After the murder, Raskolnikov collapses into a deep sleep. Upon awakening, he is terrified; he has slept for so long that he fears that he is going mad. He remembers the items that he had stolen and his failure to hide them or to lock the door of his flat — this was madness. As he hides the items, he begins to wonder if his punishment is already beginning and after a few stirrings and attempts to hide his loot in a hole in his room, he surrendered himself to mingled sleep and delirium.
Again he awakens to Nastasya's pounding. The porter is with her and he hands Raskolnikov a summons to report to the police. Nastasya does not want him to move since he has had a fever since the day before. As he dresses, he is repulsed by the thought of wearing the bloody socks, but since he has no others, he is forced to do so. On the way to the police station, he thinks that he might just confess it all and be done with it: "I shall go in, fall on my knees, and tell the whole story."
When he reaches the police station, he is almost overwhelmed by the "sickening smell of fresh paint. . .from the newly decorated rooms." The small crowded rooms, the lack of fresh air, the confusion as to why he is there, and the intolerable waiting make him feverish. Finally, he discovers that his landlady is suing him for back rent. As Raskolnikov is told of his offense, he goes into a rather lengthy explanation of his relationship to his landlady and of his previous engagement to his landlady's daughter. The police instruct him to sign an I.O.U. and release him. As he signs the paper, he overhears the police discussing the murder of Alyona Ivanovna and Lizaveta, and he faints. When he recovers, he hurries home thinking that the police suspect him of the murder.
