Jew in my employ. Please note, if you will, the sigillum on my coat lapel. I consider it a mark of this man’s insolence that he was not quailed by it in my presence. For your information I am a former recording secretary of the Society of the Double-headed Eagle.’ “
The magistrate laid down the paper, removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
“You have heard the deposition,” he said to Yakov. “I have also read your questionnaire and am familiar with the responses, but I must now ask you to comment on the remarks of the witness Lebedev. Is the substance of them correct? Be careful in your reply. This, though not a trial, is a police investigation to see if an Act of Indictment is warranted.”
Yakov rose in excitement. “Please, your honor, I don’t know much about the law, and it isn’t always simple to say yes and no in the right place. Would you let me speak to a lawyer for advice? I might even have a few rubles to pay if the police will return my money to me.”
“Yes and no take care of themselves if a man tells the truth. As for consulting a lawyer, that is not possible at this stage. In our legal system the indictment comes first. After the preliminary examination the Investigating Magistrate and Prosecuting Attorney consult, and if both believe the suspect to be guilty, an Act of Indictment is drawn up and sent to the District Court, where it is either confirmed or disapproved by the judges. The defense may begin after the accused is informed that the indictment has been voted, and he is then given a copy of it. Within a week or so, possibly a bit more, the accused may select his counsel and inform the court.”
“Your honor,” Yakov said in alarm, “suppose a man is innocent of what they say he did? What’s it all about is a confusion in my mind. One minute I think it’s as clear as daylight and the crime we’re talking about is a small one, no more than a mistake you might say, and the next minute you say things that make me shiver. For my little sin why should anybody accuse me of a big one? If I gave a false name to someone does that mean there’s bound to be an indictment?”
“We will know in due course what is bound to be.”
The fixer, sighing heavily, sat down, his manacled hands twitching in his lap.
“I have asked you to comment on the witness Lebe-dev’s remarks,” Bibikov said.
“Your honor, I give you my word I meant no harm. What I did wrong—even Nikolai Maximovitch admits it—I did with reluctance, against my will. The truth is I found him drunk in the snow. As a reward he offered me a job I didn’t ask for. I could’ve refused it and I did once or twice, but my money was going fast, I had rent to pay and et cetera. I was getting desperate for work—my hands complain when they have nothing to do—so I finally took what he offered me. He was satisfied with the paint and papering job I first did, and he also told me I was a good overseer in the brickworks. I used to get up half past three every night to inspect the loading of the wagons. If he said it once he said it more than once. Ask him yourself, your honor.”
“True, but didn’t you give him a false name as your own? In effect, a gentile name? That was no accident I take it? That was your intent, wasn’t it?”
The magistrate had forcefully thrust his face forward. Was this the man who said he admired Spinoza?
“It’s my mistake, I admit it,” said Yakov. “I gave him the first name that popped into my head. I wasn’t thinking, your honor, and that’s how a man comes to grief. When you’re faced with a worrisome situation it’s not so easy to keep your mind on what comes next. Dologushev is a one-eyed peasant near my village who slaughters pigs. But the truth of it is I really didn’t want to live on the factory grounds. It got so I couldn’t sleep from worrying so much. Nikolai Maximovitch mentions that I was afraid to take his offer to live in
The magistrate laid down the paper, removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
“You have heard the deposition,” he said to Yakov. “I have also read your questionnaire and am familiar with the responses, but I must now ask you to comment on the remarks of the witness Lebedev. Is the substance of them correct? Be careful in your reply. This, though not a trial, is a police investigation to see if an Act of Indictment is warranted.”
Yakov rose in excitement. “Please, your honor, I don’t know much about the law, and it isn’t always simple to say yes and no in the right place. Would you let me speak to a lawyer for advice? I might even have a few rubles to pay if the police will return my money to me.”
“Yes and no take care of themselves if a man tells the truth. As for consulting a lawyer, that is not possible at this stage. In our legal system the indictment comes first. After the preliminary examination the Investigating Magistrate and Prosecuting Attorney consult, and if both believe the suspect to be guilty, an Act of Indictment is drawn up and sent to the District Court, where it is either confirmed or disapproved by the judges. The defense may begin after the accused is informed that the indictment has been voted, and he is then given a copy of it. Within a week or so, possibly a bit more, the accused may select his counsel and inform the court.”
“Your honor,” Yakov said in alarm, “suppose a man is innocent of what they say he did? What’s it all about is a confusion in my mind. One minute I think it’s as clear as daylight and the crime we’re talking about is a small one, no more than a mistake you might say, and the next minute you say things that make me shiver. For my little sin why should anybody accuse me of a big one? If I gave a false name to someone does that mean there’s bound to be an indictment?”
“We will know in due course what is bound to be.”
The fixer, sighing heavily, sat down, his manacled hands twitching in his lap.
“I have asked you to comment on the witness Lebe-dev’s remarks,” Bibikov said.
“Your honor, I give you my word I meant no harm. What I did wrong—even Nikolai Maximovitch admits it—I did with reluctance, against my will. The truth is I found him drunk in the snow. As a reward he offered me a job I didn’t ask for. I could’ve refused it and I did once or twice, but my money was going fast, I had rent to pay and et cetera. I was getting desperate for work—my hands complain when they have nothing to do—so I finally took what he offered me. He was satisfied with the paint and papering job I first did, and he also told me I was a good overseer in the brickworks. I used to get up half past three every night to inspect the loading of the wagons. If he said it once he said it more than once. Ask him yourself, your honor.”
“True, but didn’t you give him a false name as your own? In effect, a gentile name? That was no accident I take it? That was your intent, wasn’t it?”
The magistrate had forcefully thrust his face forward. Was this the man who said he admired Spinoza?
“It’s my mistake, I admit it,” said Yakov. “I gave him the first name that popped into my head. I wasn’t thinking, your honor, and that’s how a man comes to grief. When you’re faced with a worrisome situation it’s not so easy to keep your mind on what comes next. Dologushev is a one-eyed peasant near my village who slaughters pigs. But the truth of it is I really didn’t want to live on the factory grounds. It got so I couldn’t sleep from worrying so much. Nikolai Maximovitch mentions that I was afraid to take his offer to live in
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