Author – Arkadijs Koshko.
Translated from Russian by Dina Tilaka.
In the Vendee district, Vidzeme province, a major theft had taken place at the estate of the local magnate Count Mellin.
As far as I remember, this event occurred at the very beginning of the 19th century. The investigation of the theft at the estate was not within my competence, but the count’s complaint to the local governor about the inaction of the Vendee police prompted him to approach me with an offer to take the matter into his own hands.
According to the governor, quite a few valuables had been stolen from the count: a few poods of silver, some gold cutlery, a whole box of small diamonds, a collection of old miniatures, some of the countess’s jewels, interest payment documents and more, more, more…
Together with two competent officials – Grundman and Lein, I drove to the scene.
The count’s estate was magnificent. This man, a descendant of the knights of Vidzeme, who had settled in this part of the country a few centuries ago, had created a great deal of luxury around himself. His house was a real palace.
My companions and I were shown lovely apartments. We arrived early in the morning, and were met neither by the steward nor by the housekeeper.
We were immediately served tea, elegantly served, and the steward announced that I had an audience with the count at twelve.
And indeed, at noon I was received. The count was kind but noble. He asked me to gather all my strength to uncover the theft, but then immediately announced that the countess’s “appearance” would take place during breakfast. And it was indeed an “appearance.” She arrived at the table in a formal dress, adorned with diamonds, accompanied by a few maids who were evidently playing the part of ladies-in-waiting. The breakfast passed rather stiffly. The Countess, recalling the theft, was particularly distressed by the small gilded book which had been used to record the names of the dancers to whom the dances had been promised.
According to her, the cover of the book was decorated with an indescribably masterful miniature, and under it was a tiny watch, no bigger than a silver ten-kopeck piece—a real masterpiece.
The local district chief, who had hitherto been hopelessly occupied with the investigation of the theft, had also been invited to breakfast. After chatting with him after breakfast, I came to the conclusion that the investigation had been carried out extremely carelessly and superficially.
I first turned to inspecting the scene of the crime. The things turned out to be missing from a fireproof cupboard of the latest construction, which was placed in a small room next to the count’s office. This room was on the first floor of the house, where only the state and family rooms were located; there were two doors from the outside – the main entrance and a door from the glazed veranda on the garden side. The garden adjoined a lake, about a verst wide; the opposite shore was covered with forest. The keys to the unplaned cupboard were kept in the count’s desk, which was known only to the count, except for the steward who met us. The order in the house was purely German. Before going to bed, the count himself personally checked the locks, which made it practically impossible to enter the house at night without breaking the keys and without help from the inside. Three days had passed since the count last checked his closet until the theft was discovered – during this time the thieves could dispose of the loot without any obstacles. To this must be added a week that passed while the local district chief conducted a fruitless investigation. Such a long time, of course, gave the thieves the opportunity not only to hide the stolen goods well, but also to cover their tracks.
A careful examination of the closet and doors showed that they were all locked with keys, because even with the most careful hacking, traces in the form of scratches would remain.
I asked the count if he was sure of the honesty of his steward.
– As for himself! – answered the count. – Meyer has been living with me for twenty years and is faithful to me with all his heart and soul. Yes, finally he has been placed in special circumstances by me: I have built him a house, given him 50 dessetins of land, his sons have received higher education under my care. Whatever you may say – human gratitude is not an empty phrase, and it is certainly not alien to Meyer. As for the other servants, ask him about that, I was not interested in them, entrusting Meyer with forming a circle of servants.
Having completed the inspection and received a report from the count about the steward, I came to a dead end. The weight of the kidnapped person reached about 9 poods; to carry this weight out of the house and successfully deliver it, the participation of several people and, most likely, a horse.
In the evening, Grundmann and Lane returned, having spent the day in the surrounding area.
They failed to catch any words that might lead them to the trail. The people spoke well of the Countess, but the Count was described as a very stingy man, who weighed the servants’ bread as if it were gold scale.
– Can you give me an exact list of servants, mentioning both the servants currently in the house and those who have served there in recent years? – I asked Meyer.
– Well, yes, of course! I am a precise person and keep a special book for this purpose. If you want, then in the margins I can note for you when and for what reason one or another servant was dismissed.
– Wonderful! Please do so.
I also turned to the local district chief with the same question.
Very soon the manager presented a list with about forty surnames. Next to some words it was indicated “fired for embezzlement of sweets”, “punished for rudeness”, “untidy”, etc.
Having familiarized ourselves with the list, we did not find any words in it that could be associated with a criminal past in the Riga police.
– Tell me, – I asked the manager, – was the forest on the other side of the lake searched?
