"What did you sa—"
Suddenly, a call came on Ratan's phone.
He received it and answered, his voice tense.
"Yes? ...Where? ...How long ago?"
He hung up and looked at the Masked Detective. "Another girl has gone missing."
"Where?" she asked immediately.
"Near South Lane. A 10-year-old named Ishita Basu. Her parents just reported her missing."
Minutes later, they arrived at a modest apartment. The nameplate read: Basu Family.
A tall man opened the door—Mr. Animesh Basu, a schoolteacher with spectacles and tired eyes. His wife, Mrs. Reema Basu, a homemaker in a green cotton sari, looked pale and frantic.
"She went to buy chocolates from the shop at the corner," Reema said, tears in her eyes. "She never came back."
"No strange calls? No ransom?" the Detective asked.
Animesh shook his head. "Nothing yet."
The Masked Detective walked into the child's room. A teddy bear lay on the bed. Her school books were stacked neatly. But one page from her notebook had been torn out.
"Did you see her draw anything strange recently?" she asked.
Reema nodded slowly. "Yes... a flower with five petals. She said she saw it in a dream."
The Detective glanced at Ratan. "It's the same mark. We're missing something. Something connecting them all."
To be continued...