"Hey Kevin....This is Kool Kat man....I just spotted your boy...Ray..He got a call and he just left the Mermaid Club."
"That's good...he's probably on his way here.." I said.
"Okay...I'll be there soon.." he said.
"Clerow and I got this." I said.
"Think again..this guy is heavy duty Kev...You gone need my help...sit tight..I'm on my way." said Kool Kat.
"Whatever man." I said as I hung up.
Clerow smiled and loaded his gun and slipped it in his pants...About a half hour after Kool Kat's phone call I saw a car pulling up.... I heard him getting out and heading for the door.. He was a big hulk of a man, not quite as big as Kool Kat, but with huge hands. He fooled around with the door,I made it easy for him...I had left the door open. Let's see how good this guy really was..
He came in cautiously with his gun drawn and saw me sitting in the living room. He was surprised, I could tell...He was light skinned with reddish brown hair..I still couldn't get over how huge his hands were.
"Hi ya Ray...Ray Griffen right? Pleased to meet you, I've heard loads about you." I said.
"Funny, I aint heard jackshit about you." he said and pointed his weapon at me..
Clerow came up behind him and grabbed his arm...He belted Clerow in the jaw and sent him flying backwards...I lunged at him and ran him into the wall..his gun fell to the floor and went sailing across the room, He spun me around and cracked me so hard I saw stars..then he tossed me across the room like I was a peice of yarn.. By then Clerow had gotten to his feet..Clerow cracked him in his face and then cracked him in his jaw..He cracked Clerow again...By this time ,I had gotten a chair and smashed it over his head...The chair cracked into three peices and he fell down, but he was only stunned...This guy was a mule!
Before I could catch my breath, he was up....This time I placed a swift kick to his groin, then spun and placed one to his solar plexus, he grunted and fell against the wall..I hit him in his jaw and then hit him in his stomach..He groaned, regrouped and was about to swing at me again, when the door flung open and I heard three loud shots ,fired from a .44 magnum and Ray Griffen fell to the floor, dead! I was actually relieved..I really didn't want him to hit me again...and I really didn't feel like tangling with him much longer.
I looked up, Clerow turned around and there was Kool Kat, holding a smoking gun.....
"Ah tole yall not to fool with him...Ah tole yall I was on my way now didn't I?" he said.
"Kool Kat...That was my killer....He was the only one who could put all of this together and now he's dead." I said...
"Man, he's just a mule..He kills on order...for pay..He wasn't gone tell you nothin..Hell he probably don't know nothin...Whoever hired him just tells him who to kill, they don't tell him specifics.." said Kool Kat...I couldn't argue with him...I knew he was right.
Just then , Roscoe, Fathead's Lieutenant and about three guys I had never seen before walked in behind Kool Kat. Roscoe took one look at the mess and burst into laughter...
"Mannnnn, Kevin....you alright with me...You got heart baby...you take on the biggest and the baddest...You'd of made a great gangster baby....Kool Kat told me who yall was tanglin wit and I figured all of yall might need some back up, so I called up my peeps. Looks like yall took care of it" he laughed.
These guys came with body bags, bleach and an asortment of other things I'd rather not know about...
"Look Kevin...this guy is or rather, was a contract killer,an outlaw...aint nobody gone miss him..We'll clean this mess up and it'll look like nobody was ever here...plus we'll get rid of his body for you." said Kool Kat.
Roscoe nodded in approval of what Kool Kat had just said. The three guys lifted the body up. put it in a body bag...Filled up buckets with water and bleach, pulled out mops and towells and went to work... As much as I didn't like any of this, I was too tired and sore to argue...
"You alright Clerow?" I said.
"Yeah man....You?" he asked me.
"Yeah...let's go home babe!" I said. I looked at Kool Kat and Roscoe and I just sighed...
"Good Lookin out brothers, I owe you." I said.
"Kev, you saved my life once...you don't owe me nothing."said Kool Kat.
