THE PINK CLUE

"I wish there was something I could do," Inspector Mishra sighed as he sat at the dining table after returning from work.

- Sarvamitra

"Why do you look so worried?" said his wife Sunitha as she walked in with two cups of tea.

"Have you met Keshav, our watchman's son?" Inspector Mishra asked.

"Yes, he is a quiet boy and minds his own business. Isn't he graduating from college this year?" Sunitha replied.

"Hmm. The poor boy is in trouble. His college claims that he stole some money from their office." "What!" Sunitha was alarmed.

"Yes, they have filed a case and submitted proof too," Inspector Mishra took out a brown envelope from his pocket and slid it across the table towards Sunitha.

"These are the photos that were taken yesterday by another student."

Sunitha looked at the photographs.

Sure enough, it seemed like Keshav was fiddling with the drawers in the college's office room. "I can't believe this," Sunitha said, puzzled.

"What did Keshav Bhaiyya say, Papa?" 12-year-old Dheeraj asked. He was right there, listening to the conversation between his parents.

"That he is innocent and did not go into the office room yesterday. But this photo evidence suggests otherwise," Inspector Mishra replied.

"Keshav Bhaiyya would never steal," said Dheeraj confidently.

"That is because Keshav Bhaiyya once caught Dheeraj for stealing mangoes and gave him a proper lecture, but didn't tell on him," his sister Diya who had just walked in, grinned and said, happy to have put her brother in a soup.

"Diya, how could you!" Dheeraj was furious. "You had some of those mangoes too, didn't you? In fact, you asked me to get them for you." "I...." Diya hesitated, trying to come up with a suitable explanation. "Ah, yes, I just wanted to see if you were brave enough to climb the tree." "Ha. Ha. Very funny. Wait till I catch you," Dheeraj said and ran after Diya, who had started running.