Sepia and I were enjoying some refreshing tumblers of Ice Tea at the outdoor tables that Gus had installed outside of Josie's... It was a surprisingly warm day in Philly...With near record temperatures (for this time of year) at 80 degrees. Some people were walking around in shorts and sandals..Others in open shirts.
"Hmmph....People better remember that it's still spring...It aint summer yet." said Sepia as she took a sip of her drink.
I smiled... On such a beautiful day, I wasn't worried about what other people were or were not wearing. Everything was cool and copasetic...I still had a job at the magazine....My private detective hobby had turned into a lucrative business that was making me a pile of money on the side and with help from both Bonita Turner and Robert Foxworth...Sepia had finally sold a couple of homes and made considerable money herself... We had everything to be happy about at this moment.
"Kevin!!!...Kevin!!!! Oh my god...I'm so glad I found you..." came the voice of a female...a female I barely knew. I looked up....and raised an eyebrow...She was very shapely and comely and very stylishly dressed....It then hit me as to who she was...Her name was Deborah and she was the girlfriend of Reed Nelson...The trumpet player and band leader at Josie's Bar.
"Hi Deborah...How are you doing? This is my wife, Sepia ." I said , getting that out of the way before there was any more conversation. My wife was already giving me the side eye as this woman came to our table.
"Kevin...It's Reed...He's vanished...and I'm certain he has met with foul play...I haven't seen him in a day..You have to help me." she said.
"Vanished? Are you sure?? Maybe he's playing a gig somewhere." I said.
"No...You can ask Gus....They were supposed to play Josie's last night and the entire band showed up...but Reed didn't... That has never happened. He's fined guys in the band for being five minutes late to a rehearsal.....That's not like Reed not to show up and not to call...He is always a stickler about time...He gets mad at me if I'm late for a date." she said.
"Honey, that's all of these men....they just don't understand our need to look our best for them." laughed Sepia.
"Gurl, I know that's right." laughed Debbie.
"When is the last time you saw Reed?" I asked.
''Wednesday Night..Thursday morning...We went to Atlantic City and he stayed over...He left that morning.. He called me Thursday afternoon and said that he wanted to go and get some seafood and hang out that night...I told him that I couldn't because I had a meeting with a potential client in the afternoon and I expected to be hung up...He said he'd call me later....He never did. Around nine o'clock that night, I went over to his house. His car was there...and the door was opened and the lights were on in his house...The Television was on...but Reed wasn't there...He would never leave his house and leave the tv on...." she explained.
"You go to the cops?" I asked.
"Yeah, but they can't open a missing persons investigation until a man's been missing for 48 hours....and Kevin, I know you can go places and do things the cops can't do...Please say you'll help me....Reed is kind of like a friend to you.." she said almost pleadingly....She didn't have to say anymore...I hadn't yet come across a mystery that I didn't feel like solving and since Reed Nelson was indeed an associate of mine....I felt duty bound to investigate.
Since we had arrived in Sepia's car...The three of us went to Reed Nelson's house. It was an immaculate place. I wasn't surprised..Reed was an immaculate man. Most Jazz musicians are.
He was well dressed and very particular about nearly everything in his life.
Debbie hadn't lied...His car was sitting in front of his house. It didn't look as if it had been driven anywhere. Inside, I found his license and car keys and his wallet, full of cash and credit cards.
The lights were indeed on. Debbie had turned the television off. The bed was made and hadn't looked slept in....His clothes were neatly hung in his closet and his sink had dishes in it from days before. There didn't look like there had been any kind of struggle....It looked more like he had left suddenly.
I checked his phone....There was one call..From an E. Manga. It was Friday morning...Other than that...Nothing. This was very strange.
"Debbie...You know an E. Manga?" I asked.
"Oh that's Eddie....He's kind of like a bookie...Reed bet on the horses sometimes." said Debbie.
"Reed have any beef with anybody?" asked Sepia, to my surprise! What was she an investigator now? I mused as I smiled to myself.
"Reed? Well, maybe Symphony Sam....He did cause him to lose that gig at Josie's...but those two have been rivals for years ...I don't think he takes Reed seriously, nor vice versa." said Debbie.
"Well that's as good a place as ever to start" I said.
The three of us drove over to Symphony Sam's favorite watering hole...The Mermaid club...
Joe Neptune, the bartender,pointed to Symphony Sam as soon as we walked in...It was almost as
if he instinctively knew that that was who we had come looking for. Symphony Sam was sitting in a corner of the bar as if he was holding court...only no one else was there but him.
"Reed missin huh? Well, don't look at me....I didn't have nothin to do with it." he said.
