Deadly Bisque!

"Sepia, that was a wonderful meal girl....I didn't know you could cook like that." laughed Robert Foxworth, the attorney... He had joined my wife and I for dinner tonight. We had seen him sitting by himself in church and he had looked lost, adrift... I didn't want to invite him to dinner..I preferred my Sunday afternoons alone with my wife...but she looked at him and felt sorry for him and invited him over.

I was actually surprised to have seen him in church. Robert "worshiped" at the alter of some woman's bed... The few times we had seen him in church was when he was still seeing both of his ex-wives, Lt. Sissy Van Buren of Philadelphia Homicide and his second wife, Corrine...They had long since moved on..as had he to several other women.

"Sepia...do you ever talk to Bonita?" he asked. And there it was..the question both of us had dreaded.

"Yeah Robert...We are working together on two projects...We are selling a house to this guy over in Jersey and we are buying some office space in that new plaza that Chess and Chris Thompson are developing." she said.

''You don't say? You two are going to move your operation over here to Philly eh? You may need some uh, er legal representation." he said.

"Conrad Nelson is representing us Robert." said Sepia.

"Oh." he said...He kind of looked disappointed.

"Why don't you call her Robert?" I found myself saying.

"Nah Kev....I can't do that?" he said.

"Why not? She asks about you?" said Sepia.

"Really? When she comes up for air after being with that , that cook?" he said disdainfully. He was referring to Ralph Scallion...the randy chef at the Bottom of the C. who he had me investigate a few weeks ago.

Bonita and Ralph had been seeing each other...Her seeing Ralph was no different than her seeing Robert....Ralph Scallion had been trying to sleep with a number of women...Other people's women... Mabel Jenkins, 88's girl...no success there! Debbie, Reed Nelson's girl, a little success, a one night stand. His boss, Dollar Bill's wife and the chinese girl that used to date our recently married Pastor Struthers.... Pretty darn successful there! It wasn't known if Bonita knew about Ralph's extra-curricular activities or not...but apparently she didn't seem to care ...or did she?

"I don't want to talk about it....forget it...." he finally said. "Kev..Sepia..thanks for dinner....I owe you guys..." he finally said.

"Oh think nothing of it Robert." said Sepia.

I walked him to the door...

"Call her...Go by and see her...Whatever she's got with him aint that serious..." I said.

"Maybe" said Robert.... I knew he was lying. He wasn't going to call her. I was surprised that a player like Robert Foxworth even cared about Bonita...I always viewed her as just one of his many women, apparently he cared for her more than he was letting on.

Once Robert was gone....I walked into the kitchen....Sepia was washing dishes...I walked up behind her and put my arms around her...

"You're going to get suds all over yourself Kevin.." she laughed....

"Hmmmm, a little water never hurt nothin." I laughed as I kissed her neck and licked her earlobes...

"Ouuuuu...ohhhhhhhh, don't start something you c-can't finish.." she said seductively...

"Just when couldn't I finish something?" I laughed...

"That is true.." she laughed. Just then, my Blackberry went off...Who could be calling me now? I wondered...

It was Clerow!

"Kevin....you might want to get to the Bottom of the C' right now... a guy just fell out dead and your wife's partner, Miss Bonita...she just passed out too and had to be rushed to the hospital." he said.

"What? What's goin on?" I said...

''Man, I'll explain when you get here. Just get here...Somethin aint right Kev." he said.

''What's not right Clerow...What's going on?" I asked.

"Kev..a man is dead...He and Ms. Bonita ate some of Ralph Scallion's famous Lobster Bisque..you know ..his specialty...the dish that has everybody comin here....It aint right that somebody dead behind it and Miss Bonita dyin from it. Somethin's up." said Clerow.

"Okay man..if You say so..I'll be on my way." I said.

''What's going on Kev?" asked Sepia.

"Clerow said something about a man passing out and dying at Bottom of the C. and Bonita falling out too and being rushed to the hospital." I said.

"What?" she said...

"Come on....we'll take my car...let's get over there." I said.

We drove over to "Bottom of the C." and sure enough , a crowd was surrounding the restaraunt.

Clerow and his wife, Cora-beth were talking to a distraught, Dollar Bill...the owner...as we walked up.

"Oh Kevin...Kevin..I'm so glad to see you." said Dollar Bill.

"Yeah man, what happened?" I said.

"One of my biggest customers, Jack Gable was here eating Ralph Scallion's famous Lobster Bisque...when all of a sudden he began having convulsions....He went into cardiac arrest and by the time the Police got here...He was dead." said Dollar Bill.

"I heard another person fell out in here tonight too!" I said.

"Yes Kevin....that Real Estate lady....the one Ralph has been seeing...She and Ralph sat down to eat...He shift was over and he fixed her some and she took sick...She vomited over there in the corner and then she passed out...They rushed her to the hospital. I don't understand...Everybody loves his Bisque...We've never had a problem before...News of this gets out, I could be ruined." he said.

"Oh My god...I've got to go see about Bonita.." said Sepia.

"What about Ralph? Where is he?" I asked.

"He was in the kitchen." said Dollar Bill.

"He eat any of that Bisque?" asked Clerow.

"No...he had crabcakes tonight and a Corona." said Dollar Bill.

"Hmmm interesting" I said.

"Kev...Look....I'll pay you..I have money...Look into this..get to the bottom of this... A man has died..Somethin like this get out...I could get sued..I could lose my business...." said Dollar Bill.

"Come on Clerow...let's go talk to Ralph Scallion." I said.

We walked back into the kitchen but there was no sign of Ralph Scallion. There was another cook back there named Domingus though.

"Domingus..Where is Ralph Scallion?" I asked.

"He left a few minutes ago...He was very upset." said Domingus.

"I don't like the look of this at all....His famous Bisque.....He chooses not to have any himself and now, a man is dead and a friend of ours is in the hospital hanging on for dear life and to top it off..He's gone....Doesn't look good." I said to myself.

"What will we do next?" asked Clerow.

"Well for now...let's get our wives and get to the hospital to see Bonita...Tomorrow..we'll talk to the cops...See what the toxicology test says." I said.

Clerow and Corabeth got in their car and followed Sepia and I to the hospital....

"Kevin should we call Robert?" asked Sepia.

"Uhhhh, yeah, call him.." I said as we drove off into the warm late summer night!

(To Be Continued...)