Case of Spontaneous Human Combustion

By Özer Mumcu

     Wealthy businessman Ray Fisher dies in a plane crash. His entire body was inexplicably burned. Ray's daughter, Kyla Fisher, claims that her father was murdered. She appeals to Major Boris Pavlov to investigate the incident. Pavlov asks his friend Prof. Simon Blake for help.

     Soon, the case reaches complex proportions, from international child abductions to illegal drugs, from domestic abuse to mysterious spontaneous combustion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Özer Mumcu
• Release date: Nov 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223707271

Book preview

by Ozer MUMCU

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Özer Mumcu was born in Tekirdağ in 1980. He completed his primary and secondary education at Tekirdağ Anatolian High School and Private Tekirdağ Science High School with a scholarship.  He graduated from Trakya University Electronic Communication Technology in 2003, Namık Kemal University Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Painting in 2020, and received a pedagogical formation certificate from Istanbul University in the same year. He completed his master's degree at NKU Faculty of Fine Arts in 2022.

Since his high school years, he has won various rankings and international rating from chess tournaments, which he started to participate in as a licensed player.

Since 2006, he has been working as a translator, chess coach and visual arts teacher in various institutions.

Copyright © Ozer Mumcu 2023

All of what is described in this book is fictitious.

Any similarities that may occur with real persons, institutions or events are coincidental.

INTRODUCTION

Sanliurfa, Turkey February 12th, 2023 at around 3:45 a.m., a black armored vehicle made its way through the streets of the hellish city and stopped in front of the remnants of what was an ordinary four-story apartment building until a week ago, which was now nothing more than a pile of stones, sand and iron.

Is this place?

Yes.

Alright, let's get in.

The burly, stubble-bearded man in his forties and the woman in her thirties with long blond hair quietly got out of the vehicle. Turning on their flashlights, they examined the wreckage of the building, first cursorily, then more carefully. It didn't take long for them to find what they were looking for.

Is he alive?

The blonde woman quickly removed the glove from her right hand and pressed two fingers against the neck of a two- or three-year-old boy, whose survival was not clear at first glance.

For now, yes. 

Good, hurry up...

On February 6th, 2023, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 occurred in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş at 04:17 and a magnitude of 7.6 occurred at 13:24 on the same day.

The earthquakes were felt intensely in the surrounding provinces, especially in Gaziantep, Hatay, Osmaniye, Adıyaman, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Malatya and Adana.  According to official statements made a few days after the event, there were more than four thousand aftershocks. Again, official statements said that thousands of buildings were completely destroyed, tens of thousands of people lost their lives, and hundreds of thousands of people were seriously injured.

According to some speculations, the official figures did not reflect the reality and the number of casualties actually reached hundreds of thousands. Some conspiracy theorists claimed that it was not possible for two earthquakes of this intensity to occur within a few hours of each other and that there were some unnatural elements involved.

One way or another, one of the greatest disasters of the century had occurred. In a matter of hours, eight provinces were almost wiped off the map.

The scene that emerged after the earthquake painfully revealed the extent of the destruction. Neighborhoods turned into piles of rubble testified to the merciless power of nature.

The loss of life was staggering.  The severity of the trauma they experienced could be read on the faces of the survivors. It wasn't just people's lives that the earthquake took. It had torn apart the fabric of society, exposing the fragility of even the most developed and prepared regions.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, those who were displaced from their homes had to face a bleak reality. Temporary shelters were set up, accommodating those who were left homeless. The most basic human needs have become luxuries. It was clear that the wounds inflicted by the disaster went deeper than the visible wreckage.  Emergency services, government agencies, volunteers responded to the incident. The capacities of the existing hospitals were not sufficient to provide medical care to all the wounded. For this reason, emergency treatment centers were quickly established, trying to cope with the influx of wounded. Search and rescue teams fought fiercely to pull survivors out from under the rubble.

In such an atmosphere, neither the armored vehicle with foreign license plates, nor the small children kidnapped by two black-clad people who got out of the vehicle attracted anyone's attention...

