It Hurt Me Too

I sat in the diner the next morning, drinking coffee and eating toast with jam...
,Fred "Fried Fish" Collins ,Pastor John Struthers and Attorney Robert Foxworth sat with me...They were laughing and howling....

"Reed, you mean to tell me that that guy bought three women the same dress and they wore the same dress the same night and at the same place? ,Lawd have mercy...can anyone be that dumb?" said Pastor John Struthers.

"Unbeleivable...Now I've had my share of women, yes I have...and at the same time and I have never done anything like that." said Robert Foxworth

"Well, the one girl's dress was Red...but it was the same style." I laughed.

"Yeah...I saw her in that red dress...She was wearing that dress, you hear me..all
three of them gals was sayin a taste...I gotta hand it to the youngin...He does have good tastes...Ingrid Rhodes, That gal in the red dress and your girl's sister..ummmmph, ummmph,ummmph...they aint no slouches...all three of them gals is neck snappers." laughed Fred "Fried Fish" Collins.

We all laughed and slapped our knees....

"Hey ,Gus doesn't know it was Rob that tripped that alarm does he?" I asked.

"Nah, he don't know...but he was sure hoppin mad...He had to close Josies...and they was in there all night, dryin the place up...He doubled our pay and invited us back another night to play." said Fred "Fried Fish" Collins.

"Yall comin back? How did Baby girl take it??...She was really upset about her hair gettin messed up." I said.

"Yeah, she was...but she's a trooper...She wasn't mad at Gus...she knows that these things happen. She's on board with us comin back next Friday to do a set" said Fred.

"Oh that's good." I said.

"Speaking of neck snappers Reed..Look over there at who just walked in." said Robert Foxworth.

It was Cherry Johnson...She was still wearing the Red dress from the night before.. She had her hair in a ponytail now...With her was Baseball Player,
Johnny "Yankee Killer" Diamond of the Philadelphia Phillies...They took a seat in the middle of the diner and ordered Spanish Omelets ,Home Fries and Mimosas...They were laughing and talking like nothing had happened the night before...Made me wonder how these two wound up together.

"Didn't that used to be you playa?" asked Robert Foxworth.

"Yeah man, when I first came to Philly and before me, Fathead Newton and Chess, before he got married...She's been around." I said.

"Yeah...Looks like she got Diamond hooked." said Pastor Struthers.

I looked at them and smirked....Paid my tab and then tipped my hat to the guys

"Mornin Gents..I'm goin over and check on my babe..." I said.

"That's real talk Reed...Don't wanna wind up like the youngin."laughed Robert
Foxworth.

I rang Debbie's doorbell and she came to the door in her nightgown...She was yawning...

"Hey babe...what happened to you last night?" she asked.

" I went to my house...I figured Delores would need you after last night.." I said.

Debbie smiled that flirty ,pouty smile of hers..

"Dell is fine..beleive me...Just fine" she said.

"Hmmmm, I don't know how that sounds.." I smiled.

"Well, we couldn't find you....but that guitarist, Nate Howard came over with a towell and dried us off and he offered us a ride home...Dell sat up front and he talked to her the entire night...Told her how sexy she looked and how he had seen her around but didn't know if she was seeing somebody or not.." said Debbie.

"Let me guess, He dropped you off and they went to Dell's place right...hahahahaa, they don't call that boy Nate "the Snake" for nothin..He see
an opening and he move right in." I laughed...

"Well, he is smooth..He took us both to an after hours spot, bought us drinks and then we had Pizza and went to another spot for coffee...He was quite the gentlemen..then he dropped me off and took Dell home." said Debbie.

"Hmmmm, wanna bet he's still there?" I laughed.

"Well,if I know my sister, he's probably got a big smile on his face." she said and we both laughed..

"Well I need to smile...Been without my baby all night...Why don't you put a smile on my face?" I smiled.

''wwww poor baby." said Debbie and she leaned in and gave me a long passionate kiss. I grabbed her buttocks with both of my hands and squeezed them tight..

"Ouuuu Reed, now that puts a smile on MY face." she cooed.. Just then her blackberry buzzed.

She picked it up. She looked at me and winked. I smiled..I knew who it was.

"Oh hey Rob....No...She's not here...She should be at her place.....Well, you can imagine she's not too pleased with you right now after last night......She's probably not answering her phone, that's all... No , I haven't heard from her this
morning...it's still early...I know...I know...Well maybe when you see her you can tell her....No...I'm not getting involved...You do your own talking.....Bye Rob....
Nooo...Bye Rob." she said.

"Don't tell me...I don't want to know.." I laughed.

"He's on some beggin stuff right now...Talkin bout he so sorry and what not..." said Debbie.

"That's a shame....The girl in the red dress was at the diner with Johnny Diamond this morning." I said.

"I know, we saw them last night at the Pizza place." said Debbie.

"Oh my God....So I guess all the guys that was on the fringes made their move last night....They came to bury the king." I said.

"What?" she asked.

"It's just a saying." I said.

"Yeah, The king of players is dead." laughed Debbie.

"Well, he's still got Ingrid." I laughed as I continued kissing Debbie.

Epilouge-

"Hello..." said Ingrid

"Ingrid...heyyyy baby, this is Rob.....I just called to see how you were doin....That was such a terrible thing to happen last night...I felt so bad for you...Gus should
get a better alarm and sprinkler system." said Rob.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"Oh,I had to leave early somethin came up." said Rob.

"Somethin came up huh?" said Ingrid.

"Uh yeah..I had to jet...but I was concerned about you...uh, that's why I called."
he said.

"Well it was nice of you to call..." she said.

"Sayyyy..listen..why don't we get together tonight...Go grab some food, a couple of drinks..and uh-"

"Oh I'm sorry Rob..I can't...I got a date tonight." she said.

(silence)

"A date?" he said.

"Yes...a nice gentleman from the club last night...an Attorney..His name is Robert Foxworth....He helped me dry off and he took me to a nice afterhours spot over in New Jersey after the gig and then gave me a ride home...We made arrangements to meet tonight for dinner and drinks." she exclaimed.

"Dinner and drinks? Then what?" asked Rob.

"Then what? That's not a question for you to ask...We aren't a couple..We are just friends....You know...you do your thing and I do mine.." she said.

"I thought we were more than , you know friends.." he said.

"Come on now Rob....I'm no fool..I have eyes, I can see...Don't talk to me like I'm stupid....I'm doing me and I'd advise you to do you...because it's going to be a lonngggg time before this dress goes up and these panties come down...At least for you...Take care." she said and hung up.

He dialed another number......

"Hi this is Delores...If you're listening to this...That means I'm not available to answer the phone....Leave me a message and I'll get back."

"Hey Delores, it's me. Rob..pick up the phone...Baby please...please...Come on now honey....I'm sorry...I lost my head..All that money I was making..Please..baby, I swear it'll never happen again...I've learned my lesson..
please...please..... it'll be just me and you...give me one more chance. This is hurtin me too... please...

please!"


(For Pat)

A Little Black Dress

4 Months Before- New York City-

We had been criss crossing Europe and parts of the United States as part of our most recent tour...New York was our last stop on this leg...Most of my bandmates were exhausted and I remembered that we still had a half a dozen dates on the West Coast...

"Man Reed, why did you book us on so many dates?" said my keyboardist, "88"

"Heyy man, I'm sorry...I wasn't thinking...but hey man...we've made a lot of bread." I said ,trying to smooth things over..

"True , but we gotta have time to spend it." laughed 88.

"Yeah babe you right...Well..listen...I got an idea...I wanna go home to Philly anyway..I miss Deborah and I know you missin Mabel..So ,Downtown Rob Brown is playin Fishcake Steven's joint tonight...I'll see if he can take a few of our West Coast dates...Kid can probably use the dough." I said.

"Yeah, Ask him." said "88"

Later on that day, I was in Times Square when who did I run into with several boxes but Downtown Rob Brown...

"Heyy Man, what's happenin?" I said.

"Oh just doin a little lightweight shoppin.....it's all.....You know Black is my favorite color...I just bought a Black dress for Delores that will cling to every curve of that body of hers." he said.

"I see...You bought her two dresses? You have two boxes." I observed.

"Nahhh....This is a dress for another little number I 've been kind of boppin around with...She's a singer...She's kind of in a relationship with this baseball
player...He's from Philly....but me and her been kind of on a friends with benefits tip." he laughed.

"You live dangerously playa." I said.

"I live my life in the all of a sudden good brother." said Rob.

"Game you playin, you'll wind up in the here after." I laughed.

"Maybe, but I'll have a big smile on my face...heheheheheh." laughed Rob.

"Say look..while you're here....I got about nine or ten dates out on the West Coast that we are not going to be able to make....They pay well..you interested
??" I asked ,Hoping he would be.

"Yeah-Yeahhh..If they payin..Downtown Rob Brown is playin...." he laughed.

"Good...Here is my manager's address and phone number...His name is Hugh
Bennie..Call him and tell him I okayed the West Coast dates...He'll make the
arrangements."

"That'll work...Good Lookin out Reed." he laughed...

"Don't mention it...Hey man, I hope those dresses are two different colors..."I said.

"Well, I bought three dresses..One is red...and two are black.....The red one is for the singer and the other black one is for this other chick...She won't hardly be a problem...She don't hang out..." he laughed.

I laughed and just shook my head....

"Be Easy Rob." I said as I walked away.

"Always Reed...Always." he laughed.
Today-Philadelphia PA.

