Derailed

A dastardly mystery from Bengal

The train from Canning to Sealdah left the single platform of the tiny station with a loud hoot. The dog snoozing in the shade of the pipal flicked his ears lazily—he was used to the clank and whistle of the trains. A few yards away, the boy who ran the ramshackle chai stall, gave the counter a desultory wipe with a dirty rag and chucked crumpled paper …