Three months had passed since then. There was no trace of Mahitosh Roy, so there didn’t seem to be any doubt that he had been killed. We went back to Apsara Theatre one day to see if they had heard anything, but drew a blank. All we learnt was that a new actor had been employed to replace Mahitosh Roy. His name was Sudhendu Chakravarty. He was said to be a good actor. Feluda had managed to contact Mahitosh’s brother, Shivtosh. It turned out that the two brothers had not been on speaking terms for many years. ‘Why is that?’ Feluda had asked. ‘Was your family property the only reason?’ ‘What other reason do you need to look for? My brother used to try very hard to please our father. I am not like that at all. I went my own way, did my own thing. My father didn’t like it. Both he and my brother thought I didn’t count, just because I was the younger one. So my father cut me out of his will. Naturally I resented this, and Mahitosh and I drifted apart. That’s not surprising, is it?’ Shivtosh Roy spoke with considerable bitterness. It seemed to me that he still held a big grudge against his brother. ‘Would you like to say anything about his disappearance? If he really has been killed, surely you realize that you could be a prime suspect?’ ‘Look, I didn’t see my brother at all in the last five years. I had absolutely nothing to do with him. I didn’t even go to the theatre.’ ‘Can you remember what you were doing the day Mahitosh Roy disappeared, say between 6 and 8 p.m.?’ ‘I was doing what I do every evening—playing cards with my friends.’ ‘Where?’ ‘Sardar Shankar Road. Number eleven. It is the house of one Anup Sengupta. You can go and speak to him, if you like.’ Feluda did, and Mr Sengupta confirmed that Shivtosh Roy had most certainly been at his house at that particular time. He was a regular visitor there. Feluda was therefore obliged to drop him as a suspect. Lalmohan Babu turned up the next day and said, ‘Look, Felu Babu, this case isn’t a case at all. I can’t see why you’re losing sleep over this one. Why don’t you take a short break? I can feel a new plot taking shape in my mind, and you need a change of air to clear your head, so let’s go out.’ ‘Where to?’ ‘Digha. We’ve never been to Digha, have we?’ ‘Very well. In all honesty, I can’t see this case being successfully concluded. Mahitosh Roy’s killer is never going to be captured.’

We left for Digha the next day, having booked ourselves at the tourist lodge. It was a very comfortable place to be in, and the sea wasn’t far. I noticed Lalmohan Babu had brought a pair of new red swimming trunks. The first two days passed quietly. On the third day, Feluda