Samaira lay in bed making plans about her summer holidays, which had started. Last evening had been her brother Reyansh’s 10th birthday. The party had gone on till late at night with family, friends, and neighbours of their gated community all being there.

Missing frame

Samaira’s idyll was disturbed by her grandfather’s shrill scream. Jumping out of her bed, she ran down the stairs. Her entire family was in his room.

“What happened?” Samaira asked.

“My silver photo frame is missing,” her grandfather pointed to his dresser.

Someone had removed the photo of her grandparents and placed it on the dresser, and nicked the expensive frame. A violet lay on the photo.

Samaira lifted the flower. It had wilted and some petals were slightly bent, as though they had been crushed.

“When did you notice that it was missing?” her dad asked.

“Now. I was too tired to notice anything last night,” grandfather replied.

“Anyone could have stolen it, as the house was crowded,” her dad said.

“But only family and close friends attended the party,” her mum pointed. “The same crowd that attends all our parties.”

“That photo frame was expensiv. It was also your mother’s last gift to me.” Grandfather looked tearful.

“I’ll talk to commissioner uncle about it,” her dad said. The retired Police Commissioner lived a few houses away. He had not attended the party because he had not been well.

Missing dog

After breakfast, Samaira grabbed her mobile phone and walked to see her friend Nina, who lived nearby. The moment she reached the house, Samaira realised something was wrong. The entire family was clustered around the kennel of their dog. Logi, a Caucasian Shepherd, was everyone’s favourite.

“What happened?” Samaira asked.

“Last night, before leaving for Reyansh’s party, we locked Logi in his kennel and also locked the main gate. When we returned, we assumed Logi was sleeping, as he didn’t greet us. In the morning, we realised that someone had stolen Logi,” Nina said tearfully.

Samaira’s eyes widened, as she looked at Logi’s empty kennel. A violet sat there. Wilted and crushed.

“The violet gang strikes again,” she muttered.

Everyone stared at her. Samaira told them about the robbery in her house.

Govardhan uncle, her grandfather’s best friend, walked past. He looked sad.

“Good morning, Govardhan uncle,” Samaira said.

“Someone stole my Adenium Bonsai, my Desert Rose plant, last night from my house,” he said.

Everyone was shocked. Three robberies in one night.

“Can you take me there?” Samaira asked.

“Come with me,” Govardhan Uncle said.

“I’ll join you,” Nina said.

A flower is stolen

When they reached his house, Govardhan Uncle pointed to his veranda. “Last evening, I photographed the flower with the sunset as a backdrop for a competition. While I was taking pictures, I received a call from Ramanujam that my walking friends wanted to meet me before the party. As they arrived soon, I forgot about the plant on the veranda. The next morning, when I looked for it, it was missing.”

“There is some connection between the three robberies,” Samaira whispered.

“Because of the violet flower?” Nina asked.

“Yes,” Samaira said. “All three robberies were committed around the same time. The person involved knew that everyone was at the party and that all the stolen good were expensive.”

“Good point, Sherlock Holmes,” Nina nodded.

“Let’s go to your neighbour’s house. I want to ask some questions,” Samaira said.

They headed to Mrs. Rao’s house. She lived with her cook and the cook’s two children: Minku and Rinku. As Mrs. Rao had fractured her leg, she hadn’t attended the party. Minku and Rinku were playing in the garden. Seeing the girls, they ran towards the gate.

“Did you hear Logi barking last night?” Samaira asked.

“Yes,” Minku said. “Around 1.00 a.m. we heard excited barks, as if he was meeting a friend but he fell silent soon.”

“It’s someone from the walking group,” Samaira said.

The walking group had five members: Govardhan Uncle, Samaira’s grandfather, Nina’s grandfather, Mr. Ramanujam and Mr. Kumar.

Solved

“That person had access to grandfather’s room without raising a suspicion, was aware of Govardhan uncle’s expensive plant on the veranda and friendly with Logi. That’s why the dog didn’t raise an alarm.”

“You are forgetting that the robberies happened in three houses where people are members of the walking group,” Nina said. “None of the members are young or fit enough to jump over a locked main gate.”

“It’s Mr. Kumar but not Mr. Kumar,” Samaira said excitedly.

The girls crept into Mr. Kumar’s garden. The house was being repaired, and a ladder leaned against a first-floor window. Samaira climbed the ladder, while Nina kept a lookout.

Jumping into the room, Samaira disappeared from view and returned several minutes later looking triumphant.

“Logi was sleeping in the attic and the other stolen goods were also there. I photographed everything.”

“How did you guess?” Nina asked.

“Only someone who hates flowers will crush them,” Samaira said. “Mr. Kumar once told me that, when his son was young, he was punished in school for drawing a violet instead of a rose. Ever since he hates violets.”

Returning to Samaira’s house, they narrated everything to her grandfather. He called his friends, and they marched to Mr. Kumar’s house. When they showed him the proof, Mr. Kumar came clean. His son had lost money in business and had forced him to commit the robberies. He also accompanied his father during the robberies. He disliked violets, so he left them at the scene of the crime as his signature.

The police arrested Mr. Kumar’s son. The walking group thanked detective Samaira who had solved her first case in a few hours.