Душегубы

Ipatiev learns many family secrets of the Gavrilovs, which can help to find the killer who keeps the family in fear. Lyudmila's former fiance and Gavrilov's young mistress Zoya come to the attention of the investigation. Meanwhile, experts are able to establish that the pistol confiscated from Gavrilov previously belonged to an operative and was lost during the arrest of bandits who attacked Foreign Ministry employees during a country party.

Thanks to the surveillance installed on Zoya, it is possible to establish that she is engaged in prostitution at Intourist. While Ipatiev is trying to figure out how threats to Gavrilov and Zoya's occupation might be related, Kovalsky travels to Leningrad, from where a letter was sent to Samoilov's sister in Krasnodar. But it soon becomes obvious: Samoilov is not in the city — a new victim of the maniac has been found in the Moscow region.

Gavrilov finds a box near his car. Inside is Zoya's wig, a boot with a severed foot and a note demanding to bring ten thousand to the specified place, otherwise his daughter will be the next victim. Meanwhile, Samoilov is trying to get himself antibiotics. He turns to Bazhenov again, demanding to treat his wound and provide him with medicines. The psychiatrist, again without telling anyone anything, goes to meet the maniac with pills soaked in poison.

Zoya's body is found outside the city. Judging by the nature of the injuries and the intact internal organs, she was not killed by Samoilov. Gavrilov confesses to stealing salary money, but the organized operation to transfer the ransom is disrupted. Bazhenov confesses to his father-in-law that Samoilov had his wife all this time. According to the dates and times of telephone conversations with the maniac, it is possible to establish the place from where he called.