Morning light shone through thin cracks in Elias Crowe's curtains. Birds tweeted outside his window as he rose from his bed. Taking off his pyjamas, Elias put on purple velvet suit and a pair of purple jeans. He liked to match colours. It made his mornings more interesting. Slipping an obsidian black '1958 Rolex 6536-1 "Small Crown" Submariner', onto his wrist. He had bought it in Switzerland. Elias is a rich man. Opening the blinds, his phone buzzed.
"Hello."
"Is this Elias Crowe.. PI?" The woman's voice sounded shaky.
"Yes.."
"Are you free- I mean are you able to umm.. take a job." She cleared her throat. "Because I have one.."
"Sure, would you like to meet up somewhere to discuss the details?" His voice had a strand of excitement woven into it. He hadn't had a job in a while since he moved to Veilham, five years ago.
"Yes.. That would be good.. Meet me at Frontal Park, y'know near the Pale Mare. I'll be there at twelve.. maybe we could grab some lunch too.. If that's ok?"
"Alright, I'll be there. I'll make sure to empty my stomach first though."
She chuckled.
"Ok.. See you then." The woman's voice faded away as Elias ended the call.
He sighed and checked the time. The golden hour hand had just passed eleven.
'Fifty-two minutes, perfect."
Twenty minutes later, donning a black 'Topper' hat, Elias walked out of his mansion and out the silver gates. He had the biggest house in Veilham and it was in a perfect place. It being situated on the top of a hill meant Elias could overlook the whole town and watch as the poor and those with less than himself struggle to find somewhere to call home.
Elias liked that. That sense of power and authority. It made him 'horny?'
As he arrived at Frontal Park, he noticed a severe lack of people.
'Is this not a prime time to sit in the park and read or eat or play chess for goodness sake?!' Elias thought as he scanned around searching for the woman. He had forgotten how primitive life was in the centre of Veilham.
"Are you Elias Crowe?"
The sound came from behind him.
Startled, Elias responded; "Yes.. You gave me a fright there!"
"Sorry," The woman's tone made Elias feel as if he was her father. "I thought you saw me.. I suppose not."
"It's fine. Shall we head to a café'?"
"Yeah.."
They walked off; away from the park, onto the pavement. Where the cobbles shone bright in the reflected sunlight.
The Looking Glass was a critically acclaimed café in Veilham. Known for being a magnet for rich magnates and wealthy foreign visitors. Elias liked this café, he found it much more enticing than that shitty Pale Mare or Veil's Arms. He found pubs far too rowdy for his liking.
A bell tinkled as they entered the café, they found a table next to a window with a view of the (still empty) park.
"Shall I go and order now?" Elias began. "What did you want-"
The woman's expression turned sour.
"Are you alright miss?" Elias asked.
No response.
He sat down in the wooden chair opposite her.
"Hello..?" He asked, sounding nervous.
All of a sudden she jumped back to life. "Sorry, I just.. remembered why I asked for your time..."
"And that is?" Elias appeared curious now, almost unnaturally so.
"My sister, Rosa.. She was brutalised yesterday. She's in the hospital out of town right now but.. she said she could maybe describe the attacker if she though hard enough." A tear dripped down the woman's face. "Sorry that's a lot, but please... please help us find this fucker."
Getting strange looks from the café owner, Elias decided they should probably talk elsewhere.
Elias led the woman back to the empty park.
"I'll take the job." Elias says, smiling at the sombre woman.
Her face lit up.
"Thank you so much Elias!!" She jumped to embrace him, rubbing her tears onto his clean suit.
'For fucks sake-' He had spent all of yesterday removing stains from this suit. It's his favourite in his collection. Nevertheless, he forced a smile onto his face.
As he always did.
Arriving at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Elias was directed to Rosa's room.
He knocked.. No response
He knocked again and the door swung open, a grumpy looking lady greeted him. He presumed that she was divorced and worked part time as a stripper. He was good at guessing these things.
'It's all in the smell' He always told himself.
Finally arriving at Rosa's bed he was greeted with a macabre sight. She had a bandage covering her whole face, she appeared almost inhuman.
"Who's there?" She rose from her bed like Dracula rising from his coffin.
"Elias.. Elias Crowe your sister told me you have a job for me..?"
"Ahh, I've been waiting for ages for you to show your face."
Elias was confused at how he could 'show his face to her' when she had all that bandaging on but he isn't one to question.
"Right so, that man-"
"Woahhh slow down partner, we haven't disclosed the pricing. So a full length investigation, excluding tailing, comes to around £340 per hour. With tailing it's about £425. Is that all okay?"
Elias suddenly had a feeling, 'this woman's probably just some broke bitch so I'll start the price much higher and then lower it slowly until I reach just above my usual costs.' Elias grinned, he was about to make some money.
"That's fine."
'What. Was this woman not just some broke Veilham resident.' Elias felt a punch in his gut. He should've went for a higher price at first.
"Fuu..ck" He mumbled.
"What was that?" Rosa asked. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah.. I'm fine, you can start describing him now."
Rosa began.
"Medium height.. maybe 5ft 8. Black short hair, he was wearing a brown trench coat. He looked like a detective or something... but I doubt that's the case. Maybe of Asian descent. No.. maybe.. actually yeah."
"Ok," Elias said, scribbling her words down onto his notebook. "I'll see what I can do.."
Rosa thanked the private investigator and lay back down on her hospital bed.
Elias walked out of the room, sliding his notebook and pen into his suit pocket.
The air outside felt cold and heavy. He stood on the steps for a while, watching the roofs of the parked cars shine in the sun's reflected light. The tarmac and diesel filled his nose. He didn't mind it.. it reminded him of London. Of life before Veilham, when life wasn't so fucking boring.
He adjusted his hat and began walking toward his car. Elias liked walking out and away from the hospital; it made him feel 'better'. Better than those who were still trapped within the repetitive, white hospital walls, unable to be free until they were 'fixed'. In reality, they were never going to be fixed, just extorted for more money. 'He should take notes'.
Sliding into the driver's seat of his sleek black Jaguar, Elias rested his hands on the wheel and stared at his reflection in the rear-view mirror. He smiled to himself. "Still got it," he muttered, starting the engine.
Following the A390 back toward Veilham, he replayed Rosa's words in his head. 'Brown trench coat. Asian descent. Looked like a detective'. He chuckled quietly to himself.
"A detective, huh?"