The Cleansing Flames

A strange-looking fellow

‘Do we have any idea who he is?’ asked Porfiry Petrovich with a grunt. The granite pavement pressed sharply against his tender knees: he was crouched on all fours on the embankment of the Winter Canal, beside a mound of sodden matter that had once been a man. Additional stabs of pain danced along his spine, spreading out across his lower back. The smell from the body was unusually foul and fetid. Porfiry felt like he was diving into the heart of a rotting swamp.

The Easter fair in Admiralty Square was in full swing. Porfiry could hear the clash of competing barrel organs, and the roar of the crowd. The sounds were close enough to be distracting.

‘According to Ptitsyn,’ Virginsky enunciated the name distastefully, almost spitting it out, ‘no means of identification were found on the body.’ Virginsky looked down at the corpse with a recriminatory glance, as if he held the dead man to blame for this oversight.

Sergeant Ptitsyn clicked his heels in confirmation. The young policeman had been recently promoted to this rank, and, evidently, transferred to the Admiralty District Police Bureau, which was how he came to be on the scene. He seemed to have grown in confidence with his new position, though he gave the impression of being as eager to please as ever. He was still capable of showing due deference to his superiors.

Porfiry squinted into a blasted hole in the side of the man’s head. ‘It appears that he was shot. In the head. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that he was dead before he entered the water.’

‘Of course, we will need a medical examination to confirm that,’ Virginsky reminded his superior.

‘That goes without saying, Pavel Pavlovich,’ agreed Porfiry, without removing his eye from the side of the man’s head. ‘Which is why I did not trouble myself to say it.’

‘He must have been there all winter,’ said Ptitsyn. ‘Beneath the ice.’ His tone was pitying. He narrowed his eyes compassionately.

‘It surely made no difference to him,’ said Virginsky. ‘He was dead, after all.’

The young police officer’s brows dipped reproachfully.

Virginsky was unrepentant. ‘At least he is well preserved.’

Porfiry Petrovich straightened himself up with a grunt. He held a hand out to Virginsky to steady him as he got to his feet. The lumbar pains stayed with him. In fact, they had been with him for months now, settling themselves in over the winter. He had hoped that the warmer weather would see them off. But they gave no indication of going anywhere.

Porfiry was long past the age when he welcomed each new spring with unequivocal enthusiasm. Granted it was the return of life to the natural world. Rivers began to flow again. Trembling buds forced their way through the dwindling layers of snow to bask in the warmth of the waxing sun. According to conventional wisdom, the sap was rising in the boughs. But the truth was, Porfiry no longer believed in this rising sap. For him personally, each new spring marked only the passing of another year, and consequently the shortening of his remaining portion. And now it seemed he could not even count on it to dispel his aches and pains. The long winters, that in his youth had seemed to be endless, went by in the blink of an eye. He looked back on the winter just gone as he looked back on every moment of his life so far, with a pang of nostalgia.

He kept his eyes fixed on the man at his feet, as if he found the sight consoling. ‘I want a photograph taken. We will publicise the man’s face.’

‘Strange-looking fellow,’ adjudged Virginsky. ‘The white on his face, at his cheeks. . he doesn’t look quite human. More like a doll, or a mannequin.’

‘Adipocere,’ said Porfiry.

‘What?’

‘Adipocere. Or grave wax. It occurs in bodies that are exposed to moisture. The fatty tissues convert to. . well, basically, soap. The medical examiner may be able to calculate how long he has been in there based on the degree of conversion.’

‘But it makes identification difficult.’

‘Yes. However, there may be enough of the original form of his face remaining to prompt someone into coming forward. You will notice that in the areas that have not converted, the skin is disfigured by severe pockmarking. Furthermore, his eyes appear disproportionately small, do they not? Distinctively so, we might say. We can only hope that someone will be able to piece together these distinctive features, prompted perhaps by the disappearance of a friend or loved one.’

