Original subtitles

Translation and timing by: @anditendshowyoudexpect(.tumblr.com)

The number of victims in Turkestan is in tens of thousands now.

What did you expect, Arkasha?

This is cholera, not a head cold.

I expect the authorities to do something already, Afanasiy Nikitich!

The epidemic must be stopped!

Cholera can be stopped only by mass vaccination.

While these tsarist boneheads wouldn't stop a bed bug invasion,

let alone cholera!

Well, I read that Dr. Khavkin* successfully tested an anti-cholera vaccine in France. (*Waldemar Haffkine)

Only we're not getting that vaccine anytime soon.

If ever.

Volodya Khavkin... this kind soul

he sent a telegram to our government,

offering his help to stop the epidemic.

And?

The response was that they had no need

of any service an untrustworthy political emigrant might provide.

They will have no choice!

They will buy this vaccine from France and say thank you very much.

That's the tragedy of it. "They will buy from France..."

It should be the other way around!

Khavkin shouldn't have gotten involved with those Narodovolts!

The Narodovolts are heroes!

A bomber can't be a hero!

Ladies and gentlemen, political disputes can't be solved with terror!

You are absolutely right, Doctor.

And people of your profession can make a revolution without bombs.

- I completely agree! - Of course, I mean a revolution in medicine.

Ladies and gentlemen, trust me, there will be no epidemics at all very soon!

Oh? How will that be possible?

The brightest minds of Europe are working on it.

And don't write off Russian scientists just yet either.

I believe we are going to surprise everyone very soon.

Episode 17 HEARTS OF FOUR

Anton Andreyevich, Anton Andreyevich! Wait for me, wait!

Wait, Anton Andreyevich.

Solomon Yakovlevich, I'm glad to see you're in good health.

Well, I don't know about that.

When a person orders a 100 roubles worth of product from me

only to disappear without a trace,

how do you think it affects my health?

Who? Tell me, who could do this to you?

You won't believe it

but it was Afanasiy Nikitich Sviridov.

You don't say! How long has he owed you?

Since yesterday.

You will say this is nothing and you will be absolutely right.

But a professor, a respectable man

who has always been exact in his payments...

I am worried something might have happened to him.

Did you send a message to his house?

I didn't just send a message--

I went there in person, on these two bad legs.

The maid said nobody was home

but I saw a curtain move in the living room.

Why would it move if there is nobody there?

Fair enough, Solomon Yakovlevich.

I am confident, however, that

this misunderstanding will be resolved very soon and in the best way possible.

Yes, yes, of course, but still

you should visit the professor and find out what's going on.

Very well, I'll do my best.

Excellent. Take care now.

Have a good day!

The old man is completely off his rocker...

Look what one of my readers wrote to me.

Dear Maria Timofeyevna,

I have been turning a blind eye to my husband's odd behavior for years

but when I read your essay "The Lady and the Maid",

the scales fell from my eyes...

Anya? Are you listening?

Yes. The scales fell from her eyes, and?

She confirmed that her husband was cheating and now she doesn't know what to do.

There it is!

This is what was missing from my novel.

This has intrigue, drama and heartache...

This is going to be a tragedy of betrayal, not a love story.

And in the end, the unfaithful husband will certainly get his punishment.

He will throw himself under a train!

No, wait, that has been done. He will shoot himself!

That has been done as well.

Then he will go abroad... and die from consumption!

What if he repents?

...and begs for forgiveness?

And his beloved forgives him.

Never.

There is no forgiving him.

And never will be.

He must understand how despicable--

A messenger brought this.

From your father.

Smells like bear.

Risus sardonicus, the picture is clear.

- What? - Strychnine?

Most likely.

Here is the bottle.

Nikolai Vasilievich,

strychnine is usually dissolved in beer or wine

to mask its unpleasant taste.

All suicides do it.

Miss, where are you going?

No, it's impossible! She couldn't have killed herself!

Cover her with something.

Who are you, Miss?

Ksenia Lavrova. I live in the room across the hall.

Did you know the deceased well?

