B yomkesh and I went to Birenbabu's daughter's wedding last February. The town was some distance away from Calcutta. It was ancient and dirty. From Calcutta It took us about three hours by train.

We knew Birenbabu intimately for a long time. He was a police officer in Calcutta. An amiable and helpful man, he had retired two years back and had settled here in his ancestral home. He had begged us to attend his daughter's wedding. Byomkesh was free, so we decided to accept the invitation.

As we reached the house, we heard the sound of "shehnai" and saw people busily running here and there. Birenbabu welcomed us warmly and took us to a decorated room, which the bridegroom with his entourage would occupy in the evening. At present it was empty. We made ourselves comfortably there and were served tea and snacks. Byomkesh told Birenbabu, "You must be very busy, feel free to go and attend to your duties. We are very comfortable."

Birenbabu looked relieved. Suddenly we heard a deep voice outside, "Biren, I have come to see what arrangements you have made for your daughter's wedding."

Birenbabu quickly went out and ushered an elderly man into the room, "It is good, Sir, that you have come. These are my two friends from Calcutta. He is the well-known Byomkesh Bakshi, the Truth Seeker and this is his famous writer-friend — Ajit Banerjee."

"Yes, indeed, I have heard of them." The old gentleman gave us a sharp glance.

Birenbabu said, "He is Neelmani Majumdar. Also a well-known police officer. He has settled here after retirement."

He was a tall and fair man, well above sixty but erect as a ramrod. Although he had a walking stick in his hand — he did not seem to need it. His voice was heavy and his appearance commanded respect.

Byomkesh asked him to sit down. Birenbabu sought our permission to leave. Byomkesh asked, "Is your ancestral home here, too?"

Neelmanibabu said, "No, my home was in East Bengal — but everything was lost during Partition. After retirement I have settled here."

Byomkesh asked, "Do you have relatives here?"

Neelmanibabu said, "I have no relatives. I am a bachelor. I was so involved with the police job that I did not think of anything else. Then when I retired, I remained here. I have an affection for this town. When I started my career as a sub-inspector, I was posted here. Before I retired, I was posted here, too."

Byomkesh smiled, "You love this town. How long have you been retired?"

"Seven years."

As in most cases, Byomkesh was the subject of Neelmanibabu's curiosity. But his glance was different from the admiring glances of other people. He seemed to be weighing and gauging Byomkesh and his intelligence.

When he spoke, he sounded skeptical and at the same time curious, "Byomkeshbabu, I have read about you and your work. I have noticed that you have solved all the cases which have come to you. So I am curious to know, have you never been unsuccessful? Have you never made a mistake?"

Byomkesh smiled humbly, "I can't say I have never made mistakes or I have never failed. In fact I have even failed to catch criminals in a few cases. But I have always got to the bottom of the mystery and found out the truth. Sir, remember that I am a truth seeker. But, of course, you must have had many more cases than I have ever had."

Neelmanibabu seemed quite satisfied with Byomkesh's answer. He now sounded a bit more friendly. "Look there are a lot of problems in our job. Most of the cases are small ones dealing with petty criminals. It is rarely that we get cases involving big criminals. Again, my experience says that it is easier to catch the bigger offenders than the small ones."

Byomkesh said, "Even the doctors say that it is easier to cure serious diseases rather than common cold. So, have you been successful in catching all your important offenders?"

Neelmanibabu was quiet for some time. Then he looked at Byomkesh sharply.

"I have been successful in most cases, except the last case of my life. It happened in this town itself. But I could not solve it."

Byomkesh said, "You know who the culprit was but could not prove it — is that so?"

Neelmanibabu said hesitantly, "I was sure that one particular person was involved but I could not break his alibi. Then another incident occurred which turned all my investigations topsy turvy. I never could find out who the real culprit was."

Byomkesh was quiet. Neelmani Majumdar looked at Byomkesh sharply and said, "Do you want to hear the story?"

Byomkesh said eagerly, "Of course, it seems a very interesting one."

"You will judge whether it was interesting. I will tell you all I know about the case. Maybe you will succeed where I had failed!"

There was a note of challenge in his voice. Byomkesh smiled and said, "I don't think it is possible for me to solve something which an experienced person like you could not. I am only interested in hearing the story."

Neelmani Majumdar began his story in his deep resonant voice: —

Just before retirement, Neelmanibabu was posted in this town as the head of the police station here. He had three good qualities, intelligence, diligence and honesty — he never took bribes. This town, though small, was known for its criminal activities. Neelmani knew this town well, so after being transferred here, he took up the reins of police administration with iron hands.

A year and a half passed. There was some peace in this town, thanks to Neelmani. He had a habit of going on rounds twice a week at midnight on his cycle. No one knew when he would go on these rounds. One part of the town was especially prone to crimes. This part was a special favourite with Neelmani. He