Porfiry bowed his head to look up at the Tsar, wincing apologetically.
‘No!’ said the Tsar emphatically. ‘Do not bring that up again.’
‘Someone sought to undermine you by these murders. The Tsarevich-’
‘But it is preposterous! That he would seek to undermine me by incriminating himself!’
‘No, the plan was always to throw the blame on an agitator. Fortunately, Murin was to hand, although in truth he was a sorry example of an agitator.’
‘What do you mean? They told me that he was responsible for organising protests.’
‘He submitted a petition.’ There was more sadness than reproach in Porfiry’s voice. ‘His widow came to the bureau dressed in his clothes. She revealed the full extent of his crimes against the state. A politely worded petition.’
The Tsar looked away, shame-faced.
‘According to this theory,’ continued Porfiry, noting the Tsar’s embarrassment with sympathy, ‘the Tsarevich was working in conjunction with the Third Section, or factions within it. We need not postulate that he carried out the murders himself. Only that he authorised them.’
‘Should I be grateful to you for this consideration? I do not need you to tell me that my son did not carry out these murders. He spent the autumn, the time during which the crimes were committed, with me in Livadia. He was not in Petersburg. And I am his alibi. As to whether he is capable of formulating such a complex and subtle plot against me, I doubt it.’
‘It may be possible that such a proposal was put to him by another, and he merely gave his assent.’
‘He is stupid enough for that, I warrant. Do you have someone in mind, Porfiry Petrovich, as the source of this machination?’
‘Your son was seen at the Naryskin Palace with Count Tolstoy. He is well known for his reactionary views. And as the minister responsible for education, he would naturally have been aware of Maria Petrovna’s school since its foundation.’
‘And this is how you proceed, is it? This is your great method? My son was seen in the company of a man, therefore he is in cahoots with him too! Count Tolstoy is my minister, loyal to me! Besides, I have it on good authority that neither my son nor Count Tolstoy in fact attended the gala at the Naryskin Palace. Those who say they were there are evidently mistaken.’
‘You have been speaking to Prince Nikolai Naryskin, I see. He is a very loyal friend to Your Majesty, I can vouch for that. So loyal I believe he would be prepared to perjure himself on your behalf. I wonder therefore why you were so rough with him yesterday.’
‘He sought to embroil me in petty commercial affairs. I will have none of it.’ Porfiry smiled in such meek expectation that the Tsar was compelled to continue: ‘He has become the director of a bank. He sought to prevail on me to withdraw my approval for a rival bank. I cannot become involved in these commercial wrangles.’
‘And so you sent him away with a flea in his ear?’
The Tsar bridled at the expression but made no comment.
Porfiry held himself immobile as the two men sat in silent contemplation. It was the Tsar who broke the silence: ‘Cigarette?’
Released from his immobility, Porfiry fidgeted out his own enamel cigarette case. ‘I wonder, Your Majesty, would you care for one of mine?’
The Tsar nodded and took one of the offered cigarettes. Porfiry busied himself with lighting the Tsar’s cigarette with fussy attentiveness.
‘You are … quite … wrong, you know,’ said the Tsar languidly, between inhalations. ‘The Tsarevich had nothing to do with authorising Murin’s murder.’ The Tsar winced away from Porfiry’s wide-eyed astonishment. ‘I did not tell them what to do … the Third Section … I merely gave them licence to sort it out.’
‘Sort what out, Your Majesty?’
‘She … she was very dear to me once.’
‘Yelena Filippovna?’
The Tsar nodded minutely.
‘You gave her the ring, not the Tsarevich!’
The second nod was even more minimal, barely noticeable.
‘I could not bear to see what they were writing about her in the newspapers. It could not be true. Not the Yelena I knew. We had to clear her name. We had to make it not true.’
‘But who killed Innokenty?’
‘I did not tell them what to do. I merely impressed on them the importance of clearing her name. I …’ The Tsar looked Porfiry in the eye for the first time since they had begun smoking.
Porfiry did not flinch from the autocrat’s gaze. ‘Obviously, if there was another murder, then it would be assumed that Yelena Filippovna was not the killer.’ The magistrate blinked once, as though in mild recrimination. ‘And so the Third Section killed Innokenty as well as Murin. Verkhotsev was behind that too?’
‘I don’t know. How can we ever know?’
‘We can enquire into it, Your Majesty. You have the authority. You can command the truth.’
‘No. The Third Section must be allowed some latitude for its operations. For the security of the state. You see that, don’t you? You’re a reasonable man. It’s because you are a reasonable man that I have been … open with you. But this must go no further than this room.’
‘You are asking me to be an accomplice after the fact to murder.’
‘No. I am not asking you. I am commanding you.’
‘And if I refuse?’
‘You cannot refuse your Tsar’s command.’ The Tsar’s gaze remained rigidly impervious for several moments, before collapsing into something more imploring. ‘Do you not see, we could not allow it to be believed that a woman of Yelena Filippovna’s class and rank had murdered these factory children? It would have been like pouring oil on a burning house. The divisions in society would have split asunder. I could not, in all conscience, have permitted it. There is the greater crime, and you would have had me commit it.’
‘And was Yelena Filippovna killed by the Third Section, in order to prevent further murders?’
‘No. That is to say, I do not believe so. She was not suspected until you found those heads. And when that story got into the newspaper, it became a matter of urgency to nip it in the bud. Did you ever find out who was responsible for releasing the story? That, you could say, is what caused Innokenty’s death.’
Porfiry shook his head in angry denial. ‘We cannot proceed like this! Russia cannot progress on this basis. You cannot build a future based on lies, on even the smallest lie.’
‘The future has always been built on lies. He who asserts his lie most forcibly creates the truth.’
‘And what of Yelena Filippovna? Were you so ready to believe her guilty? Did you not stop to think that her name, her memory, might be better served by the truth?’
The Tsar, in his agitation, began to turn the Romanov ring that he himself wore on the forefinger of his left hand. The index finger and thumb of his other hand chased each other restlessly as he rotated the ring around the base of its finger. ‘There were times when I thought her capable of anything. And yet, I do not believe she killed the children. I cannot believe it.’
‘Then what have you done, Your Majesty? What have you done?’
‘It is not for you to ask me such questions.’
‘If it was not her and not Murin — as it most certainly was not — then we must face the fact that the killer is still alive and at large.’
‘You must track them down, Porfiry Petrovich. You must track them down and bring them to justice. That is my command.’ The Tsar continued to turn the ring on his finger obsessively. Porfiry’s brows came down as he watched, his distracted fascination turning to concentration.
‘Thank you, Your Majesty,’ said Porfiry, rising abruptly to his feet.
‘For what?’
‘I believe you may have just shown me the solution to these crimes.’
36 Captain Mizinchikov’s confession
Virginsky was waiting at the door to Porfiry’s chambers. His face showed a mixture of grimness and excitability.