The Sharkeys

Let’s just say the Sharkey family is not one for rules. Reviews of their lengthy guard case files online reveal they are major players in the criminal underworld. They tend to be automatic suspects for any unsolved cases—big or small.

There’s Papa Sharkey who drives a gold 70s BMW, which, as local legend has it, he won from a millionaire German tourist in a game of boules.

Then there’s Herod Sharkey. Known as Roddy to his family, and not to be confused with his big brother, Red. Approximately 1.37m tall, short and skinny with the signature Sharkey red hair, silver tracksuit and brown climbing boots. Not school regulation, but the height of ten-year-old cool. Often the one to blame by default, nine out of ten times, Herod is in fact guilty. It’s only a matter of time before the police call at the school looking for him.

Red, unlike his brother, is rangy, bony and muscular. He wears faded jeans and his T-shirt tucked into his back pocket. His features are sharp enough to cut logs, and his eyes dart like a hawk’s. He often claims to be unfairly accused simply for his namesake, but it seems Red is following the family’s legacy, despite some others’ faith in him. He is a Sharkey after all.

The police files confirm that the Sharkeys are indeed trouble. For all their supposed crimes, it makes you wonder—where do they find the time?