The Girl in the Carriage

The most inhumane bargain begins when the bargaining chip becomes… a child.
 
The only daughter of the chief of police of Moscow, Nastya, was abducted in broad daylight in the city center. The grief-stricken father received an anonymous letter: “It is... in your best interest not to involve the police in the investigation. Otherwise, your daughter will disappear without a trace…”
Witnesses interrogated by private detective Marmeladov unanimously described the governess who took the girl. They noted that Nastya was walking alongside him; the kidnapper did not drag her forcefully, nor did he hold her by the hand.
Soon after, a ransom demand arrived. Only, the perpetrator does not want money. If it were money he wanted, the father would have obtained any sum. But this condition shocked both the father and Marmeladov…
 
A complete immersion into the atmosphere of old Moscow of the 19th century – with its ornate manners, merchant bravado, and brutal savagery…