Yes, we were friends.

When did you see her last?

Yesterday, right after midnight.

I heard her footsteps in the hall and came out to say good night.

Was she alone?

Yes. And she was in a great mood,

I haven't seen her this happy in a long time

Trust me, she couldn't have killed herself, this is absurd!

My dear, suicidal people usually hide their intentions,

even from those closest to them.

Excuse me.

Hello, Dad.

I was afraid you... you wouldn't come.

How could I do this to you?

I'm sorry. I know I have wronged you.

You and your mother.

I can't accept that you have left us just yet.

Don't say that.

You are no longer a child, you understand this well enough.

No, Dad, I don't understand.

I don't understand what you see in our former maid.

I wish it hadn't happened while she worked in our house.

But believe me, Liza is--

She is a nice girl and

you'll see that if you get to know her.

I don't want to get to know her.

As you wish.

Dad... Are you sure that you're not making a mistake?

That you won't regret it?

It's not too late to make it right, I know Mom, she'll forgive you.

No.

It's impossible.

Why?

Why did you refuse Kliuyev?

Because I don't love him.

There is your answer.

I still would like to ask you not to see Shtolman again.

That is, if you have an ounce of prudence left.

This--coming from you?

Tell me, my dear, are your masters home?

Natasha, who is it?

Invite him in.

Aleksandr Franzevich, what a surprise.

It's good to see you.

Good to see you, Larisa Ivanovna.

Is Afanasiy Nikitich home?

No, he left.

A telegram came at night from Yaroslavl Governorate.

A suspected case of cholera.

I see. I hope it won't be confirmed.

Yes, so do I.

How are you feeling?

I-- I am fine, I just didn't get enough sleep.

I was helping my husband pack.

- Lara? - Arkadiy, we have a visitor.

Aleksandr Franzevich, good day.

Good day, Arkadiy Konstantinovich.

You must have been picking mushrooms.

Hunting.

Oh. If you don't mind me asking, where is the prey?

You know, I'm a terrible shot.

Excuse me, I need to change. - Of course.

I'm sorry, did you want something from my husband?

Well, the thing is, Afanasiy Nikitich

promised to lend me the latest issue

of Herald of Surgery.

When do you think he will be back?

Who knows?

I think it's going to be at least a week.

Well, I will come back in a week, if you don't mind.

Goodbye.

Anna Viktorovna?

Yes, it's me. How can I help you?

My name is Ksenia Lavrova.

Someone gave me your name and address and said you could help.

What is the matter?

My friend Yulia has been found dead this morning.

My condolences.

The police believe this was a suicide, but they are wrong.

What makes you so sure?

If something had been troubling Yulia, I would have noticed right away.

But she was calm... cheerful even!

If--

If she really killed herself, I want to know why.

All right, I'll try to help you.

Let's go inside.

Spirit of Yulia Polyakova, show yourself to me.

Spirit of Yulia Polyakova, show yourself to me.

Spirit of Yulia Polyakova, show yourself to me.

She is here.

Why did you kill yourself?

She was pregnant.

Pregnant?

Then she definitely wouldn't have killed herself.

Yulia told me she had always wanted to be a mother.

Who is to blame for your death?

I don't understand.

Did she write to someone?

Or did she receive letters?

No... I don't think she was corresponding with anyone.

Still, you should look for letters at her place.

All right.

Anton Andreyevich, I'm glad I have run into you!

I was about to visit you in person and thank you.

What for?

Oh, the professor settled his bill?

In full!

Madame Sviridova sent me the full amount and even a note of apology.

Happy to hear it.

Oh, if you think the story ends here...

Last night, I was passing by the Sviridovs' house

and saw a large bonfire in their backyard

and the professor's wife and his assistant standing by it.

And? What were they burning?

What were they burning? I couldn't make it out.

But I did see very well

that the assistant was hugging the professor's wife, as if it were nothing out of ordinary.

And you find that suspicious?

Don't you?

Solomon Yakovlevich, the police will figure everything out.

Good day, Pelageia Ivanovna.

