If You Wanna Know About A Man

If you really want to know about a man...Talk to the women in his life. My Mother always used to say that and I have found that to be true. As we walked out of the morgue, the first thing I noticed was the dead man's "girlfriend" Olivia Rockland....She had on a rather expensive wedding band. She was married. She saw me eyeing her left hand, middle finger and she looked at me dryly and said- "My husband and I had an open marriage."

I laughed...Neither she nor Cock knew what I was laughing about. I knew who her husband was.. Rollie Rockland was one of the wealthiest Black men in Philadelphia. He was into Publishing, owned a satelite radio station, was co-owner of a cable TV sation and on the board of directors of the Magazine that I was employed by. I knew her husband very well. She was an attractive peice of eye candy....Light skinned, yet built as well as any of her darker skinned, yet
less heeled sistas....Redish brown hair...I could see what men saw in her... I knew that Cock Robbins had probably sampled her during his days of Semi-Pro football and had moved on to different women....She had probably never been loyal to Rollie....nor he to her..I had seen Mr. Rockland more than one time at one of those magazine affairs all of us just had to attend with an Asian beauty or a Hispanic woman...Never with a Black woman. I was surprised that he was actually married to a Black woman.

"Look Mr. Kevin, Walter and I had a thing...a good thing...I met him at one of your magazine's
party's ...Yes Kevin..I know who you are...I read both of your blogs "Kevin's Spot" and "Ventures" I love your writing..and I love your articles in Hype magazine...I know all about how you cracked the Jean Cokely case and the Singing Blogger case and how recently you helped
The FBI put an end to Eric Slaughter's career in crime...That's why I called Cock and asked him to talk to you..You're the only one who can prove to the world that Walter Branson was murdered." said Olivia.

I looked at her and smirked-

"Why do you care? He's gone, no matter what I can prove...he was just an obscure Semi-Pro Football player that nobody outside of this area ever heard of..Why is this a big deal to you?"
I asked.

"Because I loved him...I had bought him a house and a car....I would have done anything for him,
he was the love of my life." she said.

She reminded me of Sepia , when I first met her and how she initially felt about Cock Robbins, and how when she found out that Cock had been sleeping with her mother too, as well as a few other girls, that love had turned to icy hatred that she still held on to today. Funny, Cock didn't seem to care that Olivia had been seeing Walt, but everytime he saw me with Sepia..I detected a bit of regret in his eyes and in his demeanor. Yet, in some strange way..Cock and I had become friends..kind of sort of...You know what they say..You keep your friends close....

"Mr Morris...We try to duck a few punches here at Homicide." said Lt. Sissy Van Buren.

"I know, but it seems to me that if a man is a known lefty , he wouldn't shoot himself on the right
side of his head...it would seem rather impossible."I said.

"It's not impossible...He had long arms...."she said.

"Yes he did, but don't you find that strange ?" I said.

" No I don't. Is that all you got..? He was left handed and there is a gunshot wound on the right side of his head? Come on Mr. Morris...He was by himself..In his boxer shorts, with an empty bottle of rum by his side and a pistol with five of six shots still in it on the floor...with only his prints on them...It was a suicide. Besides...we went over all this with his wife..she didn't believe it either."said Lt. Van Buren.

"His wife?? Mrs. Rockland is not his wife.....she's married to-" I said before I was interrupted.

"I know who she's married to, who doesn't know?...I'm not talking about her...I'm talking about his wife, Linda Branson...They had just got married two weeks ago..Don't go bothering her either, she's devestated right now...leave it alone." she said.

I smiled, thanked the Detective for her time and walked outside to my car. Cock and Olivia were
waiting.

"Well, what did they say?" asked Cock

"Oh ,they told me that they talked this over with his wife and that she was upset too." I said, letting that bomb marinate. I eyed Cock...He clearly was shocked...but Olivia was as cool as a cucumber..

"He had a wife?" asked Cock.

"Yup, sure did...a new wife at that, they had only been married two weeks, but you knew that,right Olivia?" I said.

Olivia smiled and looked at me-

"That's what I like about you Kevin Morris...you don't miss a damn trick....Yes...we had a terrible quarrel, Walt and I, and he went off and got married...and-"

"Okay, you wanna cut the crap.....He didn't go off and do nothin...He had been seeing both of you all along .....but let's face it...you're on the good side of 42...I'm bettin his little wife is in her twenties...and you found out rather accidentally that he was playin you..right?? You weren't about to allow this to go down....You had risked your marriage for him..he wasn't gonna play you
cheap, right? " I said.

"Well, you got some of it right...only I didn't kill him...I loved him. I didn't kill him...If I did , why would I get you involved, especially after the police have closed the case?" she said.

"I don't know, maybe you're crazy." I laughed.

"No..I'm not crazy...you know I'm telling the truth." she said.. I knew she was telling the truth, but I had to test her to be sure...Next..I'd have to rattle another cage...I'd have to talk to the
wife. Cock and Olivia got in their car and I got in mine and followed them...I knew that Olivia knew where this wife lived too...Didn't have to ask...I knew women.. Knew em real good.
I was beginning to understand this man too..This dead man....He had some kind of spell over these two women..what was it? Was he good in bed? Was he really a good loving man?? or was he a master player? I'd know for sure when I talked to his wife.

(To Be Continued....)