The Case of the Panting Panda-man (Part-II)

(Read Part-I here: http://secret-apple-sauce.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html)


“And lesson no. 13, my loyal friend, is to be alert. ALWAYS. You can’t afford, for a moment, to let your attention slip.
By the way, did I give you my Mercedes pen? I’m sure I had it on me in the morning..
Look! That man in the red shirt is running away! I’m sure he’s the thief...”
It was an ordinary day In Pune. Not so ordinary for me, though. I was getting detection lessons from the God of detection himself, Detective Deboo Dubey from Darbhanga (DDD). We were just getting off the train from Mumbai, in Pune for our first case, The Case of the Panting Panda-man. (Don’t even ask.)
Not a great start to a detective mission.


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“I was the one who discovered Mr. Rajadjyaksha’s body, here in the upper bedroom, yesterday night. I’m Sulakshana Rajadhyaksha. I’m a widow”
“Aww, you needn’t put it like that, we figured that out..” said Deboo.
“NO! I’m his sister. We stayed together. He never married.”
“Oh. Err.. so who poisoned him?”
“Poisoned? ”
I, for one, plainly saw the long ornate knife penetrating Mr. Rajadhyaksha’s chest. Deboo was surely playing mind games with Ms. Sulakshana. Was she a suspect?
“Ha! Everyone lies. Never mind. Tell us all about it. You can trust my friend, Dr. T. He’s trustworthy. Also quite smart.”
“Actually, he’s not the one I’m worried about. Anyway, here’s the whole story…”
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DDD was staring thoughtfully out the guest room window, no doubt thinking about the case.
“Deboo, why don’t I lay out the facts of the case, just so everything is clear?”
“Yes, yes my friend, go ahead. We must be clear.”
“Ok. So the dead man ‘s name is Shrikant Rajadhyaksha, fifty-two, unmarried, rich, living with his sister in a respected neighbourhood in Pune, with seven servants.
“SEVEN servants?! Are you sure?
“Yes. A gardener, a cook, two domestic helps, one to do the cleaning, a companion for Ms. Rajadhyaksha and one to take care of the dog.”
“Hey, don’t call him that. You didn’t even know him, T. Just because he’s dead now…”
“No Deboo! They have a real dog, Tommy. He’s an Alsatian.
By the way, do you still want to call this case…”
“The case of the panting panda-man? Yes.”
“But.. why? Who’s panting!? And who the hell’s panda-man!?”
“T, you’re alright as a sidekick, but you really have no imagination. For example, I already know the profession of the criminal. Do you?”
“You know the criminal’s profession? Who..how?”
“Coolie, ofcourse! Didn’t you see the red shirt when he ran away?”

A quick note: After just two posts, it came to my attention that Detective Deboo Dubey and Dr. T have become quite popular. I have been led to believe that this 'franchise' has potential. Hence, there are unlikely to be further posts in this series. I will endeavour to bring DDD and Dr. T to you in a more refined form, through more than just off-the-cuff blog posts. Thanks for the feedback, and I promise you these dumb detectives will be back to entertain you!