"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!
"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)
(For Carlene)
5 comments:
Stunning conclusion, but good.
I thought that that old cabbie might be the killer! Wow!
It is frightening to think about what can be going on right under our noses that we don't know about!
Wow, I wasn't expecting that...A serial killer!!
Great surprise ending!! I didn't see that coming. Great story. Thanks for the dedication.
Post a Comment