What I Like About You

"Mabel, Daddy is doing just great...He sent some of his Peach Cobbler up here with me and he said you need to call him more." Said an Excited Corabeth as she greeted her older sister ,Mabel and her younger sister Anita at the Airport...Her husband Clerow held their daughter in his arms. He avoided eye contact with Mabel and she with him. He felt more and more remorseful now than he had a week before when he and Mable had been making passionate love on her living room couch and then in her bad...He had fantasized about it, had been close a time before ,but now he had gone...they had gone and done the deed and he was wracked with guilt. Corabeth looked great..she was tanned, had a new hairdue and had a new dress on that hit every curve just right...He hadn't looked at her with such lust in a long while..but now, he didn't feel as though he was even worthy of her after what he had gone and done just days before. Mable was a mixture of emotions...For one, she felt guilty about feeling a slight twinge of revenge for doing to her sister what her sister had done to her...lure Clerow out of her bed and into hers...and on the other hand, she realized that she had long forgave her sister that and had actually admired Clerow for being a man and marrying her sister after he discovered she was pregnant by him. Corabeth for her part was no fool...She knew that Clerow still had the hots for her sister..She often noticed the longing looks he gave her when she would come by their house...She knew that that day she tempted Clerow, she had done wrong and that had she never gotten pregnant,Clerow surely would have married Mabel instead of her....but she grew to love Clerow.. She loved how gallant and gentlemenly he treated Mabel when they had been together and she had always wanted a man to be that way with her..She never meant for things to get this far out of whack..but they were..and there was no turning back. It was, what it was. Anita was just getting to know both of her sisters and was oblivious to most of what was going on, but even she could feel the electricity in the air when Corrie as she called her,Clerow and Mable were in the same room. One day she would ask them just what happened. "Fish eyed nigguh, Ah don't trust him." said their father, Willie "Sweet Dick" Jenkins, about Clerow ,who himself had chased his share of women in his day. Of his four children, Only Mabel and Corabeth's mother had ever called herself his wife. He had abondoned Victoria and her mothers. He was a rolling stone. "Neet, would you watch the baby tonight...I need to get reaquainted wit mah wife...you understand dont'cha?" said Clerow... Anita smiled and winked at her brother in law... "Sure Clerow...I understand..Carlton and I will take her out for ice cream..would you like that baby girl?" she cooed at the baby. Mabel looked at Clerow and Corabeth and hung her head...She wished more than anything that "88" was coming home. That night...once home..Clerow pulled Corabeth to him...and kissed her passionately, oblivious to the fact that she dropped most of her packages on the floor... "mmmmmmph...ohhhh, Clerow...wait a minute...let me get in the house good..." she said. Clerow closed the door and practically hemmed Corabeth up against the wall.. He deep throated her with his tongue...kissing her like he did that first time in the parlor back in Louisiana... Corabeth felt herself getting moist.... 'Oh Clerow..let's go upstairs...Not here, not down here in the living room" she said... How different she was from her sister...Clerow thought to himself as he followed Corabeth up the stairs and into their bedroom...Pants and socks came off as he ran up the steps...Corabeth just giggled like a school girl...she so loved feeling desired....wanted...she had begun to wonder if her husband still felt that way about her...always running the streets with Kevin ,helping out with his capers and all. Within minutes she was in Bra and panties only and Clerow was completely nude...He pinned his wife against the wall and kissed her even more passionately than when they had been downstairs...He turned and looked over his shoulder and there was Mabel...Standing there looking at them!!! He blinked and she was gone! "Something wrong Clerow? You stopped." said Corabeth. "Nah...Nah...everything is alright." said Clerow as he slipped her panties down and she stepped out of them and she un hooked her bra...He lifted her up and lowered her down on his massive erection...She breathed deeply and then seemed as if she was out of breath as he entered her... "OH MY GODDDDDD.....Clerow, you really missed me didn't you? ahhhhhhh...ohhhhhhhhhhh.." she moaned.... He carried her over to the bed and layed her on top of the covers.....He entered her again and began moving inside of her smoothly and with purpose..... 'Ohhhh godddd Corrie, don't you leave me like this ever again...." he said as he continued his gentle and slow stroking..... "Never baby...never...ohhhhhh my goddddddd...Clerow....." she said, enjoying every inch of her husband..... Later as they lay under the covers, completely satisfied an exhausted..Corabeth tapped Clerow on the shoulders... "Clerow honey." "Yeah baby..." " I know you still have a thing for my sister." "What? Huh? What you talkin bout Corrie?" asked a now frightened Clerow. "I know that you think about her sometimes...and I just want you to know that I'm giving you my permission...if she's good with it....for you to scratch that itch...for you and her to get what ever you have out of your system once and for all....All I ask is that you wear some protection and that I not know about it.." she said. Clerow was silent for a minute, then he quietly said to his wife. "That's not going to ever happen Corrie....I don't want Mabel like that anymore....I mean,I did for a long time...but I've gotten her out of my system....all I want is you." he said. "Are you just sayin that so you can get some more?" she laughed.... "No, I'm saying that cause it's true." he said...knowing that it was more true than she'd ever know. "Oh baby, that's what I like about you." said Corabeth.... "That's what I like about you too girl." said Clerow, as he held Corabeth in the crook of his chest and they both silently entered a peaceful sleep. (For Carlene....)

Slip Up

ART: "The Dance" By Frank Morrison

Clerow finished painting Mabel's bedroom.. She thanked him. She offered him some lemonaid and he sat at the table.. It had been a long time since they had been alone together.

" So how is Corabeth doing?" said Mabel, making small talk.

"She and the baby are in New Orleans, visiting your father....been down there for a week....she called last night." He said.

"Yeah, I talked to her the day before last." she said uneasily. She spied Clerow looking at her breats, which were fighting with the black bra she was wearing to stay inside of her blouse. She slowly tucked the strap back inside and tried to close her blouse a little.

"I can't thank you enough for painting these three rooms...I can't get "88" to do anything around here." she said.

"Well, the man is on the road half the year,I guess he tired when he comes home." said Clerow.

"Yeah... I suppose...He come home though, all he wants to do is eat and.......well you know." said Mabel, a little embarrassed by what that implied.

"Can't blame the man for wantin to do neither ." said Clerow. He only knew the piano player "88" vaguely. They weren't friends, but they weren't enemies either..he had nothing against the man though...He just hated to see him with Mabel...His Mabel....the reason he was in Philadelphia in the first place...To try and make up for a late night tryst with her sister, Corabeth, now his wife..that resulted in the birth of their daughter....Had that of never happened, He's still be with Mabel..and they would still be in Louisiana...All of them ,perhaps.

"So where is the Piano man?" asked Clerow.

'They're out in San-Francisco....been out there on the West Coast for three months...Goin to Japan next and will be back here around the middle of next month." said Mabel.

"Wow....he's gone for long stretches aint he?" asked Clerow.

"Yeah.."

"I guess you get lonely here sometimes don't you?" said Clerow.

"Yes...I do." said Mabel.

There was a long silence between them...Neither of them wanted to go any farther, finnally Mabel said..

"Clerow..let's go out and get a drink."

"Aww Mabel, I aint dressed to go no where." he said.

"Look, I'll get dressed here and we go over to your house and I'll wait for you to get dressed and we can go get a drink." she said.

'Welllll, I suppose there aint no harm in that." he said.

He sat and waited while she took a shower and dressed. He didn't know why everything Mabel wore was so tight and revealing...The last thing he wanted to do was think of her in a sexual way,
but she wore a Black , sheer dress that was just a knockout and her perfume was soft and exciting in a way that he wished it weren't.

They drove to his home and he took a shower...Unknown to him...Mabel sneaked a peak, while he was in the shower...Through the glass shower door, she got a good look at what she used to know so well...She closed her eyes and thought of their days in Louisiana and their nights in a hotel room together.

Her Father, Willie 'Sweet Dick' Jenkins never cared for Clerow too much and so they had to sneak to motels and hotels to have their trysts. Ironically enough..the one time they could have done it at their home, her fresh younger and equally voluptuous sister, Cora beth lured him into her bedroom. She also thought about the fact that Clerow had beded her older half sister ,Victoria...Who she didn't even know had existed until they got to Philadelphia. How could she now be faantasizing about sleeping with him? The only one of her sisters he hadn't slept with was her youngest half sister ,Anita , who now, also lived here... She stopped and remembered...Whatever else there had been between them... He was now her sister's husband..her brother in law...and it could not go any further than that.

Clerow wore a nice pair of pressed jeans and a white dress shirt and some well polished black shoes.. He looked nice and neat and he smelled great too! He always was a well groomed man she remembered.

They went to Josie's.....and ordered several drinks. Few people noticed them and no heads turned. Everybody knew that Mabel was his sister in law and they both hailed from Louisiana..it
was no big deal that they were here drinking together. They left Josie's around Midnight and headed to a Soul Food joint called "Big Poppa's' There they had Cabbage, Red Beans and Rice, Fried Chicken and sweet tea.. food that they knew and liked.

"It aint as good as down home, but it'll do." laughed Clerow as he and Mabel ate their food. After they finished eating, They drove to Ciro's...The joint that Fathead Newton owned (silently) and hung out in when he wasn't at Josie's. Ciro's was much larger than Josie's and had more people..
The important thing was that in Ciro's..Nobody there knew the two of them and they were free
to do whatever...They laughed, they talked...they danced slow and Mabel didn't move when she felt Clerow's erection....she didn't move his hands as they eased down her back and caressed her
behind...She didn't care tonight...she felt reckless....So did Clerow...he didn't know if it was the liquor in his system feuling his sudden lust that had been dormat until now or if this was really him. He couldn't know it, but Mabel felt the same way.

They drove back to Mabel's house , where they sat on the couch...They talked about anything and everything until close to three in the morning..

"Mabel, it's damn near three in the morning...I'd better get going.." laughed Clerow.

