The Missing Father

By Amrutha Sivaram

As part of the ‘Being Sherlock’ workshop, all participants worked with the same set of clues and the same detective, and yet, as it always happens with words, the stories changed. In Amrutha’s version, the story (only part one) follows a diary format featuring an unknown archeological site and a dangerous threat that needs to be thwarted!

DAY 1

Okay… So Nitya, Vidushi and I met Sana at the bakery. I was thinking, “Why the bakery?” when Sana explained. “I found out something about the detective!” she exclaimed happily.

Ever since my father went missing three years ago, we had been looking for him, and now it looked like someone else was also looking for him.

“What did you find out?” Vidushi asked.

“The detective is a baker!” Sana explained.

“That’s why you called us here!” I said. “Do you think he or she works in this cafe/bakery?”

“Maybe…” Sana replied.

“Nitya, you have been awfully quiet,” Vidushi observed.

“I am just wondering, how did you find this out, Sana? This is the strangest bit of info. Not the general kind.”

“I found out while I was reading the news. ‘A sheet of paper was found in the bakery, from the mysterious detective who solves every case coming and going without a trace.’ It was not signed either. They only know it was from the detective.”

DAY 2

Nitya called all of us to the park. Vidushi and Sana were already there, and I rushed towards them.

“Where’s Nitya?” I was confused.

“I asked Vidushi the same thing.” Sana said.

“I’m here!” Nitya said, coming towards us. She was dragging a bag full of books behind her. “Sorry I’m late, I was grabbing a few books.”

“That’s a few TON of books, Nitya!” Sana exclaimed.

“Well, while I was at the library I saw a person sneaking out through a back door. He or she was wearing the same baker outfit like the ones at the cafe and was wearing a hat, covering his or her face, and a piece of paper fell out. The same type as on the news!” Nitya finished.

Nitya showed us the paper the detective had dropped, and she was right. It was the same. With a drawing of a hat and the words, ‘Find Me’.

DAY 3

“AHH,” Vidushi entered my room while I was writing in my diary. She tripped on the pile of books by the door. Sana, Nitya and I helped her up. “Next time… clean your room!” Vidushi exclaimed.

“Anyhow… ” Nitya said. “Why this urgency to come to your house?”

“Well, when I heard your clue about the detective leaving the library, I realised that I saw him too!”

“Him…?” Sana asked.

“Well, I saw him rushing to a car and he tripped on a stone and his hat slipped. And I saw the face just enough to find out it is a him! Then he limped to the car and fixed his hat.” I replied.

“Strange… it seems as if he wants us to find him!” Vidushi thought. “Maybe you’re right!”

Nitya said, “He does keep showing up and giving us clues!”

We all were getting more and more excited. I felt like I knew him. Whatever, might be a coincidence.

DAY 4

I was going to the bus stop because Vidushi had come back from a trip to the library, and because she had a new clue. What is up with libraries and detectives?! Anyway, Vidushi was getting off the bus when I came. “Hey Vidushi!” I called. She looked back and saw me running up to her. “What did you find?” I asked. “Hi,” she said, “let’s wait for the others first.” After what seemed like forever, Sana and Nitya came. “What’s up?” Sana asked out of breath.

“I found a clue!” Vidushi said. “The detective loves Asterix! The same person was reading it at the library while bumping into tables and people.”

“What is Asterix?” Nitya asked confused.

“It’s a comic about the Gauls and their fight against Caesar. The main character is Asterix.” I said.

“Okay…” Vidushi said.

I suddenly thought…Baker? “Hey, you guys remember my dad had a friend called Adi Jones? Nitya’s uncle? Who also disappeared around the same time. He was a baker, right?”

“Ya.. and he was really clumsy,” Vidushi added.

“And he loved those comics!” Sana said.

“And he always wore a hat outside!” Nitya exclaimed.

I think we had found our detective!

DAY 5

Adi Jones’s Mansion was in Town. I visited his house, to see if he still lived there and saw him opening his mailbox and look disappointed. And I was wondering why. Nitya came with me, him being her uncle and all. She doesn’t know him very well, though. Later, we knocked on his door and no one answered. We knocked again, no one answered. We knocked several times and guess what? No One Answered. I lost it and yelled, “I KNOW SOMEONE IS IN THERE, AND YOU ARE LOOKING FOR MY DAD, SO OPEN THE DOOR.”

Nitya said, “Calm down,” but I was staring at the door intensely. Finally, Adi Jones opened the door without a hat. “Well, I guess you found me. Come inside.”

We went in and his house was HUGE. “This place looks familiar… isn’t this where we used to stay, before you left without a trace?” Nitya said the last part loudly, expecting an explanation.

“Well, I guess I do owe you an explanation…” he said, “but we will discuss that later. Have a look around and come to the lounge room in an hour.” And he left.

Nitya glanced in our direction and said, “Clearly, he wants us to find something out.”

One hour later…

“It’s been an hour guys, and we haven’t found anything.” Nitya said looking at the old fashioned clock.