I arrived at Deborah's house just in time for breakfast..She had whipped up some Blueberry Pancakes & Suasages and some Home Fries...Amongst her many talents..The girl could cook...

As we sat at the table and ate and drank Mimosas..the doorbell rang.

"Let yourself in Del...it's open." said Deborah.

Her sister Delores came in in a stunning Black dress that looked like it was painted on her...I didn't want Deb to catch me checking her sister out, but I had to admit..She did look hot in that dress.

"You likes?" she laughed gigling like a school girl...

"Wow Del, you look great!" said Deborah..

"Yeah..uh, you look like a million bucks." I said.

"Rob bought it for me from New York..." she gushed.

"You wearin it tonight when we go to Josies?" asked Deborah...

"Sure am...My baby loves a woman in Black.....You should see what he bought me to wear under it..." she laughed.

I sure hoped that Ingrid's dress was red. I wondered if Rob knew that she was going to be performing tonight...I had to call him and at least warn him. I thought about it for a minute..Then I said to myself..Nah...This ought to be fun!

Josies was packed that night....Ingrid had finnally broke off from Symphony Sam's band and had put together a band of her own... She had Ivory Joe Peters on the Electric Piano, Christopher "Big Poppa" Combs on the Drums, Fred "Fried Fish" Collins on the Guitar , "Shady" Grady Tatum on Bass and Nate "The Snake" Howard ,also on Guitar. I knew all of those guys..All of them had sat in with me at one time or other..They were some of the funkiest cats in town, on the East Coast for that matter. Baby girl knew her stuff as far as picking musicians. It was going to be a good night.

Johnny "Yankee Killer" Diamond....The baseball player and former boyfriend of Ingrid Rhodes was in the crowd...He didn't look too happy and he didn't look like he came to listen to music either. Fathead Newton, The West Philly Crime Boss and former lover of Cherry Johnson was also in the crowd...He and Cherry were having a heated discussion....She looked like she was trying to ignore him...She was wearing a stunning red dress..No doubt , a gift from Downtown Rob Brown...I couldn't believe this...Did he know she would be here tonight?

The lights went down and the band began playing a driving number that had everybody up and dancing....When they were finished..Symphony Sam came to the podium...He was smiling..Maybe there was no hard feelings...

"Ladies and Gentlemen..It gives me great pleasure to introduce..or should I say,re-introduce a young lady who is a rising star in the business...a young lady who is the business...yall put your hands together and show ya love for Ms. Ingrid Rhodes.."

The place went wild...I looked around..Rob was sitting in the audience with Delores...I don't think he had any idea that Ingrid was the headliner tonight!!To make matters worse...She came out in the exact same Black dress that Delores had on...!!! Rob's mouth dropped wide open....He looked around and saw Cherry Johnson talking to Fathead and he really got a lump in his throat.

Then Ingrid came up to the mike-

"I've got a special song that I would like to sing tonight...It's called-"Dedicated to the man I love." And it is dedicated to him...Yall know him....One of the best Trumpet players in Philly..Downtown Rob Brown!!!" she yelled...

Rob nearly crapped his pants...Delores looked at the dress, then at him,then at her...and a loud slap was heard!...To make matters worse..Cherry was looking at her dress..It was Red, but it was the same style...and it was from Rob...Her mouth was wide open..She yelled out- "You lousy dog..oh my God!!"

Rob excused himself and began easing his way through the crowd....Oblivious to all of this, Ingrid Rhodes belted out her song....

"Reed..Reed..You gotta help me out man....How do I get out of here?" he asked.

"There's a back exit over there." I said pointing to the rear exit.

"You idiot..what you buy three of the same kind of dress for and the same style?" I said.

"Hell, there was a sale ,how did I know that all three of em was gone choose the same night to wear the damn dress..and come to the same spot?" he said.

"Never mind that, you better get in the wind...Here comes Delores,Debbie and Cherry." I said.

"Oh lord...okay, I'm out...Thanks a lot Reed..I'll check ya later man." he said as he ran to the exit.

He opened the door and the fire alarm went off..To make matters worse..The sprinklers came on....The entire crowd was drenched with water,including Ingrid Rhodes...

"OHHHH MYY GOD...MY HAIR...MY HAIR!!!OHHHHHHHHH LAWD." she screamed!

"What idiot set the alarm off?" screamed Gus as he ran past me...

Okay...Okay, I admit....I knew that was going to happen..I should have told the young boy..but I couldn't resist it....I know....I know I'm going to hell...but I'm gonna have such a smile on my face!

(Conclusion Next)

Blue Notes

I had just finished playing a set at Josies....Most of the band had left, except for my trusty keyboard player, "88" . He was drinking a beer and laughing about something with Gus the Bartender...I waved at both of them, took my trumpet and my sheet music and put them in the trunk of my car. I was hungry...So I walked the block or two to Mabel's Soul Food Joint..Only her youngest sister,Anita was there.

"Hey Reed, I'm sorry babe, but it's way after two...We closin up." she said.

"Oh yeah..that's right...it is." I said.

"What happened, you guys do an extra set tonight?" she asked.

"Yeah, we did two...We had an extra large crowd...They still in there lingering around." I laughed.

"You mean Mister Gus aint pulled out his shotgun and announced..."Yall aint got to go home, but you got to get the hell outta here." she said in her mock Gus voice.

We both laughed, but I was hungry....I think she sensed it and she gave me that sexy little pouty look of hers.

"Hey Reed...Petey's Sandwich Shop is open if you want to walk a few more blocks down." she said sympathetically.

"A few blocks? Hmmph...for that.....I'll drive." I said. "Evenin darlin." I said and tipped my pork pie hat to her.

I drove the few blocks to Petey's and parked my car....I saw a shiny Black 2010 Nissann Z with "RB" engraved on the side..Hmmmm, I thought to myself.

I went in and ordered a Ham and Cheese sandwich on Jewish Rye, with Mayo, Lettuce and Tomatoes and some pickles and a large tumbler of coffee, light cream and two sugars.. I sat at the counter and ate quietly... Ever feel eyes on you? Well I did...and I was kidding myself if I didn't know who it was that was behind me.

I turned around and there he was , smiling with those perfect white teeth and those tinted shades...Downtown Rob Brown...once a rival trumpet player...now somewhat of my young protoge'.

"Reed, how ya doin playa?" he said...

"Hey what's up kid?" I said.

He passed me an envelope full of twenties....I smiled ,then looked at him..There was close to a grand in the envelope....

"What's this for?" I asked.

"That's for you...Those gigs you set me up with on the West Coast paid off in spades...I see why you guys go to San-Fran and Oakland so much...They love their jazz out there man..I got paid like a mug and I got a recording date out there..I figured the least I could do was hook you up man...You know how to put money in a playa's pockets, jim." he said.

"Yeah...I can see by the wardrobe and the car out in the parkin lot that you've been doing good for yourself." I said.

"Yeah dog, Got me a better apartment than the first one I rented from Chess...and ugh, I want to introduce you to a...ughh..er ..ahhh , a friend." he said ,laughing sheepishly.

To my astonishment...it was the singer, Ingrid Rhodes....She had been the frontliner in Symphony Sam's band and the rumored lover of Phillies ace, Johnny Diamond. I had heard that she and Diamond had busted up. I see that she wasn't too busted up about breaking up with Diamond.

"Reed Nelson, this is Ingrid Rhodes." he said.

"Actually ,I believe we've met...Symphony Sam introduced us in Josies a few months ago." I said.

"Yes...He did...Pleased to meet you again Reed....I heard you were packin em in at both Josies and Mulberry Street." she said.

"I've got a gig at Mulberry Street tomorrow night....Wanna sit in youngin?" I said looking at Downtown Rob Brown.

"Heyyy, sure...if you don't mind bein upstaged.." he joked.

"If you've got a song I can sing...I'd like to sit in with you too." said Ingrid.

"Sure...the more the merrier....I just hope Symphony Sam doesn't get mad." I said.

"Oh, he won't mind." said Ingrid. I could tell by the way she said that ,that she had him wrapped around her finger....wantin some, thinkin he might have a shot...while in reality ,he didn't have a chance. Something about this woman gave me a bad taste in my mouth,but I was cordial.

Rob walked over to me and whispered..

"Hey Reed..I'd be pleased if you didn't mention any of this to Delores or your babe.." he said.

"Mums the word...You gonna tell her?" I asked.

"Aint no need to really....I aint serious about this....and I don't want Delores to get upset."he said.

"Okay...it's your play Downtown.." I said.

I finished my sandwich and drove over to Debbie's house...As luck would have it, her sister, Delores was leaving with a well wrapped box.

"For me? It aint even my birthday." I said ,playfully grabbing at the box.

"Stop it silly...It's for Rob...I can't wait until he gets back from San-Francisco."she said as she smiled and ran out to her car.

She didn't know that he was already back and from the looks of things, had been back for days!

Debbie drapped her arms around me...

"I don't know what that guy does to her, but she is sprung...She love her some Rob Brown.."laughed Debbie.

"Hmmmm, I see." I said, not looking at Debbie.

The next night...We played at Mulberry Street to a packed rooftop crowd....Sean Jackson was there taking photos of the concert.. 88 was playing his fingers off and I was trading solos with my saxophonist...Downtown Rob Brown was a no show...I wasn't mad..He probably didn't want to get shown off because I was pitchin a bitch tonight...Playin like Miles on acid... I did a little number and Ingrid Rhodes came up on the stage to the crowds delight and surprise and sang a beautiful solo as I played a trumpet solo along side of her...Still no sign of Rob Brown...Maybe Delores had "surprised " him and he couldn't get out of bed , I thought and laughed to myself.