Anton Andreyevich. Were you passing by again?

Yes, I was in the neighborhood and I thought I'd stop in.

And you bought the flowers by accident too, didn't you?

Yes. I mean, no, the flowers are, of course, for you.

Thank you.

They are so beautiful. I love violets.

Yes, these are v-violets.

I'm glad I was able to please you.

You're not bored here, are you?

You must have lost some buyers after the fire.

Quite the contrary, they come in flocks.

Nobody's here now, because it's early.

I'm sorting the new arrivals.

Would you like a hand?

Anna Viktorovna, I see you've decided to help me.

But I am all done.

Doctor, is this Yulia Polyakova?

Yes, this is she.

- Was she pregnant? - How did you-- Oh, right.

Were you able to determine the cause of death?

Yes. She took strychnine.

I think she wanted to expel the fetus but miscalculated the dose.

So, this was an accident?

Anna Viktorovna, my dear...

Sadly, young women... wishing to terminate a pregnancy

sometimes meet a tragic end like this.

I love books, I have a small library at home too.

Do you live alone, Anton Andreyevich?

Yes, in a government apartment.

It's frankly small but it's enough for one person.

And if I get married, I'll get a bigger place.

I've been meaning to ask you why you live alone, why you're not married.

You see, Pelageia Ivanovna...

I don't know how to attract a woman.

It takes a special... talent.

I think you're being too hard on yourself.

You think so?

Well... I think women tend to like...

unusual, mysterious, even dangerous men.

Take you. ...Oh.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean-- That came out wrong, I'm sorry.

No, you're right, that is exactly the sort of men I used to like.

But I was young and stupid then, and now, I hope, I know better.

Yakov Platonovich.

I didn't hear you come in.

I got scared for a moment.

You have nothing to be scared of when I'm with you.

Are you with me?

Doctor.

Yakov Platonovich is here to see you.

Good day, Yakov Platonovich.

I'm listening, Doctor.

I have a small favor to ask of you.

You see, yesterday, after talking to Anton Andreyevich,

I decided to visit the Sviridovs.

I didn't find the professor at home, and his wife told me

he had been summoned to Yaroslavl Governorate with a telegram,

for an alleged outbreak of cholera there.

Governorate hospitals are always notified in cases like this

but we never received any such message.

So, I'm asking you as a friend.

Please, send an inquiry to Yaroslavl Governorate.

Don't worry, Doctor, I will do it today.

Thank you.

Is Polyakova's autopsy report ready?

Yes, it's been ready for a while. Come into my office.

Good day, Anna Viktorovna. Is the doctor..?

In his office, but he's busy.

Nikolai Vasilievich. Is something wrong?

Maybe I can help you?

Yesterday, in the line of duty... I smelled the evidence.

All right.

I'm afraid I might have breathed in too much strychnine.

Don't worry, Nikolai Vasilievich. It can't poison you through air.

Still, it would be good to take some kind of antidote,

because I didn't sleep all night...

listening to my body.

There is an excellent natural remedy.

I'll make you a list of plants

and you will gather them and make an infusion.

Alcohol-based?

No, Nikolai Vasilievich, in a water bath.

Isn't there a ready-to-use remedy available?

Alas.

Yellow sweet clover?

Yes. And all the others on the list.

Take it every night before bed.

Calendula, rhubarb...

Thank you, Anna Viktorovna.

I don't understand.

Do you have reasons to believe that something has happened to my husband?

Ma'am, who delivered the telegram?

Did you see it with your own eyes?

No, I was asleep, my husband woke me,

he came into my bedroom

and told me he was being urgently summoned to Yaroslavl.

An official carriage came for him an hour later.

What time was that?

Around 1 a.m.

Did you see him off?

No. Now tell me what's going on.

There was no telegram from Yaroslavl.

- Are you sure? - More than sure.

What does it mean then?

This is what I'm going to find out.

- Anna Viktorovna? - Good day, Ksenia.

I'm glad I have caught you at home.

Have you found out something about Yulia?

Unfortunately, not yet.

