CHAPTER 3 - The Seventh Proof
At Patriarch’s Ponds the professor, appearing half‑mad, insists he was present at Pontius Pilate’s balcony and in the garden with Kaifa, demanding absolute secrecy. He declares he has just arrived in Moscow, shows a split‑colored gaze (green left eye, black right eye), and claims there is a seventh, sure proof of the devil that he will now present. Berlioz, trying to manage the situation, whispers to Homeless to keep quiet, then decides to locate the nearest public telephone to inform the foreigners’ bureau. He asks the professor where he stays; the professor absurdly answers “Nowhere” and then “In your apartment,” insisting there is no devil. The professor begs Berlioz to believe in the devil before he leaves, promising the seventh proof. Berlioz, feigning calm, leaves the bench, heading toward the corner of Bronnaya and Yermolaevsky Lane.
At the corner he encounters a shabby citizen, Mikhail Alexandrovich, described as having a chicken‑feather moustache, tiny eyes, irritable voice, and checkered trousers. After a brief exchange, Berlioz reaches the tram turnstile, grabs the handle, and a red‑white caution sign flashes. A tram‑car accelerates down the newly laid line, its electric motor whirring. Berlioz steps back, but his foot slips on the cobbles; he falls toward the rails, his head striking the pavement. As he lies there, he sees the tram driver—a woman with a crimson armband—slam the brakes, the car jerking, glass shattering. The tram passes over Berlioz, and a dark round object rolls down the slope: Berlioz’s severed head, which then bounces across the cobblestones. The scene ends with the tram moving away, the moon flashing and then darkening, and the gruesome aftermath of Berlioz’s death.