Poems and Short Stories/ Volume 1

The Godfather's Finger

Jane Samson puffed his cigar as he watched cars and trucks drove by the window of the detective's apartment. Being part of the Detective Organization of Kinney, Texas (D.O.K.T.) was a tough and rough job for the thirty-four year old detective, but he gets it done. 

Mr. Samson took a sip of a cappuccino. Milk foam got on above his upper lip, and wiped it with a napkin. He then took out a file out of the apartment's cabinet, opened it, and saw a black and white picture of Kaleb No'ver. 

Samson could see the fat face with a goatee and the combed hair. Kaleb used to be a mafia boss in Kinney, Texas, but the rat got what he deserved: two bullets to the gut, sent by a mafioso from a different crime organization. The finger of Kaleb was sliced off before the shooting, when the mafioso and the godfather fought in the latter's office. Mafioso had a dagger and purposely slashed at Kaleb's pinkie.  A picture of the scene shows that the blood from the hand spilled everywhere.

So...Why does it matter to ol' Jan-y (called by other detectives) when the case was over after the mafioso revealed the event in court? Is the finger of No'ver. It was gossiped in a bar, across from Samson's apartment, that the finger went missing and might have significant powers.

"I swear to ya on my mummy's grave that the finger is cursed!" a customer of the bar murmured to his friend.

"Nonsense! I do not believe in such tales," the friend scoffed.

The bartender leaned in between the two. "I heard that James Norman" the mafioso that shot the godfather "hid the finger and took its ring for his lover!"

Both customers laughed at the old man's face. "Oh please!" the former exclaimed, "You really think that a poor hillbilly can hid the finger perfectly?

"Hear me out on this, even if that boy hid it, the detectives will be able to find it. Hey, son!" he beckons Jane over the counter. Reluctantly, the detective moved toward. "You're a detective, aren't ya? You know that the detectives will be able to find that hidden finger, yeah?"

"I assured you, my co-workers checked the nook and canny of that dead godfather's office, perfectly," Samson sipped a beer and read the daily newspaper.

"Confident, aren't you? What's your name?" the latter costumer asked.

"Samson. Jane Samson, detective of Kinney, Texas."

"Well Samson, I kid ya not, that finger can disappear on its own!" The first costumer said, which gave Jane a thought.

Working on his own, Samson decided to find this godfather's finger that everyone is calling it curse. The detective succeeded to gain a search warrant in Kaleb's dusty office. Samson made a hook shape of his index finger and pointed at label of the office's door.

-Kaleb No'ver- Director of the Urish Clan.

Samson opened the door. Everything in the office was cleaned after the police inspected the crime scene. He saw a brown and dusty desk. Behind it was a wheel chair, and behind that was a cabinet. In the godfather's cabinet, the detective can recall the things inside, like a AK-47 or medicine prescription for back pain. Others were unknown, like a baseball cap. The letters of the cap faded.

He Opened a file cabinet of the desk. Documents all white. He read all of them, none are helpful for the missing finger. The detective stomped his feet against the carpet and hummed a tune he once listened to in his 1981 Honda Civic. 

Clank!

Samson stared at beyond in astonishment. He walked over the carpet once more. There it is! A metal clanking sound! Jane rolled up the blue carpet, only to see a vent below.

In the morning, Jane Samson asked for information at his workplace. One of his co-workers said after James Norman was found guilty, the new owner of Kaleb's office (who unfortunately passed away a week later, which added more mystery to the finger) bought a rug to cover the metal cover.

Asking for permission, the chief denied to drill the ground, for that it will disturb the peace. Samson accepted, but took it as a challenge. The detective bought a map from a library and used it to detect manholes, the covers on the sewer system. Samson can only guess that the vent leads to the sewers below.

The detective marked a circle on the office, and drew a line to the manhole sewer he will be using. But it was a guess, maybe the pipes won't lead him to the office. Maybe somewhere in the bathroom!

Going down the sewers, Jane Samson followed the directions. He breathed in the stink. He coughed, regretted his choice. He kept moving forwards, all was correct so far. As the detective turned right, he saw the dead end. 

"Damn it," he hissed. He turned back. Maybe he took the wrong turn? Then there was a whistle from the other side. The whistle grew louder and louder! A big wave of water splashed at Samson's back and was pushed into the water, floating into an unknown area.

Opening his eyes, Jane Samson feels his limbs tired and wet. He struggled to get up, but he conquered it. Looking around, he sees the same wall of the dead end. It seems, to Samson, that the water pushed him underneath and into the other side. The detective turned his head to the other way, only light frittered into rectangles on the concrete ground. At there, that moment... the detective finds the finger of Kaleb No'ver. He picked it up. Wet. And no ring.

Jane knew that this case that was handed to himself was not going to be easy.

TO BE CONTINUED