– Yes, the district chief searched it.
Despite this, I decided to conduct another careful inspection the very next day.
When the district chief I had invited arrived, I asked him a question:
– Did you search the forest well?
– We didn’t search it at all.
– How come you didn’t search it? But what does Meyer say then?
– I don’t know.
Having called the manager, I expressed my surprise. He somehow got confused and rushed to convince me that I had misunderstood him, that the forest really had not been searched and so…
– Okay! I don’t need you for now. Now I want to talk to the district chief.
The manager reluctantly left and, as it seemed to me, did not leave the closed door. I pulled it open with ease, almost injuring Meyer. He immediately tried to sweetly offer me tea, pretending that this was precisely the reason he had returned.
– Thank you! We don’t need tea. Leave us alone.
Meyer bowed and this time really left.
– Yes, by the way, you asked me for a list of servants, – the district chief mentioned, – Here it is, Your Honor. I took it from the manor owners’ police.
I had no idea that such an institution existed.
Comparing the two lists, I found, to my surprise, the name of a certain Otto Viļnes, a former butler to the count, who had been dismissed a year earlier and was not listed on the manager’s list.
Having shared the news with my agents, I heard the following message from Grundmans:
– Otto Viļnes? I know this name well. We were still serving in Riga when this young man was wanted in connection with a major theft. I now also remember his nickname as a thief – “vice-freilene”, which in Russian means “old maid”.
Apparently, we had come upon the thieves’ trail. I instructed my agents to keep quiet until a certain time, because it was necessary to find not only the thieves, but also the loot. There was no need to make our suspicions known to Meyer, who was most likely involved in this theft, as he might warn his accomplices about the danger.
I paid special attention to the forest; most likely, the stolen things were taken through it. Carrying the kidnapped person by hand from the house to the lake would not have caused any particular difficulties, it was only necessary to go through the garden for about 30 steps. There were also boats tied up there. By loading the kidnapped person into one of them and swimming across to the other shore, one could slowly transfer everything to a cart, which was already waiting for the thieves somewhere in the thicket of trees. There, as is known, also began the road through the forest, which led to the neighboring villages.
Therefore, the next morning, thirty people, with myself, Grundman and Lein at the head, went to the forest. It occupied a fairly large territory – about 400 deseti. (1 deseti is about 1.0925 ha)
For the first time, I limited myself to examining the road and the adjacent edge, 200 axes wide. After a few hours of searching, two empty oak boxes for storing silver were found under a hazel bush. Grundmann also recognized the area, announcing that at the end of the road there was a mill belonging to Otto Viļnes’s brother. In the evening we returned home, and the count, seeing the boxes found, blossomed with a small hope.
Further searches in the forest yielded no results. A further visit to the manor seemed unnecessary to me, and we returned to Riga. Although before leaving, I went to the nearest post office that served the manor to meet the postmaster:
– Do you know Meyer’s handwriting?
– No, I know it very well.
– Well, then, be so kind as to review everything he sends, as well as everything he receives. Make copies of them at my expense and send them to me. Of course, you must observe complete secrecy.
Upon returning to Riga, I immediately began looking for Otto Viļnes. According to the information from the address desk in Riga, he did not stop. Then I decided to send an agent to the mill to Viļnes’s brother. This mission did not seem easy, because it was necessary to inspect the mill, get acquainted with its inhabitants, without arousing any suspicion; It should be noted that the Vilnius residents were completely distrustful, careful, and, given their past experiences, well versed in investigative methods and techniques.
Therefore, the following plan was developed. The Evangelical Society was operating in Riga, which distributed printed copies of the Gospel among the population. Many distributors were attached to it, who walked around the villages with special bags filled with faith books. Having gone to the society, I asked for a mandate, a bag and ten copies of the Gospel in the name of my agent Lane, who then went to the mill. From the train station to the mill itself, he walked on foot, without a hat, immersed in reading the Holy Scriptures. At the mill, he met Viļnes’s brother, but there was no “vice-maid”. Lane returned back essentially with nothing. He only found out that the Viļnes were direct relatives of Meyer on his mother’s side.
I set about developing a new plan to catch the robbers, and then suddenly I received a copy made by the postmaster of a letter that the manager had sent to Otto Viļnes. The letter was addressed to Riga, and it contained the following lines:
“Dear Otto.
Hunters from Riga had come to us the other day. They hunted in the forest, shot something, but then, having lost all trace of their prey, they left.
We have peace and quiet again.”
I immediately went with my agents to the address given in the letter. The specified apartment was not in the name of Otto Vilnes, but we met his mother there.
Where is your son? – I asked her.