***

Baltimore International Airport,

Washington 22 June 2023

Ray Fisher, the boss of the Dreamgates Pictures media group, has been using his Eclipse 500 private jet for the past two years from time to time just for sightseeing.

Fisher was more eager than ever that day to take off his private jet, which was waiting in the section northeast of Baltimore Airport that was operated by the SRF and reserved for the private planes of certain individuals. In the early morning, as the sun began to scatter its bright rays along the runway, Ray Fisher approached his plane with proud steps. In his opinion, this state-of-the-art private jet was a marvel of modern aviation. He wasn't exaggerating. The plane's flowing fuselage, decorated with the logo of the owner's company, gave Ray a sense of power and grandeur.

The wealthy businessman, who is in his sixties, visualized the perfect body of Megan Cole, whom he had been with the night before, as he boarded his plane. He grinned to himself.  The wealthy media mogul had a busy and complex business life, encompassing the management of television networks, radio stations, publishing houses and digital platforms. His professional life required constantly meeting with high-profile executives, building business partnerships, discussing content, shaping brand identities in order to stay on top of the competition.  This kind of life was unhealthy in every sense of the word, and would be exhausting, if it weren't for some of the blessings it provided.

He and Megan had met at one of their usual meetings about six months ago and were together that same night. From that day on, they repeated it at regular intervals.

It had been almost eight years since Fisher lost his first wife, Bridget, to cancer. His current wife, Tabitha, started working for Ray while Bridget was still healthy and supported Ray in every way as he had a hard time after Bridget's illness became serious. Their relationship began to expand beyond a professional relationship while Bridget was still alive, resulting in the two marrying three months after Bridget died.

But after eight years, Ray could see no resemblance between the understanding, self-sacrificing woman he once knew and the Tabitha he had now. About Tabitha, who insulted her at every opportunity, talked back and forth about her 'husband' left and right, and lied all the time, he now regretted not listening to Kyla's warnings before marrying her. When his daughter Kyla, who was twenty years old at the time, told him that the woman's problem was money, Ray scolded her.

Now, he was pursuing another beautiful young woman to fill the void left inside him after Bridget's death and to repair his shattered ego.

Ray Fisher boarded his plane, which was equipped with state-of-the-art avionics systems. As he stepped into the luxurious interior, he admired the sumptuous furnishings and elaborate details. He wasn't sure if the admiration he felt was for the plane or for himself.

He moved into the cockpit and excitedly settled into the pilot's seat. After the final control lap and approvals from air traffic control, Ray steered the Eclipse 500 onto the runway. The engines came to life, the plane moved along the runway, slowly and then acceleratingly, and the wheels were elegantly disconnected from the ground.

About twenty minutes after starting the flight, Ray realized something was wrong. At first, he thought he had a technical problem. However, it only took him a few seconds to realize that the problem was not caused by the plane, the weather, or any external elements.

He seemed to have some kind of health problem. But he couldn't name it. This was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. First, he felt an inexplicable sensation in his spine, climbing up the coccyx.  Then, an intense and unstoppable warmth spread throughout his body. He put his chubby hands to his chest, trying to unbutton his shirt. His eyes sparkled with concern. Instinctively, he looked around for water. Found. At the same time, looking at his arm, he noticed in horror that his skin had turned red, and his swollen veins were beginning to flow like rivers of fire just below the surface of his skin. Their breathing quickened desperately. The cockpit had become incredibly hot.

Then it happened. Ray Fisher began to burn screaming, with no vehicle such as matches or any flammable substance such as gasoline around. Only a few minutes later, the wealthy businessman was left with nothing but a handful of ashes.

CHAPTER 1

Dr. Aldric Köhler, a handsome man in contrast to his profession, was walking down the wide glass corridor to return to his work after a quick snack on his lunch break.  Köhler's father, Prof. Heinrich Köhler, who died a few years ago, was one of the co-founders of Asklepios & Company and one of the most important scientists. Thanks to the vision and courage of Köhler's father and his friends, Asklepios & Company was founded in the 2nd century. Since the post-World War II era, the medical industry had not only managed to survive in the increasingly tense competitive environment, but it was also taking decisive steps towards becoming a globally recognized monopoly, and the unique champion of medical innovation