The Moonstone Battle

By Rajesh Kumar

Rajesh Kumar is an extremely prolific Tamil novel writer, most famous for his crime, detective, and science fiction stories. Since publishing his first short story "Seventh Test Tube" in Kalkandu magazine in 1968, he has written over 1,500 short novels and over 2,000 short stories.

Many of his detective novels feature the recurring characters Vivek and Rubella. He continues to publish at least five novels every month, in the pocket magazines Best Novel, Everest Novel, Great Novel, Crime Novel, and Dhigil Novel, besides short stories published in weekly magazines like Kumudam and Ananda Vikatan. His writing is widely popular in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in Sri Lanka.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pustaka Digital Media
• Release date: Aug 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9789352850082

Book preview

http://www.pustaka.co.in

The Moonstone Battle

Author:

Rajesh Kumar

Translated by:

Sureshkumar Dhandapani

For more books

http://www.pustaka.co.in/home/author/rajesh-kumar-novels

Digital/Electronic Copyright © by Pustaka Digital Media Pvt. Ltd.

All other copyright © by Author.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 1

The Golden Brown Honda city entered the gate of the Whispering Stream, a four star hotel and stopped at the entrance. A waiter quickly ran towards front door and opened it. Gowtham, aged around 30, well dressed in a blazer, T-shirt and a jean emerged out from the driver seat with a small brief case. Another waiter came forward, wrote the car number and handed him the Valet parking card.

He started walking through the corridor that was well illuminated and passed through the reception. A sign board read ‘Bar’ and showed the direction of the bar. His semi-casual shoes made noise while he walked. A smiling waiter in the entrance of the bar welcomed him with a ‘Good Evening’ and opened the door for him. Gowtham obliged with a ‘Hi’ and entered in.

The bar, as always, was less illuminated unlike the corridor. The music system was playing Rihanna’s  ‘Its not even my Birthday’, a bit louder. Gowtham stood and looked around for a place to sit. The bar was almost empty as it was an early evening. A couple was seen sitting too close for the air to separate them. They had wine glasses in front of them and weren’t disturbed by Gowtham’s arrival through the entrance. The center of the bar was bright where one of the bartender was seen talking to a waiter.

Gowtham walked to one of the corners of the bar, occupied a seat and placed his briefcase to his left. He pulled out a Marlboro pack from his blazer pocket, picked a cigar from the bunch and his lips held the cigar straight. When he put his hands back again into his pocket for a lighter, a waiter dressed in black shirt and black trousers reached his desk.

Good evening sir.. Can I take your order now sir

Gowtham looked at him and gave him a casual smile.

One Jack Daniels small please

Sure sir.. with Soda?

That’s right

Once the waiter moved, he took the lighter and gave life to the cigar. The lit up cigar started to emit smokes in the next few seconds. Couple of minutes passed and the waiter came back with a tray. He bent down placed the glass that had the whiskey on the table.

Sir… Can I add soda?

Yes Please

The waiter dissolved the soda with the whiskey. After few seconds, Gowtham picked up the glass and took the first sip. The whiskey traversed through his throat and drenched the liver. He placed the glass and gasped a puff from his cigar. The waiter came to him again.

Sir… Would you need any side dishes?

What are the options in Chicken?

How about Lollipop Chicken?

Yes.. Get one please

Sure sir…

When the waiter turned around to leave the table, Gowtham called him.

Excuse me ?

Sir?

I need to go for a wash. Can you let me know where the wash room is?

The wash room is in the backside. You go out of the bar and take a left

Ok..Shall I will leave my briefcase here

Sure you can… But make sure that you don’t have any valuables

It doesn’t have any valuables

That’s fine then

Gowtham stood and started moving towards the entrance. He opened the door, turned to his left and walked towards the wash room. The wash room was at his right and he stopped at the entrance. He turned around to check whether anyone is watching him and he kept walking straight.

He stopped when he saw a staircase. The staircase led to the floors above. Again, he looked around to double check that he was not watched and started to climb the stairs.

Gowtham stopped when he reached the second floor. He saw the signboards to reach to the room numbers, had a look and started to walk to his left. He browsed through the doors and stopped when he reached the room number 222. The corridor was in complete silence and the only noise heard was the one from the AC vents.

He pressed the calling bell and heard the bell from inside. The door handle was typically of the old style, moved down and the door opened. A young lady was behind the door and she floated a smile instantaneously.

Hey Gowtham…Good to see you... come in

Gowtham responded with a smile and entered in.

How was your flight journey Manisha?

Was fine…Thanks

I thought of picking you at airport, but couldn’t as my lunch was heavy. The lunch compelled me to take a nap and my wife didn’t wake me up at the right time

That is ok. Take your seat

While he sat on the bed, the conversation floated seamlessly.

How is Bombay’s diamond market Manisha?

Going great and I should say it is in its peak

Did you bring the Moonstone?

Yes

Can I see that quickly?

Looks like you are in a hurry today

I have a deal with a customer and in a hurry to complete the business as soon as possible

Who is that customer?

Kanyalal

Cost?

The same amount that we discussed over phone

Fifty Crores?

Yes

How did Kanyalal agree to this deal? That too without even looking at the Moonstone

He has heard about Moonstone already and moreover he gave me the accurate specifications of it. 10 grams and 12.03 carats hard solid diamond from the Moonstone family. No bargains and he agreed for the price that I offered. Personally, I haven’t seen a Moonstone diamond either. This increased my curiosity to have a look at the master piece

Manisha giggled.

I am not surprised. Obviously, Moonstone creates such curiosity. It is a rare and valuable stone that originated from the King of Nepal. It escaped multiple hands before reaching me.

Don’t just talk…. Please show me the diamond

Manisha moved to the area where she had her suit case. She opened it and pulled out a velvet box. Without opening it, she looked at Gowtham with a smile. Gowtham couldn’t wait.

Gowtham… Can you show me your palm?

Gowtham showed Manisha his right hand palm. She opened the box and slid the box upside down. The Moonstone which was less than a centimeter in diameter fell in his palm. The moment the diamond was out, the room was spread with additional light from the glittering. Gowtham was astonished to see the impact that the diamond had created.

Wow… I don’t have words

"Do you know something? You need not worry during power cuts. You will have to just place this