Mimi

 48 Hours Later-

Carlotta and I joined FBI SAC, Sharon Ferrell -Hopkins and her husband, Detective Antonio Hopkins at a tony new coffee shop that Sharon had told us about...It was nice to begin our work day somewhere other than Sam Mother's Diner...No knock on Sam's place...but we all ate there a lot...

"Ouuu papi I love the ambiance of this coffee shop" said my wife, Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace as she brought us two steaming hot tumblers of coffee and some blueberry bagels with cream cheese...

"Ouuuu Ambiance...Throwing a college word on me eh Carlotta?" I teased....

"Don't tease me." she said with a fake pout...

"I wouldn't dare..."I said playfully hugging her and kissing her on the cheek...

"There is Sharon and Hop now"she said as They both headed to our booth with their coffee and doughnuts...

"Heyyyy Carlotta." said Hop as he sat down...

"Heyy Hop...I heard that you and Sirena cracked the Westheimer murder the other day." said Carlotta.

"Yeah...we got a match on the gun and a fingerprint and Sirena coaxed a confession out of him."said Hop...

"Did Sirena wear her red lace bra and white blouse with the top button missing?" asked Carlotta slyly...

My mouth hung open at the thought of that!

Hop blushed a little and laughed...

"Yeahh, how did you know?" he said laughing sheepishly...

"I've known your partner a long time....She has her ways of getting confessions out of male suspects....Me?  I wear a short dress, a tight form hugging dress.." laughed Carlotta...

Again,my mouth hung wide open at the thought!

"Sooo unscientific, you local coppers" joked Sharon as she sat down and joined us...

"Heyy Whatever works.."laughed Carlotta...."I sure wish we were close to closing our murder...This one looks like it's going to go cold and turn into a who done it?" said Carlotta.. A Who done it was cop slang for cold, unsolved case..We had an entire unit that did nothing but re-open cold cases and try to close them...Nobody on my team wanted to send them another case...They had enough as it was.

"I was shocked when you told me it was Gary Campbell....Oh my god..I haven't seen him in years." said Sharon...

"No loss there." said Hop Snidely...Sharon looked at her husband and hung her head..Gary had been one of many guys she had thrown him over for during their childhood.. Carlotta told me that Hop had been smitten by Sharon from the day he first laid eyes on her when the three of them had been in the first grade...Considering how sexy she grew up to be...I can't say I blame him...

Sharon looked reflective and then a little sad....She rubbed her husbands hands...He obviously had some feelings about this...

Carlotta explained to me....

"Sharon and Gary used to be a couple...We were in what, the 9th grade?" asked Carlotta...

"Yeah....Hop was trying to get up the nerve to ask me to be his steady and I uh kinda knew he liked me...Carlotta's sister, Carmen had told me...but uh Gary asked me first and he was on the football team...so I went with him...9th grade and 10th grade.."said Sharon..

"He cheated on me with.....Get this....Carlotta's sister, Carmen...Who was older than him and wayy out of his league..In fact he was already seeing Carmen when he started seeing me...Neither of us knew it...and when I found out...it nearly caused a problem between Carmen and me."said Sharon..

Carlotta laughed out loud....

"My sister was soooo mad, she tell me..''.I don't want you hanging out with that girl.'..but Sharon was my best friend since kintergarden...We shared all of our secrets...I couldn't do that..So I just snuck and saw Sharon until Carmen calmed down and forgave her."laughed Carlotta...

"So somebody shot Gary huh?" asked Hop...

I smiled at him sheepishly and asked...

"Hey Hop...Where were you a few nights ago?"

We all busted out laughing.....

II-

"So how is your case going?" asked Sharon...

"It's not!...  We found the murder weapon in the shallow grave with him...It still had the serial number on it...and it was registered to guess who?? Another of our high school friends...Paul Witherspoon!!" said Carlotta...

''Another member of the endless list that won't be missed..."said Hop dryly as he drank his coffee..

"I take it...Another of your boyfriends?" I said looking at Sharon and laughing sheepishly..

Sharon breathed in deeply and then out and laughed...

"Those two were best friends...Just like me and Carlotta...And in the 11th grade he tried to talk to me..Despite the fact that I used to be his boy's girlfriend...I talked to him anyway...just to get back at Gary...but Paul was corny as hell and he was just with me to try to get next to Carlotta..." said Sharon laughing...looking at her good friend...Carlotta laughed and pointed at Sharon-

"Ouuuu mami,that's low...I owe you." laughed my wife..

"Just keepin it real girlfriend...My hands aren't the only ones dirty here."laughed Sharon.

I smiled trying to imagine what these two had been like as young girls...They obviously were driving the boys crazy....They were still driving men crazy.

"He called me a few times and he even dropped by my house...But Mickey Lolo put a stop to that..."laughed Carlotta. "Anyway....We stopped by Paul Witherspoon's house and we found out that he's been missing for two years."said Carlotta.