‘It would be difficult to love that,’ commented Virginsky.

‘Show some respect, Pavel Pavlovich. You will be dead yourself one day. I doubt it will be a pretty sight.’ The heat of Porfiry’s ill temper was genuine.

He turned away from the corpse and looked up. The sky was cornflower blue, an effortless, meaningless expanse of breathtaking colour. He sniffed the vernal air savagely. Spring changed the scent of the city; the thaw released the moisture from the waterways, and the breezes carried wafts of lilacs and bird cherry. But today it was all overpowered by the swampy smell emanating from the corpse. It brought to mind another powerful stench that would soon overwhelm the city. Porfiry wrinkled his nose and settled his gaze on Virginsky. ‘Dear God, it will soon be summer.’

‘But Porfiry Petrovich, the ice has only just begun to melt.’

‘Today the ice melts. Tomorrow the drains are stinking and the flies are back. You know how it is. It all comes around too quickly these days. A sign of getting old, I know. You don’t need to say it.’

‘I wasn’t going to.’

‘So the ice melted and the body floated to the top? Is that how it was, Sergeant Ptitsyn?’ Porfiry demanded sharply.

‘Not exactly, your Excellency. A group of sailors swimming — ’

‘Swimming?’ Porfiry stared down at the water, which was still dotted with slabs of ice. ‘In that?’ He glanced incredulously over at a handful of men in naval uniforms, who were standing watchfully at a short distance. He was sensitive to their proprietorial manner, as if they considered their claim over the body greater than his.

‘Is it so different from you taking a cold plunge at the banya?’ wondered Virginsky.

Porfiry did not deign to answer, except to blink rapidly, as if the question was a piece of grit in his eye.

‘I have taken statements from the sailors,’ said Ptitsyn. ‘But I ordered them to remain, in case you wished to speak to them yourself.’

‘You did well,’ sighed Porfiry, as if it pained him to pay a compliment. ‘You men,’ he called out to the sailors. ‘Which of you discovered the body?’

The men scowled back, little inclined to answer. Then the youngest of them nodded hesitantly and broke away to approach Porfiry.

‘That would be me.’ He was glum but not hostile, but neither was he particularly respectful.

‘And you are?’

‘Apprentice Seaman Anatoly Ordynov.’

Porfiry took out an enamelled cigarette case and flicked it open towards Ordynov. The young sailor took a cigarette and allowed Porfiry to light it for him. Porfiry then lit his own and the two men smoked in silence for a while.

‘A nasty shock, I imagine, on a fine spring day?’ Porfiry ventured, conversationally.

The young sailor nodded, Right enough.

Porfiry read the name on the sailor’s cap tally. ‘You serve on the Peter the Great? A fine ship.’

The junior sailor gave the most minimal of nods as he inhaled.

‘The most modern ship in the Baltic fleet,’ remarked Porfiry.

‘The most modern ship in the world,’ corrected Ordynov. His pride was a fierce glimmer in his eye.

‘When do you have to be back on board?’

‘We have a couple more days in the capital while she undergoes repairs. But now that the ice is melting, we are clear to sail.’

‘Two days? Then I am truly sorry we have had to detain you. You will naturally want to make the most of every hour, every minute you are here. You will be off to the fair, I shouldn’t wonder.’

The boy gave a shrug, non-committal.

‘Still, you have time to smoke a cigarette with me, I dare say. And if I ask you a few questions while we smoke. .’

Another shrug. ‘It’s all the same to me.’

‘Just tell me how you found the body, in your own words.’

‘I was swimming with my mates. I dived down to the bottom and there he was. At first I didn’t know what to make of it. Couldn’t tell what it was. It was pretty dark down there, you see. But I felt his hair brush against my fingers as I swam. I thought, Hello, what’s this?’

‘So the body was at the bottom of the canal? What prevented it from floating to the top, I wonder?’

