Now That I've Found You

 Gus, the head bartender and owner of Josies told me from the time I was a little boy...Way before I started doing this Private Investigator thing that no matter what somebody did out in the street that they thought was secret...Somebody, somewhere knew about it!

Time and time again...this proved to be true...and for the right amount of cash, with the right amount of prodding,pushing and threats, real and imagined...you could usually find somebody to talk about it...I had done all of these things for the past few days....Been in bars, strip clubs, legitimate establishments prodding,pushing, threatening and duking a few people with cash...and finally, Gus of all people called me at my home..

"Hey kid...Stop by my joint...there's a guy here who wants to talk to you." he said.

I smiled....It was times like this that I loved this Private Investigator thing...Times like this..that it paid off!

I kissed my baby girl and tickled her as I put on my suit jacket....My wife, Sepia walked over to me...

"You caught something?" she asked...

"I did indeed." I said pulling her to me and kissing her passionately....

"Well uh, don't stay out too late...If you get home in time...I might just be uh prepared for you again if you know what I mean." she said and winked...

Thinking about that almost made me want to forget about all of this and just stay home with Sepia.

II-

Josie's was packed as usual. It was Thursday Night...Crab and Wing Night....There was free crab legs and fried chicken wings....The entire neighborhood was out and in force...Plus a double header....

Reed Nelson and Downtown Brown and their quintets were playing...

So the music was flowing...Liquor was pouring, people were dancing, eating and drinking...Perfect....I could move and talk and not be noticed....Well at least not by everybody....

"Heyy sugar, how's Sepia and that baby?" said Honey Brown...the sexy manager and the wife of B-Flat Brown, the organist who was playing for both bands tonight...

"Heyyy Honey B.  I just left em both...They're doing fine." I said...

"The Boss man wants to see you...The guy who wants to talk to you is at the very end of the bar." she said.

I smiled and gave her a soft kiss on the lips....I had been doing this since we were kids...It was a friendly greeting...Amazing we had never taken it farther....but like Sissy Van Buren, Honey Brown was like my sister...I just didn't think of her in a sexual way....Well, not a lot!

"Ouuuu we gone have to cool it with this kissin sugar...We both married..."she joked..

"I know..We keep this up and we'll both wind up living in that extra room upstairs." I joked...

"Ouuu, go away Kevin, you so crazy." she laughed...

III-

I walked toward Gus and he motioned me to the gentleman sitting at the end of the bar....Gus and I nodded to each other and walked toward him...

"You Kevin Morris?" he asked..

"Yeah, who are you?" I asked..

"I'm a Repo guy....Ralph Southerland ..This is my card...Heard you was lookin for a car...A green 2002 Ford Focus Wagon right?"he said.

"Yeah...you found it?" I asked.

"I did...and more..the owner of it too...It's a babe."he said...

I showed him a photo of Contessa-

"Yesss lawd, that's her...I don't forget a body like that..."he said smiling...

"So you are going to repo the car?"I asked..

"I'm prepared to...The car has been reported stolen or missing...The city wants that car impounded..." he said.

"But you haven't yet and why?" I asked.

"Well..word on the street is that you would pay me more if I told you about it first." he said smiling...

I passed him an envelope...He looked inside and smiled..He then gave me an address...

"What about the girl?" I asked...

"Funny thing...Everytime I've seen her, she's been with three dudes...They've never let her drive...She's always in the back seat with one and the other two are up front...They don't look like the uh socialble type if you get my drift....That is a rough neighborhood..." he said.

"Thanks...I can handle them....Then you can get the car." I said.

"You a cop?" he asked.

"Do I look like a cop?" I asked...

"No..you don't.."he said.

"I'm not...I'm a Private Investigator.....Close but no cubey doll." I said laughing...He laughed too...

''That's funny."he said.

"What are you drinkin sport?" I said.

IV-

I kind of wished I didn't have to do this at night...but it was the only way.....I called in my guys...We found the block and we found the car....Just where my guy said it was parked...Three blocks away from where the trio and the girl actually were...We were in luck...We actually saw them pulling up and getting out of the car...

The guy in the backseat with Contessa was Johnny Winchester....I recognized him from his mug shot...He had his hand firmly on her arm and what looked like...a .38 tucked in the waistband of his jacket...The other two men with him were definitely strapped...

Sean Jackson, Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson were down the street in front of the house in a car with tinted windows....Sean called my phone...

"Yo" I said.

"Kev...There is another guy inside the house...I don't estimate there is anyone else in there with him."he said.

"Is it "Ice" Waters or Cold Hearted Stewart?" I asked.

"Neither...this is a young punk..."said Sean...

"Okay..So I just made Winchester and two others....So we are talking about four guys right?" I said.

"Yeah ,no more...I'm using this Laser Scope that Tom supplied...and I got a good view of the joint..Not much in there...Lockpick Johnson already beat the locks to the back entrance...It's a small basement that leads right upstairs...You know how these row houses are..."said Sean Jackson...

