Death in 17 Feet.

Robert knocked on my door early one Sunday Morning...Sepia and I were still in bed...I slipped on my pajama bottoms and my bathrobe and walked to the door. The sunlight just barely made me squint... I greeted Robert with a surprisingly pleasent smile....I had every reason to smile after the night Sepia and I had had...All I will say is that it started with wine...

"Morning Counselor ,What can I do for you?" I said.

"Kev, this looks bad....You gotta come check this out before the police are called." he said.

"Before the police are called? What are you talking about?" I said...

"I'm talking about a murder?" he said.

"What?" I asked.

"Look...man, get dressed....I'll tell you on the way." he said.

"On the way where?" I asked..

"To Jordy's condo." he said.

Him! Jordy! The little runt who would be a player..Hadn't seen him in close to two years...I wondered what he had been up to. I shaved, brushed my teeth and showered and got dressed...

"What's going on now Kevin?" asked my wife, Sepia...

"I don't know...but Jordy is involved." I said.

'Well, if he's alive...tell the little runt I said what's up?" laughed Sepia as I headed out of the door.
She looked succulent...I hated to be leaving her in bed alone like that. Whatever was going on had better be good.

Robert and I drove to Jordy's condo......There was a pool on the rooftop of his condo...On the twentieth floor...and apparently he had had the "party of the year" the night before...when temperatures had hit 103 degrees...He had a pool party with swimming, drinking and of course women in skimpy bikinis....

When we arrived...Paris, Blake, Blake's girl Cherish....Chance Howard and his girl, Anita Jenkins,
and looking stunning in a royal blue bikini, The singer,Ingrid Rhodes. Johnny Diamond, the Phillies ace and Cherry Johnson were also amongst the party goers that I recognized... They were all standing around the pool....looking stunned....

Lying facedown in the pool by the deep end...was a man, obviously dead........

"What happened here?" I asked Robert Foxworth...

"I don't know...we were all in the pool, swimming, having a good time and....well...."

He was interrupted by the man of the hour of course, Jordy...

"Kevin...Kevin, how long has it been man? Sorry, we always gotta meet when somebody gettin killed an what not...but this dude is dead man." he said.

"Yeah well Jordy ,I can see that...How did he die? , and first off..Who is he?" I asked.

"Burke Blaine.....He's a millionaire playboy and socialite." said Jordy.

"And he's hanging out with you?" I asked.

"Awww come on now Kevin...I'm a man about town myself....I got lawyers here...Baseball aces and the up and coming singer, Ingrid Rhodes....Burke and I played golf together, discussed business deals..." said Jordy.

"Business deals?? With you? Oh okay, never mind...How did this guy die?" I asked...

'Nobody knows....We were all swimmin, drinkin..havin a good time and somebody screamed...and there he was." said Jordy.

"Somebody screamed? Who?" I asked.

"Della Jordan..She saw the body first." he said.

"Oh okay, Her, I know...I did a story on her...she's a porn star...where is she?" I asked.

We all looked around...There was no sign of her anywhere.

"I thought you were keeping everybody here?" I asked Jordy...

'I was...I was....but I have no authority to hold anybody here....I never saw her leave." he said. He was afterall, correct.

Soon the police arrived.....They questioned everybody at the pool party, including, Jordy, Robert Foxworth, his date, Ingrid Rhodes, Blake, Cherish, Paris, Chance and Anita...None of them apparently had heard or seen anything...They pulled the body out of the pool...It didn't show any immediate signs of trauma...Wouldn't know if it was foul play until an autopsy was performed...

"Well Jordy...I know someone in Homicide....I'll get the skinny from them in a few days and I'll let you know what's up." I said.

"Hey, hows that foxy wife of yours...?" he asked.

"Still Foxy...and if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get back to her...Oh, she told me to tell you hello." I laughed.

Jordy smiled..."Tell her I said right back at her."

Robert Foxworth drove Ingrid Rhodes home first and then he drove me home....As we were driving ,I looked at him...

"Okay Foxey spill it....If this guy had just had a heart attack or got sick you wouldn't have called me...What's up?" I asked.

"Kev, this guy was in optimum physical condition....He plays tennis everyday, boxes, rides bikes and rides Della if you know what I mean......Just before he wound up face down in the pool...I was coming out of the bathroom and slipping through the hallway and I saw a guy...a big guy with his hand up Della's dress...He had his tongue down her throat and it didn't look like they was trying to hide it...Burke came in and gripped dude in the collar and dude shoved him backwards...I ducked back in the bathroom...I aint want them to see me... Burke told dude that if he caught him with his hands on Della, He was gonna kill him." said Robert.

"So you think Burke was murdered and you think it was a lovers spat?" I said.

"Damn straight....Aint it funny Burke winds up dead just an hour later and Della and the big dude are missing??Out of everybody at the party?" asked Robert.

" First off Robert, You don't know that he was in optimum health, second of all, that argument might not have had nothing to do with nothing.....Still it does look fishy that neither one of them hung around to talk to the cops...I think I will do a little snooping around tomorrow." I said.

"So what you doin today?" asked Robert.

"Hoping like hell that my wife is still in bed and hasn't dressed yet...How about you?" I asked.

"Well, Ingrid was really upset about this and perhaps she is in need of a little comforting." said
Robert.

"You're incredible man, what about Bonita?" I asked.

"She's out of town....She's in Vegas for a Real Estate convention..." laughed Robert.

I shook my head as he dropped me off in front of my door....

"I'll see ya tomorrow counselor." I laughed.

"Sure thing Kev." he said.


(To Be Continued....)