‘Rocks. It was tied to some rocks that were keeping it down.’

‘I see.’

‘Me and my mates went back down to loosen it. Then it came up.’

‘And so you raised the alarm immediately?’

The young sailor glared at Porfiry. ‘Well, yes, but. .’ He broke off.

‘But?’

‘Well, there was this fellow. We sent him off to get a policeman. But he never came back.’

‘I see. One of your mates?’

‘No!’ Ordynov was indignant at the suggestion. ‘Just some fellow. He was watching us, while we were swimming. There was something fishy about him. Not right in the head, if you ask me.’

‘Why do you say that?’

‘He asked us who it was! As if we should know. I mean to say!’

‘That is odd.’

‘It was almost like. .’

‘Go on,’ encouraged Porfiry.

‘Almost like he had half an idea who it might be.’

‘That’s very interesting. And perceptive, if you don’t mind me saying.’

‘We thought he was mad, the way he kept gabbling on. And then he made us turn that one over in the water, so that we could see his face.’

‘The body was floating face down, of course.’

‘Yes. That’s right.’ Apprentice Seaman Ordynov squinted narrowly at Porfiry. ‘I mean why was he so interested in seeing its face?’

‘A perfectly reasonable question, my friend. In fact, I would go further than that. A very astute question.’

‘And then he ran off. We thought he was going to get the police, but he never came back. So we had to send someone else.’

‘Could you give a description this mysterious individual?’

‘He was a gent. But like one of them new types of gents.’

‘Yes, I know exactly what you mean.’

‘You could tell he was educated, but he didn’t bother to keep himself as smart as he might.’

‘Long hair?’

‘That’s it. Long hair. All over the place. His face was very. .’

‘Pale?’

‘Aye, with dark rings around his eyes as if he had been up all night.’

‘Beard?’

‘He did have a beard.’

‘Not a civil servant then. I take it he was not in any kind of uniform?’

Ordynov shook his head tersely as he blew out his last lungful of smoke. He threw the stub down and ground it under his heel. ‘Finished my smoke.’

‘Thank you, my friend. You have been most helpful. If we need to contact you again, we can reach you through your ship. You are in Petersburg for two days, you say?’

‘We sail on Wednesday morning. Leastways that’s what they say. I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes longer.’

‘And where are you bound once the repairs are completed?’

‘Arkhangelsk.’

‘How long is the voyage?’

‘We are at sea for thirty days. We can’t put in to Arkhangelsk before May, on account of the ice.’

‘Do you put in anywhere along the way?’

‘For sure.’

Porfiry waited expectantly. When nothing was forthcoming, he prompted, ‘We may need to get in touch with you.’

‘Our first port of call is Helsingfors. After that, Reval, then Riga, then Libau.’

‘It is a veritable cruise!’ cried Porfiry.

‘His Imperial Majesty likes to show his finest ship off at every opportunity,’ said the young sailor wryly. ‘There are other ports after that. Do you want them all?’

‘I do not think that will be necessary. I wonder, did anyone who is not going to Arkhangelsk see this man?’

Ordynov shook his head.

Porfiry gave a silent chuckle and nodded to release the sailor.

Ordynov twisted his lower lip hesitantly. He looked over to his shipmates but did not rush to join them. ‘Do you think he had anything to do with. . you know. . that fellow in the water?’

Porfiry smiled but said nothing. The roar of the nearby fair seemed to answer the question for him.

*

An hour later, they were back in Porfiry’s chambers in the Department for the Investigation of Criminal Causes. The department was attached to the Haymarket District Police Bureau on Stolyarny Lane, though the cases they investigated were not limited to that district. At his desk, Porfiry was bent over Sergeant Ptitsyn’s report, which was already written up and filed. Virginsky, who was seated on the cracked artificial-leather sofa, was treated to a view of the top of his superior’s close-cropped, bulbous head. The soft light from the window caught the almost transparent hairs in a phosphorescent flash. Virginsky had the impression that if he struck Porfiry on the back, a cloud of dust would rise to join the other fine motes swirling in the luminous corridor of the beam. He had no idea why the idea of striking Porfiry in this way came to him just then. Except for the fact that Porfiry’s frockcoat was stretched as tight as an overstuffed armchair and Virginsky had once had a habit of thumping armchairs. But that was a long time ago.

