The next morning, Feluda shook me awake. One look at his face told me something disastrous had happened. ‘Mr Mallik has been murdered!’ he said briefly. ‘Wha-at!’ My scream woke Lalmohan Babu. ‘Last night,’ Feluda went on, ‘someone stabbed him in the chest after midnight. Then he smashed his head in as well, just to make sure, I suppose. It’s a horrible sight.’ Lalmohan Babu and I sprang to our feet, threw some warm clothes on and came out of our tent. I could hardly believe what I had just heard. Everyone else was gathered outside Mr Mallik’s tent, looking baffled and distressed. Vijay Mallik had left to inform the police. The main town wasn’t far, so it shouldn’t be long before the police came. Dr Majumdar had been the first to discover the body. The weapon had not been found. ‘It will probably never be found,’ I thought to myself. ‘No doubt it’s been thrown into the river. God knows how far it’s already travelled with the gushing waters!’ But it wasn’t just a case of murder. A valuable diamond ring Mr Mallik used to wear on the third finger of his right hand (given to him by a Gujarati client) was missing. Feluda was talking to Dr Majumdar. ‘When did Mr Mallik go to bed last night?’ he asked. ‘Much before any of us did. Normally, he used to retire by nine o’clock, unless he wanted to sit up late for a seance.’ ‘You are a doctor. Can’t you tell us when he might have been killed?’ ‘At a guess, I’d say he was killed between two and two-thirty in the morning. But a police surgeon will be able to fix the time of death far more precisely.’ ‘You didn’t hear any noises last night? Nothing that might have disturbed your sleep?’ ‘No. I sleep very soundly, Mr Mitter. I hardly ever wake up at night. But I am an early riser. I got up as usual at six-thirty this morning, and discovered what had happened. Prayag had risen before me, but had gone out of the tent without looking in on his master. So he didn’t see anything.’ ‘Do you have any idea who might have done this?’ ‘No, none whatsoever.’ At this moment, a police jeep arrived and stopped a few feet away. Vijay climbed out of it, followed by a police officer in uniform. ‘I am Inspector Singh,’ he said to us. ‘I am taking charge of this case. Where’s the dead body?’ Vijay took him inside. We remained where we were. A couple of constables and a photographer followed them in and began their work. I had seen this many times before, so this time I felt no

curiosity. Besides, I had no wish to see Mr Mallik’s dead body. All I could think of was how he had been worried about sentencing innocent people to death, and now he was dead himself. Would his killer ever be caught and brought to justice? Feluda