The coalmine murder-4

“What do you reckon Byomkesh? Any idea about who the culprit is?” I asked.

“I think I’ll be able to solve the mystery by tomorrow morning.” Byomkesh replied.

The telephone rang. Byomkesh picked it up.

He just nodded his head and said “hmmmm”. “It was Anukul babu. He wants to meet to today evening to discuss something important related to the murder.” Byomkesh said.

In the evening, even though I insisted on going, Byomkesh went without me in the evening at 6 p.m. He returned by 8.

“So, what did Anukul babu tell you?” I asked inquisitively.

Byomkesh ignored my question and rushed towards the telephone. He called Biren babu.

“I know who the culprit is. Can you please arrange a meeting at the Banerjee bhavan tomorrow morning?” Byomkesh was almost out of breath when he finished talking.

He looked surprised yet tensed about something. I was worried about him.

“Byomkesh, could you tell me what the matter is?”

“You will come to know everything tomorrow morning Ajit.” Byomkesh replied.

Satyabati told us that dinner had been served. My mind drifted away from the intriguing coalmine murder as my it felt excited by the taste of the delicious fish curry

What happened the next day was really surprising. Byomkesh revealed the culprit and all we could do was stare at each other’s blank faces.

In the morning, Byomkesh and I proceeded towards the Banerjee bhavan. Lakshmi, Suryakumar babu, Anukul babu, Deepanath Babu, Dr Manilal and Inspector Biren were seated in the living room.

Byomkesh began his revelation.

“Smita was a talented young lady. She faced criticism of the society but still remained unperturbed and chased her dreams. Her husband wasn’t very supportive of her dreams, but realized how wrong he had been after he went to jail. He thought that his wife was a great woman and he regretted his previous actions. He decided to purify his soul and perform his duties towards God so that all his sins would be washed away and he could apologise to his wife. He was a true Vaishnav. Bijoy wasn’t faking his change, he had really changed during his time in jail. He didn’t murder Smita, but he lost his life when he heard she had died.”

“The murderer of Smita is in this very room. Firstly, let me tell you how Smita was killed.”

“Smita was sent a letter in the name of Bijoy. The letter asked for money (Rs 500) and asked her to come to the coalmine on Sunday evening. Smita thought Bijoy really needed money and wanted to help her husband. So she decided to go to the mine. The murder was planned with perfection. The objective of the murderer was to kill Smita and take all her property. As Smita entered the room, she could smell something eccentric. Suddenly, the door was bolted. Smita couldn’t breathe. She noticed that even the windows were closed. She tried to walk towards them but they were jammed. She then tried to walk towards the door to open the door, but failed. She ran out of breath on her way to the door. Coal had been burning in the room. I found a piece outside the room on the first day itself but didn’t reveal it, fearing that the killer might run away.”

“Now the question comes, how did the murderer get the key of the coalmine? He/she must have either stolen it or might be an owner of it. It had to be a person who lived in this house. I met Lakshmi during the day of interrogation and my suspicions began to rise. She wanted to work but she couldn’t, as her husband didn’t allow her to. She maintained a good relationship with Smita on the outside, but was jealous of her on the inside. She planned a perfect murder of Smita. She thought that after Smita’s death, she could take over the business, as it had no successor.”

“Lakshmi’s plan was perfect, and I wouldn’t come to know the truth if Anukul babu had not told me. Anukul babu had seen Lakshmi go away from the mine, as he had come to pick her up to take her to the cinema. Lakshmi saw him too, and told him that if he told anyone the truth, then she would kill him. Anukul babu didn’t understand this at first, but it all made sense once he saw Smita’s dead body.”

“He immediately travelled to Varanasi, where Bijoy was. Anukul babu had lied that his relationship with Bijoy was strained. The truth was that the two really had a very good relationship. As he told Bijoy what had happened, Bijoy had a heart attack and died. Bijoy’s body had been weak from his tenure in jail, and his life as an ascetic didn’t help. This shock was too much for him to take and hence, he died.”

“If Anukul babu hadn’t told me the reality yesterday evening, I would have been in the dark. I must say that this was a difficult stone to crack. I did suspect Lakshmi yesterday, but Anukul babu is a brilliant actor and perhaps that’s why I didn’t suspect him at all.”

Lakshmi’s evil side had been revealed now. Not only her, all of us were in shock. I could never imagine that a woman could have planned a murder in such a flawless way!

We went home and I recounted the tale to Satyabati. At this point, Byomkesh exclaimed, “Who says women are less than men? I shall say that when it comes to planning murders, they are far superior. Satya, you don’t even need to plan a murder like this. You already murder me every day.”

Satyabati and Byomkesh started fighting while I enjoyed the drama.