‘I didn’t mean it to end like this!’ No, I am not thinking of a difficult conversation with
someone I didn’t like or an intimate relationship with an ex. No, I am thinking of Book
2, ‘The PI Shop Mourns’.
My intention had been to go on writing about Waldo and Jacs’ experiences
investigating and trying to resolve the awful predicaments in which people find
themselves. Indeed, I have a bag full of goodies, which I meant to include in Books
1 and 2 but which never made it for one reason or another. So, Book 3 was
intended to be more of the same but has turned out to be very different.
Some of you will remember that Book 2 ended with Miranda and her unborn child
being shot and dying at River Farm. Her partner, Nick, who was the intended victim,
was unhurt but became deeply depressed. Jac and Waldo were also hugely
disturbed by the death. They felt partly responsible. Suddenly, I found myself
bringing the series to an end. Jac says,
“Supposing we just sit here and wait for the next person to come through the door or
ring or email us and, if they ask for our help, then we carry on in business but if it’s
just a general enquiry, then we call it a day.”
Their next visitor was a woman enquiring as to the whereabouts of James the
Artisan Baker. And so endeth the series.
But, I couldn’t let go of my friends that easily. Was Jean Pierre just a tall, handsome,
gay masseur or was there more to him? Did Jem make it? We all realised he
couldn’t hang on to his mother’s apron strings all his life. And for me, most
importantly, what happened to Nick? Did he recover?
I found myself writing a series of short stories, autobiographies, if you like, for each is
written in the voice of the character. There are seven stories in all. I am sorry if I left
out one you would have liked included.
Nick’s story is the main part of Book 3. I don’t want to give the game away but I can
tell you that he becomes Friar Nicholas, a priest in the Franciscan Order, and when
his father dies, he inherits some of Cliff’s powers. Apart from his adventures in
Africa, he tells of his delightful meeting with the Pope.
I have called the book ‘Tales from the PI Shop’ and, I must confess, it was a delight
to write. I think it is my best yet. I hope you enjoy it. Don’t forget to leave a review
on Amazon, it makes such a difference as to how Amazon behaves.