Were you able to find her letters?

No. I can't get into her room, I don't have the key.

Who does?

Did you see the person who delivered the telegram?

Can you describe him?

I wasn't really looking. And it was dark too.

At what time was it delivered?

After midnight, I can't say when exactly.

When did the professor leave?

Around 1 a.m.

Thank you.

The landlord won't give me the key.

He says he won't let anyone but her family take her things.

But she only has an aunt, and that one is in Moscow anyway.

Tell me something, Ksenia... Do you know where he keeps the key?

So, at what time did the carriage take off?

At two in the morning.

Could it have been at three?

No, I know for sure, because I looked at the clock.

The maid says it was at one o'clock.

Natashka could have gotten it wrong, she's only a woman, isn't she.

Good day.

- How can I help you, ma'am? - I want to rent a room.

For a month.

What can you offer me?

Only the best for a beautiful lady like you.

We have an excellent room on the third floor.

With the view of the yard too!

So, you and your wife also live in this house?

The professor and I work together.

And we stay in the lab for days on end.

So, a year and a half ago we decided

that this arrangement would be much more convenient for everyone.

It's a big house, so this is fine.

So many drugs... Why so many?

My husband is a doctor.

He prefers having a supply of drugs at home.

- May I? - Yes, of course.

I see there are even letters from abroad.

The professor maintains correspondence with many scientists

from all parts of the world.

Vladimir Khavkin...

A former Narodovolts who fled the country, right?

Khavkin is a famous epidemiologist first and foremost.

They are university friends,

Volodya is consulting my husband on an anti-cholera vaccine.

Your husband is working on a vaccine?

Among other things.

The professor is always working on several things at the same time.

I'm taking the letters from Mr. Khavkin and other correspondents.

Excuse me, is this necessary?

I can't rule out the possibility that your husband was kidnapped.

His research may be of interest to all kinds of parties.

Goodbye.

Did you find anything?

No. No letters.

Only a notebook with the record of expenses, but there's nothing interesting in there.

Are these her books?

Yes. Yulia loved reading.

Did she have a favorite novel?

This one. Have you read it?

Such a powerful book.

Thomas Hardy.

At midnight, at the corner of Sadovaya Str., as usual.

Your situation will be resolved in the best way possible.

September 1, 1894...

That's the day before her death.

Do you know who could write this note?

Yulia was seeing someone...

She had an admirer.

She didn't tell me much about him

but she used to say he was a true gentleman.

Like the ones in English novels.

Your situation will be resolved in the best way possible...

I think this is about her pregnancy.

The case of cholera in Yaroslavl Governorate wasn't confirmed.

Sviridov never arrived there, and no one sent for him anyway.

Here is the telegram from the chief doctor of the governorate hospital.

Anna Viktorovna, is it something urgent?

Is this a bad time?

No, it's fine, we're already done.

Did you interview the coachmen? - Yes, of course.

None of them took anyone from the Sviridovs' house anywhere.

Well, do proceed with the investigation.

Nikolai Vasilievich.

How are you feeling?

Not bad, Anna Viktorovna.

Are you gathering the herbs?

I am.

Anton Andreyevich, what happened to Professor Sviridov?

How do you know him?

He's missing. Possibly kidnapped.

Does Nikolai Vasilievich know?

Yes, I told him.

He is very worried.

I hope we'll be able to find the professor.

We will find him.

PISHCHIKOV

Anna... Viktorovna?

I'm sorry, gentlemen, the professor is dead.

Pishchikov... who is that?

He's Sviridov's neighbor, lives on the same street.

...Did he... right to the precinct?

Anton Andreyevich, spirits still come to the precinct without summons.

Mr. Pishchikov!

Yuri Petrovich.

Gentlemen, I don't have the honor of knowing you.

We are with the police.

We have come to ask you some questions about your neighbor, Mr. Sviridov.

Sviridov? Hm, what a surprise.

What did he do? Gentlemen, please, come on in,

the entrance is right there.

The whole place is covered with vines...

Is this grapes? - Ivy.

