Mikhail Bulgakov. The Master and Margarita -
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there was, because I was in a hurry to get to the Griboyedov restaurant.'
The doctor glanced questioningly at Ryukhin, who mumbled sulkily:
'Yes, that's the name of the restaurant.'
'Aha,' said the doctor, ' but why were you in such a hurry? Did you
have an appointment there? '
'I had to catch the professor,' replied Ivan Nikolayich, glancing
nervously round.
'What professor? ' ' Do you know Berlioz? ' asked Ivan with a meaning
look.
'You mean . . . the composer? '
Ivan looked puzzled. ' What composer? Oh, yes . . . no, no. The
composer just happens to have the same name as Misha Berlioz.'
Ryukhin was still feeling too offended to speak, but he had to explain:
'Berlioz, the chairman of MASSOLIT, was run over by a tram this
evening at Patriarch's.'
'Don't lie, you--you don't know anything about it,' Ivan burst out at
Ryukhin. ' I was there, not you! He made him fall under that tram on
purpose! '
'Did he push him? '
'What are you talking about?' exclaimed Ivan, irritated by his
listener's failure to grasp the situation. ' He didn't have to push him! He
can do things you'd never believe! He knew in advance that Berlioz was going
to fall under a tram! '
'Did anybody see this professor apart from you? '
'No, that's the trouble. Only Berlioz and myself.'
'I see. What steps did you take to arrest this murderer?' At this
point the doctor turned and threw a glance at a woman in a white overall
sitting behind a desk.
'This is what I did : I took this candle from the kitchen . . .'
'This one? ' asked the doctor, pointing to a broken candle lying on
the desk beside the ikon.
'Yes, that's the one, and . . .'
'Why the ikon? '
'Well, er, the ikon. . . .' Ivan blushed. ' You see an ikon frightens
them more than anything else.' He again pointed at Ryukhin. ' But the fact