Tom seemed a lot better in the morning. He was still in pain, but the swelling had gone down and, hopefully, in a couple of days he’d recover completely. But he couldn’t get over the shock of having lost the precious ruby. ‘I never thought I’d have to leave that stone here with an unknown criminal,’ Peter kept saying. ‘Oh, why didn’t we sell it to Dandania the first day?’ moaned Tom time and again. It was difficult to tell who was more sorry at the loss. Inspector Chaubey came to our room around 11 a.m. ‘I’ve just been to see Tom,’ he said. ‘Tom’s doing fine. Have you made any progress?’ Feluda asked. ‘One of the suspects has had to be eliminated from my list.’ ‘Really?’ Who?’ ‘Kishorilal.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Well, I happen to know Kishori pretty well. It’s not like him to do anything so reckless. Besides, his father has recently bought him a plastics factory. Kishori has been going there regularly. Dandania, I know, keeps a careful eye on his son. If Kishori stole that ruby simply to sell it and make a packet for himself, his father would most certainly come to know, and then there would be hell to pay. So Kishori is out.’ ‘I see. What about Chandu Malik?’ ‘As far as I can make out, Maxwell was attacked at around a quarter to eleven last night. Chandu had left the dance before that and was sitting with friends having a drink in a small shop. There are several witnesses who’d vouch for him. I’ve already spoken to most of them. That rules out Chandu, too.’ ‘And the others?’ ‘I searched Naskar’s house this morning. I didn’t find the ruby, of course, but that doesn’t mean a thing. He could easily have hidden it somewhere else. But I have started to think Jagannath Chatterjee is our best bet.’ ‘Why do you say that?’ ‘He claims to be an authority on Birbhum. But he’s lived here only for the last three years. My guess is that he’s no expert at all. All his information probably comes from a guide book for tourists. Besides, I discovered he’d been arrested for fraud in Burdwan where he used to live before. He’s a criminal, Mr Mitter. I’m convinced he’s our man. Did you know he was charging a fee for his services? Yes, sir. Mr Robertson paid him a hundred rupees each time he met him!’ ‘No, I did not know that. Have you searched his house?’

‘No, but I will this afternoon, though I don’t think a search will yield anything. What I have to do is speak to him sternly and put the fear of God in him. Anyway, aren’t you going to do anything?’ ‘No. Any action you as a police officer may take will have a lot more effect, I think. But I’ll keep my eyes and ears open, naturally, and will let you know if I notice anything suspicious. Oh, by the way, what