'You're drunk...why don't you stay and sleep on the couch and you can leave in the morning." said Mabel.

"I don't know if that would be a good idea." said Clerow.

Mabel looked Clerow in the eyes and she said silently..-"Why Clerow? Why would it be a bad idea?"

Maybe it was the alcohol that gave him the courage or recklessness or whatever, but he took her into his ams and kissed her passionately...Mabel didn't try to stop him either..She returned his passion...

"Ohhhhhh...Clerow..." she moaned....

"Mabel, how long has it been?" he asked...

"Three months." she said...

"You need me right now..." he said telling a lie that people tell from time to time to justify their sins.

"Yes..I do...I do.." she said as she opened his shirt and lifted off his undershirt...Clerow lifted her
dress off of her and began kissing her along side her neck and caressing her breasts...

"You don't know how long I've dreamed about this.." he moaned....

"Ohhhhhhhh, Clerow, don't say anymore....ohhhhhhhhhh.." she moaned as she took his penis in her hand and stroked it gently....it seemed as if it was growing as she stroked it..He pushed her
down on the couch and mounted her and began to stroke her with wild abandon....She moaned with pleasure as Clerow continuously moved up and down inside her as though it was the end of the world..

3:00 am , became 4:00 am and 4:00am became 4:50 am...

"Ohhhhhhhh baby...I need you sooo badd!!!!" he moaned...

"Ohhhhhh Clerow, I need you too!..ohhhhhhhhh.." she screamed with pleasure as she squeezed his back!

He came with a violent abandon that he had never experienced with Corabeth and likewise, Mabel came several times herself, before the both of them rolled on to the floor...breathing heavy and laughing out loud.

They got up and walked to Mabel's bedroom, where they got in bed and went at it again...this time slower and softer and more intense than the first time...

When they woke up...it was 10:00 am in the morning....Friday Morning.

"Oh my God....it's Morning." said Mabel...

"Well yeah? What did you think it would be , night?" laughed Clerow.

"I'm not self employed like you Clerow...I have a job....I've got to call them and tell them I won't be in.." she said.

"Is that what's really bothering you Mabel?"

"Clerow, we did something wrong....We shouldn't have done what we did last night....oh my God..I feel so terrible.." She said.

Clerow hung his head...he too felt remorse...he couldn't beleive he had slept with his sister in law.. He had dreamed about it..he had thought about, he had fantasized about it...but he never expected to actually do it...He had stepped over his boundary, his moral boundary.

'Mabel, we were wrong, but it didn't feel wrong..." He said.

"No it didn't Clerow, but it was...We can't ever do this again..." she said ,still hanging her head.

"No, we can't...and we can't ever say anything about this...not to anybody." he said.

"Of course not.." she agreed.

Clerow dressed and slipped out of her house silently and got in his car and drove away.. Mabel stood at the door and watched as his car drove out of sight....Tears flowed down her face and she didn't quite realize why.

Big Tuna in Little Caymen

As I packed my one little traveling bag at the Airport and prepared to go first to Miami and then to the Caymen Islands....Sepia kissed me...at first a peck, then a long hot smouldering kiss...

"Wow" I said , almost blushing, if a Black man can blush ..."

"That's Just so you remember what you have here and don't fall under the spell of any island girls." she laughed.

Chris Thompson was there too...He took me to the side and whispered in my ear...

"Alright Kev, remember who I told you to ask for...Her name is Barbara West...They call her "Big Tuna" She is to that island, what I used to be in West Philly, you feel me? She can supply muscle and information. She knows everything going on on that little island..Tell her you know me and she'll lead you right to the doc..." he said.

"Got it Chris...Thanks man." I said.

"You strapped?" he asked.

"Nah...I can't take nothing on a plane, you know that.." I said.

"Don't worry...Big Tuna will have you covered. Be easy Kevin." he said.

"You know I will" I said, as I boarded my plane and waved goodbye to Chris and my wife.

After I flew to Miami..I caught a small plane and headed to the Caymen Islands....Little Caymen to be exact...the smallest island of them all. . It is located in the Caribbean Sea, about 87 miles (140 km) northeast of Grand Cayman and five miles (8 km) west of Cayman Brac. Little Cayman has a permanent population of less than 170 and is less than ten square miles in area, about ten miles (16 km) long and one mile (1.6 km) wide. Most of this island is at Sea Level.

Once there, I went in search of "Big Tuna". She wasn't hard to find.. Barbara "Big Tuna' West, was a beauty...Her curves could rival Mabel Jenkins and my wife, Sepia...She was dark skinned and wore her hair in micro braids.. She dressed very stylish and had a cute dimple in her cheek.
She owned a small bar that kind of reminded me of Josie's in Philly and she lived in a small modest house. Like Chris Thompson, she handled her other business, quietly and without rancor or drama. She poured me a tall drink..a mojito and we sat talking... I couldn't help but stare at the red bra straps that protuded from the side of that hot red dress she was wearing.

"So ,you know Chris Thompson huh?" she asked.

"Yes..we all grew up together in Philly.." I said.

" I grew up in Philly too...Haven't been there in years though... Used to do business with Chris a
long time ago..now I do business with Fathead sometimes...but I preferred Chris..he was a real gentleman..Quiet...kool...heh..heh.heh...sexy.......but you didn't come here for that...You are looking for American Doctor, who just found out that he is a wanted man...I will give you directions as to where you can find him....Please understand...I don't want any trouble..I like to keep things quiet around here...That's the same thing I told that woman who came sniffing around here for him a day ago." she said.

"A woman? What Woman?" I asked.

"She said that she was working with you." said Big Tuna.

"I'm not working with anybody." I said.

"Well, whatever....Here is where you can find Dr. Sarber and his lady friend....before you go looking for him, stop outside....My man, Jimbo has a package for you." she said.

I thanked her and I walked outside, where a tall muscular black man passed me a package.

"Smith and wesson smokeless...fully loaded, untraceable.." he said.

"Thanks...I hope I don't need this." I said.

"You'll need it." he said and walked away in the opposite direction.

I took a cab to the small Villa where Dr. Sarber was staying with a very attractive woman....She was sitting at a table drinking a tropical drink and Dr. Sarber had his hands up under her dress.
He was staring at her intently...

"Ouuuyu....Stop it now....ouuuuuuu..ohhhh you are getting me so hot." she laughed.

"Then put that drink down and show me how hot you are baby." he laughed....

Before this got any hotter..I interupted his little party.

"Mike ,I never figured you to be the soul of romance." I said as I walked over to their table. He was so stunned seeing me that he dropped his drink...

'Kevin...what the hell are you doing here and how did you find me?" he said.

"I guess you don't know what I do as a side job....I'm a private detective." I said.

"Oh yeah? " he said laughing....

"Yeah and I know that you murdered your wife...I've got proof....I've already been to the cops...
They are pretty interested in talking to you Mike." I said.

"Oh yeah...well they aint.....I'm not going back to the states....I like it here....My wife was insured for two million dollars....I cashed it in and came here....I've got more money in my off shore accounts...I can live here the rest of my life....Thanks to a Judge I own and a couple of cops..Look
around you....Do you see any cops?? No you don't and even if some show up, they won't arrest me...I own the cops here that matter , and this island doesn't have a treaty with the U.S., So you see Kevin...You came down here for nothing. You might as well go on back to Philly." He said with a sneer...

He was right...I had no authority at all..I wasn't a cop and even if I got the cops on this crooked island.. They'd do nothing..... Big Tuna's people had more integrity..At least they didn't pretend to be what they were not. He had gotten away scott free. I was getting ready to turn around and walk away when we both heard a voice that made us jump!

"Hello Michael...It's been a long time hasn't it?" came the voice....A voice I knew very well...The voice that had been calling me, giving me information and help on cracking this case..

'Sherry? Sherry baby...how are you doing?" exclaimed Mike.

"Don't you Sherry baby me.....you low life..." She said.

"Michael, what is going on here? Who is this man and who is this damn woman?" asked his ladyfriend.

"They are nobody...and they are leaving." he said.

"You see Kevin, Michael and I have history...I helped him kill his first wife....years ago...the same way he killed Jessica... I purchased the lethal chemicals for him...I used to be a Pharmacist...Michael and I were lovers....For years, We snuck around...with him promising me he was going to get a divorce and marry me... and stringing me along. I'm 43 years old..43...and he's been stringing me along since I was 28. Finnally, he insured her for 3 million dollars and got me to go along with helping him murder her. I did and being the Cheif M.E. There was never an autopsy done. Sound Familiar Kevin? I thought that now we were going to be together, but you know what that dirty low down sucker did? He up and married Jessica, my best friend...It seems the good doc had been sneaking around with her also, and she knew how I felt about him, but she kept it a secret all that time." said the woman named Sherry.

"You think you know people " I said to Sherry.

"I know, right?" she said.

I looked at Micheal Sarber...I really didn't know him that well...I really didn't know him at all.
I would have never imagined that this seeming nerd was really a player amongst players.Who
knew? Looks can be deceiving.

"Kevin...I was standing right across the street from you the day after his wife died...I saw you and your wife walk up to his house and hear all of that cooing and grunting and humping going on.. I couldn't beleive it...he had thrown me over for another hussy...when just the week before ,he had his hand up my skirt, practically ripping my underwear off ,trying to nail me to the wall in the back of my office...Low down nasty buzzard... I told him about the Black Market website where he could order more lethal drugs. He had wined me and dined me and begged me to give him some just weeks before and like a fool, I let him back in my bed..then after he got what he wanted, I didn't hear from him anymore.I wasn't going to let him use me or hurt me again. I vowed to make sure he was brought to justice." said Sherry.

"Micheal...IS WHAT SHE SAID TRUE??? YOU TOLD ME YOU LOVED ME!!! YOU DOG! You were over my house...humping and grunting and telling me how good it felt and how you couldn't wait until your divorce came through so you could marry me. and have me all the time....you lying ,cheating dog..and to top it off, you're a murderer???? OH MY GOD!!!" said his now former lady friend who slapped his face and tossed her drink in his face afterwords...

