Child 44 Chapter 18 Summary

How It All Goes Down

Voualsk, 17 March

  • Leo is wandering the streets, obsessing over the hopelessness of his situation.
  • Leo arrives at the restaurant to find Raisa sitting at a table, doing just about the same thing. He pours "himself a drink from the nearest bottle" (3.18.6).
  • Suddenly, Leo lunges forward, grabbing Raisa by the throat and blaming her for everything that's happened. Oh, dear.
  • According to Raisa, this is the first time this has happened.
  • Her vision fading, Raisa grabs a glass and smashes it against Leo's face, leaving long gashes on his cheek. Raisa storms upstairs and Leo sits, not moving.
  • Even Leo must admit that none of this has been Raisa's fault. Though he knows that he's done something "unforgivable," he leaves the house to meet Nesterov (3.18.12).
  • Nesterov leads Leo to his office, where he shows him a picture of the corpse discovered by Iliyana. Immediately, Leo can see countless similarities with Arkady's body back in Moscow.