A conversation with Inspector Bhowmik revealed that the police suspected a gang of criminals. Apparently, Nepal Lahiri had been wearing an expensive watch which was missing when the police found his body. Plain robbery might well have been the motive behind his murder. ‘You mean there’s no connection between the theatre and this murder?’ Feluda asked. ‘No, I don’t think so. A particular gang—most of them ex-convicts—has been active in that area for some time. We found the knife Lahiri had been stabbed with, but there were no fingerprints. However, we are pretty sure we can catch the culprits soon, perhaps in two or three days. We may not need your services this time, Mr Mitter.’ Feluda put the phone down and said, ‘Ring the manager now. We need to talk to those actors.’ I got through to Kailash Banerjee on my third attempt. ‘The police have already been here and spoken to everyone. But if you must go through the whole process again, come here at half past ten on Thursday. Rehearsals start at eleven. You’ll have to finish your business in half an hour,’ Mr Banerjee said. ‘You need to speak to only four people,’ Feluda told me after I had replaced the receiver. ‘The top three in Apsara and the new recruit.’ Lalmohan Babu and I reached Apsara a little before ten-thirty. Today, Lalmohan Babu appeared even smarter and more confident. His whole demeanour had changed. When we told the manager we wanted to speak to only the top three actors and the latest arrival, he said, ‘In that case, you had better start with Dharani. Dharani Sanyal. He is our seniormost artiste. He’s been with us for twenty-six years.’ We were sitting in the antechamber attached to the manager’s room. Dharani Sanyal entered a few minutes later. About fifty years old, he had thick long hair like a lion’s mane, and rather droopy eyes. ‘I am Dharani Sanyal,’ he said. ‘You two are detectives, I believe?’ ‘Yes,’ Lalmohan Babu said quickly, without bothering to explain. ‘We are investigating the death of Nepal Lahiri.’ ‘Nepal was getting strange anonymous notes,’ said Dharani Sanyal. ‘I told him to take care, but he paid no attention. God knows why he had to go to Moti Mistri Lane. It’s not a safe area at all. If he didn’t see his friend for a few days, what difference would it have made? I even told him to inform the police, but he just laughed. A similar thing had happened to one of our other actors, Mahitosh Roy. But Mahitosh was not a star. His disappearance was no major loss to the company.’ ‘Did Nepal Lahiri have any enemies?’ ‘Certainly. Envy is pretty common, particularly among actors. But if you want me to mention names, or tell you who might be a suspect, I am afraid I couldn’t help you.’ ‘Did he ever visit your house?’

‘No. We met here three times a week. I didn’t know him well enough to want