After the concert,I counted my money.....Between tonight and last night at Josie's...I had made a nice little peice of change...That was my rent for the next six months and then some...I was eyeing a new suit for our next road trip.

"Thanks for allowing me to sit in with you." said Ingrid..

"Thank you for singing with me...You're a hell of a singer...Symphony Sam sure is lucky to have you in his band." I said.

"Thank you Reed..Sayyy, have you heard from Rob?" she asked.

"No...I thought you two would've come here together." I said.

"We were supposed to...He spent the night with me and left early this morning to go back to his place and that was the last I seen of him." she said.

"Well, I'll drop by his spot on my way home and tell him to call you." I said.

"Thanks Reed." she said.

I stopped by Mabels Soul Food Joint and bought a Fried Fish Sandwich for Debbie and a Spare Rib Sandwich for myself and two cokes...I drove by Rob's new apartment....Pretty nice...He really had done well for himself with the gigs I set up for him....I just had too many commitments in the past month, so I broke him off a few gigs...I knew he needed the bread.

Once I got to his floor, I heard it...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh, Ohhhhhhhhhhhh babbbbbbyyyyyyy...ouuuuuuuuuuu........."

"Whose is it girl...who's is it?"

"It's yours...yours....allllll yours...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuu, Roberttttttttttt,ohhhhhhhh...."

"Ohhhhhhh babbbbbyyyyy..ohhhhhhh.."

I recognized the female voice....It wasn't Delores...it was someone who used to make those same noises with me!!!!!!

I knocked on the door....Then I thought to myself...Why are you doing this?...Come back tomorrow...I waited a few minutes, then I turned to walk away when Rob came to the door..butt naked!!!

"Yo man!!! Get back inside!!!" I said. he didn't seem the least embarrassed or self conscious!

"Heyy Reed...I'm sorry I missed the gig...you know how it is man, heheheheheheheheheh..I got a little ..uh, caught up with this chick." He laughed.

"Robbbbbbbbb, come back to bed....mama wants some morrrrrrre.." came the voice...A voice I knew all too well...It was Cherry...Cherry Johnson...I hadn't seen her in months...I had heard that she'd left town..I guess she hadn't...But what was she doing with Rob, a guy at least 12 years younger than herself? I had to ask?

From the crack in the door, I saw her..She was wearing a red shear negligee...Her huge breasts were out and just bouncing around and her hair was everywhere... Her big shapely legs were evident..She didn't see me, but I could tell she wasn't trying to.

"Well uhh, I can see you're busy...I'll talk to you tomorrow." I said.

"Uh yeah,okay Reed...and uh, hey, not a word of this to Delores okay?"he said with a wink.

"Okay man...this aint none of my business." I said.

(To Be Continued....)

It Gets Lonely Sometimes....

"HEYYYYY, What gives? What you doin?" shouted Brad Rathers as Kool Kat gripped him up in his collar and dragged him out of the Mermaid Club....Joe Neptune just shook his head....Nobody in there was stupid enough to say anything or try to do anything to oppose Kool Kat. I was standing outside the door waiting with Clerow when they came out.



"Heyyyy Bradley ,how ya doin?" I said with a laugh..."Kill any girls lately?" I added.



"Aww come on...you, the cops...I told ya ...I aint kill that girl....What would I do that for man?"

he said.



"Well Bradley, You told me that you gave Tiny cab fare and that she left alone.....that was a lie."

I said.



"Okay...Okay...It was Manny what give her the cabfare." he said.



"Don't get cute" snapped Kool Kat....Clerow was standing on the side laughing up a storm as Brad
squirmed.



"You said she left alone, but that's not true...You walked her to the cab and you were trying to get her to come back and give you and your friend a little more action...." I said.



"Yeah...I was....All the more reason why I wouldn't have hurt her...I aint have nothin against her....Hell, I was tryin to hit that...Why would I kill her?" he said.



"Maybe you were mad because she resisted your advances...Maybe you followed her to her house and killed her when she resisted again...huh?" I said.



"Followed her in what? What am I, the Road Runner? I was on foot...I aint got no car..My car got
repoed a week ago....I was ridin around with Manny....and he was back at the spot sleep...and besides..we had taken her keys...So when that cabbie drove her home...wasn't no way she could have gotten in.....The plan was for her to call us up askin about the keys and we get her back over Manny's spot...Only she never called." said Brad.



"What? You had her house keys?" I asked.



"Yeah....we was gonna give em back....We wanted her to call us askin for the keys and we was gonna come get her, bring her back over the crib and play around....We played with her and Tangy and at one time Patrice ,like that all the time." said Brad.



"Kool Kat, let him go...He's tellin the truth." I said.



Kool Kat released him and straightened his clothes out... Brad looked at the three of us...He had a genuine look of sadness on his face. "We was all friends...Me ,Tiny,Tangy,Brad, Tone....We always played around....I'm really sorry that they both dead....none of us would have hurt them...I swear man...I hope you find who ever done this..." he said.



Kool Kat and Clerow looked at me.....I held my head down....



"I think I know who did this....I don't want to think about it...but I think I know." I said.

"I drove her to her house and I waited until she put her key in the door." he said.

That house didn't look like anyone had been in it..She didn't have her keys, she couldn't of gotten
in.. He didn't wait for her to get in...I don't know what he did...but I was going to have him tell it to me.

"Kev...you look like you seen a ghost...you alright man?" asked Kool Kat.

"Yeah man.....Here's a couple of bucks Brad, sorry about all of this...go buy yourself a couple of drinks....Kool Kat, Clerow...Thanks for your help...I'll see you tomorrow." I said.

"Hey man, what's up...where you goin?" asked Clerow.

"To see an old man about a horse...I'm straight." I said.

"Be Easy Kev." said Kool Kat.

"I will man..." I said.

"No, I mean it...be kool babe." he said.

"I will." I said and got in my car and left.


I found him...Avery Day ,the cab driver....At Crabby's Crabshack eating Crabs and drinking Beer...I walked over and sat down next to him....I looked him dead in his eyes and then dropped my head...I didn't want to believe this...I didn't say a word to him. He looked at me, sighed and then dropped his head down.

"You Know don't ya?" he said.

"I figured it out." I said.

"I figured you would....For years, nobody had a clue...nobody cared....Someone like me, invisible,
someone like them gals...invisible too...nobody cared....It gets lonely sometimes..drivin that cab in the wee hours of the mornin...All I get is crackpots, bums who can't pay and whores....You know..They done made all they money..they comin home...You'd think they could break a poor lonely man off a bit...but nooooooooo, they got the nerve to look down on me..Can you believe it?" He said.

What was he talking about? I was talking about Tiny...

"You mean there's more?" I asked.

"Hell yeah....There's about ten girls out there...They was all whores...nobody missed em, nobody looked for em...nobody cared....but this girl, she was somethin special...When you come lookin for her and askin questions, I figure..It was time for me to stop doin this....I didn't do it all the time..
just once a year....For about a decade now....I killed the first whore, got away with it...year later,I killed another one...wasn't even in the papers...but I'm old and I'm tired now...I can't do this no more.." he sighed as he took a swig of beer.

I called the police...He sat right there, drank some more beer and ate some more crabs until Lt.
Sissy Van Buren and her detectives arrived. He confessed to Tiny's murder and some ten other
murders...It took a week, but a crew went out into that field and dug up the skelatel remains of
ten women, who had gone missing for close to ten years....All prostitutes or drug addicts, all invisible people, much like Avery, who nobody gave a second look to, who people barely remembered....

Avery is in the Psych ward awaiting an evaluation which will determine if he can stand trial!

Epilouge:

Brad Rathers, Manny Coles, Tony, Patrice , Sepia, Kool Kat, Clerow and I all sat at a table in Josies some time later drinking beer and talking about Tangy and April...Mostly good memories.

"Man, thanks for catching that damn Haywood and that crazy old fool, Avery Day that killed all them other girls." said Brad.

"Here, here." said Tony and Manny.

"Kevin, I knew that once Sepia got you involved, you'd get to the bottom of this." said Patrice, who gave me a hug..

Kool Kat ordered a round of drinks for the table... Sepia looked at me and spoke low enough for only me to hear-

'Whats the matter baby?" she asked.

"I don't know what kind of world I'm livin in anymore Sepia." I said.

"I know...I know..." she said and rubbed my arms softly....

It was good to sit with all of these people....Still I wondered about the nature of evil...Here was two girls...two friends who ran into two types of evil in one night...Go figure.....There was more evil like that out in these mean streets....worse evil.....and just knowing that didn't make me feel
good at all!

"It gets lonely sometimes....."

(For Carlene)

A Lonely Field

It took me four days to find him..... Avery Day....a cab driver. Clerow,Sepia and I talked to cab drivers from all three cab companies that worked in the area where April "Tiny" Allen was last seen alive..We showed them photos, we checked schedules and finnally after all of that leg work, I found Avery Day..an old man who drove cabs at night and worked for Budget Rental car during the day to make ends meet. He recognized the photo of April.

"Yeaaaah..I remember her....hot little number....See, most of the fares I get that time of night are drunks and bustouts...but her, I remember...She was wearing a tight little mini skirt....It was so short,She couldn't bend over ..lawddd to dayyyyy!" he exclaimed as he drank his third bottle of beer and munched on some crabs from Crabby's Crabshack...courtesy of my generous pockets.

"So you picked her up.....What time was it?" I said.

"It was around, oh....four in the mornin.....She was with a guy...." he said.