"Missing?" said Sharon...

"Missing?" asked Hop, now interested...

"Yeah...He was reported missing by his wife, Claudette two years ago...We checked it out...He hasn't been seen or heard from in two years by anybody..."I said.

"Oh My God..He married Claudette Robinson eh? ...I always thought she wanted Paul....She could have had him.."said Sharon..

Hop laughed.....

Sharon nibbled on his ear and kissed him....

"Look...You beat all of them  out...You got me...I'm married to you...I'm in love with you...So what are you sitting here all swole up about??? They're in the past...I'm your present and your future ..." she said smiling..

He finally smiled....Carlotta smiled..

''Awwwww...I am so glad that you two got together...He loved you soo much!" said Carlotta...

"Rico and I interviewed everybody in Gary's Apartment complex and we studied the cameras around his building and in a six block radius...We got nothing...We talked to everybody at his job...Nobody had anything bad to say about him at all and nobody knew anything he was into."

"The next day, Jimmy and I checked his financials...Bank accounts, Credit cards....et al...Nothing was out of order or looked weird...We checked his phone records and his texts...He got a few texts from a woman....and we are trying to check ip addresses and find out who this woman is...We interviewed his family and close friends and they couldn't tell us anything either..." said Carlotta..

"You said the gun was registered to Paul Witherspoon and he hasn't been heard from in two years?" asked Sharon...

"Maybe they were beefing over something..."said Hop...

"His wife said that neither of them had seen Gary in years....Me and Duke went over Detective Tegron's Missing Person files..

"He kept very good missing person files...We interviewed the same people he talked to when Paul Witherspoon was first reported missing...Family members, People at his job....Friends...and the people in his neighborhood...None of them told us anything new...We checked his financials too...Nothing out of the ordinary and no action on his credit cards, or bank accounts in two years...The last action was the night he went missing...His phone shows that in the week he vanished..He got several calls from a number...which we found out was from a burner phone...and a couple of texts from an unidentified woman...but outside of that...Nothing...I don't think he's alive..." said Carlotta.

"Wow, you got a dead guy and your prime suspect is a guy who's been missing for two years...Kind of creepy."said Sharon...

''Kind of sinister." I said.

III-

"Carlotta Rodriguez , Sharon Ferrell is that you?" came the voice.

We all turned around and saw a pretty and extremely attractive Brown Skinned woman who was well dressed walk up to our table...

"Mimi....Mimi Honeywell is that you??" asked both Carlotta and Sharon...

 "Ohhh My God...I haven't seen you two since High School....And is that Tony?? Tony Hopkins....Wowwwww, you still running around behind Sharon huh?" she said...

"I'm afraid he is no longer running...He caught me...He's my husband.."said Sharon...
Hop grinned from ear to ear...

"Hi Mimi" said Hop...

"Ohhhh wowww...You got her!! You finally got your  Sharon....You chased her long enough.."said Mimi...

I could see Sharon bristling at that....

''Carlotta..I'm looking at that ring on your finger...You're married too?? And this hunk here is your husband????"she said, looking at me and smiling...

Carlotta put her arms around me...

"This wonderful man is my husband of one year, Assistant District Attorney Keith Wallace." she said beaming...

Mimi smiled...

"Ohhhh woww....You bagged a good one Carlotta....What do you do now?" she asked..

Carlotta showed her badge...

"I'm a Detective...Homicide..."she said...

"I seeeee...thus the connection....Sharon , you went to Law school didn't you?" asked Mimi...

"Yes....I'm FBI.....I'm the FBI Laison to the Criminal Investigation Division in which Carlotta and my husband work.." she said.

"Look at you!! Go ahead Federali.."she said.

She looked at Hop...

"You're a detective too?" she asked..

"Yes I am...Homicide...Who knew right?" he said...

"So yall work together?" she said.

"Yes we do..." said Carlotta...

"Well I'm glad you guys are here...This is my coffee shop...I own the joint..Your money is no good here today...Everything is on the house." said Mimi..

"You own this place? It's gorgeous" I said.

"Yeahhh...You know I was living in Chicago for awhile....I was a model....You may have seen me in Ebony and in Essence....I saved my money and I opened this place about two years ago when I returned to Philly..." said Mimi...

"You've done well for yourself." I said.

She smiled...

"No...you girls did well for yourself...Married ..and married to good guys that helped you in your careers or at least support you...Not a bunch of thirsty ,horny maggots who only want to get you in the sack and then break all of their promises..."she said, suddenly becoming almost a different person...

Her brief metamorphisis was frightening, chilling...and everybody noticed it..Carlotta, Sharon, even Hop... Mimi realized she had come off kind of frightening and changed up...

"Sorry about that.."she said.

"Mimi, do you remember Gary Campbell??  We went to High School together...I found his body a few days ago in a shallow grave...How ironic huh..That's my latest case."said Carlotta...

