“I will consult with colleagues. What do they think about this? They always come up with original ideas. By the way, I learn the results of the interrogation of a maid who discovered a corpse,” the investigator’s thoughts were moving in a harmonious sequence in the right direction when he came to his office with a suitcase on wheels, from which a beautiful view of the green front gardens of private buildings hung with ripe fruits of apples, pears, peaches, apricots and beginners to ripen persimmon and tangerines.
Nikifor Naumovich pushed one of the standard, brown, wooden chairs without a soft seat, and with a gabardine upholstery from the wall and on him put a suitcase to try to open the lock without knowing the cipher.
The optimistic view and behavior of the investigator gave him a person of modest, positive, unhurried, punctual, inclined to logical thinking, which was very valuable for criminal investigation officers. He was dressed like all his colleagues, but preferred to put on a clean shirt with a fashionable tie within an oblique stripes in the mornings. Orders, medals and insignia were kept in a special box at home. He was noticeably different from young operatives with discretion. He has never taken hasty decisions; accumulated a lot of positive potential, applying the latest methods to unwind the case. He himself thoroughly studied all the evidence and versions provided to him in order to draw the correct conclusion. He was engaged at the classical wrestling in leisure. He was officially married to a decent woman who provided him with a comfortable existence. Sometimes on Sundays they went to a restaurant, where he watched a mixed-up diverse public, making notes in pencil in a regular notebook, and then he made out meaningful representations to the head of the police.
2. Unexpected finding
When the body of the former doorman was brought to the morgue of the regional police station of Kislovodsk, and the forensic expert expounded his arguments in the epicrisis, it turned out that he was strangled without regaining consciousness. Death came from squeezing the neck and chest with a round object like a stick or a squeegee at about eleven o’clock in the evening. However, despite serious bodily injuries, no blood loss has occurred. He looked as if he had fallen asleep, not counting that his complexion had acquired a bluish tinge. On the wrists of his hands were small scars-stripes from the twine, with which hands were tied to the pantry stanchions. No tattoos on the body were found.
Expert – Taimuraz Granatov – a tall, gray, lean man of Caucasian descent – finished writing his thoughts in a report, and then introduced all the results of the analyzes into his working journal when he covered the corpse of the victim with a sheet.
Opening the window, which was ordered to do the instructions every two hours, began to ventilate the room so that there was no smell of formalin. To the opinion of the examination they listened and often, thanks to his efforts, found evidence for revealing the criminals who were recidivists. Demonstrate knowledge of physics, quality and properties of chemical elements he had every day, using spectral analysis.
Lieutenant-colonel Seregin in the same form was already sitting beside him on a metal swivel chair; waiting for the expert to give him an oral report of what he had revealed using the latest advances in biochemistry.
A minute ago, he went down to the basement to see a witty specialist in pathological anatomy – Granatov – did not look for an investigator throughout the police corps. All the supervised people were under the supervision of the riot police on duty, so do not worry that the situation will soon get out of control.
“Here you go… Is there something interesting?”
The policeman investigated many cases, but each time he began to investigate, as if this was the first thing in his stormy military biography.
“All is clearer than clear. Without a doubt, that the murdered old man had excellent health. However, a person managed to deal with it quickly, to whom he could trust, as to himself,” the expert suggested, looking through his entries in Latin in the magazine.
“He lived in a room with his twin brother. But that somewhere disappeared from our field of vision. Perhaps he was threatened, an attempt was made on him or he hid himself from fear in order to avoid such a reckoning. He could be taken hostage. But that’s my personal opinion. There are many options. This is what we need to find out urgently. Something else specific was discovered?” the inquirer asked simply so that to find out the expert’s opinion.
“I can add that no stab wounds were found on the body. Definitely killed led an active lifestyle. He watched himself. He could live up to a hundred years, if not for the casual connections and circumstances that led him to mortem,” concluded the expert. “I have already written everything and indicated the time of death. No signs of alcohol in the blood found. You can pick up the bone off,” the expert constantly inserted into his speech English expressions, in order to more clearly prove his scientific knowledge in medicine, as he considered the Latin language to be the lot of pharmacists and weak knowledge of criminalistics.
He was often visited for advice from abroad by his colleagues, medical doctors, when they were intensively searching for evidence of guilt, with whom he practiced on the autopsy of corpses.
“Traces of struggle, bruises or extravasations were on the victim?”
“There is plenty of this kind. One might think that the old man fought with the last of his strength with a devilish nature,” replied the expert in anatomy with a strong southern accent.
“What the hell is that? Is this how it should be understood? Retribution of heaven,” the investigator announced, having collected the will into a fist.
“Nature is omnipresent. It can manifest itself in various forms and matters… Our business is to observe and draw conclusions. Well, you can find a criminal, based on the biography of the victim. Try to look into his past. Often it keeps a guess on all the questions…” advised the expert.
“No one will allow us to do the exhumation of his parents,” the investigator joked to defuse the situation.
He was used to the profound arguments of the expert, but he decided to find a solution in the personal matter of the murdered man to let his colleague – detective Regimov know that he had been justified for the incident on his watch, or their common acquaintance, the private police officer – Alice Korablevskaya, whom they charged the most complex and intricate ones business. The competition between them flashed constantly, as an incentive, to get another promotion through the ranks. They were completely different in character and style of work. Seregin acted recklessly, and Regimov crept like a fox, sweeping his tracks, digging in the most incomprehensible egregious criminals, studying all the pros and cons of the characters.
“Yes, I’m not talking about this at all. He was not an artifact and not an idol, but a real person with good physical training,” angered an expert who, when nervous, began to practice in foreign languages.
“We are not looking for the Grail, but for a real individual. Guilty in this matter will have to search with a magnet. It is necessary to apply the deductive method of Sherlock Holmes, hire an experienced stylist, make-up and get used to the sanatorium staff. I’m afraid that the answer lies precisely there,” the investigator retorted.
“Your right,” Granatov noted delicately, taking off his rubber gloves, which had a gold ring of the highest standard with a large diamond that he had bought for dollars during the exhibition of the stones of the deposit in Yakutsk, where the International Conference of Forensic Experts was held, on the ring finger of his right hand.
“Well, now is not the time to argue. Thank you.”
Granatov went deep into reading his notes and entering information into the notebook brought from home.
Seregin