Roscoe just patted me on the back- "Get some rest bruh....youse my main man." he said...laughing. A high compliment indeed, I suppose.
With Ray Griffen out of the picture....Things went bad for the three conspirators very quickly...
Indictments were filed for the arrests of Marlon Courtland and Bradly Rickers for conspiracy and drug and weapons smuggling and fraud...Marlon Courtland took his own life ,rather than go to jail and Rickers turned in states evidence and testified about everything...At least thirty nine more people were arrested. Rickers is in the witness protection program.
I gave the evidence I had to Hannah Cleveland and she quickly fired both Barbara and Brian Carter. There was not enough on those tapes to turn in to tie Brian Carter to the murder of Ptomley Jones...but with Jone's killer ,Ray Griffen dead....Ptomley Jones had been avenged. Barbara Carter has filed for divorce and Brian has left town. I heard he's living at his mother's place in Baltimore.
Hannah Cleveland was quite pleased with my work and she paid me $150 large... 50 more than originally agreed upon. After I paid my boys...Sepia and I still had a nice peice of change.
"Mr. Kevin...Just so you know....Those three were siphoning money out of my company for years...but I couldn't prove it...When I sold some of our stock, it was to make payroll and take care of our overhead....So that I wouldn't have to lay anybody off....I'm not really a mean person." she said as Sepia and I sat with her at an outside diner in Old City.
"Well that's good...So what happens now?" I asked.
"I've promoted Dora Mae Clark to Cheif of Staff and given her an office...She was my one loyal employee....I'm paying for her to go to college and finish with her degree..." said Hannah.
"That's wonderful" said Sepia.
"It's a shame that whoever killed Mr. Jones got away with it..The police still have no leads." said
Hannah.
"Oh they didn't get away with anything." I said.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing" I said as the three of us sat and enjoyed a beautiful late summer afternoon in Philly.
(For Rosalyn and Arlene)
"That's good...he's probably on his way here.." I said.
"Okay...I'll be there soon.." he said.
"Clerow and I got this." I said.
"Think again..this guy is heavy duty Kev...You gone need my help...sit tight..I'm on my way." said Kool Kat.
"Whatever man." I said as I hung up.
Clerow smiled and loaded his gun and slipped it in his pants...About a half hour after Kool Kat's phone call I saw a car pulling up.... I heard him getting out and heading for the door.. He was a big hulk of a man, not quite as big as Kool Kat, but with huge hands. He fooled around with the door,I made it easy for him...I had left the door open. Let's see how good this guy really was..
He came in cautiously with his gun drawn and saw me sitting in the living room. He was surprised, I could tell...He was light skinned with reddish brown hair..I still couldn't get over how huge his hands were.
"Hi ya Ray...Ray Griffen right? Pleased to meet you, I've heard loads about you." I said.
"Funny, I aint heard jackshit about you." he said and pointed his weapon at me..
Clerow came up behind him and grabbed his arm...He belted Clerow in the jaw and sent him flying backwards...I lunged at him and ran him into the wall..his gun fell to the floor and went sailing across the room, He spun me around and cracked me so hard I saw stars..then he tossed me across the room like I was a peice of yarn.. By then Clerow had gotten to his feet..Clerow cracked him in his face and then cracked him in his jaw..He cracked Clerow again...By this time ,I had gotten a chair and smashed it over his head...The chair cracked into three peices and he fell down, but he was only stunned...This guy was a mule!
Before I could catch my breath, he was up....This time I placed a swift kick to his groin, then spun and placed one to his solar plexus, he grunted and fell against the wall..I hit him in his jaw and then hit him in his stomach..He groaned, regrouped and was about to swing at me again, when the door flung open and I heard three loud shots ,fired from a .44 magnum and Ray Griffen fell to the floor, dead! I was actually relieved..I really didn't want him to hit me again...and I really didn't feel like tangling with him much longer.
I looked up, Clerow turned around and there was Kool Kat, holding a smoking gun.....