No, this is hops.

Unfortunately, it doesn't grow well in our parts.

Well, gentlemen, how can I be of service?

Perhaps you saw a carriage

driving away from Professor Sviridov's house

at around 1 a.m.

No, I didn't.

The thing is, I didn't come home

and went here right from the house of my fiancee, Madame Arsenyeva.

And it was just around 1 a.m., yes.

I see.

Gentlemen, help yourselves. This is genuine English lemonade.

Thank you, John.

Of course, he is Ivan, but it feels more familiar.

Inimitable.

Or is it imitable?

As you wish. John!

I'm so happy you like it. I make it myself.

When did you last see the professor?

It's been a while. About a year ago.

But what's happened?

Did he finally run away from his wife?

What makes you think that?

I'd hate to sound like a gossip but

Larisa Ivanovna has been having an affair for a while now.

What?* (*Pishchikov is an Anglophile, but Anton doesn't speak English.)

A liaison. With Uminski, his assistant.

How do you know that?

You can trust me on that.

That's why Afanasiy and I had a falling out.

I once caught Larisa and Arkadiy in a very compromising situation,

and I thought it my duty to tell my friend about it.

What did your friend say?

He called me a gossip and forbade me his house.

Thank you. ...John.

So, Madame Sviridova is having an affair with her husband's assistant.

Do you think they may be involved in the professor's disappearance?

I wouldn't rule it out.

Dr. Milz says he saw Uminski

enter the house all covered in mud on the following day.

- He was getting rid of the body. - What about the telegram?

Pure fiction.

I thought Pishchikov was just a nice, harmless eccentric.

- His alibi needs to be checked anyway. - Yes.

The shadows were growing deeper...

Night was wrapping the world in drowsy silence

when sadness seeps through ever so clearly.

Agatha lay in her bedroom

listening for

her husband's footsteps in the hallway.

Looking back at her life,

Agatha struggled to understand where,

at what moment it had turned the wrong way.

What are you doing?

Eavesdropping?

Eavesdropping is wrong.

It's wrong when a visitor stays so late.

What if the master comes back, and that one is sitting there?

That is none of your concern. Go.

She kept listening...

But the footsteps were moving farther and farther away from her bedroom.

Larisa Ivanovna...

I apologize for disturbing you so early--

No need to apologize, I am worried sick.

Did you find out anything about my husband?

Yes and no.

We paid a visit to your neighbor, Mr. Pishchikov, yesterday--

Pishchikov? What does it have to do with him?

Nothing, one might think. However, he said that--

How do I put it delicately...

That you and Arkadiy Uminski--

I see. This blabbermouth hinted that Arkadiy and I were having an affair

and we decided to get rid of my husband.

Not quite. He said he had had a fight with the professor because of it

and your husband forbade Pishchikov his house.

The fight did take place, but for a completely different reason.

May I ask what reason it was?

You see, Pishchikov, he... He adores England.

He makes lemonade and kidney pies,

in short, he plays some kind of esquire.

He once came to our house with some Englishman,

and the two of them tried to talk Afanasiy into moving to London,

saying he would make a brilliant career for himself there.

- Really? - Yes.

And the professor? Did he decline?

He didn't just decline.

My husband is a true patriot.

Their promises made him so mad that he kicked Pishchikov out and

told him not to come back ever again.

Interesting...

Oh, and about my adultery.

If you want to know,

I have lived with Arkadiy for two years now,

while his wife Masha lives with my husband.

As you know, divorce is prohibited in our country.

You mean you--

Then again... then again... well.

- Help yourself. - Thank you.

Did Mr. Pishchikov visit you the day before yesterday?

He did. Brought me a basket of flowers,

there they are, still fresh.

Why, what's the matter? Did he do something?

It looks like the possibility doesn't surprise you at all.

Yurka is a troublemaker, got to keep an eye on that one,

or he'll go down a slippery slope.

But you still want to spend your life with this kind of man.

Oh, I just like him too much.

The late Stepan Petrovich set me up for life,

so I can follow my heart's desire in marriage this time.