"A guy? " I exclaimed.

"Yeah...This guy walked her to the car stop...He was just a begging..." said Avery.

"Begging?" I asked.

"You know? I told you how she was dressed...I caint say that I blame him...He said that he and his friend had spent close to a hunnard dollars on her that night and he uh, you know, expected uh how can I say this...a return on his investment..heheheheheheh.." laughed the old man.

"Oh really? Then what happened?" I asked.

"Welll, she told him that she had gave him all the "pay" he was going to get."
said Avery.

"So did she get in the cab?" I said.

"Yeah...She did..and I took her to her house and let her out. I waited until she put her key in the door and then I left." he said.

"Hmmmmm...Funny...I've been turning this town upside down looking for her and never stopped by her house...You got an address?" I said.

"Well yeah..I can show you where I dropped her off." He said.

We got in his cab and he drove me to April's home. It was a nice neat little rowhome that she was probably renting. The police had already been here, no doubt...The door was locked. I got on the phone and called Clerow and Lockpick Johnson. I waited for them. Within an hour they arrived and we were inside the house.

There was no clues here to be found.. All of the beds were made up, The sink was clean, no dirty dishes on the table and everything was in order...She was clearly a better housekeeper than her girlfriend, Tangy... My guess was that she hadn't slept in this bed...and hadn't been in the house that long.

At any rate...The trail had grown cold again...I left and headed home.

"Oh Sepia...I caint believe Haywood was cheating on me...as good as I was to that man...I cooked for him, let him stay at my house, paid the note on his car and the insurance..and gave him good lovin whenever he asked...How he gone cheat on me with that skank, Tangy....and with my SISTER on top of that?" said Patrice as she sat in the kitchen of my house, talking to my wife, Sepia.

"Some guys are just no good." said Sepia.

"I know it's the truth." said Patrice.

"Evening Ladies." I said as I came in the kitchen and went in the refrigerator and poured myself a glass of orange juice.

"Anything Kevin?" asked Patrice.

"Well, I found the cabbie that took her home...but that was it..He said he took her to her door and that was the last she was seen or heard from...I'm thinkin she went back out." I said.

"But where?" asked Sepia.

"That is the question." I said. Personally , I was stumped...By now it would have had to have been 5:00 in the morning...Where else would she have gone after having been drinking and up all night?

Just then, the house phone rang....Sepia picked it up.....Her eyes began to get huge...She had a look of horror on her face...then she got a peice of paper and a
pencil and wrote an address down on the paper. She hung up, still looking like she'd seen a ghost.

"Who was that Sepia?" I asked.

"I don't know....it was a raspy voice.....it sounded like whoever it was...they was trying to hide their real voice...anyway they said to tell you that the girl you've been looking for is at this address...in the back." she said.

She gave me the paper and I looked at it closely...

"This isn't an address...This is where a neighborhood used to be..They've torn down all of those houses..There is nothing there but a field...It's like a garbage
dump." I said.

Patrice and Sepia looked at me....I grabbed my car keys and we all got in my car and drove. We wound up in Southwest Philadelphia...in an area, not too far from the Airport....There was nothing but weeds and grass and trash in this field...

The three of us walked and looked and searched for close to an hour....Just when I was ready to call it a day, I tripped over a hand...a human hand....There she was...Lying in this field, with a blanket covering her, as if she had been sleeping...wearing the same clothes she was last seen in...A yellow micro mini skirt and a black top. Her stilletto heels had been taken off and neatly placed to the side. Her hands had been placed under her head..She looked as if she was sleeping...

Because of the heat, her body had been decomposing at a fast rate...but there was no denying, that this was the remains of April "Tiny" Allen. Sepia held Patrice as she began weeping silently....I looked up at the sky...I had found Tiny at last...now to find out who had done this!

(Conclusion Next)

One Down..Nowhere To Go

A few days later I was at Philadelphia Homicide talking to my good friend Lt. Sissy Van Buren about Tanganika Jones...It seems like her death had taken on a life of it's own and had overshadowed my search for the still missing April "Tiny " Allen.Sissy and I stood on the rooftop of her building and caught the early morning breeze as we looked down at the teaming city..She had two tumblers of hot coffee and two doughnuts. I drank the coffee and bit into the delicious doughnut...

"No smokes today Sissy?" I laughed...

"I guess you didn't hear....I quit..went cold turkey a few months back...Been drinkin a lot of coffee and eating a lot more doughnuts lately...I guess my butt has been getting bigger too!" she lamented. I looked at her through the corner of my eye...Still one of the most round and shapely women I'd come across in a long time....If her butt was indeed getting bigger,I don't know too many males who'd complain.

"Your dead girl was quite active Kevin...we found used condoms just loaded with semen and we found semen in her mouth and in her anal area as well as her vaginal areas..." said Sissy Van Buren. "Yeah, well she occassionally made her living as somewhat of a prostitute." I said.

"Apparently...We found close to two thousand dollars scattered around her spot...but I'll tell you what the strange thing is...We found only twostrains of DNA in her....Even in the condoms...So for somebody like that..she was only sleeping with two men that day..That seemed odd.." she said.

"Well I know a guy who says he slept with her..I can tell you where to find him." I said.

"Way ahead of you....Anthony Young right? I know...My guys had him down here...His DNA matched and he admitted that he had sex with her that night and was in her apartment, but he left around four.. A neighbor verified his story...But there was another DNA sample that didn't match his... Another neighbor remembers seeing and hearing another man in her apartment around six or seven in the morning..but no one remembers seeing him leave." she said.

"Gee, these people keep funny hours." I said.

"In that neighborhood!! That's no strange thing, people are coming and going all the time... uh, no pun intended." she said ,laughing at the irony of what she had just said.

''And that's the man who came over after Tony left"I said."We found enough coke and heroin in her to say that this was an overdose, except that word on the street was..She didn't use heroin...not ever...plus her arms are clean...not the arms of a skin popper." she said.

"That's what I noticed.....I think somebody gave her a hot shot." I said.

"Can't prove it...and just because a guy came over and had sex with her doesn't mean he killed her." said Sissy...

"So we got nothin." I said.

"Nothin we can prove....I can't even say this is a homicide yet." she said.

"Ahhh Back to the damn drawing board..Well thanks anyway Sissy" I said.

I drove home...On the way home, I saw Haywood's car , a Black Ford Focus..parked in front of Patrice's house...It had several Parking Violation envelopes on it....I looked at them...They were all from the past Friday Night...No wonder this guy never had any money I thought. I started to knock on Patrice's door...I had more questions for her, but I heard the bed springs squeaking pretty loudly and more "lovers talk"

"OHHHHHHHH, OHHHHH lawddd, I can't get enough...OHHHHHHHHH...."

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuu, haywood.....Hayyyyywoooooood....ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, oh baby, I lovvvvvvvveeee you....ouuuuuuuuu...."

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHPATRICE...I'll kill you if you give this good lovin to another man..ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

I decided I'd try her again....some other time....I then decided another track...To go talk to Peeping Tom and look at his photos pulled from that Digital Camera.

He smiled as I walked through the door of his home.

"I was wondering when I'd hear from you Kevin...Check it out...Nothing Earth shattering here"

he said.

They were photos of Tanginika and Patrice in their underwear , in the bathroom, in tight jeans , in revealing dresses striking poses.....There was a photo of Manny Coles by himself, Manny holding a can of bear and Tanginika sitting on Manny's Lap...Another Photo of Tanginka and Tony tongue kissing...Photos of Patrice sitting on Brad's lap and Patrice and Brad tongue kissing,Patrice sitting on Manny and Tony's laps as if she were giving them lap dances and another photo of Haywood naked and fully erect! What was this doing in Tanginika's camera?? There were surprisingly no photos of "Tiny" in the bunch.

There was photos of Brad Rathers, completely naked and fully erect being serviced orally by Patrice.....What was this? Did Haywood know? Still another photo of Haywood and Tanginika dressed up and at Mulberry Street for a concert! Huh? What was this? I never knew Patrice was this close with her sister, Tiny's best friend. What was Tanginika doing in a photo with Haywood?

And what was she doing with a naked photo of him??

I think I knew the answer to part of this mystery....I took the photos and drove back to Patrice's house....It had been two hours...perhaps they were out of the bed by now. Patrice was home, but her boyfriend, Haywood was not..His car was gone too. I sat in the living room with her...

"Patrice, you know a guy named Brad Rathers?" I asked. She was kind of startled at first.....

"Yeah, I used to mess with him before Haywood." she said. I didn't believe her...Something about the way she answered the question...I didn't think that these two were ever serious. He wasn't her type of guy.

"How about his friend, Manny?" I asked.

"Yeah...I uh er know him...What's this about...? " she asked.

"I found some photos in Tangy's apartment...Photos you probably wouldn't want Haywood to see." I said.

She looked frightened....Her eyes got as big and round as saucers!

"It's okay...He won't see em.....Say, Where was he Friday night?" I asked.

"He said he was watching the Phillies game with his boys." she said.

"They didn't play Friday night." I said.

"Well,I guess he was at some bar, The Mermaid Club, Ciros, Josies...I didn't see him until late Saturday morning" she said.

"Was this normal?" I asked.

"Well. we aint married.....an he grown...I can't really tell him what not to do.." she said.

"Give me one of his used condoms out of your trash?" I said.

"What? What the hell you want with that?" she asked.

"Just get it, put it in a plastic zip lock bag and give it to me..."I asked.

''What's this gotta do with Tiny?"she asked.

