Zossimov enters and Raskolnikov assures everyone that he is perfectly well. Razumihin reminds Zossimov of the house party he is having with a few friends-Porfiry Petrovitch, the head of the Investigation Department and Zametov being among them. Zossimov expresses his dislike for Zametov. Razumihin explains that he and Zametov are trying to help out Nikolay, the painter at the flat, who is the main suspect in the case of the old pawnbroker’s murder. Nastasya interrupts by adding that Lizaveta was also murdered. This arouses a response from Raskolnikov. Razumihin explains that new psychological methods that interprets the facts need to be used, not the old routines the police prefer.

He explains to Zossimov the story of how Nikolay came to be the main suspect: A certain pawnbroker came to testify to the police that a painter named Nikolay, who had been working at the building where the murders took place, came to him to pawn a box of gold earrings and stones. The pawnbroker’s story is that after hearing about the murders, he goes to inquire of Nikolay’s whereabouts. When he finds and confronts him as to where he had gotten the box of jewelry, Nikolay says he found them. When pressed further, he runs off. Nikolay is about to hang himself when he is found by the police. He insists that he found the box, but out of fear of being accused for the murders. Razumihin insists that Nikolay is innocent because witnesses have verified that shortly after the murders, the two painters were chasing each other around like children. No criminal, especially an uneducated one, would think of doing something like that right after murdering people, Razumihin adds. Zossimov is not convinced but Razumihin offers his opinion of how it happened-the murderer is in the flat until the man at the door goes downstairs, he then hides in the second story flat while the men are coming upstairs, he drops the box (that Nikolay later finds), and leaves the scene as the two painters run off into the street. Zossimov thinks that this version is too perfect in melodrama to be true.