Sepia and I stood over Eric's hospital bed...The same doctor we spoke to three days before was talking to us now and his prognosis was not good.
"He's on life support right now...He's lost consciousness and his vitals are weakening by the minute...I have never seen anything like this before in my life...He has lost all of his body hair and he weighs about ninety seven pounds..He's still sweating like nobody's business...and now he's lapsed into a coma....This is just a horrible way to die...I can't imagine another human being doing this to another human being...I can't imagine a reason.." said the Doctor.
Sepia began to weep and I held her tightly..We both had distaste for Eric Derricote, but not the kind of distaste that would make us wish this kind of suffering on him...The only man who I could think of that might hate him this much was dead....His bones probably shifting in the sand at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
48 Hours before we got to the hospital...the chance of catching whoever did this seemed a lot more hopeful...
We met up at Josie's bar as planned. Gus opened it early for this meeting and I arrived with the two ex-Marines, Eddie Martin and Albert King, who were armed to the teeth. I called on my old friend, Patricia "Big Nasty" Porterhouse, who was armed with a sawed off shotgun...Chris Thompson and Chess arrived with Donald "Smooth" , the man who handled their security at their card game and who was their most trusted gun..
Gus fixed us heaping plates of eggs, bacon and hash browns , along with Orange Juice and Tumblers of Hot steaming coffee...Then he left us to our business. Chris looked everybody up and down and then gave me the okay.
"You look like you got good people's Kev...the right kind of people for this caper...Now check it out. I had some of my people do a scope on your boy...Chemical Ali Brown.. Here's the skinny...
This is his address and a detailed map of his house. He's a creature of habit...He visits his accountant every day, at 10:00am sharp...Before that..he visits this Russian Tea House in Northeast Philly....My bet is..it's not to drink tea...but to turn in his skim to the Russian boys he work for. If I'm you..I wait until after he turn in his money to the Russians...Then you take him..
That way, they aint gettin an idea that someone is tryin to make a move on them..He's got a driver and two guys who ride with him... He keeps low key muscle on his block, just walkin up
and down at all times.. We got a few photos of who you should be lookin for...You got just the right amount of muscle to do the damn thing Kev...But you gotta do it right and do it fast..else, a lot of bullets will be flyin and a lot of people will be missin Christmas this year..These boys don't play...Sure you wanna do this?" said Chris.
I just looked at him...Chess looked at me, then shrugged his shoulders, then looked at Chris...
"Sure you do...Okay...Let's eat and then you guys do your thing...Take these cell numbers Kev..
Don't give em to nobody else...If it gets too hot for you..You Hit my man Chess up,He'll know how to get in contact with me and I'll have Fathead send you some re-enforcements...if you do the damn thing right...Chess won't get that call...but still I want to know how everything turns out okay?" said Chris.
"You got it man...and thanks...thank you too Chess...Thanks for your help." I said, shaking both their hands.
"Anything for you baby." said Chess.
We got in a Black suburban and pulled off as Chris, Chess and Gus stood outside Josie's Waving.
It went like clockwork..We followed Chemical Ali Brown and his two men to his accountant's house and then to the Russian Tea House. Then we stayed at least a block behind them as they
parked on his block. Chris and his people had done a great job of logistics... We knew everyone
to look out for.
Eddie Martin and Albert King worked with military precision and quietly got the drop on the two
guys across the street who just happened to be walking around...We knew them from the photos.
Before the driver could make a move...Big Nasty put the shotgun to his temple..and Donald "Smooth" disarmed the other two guys by himself.
I grabbed "Chemical Ali Brown" and put my .45 in his ribs and told him to open the door to his house. He did as he was told and we hearded the entire crew inside and tied them up.
"You guys must be new players...you obviously don't know that I'm connected." said Chemical Ali Brown.
'We obviously don't care" said Big Nasty.
"Look, I don't keep no money in here..not enough to pay all you guys." he said.
"I don't want your money..I want information and I don't have time to jockey with you, so I'll
make it quick..Agent Purple...I hear you're the man to talk to and I hear you sold it to someone."
I said.
"You guys cops?" he asked.
"Do I look like a cop? Just answer my question?"
"Okay..Okay...yeah..a babe had me order that stuff on line for her....and I did...About two weeks ago...but man, I don't deal with that kind of stuff on the regular...I push X and Viagra and Cialis
...you know...sex stuff...I occassionally order poison when somebody wants a quiet hit...but this stuff she wanted was heavy duty...I had never heard of it...But the babe and the shyster knew
what it was." Said Chemical Ali Brown.
"Who was this babe? You say she come here with a lawyer?" I asked.