"Nothing...but maybe if I can solve one thing, it'll lead me to another...You have to trust me Patrice." I said.

"Oh okay." she wimpered....

"Don't say anything to him, you hear me?" I said.

"I won't...and Kevin look....One night ,I got high with Tangy...She wild and we uh did some crazy stuff....I didn't know Tangy was taken photos.....I swear,I only did somethin with those guys just once....I swear...It was a little lightweight orgy." she said.

"So you really weren't in a relationship with any of them?" I asked.

"No, hell no....Just one night I was was over Tangy's spot...My sister wasn't even there..and they came over..we got to drinkin..did some snortin and the next thing you know...we was all , well,you know..gettin freaky." she said with her head held down in shame.

"I don't care about that Patrice..I'm trying to find your sister and find out who killed Tangy."I said.

I took the condom to Police Headquarters and they did a DNA work up.....Within a week they had a match...Haywood was the other person's semen found in Tanganika and in some of the condoms found in her house.. The parking tickets found on his car , were tickets from the no-parking zone near Tangy's apartment....Proof that he had been there in the wee hours of the

morning...and probably longer than that!

Haywood was brought to police headquarters....The DNA evidence, the parking tickets and a latent fingerprint found on the needle was enough evidence to make him confess....He had indeed

been to Tanginikas apartment and he had killed her with a lethal hotshot....The reason...She was blackmailing him...He had been stepping out on Patrice with her and she had discovered that he had been stepping out on her with Tiny...She was threatening to expose him...Which meant..he wouldn't have a place to live and Patrice would have stopped making payments on his car...He killed her to shut her up and then hurried out of the house..

I asked him -

"Haywood, what about Tiny? Where is she?"

"Huh, what? I don't know....I haven't seen her since Thursday afternoon...I swear....I never seen

her." he said. I couldn't know if he was telling the truth or not...I thought he might be responsible for Tangy's murder and Tiny's disapearence...but now it looked as if I was right back where I started as far as finding Tiny...and that was ...absolutely nowhere!

(To Be Continued...)

Nobody Knows Nothin

I was careful not to touch anything in the apartment...I covered my nose...The smell of the decomposing body and the heat of the day was making me nauseous.....I did however look at Tanganika's arms...They weren't the pocked arms of a person that used a lot of needles...Her arms were clean and bruise free...Besides...I knew that most of the young girls who did use drugs preferred to snort...Be it Heroin or Coke...They didn't skin pop...so my thought was...This was a "hot shot" made to look like an overdose...I couldn't determine any of this until the police got here. I had called them nearly an hour ago...

I walked around the apartment...There was an unmade bed....panties and bras of assorted colors and style thrown all over the floor and a waste disposal basket with several used condoms... In her dresser drawer was a wad of cash...Close to $800.00 bucks.... On her dresser was another wad of bills....About $700.00....She wasn't hurting for cash.....If someone had killed her..They certainly weren't trying to rob her, that's for sure....An expensive Digital camera lay on the floor of her apartment...I took that....I wondered what it might have to show me..

I made sure that I hadn't touched anything else and I quietly left...The police would eventually come and they would be able to make more of this mess. I drove over to Peeping Tom's house and gave him the camera...I told him to pull whatever photos there was out of the camera and give me a call or email them to me..

I drove back to the Mermaid Club....but I stopped by and picked up my friend, Walter "Kool Kat" Jones. He was a big powerfully built man, who was good with his hands and a gun...The kind of guy you needed to watch your back. When we arrived, Joe Neptune pointed out a guy sitting in a booth drinking.

"Kev, that's Tony....That's the guy that was with Tanganika Friday night....Did she give you any new information?" he asked.

"Nah...She didn't have much to say...In fact, she didn't say nothin at all Joe...She's dead!" I said blandly.

"What? Dead?" he said.

"Yes.....I found her on the floor with a needle protruding from her arm.." I said.

"A needle? She was scared of needles...She didn't use that much...She snorted a little blow every now and then....but she wasn't no skin popper." said Joe.

"That's what I thought." I said.

"You think somebody gave her a hot shot?" asked Joe.

"The Cops will have to determine that...I don't know...but we are on the same page." I said.

I walked over and sat down with Tony...a local tough guy looking tom move up in the local underworld...

"Heyyy Man, My name is Kevin, can I have a word with you?" I asked.

"Nigger, get away from my table." he spat.

"If I was you, I'd answer the man's questions." said Kool Kat , who cracked his knuckles and smiled and pulled up a seat next to Tony.

"What-What...What is this...a shakedown...Look...I told "Roughhouse Jones" that I'd pay him on the comeback...I'll have his money Friday...I swear..." he said.

"I'm not here for Roughhouse Jones...This aint got nothin to do with him." I said.

"Huh? well who you with?" he asked, visibly frightened of Kool Kat and the .45 mag he could see in my shoulder holster.

"I just want toask you about a girl...Tanganika Jones and her girlfriend, April "Tiny" Allen....You was in here Friday, You seen both of em, just tell me what you know and we'll both be gone..It's as simple as that." I said.

"Yeah...Uh...Yeah...I was in here....Tangy said she wanted an 8ball of coke....I told her how much it was gonna cost her..She only had half..So I said she had to uh , you know ...make it up to me some other way, you know what I'm sayin? heheheheheheheh...So, we uh went outside to my car...I drove around the back, so we wouldn't be seen...and she uh...you know...made up the difference....She massaged my johnson like it was goin out of style...and that wasn't all..She let me hit that, you know...We was goin at it in the back seat of my jeep for close to two hours..."
he said.

"Okay..what about Tiny?" I asked.

"What about her? She had two dudes buyin her drinks....Brad was one and the other guy...uh, his name was Manny...Manny Coles....He had the dough...They was tryin to get her liquored up because, word had it...when she got drunk, she got very friendly and you know...She was the looker of the two....I asked Tanganika if she thought Tiny would give me some...And she said if she was drunk enough she'd do me and then some..We laughed about it..And I told her if she could get Tiny to come out to my car..I'd give her the 8ball for free...Somethin I never do..." said
Tony.

"So then what happened?" I asked.

"We came back inside the bar...it was around oh, quarter to one...almost closin time...but Tiny,Brad and Manny was gone...." he said.

"And you haven't seen them?" I asked.

"I seen Brad and Manny today, earlier today...I aint seen either of them broads since Friday night." he said.

"So what did you do next?" I asked..

"Well,I was still horny, so I drove Tangy back to her apartment and we wound up in bed, gettin it on....After we was done..We both did an eight ball of coke together and I left...This was around
four in the morning...She thanked me and she told me she'd hook up with me later, that was the absolute last time I saw her." said Tony.

"What color panties was she wearing?" I asked.

Kool Kat smiled and Tony looked at me, then at him...He merely folded his arms and gave him a baleful stare!

"What? What the hell kind of question is that?" he asked.

"Answer the man's questions." barked Kool Kat.

"They was Black...With a pink playboy bunny on the side...Matching Bra.." he said.

"Okay, that proves you were there...and unless you killed her, somebody else came over there after you left.." I said.

"Killed? Killed? She dead??? Oh now wait a minute...I aint killed nobody....Why would I do that?? That was some good coochie....I wouldn't have done that...Look, I gave her some coke and
we had sex..That's all I done..Honest! I saw a Black Ford Focus parked across the street when I left...but it didn't look like nobody was in it....It hadn't been there when I got there..but that's all I know...O n the real yo." said Tony.

"You know what Tony? I believe you...Thanks for your time....Let's go Kool Kat." I said and we left the bar.

"You really believe him Kev?" asked Kool Kat.

"Yeah.....He's just a horndog wanna be playa who got played." I said.

"Yeah? How so?" asked Kool Kat.

"She told him she didn't have enough money to buy any blow off of him....That was a lie..The babe had a grand on her at least....I found it in her apartment....She had sex with him and he wound up giving her the money back that she originally paid him and getting the drugs..That's why he's in the hole with Roughhouse Jones...He owes him money for his stash, which he gave away." I said.

"For someone who's not a playa, you sure know how the game works ." laughed Kool Kat.

"Do you know these two players, Manny and Brad?" I asked.

"Yeah....They aint tough guys....They just like Tony in there....Got a little bit of money and willing to waste it...Manny is a gambler....and Brad, he is just a hanger on....You're lucky..Chris and Chess are having their card game tonight....You'll probably find one or both of them there."said Kool Kat.

We drove to the Warehouse, Where Chess and Chris had their floating crap game....Donald Smooth saw us coming and immediately waved us in...We were friends.

"Kevin? This is a first for you." said Donald Smooth.

"I'm not here to gamble Smooth...We here to talk to two people in their playin." I said.

"Oh okay...Well talk to Chess or Chris...." he said as Kool Kat and I walked up the stairways into the ware house.

Inside there were several tables of guys...Most of them playas from around the tri state area..playing cards, smoking cigars and eating piping hot soul food...There was a DJ playing music and Chess, standing in the middle of the floor holding court while Chris Thompson worked the floor...I spoke to both of them and told them why I was here...In a matter of seconds..a big beefy bodyguard brought both men, Manny and Brad over to where Kool Kat and I were sitting.
I hadn't wanted to do that...but I had to admit..Chris and Chess made it easy on me...

"Hi guys...My name is Kevin and this is my associate, uh..Mister Kat...I want to ask you some questions about a girl....April....April "Tiny" Allen.....She's been missing a few days and her people want to know where she is." I asked.

" What? I aint seen her since Friday night." said Brad.

"Yeah man..Friday night." seconded Manny.

