Alone, Raskolnikov immediately dresses in his new clothes, takes all the money that is left over from the purchase of his new clothes, and escapes from his room. He walks towards the Hay Market, where he encounters a 15 year old to whom he gives five kopecks. He is furthermore drawn toward a saloon in search of human fellowship. He then remembers the horror of being confined to living on a square yard of space all his life: "only to live, to live no matter how — only to live." He then resolves to live life whatever it may be.
He leaves the saloon and enters a clean restaurant where he asks for the newspapers of the last five days, beginning with the day of the murder and followed by the days of his illness. While he is reading the papers, he meets Zametov, the minor official in the police department and a friend to Razumihkin.
As the two begin a conversation, Raskolnikov begins to taunt Zametov telling him about his activities and motivations. He tells him that he came to the restaurant solely for the purpose of reading about the murder of the old pawnbroker. In fact, he confesses his extreme concern about the entire episode. When Zametov explains how the police are all wrong in the manner they are conducting the case, Raskolnikov begins to resent the implication that the crime was obviously performed by an amateur. As a result of this resentment, he offers what he thinks would be a perfect way of committing the crime and how one should go about hiding the money and the jewels. Raskolnikov's explanations and suggestion that he might be the one who murdered the old pawnbroker and her half sister disturbs Zametov who dismisses it as an aftermath to Raskolnikov's illness.