"Nothing to do with what ? I didn't accuse you of anything." I said.
"Well Kevin...I know you're a detective and all.." he said.
"Private detective Sam." I reiterated.
"Oh okay...well whatever...you wouldn't be nosin around me unless you thought I was involved somehow in Reed missin. I aint seen him since that night in Josie's when he tricked me into lettin that horrible girl singer front my band and Gus threw me, her and my band out...We aint had a decent gig since." said Symphony Sam.
For some reason I felt as though Symphony Sam knew a lot more than he was telling. I wasn't going to pressure him just yet...I just looked at him. He looked a bit nervous.. He tried to joke his way out of the situation...
"Wow..you must be doing something right Kev...you got two fine babes at your side..heh heh heh.
Listen...why don't you talk to Sam Mother over at "Mother's Diner" That's where Reed eats every morning.." he finnally said. I smiled and said nothing....but left.
Sam Mother's eyes lit up when he saw Sepia and Deborah walk into his diner......but when he saw me come behind them, he frowned...
"What's goin on Kevin? " he said dryly....
"I'm looking for Reed Nelson. The Trumpet player." I said.
"Funny you ask.....I haven't seen him either....You know, he been havin his breakfast here everyday like clockwork ,since he moved to philly...Everyday he usually was here at six on the dot when I open up and was always the first to order. He usually ordered the same exact thing everyday..Scrambled Eggs light, Hash browns and bacon...with orange juice and coffee...Then
Thursday mornin....I don't see him , Friday mornin..No Reed...and today, No Reed...."88" came in here askin if I seen him and I said....'I thought maybe you guys went outta town for a gig..and "88" said "Nah...we aint got no outside gigs for at least a month." said Sam.
"So you haven't seen him?" I asked.
"Nah....some cat named Eddie Manga was lookin for him Wednesday...I told him that Reed had just left." said Sam Mother.
"Deb...This Eddie Manga..you said he's a bookie.....you think Reed owed him money?" I asked.
"Reed might have owed him a few bucks....but nothin heavy.....Reed always paid all of his debts."
said Deborah.
"He a rough charactor?" I asked.
"I don't really know him Kevin."
"Well I'm going to get to know him." I said.
We dropped Deborah off at her place and then we drove home... Sepia looked at me funny and then she asked the question that Debbie probably didn't want to ask.
"Kevin, do you think Reed is dead?" she asked.
"I really don't know...I sure hope not." I said.
(To Be Continued...)
"Hmmph....People better remember that it's still spring...It aint summer yet." said Sepia as she took a sip of her drink.
I smiled... On such a beautiful day, I wasn't worried about what other people were or were not wearing. Everything was cool and copasetic...I still had a job at the magazine....My private detective hobby had turned into a lucrative business that was making me a pile of money on the side and with help from both Bonita Turner and Robert Foxworth...Sepia had finally sold a couple of homes and made considerable money herself... We had everything to be happy about at this moment.
"Kevin!!!...Kevin!!!! Oh my god...I'm so glad I found you..." came the voice of a female...a female I barely knew. I looked up....and raised an eyebrow...She was very shapely and comely and very stylishly dressed....It then hit me as to who she was...Her name was Deborah and she was the girlfriend of Reed Nelson...The trumpet player and band leader at Josie's Bar.
"Hi Deborah...How are you doing? This is my wife, Sepia ." I said , getting that out of the way before there was any more conversation. My wife was already giving me the side eye as this woman came to our table.
"Kevin...It's Reed...He's vanished...and I'm certain he has met with foul play...I haven't seen him in a day..You have to help me." she said.
"Vanished? Are you sure?? Maybe he's playing a gig somewhere." I said.
"No...You can ask Gus....They were supposed to play Josie's last night and the entire band showed up...but Reed didn't... That has never happened. He's fined guys in the band for being five minutes late to a rehearsal.....That's not like Reed not to show up and not to call...He is always a stickler about time...He gets mad at me if I'm late for a date." she said.
"Honey, that's all of these men....they just don't understand our need to look our best for them." laughed Sepia.
"Gurl, I know that's right." laughed Debbie.
"When is the last time you saw Reed?" I asked.
''Wednesday Night..Thursday morning...We went to Atlantic City and he stayed over...He left that morning.. He called me Thursday afternoon and said that he wanted to go and get some seafood and hang out that night...I told him that I couldn't because I had a meeting with a potential client in the afternoon and I expected to be hung up...He said he'd call me later....He never did. Around nine o'clock that night, I went over to his house. His car was there...and the door was opened and the lights were on in his house...The Television was on...but Reed wasn't there...He would never leave his house and leave the tv on...." she explained.
