'A Little Too Friendly'

Clerow, Kool Kat, Robert Foxworth, Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson and I sat in the surveilience room of the establishment directly across the street from "Mulberry Street" and watched hours of videotape. Their cameras caught everybody in Mulberry Street's parking lot that night and in particular two people of interest... For instance... I never saw the face of the woman that Bobby was screwing in the men's room, but I definitely remembered what she had on that night.

"There...Tom...that one...that's the woman Bobby was in the bathroom with...I remember what she was wearing..That's definitely her...Freeze that frame and copy that." I said.

"Got it my friend...Do you know her?" asked Tom.

"No, but I'm going to get to know her." I said.

"I hear that!" joked Robert Foxworth... Clerow, Lockpick Johnson and Kool Kat all broke out in guffaws..

"Not like that, you horndogs...you know what I mean." I laughed.

"Nah good brother, you tell us." laughed Kool Kat.

"Forget it....keep going Tom....who is this guy here?" I said.

It was a man in a long trenchcoat...with a black bag....The time was about 11:30 pm...He was getting out of a Black Dodge Challenger and making a call on a Blackberry.

"That's him telling the security detail to get the drinks..." I said.

"Yeah and look..He's putting on those military glasses...the Night vision glasses they used in the Gulf war." said Clerow.

"Right again....and look..he's pulling out a thirty eight smokeless...just like mine." I said.

"Wow...He thought he disabled the only camera that would catch him..He didn't figure on this camera catching him." I said.

Tom blew up the picture and copied it...I now had two photos of people of interest.

"This guy...Anybody recognize him?" I asked.. Kool Kat and Lockpick Johnson looked at him and said in unison....

"That's Petey boy!"

"Petey Boy?" I asked incredulously.

"His government name is Pete Moss...He's a freelance hitter.." said Kool Kat.

"Yeah..I did time in the joint with him Kev...he's what Gus would call a real nasty peice of business." said Lockpick Johnson.

"Okay, so we know that our killer is most likely this Pete Moss charactor.....Why would he be interested in someone like Bobby D.?" I asked.

"Kev...it aint him...it's whoever wanted Bobby D. dead...They went out and got the best...If I was you...I'd find out who that woman is and what her stake is in this...I'm just sayin." said Kool Kat..More sage advice.

I thanked everybody for their help and called it a night. I wondered if the police had thought to come over here and check their cameras...I took my two photos and walked to my car with Clerow....Kool Kat walked up....

"Hey Kev...When you get ready to take down Petey Boy...give a brother a call...He's more up my alley than yours...I got you..ya hear? " he said.

"You know it...but right now...I gotta find that woman." I said.

It wasn't hard finding the woman...The next night ,I was in Josies having a couple of drinks when I showed the photo of the woman to Gus.

"Yeah, I know her...that's Brenda...Brenda Rideout....and tonight is your lucky night...there she is down there at the end of the bar." said Gus.

"Send her a drink...from me...double whatever she is drinking ." I said and I passed him a couple of dollars.

"Got'cha Kevin." he said.

She got her drink and Gus pointed towards me. I smiled and raised my glass and kept right on drinking. It didn't take long for her to come walking up to where I was sitting and sit next to me.

She was a pretty woman with an extreme style of dressing and a little too much make up...but I could see why men would be attracted to her.

"Thanks for the drink." she said.

"You're welcome." I said.

"I'm Brenda...Brenda Rideout." she said.

"I'm Kevin...Kevin Morris." I said.

She felt my hand...saw my wedding band and rubbed my hand slightly.

"You lookin to get yourself in trouble married man?" she said with a sly laugh...

"Nah...I'm just bein friendly. You always check a man's hand for a wedding band?" I asked.

" Yup..Gotta know what I'm gettin into . Friendly huh? Hmmm,I've heard that before...How friendly do you want to get??...hahahahahahah." she laughed.

" Just a little friendly....Who put that shiner on you?" I asked ....She had a black eye that was slightly swollen that her make up couldn't hide.

"My ole man...he apparently thinks I uh get a little too friendly...and he uh don't like it...That was a reminder...Not to uh...get too friendly." she said with a laugh.