"Tell me what happened Friday night...after yall got her drunk and left with her." I said, letting them know that they couldn't b.s. me.

"We took her to Manny's place and she went down on both of us.....real good...and then she left..
That's all that happened...We aint seen her since." said Brad.

"That's it?" I asked.. There was silence.

"THAT'S IT?" asked Kool Kat.

They both looked like they were about to urinate on themselves...

"yeah man..."said Manny

"Yeah....she left around three in the morning....We gave her cab fare....but she went walkin on her own....I went to that all night joint, Lipton's Stop and Go to get some rollin papers and I seen
her gettin into a taxi.......and pullin off and that's the last I seen her...I swear!"
said Brad.

"Come on Kool ,let's go." I said and we left... I thanked Chess and Chris for their help and Kool Kat drove me home.

"Thanks for your help Walter." I said.

"Don't mention it man...You believe them cats Kev?" he asked.

"You sound like you don't." I said.

"I don't know...people lie for many reasons." he said.

"Yeah...but they seemed too scared to be lying." I said.

"Well, ya never know....Be easy Kev." he said as he drove off.

I went inside....Sepia made me a cup of tea..........

"You dig up anything?" she asked....

"No...Nothin...." I said.

Tomorrow was another day.

(To Be Continued....)

A Hint Of Evil

I looked out of the window of my office and saw my wife, Sepia driving up and parking in front of the building I worked in. She didn't bother to put any money in the Kiosk....She just hurried inside. I wondered what had her so excited.... She knew that I had driven to work today, so she wasn't coming to pick me up! I was now very curious.

Sean Jackson came in with some photos....I looked them over and then gave him the okay to publish them with my story on Jazzman, Rob"Downtown" Brown.. Just as he was leaving ,Sepia burst into my office kind of frantic.

"Kevin...I'm so glad I run into you before you left...you gotta help...this has you written all over it." she said.

"What has me written all over it?" I asked.

"My girlfriend , Patrice....Her sister Tiny has gone missing...and they are very worried." she said.

"She's a druggie...she's always gone missing....and besides...I like to work with paying customers...Patrice and her old man aren't about to pay me anything." I laughed.

"Kevin please...they worried....They gave me $200.00 to give you...that's all they could muster up." she said.

" Two hundred dollars huh? Wow, for them to get that much they probably had to borrow from a few people..." I laughed.

"Kevin,don't be like that." she said.

"Oh alright Sepia...I'll go talk to them." I said.

Sepia gave me a big kiss in the lips that lingered....

"Thank you Kevin..." she said.

"You'll have to 'thank me' a little better than that." I said.

"Don't I always?" she said with a false pout as we both headed to our cars.

April "Tiny" Allen, Patrice's sister was no stranger to trouble....She had abuse problems , first with Heroin, then with Cocaine.....She had been in rehab at least three times and had a rap sheet that listed her crimes as possession, conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, assault, petty theft and burglary....She had just recently gotten out of jail and was supposedly in rehab...This much ,I knew...

Patrice, her sister...while not having a criminal record or a history with drugs...had an abusive relationship with her boyfriend, Haywood...The two of them took turns at being arrested for domestic abuse...Of each other!

When I got to her house, a surprisingly well kept and nice looking place a few blocks from where I lived....Patrice came to the door...She was a very shapely and well built young woman, who when dressed up and with her hair done, could turn quite a few heads...Today was not one of those days...She had on a nightgown that needed to be washed , years ago...her hair was in every direction and she looked like she had just fallen out of bed.

"Oh Hi Kevin...I'm so glad your wife got in touch with you...When Tiny went missing over the weekend...I got scared...." she said.

"Did you call the cops?" I asked.

"Yeah, but they don't care...She's a poor Black girl and she got a history of drug problems and a rap sheet...They not workin this case hard." she said.

"How do you know Tiny is even missing...She might have met someone?" I said.

"Nah...The girl texted me if she was on the toilet....She would have told me if she was hooking up...The last time I saw her was Friday at Mabel Jenkins Soul food joint...She told me she was going to Josies with her girlfriend...Tanganika...but they aint go..They wound up at the Mermaid club and that was the last time she was seent..It's been two days now...that aint like Tiny..We was close Kevin...If she would've called anybody..It would've been me." she said.

"Alright Patrice...I'll see what I can round up......Where can I find Tanganika?" I said.

'Here..Let me step inside...I'll write her address down." she said...

Just then, I heard a loud voice coming from her upstairs...

''Patrice...what you doin? How you just gone leave me at a time like this...I'm butt naked and horny as hell..get yo butt back up here and take care of me." came the voice.

"Haywood ,would you shut the hell up....I'm tendin to business...I'm down here with Kevin, He tryin ta find Tiny.." she yelled.

"Aww Tiny probably with some dude or on a binge..."he said.

"Don' t talk about my sistah..." she snapped..

"To hell with your sister, get back up here and get in this bed..." he yelled.

"I'm sorry about that jackass Kevin...Here is Tanganika's address." she said.

"Okay..I'll see what I can do." I said and hurried to my car.....

I wasn't out of the driveway good before I heard bedsprings squeaking and the sounds of love making...

''Ohhhhhhhhhhh, ohhhhh work me, workkkk me you ignorant stupid fooooooollll...ohhhhhhhhh work me like a jobbbbbb!"

"Ohhhhhhhh, you love it when I'm all up in yours don't you??..ahhhhhhhhhhh..."

"Ouuuuuuu yesssss, yessssss...yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!"

I had heard enough...I drove to the Mermaid club first. I walked over to the bartender, Joe Neptune. Like Gus at Josies..He knew a lot that went on in the bar.

"Hi Joe." I said.

"Heyy Kevin, what's goin on?" he said.

"I'm lookin for somebody...April Allen and possibly her girlfriend, Tanginika Jones." I said.

"Ahhhh, you the second person ask about them two today....They was in here Friday night....Tanginika met some guy...Tony somethin or other and they got to talkin and drinkin and

She went out to his car...They was gone for a long while....Tiny was drinkin with two guys...They bought close to $100.00 worth a liquor for her...She was pretty soused and the three of them left out of here around midnight.....Tanganika and this Tony person came back in here around quarter to one...She asked for Tiny, but I told her Tiny left with two guys...I told her that they left right out the front door...I asked her if she seen them...She smiled and said that she never seen them leave. That was it...The last time I seen either one of them." said Joe.

"You ever see the two guys she was with before?" I asked.

"One of em...Brad Rathers...a local tough guy...the other guy, the one who was spending the money...never seen him before..." said Joe.

"Okay Joe, thanks...I'm gonna rustle up Tanginika...Maybe she can fill in the blanks."I said.

"Good luck with that...She makes her living staring at the ceiling if you get my drift?" said Joe.

"Yeah man, I get it." I said.

I drove over to Tiny's Apartment complex. The minute I got to her door, I could sense that something wasn't right....The door was ajar...and it was eerily quiet...No lights on, No sound of any life at all...I tapped on the door....

"HELLO! Tangy? HELLLOOOO.. Tangy!, Tanginika???" I said. I pulled my gun out and I flicked on the light.....There was no need for the gun....For there in the middle of the floor clad only in a black bra and black panties was Tanginika Jones.....Stiff as a board and very, very dead! With a needle sticking in her arm...Overdose ?? Murder?? Who could say?.....I had once again stepped into something pretty deep!

(To Be Continued....)

Rehobeth

I really don't like being seen in a bar...I am after all..a Pastor of a very large congregation. That probably half of my congregation patronizes Josie's is of no consequence to me. To remain ingognito..I wore a big floppy hat and some aviator shades...

It was no good...I sat down and Chris Thompson and his buddy Chess walked by me...

"Afternoon Pastor" said Chess.

"Afternoon Pastor Struthers" said Chris.

Sister Mabel Jenkins walked past me also....

"Evenin Pastor, what are you doin in here?" she asked.

''Evenin Sistah Jenkins....I'm here to see Gus about a matter." I said.

Just then, Gus, the bartender and the proprieter of Josie's walked down to my end of the bar, took one look at me , frowned and then busted out laughing...

"John, why you got on that ridiculous get up?" he said.

"Never mind..Never mind...you know I can't be seen in a place like this...No offense, but I am a reverend." I said.

"Your Deacons don't feel that way , nor do some of your congregation." he laughed.

"Okay...Okay...whatever Gus...Uh, you know why I'm here...did your guy take care of uh that little ,uh thing?" I asked.

"John...you sound like Fathead discussing a big deal with another gangster or something....If you mean Bert the florist, yeah..he delivered the babe a bouquet of different colored roses every day last week at her house...He said she was blushing like a cheshire cat with every delivery." said Gus.

I smiled...Rita Gordon, school teacher and I had met recently at the execution of one of her former students at the prison in Stanga...Not the most romantic place to meet a woman...but she had really had an effect on me...unlike any woman in a long time...I felt like a schoolboy... Sending her flowers everyday....

She had left me a letter saying to look her up when I got back to Philly....I had sent the flowers , but hadn't heard a word from her since I had been back...Nearly a month now...

"Uhhh Pastor Struthers...Did you uh bring that little thing called m-o-n-e-y, to pay for our services?" said Gus.

"Uh-oh...er...yeah...." I said and produced an envelope filled with money.

"Break that in half Gus...Half is for you and the other half is Bert the florist's end." I said.

Gus counted the crisp bills and smiled...

"Pleasure doing business with you Pastor." he laughed as I got up and made my way out of Josies. As I was leaving, Reed Nelson, the trumpet player and "88" ,his keyboardist, who also doubled as the church organist were entering Josie's...

