After leaving the scene and returning Zhenya to his rented residence, Arkady finds Isakov and Eva together. The three begin to walk together and at first behave civilly - each man putting on his best face for Eva's sake. Akrady begins to confront Isakov about his past, showing photographs by Ginsburg which Arkady had managed to recover from an army inspector. Isakov attempts to downplay the allegations, proclaiming his sincere public interests, until it becomes clear that Eva is starting to believe Arkady. Admitting the execution, done to cover up his illicit sales in precious local red dragon carpets, he produces a gun from his coat and is about to kill both of them. Eva removes a tape recorder from her coat, revealing that she had recorded the entire conversation, and tosses the cassette over a nearby fence. Isakov orders Arkady to retrieve the tape, but as he begins to approach the fence a brightly lit snow plow comes rumbling by and foils Isakov's murderous plans. What's more, the cassette lying on the ground is actually a decoy - Eva still possesses the incriminating confession.