Ch 12: The Next Day
Written by Kavya and Concept by Sidhant First go to previous blogs if you have not already....
The next morning, Cloe headed to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, where she was to meet Shree, the name mentioned in Mr. Put’s message. The campus itself resembled a city, complete with gardens, lawns, residential complexes, and wide roads. IIT Delhi was divided into several zones: the Student Residential Zone, Faculty and Staff Residential Zone, Recreational Area, and Academic Zone.
She was to find Shree in the Student Residential Zone, but that proved trickier than expected. There were several girls’ hostels here: Kailash, Himadri, Takshashila, Nalanda, Vaishali, Indraprastha, and Vikramshila. She had no idea which one Shree resided in, but as a seasoned detective, she quickly made a phone call and found out not only the hostel but also the room number—317 in Himadri.
Standing outside the door, Cloe called out for Shree several times before a sleepy girl appeared, rubbing her eyes. It was 7 a.m., and the whole hostel seemed still. After introducing herself as a detective and requesting a private conversation, Cloe wrote something on a slip of paper and handed it to Shree. It read: “CCD 10 a.m.”
“CCD?” Cloe asked a passing student, who informed her that it stood for Café Coffee Day, a popular coffee chain found in every IIT campus, often frequented by students during free time.
By 9:30 a.m., Shree was rushing to the café, still groggy from the early morning encounter. When she arrived, Cloe had already ordered two lattes and a brownie, her mind focused on the cryptic message Mr. Put had sent: “hack track locate; good intention; hurry.”
She had researched the terms separately—hack, track, and locate—and learned of a platform called Locate that had recently hosted a hackathon to help reunite missing people with their families. Cloe was deep in thought when a tall girl with striking hair approached her.
“I’m sorry,” Shree said, looking flustered. “I didn’t mean to sleepwalk through our earlier conversation. Did you say you’re a detective?”
Cloe smiled and stood up to greet her. “Yes, I’m Detective Cloe. I’m from Finland.” She showed her badge to confirm her identity. “I need your help to hack, track, and locate.”
Shree froze. “Wait. You’re the one who sent me the carved wooden box... You know about Dev, don’t you?”
Cloe had no idea what she was talking about but nodded, hoping Shree would elaborate. It worked. Shree continued, confirming that she had indeed created Locate and that the sender of the message must have known the passcode.
“The message was meant for you, wasn’t it?” Shree asked. “And now... you’re investigating Dev’s disappearance?”
Cloe’s confusion was evident, and it made Shree suspicious. Without another word, she stood up and left the café, leaving Cloe to wonder if she had just missed a vital clue.
