Следовательница думает, что у каждой подозреваемой должен быть мотив.

The female investigator thinks that every female suspect must have a motive.

Breakdown of Следовательница думает, что у каждой подозреваемой должен быть мотив.

• каждый: every
• быть: to be
• что: that
• должен: must

Questions & Answers about Следовательница думает, что у каждой подозреваемой должен быть мотив.

Why is it следовательница and not следователь?

Следовательница is the explicitly feminine form, meaning female investigator.
Следователь is the standard dictionary form and is often used for a person of either sex in official contexts, but следовательница clearly tells you the investigator is a woman.

So:

• следователь = investigator
• следовательница = female investigator

A learner may also notice that feminine profession nouns in Russian can vary in how common or stylistically neutral they sound. In this sentence, следовательница is perfectly understandable and highlights the woman’s gender.

Why is подозреваемой translated as suspect even though it looks like an adjective?

Because it is originally an adjective, but here it is being used as a noun. This is very common in Russian.

The full phrase behind it would be something like:

• подозреваемая женщина = a suspected woman / female suspect

But Russian often drops the noun when it is obvious, so подозреваемая by itself means female suspect.

In your sentence, the form is подозреваемой because the grammar requires a different case, but it still means suspect.

Why do we say у каждой подозреваемой instead of something like каждая подозреваемая?