Worth A Thousand Words

It was a rare day for me...I was actually at my office at Hype Magazine all day...from 8:00 am until.....Sean Jackson and I were going over photos we took for seperate articles I had written on
Reed Nelson "88", Downtown Rob Brown and Guitarist Brooke Taylor... We had covered their perspective concerts and we were doing a huge Jazz spectacular issue...Naturally...They were all there that day in my office, going over photos and giving their approval and disaproval.. Sean's girlfriend (and now my editor) Sheila was also there....Conrad Nelson, the attorney stopped by and even Gus, the owner of the popular nightspot, Josie's stopped by...I had written an article on him too and we had done a photo shoot... I wrote another peice on Mabel Jenkins and her sisters
Corrie, Anita and Victoria and their successful Soul Food Eatery and catering business and to top it off..I had another story on former gangster, and now successful real estate man, Chris Thompson and his buddy, Chess... This month's edition was full of my writing and Sean's photos... We were working overtime shuttling all of these people, Our friends...in and out of the office.

My new personal assistant, Tony Breezely was working overtime keeping tumblers of hot coffee
coming and going....He had only been here a month...but he was doing better than people who had been here six years.. He was about five foot ,nine, give or take an inch and though no Charles Atlas...He looked like he worked out.. He had a 2010 Nissann Z , Which I know he couldn't have afforded working here....but never the less...that was his buisness..I didn't worry myself with it.

"Hey Tone...Thanks for gettin all those people in here and out ....and keepin the hot coffee coming....Sean and I finnally got all of the photos approved and we got the next edition ready to
print." I said.

"Oh no prob Mister Kev...I can't wait to read it ...it's going to be all you...Is there an article in there that you didn't write? Hahahahahahahaha." he laughed.

"Maybe two or three...Half of what I wrote aint gonna get read anyway." I laughed.

"Well, I'm gone read that one about the Jenkins sisters, every last one of em is fine as hell." he laughed.

"Yeah..I guess everyone will read that..." I laughed.

"They all hooked up?" he asked.

"Mabel and Victoria are too old for you youngin...Mabel lives with the piano player,88 and Victoria and Corrie are married...Anita is single...but I think she sees Chance Howard...the young lawyer." I said.

"Yeah, the fine ones like her always go for the lawyer or doctor types ." He said as he left the office. I had to smile.

A few minutes later Tony came back in the office....

"Mister Kev...you got another visitor...he say he a friend of yours...Cock Robbins."

"Man, what is this...Old homes week? yeah, let him in....thanks Tone." I said.

Cock Robbins was with his wife Vanessa... He looked shaken...I had never seen him like this before.

"Yo man..What's up?" I said.

"Kevin...It's been awhile since I asked you for a favor...but you gotta look into this." he said.

"Look into what?" I asked.

"I have a student teacher ...at the school...She about twenty, twenty one....She was working for me...well under me....and now she missin.." he said.

"Missing? what do you mean? " I asked.

"Kevin...She came over our house for dinner a few nights ago....We were eating and afterwords,
Cock offered to drive her home...I rode along with him.....We let her out at the corner of her block and she waved at us...and she hasn't been seen or heard from since..'' said Vanessa.

"What? How you know that?" I asked.

"Kevin...she didn't come to work for two days straight....Her Mom called us and her boyfriend called us....We all went to her apartment...and the door was open....No sign of a struggle or nothing....Bed made...everything...Her keys were on the bed..Her purse, all her credit cards..the
works...Man it aint good." said Cock.

"I'm already working a case like this....My wife's friend is missing....and a girl that was supposed to come here to work is also missing." I said.

"You think they related?" asked Cock.

"Oh no...no.....but it is odd..all this in one week. You got a photo?" I asked.

"Yeah...take this." he said....

"Will you look into this for us, please???...I'm worried about that young girl." said Vanessa.

"I'll do what I can.." I said.


Later that night ,I went home.....Clerow, Lockpick Johnson and Peeping Tom were in my living room with Sepia, Robert Foxworth and Bonita.....I could tell, by the grave look on their faces that
they had something big to tell or show me..

"Kevin, I'm so glad you're home." said Sepia as I came through the door.

"Yeah man, you gotta see this." said Robert Foxworth.

"See what?" I said.

''Kev, Me ,Lockpick and Tom went to the dead girl's apartment.....The girl that yall found in that house that Chess and Chris was gonna rehab....We went over it like a fine tooth comb and we found this photo of the dead girl......Her name was Angela Manson....."said Clerow.

"Okay." I said.

"Kevin...look who else is in the photo " said my wife.

It was a photo of five African American women...they were all very attractive...I took a closer look and there next to Angela Manson was Anjanette Benson...my intern, who never showed up to work and Alma Sanders......Robert,Bonita and Sepia's contact who was supposed to help them with the real estate sale , who now was also missing!!!! The fourth girl looked very familiar....I pulled out the photo of the girl Cock Robbins asked me to look for, Brenda Young..and there she was!!! I couldn't believe my eyes....Four women...Four attractive women all knew each other somehow and all were missing!!!! How did they know each other and who was this fifth woman??
But more so.....I already knew that one of these women were dead....what about the rest of them???

Clerow,Sepia, Lockpick ,Tom, Robert Foxworth and Bonita all looked at me....They wanted an answer...They wanted me to tell them that I had a plan....This time....I didn't even have a clue.

(To Be Continued....)