Arkady walked to the butcher block, where a towel lay over the cast-off plain clothes that had been brought from the prosecutor’s office. His shoes and jacket were beside them. As far as he was concerned, his own clothes could be burned. He started to towel off.

“Why are there Ministry troops out here? Where’s the regular militia?”

Rodionov said, “Remember, we’re outside Moscow. We got the men who were available.”

“They certainly got here quickly, and they look like they’re available to go to war. Is there something I’m not aware of?”

“No,” Rodionov said.

“I’d like to add this to the Rosen investigation.”

“Definitely not. The killing of Penyagin is an assault on the entire structure of justice. I’m not going to tell the Central Committee that we added General Penyagin to the investigation of a common speculator. I can’t believe that this morning Penyagin and I were together at a funeral. You can’t imagine the shock.”

“I saw you.”

“What were you doing at the cemetery?”

“Burying my father.”

“Oh.” Rodionov grunted as if he had expected a more imaginative excuse. “Condolences.”

Through the door, the yard was so full of incandescent lamps that it looked ablaze. As the Volvo was winched from the pit, water poured in bright fountains from the doors.

“I’ll fold the Rosen investigation into the Penyagin investigation.” Arkady pulled on dry pants.

Rodionov sighed as if a difficult decision had been forced on him. “We want someone working full-time on Penyagin and nothing else. Someone fresh, more objective.”

“Who are you placing in charge? Whoever it is will have to spend time getting briefed on Rudy.”

“Not necessarily.”

“You’re going to bring in someone cold?”

“For your sake.” Rodionov glanced around to demonstrate solidarity with Arkady. “People will say that if Renko had found Kim, Penyagin would still be alive. They’ll blame you for the tragic deaths of both your detective and the general.”

“We have no evidence that Penyagin was abducted. All we know is that he’s here.”

Rodionov was pained. “This sort of innuendo and speculation is uncalled for. See, you’re too close to this case.”

The shirt was a sail with sleeves. Arkady tucked it in and slipped his bare feet into the shoes. “So who are you putting in charge of the investigation?”

“A younger man, someone who can bring more vigor to this case. In fact, this person is very well versed on Rosen. There should be no problems of coordination at all.”

“Who?”

“Minin.”

“My Minin? Little Minin?”