"Baby please..let me explain..it's not like what they said...See what had happened was..." he
pleaded..

"Oh save that tired rap...I'm outta here." she said and stormed off.

Needless to say, the Doctor wasn't too pleased....

"WHYYYYY YOUUUUUU!!!!" he screamed at Sherry, as he pulled a small .38 snubnose
revolver from the back of his pants...it had sat nuzzled behind the small of his back. He aimed it
at both of us..but before I could go for my gun, Sherry pulled out her pistol out of her pocketbook and fired one round!
It sounded like the hugest explosion I had ever heard..... Gotta love a woman that packs...

Micheal Sarber grabbed his arm in pain....

"Uggggggggggggghhhhh, I don't believe it...I've been shot." he said as he fell out of his chair.

What is it with these bad guys?

Sherry looked at me, she was a petite, light skinned African-American woman, with a nice cute face...She looked like a little girl with a grown woman's voluptous body. She put her gun back in her pocketbook.

"You're not the only one with a smokeless" she said. "He's all yours...There's some medical equipment on a boat by the shore...I'll call a doctor...Take him back to Miami." she said.

"But what will you do?" I asked.

"I'm going to stay here...I'm sure Big Tuna can find something for me to do." she said as she walked away into the night. I had wanted to question Sherry some more, but I thought better of it. I just let her walk away...Mike Sarber lay on the ground writing in pain and in a puddle of his own blood....I looked down at him-

"Gee Mike, that looks like that hurt......Women!! What are you gonna do?" I said.

Mike Sarber lived and I took him back to Miami, all patched up on the boat that had been supplied to me by Sherry, courtesy of "Big Tuna" I wished I had gotten to say goodbye to her.
Mike was turned over to the waiting arms of The FBI in Miami.. Just before he got in the federal car to be taken to the courthouse he looked at me and asked-

'Kevin...why did you do this? What did you get out of this? I didn't do nothin to you...what you want to turn me in for? You didn't even get paid for this...You're the biggest sucker I ever met."
he snarled as the FBI agents pushed the handcuffed doctor into the back seat of the car...

I leaned into the car and said to him....

"When you're doing all that time Doc...Think about me out here with my fine wife catching people like you who think they are slick, while you're sitting in a cell somewhere and then you tell me who the real sucker is.. Have a good life Doc" I said as the car drove away.

As I headed towards the airport I thought about all the money I was spending cracking these cases and how I wasn't making any money....I had a P.I.'s licensce....I might as well get paid doing this...I wasn't going to quit my job at the magazine , but I was certainly going to advertsie my services from now on... I smiled as I boarded the plane...I felt like a new life was about to begin.


(For Carlene...)

Oh Be My Corpse

I sat in Josie's Bar and ordered another Corona...My third...and waited patiently for my mysterious caller from the night before...The gangster, Fathead Newton sat at an ajoining table with my friends, Chess and Chris Thompson and Donald Smooth... I wasn't listening, but I couldn't help but overhear what he was saying..

"Man,it was terrible...I was in the graveyard and the ground started parting and I could see clear down , six feet under....the coffin opened up and this dead body got out...It was a woman with the hugest titties you ever did see....and man, she got up out of the grave and came after me." He said.

Chris Thompson, Chess and Donald Smooth were howling with laughter as he told the story, but Fathead Newton wasn't laughing...he was dead serious..

"And you ran away from a woman with big tits?" howled Donald Smooth...

"Yeah, aint that somethin?" laughed Chris Thompson.

"She was dead" said Fathead...

"And like He said...you ran?" laughed Chess as he nudged Gus who was also laughing....

It was a funny story, but it hit too close to home for me...It gave me the creeps....Just as I was about to down another beer...The assistant coroner ,who I'd talked to the day before walked into
the bar.

"Kevin...so glad to see you." He said as we shook hands.

"Soooo, what's on your mind Doc?" I said.

"The other day, after you left....I got to thinking about what you said...That it was strange that such a young healthy woman would just die like that...and even stranger that her husband ,who is the Cheif Medical Examiner would refuse to autopsy her. If it were me, I'd be a little curious...you know what I'm saying? So I opened her up...I did a full autopsy and I sent my findings to this local lab...I knew a guy there who owed me a favor...I just got the results back yesterday." he said.

I wondered if it was the same lab and the same guy Doc Crabtree had used. I wondered how he felt getting the same information two times in a row for the same corpse? Dr. Crabtree said the body looked as if it had been examined twice.. He was dead on about that..No pun intended.

"Let me guess...you found a cocktail of chemicals in her body...One was a sedative that he probably put in a nightcap drink for her...the other was an injection of a muscle relaxer and the third was one that stopped her heart while she slept right?"I said.

"Yeah, how did you know?" he said.

"A little birdy told me." I said.

"I feel so bad....I've known the guy for years...but there is no good reason he should have had those kinds of chemicals...He murdered her Kevin, and I feel as though I should go to the Police."
He said.

" Uhhhh hold off before you do that doc." I said.

" What? Why?" he said.

"We have to find out where he got those drugs from..."I said.

"He might have ordered them on line...." he said.

"If he did, he'd be too slick to print out a receipt wouldn't he?" I said.

"He's as slick as a can of grease." said the Assistant Coroner.

Just then, I looked up and my wife ,Sepia walked into the bar with an envelope.

"Kevin, I found this in our mail slot when I got home..." she said.

I opened it and believe it or not...It was a receipt for the three drugs I was talking about that were used to kill Jessica Sarber. It appears Dr. Sarber paid for these with his credit card from a
Black Market Dealer on line.

"Who sent this to us and where did they get it from?" I asked Sepia...Knowing that she didn't know anymore than I did.

"Maybe it was whoever called you last night" she said.

" I didn't send that" said the Assistant Coroner.

"No,Not you, someone else called me...a woman." I said.

"A woman?" he said.

"Yeah, my number was hot last night." I said.

"Well Doc, We got what we need....Let's go call the cops." I said.

Just then my cell phone went off....It was an unregistered number....I answered it and take two guesses who it was...?? My mysterious woman caller-

"You've got everything you need, now go get him...don't let him get away with this." she said.

Before I could say anything, she hung up.

I called Lt.Sissy Van Buren and presented her with the evidence we had and she swore out a
warrant on Mike Sarber. Sepia, The Assistant Coroner and I followed the Police in our car.

Lt.Van Buren and six Detectives raided the Sarber house....but they were too late...The house was empty...I mean, hear your reflection empty! Dr. Sarber was gone!

The Ocean City Police raided the house that Sepia sold them....That was empty too!

"It's alright Kevin...he won't get far....We just called the FBI...they put an interstate flight warrant to avoid prosecution for murder out on him...They'll get him." She said.

That was good enough for me...Case Closed! I shook the Doc's hand and we all went home.
Now you know that it wasn't going to end like that don't you?

That night , Sepia and I lay in bed, kissing and fondling each other when my phone rang again!

"WHAT!!!! I don't beleive it." I said.

"Just ignore it" said Sepia....Funny, I'm supposed to say that, I thought...but the phone just kept
ringing..

Finnally, I picked the phone up...guess who?

"Kevin...He's in the Caymen Islands...You've got to bring him to justice...don't let him get away with this...There will be two tickets on your desk at your office tomorrow!"

click!

You know...Cracking this case really wasn't much of a mystery....Finding out who this mysterious
woman was , was the real mystery.

(Conclusion Next)

The Good Coroner

The first thing we did was stop by Josie's Bar....It was nearly midnight...but I knew I could find the man I was looking for there. Dr. Rufus Crabtree. He was an old grey haired man with skin the color of maple honey. He had been retired for years now...but he was still a good doctor, though he had taken to drinking now and telling tall stories. He was the best I could get to do what needed to be done. To tell you the truth...I had thought of calling on the good doctor long before I got the mysterious call in the middle of the night.

The first person he noticed was Sepia, when we walked into Josies.

"Looka here, looka Heah....Lawd Jesus, look at the body on this here philly....." He exclaimed!

Sepia didn't like young guys like this and old guys who didn't have a shot in hell, ogling her and making cat calls made her even more disgusted. He noticed me next.

'KEVIN?? IS THA YOU???? Oh my god...Gus...that's Kevin Morris...I delivered him....oh my goodness....." He exclaimed. Of course this was a lie...He hadn't delivered me, but he had been a friend of my dad's and had known me since I was a toddler.

"Is that your woman Kevin?" he asked.

"That's my wife...Sepia..This is Dr. Rufus Crabtree." I said.

"Goood God Almighty, she's a healthy thang...you is one lucky sucka....heh heh hehheh..." he said.

"If you don't pay your tab, you 're gonna be an unlucky sucka who's out on the pavement." said
Gus, giving him the side eye...Sepia giggled.

"What's his tab Gus..I need his services.." I said.

"You need him? That old rummy...for what?" asked Gus.

"You don't want to know." I said.

"Yeah, knowin you, I probably don't." he laughed.

His tab was $72.50......Phew, for one night's worth of drinking...He'd better be worth it. I paid his
tab and then Sepia and I got him some coffee and I told him what I needed him to do for me. he balked at first, but then I reminded him that I just cleaned his slate with Gus..and he agreed to do it.

We drove around and rousted Lockpick Johnson and Peeping Tom Constanoble. I needed their services desperately for what I had in mind. We drove to the Harker Funeral Home where the body was. It had long been closed...but Lockpick Johnson was able to bypass the security system as well as the front door and get us inside. I realized that if caught, we could all go to jail
and we wouldn't have an alibi to our name.

Peeping Tom acted as a lookout, setting outside in his car as Sepia, Dr. Crabtree,Lockpick and I
searched for and amazingly enough, found the body. To our surprise..it hadn't been embalmed.
Dr. Crabtree had his bag with his equipment in it...and he went to work....opening her up and taking tissue samples and examining her vital organs and all.