"Yeah..her name was ..uh..er uh....O..oh....Odessa..yeah...Odessa Mason...She was a sister, man she had a body on her, you had to see her..tits all in ya face....I couldn't believe she was some kind of scientist....She knew her stuff...and her and that lawyer..His name was Rubin Dowell came here and ordered it and paid me handsomely too." he said.
"Odessa Mason...She came here with Rubin Dowell huh? Well he's dead...You wouldn't happen to have had anything to do with that would you?" I asked.
"Look man...he owed a lot of people money...He was doing this transaction to make enough money to pay off his gambling debts...Guess he didn't make enough in enough time huh? I didn't kill him...but you know how that goes...?" said Chemical Ali..
"Well what about the babe...did she say why she wanted this stuff?" I asked.
"Come on man..she wanted to off somebody ..why else would you order some nasty crap like that? She aint give me the details..I didn't care..She paid me and I was happy, that's all." he said.
I believed him.......but just as we were getting ready to go he said -
"Oh yeah, one other thing...It was three of them that came here...Another black guy, real nerdy,
corny lookin guy....with horn rimmed glasses....I thought he might be muscle..cause he had some big ass hands...He sat in the car the whole time....didn't say nothing."
My head was spinning...That guy sounded familiar, but it couldn't be...he was dead..there was no
way he could still be alive and here in the city....This third guy had to be somebody....it couldn't be who I thought it might be...but who? Maybe the third guy wasn't important at all!
We freed Chemical Ali and his men and we left. I called Chris and Chess to thank them once again for their help and then I paid Eddie, Albert, Patricia and Smooth and cut them loose.
The next night...I got Clerow and Cock Robbins and we located Odessa Mason's house. Just like
with Rubin Dowell...the door was open and the house was dark....it smelled like hell...and once inside...we saw why...It looked like a terrific fight had taken place in the house...The furniture was turned upside down and several things were broken...and laying on the floor ,with her neck broken and very dead was Odessa Mason...A beautiful Black woman , who also was a Micro-Biologist...Like I said she was a micro biologist...she was dead now.
So that leads me to today, when my wife and I are watching them take Eric off of life support and watching him take his last gulps of breath on his own...He turned his head toward us and opened his eyes one last time....then he just stared into space......He was gone.........................
The doctor pulled the cover over his body and they wheeled him to the mortuary...He looked at
Sepia and I and said...
"We did everything we could...I'm sorry....I just never saw anything like that." he said.
"Doctor...you said you and several US Doctors attended a World Peace Conference last year in which Agent Purple was discussed and banned right?" I asked.
"Why yes...I did." He said.
"Do you remember an Odessa Mason....a young Black woman...a Micro-biologist?" I asked.
"Yes....Everybody remembers her....She was just so....so...dynamic..." he said.
I looked at Sepia-
"She bought the poison....Chemical Ali told me it was her and the lawyer...Eric must have been
dating her and cheating on her and she discovered it and she poisoned him." I said.
"Eric...who this guy?? Noooo...I understand he was a jock...Not her type at all..She liked intelligent , somewhat nerdy guys...in fact...her boyfriend was there at the conference with her.
He was a Doctor too....Yes...I remember him...a Leonard ...Leonard Culpepper...I remember him,
hell of a nice guy too." said the doctor as he walked off.
"Kevin....He's dead...It can't be him...He's dead." said Sepia.
"No , he's the third guy that Chemical Ali saw that night...The good Doctor is still alive and he's somewhere in this city Sepia....We've got to find him and stop him." I said.
"Yeah, well how are we going to do that Kevin??...We don't even know where to begin." said
Sepia.
"I know....I know...Well, let's go home....I gotta think on this....I swear, it was right there all the time and I just couldn't see it...because I didn't care to..and because I thought he was dead...."
I said...angry at myself....
"How'd he survive that fall into the ocean?" asked Sepia.
"When I find him, I intend to ask him that." I said.
(To be continued......)
"He's on life support right now...He's lost consciousness and his vitals are weakening by the minute...I have never seen anything like this before in my life...He has lost all of his body hair and he weighs about ninety seven pounds..He's still sweating like nobody's business...and now he's lapsed into a coma....This is just a horrible way to die...I can't imagine another human being doing this to another human being...I can't imagine a reason.." said the Doctor.
Sepia began to weep and I held her tightly..We both had distaste for Eric Derricote, but not the kind of distaste that would make us wish this kind of suffering on him...The only man who I could think of that might hate him this much was dead....His bones probably shifting in the sand at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
48 Hours before we got to the hospital...the chance of catching whoever did this seemed a lot more hopeful...
We met up at Josie's bar as planned. Gus opened it early for this meeting and I arrived with the two ex-Marines, Eddie Martin and Albert King, who were armed to the teeth. I called on my old friend, Patricia "Big Nasty" Porterhouse, who was armed with a sawed off shotgun...Chris Thompson and Chess arrived with Donald "Smooth" , the man who handled their security at their card game and who was their most trusted gun..
