The Ratnagiri House
The war had ended decades ago, but the books were never closed.
The scene
Ratnagiri House, a sea-facing mansion on the cliff road north of Panaji, July 1962. The monsoon is in full force, and the flooded cliff road means nobody is leaving until morning. Cyrus Mistry, a retired Bombay shipping magnate, has gathered his niece, his housekeeper of fifteen years, his driver, an old wartime acquaintance, and a visiting journalist for dinner.
The victim
Cyrus Mistry, 64, found collapsed at his study desk, a half-emptied chai glass on the blotter carrying a faint bitter-almond smell. A locked drawer was forced open in the few minutes before the body was found.
The suspects
- Priya Mistry (Niece)
- Colonel Raghav Nair (Old Acquaintance)
- Devika (Housekeeper)
- Thomas (Driver)
- Meena Iyer (Journalist)
Every one of them is hiding something, and their alibis form a single shared timeline. Somewhere in it, one statement cannot possibly be true. Find the contradiction and you have found the killer. This is as far as any file goes without spoiling it, the rest is yours to work out.