"Hey Pastor " they said in unison.... This get up didn't fool a soul, I might as well

have come in there in my regular clothes.

As I walked up the stairs to my house...One of my neighbors, Jim Thompson called out to me..

"Hey Rev..Some Woman was here lookin for ya while you was out."

"A woman? What did she look like?" I heard myself saying...That didn't particularly sound right, I know.

"Whooooo weeee....I don't know what you doin up at that church, but I need to get me a collar and a bible...She had hips on huh...Lawd today....and a nice rack too...Though she could have lost the grandma glasses and took her hair out of the bun, but she was sayin a taste...I said to myself-Go head Rev-" he rambled.

"Uh okay Jim..I get the message...Thank you." I said as I went into my house. I saw that Rita had slipped an envelope under my door....

It smelled like her perfume and it read:

"Hi John, sorry I didn't call you last week...The flowers were beautiful...you made me blush like a schoolgirl....Here is my phone number...Call me... ." - Rita.

I raced to the phone and called her....She was generally happy to see me..She said that she hadn't expected to ever hear from me after our "night" together in Stanga..I told her that I didn't know why she felt that way...We made plans to meet this coming Saturday. I was overjoyed.

We met early in the morning...We drove to Rehobeth Beach in Deleware.. We had a blanket and a bucket filled with ice. We had Cokes and Sprites in the bucket. She had Fried up some Chicken and had cooked some shrimps up and seasoned them just the way I liked them...I had brought a bottle of vintage wine

with me for a topper.

We ate and talked and drank and had a grand time...I didn't get in the water, but nearly lost my mind, when she took off her skirt, revealing a very well developed body in a two peice bathing suit that could swim like a fish...

By the time we got back to Philly from Rehobeth Beach..it was well after 2:00 in the morning...I walked her to her door.

"Wow John....first the roses, then a day at the beach....I haven't felt this good in a long time." she said.

"Me neither" I said.

Then there was that moment that seemed like eternity when two people are just standing there looking at each other....I wanted to at least kiss those luscious lips again...but I didn't know if I should...

"You wanna come in John?" She asked.

"Uh..er." I mumbled.

"For coffee?" she asked.

"Well ah, okay...for coffee." I said with a smile.

But once inside in the dark....I stood with her in her living room.....

"Rita....I don't really want any coffee.." I said.

"I didn't think you did...I don't feel like making it." she said.

We began kissing each other as if kissing had gone out of style...I was devouring those full, sweet juicy lips of hers and she was devouring mine too!

I followed her upstairs to her room and we sat on the bed....I unbuttoned her blouse and gently fondled each of her beautiful breasts..She moaned silently and we began to kiss more passionately than we had downstairs...

I was licking and kissing her breasts softly and she was moaning silently....

"Nobody ever made me feel this good just working my breasts." she cooed...

Before long , the two of us were in bed, thrashing away...Moaning, screaming ,yelling and rocking from side to side ....

'Ohhhhhhhhhh, johnnnnnnnnnnn..." she yelled....

"Ritttaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh..." I moaned....

The next morning , I woke up....Rita was lying next to me this time...Already awake and smiling...

"I like to watch you sleep John...." she smiled.

"I like to know that you're watching me sleep." I said with a smile.

"Oh yeah?" she laughed.

"How bout we make this a permanent thing?" I said.

"Won't your other women get kind of salty?" she asked.

"Oh...I guess you've heard about me, huh?" I said holding my head down.

"Your reputation precedes you ." she said with a smile.

"Well, right now...there is no other women...hasn't been for awhile." I said.

"I know...Even that Asian Chick is gone now." she said.

"Wow, you have good sources." I said.

"So you want me to be your girlfriend huh John?" she asked.

"No.....How bout bein the first lady of the church...the only lady of the church?"

I asked.

"You don't even know me...why don't we slow it to a crawl John...and just be a couple first?" she said.

"If that's what you want....but I aint NEVER felt this way about no one person before...and this soon." I said.

"Really John?" she laughed and began blushing...

"Really" I said.

"You want to get married?" she asked.

"Yeah." I found myself saying...

"Well ,I'm not going to rule it out....Let's be friends awhile and see where it leads..then if you feel the same way..We'll get married. I think you're just in lust right now." she said.

"Spoken like a woman who has been married before and is being cautious." I laughed.

"Exactly." She said.

I leaned over and kissed her good and long and she returned my passion...This felt like the start of something good.

HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY - ESCAPADES IS 2!

ART: "Just The Two Of Us" By Chad Everett

On this day in 2008, I created a new blog... a blog that would be different from the one I already had ("Keith's Space"). I wanted my poems on this blog and maybe some short stories. Now, I have to laugh about it because I had no idea that I would create characters in running serials that would take a life of their own and captivate so many of you. I just thought I'd run a few poems and from time to time, write a short story.

First came Paris and Blake, my first characters. Then came Mabel Jenkins, her jilted lover Clerow and her sisters, Cora Beth, Victoria, Anita, their father Sweet Dick Jenkins, Pastor John Struthers, and Deacon Larry Weatherford. Along the way came Sean Jackson the photographer, his lawyer Conrad Nelson, and of course, my most popular character, Kevin Morris, the blogger/part-time sleuth and his sexy wife, Sepia, Cock Robbins, and contankerous Gus the bartender.

I thought I would stop there, but then came Chess and his buddy Chris Thompson, Donald Smooth, Fathead, Roscoe, and Ralph Mole. What made it all real is that all of these characters interchange with each other and appear in each others stories. There is Reed Nelson and 88, musicians and newcomers, Kool Kat and Downtown Rob Brown. By this time next year, I may have even more characters in these stories. They seem to be writing themselves.

I want to do more poetry, since that was all this blog was meant to be in the first place, and I want to include more art. Maybe even some original photography in the nearby future. I'm having so much fun with this blog. Who knows what I'll do next? The future looks endless and limitless. I just want to thank you, the readers, for coming along with me!

Every Other Thing

The way her dress curves..
when the wind would lightly blow...
would just uno my nerves..
and yet she would never know...
The smell of her perfume...
or the lotion on her skin
always gave me a sweet feeling..
something akin...

to nirvana..../

The gap between her teeth
and that cute way she'd smile
Her hair blowing in the breeze...
Oh and her feminine wiles....
The way that she'd walk....
The sound of her voice when she'd talk..
the good things I remembered about
her...

before all of the drama../

It seemed that every other thing,
every other thing, every other thing
about the girl was so good...
Like nights that I never wanted to end...
How could I have been so mis-understood??
It seemed that every other thing,
every other thing, every other thing
about the girl was so nice...
like the wager that any relationship would last..
is like a roll of the dice....

just a damn roll of the dice../

It wasn't that long ago....
yet it seems like forever...
It really wasn't that long ago...
that we were together...
She was loving me..
I was infatuated beyond compare....
How could she just throw me out of heaven...
Oh how could she dare?/

Who will love me now?
Oh I just don't know...
Sad enough but true...
Girl, it won't be you...
You once seemed like my future...
But now you seem like my past...
Like the wager that any relationship
Has a chance to last.../


It seemed that every other thing,
every other thing, every other thing
about the girl was so good...
Like nights that I never wanted to end...
How could I have been so mis-understood??
It seemed that every other thing,
every other thing, every other thing
about the girl was so nice...
like the wager that any relationship would last..
is like a roll of the dice....

OH It seemed that every other thing,
every other thing, every other thing
about the girl was so good...
Like nights that I never wanted to end...
How could I have been so mis-understood??
It seemed that every other thing,
every other thing, every other thing
about the girl was so nice...
like the wager that any relationship would last..
is like a roll of the dice....


just a damn roll of the dice../

Aint No Love

Other women have come and gone,
ha ha, let me tell you...
Other women have come and gone
but...
Aint no love
like this woman's love
and you know , she says I'm the reason she lives..
Aint no kiss
like the ones that up until now I've missed...
I just hope I can be worthy of all she gives.../

other loves
have come and they've gone.
but surprisingly,
I think this one is strong...
Is this part of the game you're expected to play?
anticipating the rain, yet surprised that the sunshine still remains../

Other women have come and gone,
ha ha, let me tell you...
Other women have come and gone
but...
Aint no love
like this woman's love
and you know , she says I'm the reason she lives..
Aint no kiss
like the ones that up until now I've missed...
I just hope I can be worthy of all she gives.../

Aint no love

like this woman's love

and I can't believe that I'm saying this..

Aint no bliss

like the bliss I'm feeling

the dizzying experience has still got my head realing..../

Now I don't believe in too much that can't be explained

but how do you explain

someone who has never brought you a moment of pain?

From the moment that my lips tasted her sweet kiss

I was sold on the idea that life couldn't be much better

than this.../

because aint no love

aint no love

aint no love

like this woman's love../

Love In A Desperate Hour

"Did you enjoy your meal son?" I asked Anthony Breezely as I sat in the white room with him.

"Yes Pastor..it was alright." he said softly.

"They gave you everything you wanted? I mean, the Steak, the Baked Potato and all?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah...Yeah all of that." he said as he held his head down.

In all of the activity and rushing after dinner, I had forgotten to bring my bible..
but lucky for me, there was a bible on hand...It always amazed me that there was always a bible available in a death house. I guess this would be the best place for one..

We read a few scriptures and we talked about life....and of course , death...and then Anthony turned to me and smiled a sweet smile...a smile that reminded me that he was still very young...Only twenty three....It hadn't been long since he had been a child.