Sober, the old man worked with precision and collected all of the evidence he needed. Finnally,
he stitched and sewed the body back up.

"These funeral directors won't know and don't care what was done in here....They'll assume that
she was already autopsied and just go on with their procedure. You boys get some mops and some water and let's clean up in here." he said.

We did and just as fast as we got in, we cleaned up and got out. We went to Peeping Tom's house
where he was able to use his computer and printer to make fake documents that we would need to ship Dr. Crabtree's findings to a local lab for analysis....I used my job as a return address for their findings.

"Kevin...I know a guy at this particular lab....he owes me a favor...He can get your findings for you, but not until the day after tomorrow...She'll be in the ground then. Something ,I should tell you though....it looks like somebody had opened up before I did and took samples....I know you say that an autopsy wasn't done..but I would swear that one has been." he said.

"What?" I said incredulously.

"I'm just saying...that's what it looks like to me..." said Dr. Crabtree.

"I know...but at least we'll know the truth." I said, wondering all along what was going on here.

The next day, Sepia and I attended the funeral. Jessica's family was there, as well as her friends and collegues from various times in her life..They were all confused as to why the funeral was so soon after her death and why Michael Sarber seemed like he was in such a rush to get everything over.

It was quite obvious that Dr. Sarber could care less about what everybody thought. The repass
was at their home and the entire time people were eating and sharing their memories of Jessica,Michael Sarber was on his Blackberry..Talking to who, I don't know.... Her family was giving him the serious evil stare...but he didn't care.

It turns out that I didn't get the analysis back until a week after the burial. The Analysis told me what I needed to know...Jessica Sarber had been injected somehow with the same drugs used to
execute condemned death row inmates. One drug had sedated her...another drug had relaxed her muscles and the third drug had sent her into cardiac arrest and thus ended her life. She had indeed been murdered...but how did I prove it! I couldn't.

One night, while Sepia and I were lying in bed...My phone rang again....

"You know that He killed her...you have the proof....what are you going to do about it?"
said the voice.

"Who are you? How do you know what I have?" I said.

"Who I am is not important...I just want to see justice done...want to see that bastard behind bars." said the voice.

So did I...but how was I going to do that? Just then , my phone rang again..

"What is this, a party line?" I exclaimed. Sepia laughed.

"Hello."

"Kevin....I've got to talk to you." came a voice, a man's voice...One I recognized as the Assistant Coroner from the day before.

"You are talking to me.." I said.

"Not on the phone...Meet me at Josie's tomorrow around 6:00 pm."

"What's this about?" I asked.

"It's about Jessica Sarber." he said.

"What about her?" I asked again.

"Just meet me at Josie's." he said.

"Wait a minute" I said.

Click!

This was the second time the phone had been hung up on me in one night...I was starting to get a complex.

(To Be Continued......)

An Absence of An Autopsy

My Wife Sepia took Jessica Sarber's sudden death a lot harder than her husband, Mike Sarber.
He was so cold and clinical when I called him to give him the news that it got my suspicions up.
I drove to the medical examiner's office myself to see what was up. I had a pass to get in that had been given to me by Lt. Sissy Van Buren of Philadelphia Homicide. I was supposed to have turned this pass in a long time ago but had never done it. You never knew when you might need a pass for an office like this.

I asked the Assistant Coroner to let me view the body and he did. Micheal Sarber was nowhere to be found.
He uncovered the body and I gave it a look see..Her breasts were huge...I know that this was a strange time to notice something like that...but it made me wonder. The Assistant Coroner must known what I was thinking ,because he shook his head..

"No...they are real...100%....I thought they might be silicone too, but they weren't... Dr. Sarber was a lucky man....I'm sure she gave him lots of pleasure...." he said. I couldn't agree more.

''Well Doc....There isn't a scratch or a bruise on her...doesn't look like foul play." I said.

"Nope...It looks like Mrs. Sarber died from cardiac arrest." he said.

"Cardiac Arrest? She was 33 years old...She played Tennis with my wife for god sakes...She's a
beautiful, young and healthy woman.." I said.

''Was a beautiful healthy young woman....now she's just dead." He reminded me.

"This doesn't make sense...After the autopsy, we'll know for sure." I said.

"Autopsy? There isn't going to be one." he said.

"What do you mean there isn't going to be one?" I asked incredulously.

"Her Husband said that there is no need for one, since there was no foul play and that we were to wait here for the undertaker...The funeral is tomorrow." he said.

"Tomorrow? She just died yesterday!!!!!!" I said.

"Hey, he's the boss....I'm just doing what he said to do..." he said.

I just shrugged my shoulders and walked away. I mean , there was no sign of foul play, but a young woman like that just didn't go into cardiac arrest and drop dead...No, there was something deeper here..I knew it....but without an autopsy, there was no way I could prove it and once she was embalmed and in the ground...that was going to be it.

When I got home, I told Sepia about the conversation I had at the Morgue and even she thought that this was a bit odd. She told me that she was going to go over and talk to Mike Sarber herself. I thought that maybe I should go with her too. Then I thought better of it...The Funeral was after all, tomorrow...Yet I was wondering why everything was so rushed.

Sepia and I walked across the street...No Sooner than we got on the steps of his house we heard, the unthinkable....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh...Ohhhhh my Goddd....Doctor Sarber....give it to me...give it to me...ohhhhhhhh ,good lawd you're so big...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...ohhhhhhhhhhh Doctor
Sarber...ouuuuuuuuuuuuu...." said a female voice.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, give me morrrrreeeeeee...ummmmmmmmmphhhhhh." came a second voice, a male voice.

There was the sound of a bed squeaking and pounding hard against the walls in the front bedroom....Their moaning and the squeaking of the bed was so loud that you could hear it in the street. The Doctor wasn't trying to hide the fact that he wasn't too broke up over his wife's sudden death.

"I don't beleive him...Jessica's body isn't cold yet and he's got a woman in their bed." said Sepia
in disgust.

"Yeah ,I know...lucky bastard." I said.

"What?" asked Sepia.

"Nothing...Nothing...I don't understand this guy.." I said. That much was true....I didn't...I smelled a rat here, but unfortunately..I had absolutely nothing to go on.

I took Sepia's hand and we walked back across the street..We heard something that sounded like a glass break...then-

"Ohhhhhhh don't worry about that girl, just keep doing what you're doing to meeeeeeeeeee...
ummmmphhhh ,oh you feel so damn good.....ohhhhhh.."

"Oh Doctor Sarber, you don't know how long I've waited to do this.....oh my goddddd...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...ouuuuuuuuu baby, I love you so muchhhhhhhhh!!!."

Sepia just shook her head in disgust as we both walked up the steps and into our house. Deep in my heart I just knew that there was a lot that wasn't right about this.

My phone rang around midnight....I was still up...so was Sepia....

"You expecting anybody?" I asked her.

"No, you?" she said.

"No..." I shrugged.

'Well, see who it is." she said.

"Hello." I said.

There was dead silence for a moment, then a woman's whispery voice was heard-

"Jessica Sarber was murdered...you know that....why aren't you doing something?"
came the voice.

"Who is this? " I asked.

"Who I am is not important....you know she was murdered...Don't let them put her in the ground
without examining her body."

"Who is this?" I asked.

click!

"Who was that ?" asked Sepia.

"I don't know...." I said.

There was a lot I didn't know...and I was damn sick of it.

"Sepia, go put some clothes on." I said.

"Now that's a first..usually this time of night, you're trying to take my clothes off." she quipped.

"Aren't you gonna ask me why or where we are going?" I said.

"Nope...I know it has something to do with Jessica's death and I want to know is much as you do." she said.

We dressed and we went out to my car....In the background, I could still hear Dr. Sarber and his lady friend making love. I took off...It was late, but I knew of a Doctor who might be able to do the kind of test I needed and some other shady folk who might be able to help me get the information I needed.

(To Be Continued.....)

Sudden Death

Sepia and I sat at the table in the Moshulu on Penns Landing and enjoyed a delicious meal with the Sarbers...Mike and Jessica. They were friends of ours who had lived on our block who had just recently moved into a new house...a House my wife had sold them...

"Oh Sepia...gurlllll, this new house is bangin.." said Jessica, a tall buxom, brown skinned beauty who like my own wife looked too good to be with the man she was with, Micheal Sarber, a short stocky,Dark skinned man with horn rimmed glasses and a short, nicely trimmed haircut. Michael
Sarber was a doctor...He worked at the Coroner's Office...He and I had had the pleasure of working together a couple of times ,during some of my cases..We weren't friends...but we were cordial..We discussed cars and sports when we did see each other.

I had to admit with some guilt that his wife needed to put some curtains up in their bedroom window and in their living room...When I had been home, I had too often looked out my window and gotten an eyeful looking into their house. She'd be undressing right in front of the window,giving me and every man on the block a veiw of all of her ,let's say assets... Of course,I never said anything..I just enjoyed the view..she was a beautiful woman. I had my own ideas as
to why she was with the good doctor. He brought in a sizable income,both as a coroner and with a small private practice..She did not, to my knowledge work at all. Must be nice.

"So Kevin, you haven't said a word all night...You've got to come see our house when we move in...Sepia found it for us...it's not far from Cape May." said Jessica.

"Yeah..we'll have to do that...I must admit, I'm going to miss you guys not living across the street from us." I said.

"Miss them? We hardly interacted with them when they lived there " said Sepia.

"Well maybe you didn't, but I used to talk to Mike here." I laughed.

Mike Sarber was texting someone on his blackberry the entire time we were talking.....He looked
up, smiled and said-

"Yeah..uh..we used to talk about cars and sports all the time." he said, while still texting.

"This means that Mike will be commuting for awhile to the medical examiner's office until he can find a job in Jersey, but it'll be all for the best." said Jessica.

