Everyone discussed the matter and decided to divide the work equally among themselves.
Tuni and Nayan would search the surrounding villages to find out whether anyone named Chandra, Pushpakar, or Nemo had lived there twenty-seven years ago.
Aalo would question those who knew Nemo to find out which village he had come from and who might have killed him.
Dev and Bipin would go and question the person who had rented a house to Nemo.
While they were sorting this out, Nayan noticed an incoming call on Dev's phone.
"Dev-da, you're getting a call," Nayan said to Dev.
(In Bengali, "Da" is a term of address for an older male.)
Dev glanced at his phone, but the call disconnected before he could answer it.
Just then, a knock was heard at the door.
"Come in," Bipin said.
Dev's elder brother, Dinesh, opened the door and stepped into the office.
Upon seeing him, Aalo immediately said, "You've been coming here quite often lately. That isn't right. Regardless of whose family member you might be, this is the office of the police detective department. No one should visit repeatedly without a valid reason."
Nayan said to Aalo, "He only comes to drop off food. What's the objection to that?"
Bipin replied to Nayan, "Even if he is just dropping off food, there are certain matters or pieces of information that could cause trouble if anyone outside the police force were to find out about them."
Just as Nayan was about to say something else, Dinesh said to her, "You shouldn't argue with seniors. And certainly not for me. I wouldn't have needed to come here if Dev had answered my call on time."
Dev took the food from Dinesh's hand and apologized.
Aalo said to Dinesh, "Please don't take offense at what I said. It is my responsibility to ensure that everyone here follows all the rules. Besides, it wasn't Dev's fault that he couldn't answer your call. I was the one who told him to keep his phone on silent."
Dinesh replied with a broad smile, "No need to worry. I didn't mind at all."
Then, looking at Dev, he said, "I'll take my leave now."
As Dinesh was leaving, Bipin noticed something in his hand. But before Bipin could figure out what it was, Dinesh had already left.
Dinesh left, and everyone else set off to carry out their respective tasks.
Bipin and Dev didn't get much information from the landlord, as he had gone to another city that day.
Tuni and Nayan also came up empty-handed, as no one could provide any specific details about who had lived in the village twenty-seven years ago.
Aalo found out that Nemo wasn't usually close to many people, but he had been very close to one particular person. However, that person had gone out of town for work and wasn't answering any calls. He was due to return in a day.
Aalo called Dev and shared this information with him.
Bipin became worried after hearing what the landlord had said. He had never imagined that catching a killer could be so difficult.
Bipin was feeling very tired. Dev looked at him and asked, "What's wrong?"
Bipin replied with a gloomy expression, "Nothing."
Dev could tell just by looking at him that he was worried about the case. Placing a hand on Bipin's shoulder, Dev said, "There's no point in worrying like that. The killer is bound to get caught."
Bipin looked at Dev. Dev could see tears in his eyes.
Bipin wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Dev didn't know what to say at a moment like this.
Bipin began to speak. "I joined the police force because I dreamed of protecting innocent and good people. Initially, I worked wholeheartedly because it was my dream. But gradually, it started to weigh on me like a burden. I have lost myself. I no longer know what I should do."
Bipin said nothing more.
Dev and Bipin remained silent like this for a while.
On the way back, Aalo began to think that they were overlooking something. Otherwise, the case would have been concluded by now.
On the way, Aalo picked up Dev and Bipin in the car.