"What about the alarm?" I asked...

"It's cheap...Lockpick disarmed it."said Sean...

"Good...We goin in."

I looked at Clerow and Owen Todd....They had on Kevlar vests and glocks...I had on a vest and my glock..
Peeping Tom had supplied us with night vision glasses too....We were really ready...

"I feel like I'm in the CIA Boss..."said Clerow...

"Yeah...well you'd better act like it." I said.

Owen snickered...."Hey where's Kool Kat?" he asked..

"Oh he's around.." I said..

"You guys ready?" I asked...

"Yeah boss."said Clerow..

"yeah man" said Owen Todd...

"Right behind you boss." said Peeping Tom..who was armed with a .40 and a camera..

"Let's do it!" I said.

We entered through the back and creeped up the stairs...

"Damn it girl...I can't believe you were sleeping with Fathead...Fathead Newton"snarled Johnny Winchester...

"It was a step up!" she snarled back...

The other two men snickered...

He slapped Contessa...

"Comedian eh? See if it's so funny when you aint got no teeth...."he snarled.

"You're holding me for nothing...He's not going to help your boss, not ever...He's done with this and so am I..." she said.

"Ohhhhhhh, you're gonna live happily ever after right? Forget it...Fathead is a gangster just like we all are...You don't walk away from what you are."he snarled..

"People can change...People can do better...You don't have to stay the same...Fathead changed....I changed.."she said...

"You changed....HA!  You were nothin but a little low life ,food stamps using tramp when I met you and that's all you'll ever be,...face it.."he said

"I sure hate to break up your morality play folks...but I'm afraid the show is over ."I said.

They turned around startled...

''Who the hell are you?" asked Johnny.....

I put my gun to Johnny Winchester's head....Owen Todd and Clerow put their guns on the other two guys....

"I'm the guy with the gun on you and the guy that's going to take this girl out of here with me." I said.

A fourth guy appeared in the living room with an uzi walked in-

"Over my dead body ace." he snarled.

Only to hear the click of a gun...a big gun...A .44 magnum! He turned around and stared into the unsmiling face of Walter "Kool Kat " Jones...

"That can be arranged pal." snarled Kool Kat...

The gunman looked like he'd urinated on himself....He dropped his gun and put his hands up!

"Thought I'd join the party Kev...Hope you don't mind..." he laughed...

I smiled...

"Not at all Big Man." I said.

Johnny Winchester stomped his foot in anger and frustration...

"Damn it! I tole yall to watch the damn door and the outside....Damn it!" he said.

We  bound and tied Johnny Winchester and his thugs up and placed them in the car...

I placed a quick call to the Police...Lt. Sissy Van Buren at C.I.D.  I looked at Peeping Tom...

"Get that film to this address...Make sure ADA Keith Wallace has it...That ought to be enough for him to rack these boys here up on kidnapping charges." I said.

"Okay my friend..."said Tom....

I cut all of my guys loose and I took Contessa with me...

"You're not a cop are you ?" asked Contessa as we drove through the city streets..

"No I'm not...I was hired by Arthur..." I said.

Her eyes lit up....

"He's here? He's in Philly?" she said.

"Yeah....My name is Kevin Morris...I'm a private investigator...I owed him a favor or two..."I said.

V-

I knocked on the door of Fathead's apartment...He came to the door and tears streamed down his face...

"Oh My God....I never thought I'd ever see you again Contessa.." he said and hugged her and kissed her passionately....

"Arthur....I have a confession to make...My name is not Contessa...first off."she said.

"I know who you really are...I know all about you and why....Mr. Morris here is a very good Private Investigator...."He said, smiling at me...

"You don't hate me?" she said.

"No...believe me ,I'm guilty of far worse things.." he said.

"Big man...You've got to get out of here...Once they find out that she's not in police custody it won't take long for them to put two and two together..They'll figure out that you're back in town ...They'll hunt you..They'll find you....Call Ralph, Call Roscoe..Tell em to be on alert...But most of all, Get out of here." I said.

"He's right honey....We have to go..."she said.

"First thing in the morning....Tonight...We celebrate...You and me...The whole world is right again...Now That I've found you...."

He passed me another envelope...

"Kevin...That's 100G's...buy something nice for Sepia and that new baby of yours..I can't thank you enough." he said...

I smiled...

As I walked toward my car , I could hear the bed squeaking....and the moans and sounds of lovemaking...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh Arthur I've missed you soooo much....ouuuuuuuuuuu..."

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh girl, not as much as I've missed youuuuu,ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, work me daddy, work me...."

"Yesssssssssssssssssss....ohhhhhhhhhhhh my goddddddddddddd..."

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...."

They had left the window open....

I smiled...What a lucky guy.....Now...I was going to go home and get lucky.....It was a little before midnight..

(CONCLUSION NEXT)