We continued to eat and enjoy our meal and finnally, we paid our respected tabs and went our seperate ways.

There was nothing strange or out of the way going on that night....I noticed Sepia getting dressed for bed and just out of curiosity I peered out the window, pretending to look at nothing in particular, but hoping to get one last glimpse at Mrs. Sarber undressing....Perhaps putting on a sexy negligee' for Mr. Sarber...something....since she didn't believe in curtains.. Tonight, there was nothing.. Not even a light on in the front room. I walked over to the bed, Kissed Sepia good night and pulled the covers up over us and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning....I got up, made a pot of coffee and fixed myself some scrambled eggs and bacon. Sepia came downstairs fully dressed.

"I fixed us some breakfast." I said.

"Can't eat this morning...Got another house to show..." she said as she kissed me on the cheek and walked down to the garage to get her car.

I noticed that Mike Sarber's car was gone already....Not unsual..He kept different hours ,working
for the medical examiner. I ate my breakfast and drank my coffee and then went into my study
to make some calls...I needed Sean Jackson to fax me those photos from the interview we did recently in New York....I had just finished the story and was getting ready to e-mail it to the magazine and I needed to upload the photos.

I just happened to glare out my window and I saw an EMT wagon and a police car in front of the
Sarber home....I looked out the window...They were coming out of the house with a gurney..and the body on it was covered...which meant, it was a corpse... I put on my sandals and walked outside and across the street.

"Officer...I live across the street from these people, these are friends of mine." I said.

"Good, you want to come and make a positive I.D. of the deceased?" said the policeman.

"The Deceased?" I said.

"Yes." He said and he pulled the cover up so I could see who it was under there. It was Jessica
Sarber!!!!!!!!

"What? My wife and I were just out to dinner with her and her husband last night? I just saw her." I said.

"Well, someone was trying to get there to see her this morning and there was no answer and they called us..We came in and we found her in the front bedroom, dead. It doesn't look like any foul play...but she is dead...We are trying to find her husband." said the Policeman.

"He works for the Medical Examiner's Office...let me go inside...I have a number for him." I said.

"Thanks.....Okay guys, load her up into the wagon....I'm gonna get a statement and a number for the next of kin from this guy here...let's go." said the Policeman.

I was more than stunned...A young beautiful woman like that....dead!!!!! It couldn't be...I had to find Mike and find a way to break this devestating news to him.


(To Be Continued....)

The Wet spot!

I stood next to Robert Foxworth in the new spacious modern office as Chris Thompson and Chess admired their new office. They looked out at Penn's Landing and all of the water. Chris smiled...He patted his boy Chess on the back and laughed...

"Wow Patna..Did you ever believe that two raggedy little ghetto boys like us would have a business office in these parts?" he said.

"Sure didn't..this is a nice touch....It's gonna be strange ,not being located in West Philly..but our operation was too big to keep conducting business from that office on top of the gym." said Chess.

"Robert, Chance...Good lookin out brothers." Said Chris Thompson.

"Really ,I can't take all of the credit...I got the heads up on this property from a
Real Estate Agent named Bonita Turner, that I met when I was in New Jersey with Kevin and his wife...She and I are kind of seeing each other and she knew of a huge office space here near Penns Landing that was for sale and she uh kind of gave me a heads up." laughed Robert.

This was the new headquarters of C&C Brothers Inc. That was the company that Chris and Chess partnered in that oversaw the administration of all of the Apartment complexes and Gyms that they owned...They pulled in good money together..Good legitimate money...They now had a staff of 28 people who helped them run their business...I was happy to see two local guys make good. I also knew about their other business, an illegal card game , frequented by the top players in town that pulled in just as much as their legitimate business if not more at times.....That business was still run by Donald Smooth in their small office in West Philly on top of one of the Gym's they owned. Chess felt as though it wouldn't be wise to run both businesses in the same small office. He and Chris were the silent partners and owners of the floating crap game.

I was still working for the Lawyer, Robert Foxworth and going to school ,working on getting my J.D., so that I could be fly like Robert Foxworth,my employer.
Chris and Chess paid Robert a handsome finders fee for getting them this office and he in turn broke me off a nice peice of change.

After I left them, I headed to Josie's bar to celebrate.... It was a slow night...I saw Kevin Morris and His wife,Sepia..Clerow and his wife Corabeth and Sean Jackson and his girl, Sheila..but no sign of my boys,Paris or Blake. There was no band tonight...Reed Nelson, "88" and the boys were on tour again...So with nothing here for me, I got in my car and left...

I drove by Sheena's apartment for some reason...Against my better judgement,I called her...

"Hello."

"Hey Sheena, what's going on? " I asked.

"Nothin...It's a Thursday night..I'm just sitting here wondering what I'm gonna
do." she said.

"I'm sitting downstairs in my car...why don't you go for a ride with me?"

"A ride? I'm not dressed..." she said.

"Really? What are you wearing?" I asked with a laugh..

"I'm not going there with you...What do you want..besides the obvious?" she asked.

"You act like this is a booty call or something?" I said with fake indignation.

"Let's see..it's 8:24 pm..Thursday Night...I........guess this doesn't really apply."
she laughed.

"Throw on some clothes and come on with me." I asked.

"Where we going? " She asked...

"You know what? Maybe this was a bad idea...I'm sorry....I'll holla at you later."
I said.

"I didn't say ,I wasn't going to go...give me a minute...damn.." she said with a laugh.

She didn't come out of her apartment until 9:50...but it was worth the wait..She had on some tight jeans, a nice white blouse and sandals and her hair in a ponytail..She looked sensational.

I drove by Josie's, ran in and bought a bottle Champaigne. Gus did a double take and then said-

"Boy..I hope it's worth it." he said with a laugh and a wink.

We drove by a Seafood place and I ordered some Crabcakes and French Fries to go and then we were off...Off into the late summer Philadelphia night.

"Chance where are we going?" she asked...

"I'll let you know when we get there." I laughed. I still had the keys to the Waterfront property that was going to be the headquarters of C&C Brothers Inc.

"So this is where you take me...an empty office ?" she said...

"It aint gonna be empty for long...some friends of mine bought it today...but go to the window...look at the view.." I said..

She did , and for the first time tonight, she was impressed...

"Wow...Who bought this?" she asked.

"You don't know em." I said.

We sat out on the terrace, high above the street and looked out at the river and ate the Crabcakes and the French Fries.....We drank Champaigne..First mixed with Orange juice that I already had in the car and then straight...We laughed
and talked well into the night...

Finnally ,She walked over to me and pulled me towards her....

"Watch it lady....don't try and take advantage of me..." I joked...

"Shut up and drop your pants." she said...

"I'll drop mine if you drop yours.." I said teasingly...

"You'll have to help me.." she said..and she wasn't kidding..she had a lot packed in those pants...

I needed no help getting out of my clothes....She took one look at my erection and gasped..

"Oh my god, you are so nasty...I just took my pants off...my goodness..it don't take much for you does it?" she laughed.

I kissed her softly....first on her lips..then the side of her neck and behind her ears....

"Ohhhhhhh, Chance..don't do this to me....ohhhhhhh....ouuuuuuuuuu..." she cooed...

She began rubbing my penis and stroking it...I began licking the nipples of her breasts and she began shaking a little....I laid her down on the one couch that was in the office...

"Ohh my godddd Chance..I'm so wet..." she said.. and to my surprise..she was..
I entered her and I swear it was like seeing the creation of the universe...I tried to move as slowly as possible..I wanted to savor every minute of this..

I kept going at this until she was on the verge of climaxing and then I stopped..
I flipped her over and then entered her from the back...She was squirming and beginning to yell louder than I had ever heard her yell before..

"OHHHHHHHHHH.....PLEASEEEEEEEE....DON'T STOPPPPPPPPP!!" she yelled..."

I exploded and let out a yell myself......

"OHHHHHHH,ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHH!!!!!!" I said.... as she began to shake and squirt...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu....." she said as we collapsed on top of each other.

We rolled on the floor, laughing.....As we got up and began to dress, We both noticed it at the same time...a huge wet spot on the couch....

"Oh my god....look at that spot.." laughed Sheena ,holding her hand to her mouth..

"Yeah....Oh my god, it's going to leave a stain." I said.

"What are we going to do?" she said.

"This couch was here when they bought the office..They're bringing in new stuff, they won't keep this.." I assured Sheena.

We were both dressed and had collected all of our trash and had deposited it in the trash can. We were still giggling when we left..I knew that when Chris and Chess saw that couch, they would never think that I had been here with a girl..
They would probably suspect my boss, Robert Foxworth and just laugh to themselves.

About a week later I was sitting in Josie's with Chess and Robert Foxworth.

"Well Chess,How do you and Chris like the new office?" asked Robert.

"Oh man,it's great...we had to get rid of that old couch that was in there..it had
a big stain in it.. You uh wouldn't happen to know how it got there would you?"
asked Chess, giving Robert the side eye.

"Me?? Nah....not me...maybe the previous tenent got frisky with a secretary or something." said Robert Foxworth.

"Yeah...maybe it was the previous tenant." said Chess, looking at me and winking...

"What?" asked Robert...

I just hung my head and laughed to myself. I got up and walked outside...I dialed Sheena's number...it immediately went into voicemail..That seemed strange...I dialed it again a half hour later and it did the same thing.. Perhaps she wasn't home. I got in my car and I drove to her apartment. Her Car was right there in the parking lot..but so was another car!! A car I recognized. Faunteroy's car!!! This couldn't be.. I drove two blocks away, parked my car and walked back towards her apartment...I walked into the diner across the street from Sheena's apartment and casually sat down...I looked up and to my surprise...There they were...walking hand in hand. He kissed her for a long time right at the doorway, then she teasingly pulled his tie and he followed her inside. I shouldn't have felt bad...but I did..I didn't quite know why.

"Hey buddy, it's closing time." said the Store Manager.

I got up and was about to walk outside , when I felt a cold sensation on my rear end....

