Small Story 415.

Small Story 415 The Mystery of the Key Punch Shilpa was completely shocked when her daughter Ragini called to say that the key punch was missing from their house. That morning, Shilpa had left for a wedding in Mandya and had kept the key punch for the locker safely on her room table. Both Shilpa and her husband had gone to attend the function, so she was puzzled — who could have taken it? Ragini, a doctor working in a leading hospital, wanted to open the cupboard but could not find the key punch where her mother had said it would be. Their servant, Renuka, was staying in the outhouse with her six-year-old mentally challenged son. Unable to solve the mystery, Shilpa called her friend Vasanthy’s daughter, Ranjitha, a smart investigation officer from the OO1 Academy and an assistant to the famous detective OO1. She asked her to visit the house and find out what had happened. Within half an hour, Ranjitha arrived at Shilpa’s house in the Gokulam area of Mysore. She began her investigation by asking Ragini what time Shilpa had left for the wedding. Ragini replied, “At 7 a.m.” She also mentioned that she had been searching for the key punch for two hours without success. Ranjitha then questioned Renuka about her routine and who lived with her. Renuka explained that she lived only with her young son. Ranjitha decided to check the outhouse and noticed the boy playing quietly, unable to recognize or respond properly. Ranjitha asked Renuka what time her son usually went to the restroom. Renuka replied, “This morning I was busy cooking lunch and didn’t see him for some time. I thought he had gone to the backyard bathroom.” That clue caught Ranjitha’s attention. She examined the boy’s room, his pillow, and toys. While searching among the toys, she suddenly spotted the missing key punch hidden there! She immediately informed Ragini that Renuka’s son must have wandered into Shilpa’s room through the backyard, seen the key punch on the table, and taken it to play with — all unknowingly. Since he was mentally challenged, he couldn’t explain what he had done. The mystery was solved brilliantly by the clever investigator, Ranjitha. Shilpa was relieved and thanked OO1 and Ranjitha for their help. The little boy continued to play happily, unaware of the commotion he had caused. K.Ragavan 31-10-25