Seven elephants stood in a row, as if preparing for a parade. Impeccably clean, without a speck of dust. Behind them on the wall—certificates, letters of appreciation, photographs from competitions. The ordinary life of a school teacher.
"Have you found anything?" the school principal, Valentina Petrovna, appeared in the doorway. A small woman with a tired face and a keen gaze.
"How long has he been working here?" Anna continued examining the photographs.
"This is his third year. He came with excellent recommendations. The children adored him, especially the girls. He conducted additional self-defense classes…"
"For free?" Anna clarified.
"Yes, he said it was his calling—helping children feel safe."
Anna approached the cabinet and opened the door. Sports uniforms, whistles, a stopwatch. And a small notebook, lost among the papers.
"May I?" she showed the notebook to the principal. She nodded.
Anna put on gloves and opened the first page. Neat handwriting, dates, names. Training records? No. Something else.
"Sophia V. Favorite color—blue. Afraid of the dark. Always takes the same route. Loves mint ice cream."
Next page: "Katya V. Plays the piano. Pink unicorn backpack. Music school on Tuesdays and Thursdays."
"Masha S. collects badges. Lives with grandmother. Dreams of becoming an artist."
"Dorokhov," Anna's voice faltered. "Check all these names. Every girl."
"Already on it," another officer appeared in the doorway. "In his computer—an entire database. Photographs, schedules, routes. He was tracking all of them."
"And nobody noticed?" Anna turned to the principal. "Nobody paid attention?"
"To what?" Valentina Petrovna threw up her hands in confusion. "That a teacher takes interest in his students' lives? That he helps them, supports them? We thought he was just… a good person."
Anna's phone rang. Granin.
"Come quickly," the old investigator's voice sounded hollow. "Someone's been in my apartment. The elephants… they're gone. All six."
Anna exchanged glances with Dorokhov. "I'm sending a team. Don't touch anything."
"Wait," the principal suddenly grabbed Anna's arm. "Yesterday… yesterday Igor brought a box of chocolates to the teachers' lounge. Said it was his birthday. And this morning he didn't come to work. For the first time in three years."
"Where does he live?"
"In the teachers' dormitory. But he's not there either. And his phone isn't answering."
"Anna Vitalyevna!" a young officer ran up to them. "Look what we found in his locker in the changing room."
He handed Anna a plastic bag. Inside were three red porcelain elephants—exactly like the green ones on the shelf.
"And that's not all," the officer placed a school register on the table. "Look at these markings."
Anna opened the register. Next to some names were colored dots: blue, green, red.
"Red dots—next to the names of three girls from Sophia's parallel class," explained the officer.
"Check on these girls. Immediately," Anna ordered, feeling everything inside her tighten with anxiety.
"Also, we found documents in his home," the officer continued. "In the name of… Igor Vasilyev."
"Vasilyev?" Anna frowned. "The same one? From Tver?"
"Yes. Among the documents—letters of recommendation from the music school in Tver, dated twenty years earlier."
Anna picked up one of the green elephants from the shelf, carefully examining the porcelain figurine. What did these colors mean? Why had Sokolov so meticulously marked children in his lists?
