How It All Goes Down
22 March
- It's been two days since his discovery, and Leo still hasn't reported it to Nesterov. He's going to have to plan this thing carefully if he's going to make it work.
- First, Leo needs to "establish that Varlam Babinich knew nothing" about this second body (3.24.2).
- After doing exactly that, Leo suggests to Nesterov that they sweep the area around the first body just to be sure. Though skeptical as usual, Nesterov agrees.
- The two men—along with several members of the militia and local volunteers—begin searching the station. Although Leo isn't assigned the area where he found the second body, he's confident that someone will stumble across it.
- But they don't. Leo freaks out before realizing that he and Raisa's footprints make the scene look far less suspicious. Leo barges into the woods, with Nesterov trailing close behind.
- As they walk, Nesterov tells Leo that he knows he's been here before—both sets of Leo's tracks are "identical" (3.24.27).
- Leo comes clean, revealing that he already discovered the body but wanted to ensure that the murder wasn't pinned on Babinich. That's when they see the body.
- Nesterov tells Leo to inform the others that a second murder has been discovered. Although he agrees that this must have been done by someone other than Babinich, he still believes that Babinich committed the first murder.