Anna felt her pulse quicken.

"Elena Andreevna, these sessions, the pills… when exactly was this?"

"About six months before I met Viktor," she thought for a moment. "No, that's not right. We knew each other, but not closely. He was just an acquaintance from a mutual social circle. And then, when I was already seeing Berkut, he started showing more attention. Asking me on dates, giving gifts…"

"Don't you find that strange?" Anna asked carefully. "Berkut. Viktor. These pills."

Elena Andreevna slowly sank into a chair, her face suddenly growing even paler.

"You think… all of this was connected? Viktor and Berkut… they were working together?"

"We have reason to believe so," Anna moved closer. "And another person—Igor Sokolov, the physical education teacher. They may have been planning Sophia's abduction for a long time."

"My God," whispered Elena Andreevna. "I let him into our home. I myself…"

"It's not your fault," Anna said firmly. "They manipulated you. Possibly even with drugs."

Elena Andreevna suddenly raised her head, panic flashing in her eyes.

"The elephants!" she exclaimed. "Sophia's first elephant appeared after a session with Berkut. He gave her that figurine himself. Said it was… that it was a symbol of her potential."

"What color was this elephant?"

"Green," Elena Andreevna whispered. "Bright green."

Anna made a note in her notebook.

"Is there anything else that seems strange to you? Even the smallest detail could be important."

Elena Andreevna closed her eyes, remembering.

"There was one time… Sophia returned from a session with Berkut somewhat… different. Detached. She spoke slowly, as if struggling to find words. I asked if everything was all right, and she said: 'I saw Katya. She was special too.'"

"Katya?"

"Yes. At the time, I thought she was talking about another patient at the center. But now…"

"Katya Voronova," Anna said quietly. "The girl Viktor Rogov killed twenty years ago."

The phone rang in the kitchen. Elena Andreevna absently rose to answer it. A minute later, she returned even paler than before.

"It was him."

"Who?"

"Berkut. He said that Sophia is fine. That she…" Elena Andreevna's voice trembled. "That she's undergoing 'necessary transformation.'"

Anna jumped up.

"Did he give an address? Say where she is?"

"No. Only that… that soon I'll receive word from her. And that I should be prepared for her to change."

Anna quickly dialed Dorokhov's number.

"Urgently trace the call to Elena Andreevna's home phone. Just now. And put out an APB on Alexander Berkut. Immediately!"

Hanging up, she turned to Elena Andreevna.

"Have you remembered anything else? Did Berkut ever mention places he goes to? A house outside the city, a country home?"

Elena Andreevna rubbed her temples, trying to concentrate.

"Once… he talked about a sanatorium. Some old sanatorium he wanted to turn into a rehabilitation center for children with psychological trauma. A former Soviet sanatorium somewhere in the forest."

"Name? Address?"

"I think 'Pine'… or 'Forest'… something like that. But once I saw documents on his desk. Something related to property registration. There was an address: Sosnovskoye Highway, kilometer 115."

Anna was already dialing Dorokhov's number.

"Check the sanatorium at kilometer 115 of Sosnovskoye Highway. Possibly a former Soviet facility, now presumably owned by Berkut. Organize a tactical team. And request a search warrant for all properties connected to Berkut."

Rain poured down, turning the road into a slippery gray ribbon. Anna kept peering at the road signs through the wet windshield. Kilometer 112… 113… The turn to the old sanatorium should be somewhere around here.