"You go to the cops?" I asked.
"Yeah, but they can't open a missing persons investigation until a man's been missing for 48 hours....and Kevin, I know you can go places and do things the cops can't do...Please say you'll help me....Reed is kind of like a friend to you.." she said almost pleadingly....She didn't have to say anymore...I hadn't yet come across a mystery that I didn't feel like solving and since Reed Nelson was indeed an associate of mine....I felt duty bound to investigate.
Since we had arrived in Sepia's car...The three of us went to Reed Nelson's house. It was an immaculate place. I wasn't surprised..Reed was an immaculate man. Most Jazz musicians are.
He was well dressed and very particular about nearly everything in his life.
Debbie hadn't lied...His car was sitting in front of his house. It didn't look as if it had been driven anywhere. Inside, I found his license and car keys and his wallet, full of cash and credit cards.
The lights were indeed on. Debbie had turned the television off. The bed was made and hadn't looked slept in....His clothes were neatly hung in his closet and his sink had dishes in it from days before. There didn't look like there had been any kind of struggle....It looked more like he had left suddenly.
I checked his phone....There was one call..From an E. Manga. It was Friday morning...Other than that...Nothing. This was very strange.
"Debbie...You know an E. Manga?" I asked.
"Oh that's Eddie....He's kind of like a bookie...Reed bet on the horses sometimes." said Debbie.
"Reed have any beef with anybody?" asked Sepia, to my surprise! What was she an investigator now? I mused as I smiled to myself.
"Reed? Well, maybe Symphony Sam....He did cause him to lose that gig at Josie's...but those two have been rivals for years ...I don't think he takes Reed seriously, nor vice versa." said Debbie.
"Well that's as good a place as ever to start" I said.
The three of us drove over to Symphony Sam's favorite watering hole...The Mermaid club...
Joe Neptune, the bartender,pointed to Symphony Sam as soon as we walked in...It was almost as
if he instinctively knew that that was who we had come looking for. Symphony Sam was sitting in a corner of the bar as if he was holding court...only no one else was there but him.
"Reed missin huh? Well, don't look at me....I didn't have nothin to do with it." he said.
"Nothing to do with what ? I didn't accuse you of anything." I said.
"Well Kevin...I know you're a detective and all.." he said.
"Private detective Sam." I reiterated.
"Oh okay...well whatever...you wouldn't be nosin around me unless you thought I was involved somehow in Reed missin. I aint seen him since that night in Josie's when he tricked me into lettin that horrible girl singer front my band and Gus threw me, her and my band out...We aint had a decent gig since." said Symphony Sam.
For some reason I felt as though Symphony Sam knew a lot more than he was telling. I wasn't going to pressure him just yet...I just looked at him. He looked a bit nervous.. He tried to joke his way out of the situation...
"Wow..you must be doing something right Kev...you got two fine babes at your side..heh heh heh.
Listen...why don't you talk to Sam Mother over at "Mother's Diner" That's where Reed eats every morning.." he finnally said. I smiled and said nothing....but left.
Sam Mother's eyes lit up when he saw Sepia and Deborah walk into his diner......but when he saw me come behind them, he frowned...
"What's goin on Kevin? " he said dryly....
"I'm looking for Reed Nelson. The Trumpet player." I said.
"Funny you ask.....I haven't seen him either....You know, he been havin his breakfast here everyday like clockwork ,since he moved to philly...Everyday he usually was here at six on the dot when I open up and was always the first to order. He usually ordered the same exact thing everyday..Scrambled Eggs light, Hash browns and bacon...with orange juice and coffee...Then
Thursday mornin....I don't see him , Friday mornin..No Reed...and today, No Reed...."88" came in here askin if I seen him and I said....'I thought maybe you guys went outta town for a gig..and "88" said "Nah...we aint got no outside gigs for at least a month." said Sam.
"So you haven't seen him?" I asked.
"Nah....some cat named Eddie Manga was lookin for him Wednesday...I told him that Reed had just left." said Sam Mother.
"Deb...This Eddie Manga..you said he's a bookie.....you think Reed owed him money?" I asked.
"Reed might have owed him a few bucks....but nothin heavy.....Reed always paid all of his debts."
said Deborah.
"He a rough charactor?" I asked.
"I don't really know him Kevin."
"Well I'm going to get to know him." I said.
We dropped Deborah off at her place and then we drove home... Sepia looked at me funny and then she asked the question that Debbie probably didn't want to ask.
"Kevin, do you think Reed is dead?" she asked.
"I really don't know...I sure hope not." I said.
(To Be Continued...)
1 comment:
Nope. Not dead. Haven't lost one of the family yet.
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