We reached the hotel in ten minutes. When Feluda heard our story, he put aside the blue notebook he had been studying and put on his jacket. Then, without a single word, he went out of the room with the two of us in tow. His brow was deeply furrowed. On reaching Sukius’s house, he asked the bearer: ‘You have a driver, don’t you?’ ‘Yes, sir.’ ‘Send him to me.’ When the driver arrived, Feluda told him to take the car to the nearest police station to report the murder. The driver left. We then went into the study. ‘Stabbed,’ Feluda said briefly, glancing at the body. ‘But the weapon has been removed.’ Then he bent over the desk and said, ‘He was writing a letter when he was killed.’ I had noticed it, too. Nearly a whole page had been filled. Then I heard Feluda exclaim, ‘Why, it was a letter to me! Well, in that case . . . I suppose I have a claim on it, even if it isn’t right to touch anything before the police arrive.’ So saying, he tore off the top sheet from the writing pad, folded it and put it in his pocket. Then he moved to the window and leant out. There was a passage outside— about four feet wide—beyond which was the compound wall of the house. Any able-bodied man could have scaled that wall. ‘It is obvious that the murderer was not an educated gentleman,’ Feluda observed. ‘As far as I can see, this is the work of a hired goonda. Ordinary burglary can be ruled out since nothing has been disturbed. The stuff in this room would be worth at least a hundred thousand rupees. A burglar would have helped himself to at least some of it. The question is: who hired a man to kill Sukius?’ ‘Well, we need to learn something about Sukius’s history, don’t we?’ Lalmohan Babu suggested. ‘I mean, how much do we know about him?’ ‘It’s not as if we know nothing. At least we know what a strange character he was. How many moneylenders are interested in building up a huge collection of antiques and art objects? That’s pretty uncommon, isn’t it? I believe his letter to me will also reveal a few things about the man.’ ‘Aren’t you going to read it?’ ‘Yes, at the right time, in the right place. It had “confidential” written on it, which you clearly didn’t see. I don’t think Sukius saw his killer. So the letter cannot possibly contain his killer’s name.’ The police arrived in ten minutes. We met Inspector Pandey again. He shook hands with Feluda. ‘You seem to have taken a lead in this case, Mr Mitter!’ he smiled. ‘That’s how it might seem, but it’s all yours. Inspector. I am not going to meddle in it at all because I know that won’t do any good. Just let me know if you catch the murderer.’ ‘What! Are you leaving?’

‘Yes. But I may see you again in a day or two. I’ve nearly solved that case of the missing necklace.’ ‘Really? My suspicious have fallen on the young Biswas boy. Do you think that’s right?’ ‘I couldn’t say. Please forgive me.’ ‘We’ve got definite proof that he’s taking drugs. We’re having him followed.’ ‘Well, best of luck. You’ve now got a murder on your hands. Tell me something: I know it’s possible in most places in the world to hire a killer. Lucknow, I take it, is no exception?’ ‘Not at all. It is perfectly possible to do that here.’ ‘Thank you. That’s all I needed to know. Goodbye.’