"Hey guy..somebody spilled soda in that chair and you sat right in it." said the Manager.

Gee... Now he tells me. I thought to myself as I walked the two blocks to my car with a wet spot
on the back of my pants and my heart broken.

(For Caroline-)

A Night At The Pizza Joint

A few nights later, Paris, Blake ,Sean and I were sitting in a Pizza joint,doing what else ? waiting for our Pizza to be delivered to our table...when trouble walked in. Paris saw him first.

"Hey...yo Chance...there goes dude that you gripped up the other night." he said.

"I see him" I said.

"Yeah homey, he sees you too and he comin this way." said Blake.

It was Guy, the abusive butt hole who had hit Sheena....He was with two other guys. He had that
smug look on his face that guys like him have when they think they have the advantage of someone. Even though it was four of us...He felt like he and his two were in the drivers seat.

"Well, well, well boys...what do we have here? Looks like a bunch of bitches to me." snarled Guy
as his other two friends laughed..

"You see a bitch, smack one." said Paris, who was as volatile as the next guy...

" What? aint nobody talkin to you holmes" said the other guy..

"Well I'm talkin to you, how bout that?" said Paris....

Before Blake or Sean could do anything, Guy said to his friend...

"Hey Leap...don't worry bout him...this one here is the one I came to hollar at."

So this was Leap...the guy Chess told me about..He didn't look so tough to me...In fact, there was
only one way to find out. I raised both palms of my hands outward and smiled broadly-

"Paris...Paris...relax..chill man...these guys came to talk to me...They not gone be here long."
I said.

Guy snapped-

"What? , How you know how long we gone-"

That was all he got out of his mouth...I hit him in his stomach hard enough to knock the wind out
of him...

'Ummmmmmmphhhhhhhh..." he groaned as once again he hit the floor... I turned to the one called Leap and slugged him in his jaw so hard, that he fell into the table...I grabbed his collar and
rammed his head into the table several times and then kicked him square in the seat of his pants. he bounced off of the wall and hit the floor... Guy leaped up and swung, but missed badly..
Paris clocked him and sent him scuffling... Sean and Blake grabbed him and helped him out the door and into the street...

The third guy, to our surprise was laughing his head off.......He held his hands up in a fake surrender-

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...oh my God...wait til they hear about this uptown...ohhh
man...Guy and Leap, got they asses kicked..hahahahahahahahahahaha...they won't start no more trouble, I bet....I been listening to these two murder mouf all day ...hahahahahahaha...and
they aint get one punch off...ohh man this is rich.." he said as he ran out of the Pizza shop.

The owner, a small Chinese man came from behind the counter....

"We don't want no trouble...you get out..." He said to us...

"Hey man...we just got our pizza....and I was gonna leave a five dollar tip." said Blake.

"Five Dollar tip?...Hmmmmm, okay...you can stay, but man on floor got to leave..." he said.

Leap got up slowly....He was rubbing his head...

"Man, yall aint even have to do that....I didn't even do nothin to you..." he said.

Guy stumbled back into the restaraunt, breathing heavy and in no mood for another round..

"Alright man...if you want the babe that bad...you can have her...it aint worth all of this.." he
said.

"That's what I'm trying to tell ya Guy...I aint with her...Between me and you...she's as crazy as
a crackhouse rat...you can have her.." I said.

"Nah...I don't want her...I'm on someone else anyway...another one of my sister's girlfriends.. she's nicer ." he said.

"Hey man, look...sorry we had to have this mis-understanding..Why don't you and your boy grab a seat and help us eat some of this Pizza? "

"Nah man, yall get down.." he said.

"Oh come on...sit down... Hey Lin Su...Two more Cokes.." I said.

"Can I have a Mountain Dew?" asked Leap

"Lin Su..A Coke and a Mountain Dew.." I said.

"This here is Paris...That's my boy, Blake....and this is Sean..Sean Jackson.." I said.

"Yo what's up man...I'm Guy and that's my partner Leap.." He said.

The six of us sat and ate pizza , drank soda and talked about how women drive us crazy and get us to doing crazy things...We talked and laughed well into the night. I wondered what Sheena was doing at this hour...if she was alone , if she was thinking about me. I don't know why I was thinking that, but I was.

We broke it up around midnight, all of us going our seperate ways. I found myself walking past Sheena's apartment....Her light was on...I started to call her..but then...her light went out...I stood there ...wondering why I was there at

all.

(Conclusion Next........)

Things We Say At The Time

We sat on the bed in her apartment.....I had on a white dress shirt with a black wife beater on underneath and Khaki shorts...I kicked my sandals off and just allowed my legs to dangle...Sheena turned the air conditioner on and took her earings off.. She then stepped out of her pumps and opened her blouse a little...just enough for me to get a glimpse of her lacy lime green bra....She didn't look at me, she just sat on the side of the bed.

"So what happened with Faunteroy?" I asked..hoping all along that I wasn't being annoying to her..I never expected us to be on speaking terms again or at least not this soon.

"Faunteroy stopped calling...and stopped coming up. He'd come up unannounced in the middle of the night..when he wanted to get some...then he'd leave and I wouldn't hear from him for weeks...then his wife called me one night and told me not to mess with her man ever again. I didn't argue with her..what could I say? Finnally,I got tired of being a booty call and I called Faunteroy and asked him to stop calling and coming. He did......" she said.

I sat there quietly....then I asked her...

'You got any water in your fridge?"

"Chance, you don't really want any water...what you want to know is how I got involved with Guy, right?" she said..

"No...well ahhh, the thought did kind of grab me...He's sooo not your type." I said.

"You're right...He's the older brother of this girl who was in one of my classes....He had just gotten divorced and he used to be all over me ,everytime I came to her house to study, asking me questions, buying me things and begging me to go out with him. He used to text me like twenty times a day ,wanting to know where I was, if I was thinking about him and what not..Finnally I just went out with him. He was the perfect gentlemen at first...but then after we made love the first time, he became different...obsessed...violent, almost like a stalker..always accusing me of flirting with another man, always hitting me...always needing to know where I
was..He was ...was just frightening....I didn't want him to hurt you...I was trying to steer you back to your friends before he turned around and saw us talking." she said.

"I know...I wasn't worried about him..but I thank you for tryin to look out for a brother." I said, really and truly grateful.

"He's dangerous Chance...please be careful.." she said.

"I'm dangerous..he better look out for me." I said.

She slipped off her blouse and sat there in her skirt and Lacy green bra...I lied down across the bed, staring up at the ceiling..not knowing what else to say or how long I intended to stay with her.

She crawled over to where I was and stradled me and stared down at me...I pulled her towards me and gently kissed her...It had been close to two years since I had kissed her....I unzipped her
skirt and slid it off of her...She was wearing a matching green thong... She gently stroked the crotch of my pants...

"Oh my god Chance...you're as hard as an iron pipe....just from me taking my skirt off..." she said
in amazement...

'Sheena ,I may hate your guts, but you're still a very attractive girl." I laughed...

"You don't hate me...you know you love me.." she said laughingly with that smugness I had grown to hate.

"Don't flatter yourself." I said..

She unzippered my pants, pulled my now erect penis out and licked it from top to bottom..and then began engulfing as much of it as she could in her mouth...and moving up and down.. I lay there in stunned silence. I hadn't expected all of this to happen..

Just when I was about to explode...she stopped...She slipped her thong off and unsnapped her bra and I took my pants and boxers off... She crawled back on the bed and straddled me and lowered herself on top of me and began to move up and down very slowly...I was counting sheep
in my head...trying to think of anything ,so as not to climax too fast...but it was hard..This felt so
good.. She moved decidedly slower...

"Now lie still and let mama take care of everything.....we have all night.." she said...and she began to move slower and slower and we went on like this for close to two hours....finnally, I rolled her over and entered her missionary style spreading her legs and holding them up as I plowed into her....

"oooooooooooh....ohhhhhhhhhhh gawdddd, I forgot how good you used to feel Chance...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." she said as she began to climax....."

"Oh Sheena....I missed you so muchhhhh..." I said as I began to explode and she began to shake
and grab ahold to me as though it was the end of the world....I collapsed on top of Sheena..a mass
of sweat. I got off of her and rolled over.. She was facing me , So I brought her close to me and held her in my arms and we both went to sleep.

I woke up hours later and I found I was in the bed by myself...The cover was pulled over me. There was no sign of Sheena. My clothes were in a pile by the door. I got up looked around...No sign of her. I looked around for a towel, then went in the bathroom and took a shower. I didn't
have a toothbrush.. but there was a bottle of Scope in the medicine cabinet. I poured a cap full of it..slushed it around in my mouth, spit it out ...then ran a cup of hot water...slushed that around in my mouth and spit it out.. I got dressed, just in time to see the door opening. It was Sheena.

"Where did you go?" I said.

"Oh I went to the store to pick up a few things.." she said.

"How long you been gone?" I asked.

'About an hour...I couldn't sleep." she said.

"Really? I slept like a baby." I said.

"Yeah, I figured you would...you got what you came here for." she said.

"What? What do you mean by that? I came here because you asked me to stay with you." I said.

"Yeah, but you knew there was a chance you might be gettin some or else you wouldn't have done it." She stated rather matter of factly."

'You made a move on me." I said.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch...it doesn't matter...but I don't want you to get any ideas Chance...I know we went there last night...but I'm not trying to see you again...I don't want a retread of that." she said.

"Well what do you want? You know we said some things last night." I said.

"Of course we did...we were having sex..people say a lot of things at the time...but they don't mean it once they get off." she said.

"Seems like I should be saying that." I said.

"Chance ,it's all good...No harm, no foul...I enjoyed myself immensely....You may have your faults
but you've always been good in bed."

"So you used me?" I said.

"Yes,I did...guys do it to women all the time...you've done it to a few yourself...you and your Kappa brothers, Paris, Blake and Sean Jackson....I remember yall at Howard..." she laughed.

