Maplewood was a small town where people knew each other, cows walked slowly on the road, and life moved like a lazy river. There were no big buildings, no fast trains, and definitely no murder.

At 7:00 a.m., the day began like every other.

Mrs. Pinto opened her tea shop.

She was in her 60s, wore round glasses, and made the best ginger tea in town.

“Good morning, Arjun,” she said as a young man walked in with messy hair and a sleepy smile.

“Same tea?” she asked, already pouring.

“Extra sugar, please,” Arjun replied, sitting in the corner with his sketchbook.

Old Mr. Sharma was already at the counter, complaining about the price of onions again. Two kids ran by, laughing about a math test. The smell of hot samosas filled the air.

Everything was normal.

Until it wasn’t.

At exactly 7:32 a.m., a scream came from the park behind the tea shop.

It wasn’t just a scream — it was the kind that makes your heart stop.

Mrs. Pinto dropped her teacup.

Arjun stood up quickly.

“What was that?”

People ran toward the park. It was quiet, almost too quiet. The birds had stopped singing.

And there, under the big old banyan tree — a man was lying on the ground.

Still. Silent.

He was around 30. His eyes were open, but he wasn’t blinking. He wasn’t breathing.

And around his neck was a bright red scarf.

“Call the police!” someone shouted.

Officer Veer arrived within minutes. He was young but serious. He quickly blocked off the area.

“No one goes near the body,” he ordered.

The man had no ID, no phone, no wallet.

His pockets were empty. There was no blood. No injury. Only a note in his hand.

It had one word:

“Sorry.”

“Was this suicide?” Veer whispered.

“But who brings a red scarf to a park… to die?”

By afternoon, the town was buzzing.

“I think he was poisoned!”

“No, no. It’s a message. A warning!”

“My cousin said he’s from the city. Some big businessman!”

People talked. They always did.

But one whisper was louder than the rest.

“We need her.”

Another replied, “You mean… Detective Monika?”

“She solved the Hill Town Hospital case in one night!”

“She found that missing girl through just a broken shoe print!”

“She’s so smart. And beautiful!”

“My son wants to marry her,” someone joked.

Far away, in a city where cars beeped nonstop and people walked fast, a woman stood at her window.

She wore a black coat, had sharp eyes, and a notebook always in her hand.

Her phone rang.

She answered without looking.

“Yes. I heard. Maplewood, right?”

The voice on the phone said:

“We have a red scarf and a dead man. No answers.”

She smiled softly.

“Send me the photos.”

She closed her notebook and picked up her coat.

Detective Monika S. Rao was on her way.

But Maplewood didn’t know her yet.

And the real story was just beginning.

🧣 To be continued in Chapter 2: “The Girl in the Mirror”

That night, Maplewood was not sleeping.

The trees stood still. The air was heavy. Even the moon seemed to hide behind clouds.

The news of the dead man spread like wildfire.

Everyone had one question:

Who was he?

Mrs. Pinto couldn’t stop shaking. She had lived in Maplewood her whole life. Never saw a dead body before.

“I saw him this morning,” she kept saying. “He passed the shop. I thought he was just a traveler.”

But no one knew him. No one had seen his face before.

No family came forward. No phone rang to ask about him. Nothing.

Inside the police station, Officer Veer sat with a cold cup of tea.

He looked tired. Confused. Angry.

He opened the little note again.

“Sorry.”

Why would a dead man leave a note like that? Was he guilty of something? Or was someone else guilty?

Veer looked through the CCTV footage from the park.

But the video was broken. Static. No help at all.

He felt like the answers were hiding… laughing at him.

That’s when he made the call.

He dialed a number from a special file marked:

“In case of unusual crimes.”

Far away in the city, Monika picked up.

“This is Officer Veer,” he said. “From Maplewood.”

“I know,” Monika replied calmly. “You found a body with a red scarf. I saw the photo.”

“You… did?” Veer was surprised.

“I’ll be there in the morning,” she said, and hung up.

While that call happened, in a small house near the edge of town, a girl named Reeva sat on her bed. Her eyes were wide open. Her fingers were cold.

She had seen something.

That morning, she had skipped class and gone to the park to take photos of butterflies. She loved photography. She wanted to become a wildlife photographer one day.

But instead of butterflies… she saw a man in a red scarf.

He was alive then. Sitting on the bench. Talking to someone.

Reeva hid behind a tree.

