All the rooms, both downstairs and upstairs, came under the most vigilant scrutiny—but none of them revealed anything that went towards clearing up the mystery of the sudden death. Ashwinibabu’s room was duly inspected too, but it yielded nothing more than a few ordinary letters. The empty case of the razor lay beside the bed. We all knew that Ashwinibabu had been in the habit of doing his own shaving and it wasn’t difficult to identify the case either. The body had already been removed. Now his room was locked and sealed off. Having done his bit, the inspector left the premises at around one-thirty in the afternoon.

Ashwinibabu’s family had been informed of the tragedy by telegram. In the evening his sons and other close relatives arrived. They were all in a complete state of shock. Although we were not related to Ashwinibabu, each of us was deeply affected by his death as well. Moreover, there was some concern for our own lives too. If such a thing could happen right next door, what was to prevent it from happening to us? The distressing, unfortunate day passed in a haze of ragged, apprehensive gloom.

At night, before going to bed, I dropped in on the doctor and found him sitting still with a sombre look on his face. The events of the day had etched deep grooves on his usually calm, unruffled countenance. I took a seat beside him and said, ‘I believe everyone in the mess is planning to shift somewhere else.’

With a wan smile Anukulbabu said, ‘They are not to blame, Ajitbabu! Who wishes to stay in a place where such incidents take place? But what I am wondering is whether this is really a murder or not. For, if it is indeed one, it couldn’t have been committed by someone from outside the boarding- house. First, how would the killer reach the first floor? You are all aware that the staircase door remains locked at night. Even if we assume that the man accomplished the impossible and reached upstairs, how did he come to lay his hands on Ashwinibabu’s razor to slit the poor man’s throat? Isn’t that too much of a coincidence? So, it is evident that the crime wasn’t committed by an outsider. Then who could it be but someone who lives in the mess? Is there anyone among us who could kill Ashwinibabu? Of course, Atulbabu has joined us very recently—we do not know much about him...’

I started in alarm, ‘Atul? Oh no, no, that is not possible. Why would Atul kill Ashwinibabu?’

The doctor said, ‘There you are, your reaction makes it quite clear that it couldn’t have been someone from the mess. What is the other option? Only the possibility that he took his own life, isn’t it?’

‘But there should be a motive for suicide as well.’

‘I too have wondered about that. Do you remember, a few days ago I had told you that there is a