Otto left for Petersburg three days ago.
What is his address in St. Petersburg?
I don’t know, he hasn’t written yet.
We searched the apartment, but found nothing stolen from the count’s home. In the meantime, Grundman noticed that the old woman was always holding some kind of book in her hands, without missing a minute. He took it back and flipping through the pages found a stamped letter addressed to Steward Meyer. The converter was open. The letter contained the following content:
“Dear uncle!
I am going to the station now, I am driving to Petersburg. I hasten to answer you today’s letter.
I am glad that the hunting is over with you. Everything is peaceful with us too. I will only grieve you in the sense that I will announce the death of the unfortunate Jānis, who died on Saturday and was buried five days ago. I was at the cemetery and took our tears to his grave.
Expect further news from me.
Your Otto.”
Which dead Jānis is your son writing about? – I asked Vilnes’s mother.
I don’t know. Is he familiar with many people!
Why is this letter with you?
My son asked me to send it before he left, but I still haven’t done so.
Leaving one of my agents in the Vilnius apartment, I began to find out the identity of the deceased Jānis. It was important for us to find his grave, because, as Grundman explained, the expression “asaras” in Latvian is often used instead of the word “briljanti”. Therefore, there was a reasonable suspicion that Otto was talking about diamonds buried in Jānis’s grave in his letter.
All Orthodox and Lutheran churches, chapels and synagogues in Riga were questioned to find out whether anyone named Jānis had been buried there in the past week. I was completely at a loss, but the pastor of one of the parishes advised me to contact the pastors of two more parishes, who live in apartments – Izborsk and Maloyaroslavsk.
It turned out that last week, a funeral service was held in the Maloyaroslavsk regimental home church and the 4th company soldier Ivans Libus, who was always called Jānis by his comrades in the dormitories, was held and buried in the regimental cemetery.
Having received this news, I went to the Archbishop of Riga, told him what was going on, and asked permission to open and examine the grave of John. The Holy Father replied diplomatically enough:
– I cannot allow the opening of the grave of a deceased Christian, because it is against the canons of our church. But no one is forbidden to arrange the grave site so that it acquires a more presentable appearance. You can cover it with sod, pull out and restore the cross, expand the grave mound. If you want to make such improvements, then there are no complaints from my side.
I, of course, expressed a fervent desire to engage in the beautification of John’s grave and, having received the blessing and written approval of the Holy Father, together with two agents went to the soldiers’ graves. Having taken the policeman on duty and the grave keeper as witnesses, we found John’s grave without any problems and began to examine it. Having opened the grave mound and removed the white wooden cross from the foot, at a depth of about half an arshin we found a large metal needle case. It turned out to be full of diamonds.
After the report was drawn up, the cross was put back in place and the grave was completely tidied up.
A few weeks passed, but the “vice-maid” still did not return from St. Petersburg. I again sent Leina to the mill, instructing him to approach the Vilnes estate from the opposite side of the road and with an empty bag, as if he were returning from a walk. But, as on the first occasion, Otto was not at the mill.
But soon the postmaster forwarded me another letter from Vilnes, again addressed to his uncle. From it it was clear that Otto had moved from St. Petersburg to Revels and had applied to be a valet to Baron M. He informed his uncle that he would soon have a “job”. We hurried to Revels, found Baron M. without difficulty, and finally the “vice-maid” was arrested. He miraculously fit the above nickname very well: he was a tall, tall man, with a face without any hair, sensitive, sentimental and tearful, with a squeaky feminine voice. He really resembled an old daughter. During interrogation, the “vice-frailene” completely denied her guilt.
Since his arrest could not remain a secret from his other accomplices, I immediately went to the mill to conduct a search. Otto’s brother was surprised as if struck by lightning when he saw me appear with the overseer Lein, who had not so long ago visited his house as a peaceful bookseller. At the moment of our arrival at the Vilnius mill, he grabbed some kind of paper and quickly put it in his mouth, apparently sensing something bad. It was immediately pulled out of there and turned out to be a note sent by the manager, saying that news had arrived from Otto in Revele.
We also arrested this brother of Viļnes, although a thorough search of the entire building yielded no results.
Upon returning to Riga, I was informed that Otto Viļnes had attempted suicide in his cell by piercing a vein with a piece of metal he had removed from his bootlace. Only the chance arrival of a guard saved Viļnes from death. He was sent to the prison hospital, where the doctor promised to get him back on his feet in the near future.
A few days later, the head of the prison hospital called me and informed me that a Bible that Otto had given her had been confiscated from Viļnes’ mother, who was visiting her son, as she was leaving the hospital. It turned out to be an ordinary, small-format copy of the Bible. I began to carefully leaf through it, looking for some kind of marks, underlined letters, or something like that.
