Shock And Awe

There was something very beautiful about seeing the sunrise at Penns Landing.Sepia was wearing a beautiful white fur leather jacket that I had bought her for Christmas. She looked beautiful in the early morning hours looking at the water...We had gone ice skating Christmas night and we had spent the night in one of the plush hotels along the landing...We had both awakened early and had dressed and had just stood on the waterfront watching the sunrise and the birds and the waves...

You have to imagine my surprise when I saw the attorney,Robert Foxworth along the waterfront and looking distraught. I poked Sepia and pointed towards Robert Foxworth. She smiled, looked at me and said-

"I suppose one of his women must have stood him up last night." she laughed.

"Yeah...let me walk over and see what's on his mind." I said. Sepia just shrugged her shoulders.
She knew that I was going to do that anyway...whether I had announced it or not.

"Hey Robert...Merry Christmas to you bruh...what's shakin?" I asked.

"Kev...I got a little bit of a problem..." He said.

"Women problems?" I asked ,amused at how on the money Sepia was. I looked at her and winked.

"Yeah, but not what you think....I think my sister is in a bit of trouble." he said.

"Sister?...you never mentioned having a sister before." I said.

"Half sister, but my blood just the same...I was supposed to meet her for dinner last night and she didn't show up." he said.

"So? Maybe she had a date...it was Christmas Robert." I said.

"You don't understand Kevin...She was in some kind of trouble...She told me that she thinks she may have had a stalker...that she had been getting mysterious calls and that the past few days she felt as if she had been followed." said Robert.

"Followed? Followed by who?" I asked.

"That's just it...she wasn't sure." He said.

"Was she seeing anybody?" I asked.

"Well, she had just started dating this new guy....Isaiah Jordan....He seemed like a solid dude..but I only met him once....and then there was this married dude named Cole Butler, who she was involved with a few years back...He kept calling, wanting to get back and then there was someone else she said..Someone who kept calling and hanging up ....Calling and hanging up..and breathing heavy....She was very afraid Kevin and she called me about it...I came over her house and stayed with her one night and sure enough the phone rang....I answered it and there was the
breathing...then there was this voice Kev...it didn't sound real...it sounded like those guys that have to use a voicebox because cancer has destroyed their larnyx...you know?" said Robert.

"I got'cha Robert....or they probably altered their voice electronically...." I said.

"I got Sean and Peeping Tom to put a trace on her phone....They did and we found a tape recorder in a hotel room across town that was electronically activated by the sound of a voice coming from a phone. The people in the hotel had no record of who was in the room or who had placed the phone there...but they obviously weren't calling from the hotel...they cleaned their tracks well." he said.

I had to admit..I was intrigued.

'When was the last time you talked to your sister?" I asked.

''Christmas Eve..We made arrangements to meet for dinner on Christmas Day...Only, she never showed up...I went to her house, let myself in and she was gone. I'm afraid she's met with foul
play Kev...I don't know what to do next..I don't like this." said Robert Foxworth.

"Alright...I tell you what.....If she doesn't show up by tomorrow...you give me a call and I'll look into it okay?" I said.

''Sure thing Kevin..thanks man." he said.

I walked back over to Sepia who looked at me and said -"Woman trouble right?" I smiled a little
bit and said-"Well yeah, not exactly what comes normal to him though" I said as we walked away...I looked behind me and Robert sat on the bench ,looking lost...I had never seen him like this before.

The next day Clerow and I got Robert and the three of us went to his sister's, (who was named Monique) house... Robert had a key and he let us in. The house was immaculate. There was no sign of a struggle or disarray. In fact, it didn't look like she had even been in it. If she was missing,I suspected it was because she wanted to be missing. I checked her messages on her phone. There were none...and no last phone numbers either. This was very odd.

Next , we drove to the sleazy hotel where the tape recorder had been found. Since Robert and crew hadn't confiscated it...I wasn't surprised to find it now gone also. We went to the front desk. There was an old White man sitting at the desk.

" Sir, Who was in room 216?" I asked.

" Some guy....He said his name was Sam Jones." he answered.

'' Sam Jones, that name ring a bell?" I said looking at Robert.

"No..she never mentioned a Sam Jones." said Robert.

It was probably a phony name ,I reasoned. I asked the guy what this Jones fella looked like.

"I wouldn't know...I'm blind." he said.

I took a look at him and to my surprise , he was indeed blind.

'How do you run this place ?....In your condition? " I asked.

"I run it with my son.....we take cash and I give em a key or my son gives em the key." he replied.

"Where is your son?" I asked...

"I don't know...he'll be in soon." he said.

I walked over to the other side of the front desk.....I looked in the ledger....I saw a "Sam Jones" registered...on December 15th...I also saw an address....Nobody that went to this much trouble to conceal themselves would be this sloppy...or would they? There was after all, no crime committed here...not yet.

"Robert, when would you say your sister started getting the calls? The middle of the month?"
I asked.

"Yeah, around then." he said.

"Hmmmm, right about the time this Jones fella took this room." I said. I made a mental note in my mind.

We left the hotel.. I was driving my car....I dropped Clerow and Robert off and then doubled back....I was going to check out this address myself. I suspected that it might be a phony address....

The house was at the end of the block . This was the type of street where every other house was
either occupied or abandoned...I had my peice on me, so I wasn't worried. I walked up the steps
to this house...It looked abandoned...I looked inside...To my surprise..I saw a woman, bound and gagged in a chair... I tried the door ....Another surprise...it opened...I crept in....I looked at the woman...It was Robert's sister...I recognized her from the photo...Before I could do anything...I felt a jolt of what felt like electricity.....My body began to jerk like crazy...I felt a sensation of heat all over me and then everything went black....I didn't feel myself falling, but I could see my body
hit the ground....and when it did...it seemed like the entire room shook....everything went black
and then I saw a white light ...a very bright light......in the horizon.......that's all I remember!!

(To Be Continued.....)