"See you around Sheena." I said as I walked to the door..

"Aww Chance, don't get mad...I brought us breakfast...Some bagels, Coffee, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts..you know you love those...You gonna let a sista eat alone?" she cooed.

'So what is this , revenge?" I asked..

"Revenge? , revenge for what?" she said.

I didn't answer....I sat down at the table with her....

"That's not de caf is it?" I asked.


(To Be Continued.....)

The Third Wheel

I sat in Josies with Paris, his room-mate Blake and Blake's girlfriend, Cherish Watkins...Cherish was cute....She sat on Blake's lap and the two of them kissed each other every other minute..Gus looked at them from behind the bar and just shook his head... Paris quaffed down a bottle of Corona and then ordered two more ...One for me..and one for him... Me? My name is Chance..Chance Howard.

"Aint you ordering one for your boy there?" I said to Paris, who kept looking at his watch...

'Who? Blake? Nah..he aint wasting my dough..he high on love man.." laughed Paris.

It was of course true...Blake and Cherish hadn't come up for air since their last embrace ,which was a minute before..

"You two need a room." said Paris.... Blake used his free hand and gave Paris the middle finger..I just laughed.

I laughed and opened up my fresh Corona and gulped it down...Finnally Blake and Cherish stopped kissing and straaightened themselves up...She sat back down in her chair. Blake rightened himself and ordered an Apple Martini for Cherish and some Hennesey for himself..

"Now that's what I'm talkin about patna..." said Paris. I finnally realized why he was watching his watch..He was waiting for his date to arrive. When she walked in, I could see why she was worth waiting for.. She was stunningly attractive...Tall..a red bone...(Paris was what they called
a 'Redbone" specialist) with well defined features...Angular face, like a model..yet baby making hips and a pair of legs that wouldn't quit...A tight yellow dress that clung to every wonderous curve... Paris kissed her and then asked her what she was drinking...

"My usual babe...Long Island Ice tea..two of em.." she said.

"Excuse my bad manners baby...Everyone , this is Lola....and Lola, this is my room-mate Blake,
His friend, Cherish Watkins...and our friend Chance Howard..he lives down the hall from us."
said Paris.

"Chance eh? That's an interesting name." said Lola.

"Yeah, my mother thought so." I said. I noticed Blake and Cherish trying to conceal their laughter after I said that.

The night went on and we all continued to drink and laugh and talk. It was all very nice, but I felt like a third wheel..I was the only one at the table without a date...It felt weird and it must have looked weird...and then ,she walked in.....with him...

She was Sheena Pearson...a woman I had once dated and who now hated my guts. She was in Josie's , probably for the first time. The guy she was with was not Faunteroy...The cultured Black and married guy she was dating in D.C. No, this guy looked like trouble..He looked like a local guy and like a street guy...So not like her.

'Why you staring over there Chance? You know them?" asked Blake.

"I know her." I said.

" Ex ?" asked Paris.

"Kinda sorta....it was complicated....but that guy....that aint the kind of guy she usually dates and she looks like she got a lot of make up on.." I found myself saying aloud.

"Wow....you must not be over her....you sound like you still sprung." laughed Cherish.

"Yeah...what's up with that Mr. Chance?" chimed Lola..

"Leave him alone...Chance just observant, that's all." said Paris in my defense.

"I'll be back..I'm gonna go over and say something to her." I said as I got up from the table.

I waited until dude was at the bar ordering drinks and then I casually stopped by her table.

"Hey Sheena..how are you doing?"

"Hi Chance....I'm doing well." she said....but there was something about the way she said it that puzzled me...She seemed , well..like she was afraid.

"I see you've moved on from Faunteroy.." I said, expecting the tirade of insults I got at the soul food restaraunt about a month ago.

"Yeah....I did....don't you think your friends are waiting on you?" she said. It wasn't said in her usual smart alecky way...No, it was said as if she was trying to protect me...Get me away from her table...Or was she trying to protect herself??
Once I got up close and took a look...I could see that her eye was slightly swollen and that the side of her face was black and blue...sheilded by make up.

"Sheena ,you alright?...I'm serious? "I asked.

"Chance..I'm fine..don't worry about it." she said.. She didn't look right to me, but before I could

further examine her face-

"Yo Holmes...what you doin at my table?" came the voice.

I turned around, just in time to see the thugish guy Sheena was now going out with.

"Oh ..Hi...my name is Chance..Chance Howard....I went to college with uh Sheena here and I was
just stopping by to say hi." I said and extended my hand. He didn't even look at my hand.

"Okay,so you said hi...now beat it..and don't come over here no more." he said.

I smiled...then I whispered to him....

"Step over here a minute son."

'What?" He said.

"Step over here a minute ...let me holler at you.." I said...

"Nigga , what you want?" he said.

"Did you do that to the side of her face?" I asked.

"What's it to you if I did?" he said, getting loud. I smiled and looked away...then I grabbed his
testicles and squeezed hard like a vice...

"OHhhhhhhhhh....ohhhhhhhhhh.....let me..goooooooohhhhhhhh..." he screamed and then I gripped him by his neck with my free hand and slammed his head up against the wall...

"Don't go gettin me confused with somebody I aint homie....I was born and raised right here in Philly,just like you...I don't care that you're goin with her...but if I see another bruise on her...you and I are gonna have a problem....ya feel me?" I said, still smiling at him....

"ohhhhhhhhhhhhh...ummmmmphhhhhh....." he groaned..... I let go of his nuts and loosened my grip around his neck and let him fall to the ground.. He was still gasping for air...

By now, Gus, Paris ,Blake and Chess, who had just entered the bar had ran over to where the
altercation occurred...as stunned patrons looked on and thug boy held on to his neck and breathed hard..

"It's kool ,it's all good... Me and homeboy here was just gettin to know each other...aint that right
son? You understand me now a little better don't you? " I said as he slowly got up off the ground
grabbed his jacket and stumbled out of the club...

Sheena ran over to me and hugged me...she was crying and more vulnerable than I'd ever seen her..

"Oh thank you Chance..thank you...he was a brute..I had been seeing him for about a month now and he was slapping me every time I did anything wrong..I was so scared of him." she said.

"I know him....His name is Guy...Guy Hawkins...He's a wanna be tough guy, but watch your back
Chance...he packs and he runs with another cat named "Leap"..." said Chess.

"I'm good..you know I can handle Chess.." I said.

"I know kid...just keep it kool..we try to keep this place quiet, you know...no drama." said Chess.

"It's okay...he won't be coming back in here,ever" said Gus "Can I get your lady friend a drink?"
said Gus to me.

"Yeah, get her some coffee." I said.

"Chance...stay with me...stay with me tonight...please." said Sheena.

I guess because I wanted to hear those words so bad I decided to do it.....but all the while I wondered if this was the right move to make.

(To Be Continued....)

Arrogant, Aren't I?

ART: "Hot Lips" By Laurie Cooper

Did He make you
call out his name in delight??
Did he have you
making so much noise you kept the neighbors up
all night?
Or did he make you wish you were still
with me?
Pretty presumptious of me....
Pretty preseumptious of me.../

You've been with the rest
why don't you come back to the
best...
because no matter how boastful
I may sound..
baby, I miss you..
girl,I sure miss you bein around.../

Arrogant ,arent I?
I'm so damn arrogant, but that's
what you always loved about me..
I was really just a supremely
self confident guy...
but I'm not so arrogant and cocky at all
without you by my side...
I'm afraid I'm just like any other guy.../


He never made your eyes roll into the
back of your head...
and when making love to him,
I bet you never broke the legs off of the
bed...
In fact, he left you sighing and wondering
why...
You and I aren't together..
it was some silly fight...
and neither of us can remember why.../

Yes, I've been with a few...
and yeah,so have you..
but that was then and girl this is now..
I've put my past behind me....
and I hope you have too.../

I've been with the rest...
now I want to come back to the best...
the girl who thrilled me from head to
toe...
whether we were doing it fast or doing it
slow..
and I know that thinking you'll take me
back is pretty presumptious of me..
pretty presumptious of me indeed../

Arrogant ,arent I?
I'm so damn arrogant, but that's
what you always loved about me..
I was really just a supremely
self confident guy...
but I'm not so arrogant and cocky at all
without you by my side...
I'm afraid I'm just like any other guy.../

I miss you baby...come back to me...

Man in a Pork Pie Hat

I like Pork Pie Hats....Dizzy Gillespie wore one....more recently, Wynton Marsalis wore one too...So when the band played in Boston, We found a haberdashery and bought us Pork Pie Hats.
"88" was the only one who declined to buy one...He instead bought a black beret. There is always an oddball in the crowd. My Name is Reed Nelson...I play the Trumpet..I have my own band.

I kept dialing Cherry's number ....The phone just kept ringing and ringing...I text messaged her too for the past few days and got no return message. I went in a Cyber Cafe and checked my e-mails. Nothing! Then I emailed her...Once again...nothing! We were returning to Philly in the morning to play a few dates at Josie's and then to take a nice rest...So I figured I would run into her then.

When the train pulled into 30th Street Station in Philadelphia....88's girl, the foxy Mabel Jenkins was there to meet him...They kissed and carried on so passionately in that train station that I was getting hot just looking at them...I knew that we wouldn't be seeing him at Josie's tonight.
It didn't matter...I wasn't doing a set tonight anyhow.

"Ohhh ,look at you....aren't you the dandy!" exclaimed Gus , as I entered Josie's...

"What'cha know good old man?" I said as I sat down and ordered a Gin and Tonic...

"Drinkin light tonight ,huh?" laughed Gus...

"Yeah...just gettin back off the road. Hey Gus...you seen Cherry around here?" I asked.

"Nah...Haven't seen her in about three weeks..." he said. This appeared to be kind of odd.

