7. Letters from SOS

James went to the commissioner’s office that evening. He already knew the Chennai commissioner. He was DD’s friend. James didn’t take Rudran along with him. After an hour long wait, James was called into Commissioner’s room. The board on his table read Mr. Stephen Churchill.

“Hello James! Welcome to my office. How is your job as private detective?” , asked Stephen.

“Uncle Steve, I didn’t come to discuss all that. I want to get the details regarding my dad’s case”, replied James.

“James this has been the trickiest case I have come across in my life. The murder seems to be a very well pre-planned murder. Ever since your Dad wrote the religion book, he had been getting lot of threatening calls. DD ignored these calls. Even we have been receiving calls and letters that DD would be killed. We offered police protection. DD didn’t agree. He died”, narrated Stephen.

“Leave the phone calls. I want to see the letters that were written to your department”, said James.

Stephen called a PC standing outside his room and instructed him with some orders. After a couple of minutes all the letters were brought and handed over to James.

James went through the letters one by one and one letter caught his attention.

The letter read:

Threat to Doctor Dhananjay!

“I'm wise, sensible, red-hot fury.

I would kill him before his son saves his property.

Ya! Foe chauvinism.”

- SOS

I'm feeble, polite ogre.

PS: This is my last letter to you. I will continue my quest after killing Doctor Dhananjay. I will give you a clue in DD’s home.

I had previously sent a letter to you. Have you solved it?

James thought this person was the man behind the murder. He was sure that it was a man from the handwriting in the letter. It was his inner feeling telling him. The poem in that letter was quite confusing. James couldn’t get the meaning of the poem. SOS is the name chosen by the person who wrote the letter to hide his identity (or may be mark his identity) and he had given an oxymoron under his name. An ogre is a dangerous creature which is very strong and rude, James had already known about ogres by reading lord of the rings. James was searching for the other letter from SOS. It was not there. James showed the letter to the commissioner and told “You were careless. Though we couldn’t understand this letter completely, it was pretty serious”.

Commissioner said, “We receive many such letters. What do you expect us to do? We offered protection to your dad. He didn’t want it.”

James asked, “I want to search all the letters that you have received.”

Commissioner replied, “Do you want to find the other letter from SOS.”

James said, “Yes. I want to see what he had said in his other letter.”

Commissioner said, “You need not waste time searching James. It is with me only. It contained a puzzle. A very strange letter it was, I am still unable to solve the puzzle”. He took that letter from a file in his table and handed it over to James.

“It’s a nine letter word – 123456789

If it fails you will die.

If you have 234 you can 1234.

56 is a disease.

We 789 to live.

I am going to kill the person who helped certain people whose

123456789 was affected.

Certainly, not for saving their lives.

Save him if you could solve this puzzle”

- SOS

I'm feeble, polite ogre.

This is definitely a very big challenge for James. ‘What was that word?’, James was thinking hard.