Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
It is hosted by Denise, and she asks of participants, just one thing: use the prompt word and keep the sentence count to six.
How hard can that be?
This is an Ian Devereaux (the Case of the Missing Fig Leaf) week. So what follows is the next chapter in our serial story.
This week’s prompt word:
OCEAN
“My file indicates you were once a commercial fisherman,” Detective-Captain Anton Rilke’s voice walked the edge of friendliness and suspicion with a dynamic balance that any of the surviving members of the Wallander family would have envied; I reminded myself not to call him Schultz.
Despite his bulk, think an updated version of Santa Claus except instead of simply leaving gifts for good children, he also would extract promises of improvement from those children who were not, he managed to gaze across his desk like a teacher looking up from grading papers and continued, “That strikes me as a way of life better suited to men of… of lesser scharfsinn, forgive my inadequate language skills, the word in English…”; his round face, friendly eyes and bushy mustache went into motion, a trio of non-verbal rodeo clowns intent on keeping my attention where he wanted it.
“Perspicacity?” I smiled as I offered the word, my German host was not the only one entitled to misdirect, though I wondered why I felt the need to establish the boundaries of our relationship when my client was a continent, ocean and tenuous relationship to the west.
The change in his face was subtle enough that I almost missed it, and I was the one who set him up; in place of the mental image of Sargent Schultz, with his walrus mustache and impermeable joviality, came another television character, Peter Falk in the role of Columbo; my imagination proceeded to hit me with a mashup of the two fictional characters, providing the famously-rumpled detective with a German-accented laugh.
“Achh, you are thinking of old American television program, one that was, how should I say it, at the vanguard of your culture’s global dominance, so many years ago,” I heard the ghost of an italic as he pronounced the word ‘many’ and made a note to not underestimate my liaison with the Wiesbaden police department.
“Now, Herr Devereux, that we’ve secured a stable détente for our respective countries, help me understand what it is that motivates your client to co-opt the entire resources of my humble department, that she should, like a modern-day Circe, so enchant my boss that he can think of no higher purpose in life than to please her,” Anton Rilke’s hand made the tea cup he sipped from, look every bit one from a child’s play set.
About clarkscottroger
you always bring it.
Thanks, Paul!
Excellent descriptive comparisons of Detective-Captain Anton Rilke. Made me laugh “his round face, friendly eyes and bushy mustache went into motion, a trio of non-verbal rodeo clowns intent on keeping my attention where he wanted it.”
Totally enjoyable SSS.
was a fun section to write. I started with John Banner (set Schultz on the old series ‘Hogan’s Heroes’) but didn’t want him (Anton) to be too buffoonish.
I like the description of Anton Rilke’s bulk by showing how he held the tea cup making it look as small as that from a child’s tea set. It was with that image that I realized he was quite large.
yeah…its always tough (for me) to get the physical description of a character across to the Reader without resorting to ‘he weighed two hundred and ninety pounds, but moved like a dancer’
great six, I enjoyed every word.
Well done, as usual. Never underestimate anyone on the police force, s/he is there for a reason.
yeah to move the plot along!* lol
*lifted that line from a scene in Deadpool, they said it better.
Well-appointed scene, misdirection also good.
Thank you.
An ocean of clever metaphors…
thanks Romi
Ooo, I love “the ghost of an italic”! Nice!
Leanne is an impressive woman without doubt, lol. So now that Ian has the attention and cooperation of the German police, where will he begin to look for clues to the circumstances leading to Elias Thunberg’s death??
Fun writing in this Six!
You provided excellent descriptions to make this relatable.
Thanks you, Lisa
It felt too long since I read a Devereux post. I know I missed a couple of weeks over the holidays, So I went back and reread … every episode. Most enjoyable, interlude this morning. 😉
cool
hey, I have the first book of the Ian Devereaux series still in final polish, called ‘the Case of the Missing Starr’ if you’d like to beta read it, let me
Good visuals for Rilke, especially the tea cup as a child’s toy – excellent.
Can remember as a kid watching episodes with Sgt Schultz and Columbo – nice ‘insertions’ into the text of these two to add even more colour.