"Whom do you suspect?"
Peredonov fell into thought. Quite by chance Grushina came into his mind, he recalled confusedly the recent conversation with her, during which he interrupted her by a threat of informing against her. The fact that it was he who had threatened to inform against Grushina became in his mind a vague idea of informing in general. Whether he was to inform against someone or whether they were to inform against him was not clear, and Peredonov had no desire to exert himself to recall the matter precisely—one thing was clear, that Grushina was an enemy. And what was worse she had seen where he hid Pisarev. He would have to hide the books somewhere else.
Peredonov said at last:
"Well, there's Grushina."
"Yes, I know, she's a first class rogue," said Avinovitsky sharply.
"She's always coming to our house," complained Peredonov. "And always nosing around. She's very grasping—she takes all she can get. It's possible that she wants money from me in order to keep her from reporting that I once had Pisarev. Or perhaps she wants to marry me. But I don't want to pay her. And I have someone else I want to marry—let her inform against me—I'm not guilty. Only it's unpleasant to me to have this gossip as it might prevent my appointment."
"She's a well-known charlatan," said the District Attorney. "She wanted to take up fortune-telling by cards here, and to get money out of fools. But I asked the police to stop it. At that time they were sensible and did what I told them."
"Even now she tells fortunes," said Peredonov. "She spread out the cards for me and she always saw a long journey and an official letter for me."
"She knows what to say to everybody. Just wait, she'll set a trap for you and then she'll try and extort money from you. Then you come to me and I'll give her a hundred of the hottest lashes," said Avinovitsky, using his favourite expression.
This expression was not to be taken literally, it merely meant an ordinary rebuke.