She saw the other person — tall, dark coat, and something shiny near their face. Maybe a scar?

She didn’t see the face clearly. But she saw the scarf being pulled — gently. Almost like a warning.

Then Reeva ran. She was scared. She thought it was just a fight.

Now that man was dead.

And she had said nothing.

She looked into her mirror.

Her own face looked pale. Weak.

She whispered, “Should I go to the police? But… what if they don’t believe me? What if the other person saw me?”

Suddenly, her phone buzzed.

A message. From a number she didn’t know.

“You saw something. Stay quiet. If you speak, you’ll regret it.”

Reeva gasped. She dropped the phone.

Tears filled her eyes.

But then… her fear turned into fire.

She opened her sketchbook and drew what she saw.

The red scarf man…

And beside him, the shadow with a scar.

The next morning, Monika would arrive.

And Reeva knew one thing:

She had to talk to her.

Because Monika wasn’t just a detective.

She was hope.

🧩 To be continued in Chapter 3: “Footprints and Fingerprints”

The morning air in Maplewood felt different.

It wasn’t the usual fresh breeze.

It was heavy.

Like the town was holding its breath.

At exactly 9:00 a.m., a long black car stopped near the tea shop.

The door opened… and out stepped Detective Monika S. Rao.

She wore a deep maroon coat, black boots, and round sunglasses.

She didn’t walk — she moved like she knew the truth was already waiting.

People stared. Children pointed. A teenager whispered, “She looks like someone from a Netflix series!”

Mrs. Pinto came out of her tea shop holding a tray of tea but stopped midway.

Her mouth was open. “So young… and so serious.”

But Monika didn’t smile. Not yet.

She went straight to the park.

---

Under the old banyan tree, the police had closed the area. Yellow tape surrounded the spot where the body had been found.

Monika knelt down quietly.

The dry leaves hadn’t been cleaned. Good.

She scanned the ground with sharp eyes. Then turned to Officer Veer.

“Did you check under the bench?” she asked calmly.

“We did. Nothing was there.”

She didn’t reply. Instead, she pulled a pen from her coat and gently lifted the corner of the bench seat.

Her fingers stopped.

There, hidden in the shadows, was a small plastic packet.

Inside — a folded piece of paper.

She opened it slowly.

Everyone leaned in.

It wasn’t a letter.

It was a map.

But not of the park.

Not of Maplewood.

It was a rough sketch of a train station.

“Someone was planning to go somewhere,” she murmured, “or… was trying to make us think that.”

---

Not far from there, Reeva walked nervously toward the police station.

Her sketchbook was hugged tightly to her chest.

She had made up her mind.

She needed to talk to the detective. She needed to show her what she saw.

Reeva had barely slept.

All night she kept seeing that man’s face.

The red scarf.

The shadow behind the bench.

The scar on the face of the second figure.

Her hands were shaking, but she kept walking.

---

At the park, Monika stood up and looked around.

She noticed something strange. The dirt path behind the tree had two sets of footprints.

One deep, heavy, walking straight.

One light and small — like someone had stood there and then turned away quickly.

She pulled out her notebook and sketched the pattern.

Officer Veer watched, amazed.

“She finds things we don’t even notice,” he thought.

---

At that moment, Reeva arrived at the scene.

She saw Monika from a distance — tall, calm, and glowing with confidence.

But as she stepped forward, she tripped on a loose stone and fell.

Her sketchbook flew from her hands.

Monika walked over silently, picked it up, and flipped it open.

She saw Reeva’s drawing — the man in the red scarf, and the shadow with the scar.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“You saw this?” she asked.

Reeva nodded, nervous. “I didn’t know what to do… I was scared.”

“You’re brave to come here,” Monika said gently. “What you’ve drawn… might change everything.”

---

Back at the station, Monika gave her orders.

“Send this sketch to the lab. Get me the list of people who traveled from Maplewood Station in the last 7 days. And Veer… tell your team: trust no one. Not even the ones who smile too much.”

Officer Veer nodded. She was in charge now.

---

That evening, Monika sat alone at the tea shop.

Mrs. Pinto brought her tea without asking.

“You’re not what I expected,” she said. “You’re even better.”

Monika gave her the smallest smile.

Then her phone buzzed.

A message from a hidden number:

“You’re clever, Miss Detective. But not clever enough.”

She stared at it, then typed back just three words:

“We’ll see soon.”

---

🧣 To be continued in Chapter 4: “The Shadow with the Scar”

---