And before that, you lost your job; so how are you going to survive Frank? Not by weekend party gigs obviously.
Not enough to sustain me honey; and I couldnt certainly afford you by doing weekend party gigs. he laughed
So what are your plans, Frank? Sade sounded genuinely worried for him.
I was coming to that. Today I bought a detective course. I found that working as a detective isnt quite different from what I did as a journalist and it certainly looks like you could make a lot more in that business. Do you know that people actually fork out as much as a hundred and fifty pounds an hour to get a private detective? Frank told her.
Wow! Sade sounded full of suspicion. A hundred pounds an hour? I dont believe that.
Better believe, because its true. So I am going to start building myself a new and enduring profession honey.
So what are you going to call yourself? What is your...erm.... handle going to be like?
Handle? I am not a mug, sister
You are a really smart dummy you know; what are you going to call yourself? Under what handle will you be working ...Sam SpadeColin Fetchit..? What is it going to be like? I personally am not going to employ Frank ODwyer to find even a lost cat., Sade was sincere.
Yeah, youve got a point there. I was thinking something like Frank Xero.
Xero? That sounds awful
No, it doesnt. Like a private investigator zeroes in on a crime and gets it solved real quick; Gerrit?
Well, its your business, not mine. It still sounds like a photocopy shop to me, like Xerox. Are you sure you arent going to get sued by some of these business creeps in black suits?
Never worry Sade. On the positive side, it is going to make me easy to remember.
No its crappy, and I dont like it Sade confessed Try something more sensible like Frank Wire. It is also easy to remember I think. And it sounds rather cool. Like you are the new British werewolf Frank Wire by day, MC Wire by night, she giggled.
Hey what will I do without you, o witch Frank nipped her ear with his teeth.
Dont Snoop Dog me dude; not here Sade pushed him away. I think you are forgetting something though. Dont you need a license for this?
Not as far as I know, Frank told her. He had indeed checked earlier on his computer. Anyone with the wish could become a private detective.
Sade had updates of her own.
I am happy for you then, and I hope you make a lot of money. I am participating in a fashion exhibition at the Barbican in a couple of weeks. It is an ethnic fashion show; I am so excited about the opportunity, Frank. It would be nice to have my designs break the ethnic barrier though. I am wishing for good contacts at the event, she told him.
I love your designs SADE, especially the Dashiki tops. Trevor absolutely loves them too. I hope you are going to have a lot of them on display. Very nice to wear in summer. Frank encouraged.
Yes, you both put a lot of business my way. I think it is time for me to break the ethnic barrier and something tells me the Barbican exhibition is going to be it, for me. , Sade was full of hopes.
Go for it then, girl. Youve got awesome talent in that lovely head of yours, and it is time for you to really make it big. Frank kissed her on the cheek. Sade put her arms around him.
Its not only about the money though. I am proud of where I came from, and I would wish to change some unfortunate mindsets along the way. I aim to have elegant girls black and white, modeling exquisite Yoruba fashion as youve never seen before. For me, this will not be just another clothing exhibition; I want it to be a major cultural statement. Sade said.
I believe you, honey. I am sure one day; you will make a statement that will be heard and remembered all over the world. Frank said to her.
Together they went to the Sainsburys supermarket for a couple of bottles of wine for the night..
CHAPTER 5
There had been more robberies than the bank job as Frank learned from the East End Mirror. A headline read:
CAMCORDER ROBBERS STRIKE AGAIN.
Pretty small-time stuff all the robberies had been but done in the same insanely ridiculous way. A jewelry shop near Eastham got hit; they even did a pizza shop. The thought made Frank chuckle. A pizza shop getting knocked off; certainly looked very desperate to him. Somehow these stories could only be found in the East End Mirror, which Frank still dutifully read every day primarily in the hope that one day, the front page would contain a goodbye message announcing the demise of the newspaper, preferably due to the death of the proprietor, Spencer Cowley. Frank longed to be able to get rid of that dangling piece of his life to see Spencer Cowley punished as the architect of his current unemployment situation.
But this never happened and the East End Mirror kept on. In any case, as Frank would wonder, East End Mirror was the only paper that reported these robberies, which gave the suspicion that something shady was afoot. Frank wondered whether Fernandez had at last strayed off the straight and narrow. But heck, the East End Mirror really wasnt his responsibility anymore. He didnt have a job with the East End Mirror anymore and therefore no business poking his nose into whatever went on there.
His payoff had dwindled very fast with bills knocking on his door daily. He had for a while swallowed his pride and tried a couple of those jobs he had previously rejected at the Jobcentre.
Frank tried the parking attendant job first, and it didnt last two weeks. He had quickly come in contact with some of the ugliest human beings in the world.
I know where you live, a huge bricklayer had one afternoon told Frank as he snatched the ticket off his van, which had exceeded its time at a meter near Trinity Square Garden. The errant bricklayers tree trunk size arms were covered with colorful serpent tattoos, and with a finger drawn menacingly across his throat, he emphasized his threat to Frank. The threat looked serious enough, but Frank wasnt going to make him believe that he was scared, so he flipped the man his middle finger, from twenty yards away, satisfied to see his jaw drop in both surprise and anger. Frank could feel the heat of the fellows anger on him till he turned a corner into another street, and off to hand in his uniform and equipment. He certainly couldnt risk coming back here anymore.
Next, he took an easier job as a security guard at the local Tesco. It was a relatively easier beat, and Frank was stationed near the liquor shelves of the supermarket. It suggested that a lot of booze got stolen in these places, Frank would initially think. He also thought what a waste of time and money his mission was because any theft would occur between the innocent removal from the shelf and the dishonest non-payment at the check-out counter; the stolen item having disappeared in-between, into a large pocket or into an old lad ladys bag. It was a drudge job. He thought to give the Warden job at the underground a try next; at least he would get some fresh air all day. He now had a job again and could afford not to worry about many of his regular bills, but again he had this awful feeling that his life was again definitely going down the drain.
He got a call on his phone mid-day one extremely depressing Monday.
Is this Frank Wire? a husky voice came to him. Frank was initially confused. Then he remembered that he had paid for a classified advertisement to run in the Loot advertisement pages, and yes he was indeed the one advertised as Frank Wire, private detective.