As you wish.

I know he has a self-interest.

But it's not bad when the wife has the husband in her power, is it?

Oddly enough, I like your honesty.

I told him as it is:

If I find out you're lying, or gambling, or sleeping around,

I'll kick you right out.

Did he agree?

What choice does he have? He's poor as a church mouse.

And this stupid Anglomania of his!

What kind of idea is this, brewing beer in Russia?

Not lemonade? Beer?

That's what I told him, I said, you fool,

vodka is what a Russian man wants!

He went bust with that idea of his.

He invested all he had and lost everything.

Who would want him now?

I wouldn't marry him myself either,

only I like him too much.

At what time did he leave your house?

Around 20 minutes to midnight.

Are you sure it wasn't later?

I'm sure. I always go to bed at midnight.

Yakov Platonovich! I'm so glad I waited for you.

I want to talk to you about Polyakova's case.

Oh, Anna Viktorovna, you come on business again.

So, what's the matter?

I don't think she committed suicide.

She had a date with someone that night.

Did her spirit tell you this?

No.

Here, I found this in her room.

Interesting.

Yakov Platonovich! I was about to go find you.

Morning, Anna Viktorovna!

Larisa Sviridova has just been in.

She said that a year ago, Pishchikov had tried to lure him away to England, to London.

That Anglophile isn't that simple.

Anglophile... A true gentleman.

There's hops growing on the terrace of Pishchikov's house.

I remember.

His fiance told me, he'd used to brew beer.

And?

According to Dr. Milz's report, the girl was poisoned with strychnine,

which is added to beer--to mask its smell.* (*taste. come on, Yakov.)

So that's it...

But Pishchikov has an alibi.

That's the thing, he doesn't.

Let's go. - A moment, I'll fetch the officers.

Just a minute!

Oh! Gentlemen

and a beautiful lady.

To what do I owe the pleasure this time?

You lied to us, Mr. Pishchikov.

You left Madame Arsenyeva's house long before midnight.

It's possible. I might have forgotten the exact time.

Might you also have forgotten that

you tried to convince the professor

to leave the country and work for the English a year ago?

I don't understand what you're trying to say.

I'm trying to say that three days ago

you helped kidnap and perhaps even kill him.

You-- Are you insane?

It is true that I was offered a lot of money for

persuading Afanasiy to move to Cambridge, but

a murder?

I swear I had nothing to do with it!

Then where were you when you left your fiance's house?

Fine. I had a date with a lady.

Was the lady's name Yulia Polyakova?

Yes. How did you know?

Did you write this?

Sadly, that was our last encounter.

The poor thing killed herself.

No. She was murdered.

By you.

What, her as well?

This is getting ridiculous.

I assure you, my lady...

she was alive and well when we parted.

I'm not your lady.

And Polyakova was pregnant.

Did you know that? - No.

I swear--she didn't tell me anything.

This letter says:

"Your situation will be resolved in the best way possible."

What did you mean by that?

It's about money.

Yulia needed money and I helped her out.

- How much did you give her? - About 20 roubles.

Only we never found that money in her room.

I think you reassured the girl.

Maybe you even promised you would marry her.

And as a token of your love, you gave her a bottle of your home-made beer,

with strychnine in it.

Strychnine? Please. Why would I even have it?

You add strychnine to your beer, to amplify the flavor.

Being an avid Anglophile, you couldn't have been unaware

of this English beer brewing trick.

You can barely taste strychnine in beer.

And you put in a lethal dose for Yulia.

What a wild imagination you have.

You wanted to improve your situation by marrying Madame Arsenyeva,

but she made it clear right away she wouldn't allow you to have fun on the side.

You were afraid that Yulia and a child would get in your way.

So you decided to get rid of both in one go.

Well, we'll take this as a confession.

You turned out to be right as always, Anna Viktorovna.

I'm so glad Pishchikov will be punished.

Only it has nothing to do with the professor's death.

HEARTS OF FOUR

Translation and timing by: @anditendshowyoudexpect(.tumblr.com)