Thursday, Evening
The three detectives spent the rest of the evening in the hotel. Although in their hearts they knew that they had pinned down the kidnapper, they continued to talk to the staff and the residents and investigate discreetly, to live by the spirit of a true detective. In their minds, all that remained was to identify who Punit was talking to on the phone, and thus reveal his partner in crime. They were lingering in the elevator hallway when Lizzy joined them.
‘Good evening, kids!’ Lizzy waved as she pressed the call button for the private elevator leading to her residence.
‘Hello, Ma’am!’ the kids replied.
Akriti was delighted to see Bella again and went to pet her. She was in love with this cat. Unfortunately for her, Bella still seemed to be in a foul mood. ‘Just like she had been earlier in the afternoon,’ Akriti thought, remembering how Bella had scratched her. Bella had been extremely friendly the first day; but now she wouldn’t even acknowledge her presence! In fact, even when Aditya tried to pet her, she hissed and pawed him as well.
‘Is something wrong with Bella, Ma’am?’ Akriti asked, her voice full of concern. She wasn’t sure if she had done something to anger Bella. ‘Is she unwell?’
‘Nothing is wrong with her, dear,’ Lizzy answered, slightly upset with this question. ‘It’s just that there are too many people in the hotel these days. And that is making her uncomfortable.’
At that precise moment, the elevator arrived and opened with a clinking noise. It was one of those antique elevators with a wooden sliding door.
‘See ya at the ground tomorrow, kids,’ she said as she entered the elevator. Once in, she let Bella jump onto the floor, as she was getting a bit agitated. Holding the elevator door open with her hand, she explained further, ‘Cats are possessive animals. If they think their relationship with their human is being threatened because of someone else, they get scared. And this fear leads them to act up.’
Akriti nodded at Lizzy, all the while looking at Bella. She wished Bella hadn’t seen her as a threat to her relationship with Lizzy. But Bella had. And there was nothing she could do.
‘Bye, Bella,’ Akriti waved, still hoping the cat would respond to her. But Bella was busy rubbing her head against the wall of the elevator, blissfully unaware of the misery she was causing Akriti.
That evening, when Chief Walia came to the SMS gang’s hideout in the basement, the three of them filled him in. Chief Walia seemed crestfallen at the updates.
‘I don’t know how the Indian cricket team will survive if what you are saying turns out to be true,’ Chief Walia said, as he and Kabir got ready to leave.
Just before they left, the three of them discussed their plan for the next day. They would need to be seated in the café before noon. And somehow ensure that Punit Singh and his mysterious partner-in-crime sat on a table next to them. Clueless about how they would achieve this, they bid each other goodnight.
Tomorrow was going to be a big day.