This man could certainly talk!

I’m still plodding on with editing my next and possibly final Thomas Radwinter novel. I’ve had extreme technical difficulties, and a few unfortunate near-disasters, but I’m determined to finish and publish it. Thomas is investigating the mysterious disappearance of an elderly lady, called Francine. He eventually catches up with Ashraf, a taxi-driver who picked her up from the house where she’d been staying (unbeknown to the actual owner who was in an old folks’ care home) This is part of the scene where Thomas meets Ashraf to ask him what he remembers, and where he took Francine.

I met Ashraf in a busy café near the taxi rank in Strand; I guessed most  customers were also taxi drivers. Well, that’s useful to know if ever I need a taxi. The tables were covered with oilcloth, in bright gingham colours.
Ashraf was a cheery fellow, ‘wreathed in smiles’ would perfectly describe him. He was a nice man, a kind man and we had a coffee and a chat before we set off to trace Francine’s last known journey. He kept up a friendly chat as we sat down and he stirred several spoons of sugar into his cup. He whittled on about his children and homework and getting them from one place to another with their activities, and I commiserated – time’s not your own when you’re a dad! He took a slurp and I dived into the intermission to ask about Francine. Her friends were very anxious because she’d left in such a hurry and they’d heard nothing since.
“Do you know, in a way I wasn’t surprised you got in touch, Thomas, not you personally because I didn’t know you not until Shohib rang me and asked me and told me all about you and the old lady who went to Hamwick,” this was major news! I had no idea where she’d gone, but Hamwick – I know it well! Ashraf continued. “I was a bit worried about the old girl because she was in a bit of a tizz and I didn’t exactly know what to do and I did say to her was there anyone I could get in contact with but – “ he paused to take a breath and another slurp of coffee before he carried on.
Gosh Shohib was right, this man could certainly talk! There were a couple of taxi drivers on the next table and they looked across at me and I could see they were laughing. One gave me a wink and I nearly had a bit of an upset with a mouthful of coffee.
 I tried to focus on Ashraf’s torrent of words and pull out the relevant bits. I took Shohib’s advice and interrupted him several times to clarify.

If you haven’t yet read any or all of my Radwinter series, you can find them as e-books or real books on Amazon. Follow this link to take you to the first of Thomas’s adventures:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Radwinter-LOIS-ELSDEN/dp/B08KTRNZ8Z