Now that Mihir had a bike, it had become easier for him to travel around. His first step was to dig up information on Manohar and mark him as the first person to visit. Without wasting any time, Mihir started his bike and set off toward Manohar's shop. It took him nearly four hours to reach the location.
When he arrived, he was surprised to find that Manohar's shop—actually a small hotel—was closed. The shutter was down, and there was no sign of activity. Mihir scanned the area and spotted a small paan stall nearby.
He walked over and asked, "Bhaiya, where did the shopkeeper go?"
The paan shop owner replied, "He's gone for lunch. He usually returns after an hour."
Mihir paused to think. *Should I wait? If I do, it'll be dark by the time I reach home. But if I leave now, who knows if I'll get the chance to meet him tomorrow?*
Finally, he decided to stay. He parked his bike nearby and sat on it to wait.
Bored and restless, Mihir pulled out his phone and started reading random articles to pass the time. He got so absorbed in reading that he didn't even realize when an hour had passed. When he finally looked up, the shutter was being rolled up. The hotel was now open.
Mihir stepped inside and noticed there was a small seating area near the counter. He sat down and called out to the waiter.
The waiter approached him and asked, "Yes sir, what would you like?"
"I could really use a nice, hot cup of ginger tea," Mihir replied. "Can you get that for me?"
The waiter smiled. "Of course, sir. I'll bring it right away."
As soon as the waiter walked away, Mihir's eyes scanned the place, but Manohar was nowhere to be seen. He looked again, even behind the counter, but there was no sign of him.
Soon, the waiter returned with the tea and placed it in front of him. That's when *a dangerous plan* began to form in Mihir's mind.
He took a sip of the tea, then discreetly added something from his own pocket into the cup. Setting the cup down, he suddenly stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"What is this?! What are you people serving? Are you trying to poison the customers?"
The waiter rushed over, startled. "Sir! What happened? Why are you shouting?"
Mihir pointed to the tea angrily. "Do you think I'm a fool? You put something in this tea! This smell—this taste—it's not normal!"
The waiter stammered. "No sir, I swear when I brought it out, there was no smell. I don't know how this happened."
"Oh, so now you're saying *I* added it myself?" Mihir shouted even louder. "Call the owner! I want to speak to whoever runs this place!"
Mihir had stirred chaos inside the hotel. Guests were whispering, confused, and some started to leave. The manager came rushing over, apologizing profusely. "Sir, please calm down. There must be some misunderstanding."
But Mihir wouldn't back down. His plan was simple—*if he could damage the hotel's reputation enough, the real owner would have to come forward to control the situation.*
And just as he expected, after a few tense minutes, Manohar finally appeared.
Mihir recognized him immediately.
"Sir, what's going on here?" Manohar asked, approaching him. "Why are you creating such a scene? What's the problem?"
Mihir quickly changed his tone. "Ah, sorry, sir. My mistake," he said, lowering his voice and taking his seat again. His real mission was now just beginning.
As Mihir sat there, his eyes drifted to the small television mounted near the counter. It was playing the morning news. A familiar voice caught Mihir's attention—it was from the news anchor talking about someone Mihir knew.
Suddenly, a wave of shock washed over his face. *We just met a week ago… what happened to him?!*
The report hinted that one of his former acquaintances might have been involved in a bank robbery… and possibly even died in the process. Mihir couldn't hold back a sarcastic laugh.
"Hahaha… I bet he got himself killed during the robbery," Mihir said aloud, drawing attention. "Typical fraud. I've seen these kinds of people before—stealing money and pretending to be heroes."
He kept laughing and mocking the man on the news.
Manohar, who was silently listening nearby, started to get uncomfortable. He tried to ignore Mihir's words, but Mihir wouldn't stop.
"Oh come on," Mihir said, smirking. "You must've known him, right? That guy was always shady. All frauds, the whole lot of them."
Other guests started to murmur, clearly annoyed. Someone asked, "What's wrong with this guy? Why is he being so loud?"
"If you've got a problem, go outside!" Mihir snapped. "Understand?"
Now people started whispering that Mihir might be mad. They began ignoring him, treating him like a crazy man.
But Mihir wasn't mad—he was smart. He knew exactly what he was doing.
*When you pour ghee on a burning fire, it only gets bigger.* Mihir was counting on that reaction. He wanted to provoke Manohar, to push him into revealing something—anything.
Will Mihir's plan succeed?
Will Manohar finally speak the truth?
Or will Mihir fail once again?
Will he finally uncover a lead to move the case forward?