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 picked up the newspaper in the evening, as they took all day to reach Digha from Calcutta. He glanced at it and gave a sharp exclamation. ‘I don’t believe this!’ ‘What’s the matter?’ Lalmohan Babu and I cried in unison. ‘Someone else from Apsara Theatre has been killed. Nepal Lahiri . . . he was their hero, he always played the lead. What is going on?’ I took the paper from Feluda and read the report quickly. Nepal Lahiri, it said, was returning home in a taxi on the evening of the murder. He stopped it on the way to see a friend. This friend’s house happened to be in a small alley. Someone stabbed Mr Lahiri as he stepped into the alley. The police had started their investigation. Mr Lahiri’s wife and twelve-year-old son had been unable to shed any light on the matter. ‘What do we do now?’ asked Lalmohan Babu. ‘We return to Calcutta, and you go back to Apsara to ask some questions.’ ‘Me? Why me?’ ‘Because I sprained my ankle while bathing in the sea this morning. I can tell that by tomorrow I’ll be in considerable pain.’ ‘Well then, I suggest we go back to Calcutta tonight. You can rest your ankle far better if you’re at home.’ ‘Do you think you can manage to take my place?’ ‘Heh, Felu Babu, I ought to have learnt something of your style after spending so many years with you!’ We returned to Calcutta the same evening. Lalmohan Babu agreed to come to our house the following morning, so that Feluda could brief him properly. Then he and I would go to Apsara Theatre. Lalmohan Babu arrived punctually, and we were able to leave by ten. Feluda had given us clear instructions on what to do. Lalmohan Babu seemed very pleased with this development. ‘I often felt sorry that I couldn’t help your cousin more actively,’ he told me, ‘but now I think I’ve got the chance to make amends. Look!’ He took out a card from his pocket. ‘I had this printed last night. What do you think of it?’ I looked at the card. It said: LALMOHAN GANGULI, WRITER. ‘This is good. Very smart!’ I told him. He nodded happily. By this time we had reached Apsara Theatre. We gave the chowkidar one of these new cards and asked him to take it in to the manager. Three minutes later, we were told to go in. Kailash Banerjee failed to recognize us. ‘Look,’ he said a little impatiently, ‘we’ve got a lot of problems today. If you’ve come here about a new play, I’m afraid I cannot discuss it right now. Can you come back in a few days, please?’ Lalmohan Babu raised a hand in protest. ‘No, no. I haven’t brought you a new play. I am here representing Pradosh Mitter, the investigator. He’s not well, so he couldn’t come himself. We were with him when he came here to investigate the disappearance of