It was a bright Sunday morning when Jonathan and his friends decided to spend the time with his father, Alfred Bates, the famous detective. Jon’s friend Anthony assembled all in the dining room where they had breakfast, before they gained the courage to ask a well-rehearsed question.

“When was the last time you lost a case, Mr Bates?” Anthony asks the detective.

“Losing isn’t a bad thing,” Bates replies while reading the newspaper. “Don’t make it sound as if it is.”

“Oh, he meant when was the last time you were unable to solve a case, Dad,” Jonathan chips in with an explanation.

“Let me think,” the detective says as he closes his eyes to go down the memory lane. “A few years back … that was an interesting one.”

“What was it about?”

“A kidnapping?”

“You failed to recover the kid?”

“No, we did recover the kid.”

“Then how was it a loss?”

“As I said earlier, it’s not about losing but admitting your fault,” Bates says as he explains to the youngsters around him. “It happened when the whole precinct and I were busy in the high profile case, the son of Mr John Garner was abducted.”

“The famous film actor?”

“Yes Anthony, and now he is a film director,” Bates says as he continues the discussion. “His son was kidnapped and we were trying our level best to search for him. I went to his house and interrogated all but I felt there was something awkward. I didn’t know until it was too late.”

“Who was the kidnapper? Did you get the wrong guy?” an agitated Jon asks his father.

“No. We got the right one.”

“Then how was it a loss?”

“We should have got to him earlier.”

“What happened?”

“You know Jim, my colleague,” Bates replies to his son first, and later to the group. “He and I spoke to the help at Garner’s house and found all to be normal. When we came out, I noticed that the footprints outside the room of the kid were fresh. We followed them to the bunker outside the house but when we went in, it was empty.”

“Who keeps a bunker outside their house?”

“Old houses have underground bunkers Jon,” Bates continues. “Mr Garner’s house was sort of a palace. Anyway, the bunker looked like it was used recently and we asked the manager who had the keys. He gave me three names, two of whom were still in the house.”

“Who wasn’t?”

“That was our mistake,” Bates says, snapping his fingers at the kids. “We went out to find the third guy whereas it was one of the two who were involved in the kidnapping.”

“How did you find out?”

“While searching for the third guy, Jim noticed that his torch was gone. He went back to the bunker to retrieve it. When he didn’t come back, I followed him back and saw him lying there unconscious.”

“The kidnapper came back?”

“Yes, he did as he thought we might be long gone. Jim surprised him and that helped us.”

“Helped us how?”

“I followed him in the car and when we intercepted him, it turned out to be the cook. Garner’s son was found in the trunk, asleep.”

“Why did he kidnap him?”

“The cook wanted to be an actor and through this act wanted to divert Garner’s attention — which he got but when he was behind the bars.”

“So that’s a win, right?”

“It is but we got to learn something from that incident.”

“And that was?”

“Always consider all possibilities, before making a decision,” Bates says with a wink. “For us, there was a young kid’s life at stake; for you it might be something else.”

“One thing though,” Jonathan concludes. “I wouldn’t consider it a loss!”

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 22nd, 2016