“Okay,” said Vidushi. “But one question. Where IS the lounge room? You used to live here right, Nitya?” Vidushi asked.

“Ya, it’s been a while though. But I think it’s this way.”

We had all been looking for anything that was unusual, when Sana saw a quill on the ground. “Mr. Jones must have dropped this,” she said.

It looked familiar. We reached the lounge room and Adi was sitting on a sofa waiting for us. He looked up and saw Sana holding the quill. “I see you found the quill!” he exclaimed happily. “Recognise it, Amrutha?”

“Um… not exactly, but it looks like… dad’s old quill?” I muttered, unsure.

“Good job. Now come sit.” He ushered us to another sofa opposite him. “The reason why I started searching for your father was because of a letter. It was sent to me in the mailbox, and I was expecting one a while ago… but it hasn’t come yet. He said he would send another one today, but it hasn’t come yet.”

There was an uncomfortable silence. Then I asked, “How do you have his quill?”

“It was given with the letter, I don’t know why. The letter also said not to present myself directly to you, but to give you clues to find me. And that he is on a dangerous trip. He also gave me a torn paper, from his diary.”

My heart pounded as he read:

Lilana, Troy and I were up next. Wood the blood was oozing out, as I saw it in the mirror providing light.

We were all confused.

“How is that a clue?” Sana asked.

“I don’t know, but we are gonna have to find out.”

I couldn’t stop thinking about the words, and Sana also muttered it to herself a lot and looked scared and I thought, wood… as in the woods? Has he gone to the Wolf Woods? Has Sana been there too? She always wore a cotton cloth around her wrist and winced and held it sometimes… could that be it? I know this seems sudden but this feels strange. After what we heard, this is all I could think about. “Excuse me Adi, mind if I talk to Sana for a second?” Adi Jones raised his eyebrows and said, “Sure…”

I pulled Sana aside to talk.

“Why do you have the cloth on your wrist.’ I asked firmly.

“No reason…” Sana looked away.

“I know you are hiding something, have you gone to the Wolf Woods?” I asked, starting to get worried.

“I went to look for clues about the detective and got bit by a wolf and the scar takes time to heal, that’s all…” She said quickly.

“Why didn’t you tell us this before?” I asked.

“No reason…” she said. “Let’s go back, but, please don’t tell anyone.”

Day 6

After the conversation with Sana, I found it harder to relax. Something was amiss and now I know my dad was on a life threatening mission! The garden at the park gives me good vibes because I remember my dad brought me here before he left and said, “You will come back alone and figure ‘it’ out.” And I was confused then but I remembered he had a friend there who worked in the garden. The old gardener Mathew. I went there and found him watering the trees.

“Hey, Matthew!” I called.

“Oh, hi, Amrutha, it’s been awhile since you came to visit.”

“Ya, I have to ask, did dad say anything to you before he went missing…?”

“Why, yes, he did! He came a few hours after you two came together and spoke to me. He said that he would be leaving the next day to an archaeological site and will come back in a week.”

“But he never came back…” I said, looking confused.

“I know… but he sent a stone saying it is special and I should give it to you. It is a stone of gems.” He handed it to me, and it looked very ordinary to me.

“Thanks Matthew.” I said and left. This is something…. the stone looked like it had a compartment inside. I turned it around and it opened! Inside was a note. “The person who is a she is leading the archaeological site and he had two partners!”

Now it makes sense! The diary entry!

Day 7

“Don’t tell Adi, but I stole a book from his library….” I said to the others.

“WHAT?!” Nitya exclaimed in shock. I explained that the book was hand written, in my father’s hand writing, no less. And it was about archaeology. We called the others and I explained the conversation I had with Matthew and about Liana and Troy and the lady leading the excavation. They were wondering two things: Where? And who is the lady?

“I don’t know, but this book has something to do with it.” I said.

I was starting to get mad at dad. First he ran away without a trace, he told Matthew and not me or mom, and he wanted Adi Jones to set up clues for no reason! This is seeming like a wild goose chase. But the book… is helpful in some way. The writing was in a diary format. I read a part about Troy, Liana and dad were going to a city of- wait.. It’s torn?! This means something. But what? There was only one person to ask — Adi Jones.

“You stole my book from my library?” he asked, looking more amused than shocked.

“Ummm yes… aren’t you mad or something?” I asked, confused.

“I wouldn’t be one way or the other, I have too many books anyway. But THIS is not one of them,” he said “I know which books are in my library.”

“Then why was this one in the last shelf of row 19?” Sana asked.

“Ya, I think it was the 2nd last row though..” I replied.

“What?” Vidushi was in the same row where I had found the diary in. “These books are about astronomy. Not archaeology!”

“It must have been misplaced.” Nitya reasoned.

“I re-shelved these books yesterday morning, Nitya.” Adi said looking down into his coffee mug.

“The book must have been placed there after that…” Sana thought.

“Maybe… look for anything unusual,” I said. “I am going to read this book for a while.” The book was all about dad, and his partners Troy and Liana and it seemed like normal documents of his research, but one page seemed rushed.