"You know I remember him....He stood me up at the prom..." said Mimi...

"He did?" asked Carlotta..

"Yes..I was never so humiliated in all my life...My aunts,uncles, cousins all came to take pictures..They brought food..Fried Chicken...the works and he never called or showed up... They waited until 11:00 o'clock at night...My Father went looking for him...to kill him!!"she said icily..

"I remember....He told you he was sick....but he was at the motel with Vonetta Simpson..."said Sharon who seemed to be giddy to mention it.. "He ducked you for two weeks.." she said.

"Did you know that Paul Witherspoon and I were engaged to be married?" asked Mimi.

"What?"said Carlotta...

"You and Paul?" said Sharon...

I was amused at the entire conversation and intrigued to hear bits and snippets of Carlotta's life long before I laid eyes on her...

"Yeah..his supposed best friend...He tried to talk to me senior year, even though he knew I was seeing Gary....I ignored him then, but after graduation...We hooked up and got engaged...We were engaged for seven months...I was making plans....my whole family was excited and then he broke it off...Next thing I know..He was married to Claudette Robinson...The cheerleader." she said.

"Oh wow...that must have been rough..." said Hop..

 "It was... but I got myself together....I got my portfolio together and moved to Chicago and began my modeling career and had a little local Television show...I married a white guy...It worked for a little while...then I found out he was bi-sexual..Caught him with a guy....And that ended that....I came back to Philly and I invested in this business and I got a cosmetics store I'm about to open up....I survived." she said.

We all got quiet....

"Ohhhh wow...Well..in spite of all your ups and downs...You landed on your feet..."said Carlotta..

"Yeah.....By the way...Whatever happened to Paul?" asked Mimi...

"No one has seen or heard from him in two years...." said Carlotta.

"He's probably in jail somewhere..."smirked Mimi....

We were all quiet....

Mimi Honeywell smiled...She was a good looking woman....

"Look, enough about the past...Remember when is this worst conversation starter...
Let me know the next time you guys stop by...You all can drink on the house...even you Sharon.." she said and winked...

Sharon laughed and pointed at Mimi...

"That's cold girl..." she said...

Mimi laughed and hugged Sharon and Hugged Carlotta and Hop...

"So good to see you guys...Nice meeting you too Mr. Wallace." she said...and looked at Carlotta and gave her a thumbs up...

We all got up and went to our cars and pulled off...

IV-

Lt. Sissy Van Buren was sitting at her desk when we got in...

''Hey Guys...Chica ,I got some news on your case....." said Sissy...

"Really? I could use some good news" said Carlotta.

"Duke and Rico went back over Gary's apartment...They found two used condoms and a pair of panties in Gary Campbell's  waste basket...."said Sissy..

Carlotta gave Sissy a side eye.....Sissy smiled...

"I know....I know....Don't even go there...but it proves he was with somebody the night he was last seen alive......"said Sissy...

Hazel and Sirena walked in...

''Hey Lotta..."said Sirena..

"Hola Sirena" said Carlotta hugging her...

"I suppose Sissy has told you about what the guys found huh?' said Hazel laughing sheepishly...

"Yess, I heard.."said Carlotta, sighing..

"Well we seperated his DNA and we have seperate DNA on both the condom and the panties and fingerprints that aren't his...Only thing is...neither the DNA or the fingerprint is in the system..."said Hazel...

"And all that proves is that he had sex...His partner doesn't have to be the person who killed him." said Carlotta.

Jimmy walked into the office....

"Hey guys...I got a partial visual of our victim's lady friend....but from what I got..It looks like she was wearing a wig and a floopy hat and some huge glasses...Can't get a complete facial....It's a start though...He was with a woman...Wonder if it was a hooker and she killed him and robbed him?" asked Jimmy...

''He wasn't robbed...His credit cards and his money was in his wallet as well as an expensive wrist watch" said Carlotta...

"Carlotta...Let's go question the working girls in the area...Maybe they saw something."said Sirena...

"At least I feel like I'm doing something..."said Carlotta..

The two of them left and Jimmy went back to the monitor room...

Sissy looked kind of sad...

"I hate to see her like this...She hasn't had a "who done it" since she's been in the unit...None of them Have...All of them, Duke, Tyriq, Jimmy,Chica, Sirena and Hop have 100 percent clearence rates....This might be their first cold case.." mused Sissy.

"You may find me biased..but I think she and Rico are going to crack this..." I said.

"Hmmm...We'll see...We don't have a viable suspect or motive...and next to no evidence..We don't even know where this guy was killed..." said Sissy...

"It looks bad Sissy, but I think they'll get lucky..." I said.

"Care to wager Counselor?" said Sissy..

I pulled out a dollar...

"You're on Lieutenant! Can't believe you're betting against your team." I said.

"I'm not...In fact I hope I lose...: said Sissy.

Sissy and I both laughed...

(TO BE CONTINUED)