Feluda rang Mr Mallik from his room the following morning. I picked up the extension in our living room and heard the whole conversation. ‘Hello, Mr Mallik?’ ‘Yes, how are you?’ ‘Fine, thanks. Is everything all right?’ ‘Why, yes! I think so.’ ‘Could you please do something for me? Go and see if everything’s OK in Indranarayan’s study. Yes, I’ll hold.’ Mr Mallik disappeared, but was back in thirty seconds. ‘Oh my God, Mr Mitter, there’s been a disaster!’ ‘Disaster? What’s happened?’ ‘Every new play and all the new songs have gone.’ ‘I had guessed as much. That’s why I rang.’ ‘What can it mean?’ ‘Another mystery has been added to all the others, that’s all.’ ‘Will you come here now?’ ‘I’ll go, if need be. But before that I must speak to the police.’ Feluda replaced the receiver, then picked it up again to dial Inspector Poddar’s number. ‘Hello, Mr Poddar? Thank you every much for removing your man from duty last night. It really worked. I hope you’re keeping an eye on Ashwini Bhaur. He stole some valuable papers from Indranarayan Acharya’s room last night.’ ‘This man is a crook,’ Mr Poddar said. ‘He cannot even give us a proper alibi. He left the deceased alive and well, he says, but apparently Bhaur did not return home immediately. His story is that he took a taxi and it broke down on the way. I don’t think that’s true. What progress have you made?’ ‘I have made good progress, I should say, but you may not agree with some of my views or accept my conclusion since we’ve approached this case from different angles.’ ‘Never mind the angle or your views. All I want is that the culprit should be caught.’ I knew Feluda was not going to tell me what he had meant by different angles, so I didn’t even bother to ask. Feluda said goodbye to Inspector Poddar and told me he was going out. ‘I have to put in an advertisement in the personal column of the Statesman. I’m in need of a good violin.’ A small advertisement appeared the next day. If anyone wanted to sell a violin, preferably made abroad and in good condition, they were asked to write to a box number. Two days later, Feluda received a response to this advertisement. He read the letter and said, ‘Lowdon Street. That’s where I have to go.’ An hour later, he was back.

‘They were asking for far too much,’ he announced, looking glum. ‘Is this sudden interest in a violin simply the result of reading that encyclopaedia? You mean you seriously want to learn to play it, at your age?’ ‘It is,’ declared Feluda solemnly, ‘never too late to learn.’ This mystified me even more, but Feluda refused to say another word. Lalmohan Babu turned up later in the day and took me aside to make a complaint. ‘I like everything about your cousin, Tapesh, except his habit of sinking into silence every now and then. Why can’t he tell us what he’s thinking?’ The next day, which was a Saturday, Feluda suddenly seemed to have cheered up. I even heard him humming under his breath. ‘We must visit Keertinarayan Acharya today. I’ll ring him now,’ he said. ‘Have you finished your investigation?’ Mr Acharya asked when Feluda called him. ‘Yes, I think so. But I need to have a meeting in your house to explain everything. Your two sons and Mr Mallik would have to be present.’ ‘That’s no problem. They’re all at home. What time should we expect you?’ ‘Ten o’clock.’ Feluda rang Inspector Poddar after this and told him to reach Bosepukur by ten. ‘We need you to be there, for today this story is going to reach its climax,’ he said. Lalmohan Babu arrived at nine. We had a cup of tea, and left at nine-thirty. We were taken to the same sitting room on the first floor where we had first met Keertinarayan. He was waiting for us. ‘Go and call the others, Pradyumna,’ he said. Mr Mallik left to call his two sons. Devnarayan was the first to arrive. ‘I hear the police have made a lot of progress,’ he said irritably. ‘Why then do we have to listen to a lecture from this man?’ ‘I have made a lot of progress, too, Mr Acharya, but in a different way. Besides, murder is not the only crime committed in this case. I think you ought to know that. I will try to explain everything very clearly.’ Devnarayan grunted and sat down. The pipe that always seemed to dangle from his lips had had to be abandoned for the moment, possibly out of respect for his father. Maybe that was the real reason why he was so cross. Harinarayan arrived in a few minutes. He didn’t say anything, but his brows were knitted in a deep frown. So obviously, he wasn’t feeling very pleased, either. Feluda began speaking when everyone was seated. ‘Indranarayan Acharya was killed on the night of 7 October between twelve and half past twelve. When I began to think of a possible motive for the murder, I learnt that he had been his father’s favourite child. If Keertinarayan had made a will, it was very likely that he had left most of his assets to Indranarayan. In the event of Indranarayan’s death, this would naturally have to be changed. However, even if a new will meant a greater share for the two remaining brothers, neither could actually get anything until their father died. There was therefore no immediate gain for them after Indranarayan’s death. ‘Another fact was brought to my attention. I learnt that Binapani Opera had been trying to get Indranarayan to leave Bharat and join their own company. But Indranarayan had refused to do so. As such, Binapani might well have hired a killer to do the job, with the sole purpose of causing Bharat

Opera irreparable loss. Binapani’s manager, Ashwini Bhaur,