Read part 1
- I am afraid something terrible has happened! The young woman breezed in and plunked a black handbag on the counter of the local police station.
- And why would you think so, Miss? Inspector Japp who happened to be lurking near the counter, something he often did when he scented pretty damsels in distress, studied the newcomer from head to foot. Not bad, but a bit on the thin side.
- I found this bag in Zed Alley. There is a cardboard box with a human finger in it. I´m Rhapsody Gershwin, by the way.
- Zed Alley? Ah no, not again. His more experienced colleague, Inspector LeStrange butted in. – Zorry, luv, but we find these torn-off limbs in that area every Zunday morning. That´s just the noizy and irregular habits of the local Zailors. Or perhaps zome medical ztudent´s idea of a prank. Happens all the time.
- So you are not going to look into this mystery? You are not going to find out whom the finger belongs to? Rhapsody Gershwin squeezed the edge of the wooden counter so her knuckles went white.
- I think we have another one of them here, Inspector LeStrange. Inspector Japp had lost interest in the pretty girl who did not seem to be the grateful and swooning sort. – Another participant of that CrimeFest. They see crimes and mysteries all over the place.
- But a human finger? She tried.
Inspector Japp turned towards her, still smirking. – You´d better run back home to Yorkshire, little Miss Shirley Holmes, and let us handle the big city crimes.
Laughing loudly, the two inspectors left together and let a uniformed policeman bag the bag and fill in the necessary forms.
€€€€€
Rhapsody hardly slept a wink that night. Still fuming inwardly, she returned to Zed Alley first thing in the morning even though she feared she would miss the panel with the mystery writer Colin Cartridge she had been looking forward to for weeks.
She marched into Z-Bra and confronted the huge bartender. – Hello again. I´m Rhapsody Gershwin, and I´d like to ask you a few questions if I may.
- Ms Zakharov for you. If you giss a pint… The woman shrugged and continued polishing wine glasses.
Rhapsody made up her mind she might also down a pint of Guinness herself for the good cause. – Last night I couldn´t help noticing that you have lost a finger quite recently.
- Oh, that? Win some, lose some, tha´s the way life is, innit? Ms Zakharov glanced at the grubby BandAid where her pudgy ring finger should have been.
- Sorry, what do you mean? Rhapsody deigned to pretend she was a bit slow on the uptake. Sometimes that was the only way to extract information. Besides, she had no idea what the woman meant.
- Divorced the daft ijut who gave me the ring, din´t I, but then I couldn´t get it off. Tried to cut it off with a pair of tongs but happened to snip off me whole bloody finger instead.
Ms Zakharov went out back somewhere to pick up an insistent phone. Rhapsody drummed her fingers on the counter, impatient to get on with her investigation.
A young girl was busy removing empty glasses and wiping the tables in the shady room. Despite her red and swollen eyes, Rhapsody recognized the beautiful blonde from the photo next to the counter.
- What´s wrong, my dear? Why are you crying so? She tried.
- Can´t talk in here, the beauty whispered. Meet me after two in the backyard. Have you thought about doing something about your hair, by the way? Chestnut bangs are sooo last millennium.
To be continued tomorrow…
Dorte – Oh, this is going so well! I really like the names you’ve chosen, and I’m getting caught up in the story. Nicely-done! And of course, I love the touches of humour you add.
I love the police reaction to the finger and the missing finger on the barkeep. I also love the crying woman who can manage to kill another’s self-esteem in the meantime. Great continuation.
Dorte. I love this story it brought back happy memories. There are other ways of getting rid of an old wedding ring that you can’t get off. You ask your dentist to cut it off, the ring not the finger.
Margot: re the names I believe a bit of name-dropping is allowed in humorous fiction
Clarissa: well, *you* really should appreciate the finger (it was an excellent suggestion). And I am glad you noticed the touch of the chestnut curls. Rhapsody won´t care though, her fiancé loves her hair
Norman: yes, Bristol was lovely – both crimefest and meeting good friends.
Well, I know I could have included a dentist, but I write crime & humour, never horror
- Divorced the daft ijut who gave me the ring, din´t I, but then I couldn´t get it off. Tried to cut it off with a pair of tongs but happened to snip off me whole bloody finger instead. So laugh-out-loud funny, I can actually imagining this happening.
I am SO enjoying this! I love the humor…and the rough crowd Rhapsody has found herself amongst (accidently snipping off a finger to remove a ring?! wonderful!!).
I’m sure the chestnut and so last year curlyhaired Rhapsody will solve the problem despite sailors or students are in the habbit of throwing fingers everywhere
Tracy: I did enjoy chopping off that finger, to be honest. I must have a brutal streak
Kelly: When I saw Clarissa´s suggestion of a cut-off finger I did wonder if I could put it in a cosy story, but humour can sugar-coat most crimes, I think.
Bente: don´t worry, the blonde who can beat Rhapsy has not been born yet!
I didn’t realize that you had done a review of my book.You’re a sweetie. I’ll give you a shout out on my blog along with the link.
Ann
I loved the same line as Petty. I could hear her voice. I imagine the Bristol police are going to recognize their mistake!
Ann: how kind of you!
Cathryn: some characters just write themselves, don´t they?