Chess, Chris, Fathead and Smooth were sitting at their usual table.. I didn't want to ask about Cherry around Fathead..but I waited until Chess walked over to the bar to order another round of drinks for his friends and I asked him if he'd seen Cherry.

" Reed..she moved out about three weeks ago. You were on the road...and I guess you aint heard, but things was kind of wild around here for a minute..We really didn't have time to call you." said Chess.

"Moved out?? You know where- Did she say where she was going?" I asked.

Chess looked at me funny, then he shook his head and smiled....

"You didn't know did you? She did the same thing to me....Which is why we aint together..Cherry get scared, she just up and go..she don't say nothing...At least not to who she is
supposed to be talking to..like me, like you!!!! But I do know this much...She went to Cali...San-Francisco..she said she might be back...and she might not..That's all she told me when she was packing her stuff." said Chess.

"Well, did she say anything about me? Did she leave a forwarding address?" I asked.

"Nope...didn't mention you at all bruh...and didn't even leave me a forwarding address..I'm sorry
man..I thought you knew." said Chess...

I stood there in total shock... I never saw this coming.

The next night....I played in my Pork Pie Hat...I played "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free"
by Sting...a brilliant trumpet solo if I don't say so myself. The crowd in Josie's, mostly used to R&B and funk was a little surprised at my selection, but they dug it. I then directed the band to fall back....except for "88" who played a brilliant piano solo and intro to Miles Davis's -"Kind of Blue", which I played the hell out of....I realized that I was bringing everybody down with my personal stuff, so I sat out the next few numbers and let the band get back to the funk and R&B that the crowd liked..

I saw Kevin and his beautiful wife,Sepia dancing and his friends, Sean Jackson, his girlfriend, Sheila , Clerow and his wife ,Corabeth, the Attorney, Conrad Nelson and his wife Jill and the other attorney, Robert Foxworth and some woman I had never seen before dancing...Seems like the entire world was dancing tonight...everybody, except me....

I wasn't even playing...I was sitting at a table alone with my trumpet and a gin and tonic. drowned in self pity.

"You drinking light tonight...I thought musicians were hard drinkers ."came the voice.

"We usually are " I said as I looked up her. She was dark brown skinned...Had her hair in a bun, but had a lovely mint julep green dress on. She had matching green heels to match and the loveliest pair of legs I'd seen in a long time.. She had an oval shaped face with dimples..Very cute
woman.

"My name is Deborah....and I'm a fan...I bought one of your CD's the last time you were here."
she said.

"I'd like to say I remember you, but I don't...but I sure wish I had of." I said with the widest grin on my face ever. 'Sit down...join me." I said. She did and we talked about music, about me traveling and about places she had traveled. It turned out she was a school teacher and had just started coming here. She didn't know many of the regulars, which was a good thing.

I excused myself and rejoined the band...We played another set and called it a night... I gave my trumpet to "88" and told him-"Take it with you" and winked.. He knew what that meant.

Debbie and I continued to talk...Oh yeah, after a few Apple Martini's and Hennesey for me, we were on that kind of a name basis..I was "Reedie" and she was "Debbie"

I don't quite remember how we wound up in the ladies bathroom in the farthest stall on the edge. But we did....We were kissing each other very passionately ....I hung my jacket on the small hook..and she eased out of those matching green heels...I leaned her up against the door
and began to kiss her even more so..She had the softest lips...soft like butter...

She began to work my zipper down and caress my now massively erect penis...I began slipping
her panties down...I lifted her dress up and eased into her moistness...She let out a loud sigh....I made the shsss sound and put my idex finger up to my mouth...She giggled and I lifted her up...
She wrapped her legs around me and held on to my neck, as I thrusted into her with all my might...

We went at it like that for close to a half an hour before we heard the voices of other people in the restroom... Josie's has a long restroom and unless the room was crowded..it was doubtful that they would wander down to the far end where we were... We stood silent until we heard toilets flushing and people leaving and then we continued...Me thrusting and her riding me and matching me thrust for thrust...

We both came at the same time...both us of shaking and gasping for air....I was glad to put her down..She had been getting heavy.....

"Oh My god Reedie...that was like...whoaaaa..." she said, laughing..pulling her panties up and slipping back into her heels.. I fixed my pants, tried to straighten out my suit and adjusted my
pork pie hat...The entire time we had been sexing it up...my hat hadn't fallen off.

"I'd like to try this again sometimes...prefferably horizontal." I said.

" Sure...but let's get out of here first" she said with that cute giggle.

We left at different times so that it didn't look like we'd been in there together, but we didn't fool
Gus..He gave me a side eye as I strode up to the bar..but didn't say anything...Just shook his head and walked away.

Debbie came up to me with her Blackberry and we exchanged numbers and information.

"Call me sometimes Reed." she said as she kissed me on the cheek...She walked out to her car and pulled off into the night...

There was still a crowd in the bar....I walked outside and stared into the crisp night air...Cherry had left me...that still hurt....but I didn't feel as bad as I could have. I adjusted my pork pie hat
one last time ,smiled and then walked toward my car.

Cleansing

Three shots crackled through the early afternoon air and I spun around and saw Dominic King's body jerking back and forth....He began to cough blood , dropped his gun on the ground and fell up against a parked car...

'Arrrrrrgggghhh..uggggggghhhhhh...I don't believe it......I....I......I've been shot!" he said...A fourth shot must have hit him in the head, because he pitched forward and hit the pavement...Bleeding profusely...I leaned down and checked for a pulse...there was none..Dominic King...a murderer who had ended many lives, both in Jamaica and here in Philadelphia had met his own end...I looked around and there was my damn cousin, Little Pistol laughing his head off and slapping his
knees at the expression on my face..

"Damn Chess, No hello, No how are you doing?" he laughed manaically...

'Man..you done started a war...People are going to get hurt..." I said.

"Man, I just call it cleansing..Lawrence Fontaine is dirt and scum...just like his uncle..and South Philly needs to be rid of him." said Little Pistol.

"Yeah,if they don't get rid of you first...." I said..

"Well look, we can't stay here..we gotta roll..You gotta ride?"he asked.

"No..I came on the bus........Of course I got a ride...I parked it two blocks away." I said.

"Chris schooled you well....Well come on cousin..let's roll."

We got in my car and I pulled off.

"Where we going? "I said.

"To the Northeast babe....Northeast Airport...I been holin up there too. Sorry about all this mess I got everybody into...but that old man,Wally O...just pushed my buttons that's all..I had to
take him out....When I heard that that freak Dominic King was huntin my boys, I had to do something...I knew you would try to find me and so I set a trap for him...I'm the one that sent a
message to him through other people of course that I was stayin with Lawrence's girl...He showed up like I knew he would and I busted a cap in his ass...He won't hunt nobody else..Fathead,Chris and that boy, Smooth can rest easy now...because Lawrence aint got no territory, aint got no muscle, aint got nothin..he's weak...His own people are turning on him.
Hahahhahahahaha..I heard you and Chris put a real down home butt whippin on him...He lost face after that..hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...what a jamolk!" laughed Little Pistol.

We drove to a bar off Roosevelt Blvd. I ordered some Ciroc and orange juice... Little Pistol ordered some Hennesey...We drank and laughed about the good old days when we were kids and the world was so different then.

"You still play chess man?" he asked.

"What you think?" I said.

"Wow...I figured you did... I learned how to play when I was in the joint. I was pretty good. When I get myself set up somewhere..I'll give you a call and maybe you can come and visit me
and we can play." he said.

"Yeah maybe." I said.

We drove some more and I stopped at a McDonalds....I ordered a Big Angus with Cheese, some fries and a Milk Shake... Little Pistol had a Chicken Sandwich, Fries and a Milk Shake..As we sat and ate...My Blackberry went off.

"Chess, you okay?"- It was Chris.

"Yeah..what's up..I'm in McDonalds." I said.

"McDonalds...doin what?" he asked..

"Eating and talking to you..what do people usually do in McDonald's?" I laughed.

"That damn cousin of yours... Man...he killed Lawrence Fontaine and Dominic King tonight.....He's something else...If you find him...Tell him we said thanks...All this stuff is finnally
over.." he laughed.

"What?? Are you serious???" I asked.

"Man,it's all over the news...." said Chris, laughing his head off.

"Yeah man....if I see him...I'll tell him." I said.

I hung up...I looked at Little Pistol........

"Lawrence Fontaine????" I said.

Little Pistol laughed...

"You know....I knew you'd have that look on your face... I knew he'd keep on making trouble for you...So this afternoon,I saw his punk ass at the gas station filling up his ride..I drove right next to him ,introduced myself and then shot him right between the eyes...and pulled off. No witnesses.hahahahahahahaha." said Little Pistol.

"Then you came back here and killed Dominic King, right?" I said.

"That's about it cousin." he laughed.

"Killing always come this easy for you?" I asked.

"Wally O.was the first man I ever killed...after him, Lawrence Fontaine and Dominic King wasn't nothing...." he said.

"You done now?" I asked

"Yeah..I aint angry no more....For real cousin....I aint. I got a small plane waiting for me in the
morning." He said non-chalantly.

"Where you going?" I asked.

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to Chess...you know better than that."
he said. He was right ,I did.

We sat in the car and talked until 6:00 am....His guy showed up and he got out of the car...

"You don't have any luggage?" I asked.

"Got that taken care of...I moved it here the day before yesterday..after I knowed what I was gonna do." He said.

He and his friend packed his luggage on the small plane and then he turned to me and hugged me hard...

"You take care of yourself Chess..Stay out of and away from the game...it's a killer...You stay legit like you been.....Me? I got enough money to get me into something straight...I've had enough of this gangster stuff...Been there, done that...When I get to where I'm going..I'll get in contact with you..We'll play that game of Chess....Okay?" he said.

"Yeah man, you know it." I said.

"Be Easy Chess...Say goodbye to Fathead ,Chris and Smooth for me." he said.

"I will" I said and I stood there and waved as his small plane took off for parts unknown.


For SLC