Now she could concentrate on Christmas, which was the day after. She had yet to buy gifts and suddenly she sat upright. She hadn’t bought a single gift! Panicked, she rose hastily, patted Nidhi, and sailed out of the room.
“Jatin, I’m off to do some shopping. You can take the rest of the day off, too,” she declared. “We deserve a holiday and a celebration. It has been a good year for Stellar Investigations, don’t you think?”
“You could say that. But not so wonderful personally,” Jatin remarked, a little glumly.
“Oh, come off it! You are better off without a criminal in your life. However beautiful and charming she may be!”
“I hope that applies to you, too,” Jatin responded, cheekily.
Startled, Sonia frowned at him. “And what does that mean?”
Jatin shrugged. “Your obsession with The Owl. Not very healthy, is it?”
“My obsession with - ! What in heavens gave you that idea?”
“His Christmas and New Year card lying on the table!” Jatin grinned.
“What!” Sonia almost snatched the card from the table top. Inadvertently, her excitement spiralled. Aware that her Assistant’s watchful eyes were observing her minutely, she flipped open the envelope and extracted the card. It depicted a gorgeous winter landscape in the early hours of the morning, with just the hint of the sun behind the hills. Inside, a calligraphic scrawl read:
My Dear Sonia,
Whatever you may say,
The dawn is not far away…
How much ever you may decline,
One day, you will be mine!
All the best, my Glowworm,
for a love-filled X’mas and New Year!
Your Admirer.
Sonia blushed a deep red as she read the lines, her body tingling with thrill. Simultaneously a quick anger surfaced in her. How dare he make such declarations! And send them written in a card for all to read. He had some cheek!
“Boss? See what I mean?” Jatin tilted his head.
“He’s got no business sending me useless cards. If he had any guts, he would cross my path with a problem and this time I would set the score straight.”
“You never know, The Owl seems gutsy enough to land up at our office door, insolently demanding your help.”
“I’m waiting for that day,” Sonia remarked vehemently. Tossing the card on the table, she stormed out of the office.
She spent the morning before Christmas shopping, enjoying every minute of strolling up and down the decorated streets. She moved from shop to shop, contemplating what was perfect for her parents, for Jatin, Devika, and of course Nidhi. And for Mohnish. Despite the coolness, she felt hot and tired trudging along the picturesque Mahatma Gandhi street, the shops festooned with streamers and Christmas trees, and glowing with the bright colour of the season. When she finally returned to the office, she was laden with glossy parcels. Jatin was giving the last touches to the Christmas tree, putting silver baubles on its branches.
“Wow! That does look good!” Sonia exclaimed, dropping her packages on the table.
“Doesn’t it?” Jatin stood back to appreciate his work of art. “I particularly liked these shiny curler streamers.”
“How has Nidhi behaved? She loves to play with these baubles. I’m surprised that none are broken as yet.” Sonia slipped into a chair.
“Nidhi?” Jatin looked surprised. “Isn’t she sitting outside, bathing herself in the sun?”
“If she is, I didn’t see her. You continue your work, I’ll go find her,” Sonia suggested, rising from her seat immediately.
But half an hour later, she returned, extremely worried. “She’s nowhere in the garden. I’ve looked everywhere for her!” “She may have gone hunting for mice,” Jatin replied casually. “Don’t worry. She never strays too far away”
But Sonia was worried. She tried to work, writing her annual report for the year, but her ears were trained for the slightest sound of her cat. By the time it was evening, her concern had turned into a full-blown panic.
“Something’s wrong! Nidhi is never absent for longer than an hour!” Even as she said the words, the memory of the threatening note thrust itself into her mind. “Your cat will die!”
“You think the ghost may have. ?” Even Jatin began to look concerned. He had finished decorating the tree and was switching channels on his Television.
“I’m certain of that! There’s no other explanation, is there? God, why wasn’t I more careful? Why did I allow myself to take that horrible man so lightly? I thought that it was over! Why was I such a fool!”
“Boss, take it easy. You can’t blame yourself for this. Nidhi is a cat. You can’t keep an eye on her all the time”
“No, but I wasn’t particularly careful either,” Sonia spoke irritably. “Oh, my poor Nidhi, where can she be? We’ve got to look for her”
“Boss, if indeed the ghost has kidnapped Nidhi, he may leave another note for us. Because I think he’s trying to get across a message. I doubt if he intends to hurt the cat,” Jatin said, trying to think practically and logically.
Sonia stopped pacing. “You may be right. I shouldn’t let my panic jump out of control” She took in a deep, steadying breath. “Nothing can happen to Nidhi. I have to believe that. That is not his intention. His intention is to get me to see a point - Stop using Astrology. Yes, there will be another note and we ought to wait for it. But only until tomorrow morning. Because if there’s no news of Nidhi by then, we are going to launch a massive search for her!”
It was when Sonia had locked up and had finally decided to retire for the night in frustration that she found the note. It was tucked under the windshield wiper of her van. Her heart did a somersault when she spotted it. She snatched it up immediately. The type was darker than the earlier notes, but the font was still the same.
