We took our leave. We didn’t have to make our way back through the bank. There was a back door to the house, with stairs leading down. These brought us straight onto the main road. We were passing by the market when I suddenly remembered that we were out of cigarettes. I said, ‘Come this way, I have to buy a tin of cigarettes.’

Byomkesh was a little preoccupied. Suddenly he came awake and said, ‘Oh yes! I have to buy something as well.’

We entered a large variety store. I went in one direction to purchase the cigarettes and Byomkesh headed the other way. As I was buying my cigarettes, from the corner of my eye I saw Byomkesh buying a bottle of expensive perfume and putting it into his pocket.

I laughed to myself. I had no idea why these people fell out with each other and why they patched things up again. Conjugal life remained a comical enigma to me.

That afternoon, after lunch, I stretched out on the bed for a short nap. When I woke up, it was three-thirty.

There were murmurs coming from the direction of Byomkesh’s room. I peeped in and saw that Byomkesh was sitting on a chair. Satyaboti stood behind it, with her arms around his neck, whispering softly in his ears. There were smiles on both their faces.

I moved aside and raised my voice, ‘Hello there, love- birds—if you’re going to take long, I guess I should look into getting us all some tea.’

Embarrassed, Satyaboti came out immediately, with her face partially covered by a corner of her sari. She hurried away into the kitchen. A little later, Byomkesh emerged, puffing on a cigarette. I was surprised, ‘What’s up? You’re smoking like a chimney!’

Byomkesh gave a broad grin and said, ‘I have been granted permission—as many as I want from this day on.’

I realized that in the marital equation, what mattered was not only the heart’s workings, but the calculativeness of the brain as well.

After tea, I went upstairs to look in on our ailing landlady. Some social obligations were unavoidable.

Professor Shome looked worried. Malati Devi’s condition had deteriorated, but it wasn’t beyond all hope. Both the lungs were affected and oxygen was being administered externally. The fever was running pretty high and the patient was slipping into delirium periodically. A nurse had been employed to look after her.

As you make your bed, so shall you lie. I conveyed my sympathies and came back downstairs. A little while later, Dr Ghatok arrived.

The doctor’s demeanour was different now. He was a little chary, a little suspicious and a little self-absorbed. From time to time he looked at Byomkesh as if the latter was becoming a cause for concern.

The conversation that ensued was commonplace. Ghatok had gone to Mahidharbabu’s in the morning and taken a look at Phalguni’s body. Byomkesh asked, ‘What did you see? Is the cause of death known yet?’

After a brief pause, the doctor said, ‘Until the autopsy results come in, nothing can be said for sure.’

Byomkesh said, ‘But still, you being a doctor, couldn’t you tell anything at all?’

He hesitated a little and then said, ‘No.’

Byomkesh said, ‘All right, let that be. How is Mahidharbabu? Last evening we had dropped in to look him up. But after much hollering and hailing, we didn’t catch sight of anyone and so we came back.’

Warily, the doctor asked, ‘What time was that?’

‘Around five in the evening.’

The doctor was silent for a few moments and then said, ‘I wouldn’t know. I was also there in the evening, but I came back before five o’clock. Mahidharbabu is fine now. But after this incident in the house today—naturally he is in shock.’

Byomkesh said, ‘And Rajani Devi—how is she?’

A slight tinge of colour appeared on Ghatok’s cheeks. He spoke slowly, ‘Rajani Devi is fine. I didn’t hear anything about her being unwell. All right then, I shall take my leave today.’

The doctor stood up; we followed him out. At the door Byomkesh said, ‘So your trip to Calcutta is all planned?’

The doctor whirled around; his eyes flashed. He gritted his teeth and said, ‘Byomkeshbabu, you have come here to recuperate, not to play detective. Please do not stick your nose into matters that do not concern you.’ He marched off through the door.

We came back inside and sat down. Byomkesh lit a cigarette and said, ‘Dr Ghatok is quite a nice person, really. But if you step on his toes, he hisses like a snake.’

There was the sound of a motorcycle coming to a stop outside. Byomkesh jumped up and said, ‘Well, Mr Pandey is here. That’s good.’

Pandey entered the room. He gave a tired smile and said, ‘Byomkeshbabu, your prophecy came true. We have found the figurine.’

Byomkesh offered him a chair and said, ‘Please sit down. So where did the fairy turn up?’

‘At the bottom of Mahidharbabu’s draw-well. After retrieving Phalguni’s body, we sent some men down the well and Ushanathbabu’s fairy was dredged up.’

Byomkesh crinkled his eyes for some moments and then asked, ‘Anything else?’

‘Nothing else.’

‘Has the post-mortem report come in?’

‘Yes, it has. Phalguni did not drown to death. Death occurred before he fell into the water.’

‘Hmm. So somebody must have murdered him last night. Then the body was thrown into the well. So it wasn’t suicide.’

‘That is how it seems to be. But who would stand to gain anything by killing a useless chap like Phalguni?’

‘I am sure there is some gain somewhere, or why would he be killed? If a useless tramp came to know a terrible secret, then his being alive could pose a threat to someone. Phalguni, may have been useless, but he wasn’t senseless.’

Pandey pulled a wry face and said, ‘That is true. But I am wondering how the figurine came to be in the