DOA Detective Files

Sonja Chandrachud

Description

Chief architect of the Taj Mahal, Ustad Ahmed Lahauri has been kidnapped, leaving work on the construction unfinished. Emperor Shah Jahan now has to find a new architect for his dream project. But the ghost of his dead empress, Mumtaz Mahal, is determined not to let any other architect work on her mausoleum. She summons the DOA detectives and commands them to find the missing architect before it''s too late and she''s saddled with as hideous tomb for eternity.Soon the detectives discover that there is much more to the Ustad''s disappearance than a mere kidnapping. There is a traitor in the imperial court who will stop at nothing till he fulfils his evil designs! Who could it be? Will the detectives be able to stop his wicked plans? Will they be able to ensure that the magnificent Taj Mahal gets built?

Informations

• Publié par: Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd
• Date de parution: 08 septembre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9788184755039
• Langue: English

Extrait

SONJA CHANDRACHUD

PUFFIN BOOKS
Contents
About the Author
Dedication
DOA Detective Agency, Asia HQ, Mumbai ki 13th Bogey
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
A Note on the Taj Mahal and the Mughals
DOA Detectives Dhamaka Dossier
Acknowledgements
Copyright Page
PUFFIN BOOKS
TROUBLE AT THE TAJ
Dubbed the Desi Rowling , Potion of Eternity and Pearls of Wisdom are Sonja s first two novels in the much-loved Hilarious Hauntings Adventures book series.
Her latest series- DOA Detective Files -takes you deep into ancient historical times where cryptic curses, mysterious murders and lost treasures beckon.
Born in Mumbai, Sonja has lived in Africa, Middle East and USA. Copywriter, columnist and now children s writer, she currently resides in Pune, India with her three rambunctious children, a golf crazy husband, Cheetos the frisky family cat and madcap friends, always hoping to travel the world through her stories. She truly believes that a sense of humour makes life sparkle and that a bit of dreaming can make magic happen! To know more about her, visit her at www.sonjachandrachud.com
To History and All Its Mysteries!

DOA Detective Agency, Asia HQ, Mumbai ki 13th Bogey
Dear Aspiring Snoop,
Greetings! Welcome to the Dead or Alive Detective Agency Case Files.
Now that you have bravely decided to stick your nose in other people s shady business, be prepared for some serious mystery and mayhem. There s quite a bit of that floating around our world, I assure you. Ancient treasures. Cryptic curses. Lost Scrolls It s mind-boggling. Anyway, before you go rushing reading how the DOA detectives solved this particular case, let me introduce the DOA gang who were brave enough to answer my newspaper ad:
Can you read people s thoughts? Do your dreams come true?
Can you get in and out of forbidden places without getting caught?
Can you jump from a turret without breaking your bones?
And finally, are you obsessed with history, mystery and magic?
Then you are just the person we re looking for
Dial 1-800-DOA-DETECTIVES to set up an interview. Come well prepared to demonstrate the three most important skills a detective must have-deduction, action and intuition. No references required. Two passport size photographs. Adults do not apply.
Forty-eight hours of grilling over fifty applicants, I finally found the detectives I was looking for.
Chintan Desai: This portly, spectacled foodie nerd from Malabar Hills is a walking talking encyclopedia and a closet Houdini. But will he willingly use his powers to get the DOA gang out of danger? Or will he stick his nose up in the air and let them down?
Katrina: This frizzy haired jeb katri from the alleys of Dharavi is a desi Charlie s Angel who happily flings herself off the highest ledges, delivers lethal karate kicks, dives into the deepest waters without batting an eyelid. But the one thing she fears the most is dark, dingy tunnels.
Pagal Pappu: This shy, scrawny, spiky-haired urchin can read people s thoughts heck he can even read your cat s thoughts! What s more, his dreams have a way of coming true which makes him a rather unusual detective to have around.
Bandar: Pappu s pet is a whiz chimp. Show him any trick and he ll master it in minutes. All it takes to get this Bandar going is a bunch of bananas.
Tuk Tuk: the most unusual time machine of a rickshaw gifted by the crazy Maha Yogi (when I solved the Case of the Missing Mantras) which makes chasing wily villains through time and space so much fun!
PS: With the DOA gang in place at the HQ, I m on vacation somewhere on a sunny island nursing a broken heart thanks to a certain rival agent but that s really none of anyone s business. Do email any mystery that you chance upon to [e-mail] and the DOA gang will look into it right away. So have fun reading this whodunit as much as the gang enjoyed solving it!
Yours truly, Madame X
Chapter One

