Little Frankie Darling wants revenge, Asami Sato wants her inheritance, and Oyabun Kitsune wants the magic artifact hidden in the one-hundred-and-fifty-year-old cherrywood box. They each pay investigator, Axel Webb, to find the box, but things are not always what they seem, and people always lie to conceal their secret agendas.
Two seemingly disparate events, oceans and years apart, cause ripples of consequences that reverberate around the world until they come crashing down on Axel Webb’s desk. Axel will do just about anything for a buck, but when Little Frankie and his wooden pal come calling. Axel turns them down. Little Frankie Darling wants Axel to find the men that killed his Pops, that’s all, just find them; he’ll do the rest. But when Axel asks him what that means, Little Frankie tells him the truth: “Axel, old buddy, I’m going to kill the fuckers. That’s what I’ll do the rest means.” As I said, Axel will do almost anything for money, but setting someone up to get whacked isn’t in his job description.
Webb’s specialty is finding things, not people, things that have been lost, stolen or misappropriated by some nefarious means. So when Asami Sato interrupts Axel’s breakfast with a case that involves purchasing a cherrywood box of historic Shunga woodblocks, Axel takes the bait. What Sato doesn’t tell Axel is: she and Little Frankie are a thing: a very odd thing indeed, considering Little Frankie only speaks through an antique ventriloquist’s dummy, but who’s to say what attracts people?
Genre: FICTION / NoirI run across quite a few peculiar people in my line of work, but none stranger than the little man with a suitcase JoJo just ushered into my office. JoJo rolls her pretty green eyes as she places the little man’s card on my desk. The only information on it is a local phone number and two words, The Fantoccio. JoJo doesn’t return to her front office domain. Instead, she positions herself on my couch, crosses her long, lovely legs and sits, steno pad and Lamy at the ready. She knows when a case might be interesting.
I would get up and take the chair beside the little man to accommodate his vertical deficit, but he’s placed his suitcase across its arms. He hops off his chair and opens the case more elaborately than is required if he is merely retrieving an item of explanation. Clients often arrive with related curiosities deemed of interest. As you may be aware, I specialize in finding things for people: things that have been lost, stolen or misappropriated by some nefarious means. People often arrive with an artifact relating to their desired outcome. That said, their presentations are generally more matter-of-fact. This is a performance: well-rehearsed and overly ritualistic. I’m not a patient man, but the bemused look on JoJo’s face is all I need to observe this opera buffa till its denouement.
I can’t see what the little man is doing as his back is turned to me. Besides, his head is barely visible above the edge of my desk. I can tell he’s preparing a presentation. Hopefully, one that doesn’t require a lead response. The gasp of delight from JoJo tells me my pals, Smith and Wesson, can remain where they are.
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by Matheus Rocha Mendes Nascimento
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Author review: Matheus did an excellent job and was easy to work with. Author and Screenwriter, Jerry bader |
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Antonio de Torre
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Author review: Antonio did a superb job in translating "The Axel Files: The Cherrywood Box" into Spanish. He is easy to work with, makes excellent decisions with regard to unusual content, and completes the project quickly. I recommend him to anyone looking for a Spanish translator. - Jerry Bader, author and screenwriter |
