‘What do you want?’

‘Is Bishwanath-babu in? We’re here from the police.’

Alarmed, he quickly said, ‘Please come in, please take a seat. Sir is supervising mill work, he’ll be here any moment. Should I send word to him?’

We sat down on the mattress, which covered half the floor. To tell the truth, such old-fashioned mattresses were far more comfortable than modern sofas and chairs. Pulling a well-stuffed bolster towards himself, Byomkesh said, ‘Oh no, there’s no need. I only have a couple of questions, which you can answer just as well. You’re the bookkeeper, aren’t you?’

Rubbing his hands in deference, the man said, ‘Yes, I’m the chief accountant here. Your servant’s name is Nilkantha Adhikari. And you are Byomkesh Bakshi?’

Byomkesh nodded, smiling. Nilkantha gazed at him with eyes brimming with devotion. There are people whose hearts melt at the mention of the police. On top of that, when such people hear Byomkesh Bakshi’s name, their emotions surge like the waters of a flood breaching a dam; they simply cannot be contained. Nilkantha Adhikari was such a man. His expression revealed that there was nothing he could not do for Byomkesh; he was determined to answer questions, in fact, he would answer even without being questioned.

‘You look like a capable man,’ said Byomkesh. ‘Do you look after everything at the mill yourself?’

Rubbing his hands in glee, Byomkesh said, ‘Sir looks after things too. In his absence the entire responsibility falls on me.’

‘Doesn’t Bishwanath-babu live here?’

‘He does. But when there isn’t too much work at the mill, he goes to Calcutta for a few days. Sir’s family lives in Calcutta.’

‘I see. How long has it been since he went to Calcutta?’

‘About a month. There’s a lot of work now …’

‘Very well, never mind all that. Did you know the young man named Amrito from Baghmari who died recently?’

‘Of course I did,’ answered Nilkantha eagerly. ‘Amrito used to visit sir quite often in search of a job. But …’

‘Did you know Sadananda Sur too?’

‘I heard this morning that Sadananda-babu died last night in a bomb explosion. I used to know him very well. He was a regular visitor here.’

‘With what objective?’

‘Objective? He was close to sir. He used to sit here sometimes, smoke a little, chat with sir. No other objective. But …’ Nilkantha paused.

‘So he was a courtier. But what?’

‘He had borrowed some money from sir about ten days ago.’

‘Really! How much?’

‘Five hundred.’

‘Did he write a hand note when he borrowed the money?’

‘No. Sir used to trust Sadananda-babu; it was put down as a loan to him in the books of accounts. The money’s probably gone.’ Nilkantha shook his head regretfully.

Byomkesh began to ponder, his face resting in his palm. I had no idea what he was musing on, but a little later, the neighing of a horse outside shook him out of his reverie. ‘By the way, I