The Pantomath

Chapter 9: Lost and Found

By the time I reached Raj, my questions had sort of moulded into one and I asked him, "What the heck is going on?" He pointed to the crowd and as I looked over, it saw that several of our classmates were there too.

"Do you know about Prof. Rai's daughter?", he asked a question in return. Of course, I knew her. About 3 years old and yay high, cute as a button. I had seen her playing in the college ground supervised by her nanny several times.

"Yes, I know her. What about her?" A feeling of dread suddenly filled me. "Did something happen to her Raj?", I asked, getting more anxious by the second. "Yes, she is missing bro. It seems that she was with her nanny and they were on their way to the play-ground when her nanny stopped to chat with someone here and she got up and walked away."

This Sunday was so not turning out as I had hoped. I remembered how this kid smiled every time I saw her. I scanned the crowd and saw the professor and the nanny. I walked up to the nanny and asked her, "Have you checked all the places you normally go to?"

"Yes, we have checked the ground, her favourite rides, the house, everywhere", she replied, holding back a sob. She was on the verge of tears. I looked towards the Prof. and she didn't look much better either. The situation wasn't looking good. Everyone knew that they have to find her, find her fast. I put a little distance between me and the group and took out my phone. I forgot my Bluetooth earpiece at my apartment and I couldn't even type properly as my hands were shaking with anxiety. I just started to speak near the mic.

"I know you can hear me Pantomath and I know you can't tell me the location of her. But she could be in real danger if not found soon. Just give me anything to go with. Please."

I waited a few seconds for a response and just as I was convinced it wasn't going to help me, a message popped up on the screen.

'Once we become predictable, we become vulnerable.

- Finch, Person of Interest'

"Thank you Pantomath", I whispered into the phone. Now I needed to think. It is talking about predictability and vulnerability. It is something which I would think about an enemy. Maybe a videogame boss, as I would understand its moves to find its vulnerability. Yes, I got it. Predictability.

I ran back to the nanny. "I think I know how to find her!", I said, with a little too much excitement. Everybody suddenly became mum at that and stopped whatever they were doing. Professor Rai heard me too, and she came up to me.

"What? You can find her? How?", she said, almost screaming at me. "I have an idea, ma'am", I told her in a calming voice. I turned towards the nanny and said, "But I need your help to do that." She became immediately alert at that and put on her best soldier face and said, "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to take me through your entire routine. Don't skip any activity, any path, any place", I said and watched her face fill with determination. "We usually leave the house and go to the park. We always take the same path", she said with careful deliberation.

"Alright. Let's take a walk on the same path", I said as she led the way and the entire group followed. "We usually walk by the administrative offices, the food court, the academic blocks, the hostels and reach the park", she said as we walked by the mentioned buildings. This is not it, I am missing something. Then another thought struck me. Maybe it's not the predictability of pattern which I am supposed to exploit, it's the predictability of action. "Does she admire anything special on the way to park?", I enquired. "I don't know. She likes to see the blue skies, she is always looking up. She also likes to smile at everyone on the way", she said as she tried to hold back another tear. This was a terrible idea. I am just making her feel worse and we are no closer to finding her than we were before. "She.... She also liked looking at butterflies near those bushes and flowers, but I never let her near that area", she added, almost choking on her tears.

Butterflies. Yes. I found it. They look bright and colourful enough to attract a toddler away from her nanny. I made a run for the bushes immediately. I looked near the flowers and butterflies, but no little kid in sight. But how could this be? Was my interpretation wrong again? No, I was right. I knew in my heart, I was right. Then my eyes fell on the shrubs behind the flowers. They seemed dense enough to be able to hide something. I jumped inside the area and parted the shrubs with my hands. What I saw, filled me with mixed feelings.

I saw a little girl happily playing in the soil, covered with mud from head to toe. She saw me and gave me another of her glimmering smile. I smiled back and picked her up. I took her outside and as soon as the Prof saw her, she came running towards us. I was holding her at arm's length as I didn't want to spoil my clothes, but the Prof just took her from me and hugged her tightly. A mother's love would do that to you. I went up to her nanny and said," She just wanted to touch those butterflies". She smiled and thanked me, and then went up to the Prof for her turn to hug the mud-laden kiddo.

"That was one heck of a move. I am glad all those mystery and spy novels are paying off", said Raj as he came up to me. "Just the right thought at the right time I guess", I said as the group finally disbanded and we finally made our way back to the apartment. I was long-due a shower now.