"Pastor...I know this is a funny time to remember something like this....but I remember a day when , well when my mom and dad were married...before she started marrying a guy every year...when the three of us went to Atlantic City...
My dad and I rode on every ride at the Steel Peir...and My mom and I ate popcorn ,hot dogs and cotton candy...and the three of us ran along the beach all
day...until the sun went down and we were exhausted! Wow...that was one of the greatest days of my life." He said.

"It sounds like a great memory son...and if I were you...I'd take that memory with you." I said as I placed my hand on his shoulder!

"Pastor?" he asked , with tears welling in his eyes..

"Yes, son." I said.

"Do you think Jesus will forgive me?" he asked.

"Did you ask him to?" I said.

"Everyday since I been locked up....." he said. "Ya think he heard me?"

"I know he did and to answer your first question...yes...he forgave you ...He forgave you before you was born....That's why he died on that cross...for everything you and I was gonna do." I said.

"Breezely! It's time!" said the guard. It was a quarter to twelve....It was time..

"Thank you Pastor...Thanks for coming.....and when you get back to Philly, if you see Kevin....Tell him that I'm sorry and that I hold no ill will towards him."
he said.

"I will son...Take care." I said.

The Prison Chaplain read the 23"rd Psalm as they walked down the hall to the little green room where the injection chamber was-

"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:He leadeth me beside the still waters.He restoreth my soul:He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever."

I sat in the room behind the glass panel....Rita Gordon was there...Her hair was back in the bun and she had her glasses back on...There was the D.A. who prosecuted him and another man, probably a cop...Other than that, we were the only witnesses.

"Do you have any last words to say?" asked a guard as they strapped Anthony to the table and injected three needles into him.. He indicated that he didn't..

The process began.....The first chemical that entered his body put him to sleep....the second chemical relaxed all of his muscles...and the third chemical effectively stopped his heart....At 12:02 am...Anthony Breezely, Serial Killer...was pronounced dead.

Rita was silent when we drove back to the motel...As was I....When I pulled up at the motel, I finally spoke-

"Did it feel like you thought it would?" I asked.

"No..it didn't...I thought I would feel good seeing him get his...but I really didn't feel any different..I felt cold." she said as she got out of my car and put the key in her door.

I parked my car and got a Coke out of the vending machine and went on into my room. I sat on the bed and flicked on the Television...There was nothing much on, so I flicked it off...I turned on the radio....For once there wasn't a Temptations song on....It was Gerald Levert -"Baby I'm Ready"...I smiled...then I heard a knock on the door. Who would be at my door this time of night I wondered?

It was Rita..She had her hair down, shoulder length and wasn't wearing her glasses..

"Pastor, I can't sleep...I don't want to be in that room alone tonight." she said.

She was wearing a long Night gown...with as it turned out...a white baby doll and matching bikini panties under it. I stuttered-

"Are, Are, Are...uh....Are you - sh-sure you want to just- uh, er. sleep?" I asked.
Rita and I made passionate, hot sweaty love six or seven times that night.... I lost count..You would never look at her and think she was that passionate...by the time we finished the last time...I was nearly out of breath... I passed out....When I woke up the next morning, still spent...Rita was gone....I looked out the window and her car was gone...I showered and dressed and walked down two doors to her room...It appeared she had checked out...I felt cheap!

When I got back to my room, I found a note, it read:

"Dear Pastor John....Sorry I had to leave like this, but you were sleeping so peacefully,I just didn't have the heart to wake you up. I want to thank you for making me feel beautiful.. and like a woman for the first time in a long time....It was beautiful...I hope when you get back to Philly you'll look me up....perhaps we can go out or something...Thank you again. "

Rita

I smiled...I looked at my watch...My goodness ,it was ten o'clock.....The sun was coming up and for the first time in a long time...I actually had something to look forward to.

(For DBH)

And Lead Us Not Into Temptations

There was only one diner in the town...I followed her in her car to the motel first. It was raining like crazy...Her room was just two doors down from mine..I convinced her that it would be better if we just took one car to the diner and then back to the prison for the execution...It was a quarter to six..We had plenty of time. Neither of us wanted to spend another minute in that dreary prison.

The diner looked like any diner you've seen in a commercial on television...Nothing outstanding or different about it. We both sat in a booth near the back...We both ordered coffee....I ordered Meat Loaf ,Mashed Potatoes with gravy and green peas....She ordered a Hot Turkey Sandwich with gravy and cranberry sauce.

"I've been to your church a few times Pastor Struthers, but never joined." she said.

"I know you have..I've seen you before." I said.

"Oh?" she asked.

"A beautiful woman like yourself...I've always noticed." I said.

"Stop...you're going to make me blush." she said.

"Hey....why don't you take your hair out of that bun....I bet you'd get plenty more apples on your desk if you did." I said with a smile as our food arrived."

"Stop...you're fresh Pastor, you know that?" she kidded.

"You're a beautiful woman..." I said as I removed her glasses...

"You've got beautiful eyes....where is the man in your life?" I asked.

" I'm divorced...been divorced for five years....been about a year and a half since I been on a date." she said.

"I'm divorced too..." I said.

"Yeah? How long?" She asked.

"Two years..I find things to keep me busy." I said.

"That's what I need to do....I work and come home...Every now and then I go to a movie or something." she said.

"Alone? a fine woman like you?? How come the fellas aint knocking your doors down?" I asked....She smiled the sweetest smile at me just then..

We ate and continued to talk about our lives....before we knew it..It was 8:00pm and we long since finished our meal and had drank five or six cups of coffee. The bill was brought to our table....Rita went for her purse ,but I put my hand up...

"It would be remiss of me to let you pay anything....I got this." I said.

"You sure? I can pay my half....It's not like we were on a date or something." she laughed.

"You've got the cutest laugh." I said staring into her eyes...

"Stop Pastor, you're making me blush." she said.

I paid the tab and we walked outside...It had stopped raining...

"It's just 8:09....The execution isn't until midnight and the prison is a twenty minute drive from our motel.."I said.

"Why Pastor...are you making a pass at me? " she asked.

"Uh no...no..I was just saying.." I said.

"It's okay...I haven't had a man flirt with me in ages...it feels good, I just never thought a reverend would be the one." she laughed.

"Don't think of me as just a , ah ..a Reverend." I said.

"I know, every second more , I'm starting not to." she said.

We drove back to the motel...It began to rain softly again... "Just My Imagination" by the Temptaions was playing in somebody's room and it was pretty loud..

"Well...Here we are." I said.

"Here we are." she said.

"Can I walk you to your door?" I said.

"Uh yeah..sure..." she said with a little hesitation.

When we got to her door, she put her key in the door...

"Rita?" I said.

"Yes pastor." she answered.

"Call me John.....take your hair out of that bun.....I'm telling you, it makes a difference....You've got everything else going for you, but I really would like to see your hair." I said softly.

"Okay..well come inside and I'll let it down." she said...

I stepped inside the doorway....She took the bobbypins out of her hair and let it down....She was even more gorgeous...I ran my hands through it....

"My...you are beautiful, just as I pictured." I said....and I kissed her softly...She didn't resist....She kissed me back and we stood there kissing for what seemed like twenty minutes...

"It has been a long time." she said...

It began pouring down raining just then and lightning a little bit....The electricity in her room went off....We continued kissing.....I began to squeeze her breasts and I felt her squeezing my crotch...

"Ohhhhhhhh..Ohhhhh pastor...maybe we should stop before we take this too far...ohhhhhhhhhh.ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.." she moaned.

I slipped her blouse off and then her bra...and before I knew it , my jacket, shirt and trousers were off....We continued to kiss and I pressed her up against the wall...She kissed me down my chest and to my surprise, she took all of me into her mouth and began to move her head back and forth in a rapid motion....I hadn't expected this....My eyes liked to rolled back into my head....Finnally, I could take no more...I moved her head and picked her up....I laid her across the bed..slipped her panties off and entered her...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...OH MY GAWDDDD!" she screamed!...Judging by how tight she was...I saw that she was telling the truth...it had been awhile for her...

"Ummmmmpppph...oh Pastor, Pastor....ouuuuuuuuuuuuu, it feels sooooo good...and it's been soooo longgggg..ohhhhhhhhh, ahhhhhhhhh..."

We continued like this for, oh I don't know how long...I lost track of time....Finnally, I pulled out just before I exploded!

"Ouuuuuu, ummmmmmmmph..." I moaned......

She laughed and she hugged me...and then gave me a long syrupy kiss!

"Oh John..you've left a huge stain on the bed..." she said, laughing hysterically..

"I'm sorry.." I said.

"I can't stay in here...I don't want the maid or whoever coming in here thinking I was in here doing something." she laughed.

"But you were!" I said.

"I have to stay with you tonight." she said.

"You'll get no argument from me." I said.

"Freshie. I was just kidding...I know you wouldn't find a problem with it." she said with a laugh.

"John...it's 9:45....We've got to hurry up." she said.

"Oh yeah...that's right , we do.." I laughed.

We got in my car and we drove to the prison....I made good time....We got there

a little after ten...Nobody really cared. My suit was kind of wrinkled..So was her skirt and blouse and her hair was everywhere.

"You think anybody suspects anything?" she asked me.

" Suspects what?" I asked.

"That ,you know..we was doing something?" she asked.

"Nah...Why would they?" I said, not really caring if they did or didn't...

A radio was playing in the background... It was "Lonliness Made me realize, it's you that I need." once again by the Tempations. Hmm I wondered..What was

with this town and old Temptations records? I thought.

(Conclusion Next)