The Serpent's Cane

By Mehmood Rehman

After the bomb blast ten years ago, everyone thought S.S was dead until 10 years later, when a case links S.S back in the loop as Detective Ray accidentally lands on a clue. A clue that can solve the oil-spill case and save his clients but maybe drag Ray into the cobweb of S.S. Will Ray succeed like always or will this case be his career's biggest challenge or the last challenge? Find out as the events unfold in this gripping mystery thriller. A duel of two maestros. Both ethical in their own ways but in a fight of survival, one must step down or get stepped down...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781716578748

Book preview

Vegetables

Acknowledgment

Iwould like to acknowledge the God Almighty for providing me the capability to imprint my writer brain and ethical conscience on paper. Thanks to all from the depths of my heart.

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction . Names, characters, businesses, events, cities, countries and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual person’s living or dead or actual events is purely coincidental.

Note From the Author

They say it is the first step that is the hardest of all. This first book of mine has personally taught me so much, and it would be an injustice if I try to describe it all in mere words. But few of the things I would like to share are: Commitment, motivation, not giving up, creativeness.

As for the novel itself, it is a situation of the wealthy and the way they hide their heinous practices. It shows the futile resources at the hands of the departments to really catch the big fishes. It is to show that in a company of bad men, the one at the bottom are usually the first pickings. This novel will show you the ways most influential people operate in the background while being an iconic image for the public on the screens. Hope this mystery is a good read for you. It can be made into a part two, but for that please let me know in the reviews. Thank you, enjoy the read!

Introduction

Bango read the headlines . Ray could see him going inferno once again just like he did a while ago.

I think you know by now, don’t you Bango? Samuel added.

You did this, didn’t you? Mr. Ray, did he do all this? Bango asked infuriated, adrenaline rushing throughout him, his veins popping on the right side of his forehead.

Bango, relax! Keep your thumbs in your palms, Ray tried to tame the brawny Bango.

However, Bango had his own plans. All of a sudden, Bango had become a raging lion ready for the kill. Without thinking, he sprang up like a flying squirrel and pounced on S.S. What followed was a shot in his chest. Bango fell to the floor with a thud. Ray could not believe his eyes, showing baffled expressions. Samuel had shot Bango from his cane. A cane? He had seen classic canes with swords in them before, but this was as innovative as it could get.

Bango was a husky athletic man. He reached for Samuel by his hands to cover some distance. Samuel went into attack mode like some jolt of a lightning bolt, scattering too quick for the human eye to follow as he pushed the Ruby planted on the serpent’s head on the cane once again. The sound was horrendous. It echoed throughout the room. Ray had almost gone deaf, but had saved his sight to see Bango fall to the floor like a baby sparrow from its nest, flying for the first time. He lay there still, with blood oozing out of his chest. He was given a swift death after all. S.S. stood on top of Bango, shaking his head as if he had come for the condolence.

A sheer talent gone to a complete waste, he declared still looking at the hitman.

Ray decided it was now or never. He was given a distraction. Picking up the fruit basket, he hurled it at Samuel’s head. Samuel countered the attack with his out of the world cane. Ray had just created a void, a point of dominance over the formidable foe. He speared Samuel to the ground. Finally, the wrestling moves from his past classes had proven effective. After some searching, he found no other weapons on Samuel except the cane, which was in Ray’s custody now.

Detective, it is a pity to lose you this way. I had given you the stars but you wish for the mud instead. You think you can kill me and get out alive? S.S. gave out a cackle of mockery. For the first time since their conversation started, there was a shift in body language of Samuel.

You know what they say about dead snakes right? I am that snake Samuel. Your men will kill me now, so I prefer to have someone to negotiate with the devil. Let’s go, shall we? Ray replied back fully confident now. The cane must have some powers adhered to it as Ray felt Herculean. Maybe it was a gift from some African Voodoo tribe.

Let’s go then. Shoot me before my men vaporize you, Samuel challenged Ray in disgust.

Ray pushed the Ruby. There was that horrendous sound once again. He put the cane down and grabbed Samuel by his chest. He eyed Samuel as if he had seen the angel of death.

As you said yourself a few seconds ago detective, a dead snake is still poisonous, S.S. stood up, brushing off the blood as if it was some track dirt on his white shirt and the blue suit. So long detective. We had quite a chat, I must say. I wished a good life for you, but you chose this one for yourself. We could have done great things together. I will definitely miss you Mr. Ray. Here! Consider this as the parting gift from me.

Samuel had kneeled down and put a gold biscuit in Ray’s pocket, rising up again to leave the room. Ray heard Samuel in an amplified voice as he began losing his visuals and the audibles. As Ray lay still on the floor, gasping for air and near to death, he saw Samuel pick up his cane and leave. As he did so, he heard him order someone.

Show them to the mud, gentlemen.

Helen

Rayce R. Flynn was a Sr. detective for the Easton High County Police Station, USA. Blue-eyed, blond sleek hair and a jawbone inspired from the Romans. Had he not been a detective, he would have had a fair chance at modelling. He also kept his relationship status to single. Very few knew the reason for such anomaly.