It was midnight
The shadowy white form hesitated, looked around the deserted railway station and peered at the slip of paper intently. Find the DOA Detective Agency, Asia HQ, Mumbai ki 13th Bogey. On orders of the Empress of the World. Mumtaz Mahal.
Where is this place? I ve looked everywhere!
Two hours of sneaking around Mumbai s numerous smelly railway stations had taken its toll. The apparition sank down to the tracks, exhausted. It was worse than trying to find a nose ring in a lotus pond!
This is not good. I have to find this place tonight! The empress will not take failure kindly, however forgiving she may be
It began gathering its ectoplasm together when suddenly, a strange warm feeling flooded its body, inexplicably pulling it towards a rundown bogey tucked at the end of the tracks. This must be the place! It floated up the rusted ladder glowing with excitement. Where does this go? And came to a round metal trapdoor with faint red writing: DOA Detective Agency, Asia HQ. Mumbai ki 13th Bogey . It stared at the sign intently trying to read it. This was hopeless! What on earth does it say? The apparition then noticed the curious mark on the door with a star in the middle. It matched the one on her paper. This must be it! This has to be the place. Well, there s only one way to find out Whoosh! It burst right through the door, landing in a splendidly furnished train compartment.
Help! Bachao! Who who are you? a body of frightened voices erupted.
The apparition hung frozen in shock at the sight of three petrified kids and a crazy looking monkey caught in the midst of a midnight feast.
Who the heck are these kids? They can t be detectives! The empress hadn t said anything about a bunch of kids. Maybe I ve got the place all mixed up after all. The apparition paled and dejectedly turned to leave, dropping the note on the floor.
Wait! Oye! Are you lost? yelled the scrawny, long-legged, frizzy-haired girl jumping to her feet. The fat, bespectacled boy quickly waddled over, picked up the note and was reading it intently. His skin prickled with excitement. It was written in a beautiful flowery script with letters that elongated and swooped into intricate curves. It was a note in Persian.
Hey! We re the ones you re looking for. We re the DOA detectives! he shouted excitedly, waving his arms. Katrina, come quick; let s get the Waters of the World. I think we ve just got our first mystery!
The apparition stopped dead in its tracks, scared by all the commotion around, and shrank into a corner of the bogey, wondering what to do.
A year ago, when fleeing from a villain, Madame X had chanced upon the abandoned bogey and discovered its immense undercover potential. She cleverly spread rumours about a mad headless ghost haunting the place. This made sure that no squatter would dare make this bogey his home. Within a week, she had transformed the rundown bogey no. 13 into the plush, well-furnished DOA headquarters.
From the inside, the DOA HQ was like any modern-day home. A kitchen filled with dirty dishes, a smelly bathroom, messy beds (actually berths, but you couldn t really tell), a well-worn couch to slouch on and watch TV, a computer buzzing in one corner and a wall lined with thousands of musty books. But it was the glass cupboard that made everyone s eyeballs pop.
Behind the locked glass was a shrivelled monkey s paw with a sign DOA Adventure Files Case no. 13 . A gold scarab beetle was flagged as DOA Royal Files Case no. 13 . DOA X Files Case no. 13 pointed to a misshapen yellow skull.
There s some really weird stuff here! The apparition looked around fearfully. What kind of person would collect all this?
All right motu, here we go! Katrina nimbly clambered on to the fat boy s shoulders, balancing herself. Okay Pappu, I m ready, now pull the emergency chain.
At this, Pappu whispered into Bandar s ear and the monkey swiftly swung upwards and yanked the emergency chain. A large hidden hatch popped open revealing a dusty battered suitcase.
Be careful Katrina, don t drop it! Chintan warned.
Do I look like an idiot, motu? she snarled, reaching for the battered Louis Vuitton suitcase and gently handing it over to Pappu.
Inside were rows of bottles: Waters of the World, collected by Madame X on her missions all over the globe.
One sip of these and you ll be jabbering nineteen to the dozen in the local language, she had proudly told them during their training. But remember, all waters must be re-filled . So, don t forget to fill up the bottle you use during your mission on your way out, before returning to Mumbai. As DOA detectives, you never know when you ll be called back again for another mystery. And there s nothing scarier than not being able to speak Ancient Mandarin when faced with the furious terracotta army!
Chintan swiftly snapped open the battered suitcase. Now this was the tricky part-choosing the right bottle; he stared at the note. One word was clear, Mumtaz . There was only one famous person by that name. It had to be her Chintan rummaged through the suitcase and pulled out a slender blue glass bottle that read Mughal Waters .
This should do the trick, he said and took a sip. Ewww ! The murky brown water tasted awful! It burned all the way down his throat, making his eyes water and his nose run. This better work, he thought, when suddenly Katrina snatched the bottle from his fingers and greedily took a gulp. Wait! Let s see if this works he yelled out. I m Chintan Desai, DOA detective and these he waved dismissively are the others All of a sudden, his voice changed rhythm