"Then you'd better return to your chair....I don't want him popping you again." I said.

"He's a punk....You could handle him." she said.

"Tell Mr. Moss, I look forward to meeting him." I said.

"Who?Mr. Moss?? My ole man's name is ''True Dot"...He's a rapper...you aint heard of him?" she said.

"Nope!" I said.

"Well, I can see why you aint...He aint sellin no records or mix tapes...He aint very good and at 35 ,he's a little old for the rap game...but he think he about to be the next Jay Z." she said.

"Yeah? He was on Beautiful Bobby's last recording wasn't he?" I asked.

"Thought you aint heard of him?" she said.

"Well now that you mention him...I remember hearing that he was on that song." I said.

"Yeah..only it didn't get no air play...so Bobby D. mixed his part out and put that singer,Ingrid Rhodes on the hook...My ole man still thought that he should get some of the money from the remix since he did add his talents...but Bobby D. wouldn't pay him...." she said.

"Yeah? You think that's why somebody offed Bobby D?" I asked.

"Who knows? People get got in Philly for all kinds of things..You know Bobby D. sold drugs on the side....It coulda been that..I don't know....Ah used to mess with Bobby D on the sly." she said.

"For real? That why your old man went upside your head?" I laughed.

"Yeah...I think one of my big mouth girlfriends told True Dot..I think it was Tanika Sanders...She been tryin to get with True Dot for years...but he don't want huh?" she smirked.

"Nah...not when he got you." I laughed.

"Damn right...he aint given up all this good lovin." she laughed.

"I hear that..I wouldn't either.If I was him." I laughed.

We continued to shoot the breeze and talk and laugh for another hour...I wound up buying her two more drinks...She had already pointed me in the direction I needed to go in...I finnally looked at my watch and told her that I had to go...

"Well Mr. Kevin..It was certainly nice talking to you.." she said.

"It was nice talking to you too...and listen baby...don't let no man put his hands on you...for no reason..Get away from this True Dot fella...He's not worth it." I said...Knowing in my gut that she wasn't going to listen to me.

"Thanks for your concern Mr. Kevin...you're really a nice cat..not at all what I was expecting." she said.

"By the way...Do you stay with True Dot?"I asked.

"Why? You wanna come and see me sometimes?" she asked with a seductive smile.

"Who knows? Anything might come up...I might be in the neighborhood." I said.

"No..I live with my sister....True Dot lives in South Philly and I'm glad....That way he can't be creepin up and checkin up on me all the time." she laughed...Then she wrote her address and phone number down on a peice of paper and gave it to me..She winked and walked away.

I drove over to the Mermaid Club after I left Josies and asked around about True Dot's whereabouts...I found two people who gave me his address..It was in South Philly. I called Kool Kat up.

After meeting up with him, we drove to True Dot's address.....

It was a warm night... the window was wide open....the bed was squeaking up a storm....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHH, ouuuuuuuuuuuuuu...Ohhhhhhh babyyyyy, darling...ouuuuuuu do it to meeee..ohhhhhhhh....."

"Aww girl quiet down...you want the whole neighborhood to know you here?"

"ouuuuu True dot, it's so damnn gooood...ouuuuuuuuuu...you don't know how bad I've wanted to give you some...ohhhhhhhh, how longggggg....ouuuuuuuuuuu..."

"Damn Tanika....you sho do got some good, ouuuuuuu, ohhhhhhhhh lawd in heaven this is good,ummmmmmmmph..."

I looked at Kool Kat...He smiled...

"It'd be a shame to break this up huh?" he laughed.

"Yeah, let's go home....I know that somehow this guy is mixed up in this....I have to find out how him and Petey Boy are connected." I said.

"Or if they connected." added Kool Kat....."He don't look like he got enough money to afford Petey Boy" said Kool Kat. "Not livin in this dump." He added.

"You're right....at any rate...I got more leg work to do." I said.

As we drove back I thought about what Brenda had said about Tanika....That she knew about her and Bobby D. and that she told True Dat who promptly went upside her head..What if that was all there was to it? What if he and Petey Boy didn't have a connection? Yeah, I had more work to do.

(To Be Continued...)