‘A fine officer, young Ptitsyn,’ said Porifry. ‘We are indeed fortunate that he was the first on the scene. This is an exemplary report.’

‘The spelling’s atrocious,’ commented Virginsky. It did not please him to hear other men praised, especially Ptitsyn, and especially by Porfiry Petrovich. Virginsky knew precisely where his dislike for Ptitsyn originated. He had once been assigned to search a crime scene with the young policeman, and it was Ptitsyn who had made the significant discovery. In his defence, Virginsky could say that he had not long been in the job. But still, he had underestimated Ptitsyn, deceived by the young man’s good-natured willingness to please, taking that for simple-mindedness. Virginsky could not forgive Ptitsyn for the fact that he — Virginsky — had all the advantages, and yet it was Ptitsyn who had proven himself more able. He knew that it was undemocratic to harbour such resentments, which only made him hate Ptitsyn all the more.

All that had happened several years ago, and Virginsky should have been able to put his antipathy towards his social, intellectual and professional inferior behind him. But the fellow haunted him like a demon. He had an uncanny knack for turning up, like a counterfeit five-kopek coin.

Porfiry Petrovich looked up, his face open in reproachful surprise. ‘The spelling is beside the point. He has recorded the exchange between the sailors and the mysterious onlooker practically verbatim. The art of investigation is all in the detail, you know.’

‘So you do think he had something to do with it? The man the sailors saw.’

‘It is certainly possible. It’s not so easy as these new men think to shake off such a deed. Murder, I’m talking about. However rational, useful and even necessary the death of this or that individual may seem in advance — after the event, it’s a different matter. So yes, I find it psychologically plausible that the murderer is drawn back to the place where he discarded his victim, especially at a time when there is a chance the body may come to light. That is to say, when the frozen canal begins to thaw.’

‘But the fact is, we do not know who this onlooker is — and we may never. Indeed, we don’t even know who the dead man is.’

‘Please don’t take this amiss, Pavel Pavlovich,’ began Porfiry inauspiciously. ‘But I find your attitude today strangely negative.’

Virginsky felt himself flush.

‘It’s not helpful, you know, to have this constant carping and criticism to contend with. You could be more encouraging.’

‘I am only being realistic. If I may say so, you are not normally so easily discouraged, Porfiry Petrovich. Indeed, usually, you take such challenges as a spur to do your greatest work.’

‘Flattery. You can’t fool me, Pavel Pavlovich. I have never heard you sound so insincere.’ Porfiry rapped Ptitsyn’s report impatiently with his knuckles. ‘What singular feature most strikes you about this case?’ he almost barked.

Virginsky widened his eyes as he considered the unexpected question. ‘That. . the body was dumped in the Winter Canal?’ he suggested tentatively.

‘Good! Yes! Now you’re beginning to be useful to me! The body was indubitably dumped, as you so eloquently put it. Quite deliberately. Brought, by some conveyance, to the Winter Canal and deposited in it. It is inconceivable that he was shot and weighted with rocks in such a public location, immediately prior to disposal. No — all that took place elsewhere, we can be certain. But why then bring him to the Winter Canal? That’s the question. Why go to all that trouble when there are countless other, more isolated spots in the city where one could far more conveniently dispose of a corpse?’