I found no signs of an agreed-upon cipher. I peeled off its spine and noticed a clean, white piece of paper glued to the inside edge. I carefully peeled it off and, turning it over, I saw lines of writing in small letters. With the help of a magnifying glass, I could read this: “Jānis Lībus, soldier of the 4th company of the Maloyaroslavsk regiment, died on November 5, buried in the regimental cemetery. I carried our tears to his grave.” Below was a grave cross drawn, and below it a dot marked with a pencil.
Apparently, his mother managed to tell Otto that during the search, his letter, addressed to his uncle, was confiscated, and Vilnius repeatedly sent a message about the location of the diamonds.
It did not occur to either of them that I had photographed this letter, the original had been sent by address.
The matter was already clear enough, and I decided that the time had come to arrest Meyer. The agents who went to Count Mellin’s estate for this purpose told me that the count was very indignant and strongly opposed the arrest of his steward as an act that did not correspond to anything, was cruel and unnecessary. But the instructions I gave were categorical and, despite the count’s protests, Meyer was nevertheless arrested and brought to Riga. A few days later, as soon as Meyer had recovered, I called him to my office.
“Here it is, Vilnius,” I told him. “I’m summoning you for questioning for the last time. Whether you want to confess or not, it’s your business. The evidence against you is completely irrefutable. Your uncle Meyer and brother have been arrested and confessed to everything, telling (here I, of course, went for the hurrah!) how you transported things by boat at night.”
“Vice-freilen” smiled incredulously.
– Don’t think I’m just telling you this, with the intention of catching you. I repeat, they have confessed to everything, and here’s the proof for you: they returned the diamonds that you had dug in the regimental cemetery under the John’s Cross. Here they are! (I took a box of needles from my pocket and poured the diamonds out onto the table.) Here’s Meyer’s note to your brother, which also testifies against you. Here’s your letter from Revelle, addressed to your uncle. Here’s the piece of paper that was glued to the spine of the Bible. Finally, it was not out of a clear conscience that you attempted suicide. Is that enough for you? Remember that an honest confession will reduce your sentence.
The “vice-freilen”, embarrassed by the evidence, saddened by the loss of the diamonds, believing that his uncle and brother had confessed to everything, considered it useless to resist and made a full confession.
With his characteristic expansiveness, he began to torture himself, showering himself not only with contemptuous epithets and swear words, but also feverishly pulling out tufts of hair from his already unkempt head.
Let’s go, let’s go, boss! I’ll show you where the things are buried, return the count his property: don’t pity us criminals! That’s what we need, let’s go!
Not wanting to lose a single moment and fearing that the “vice-freilen” might change his mind, I immediately secured a locomotive and a heated wagon by telephone and, taking four agents with Otto Vilnes, set off on his instructions for the Hinzenberg station. Here, in the forest, near the station, he led us to a bush and said: “Here.”
With the help of crowbars and shovels, we dug up and scattered the already frozen earth, and unearthed a large, tall and stale box of lando lollipops. It contained interest notes rolled up in tubes and two bracelets with empty stone sockets.
The “vice-freilene” had managed to sell the stones even before leaving for Petersburg.
Right there, next to the tin can, in a matchbox, lay the countess’s notebook with a miniature and a clock. Unfortunately, an unfortunate shovel cut had chipped off one corner of the miniature and shattered the watch.
From this bush, guided by the broken tree branches, the “vice-freilene” led us further, to the next hiding place.
There were ten such hiding places.
Everything that had been stolen was found, but, unfortunately, not in a preserved form. For example, the huge silver bowls had been cut into pieces, most likely to make them easier to hide.
My assumptions about how the crime had taken place were completely confirmed. After the confessions of the perpetrators, everything had happened as follows. Two brothers from Vilnius entered the garden at night and, having reached the glazed veranda, were loaded with expensive junk, which was handed over to them by their uncle – the manager Meijers, who, using the count’s key, taken from the desk, unlocked the fireproof cabinet and pulled out all the valuables from it. The brothers carried the loot from the veranda to the lake in several trips, loaded it into a boat and crossed to the opposite shore, where they loaded all the goods into a cart standing there. One of them carried the loot, while the other returned and took the key from the chain that secured the boat to his uncle, who was waiting for him.
The count showed a rather peculiar psychology towards Meyer: he began to take extra care, trying in every way to soften his participation.
Meyer himself did not show any particular remorse and spoke of the count with hostility and irritation…
After all this, how can one not say that the gratitude of the people is an empty sound!…