"Ah tole yall not to fool with him...Ah tole yall I was on my way now didn't I?" he said.
"Kool Kat...That was my killer....He was the only one who could put all of this together and now he's dead." I said...
"Man, he's just a mule..He kills on order...for pay..He wasn't gone tell you nothin..Hell he probably don't know nothin...Whoever hired him just tells him who to kill, they don't tell him specifics.." said Kool Kat...I couldn't argue with him...I knew he was right.
Just then , Roscoe, Fathead's Lieutenant and about three guys I had never seen before walked in behind Kool Kat. Roscoe took one look at the mess and burst into laughter...
"Mannnnn, Kevin....you alright with me...You got heart baby...you take on the biggest and the baddest...You'd of made a great gangster baby....Kool Kat told me who yall was tanglin wit and I figured all of yall might need some back up, so I called up my peeps. Looks like yall took care of it" he laughed.
These guys came with body bags, bleach and an asortment of other things I'd rather not know about...
"Look Kevin...this guy is or rather, was a contract killer,an outlaw...aint nobody gone miss him..We'll clean this mess up and it'll look like nobody was ever here...plus we'll get rid of his body for you." said Kool Kat.
Roscoe nodded in approval of what Kool Kat had just said. The three guys lifted the body up. put it in a body bag...Filled up buckets with water and bleach, pulled out mops and towells and went to work... As much as I didn't like any of this, I was too tired and sore to argue...
"You alright Clerow?" I said.
"Yeah man....You?" he asked me.
"Yeah...let's go home babe!" I said. I looked at Kool Kat and Roscoe and I just sighed...
"Good Lookin out brothers, I owe you." I said.
"Kev, you saved my life once...you don't owe me nothing."said Kool Kat.
Roscoe just patted me on the back- "Get some rest bruh....youse my main man." he said...laughing. A high compliment indeed, I suppose.
With Ray Griffen out of the picture....Things went bad for the three conspirators very quickly...
Indictments were filed for the arrests of Marlon Courtland and Bradly Rickers for conspiracy and drug and weapons smuggling and fraud...Marlon Courtland took his own life ,rather than go to jail and Rickers turned in states evidence and testified about everything...At least thirty nine more people were arrested. Rickers is in the witness protection program.
I gave the evidence I had to Hannah Cleveland and she quickly fired both Barbara and Brian Carter. There was not enough on those tapes to turn in to tie Brian Carter to the murder of Ptomley Jones...but with Jone's killer ,Ray Griffen dead....Ptomley Jones had been avenged. Barbara Carter has filed for divorce and Brian has left town. I heard he's living at his mother's place in Baltimore.
Hannah Cleveland was quite pleased with my work and she paid me $150 large... 50 more than originally agreed upon. After I paid my boys...Sepia and I still had a nice peice of change.
"Mr. Kevin...Just so you know....Those three were siphoning money out of my company for years...but I couldn't prove it...When I sold some of our stock, it was to make payroll and take care of our overhead....So that I wouldn't have to lay anybody off....I'm not really a mean person." she said as Sepia and I sat with her at an outside diner in Old City.
"Well that's good...So what happens now?" I asked.
"I've promoted Dora Mae Clark to Cheif of Staff and given her an office...She was my one loyal employee....I'm paying for her to go to college and finish with her degree..." said Hannah.
"That's wonderful" said Sepia.
"It's a shame that whoever killed Mr. Jones got away with it..The police still have no leads." said
Hannah.
"Oh they didn't get away with anything." I said.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing" I said as the three of us sat and enjoyed a beautiful late summer afternoon in Philly.
(For Rosalyn and Arlene)
4 comments:
Once again..Great Ending Keith!Loved this story!
Ole Boy was giving Kevin and Clerow
all they coukld handle...I like that Kool Kat just came in and ended all of that,quick fast and without any fuss or muss...
I love your charactors..For once we have heroic ,however flawed they are ,Black men who are winners..Not victims...It's a pleasure reading Escapades.
Great ending to a great story Keith!
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