GHOST-WRITER
The man in blue used his warrant card to push his way through to the front of the queue. A few people felt like challenging him over it, but the ID Reader in his other hand deterred them. He could easily have lined them all up for a reading. They had a reading taken by one of his colleagues just to be allowed in to the bookshop signing session as it was.
“You want my autograph too?” asked the footballer.
“No thanks. I just want to check your ID.”
“What? Are you crazy? There are five hundred fans here who will confirm who I am.”
“You know the rules. I have the right to search you any time I like; please don’t be uncooperative.”
“OK Pal. Whatever floats your boat. “
The inspector got out his card reader. The Manchester United Striker gave him his card. “I’m used to cards being waved at me on the pitch. I don’t usually get to show one to the referee,” he said, which elicited some titters from the credulous audience.
Reading completed, the Inspector gave the player his card back, and stepped clear of the line. Rocco Leggoni known to most fans as Number Seven from his shirt number, but identified by his card as number 92931744029335863, returned to signing copies of his memoirs for the fans. He didn’t notice how quickly the Card Inspector had vanished into the city streets.
The Inspector went to his office, and downloaded the data he had found onto the Central Identity Register. Then he contacted the man known officially just as Ghost, who he knew as author Harold Broom 1149757335892201. The man had paid handsomely for temporary access to a Card reader able to access the CIR and the access code for the Leggoni file.
Ghost started his printer and rolled out everything there was to know about the world’s best-known footballer. A lot of it was trivial, but there was some useful material there. Not surprisingly, a lot o time was spent training and playing football. There was also a great deal of time spent in swank hotels, often accompanied by attractive ladies who were definitely not Mrs. Leggoni. The second book about the footballer was about to hit the shops at breakneck speed. All the research and interview material was right there on the print out. The Ghostwriter never had to leave his own house. The real and scandalous story was going to be in print within a month. It would outsell the authorized book, which from the looks of things wasn’t written by Mr. Leggoni himself as he claimed. He had little time on his hands for actually writing anything.
The writer smiled at the thought of all the lovely money coming in. His previous three bios had all done very nicely thank you. It was a shame none of them could carry the name Harold Broom, but the money more than compensated for that. He wondered who to go after next; another footballer, or an actor, politician or some other celebrity. He didn’t care – just as long as they were famous. He wondered what it might be like to meet them one day.
© Copyright. Arthur
Chappell
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