Gus fixed us heaping plates of eggs, bacon and hash browns , along with Orange Juice and Tumblers of Hot steaming coffee...Then he left us to our business. Chris looked everybody up and down and then gave me the okay.
"You look like you got good people's Kev...the right kind of people for this caper...Now check it out. I had some of my people do a scope on your boy...Chemical Ali Brown.. Here's the skinny...
This is his address and a detailed map of his house. He's a creature of habit...He visits his accountant every day, at 10:00am sharp...Before that..he visits this Russian Tea House in Northeast Philly....My bet is..it's not to drink tea...but to turn in his skim to the Russian boys he work for. If I'm you..I wait until after he turn in his money to the Russians...Then you take him..
That way, they aint gettin an idea that someone is tryin to make a move on them..He's got a driver and two guys who ride with him... He keeps low key muscle on his block, just walkin up
and down at all times.. We got a few photos of who you should be lookin for...You got just the right amount of muscle to do the damn thing Kev...But you gotta do it right and do it fast..else, a lot of bullets will be flyin and a lot of people will be missin Christmas this year..These boys don't play...Sure you wanna do this?" said Chris.
I just looked at him...Chess looked at me, then shrugged his shoulders, then looked at Chris...
"Sure you do...Okay...Let's eat and then you guys do your thing...Take these cell numbers Kev..
Don't give em to nobody else...If it gets too hot for you..You Hit my man Chess up,He'll know how to get in contact with me and I'll have Fathead send you some re-enforcements...if you do the damn thing right...Chess won't get that call...but still I want to know how everything turns out okay?" said Chris.
"You got it man...and thanks...thank you too Chess...Thanks for your help." I said, shaking both their hands.
"Anything for you baby." said Chess.
We got in a Black suburban and pulled off as Chris, Chess and Gus stood outside Josie's Waving.
It went like clockwork..We followed Chemical Ali Brown and his two men to his accountant's house and then to the Russian Tea House. Then we stayed at least a block behind them as they
parked on his block. Chris and his people had done a great job of logistics... We knew everyone
to look out for.
Eddie Martin and Albert King worked with military precision and quietly got the drop on the two
guys across the street who just happened to be walking around...We knew them from the photos.
Before the driver could make a move...Big Nasty put the shotgun to his temple..and Donald "Smooth" disarmed the other two guys by himself.
I grabbed "Chemical Ali Brown" and put my .45 in his ribs and told him to open the door to his house. He did as he was told and we hearded the entire crew inside and tied them up.
"You guys must be new players...you obviously don't know that I'm connected." said Chemical Ali Brown.
'We obviously don't care" said Big Nasty.
"Look, I don't keep no money in here..not enough to pay all you guys." he said.
"I don't want your money..I want information and I don't have time to jockey with you, so I'll
make it quick..Agent Purple...I hear you're the man to talk to and I hear you sold it to someone."
I said.
"You guys cops?" he asked.
"Do I look like a cop? Just answer my question?"
"Okay..Okay...yeah..a babe had me order that stuff on line for her....and I did...About two weeks ago...but man, I don't deal with that kind of stuff on the regular...I push X and Viagra and Cialis
...you know...sex stuff...I occassionally order poison when somebody wants a quiet hit...but this stuff she wanted was heavy duty...I had never heard of it...But the babe and the shyster knew
what it was." Said Chemical Ali Brown.
"Who was this babe? You say she come here with a lawyer?" I asked.
"Yeah..her name was ..uh..er uh....O..oh....Odessa..yeah...Odessa Mason...She was a sister, man she had a body on her, you had to see her..tits all in ya face....I couldn't believe she was some kind of scientist....She knew her stuff...and her and that lawyer..His name was Rubin Dowell came here and ordered it and paid me handsomely too." he said.
"Odessa Mason...She came here with Rubin Dowell huh? Well he's dead...You wouldn't happen to have had anything to do with that would you?" I asked.
"Look man...he owed a lot of people money...He was doing this transaction to make enough money to pay off his gambling debts...Guess he didn't make enough in enough time huh? I didn't kill him...but you know how that goes...?" said Chemical Ali..
"Well what about the babe...did she say why she wanted this stuff?" I asked.
"Come on man..she wanted to off somebody ..why else would you order some nasty crap like that? She aint give me the details..I didn't care..She paid me and I was happy, that's all." he said.
I believed him.......but just as we were getting ready to go he said -
"Oh yeah, one other thing...It was three of them that came here...Another black guy, real nerdy,
corny lookin guy....with horn rimmed glasses....I thought he might be muscle..cause he had some big ass hands...He sat in the car the whole time....didn't say nothing."
