Perhotin’s curiosity is overwhelming. He cannot but be suspicious of Dmitri, so he decides to investigate the truth of Dmitri’s explanations. He goes to Grushenka’s maid and learns about the brass pestle, then goes to Madame Hohlakov’s to confirm Dmitri’s story about the money. Madame Hohlakov is annoyed at being awakened so late at night, but on hearing the reason, she excitedly declares that she has never given anything to Dmitri.
Perhotin has no choice; it is his duty to report all that has happened to the police. But when he arrives, he finds that others also have news to report to the police. Marfa has sent word to them that Fyodor has been murdered.
An investigation follows, and it is decided that Dmitri Karamazov must be apprehended immediately. Dmitri is arrested and pleads that he is innocent of the crime, but no one believes him—not even Grushenka, who bursts into the room crying that she drove him to commit murder but that she will love him forever. On cross-examination, Dmitri confesses that he is guilty of hating his father but maintains that in spite of this, he did not murder the old man. His guilt, however, now seems more definite to the authorities. Eventually, Dmitri makes more admissions and confesses that he did know of the 3,000 rubles that his father had. And he admits that he was indeed in desperate need of that exact sum to repay his debt to Katerina Ivanovna. He does not try to conceal facts that seem to implicate him in the murder, and the knot tightens. Questioned more carefully about his activities on the night of the murder, Dmitri accounts for all his moves, including the visit to his father’s house. He even admits taking the pestle with him but cannot give an explanation as to why he did. He is completely honest on all but one matter—the origin of the large sum of money he had when arrested.
Dmitri is ordered to undress and submit to a thorough search. The officers go through his clothes, searching for more money, and find additional bloodstains; they decide to retain his clothing as evidence. Dmitri is then forced to realize the seriousness of his situation and tells where the money came from. He explains about the orgy with Grushenka and reveals that he actually spent only half of the 3,000 rubles Katerina gave him; the other half he has saved. But, having decided to commit suicide, he saw no value in the money any longer and decided to use it for one last fling.
Other witnesses are called in, and all agree that Dmitri has stated several times that he spent 3,000 rubles on the orgy and needed 3,000 to replace the sum.
When Grushenka is brought in for her testimony, Dmitri swears to her that he is not the murderer. She, in turn, tries to convince the officials that he is telling the truth, but she is sure that they do not believe her.
The officials complete their examination of witnesses and then inform Dmitri that they have arrived at a decision: he must be retained in prison. He is allowed to say good-bye to Grushenka, however. Deeply apologetic for the trouble he has caused her, Dmitri asks her forgiveness. Grushenka answers by promising to remain by him forever.