‘Because the killer — ’

‘Killer? You think this is the work of one man? Could one man contrive this? Would it not be more reasonable to assume some kind of conspiracy? The Winter Canal is a popular spot. A favourite haunt of lovers and suicides. People pass along it at all hours of the day and night. Would it not require some organisation, some small infrastructure, to ensure that this dumping of the body was not witnessed? A lookout positioned at either end of the canal, for example. We might also posit the existence of a driver, whip in hand, ready and waiting, should the need for a hasty retreat arise. And two individuals, at least, to manhandle the weighted body from the vehicle to the edge of the embankment. I picture it as a closed carriage.’

Virginsky nodded in agreement. ‘A plausible reconstruction.’

‘The question remains. Why?’

‘By the way you are asking the question, Porfiry Petrovich, I suspect you already have an answer in mind.’

‘Where is the Winter Canal?’

‘Between the Winter Palace and the Hermitage.’

‘In other words, right under the nose of the Tsar.’

‘What are you saying, Porfiry Petrovich? What’s this man to the Tsar?’

‘Nothing — personally. But politically. Symbolically. It’s a gesture. One that I believe is known as making a fig.’

‘You think it is a political crime?’

‘I think it may have a political aspect.’

‘Therefore, we should alert the Third Section.’

‘Ooh, I don’t think there’s any need for that. Not yet, at least. This is simply a speculative conversation between ourselves. We have no proof of anything, yet. As you yourself said, we do not even have a positive identification of the body.’ Porfiry angled his head to appraise his junior colleague. ‘I know what it is about you today, Pavel Pavlovich. You are evincing an unwonted scrupulosity.’

‘I beg your pardon!’

‘First you remind me of the need for a medical examination. Then you insist on the involvement of the Third Section. An unwonted scrupulosity. With regard to form.’

‘I am a magistrate. I must uphold the correct procedure.’

‘An unwonted scrupulosity,’ repeated Porfiry, with energetic emphasis. ‘I can’t help thinking that you must have done something exceptionally naughty last night.’

Virginsky felt the heat in his face once again, even fiercer this time. ‘But Porfiry Petrovich, that doesn’t — ’

‘It is because you were naughty last night that you wish to compensate by being unusually correct today. Am I right?’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ said Virginsky coldly.

‘But did you hear about the fires last night? My God, the fools! What do they hope to achieve by such acts? Can you tell me that, Pavel Pavlovich?’

‘I am not a spokesman for the arsonists.’

‘Five dead.’

‘Five?’

‘Yes, a fireman, a nightwatchman and some down-and-outs who were kipping on a straw barge that was torched. How can you justify their deaths?’

‘I am not required to, as I did not cause them, and I do not defend those who did.’

‘What? Quite right. I’m sorry. I am simply venting steam. Sometimes, I mistake you — because of your youth — for someone you are not.’

Neither spoke for some time, each considering privately the implications of Porfiry’s last remark.

It was a relief to them both when the door leading to the Haymarket District Police Bureau opened and the head clerk Zamyotov burst in.

He thrust some papers in front of Porfiry. ‘Sign this. And this.’ After a moment, he added, ‘And this.’

‘Begging your pardon, Alexander Grigorevich, but what exactly am I signing?’

‘You want a poster printing up, don’t you? That’s what I understood you to say.’

‘Yes, of course.’

‘Then you have to sign the necessary chit. Even you are not exempt from that, Porfiry Petrovich,’ added the clerk sarcastically.

‘I appreciate that, naturally,’ said Porfiry, signing his name on the first of the sheets. ‘And this one?’

‘For a statement to be released to the newspapers. And this one is for an advertisement to be placed, calling for witnesses to come forward.’

‘There you are.’

‘You haven’t filled them in.’

‘Can’t you fill them in? I’m rather busy. I have signed them, as you requested.’

‘I don’t know the details,’ objected Zamyotov.

Porfiry’s face sagged with despondency.

‘I’ll fill them in, if you wish,’ volunteered Virginsky.

‘Thank you, Pavel Pavlovich. That would indeed be a great help.’

Zamyotov stomped from the room as if he had been cheated of something.