My head was spinning...That guy sounded familiar, but it couldn't be...he was dead..there was no
way he could still be alive and here in the city....This third guy had to be somebody....it couldn't be who I thought it might be...but who? Maybe the third guy wasn't important at all!
We freed Chemical Ali and his men and we left. I called Chris and Chess to thank them once again for their help and then I paid Eddie, Albert, Patricia and Smooth and cut them loose.
The next night...I got Clerow and Cock Robbins and we located Odessa Mason's house. Just like
with Rubin Dowell...the door was open and the house was dark....it smelled like hell...and once inside...we saw why...It looked like a terrific fight had taken place in the house...The furniture was turned upside down and several things were broken...and laying on the floor ,with her neck broken and very dead was Odessa Mason...A beautiful Black woman , who also was a Micro-Biologist...Like I said she was a micro biologist...she was dead now.
So that leads me to today, when my wife and I are watching them take Eric off of life support and watching him take his last gulps of breath on his own...He turned his head toward us and opened his eyes one last time....then he just stared into space......He was gone.........................
The doctor pulled the cover over his body and they wheeled him to the mortuary...He looked at
Sepia and I and said...
"We did everything we could...I'm sorry....I just never saw anything like that." he said.
"Doctor...you said you and several US Doctors attended a World Peace Conference last year in which Agent Purple was discussed and banned right?" I asked.
"Why yes...I did." He said.
"Do you remember an Odessa Mason....a young Black woman...a Micro-biologist?" I asked.
"Yes....Everybody remembers her....She was just so....so...dynamic..." he said.
I looked at Sepia-
"She bought the poison....Chemical Ali told me it was her and the lawyer...Eric must have been
dating her and cheating on her and she discovered it and she poisoned him." I said.
"Eric...who this guy?? Noooo...I understand he was a jock...Not her type at all..She liked intelligent , somewhat nerdy guys...in fact...her boyfriend was there at the conference with her.
He was a Doctor too....Yes...I remember him...a Leonard ...Leonard Culpepper...I remember him,
hell of a nice guy too." said the doctor as he walked off.
"Kevin....He's dead...It can't be him...He's dead." said Sepia.
"No , he's the third guy that Chemical Ali saw that night...The good Doctor is still alive and he's somewhere in this city Sepia....We've got to find him and stop him." I said.
"Yeah, well how are we going to do that Kevin??...We don't even know where to begin." said
Sepia.
"I know....I know...Well, let's go home....I gotta think on this....I swear, it was right there all the time and I just couldn't see it...because I didn't care to..and because I thought he was dead...."
I said...angry at myself....
"How'd he survive that fall into the ocean?" asked Sepia.
"When I find him, I intend to ask him that." I said.
(To be continued......)
18 comments:
I knew it!!! He ain't dead. This is getting good.
Damnnnn...Bored and talkative called it the other day..She said That Culpepper was still alive...
Oh man..Now, the question is...Where is he?
So...Dr.Culpepper is still amongst the living eh? I'm not shocked..
The way the last caper on the boat ended..I knew he'd be back.
What motivation does Kevin have to solve this? He didn't like either of the guys that Culpepper killed and now that Eric is dead..He is under no obligation to avenge that death..but I know that he is..
Thing is...Culpepper could be miles away by now and there is no proof that he had anything to do with this...He was in the car..He never came inside.
Russians, Black Market Gangsters,
Chess, Chris,Big Nasty, Smooth...They were all just teases.. Leonard Culpepper was the man all along.
Kevin needs to find Lolita...Leonard is probably going to go right for her.
Gee...I don't ever want to push Leonard Culpepper's buttons.lololol.
Love has driven this guy,Leonard Culpepper crazy...I can't wait for the eventual showdown between him and Kevin.
Man, Fam...you know how to keep the suspense flowin.-lol
I knew Culpepper was in the mix..I knew he wasn't dead and I knew he had the motivation to do this guy in..I just aint say nothin..lololol.
Ohh the passion of love..what it can make a man do....lolololol.
Wow...This story was so cinematic...I could envision everything just the way you wrote it...Loved it.
Another gem Keith...and now..Kevin's got to stop Culpepper!
This is getting good...Can't wait to see what happens next Keith...but then again..I always say that!-:)
This is hella good Keith...And I don't even smell the conclusion coming yet..Wow!!!
Man....You really dropped some clues all around this story ,then you led us in a completely different direction and now you've dropped what everybody thought all along right in our laps ,That Dr.Leonard Culpepper is alive and well and well crazy....Wow man, well, what next?
Kevin has got to hurry up...Either Culpepper is going to kill or kidnap Lolita or maybe just disapear..he has no reason to stay around..He really just wanted revenge on Eric.
Hey sweets been long, sorry for being a stranger. Been missing you on FB too....lol
Wish I could have gotten some of that breakfast Gus fixed up
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