Three

Byomkesh arrived at the scene to find police guarding the main door. A constable, seeing Byomkesh, saluted and said, "Inspector sahib is in the downstairs baithak-khana."

In the spacious drawing room, Inspector Rakhal Sarkar and two sub-inspectors were present; they were gathered around the center table, discussing a file. As soon as Byomkesh entered, Rakhalbabu came over to him, gave a rueful smile, and said, "We’re entangled, Byomkesh-da. You’ve named it well—Beni Sanghar. I’ve heard the real meaning of ‘Beni Sanghar’ is the untying of a braid; women first plait their hair, then twist the braid into a bun. This case is much the same; such a tangled, intricate knot that untying this braid has become a formidable task. The motive for the murders is clear, and the number of suspects is limited to five; yet we can’t pinpoint exactly which one did it."

"Come, let’s sit." The two of them squeezed into chairs side by side. "Now, tell me everything."

Rakhallababu recounted to Byomkesh all the information he had gathered since yesterday. Several facts emerged through their questions and answers. Byomkesh asked, “What’s the motive?”

“The old man’s vast wealth. He gave his son and daughter a monthly allowance, but it never satisfied them. Dr. Abinash Sen suspects that the daughter and daughter-in-law were trying to poison the old man. If that’s true, then there’s a conspiracy between the son and the son-in-law. In these times, nothing is impossible.”

“What was the purpose of killing Meghraj?”

“Meghraj used to lay his bedding in front of Benimadhab’s door at night. The door would be left ajar, so that if Benimadhab called, he could enter immediately. Therefore, it was impossible to enter the room without first getting rid of him. If someone tried to step over him, he would wake up. That’s why he had to be killed first.”

“The murder weapon hasn’t been found?”

“No. But the post-mortem revealed that the weapon was extremely sharp. Both victims were killed with the same weapon. With a single stroke, their throats were slit wide open.”

“Has the time of death been determined?”

“Roughly between midnight and three in the morning.”

“Hmm. Who are the five suspects?”

“Ajay and his wife Arati, Gayatri and her husband Gangadhar, and Ajay’s son Makrand. Makrand once slapped Meghraj on Benimadhab’s orders. Jhillie can be ruled out—she’s just a child, she has no motive.”

“What does the boy Makrand do?”

“He’s caught up in politics. He’s enrolled in college, that’s all. That night, he came home around nine, and after that, no one knows when he left again. He’s been missing ever since. I’ve issued a warrant for his arrest.”

“Who’s at home now?”

“Ajay, Arati, Gangadhar, Gayatri, Jhillie, Nikhil Roy, Sanat Ganguly, and Meghraj’s widow Medini. Ajay’s daughter Laboni went to see a film with her dance teacher that night and hasn’t returned. Nikhil and Sanat went out for work that night and came back the next day. I’ve forbidden anyone in the house from