“AH-” Sana yelled and then we heard a thump. “SANA! You okay?!”

Vidushi called down a pit. “What in the- where did that come from?!” Adi looked at the hole in the wall shocked.

“Let’s go, shall we?” I said. Nitya found a ladder and Vidushi and I helped Nitya put it down. Adi went first and then Nitya, Vidushi and I trailed after.

“This place is quite damp!” Nitya noticed. “It gives me the creeps.”

We went further into the tight corridor when Sana suddenly pushed Vidushi and Nitya, and we toppled back with her like dominos. “WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!” I asked slightly cross. “Look! Notes, lots of them.” She said, looking down at her feet. She was right. I got up and picked the notes up, which were all in dad’s handwriting! “Let’s keep going,” I stammered. We continued and found a tiled room with a bed, table lamp, shelf and three chairs. “That’s a lot of books,” Nitya said. The books had leather covers and I saw notes and small notepads and read them. They seemed to be written just a few hours ago.

“We should head back,” Vidushi said. “Let’s check this place out later,” Sana suggested.

“Ya…” Nitya agreed. We were heading back, when Nitya said, “Be back in a sec!” She came back with her bag which seemed like it had something new. “Lets go.”

Day 8

“Why did you call us here so suddenly?” I asked Vidushi.

“I have to tell you something about A.J,” she said, sitting on her bed.

“What about him?” Sana asked.

“Let me explain,” Vidushi said. “The day after we found the corridor, I went to see A.J. He was looking gloomy in the lounge room, drinking green tea. I went to talk to him. I asked him what was wrong, and he said that he went in to see the room we found. And that he found something strange… the books on the table… were knocked over!” she exclaimed.

I noticed Nitya looked nervous.

“The bed was also covered in paper and all, and a bag that looked exactly like Nitya’s!” Vidushi exclaimed, glancing at Nitya’s full bag.

“Um.. Mm-must be a coincidence!” Nitya stammered. Something was up, and she is a bad liar.

“Nitya… what’s in your bag?” Sana asked suspiciously.

“Books.” She said calmly.

“Is it okay if we see them?” I asked.

“He was looking for a specific book,” Vidushi said, “but the stack it was in was toppled over and the book was gone! We need to find that book…. Also, now that I am done- what’s in the bag you are so protective of?”

“Okay fine,” said Nitya. “While you guys left, I stayed behind to get a book that A.J must have been looking for, and took it to find something.”

“And what might that be?” Sana asked suspiciously.

“I don’t know yet.” Nitya simply replied.

DAY 8

A.J called us all to the bakery. “I am sure you are all wondering why I called you here.”

“Well, I am wondering why you went to the underground room!” Sana asked a little loudly. Thank goodness we were there before the bakery opened.

“I went because I wanted to know why her dad made the room!” A.J replied.

“THAT IS NOT AN ANSWER,” Sana shouted.

“Calm down, Sana…” I said. Guess I am not the only tempered one!

“Fine, I will tell you the complete reason…. I went to look for the book with a graph-”

“Like this one?” Nitya asked, and pulled the book out of her bag.

“Yes, and it had a secret that your dad didn’t tell me, Amrutha.”

“Like..?” Vidushi asked.

“I don’t kno-”

“Ya right…” Sana muttered

“I really don’t,” he said.

“Fine.” Sana said. That was quite short..

DAY 10

I was going to meet A.J at the bus stop to tell him something, something very unusual. I know what A.J and Nitya might have been looking for. I overheard him talking with A.J once, my dad that is. And after A.J left, he took the graph and wrote something at the back. When he left the room, I read it, and it said something in a different language, but I was able to decipher some of the words:

Meet ???? Troy and Liana ??? disabled ???

I told A.J about everything, and he asked me why I couldn’t find the writing now. Well… Dad went to get paper; he must have covered it. I took the paper and tore the back, revealing the writing. He looked shocked and said, “It’s nothing important, go back home now..” That was strange…

DAY 11

We were in my house with A.J, when Nitya barged in and said, “I FIGURED IT OUT!”

“What?!” Sana asked

“Adi Jones knew where they went. Troy and Liana, they were not just helping Amrutha’s dad, they were helping him disable a threat!” she said

“Threat?” I asked

“To do something to the town for sure.” Vidushi said.

“Ya, and her dad was also about to head to town, but got delayed, I need to figure it out though…” She said.

“Yes, and no,” A.J said

“What..?” I asked

“You got most of it right, except he was not delayed, he was forced,” A.J said

“Say… that… again,” Vidushi said.

“We need to find him, before he gets into real trouble,” A.J said

“From what..?” I asked.

“Something I don’t know.” he said.

“Then let’s go find him!” This feels like a story now…and this is only part one!

Amrutha Sivaram is 11 years old and lives in Chennai. Read her other story from the ‘Wordy Tales’ workshop here: https://medium.com/wordy-tales/natasha-riding-hood-65b6231270f9