There was a rumor about his wife dying from a queer affliction, which had tampered her brain into acting aggressive like the wild-animals, even attacking viciously, enough to kill someone. The doctors had decided to give her the sleeping pill as they had no cure for her illness. But Ray could not let that happen to her love of life. He had instead taken her home after a forced discharge from the hospital.

Things were merry like the white snow on the steps in Christmas time once Helen and Ray began rejoicing their days together. Helen had started to recover and according to Ray, she was jovial about her life’s every second. To celebrate her health, Ray decided to surprise her. He did so by planning a trip to the Himalayas.

They had rented out a fine guesthouse and would use the afternoons to ski and the nights for candle light dinners. All was going Romeo until one night, when Ray woke up from his sleep to find Helen missing from the room.

The room was a mess, with shattered lamps and chairs broken into dichotomous figures and shapes. It looked like a bear had attacked the room and left the debris as a receipt. The door was open, bringing in a chilly breeze which sent shivers down Ray’s spine. He packed himself up and got outside into the dark. It was a dark night, with no signs of the moon nor the stars.

He went to the reception first to ask about her. The attendant told him what he did not want to hear; he had not seen her. Ray searched the halls, the TV lounge and all the floors in panic but to no avail.

He finally informed the attendant about his missing wife. The attendant called the security guards and the search had begun.

After half an hour of search around the hotel and its outskirts, the teams came back with a negative report. But Ray was a stubborn lover. He headed out into the snow on his own. Two guards accompanied him as they searched into the wilderness. It was many negatives below zero and the snow had gone dry as well. Although, Ray could not feel the cold in such emotional state, the guards shivered for every step they took forward.

A shoe sir! shouted one of the guards.

Ray and the other guard hurried to the site.

It’s hers, Ray confirmed with sadness. The cold out here was penetrating through all the fleece on the body. Without it, it was impossible to survive even for a minute, let alone one hour if that was how long she had been out here.

Sir! I’m sorry but there is no chance...

Shut up! Let’s keep searching, Ray ordered.

The guards kept quiet and moved on, following their distressed guest. They all searched in vain until they came to a huge boulder, where there was a figure lying in the snow; facing down. Ray hurried to the body, which was more of an ice-cube than somebody.

He turned it around to face him. The snow had coated over the face, but Ray could spot Helen without any intensive effort. Tears rolled down his face as he wept like a baby, while hugging her tightly.

Helen...why—wha’—-but——you... Ray murmured gibberish to express his emotions, still not letting go of her frozen lover.

The guards stood helpless as they saw two lovers depart from each other in the saddest form of separation. One of the guards gathered up some courage to intervene after he had called the ambulance.

Sir! Let us get her to some doctors, maybe she will recover. He pretended there was still a chance.

Ray had lost it completely. He was addled and could not use logic like he did in other similar crime scenes. She was the only person he had in his life. Destiny must have a special grudge against her. First the illness, followed by a horrid death.

Soon, there were sirens from the ambulance. The body was taken to the nearest medical center and declared dead. Cause of the death was exposure to unbearable temperatures. The foot without the shoe was an epitome of a black-mamba bitten area; pitch dark in nature. The trip which he had decided would provide Helen a rejuvenation to her life, had transformed into an eventide for her.

This incident had changed Ray. He was not normal after that day. It was just like the shift of color on chameleon’s skin, but a permanent one. He had taken six months off to amend his broken heart from clusters to chunks. Ray could not feel the air of the city same as before, when Helen was around.

When he rejoined, his friends at the police station suggested him a transfer. There was a case given to Ray by the State. A case only Ray could solve if it were to be cracked. Therefore, for the first time ever, he took his friends word and his new case as the reason, deciding to accept the transfer.

Thus, he landed one foggy afternoon at Easton High International Airport, leaving the city of his love and the abysmal doleful reminiscence as well, which he had left at the boarding counters of JFK airport. There was an officer sent for him in uniform, who escorted him to his new residence.

He relaxed the night and could not wait for the next day at the office. It had been a while since he had been in office after Helen’s aching demise. For him, now it was only work that mattered and he gave it his all to solve cases people feared to even read the headlines about.

After some days at his new office, Ray got used to it and considered it his new abode. One could usually find him in his study at the office. Yes, he had this place refurbished to suit his needs. He was a bizarre character for his subordinates due to his reserved nature, but they were all ears for his excursions across the country.

Ray had served in numerous states due to his cracking the crackers of notorious cases, which he took as blessings. A man with the most medals and awards, Ray was declared the best detective in the country. He was a man of words and candor amongst his seniors. His transfers usually resulted from high profile cases he took occasionally or when he was appointed by the State.

At Easton High, he had managed to survive a month without being a nuisance to the mafias. However, he had a tingling sensation of something big coming his way. It always did for him as destiny never had a point of assent with him.