A Fairground Mystery.

Detective Parker sat in the living room with both his legs stretched out. It had been ages since he last had a day off and he intended to make the most of the day. Sipping on his steamy hot latte, he slowly slipped into the realisation that the day may turn out boring if he didn't do something fun but fun wasn't his strong suit, solving crimes was.

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The door creaked open and Junior walked in with both his hands by his side. He was a free spirit and only walked this way whenever he wanted to ask for something.

"Good morning father," he said, counting his words.

"Good morning junior," Parker responded, placing his cup of latte on the saucer. "How are you this morning my boy?"

"I'm fine but I could be better"

"You could be better? What do you mean by that?"

"Dad.. mom says it's your day off today and you promised me a trip to the fair during your next day off. Remember?" Junior said, his eyes turning watery.

"I did?"

"Yes dad. You said we were going to have lots of fun and I could get an extra large cotton candy and…"

Junior could go all day if he was allowed so detective Parker interrupted.

"Fine, go and get dressed. Tell your sister and your mom the good news. We're going on a trip to the fair!"

Junior's eyes lit up "Thank you so much dad. You're the best" he said as he bolted out of the room.

The evening came fast and soon enough the family were on their way to the fair. Detective Parker had an amazing plan in mind. He would take the family to the fair, leave the kids in the hands of their mother and grab a seat by a corner. Once they were done, he would drive them home and that would be it. As a detective he learnt never to let his guard down because the last time he did, it ended with his daughter in a hospital bed and he was never going to let that happen under his watch. Never again!

“We are here!” Detective Parker announced, looking as cheerful as he could be.

“Yeah!” his son and daughter said in unison.

“So you kids know the drill. Have fun, lots of fun and stick with your mother. If you see anything suspicious, what do you do?”

“We come to you directly”

“That is right my lovelies. Daddy would be right by that corner” Detective Parker pointed at the corner.

He gave both the kids a peck on their heads, gave his wife a light kiss and watched as they walked away happily. He trudged towards the corner and took a seat. The colour fairgrounds reminded him so much of his childhood. He always came here with his father as his mother wasn't in the picture at the time. The familiar aroma of cotton candy hung in the air, tempting his taste buds but he couldn't indulge. He was a grownup and he had to be on alert.

Detective Parker was still actively watching every figure closely when a very peculiar figure approached him in a haste. It was Junior. Junior ran like he had seen a ghost. His mom did not accompany him nor did his sister. On reaching his father, he spent a few seconds catching his breath.

“Junior, what's the matter? Where are your mom and sister? Are they okay?” Detective Parker asked, his voice shaky.

Junior looked up at his dad with worry in his eyes “Dad, mom and Evelyn are both fine but something is amiss?”

Detective Parker heaved a sigh of relief. “What could possibly be amiss Junior?

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“It's the fairground prizes Dad. They have gone missing” Junior sounded distressed.

“How do you know this?”

“I played the ball toss game and emerged winner but the referee couldnt find my gift. He searched everywhere and still didn't find anything. He reached out to his colleague to borrow a gift and it turns out that the colleague couldn't find any of his gifts either.

“So this only means two things, they never had any gifts or someone stole the gifts. Take me to the referee.”

Junior and his dad walked to the game station and on arrival Detective Parker asked for a word with the referee.

“Good day Sir, I am detective Parker. I hear you are the referee of this game. Correct?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Great. So, can you honestly tell me what happened with the gifts? Were there any gifts to start with?”

The referee hesitated for a bit. Took a glance at his left and right sides before speaking up “This year, the funds for the fair were limited and as such we couldn't get gifts for the kids. However, we still gave them hope”

“And by hope you mean false hope? Mr. referee, it is always best to operate honestly. The kids love these games and would willingly pay to play even without incentive. I hope you retrace your steps before it's too late.”

Thank you sir were the last words he heard from the referee’s mouth as he walked away.

“Ready to go home?” he asked his family as he met up with them. They all nodded in agreement.

"But dad, what about the gift?" Junior asked.

“I would get you a well deserved gift for emerging the winner Junior and we could also grab ice cream on our way home. Deal?”

“Deal” The kids chorused. He watched as their eyes lit up. They all walked towards their red convertible BMW. It was one long day and Detecter Parker was glad he got to spend it with his family.

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Love🤍

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