of the conversation:
“Don’t you think I was trying to kill my sister?” Andrei silently continued to examine the girl. This offended Katia. “Do you really suspect me?” She asked indignantly.
“Suspecting is my profession,” Captain answered, smiling timidly.
“Do you consider yourself a professional?” Katia asked with sarcasm. “Or maybe you just confuse the meaning of “profession” and “job”?”
“I do not confuse them,” Captain answered as calmly as possible, “I mix them.”
“In my opinion, this is an inadmissible luxury,” the girl retorted with a hint of anger and sarcasm.
“Perhaps I overestimate myself…” Katia didn’t let Captain finish and interrupted:
“I’m afraid you do. You know, Captain, if you were a professional in the generally accepted sense of the word, the killer would have been arrested. Instead you’ve been interviewing Clara’s closest people for two days, but it’s obvious that the killer is a maniac, a hysteric or something. Maybe even a sectarian. But it’s obvious he is mentally ill,” Katia said these words without malice, without sarcasm, and even despite their content, without reproach. There was a request in her voice and almost a plea, as if she had asked Captain to search for the killer. After listening carefully to the girl, Andrei asked Katia:
“You said that your father,” Andrei deliberately replaced the word “parents” with the word “father,” “is supporting you with money. How much? And how often?”
“Hm,” Katia snorted indignantly. “I would say “not much and not often”, but it might be different from your understanding.
“Most likely,” thought Andrei.
“You 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
