Two days have passed since the arrest. I am sure that they will sort it out and let us go, we will not stay here long, at least one week.

When we got out of the shower, it turned out that we had to carry the mattress ourselves.

– No, no, I won’t carry it. I don’t have the strength or the hands to carry all this, «I say indignantly. The accompanying employee advises:

– You need to tie the mattress with a sheet, it will be easier to carry.

«Aha, and throw it over your back, carry it like a sack!» Can you imagine what it looks like?! I’ll fall in dark basements, get hurt, and who will be to blame?!

– You can carry it like a bag, – the employee laughs. At this time, a young guy in a black robe comes into the room, I guessed that this is a prisoner working here (khozbanda). Turn to him:

«Young man, please help me carry the mattress to the cell.

It was obvious that he was happy to be addressed, but looked at the employee, asking for his permission.

– Well, what you stand, take two mattresses – ordered it the employee.

The guy put all our supplies on the mattress, rolled it into a thin tube, tied it with a sheet. One was slung over his shoulders, the other under his arm.

Again we go through the mazes and exit into a long corridor, on both sides of the cell. As we moved along the corridor, eye holes opened in the doors, and male voices asked us: «Where is the stage from?» We didn’t engage in conversation. Later I learned that in the cells, prisoners are required to monitor the movement in the corridor, for this purpose they take turns at the doors.

We were taken to the women’s building. They placed them at the doors of the neighboring cells. First they started Anya, then me. I went into the cell and the door slammed behind me. A smoke-filled cell, poor lighting, a long table in the middle, and two adjacent bunk beds on either side of it. There are a lot of women in the cell, and they all stare at me. Questions were asked in Tuvan:

– Where’s the stage from?» What article? What’s your name?»

I answer in Russian:

– I was brought from IVS, I am accused on 105th.

– Why a Russian answer, kind of like Tuvan?

– I understand, but I can’t talk.

Russian Russian, my father said, had more books and more information, so he put me in a Russian class. I know and speak Tuvan colloquially, but I don’t understand it more profoundly. In addition, each district has its own dialect of the language. If I don’t understand the words and say them incorrectly, there may be a conflict, so to avoid everything, I said that I speak Russian. Although this, too, could lead to dislike for me.

«Any accomplices?»

«Yes, there is.

One of the women prisoners says:

– A, this is about them said, former cops (police officers) killed their maid.

– We didn’t kill anyone!»

«That’s what everyone says.

I think that I will have problems: a language barrier; a former employee (if you take into account my 6-month practice in the authorities); a high social status. They’ve already figured out that the maid was murdered. For them, it looks something like this: people from high society killed a simple woman from the people, such as us. There is nothing to prove, it is useless to say, they will not believe. Why do I have to prove myself, explain myself? Time will tell who is who. One of the women suggested:

– Let’s put chifir for acquaintance.

This is the name of very strong tea that prisoners drink, especially men.

– No need to wait for Cogane when I Wake up.

While I look at the life of the cell, I can guess the hierarchy in the cell from the behavior of others. There are five bunk beds in the cell, and fourteen women. It is incredible how these 14 women live in such a small space, and I have already had 15 with me. The cell is full, where I will be put, my mattress still lying near the door. Do they take turns sleeping?! There is nothing to say about living conditions. The toilet in the cell is fenced with a wall about 1.5 meters high, the rest of the room is covered with a rag up to the ceiling. There is no hot water, clothes are drying on the batteries, and some of the ceiling is dripping with moisture. «You can easily get tuberculosis,» I think. There is no TV or even radio. There is absolutely no contact with the outside world.