Mystery Of The Missing Cat (SMS Detective Agency Book 2)

By Ravi Subramanian

The charming hill town of Solan is playing host to the cricketing match of the year - a match between India and Australia. Naturally, its close-knit community is all abuzz! Not only are the top cricketing stars going to descend upon them, but also the glamorous film star married to the dashing cricket captain. Will India manage to snatch a much-needed victory from the Aussies, is the big question. However, even before the match begins, it seems this victory might be slipping away. All because of a missing feline.

Enter the Super Mystery Solvers or the SMS gang of Aditya and Akriti, the nine-year-old twins, and their close friend Kabir. Can they find the missing cat and help India win the match? Together, they must solve this mystery that has even the police completely baffled.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harper Children's
• Release date: Dec 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9789354894855

Ravi Subramanian

Ravi Subramanian is the award-winning author of ten novels. His stories are set against the backdrop of the financial services industry. He has won the Economist Crossword Book Award three years in a row, as well as the Golden Quill Readers' Choice Award. His books have been translated into Hindi, Tamil and Latvian. Visit him at www.subramanianravi.com or connect with him on twitter @subramanianravi or on Instagram @Ravisubramanian70.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Friday

It was the last period of school that day. Akriti was struggling to keep her eyes open. The English lecture was so boring. It was as if Mrs. Kumar, the English teacher, was singing a lullaby.

‘Why don’t they just give us books and allow us to read in class. It would be so much more interesting than listening to someone speak. Especially in the last period. On a Friday. Just before a long weekend,’ Akriti thought, just as her eyes closed, her head drooped and she dozed off again.

She woke up with a start as Kabir tapped her on the shoulder and passed her a crumpled tissue paper. She opened it hurriedly thinking that it was something important. Wrapped in the tissue paper was a toothpick. And scribbled on it was the message, ‘This will help you hold your eyelids up.’ Akriti rolled her eyes at Kabir. ‘Very funny,’ she mouthed. Kabir chuckled.

‘KABIR!’ Mrs. Kumar called out loudly. Which was when Kabir realized that he had actually laughed out loud.

‘What’s so funny? Do share it with all of us,’ Mrs. Kumar thundered. ‘Then we can all laugh with you.’

Kabir stood up. He didn’t know what to say. What could he have said? Seeing him struggle, Akriti tried to cover up for him. ‘It was nothing, miss.’ She stood up to speak, all sleep gone from her eyes. ‘We suddenly remembered something that happened in the morning and laughed.’

‘But I didn’t see you laugh. It was only him.’ Mrs. Kumar knew very well that Akriti was covering up for Kabir. ‘Uff, she is being quite a pain,’ thought Akriti. ‘So out with it children. The truth please.’ Kabir was stuck. Their teacher was not willing to stand down.

Luckily for them, at that very moment the intercom buzzed. Sister Maria Leena’s voice crackled over the intercom. ‘May I have your attention, please. I have an important announcement to make.’ There was pin drop silence in the school. ‘As you are aware, the third T20 International Cricket match between India and Australia is going to be played in Solan Cricket Stadium next Friday. To enable residents to go and watch the match, the Department of Education has declared a holiday for all schools. Our school too will remain closed next Friday. We will be sending out a circular in this regard. Do inform your parents about it. We are also speaking to Chief Walia to see if he can arrange tickets at a discount for our students and their families. I will let you know once we hear from him. Thank you and have a nice weekend.’

‘Yaaaaaay!’ A collective cheer went up in the school. A cheer that intensified when Rehamat Chacha rang the school bell, announcing the end of the week. ‘Thank you, Akriti,’ Kabir whispered in her ear as they picked up their bags to walk out. ‘Mrs Kumar was all set to give me a remark in my diary.’

‘Sister Maria Leena is the one you should be thanking. Not her. Had it not been for the principal, you would not have escaped from the clutches of Mrs. Kumar,’ Aditya said, giving Kabir a high five.

‘You know what, guys?’ Kabir was his usual cheerful self once they were out of the school. ‘Dad said that he will get us passes for the match. Seats right next to the players’ pavilion.’ Kabir grinned. Getting tickets to the best show in town was not a difficult task for Police Chief Walia.

‘Why do you even want to go and watch the match? India will surely lose again,’ Akriti commented despondently. ‘They have been losing a lot of matches recently.’

‘With Rahul Bedi as captain, I think no one can beat them,’ Kabir responded. ‘And no, they have not been losing very often. They just lost one series against England.’

‘Dude, Singh, not Bedi, will win it for India,’ said Aditya, a devoted Punit Singh fan, who could take on anyone with numbers and statistics if ever he was challenged to a Bedi vs Singh debate.

‘You guys are blind. Just wait and see,’ said Akriti as they crossed the school gates to get to their waiting car.

CHAPTER 2

Saturday

Hotel Hilltop was the only big hotel in Solan. Built right on top of the hill, overlooking the Solan Valley, with majestic views of the snow-capped mountains, Hilltop was popular with tourists and residents alike. The Indian and Australian cricket teams were to stay there. Even though the match was on Friday, the teams were to arrive in Solan on Wednesday itself. The official reason given by the teams was that they needed time to get used to playing at a high altitude, since Solan was a hill station. However, everyone knew that Rhea Varma,