"You knew this man Kevin?" asked Lt.Sissy Van Buren of Philadelphia Homicide as Sean Jackson ,Clerow ,Kool Kat ,Chris Thompson ,Chess and Donald Smooth stood around watching them remove the body , place it in a bodybag and haul it away...as though he had never been a living breathing human being.....It was as though they were just hauling away a huge container of blood.
"Yeah...he was a friend and a colleage of mine...He was a free lance journalist...He was in town for that Jazz fest...He was planning to leave soon." I lied.
"Why was he here in your office?" she asked.
''He said he wanted to talk to me about something....but he never got around to telling me just what it was." I lied again. Everybody in earshot, except...Clerow and Sean Jackson knew that I was lying.
"Well judging from the way his pockets were turned inside out...It looks like somebody was trying to rob him...My guys are dusting the area for prints." She said.
I knew that there would be no prints...The security guard had also been murdered and our security cameras had been disconected..I wondered if her detectives suspected as I did that this was not the work of some street hood looking to make a quick score....
"Kevin....Whoever did this killed the security guard and disabled the security cameras...and I'm betting we won't find any prints...You wanna tell me what's really going on?" she asked. She didn't get to be a Homicide Lieutenant by not being sharp...I wasn't surprised...but I wasn't ready to level just yet.
"I don't know Sissy, but I'm going to look into it...." I said.
"I know you are." she said.
"You know I'll keep you posted, don't I always?" I said.
"You'd better." she said as she and her detectives continued their work...
I walked over to Chris Thompson and motioned for him and his crew to follow me outside...They did.
"You no doubt know what this is about?" I said.
"Oh yeah....Bristol is coming back at me and Chess and Smooth because we made him give that money back and we took out the Westies...He's a psychopath...doesn't like losing." said Chris.
"What's your plan of action Kev?" said Chess.
"I know how you guys are....but I want you and your families to leave town for a minute...At least until I can locate this hitter...." I said.
''Runnin aint my style Kev...but ......I was plannin to take a trip to Puerto Rico anyway....and Chess, you and Rell and your son could come with us..." said Chris...
"Alright Kev....We'll let you do what you do...for now." said Chess.
"I can roll down to the ATL for a few..I got cousins..." laughed Donald Smooth....
"Me? I aint goin nowhere....Not til I'm ready...Besides...you gonna need the kind of ruckus I can bring." said Kool Kat.
"Yeah,I figured you'd say that.....but okay....As long as the rest of his targets are missing...I can
go to work..Okay guys....Be Easy....I'll let you know when this is over and Bristol is in a box." I said.
We all shook hands and went our seperate ways...With just Clerow and Sean Jackson left in the office...I looked at Sean..He knew exactly what I was talking about.
''Kev...the micros right?" he laughed.
"Exactly" I said.
After my rowdy dow with Little Willy Basemore, a hulking killer who attacked me in the lobby, I had Peeping Tom and Locksmith Johnson plant micro cameras and audio devices all over the lobby and in most of the offices. Nobody here at the magazine knew about them. They were only to be used in case somebody else broke in here to steal or to try to attack somebody. The killer may have thought he was being smart...but we had outsmarted him.
Sean, Clerow and I immediately viewed our video tapes.....and bingo...there the killer was..A white man, about six feet, two, 220 pounds...solidly muscled...very handsome....Shot the security guard twice...Then we see him disabling the video cameras....He obviously knew his business, Then we see him taking the elevator and surprising Seth as he walked out of the door...He shot him five times in the chest with a silencer...He rifled his pockets and then rifled my office...He didn't find what he was looking for and then we see him leave.
He apparently didn't disable the camera across the street in the adjoining parking lot. We quickly walked across the street and viewed their video from the night before...Since we knew who we were looking for, we got a licensce plate number of the car the killer was driving.
"Man, this was too easy boss...I thought this guy was so good?" said Clerow.
"Oh he is...He had no way of knowing there was a back up security system." I said.
"Yeah Clerow and he parked in the lot across the street....No one would be looking for him there because no one would know who they were looking for." added Sean.
"Yeah...but the question is...Why was Seth here? Why did he come in after he knew we were all gone? How did he get past the security guard?" I asked.
"He was here to bring you something." said Clerow.
"Yeah...he was a friend and a colleage of mine...He was a free lance journalist...He was in town for that Jazz fest...He was planning to leave soon." I lied.
"Why was he here in your office?" she asked.
''He said he wanted to talk to me about something....but he never got around to telling me just what it was." I lied again. Everybody in earshot, except...Clerow and Sean Jackson knew that I was lying.
"Well judging from the way his pockets were turned inside out...It looks like somebody was trying to rob him...My guys are dusting the area for prints." She said.
I knew that there would be no prints...The security guard had also been murdered and our security cameras had been disconected..I wondered if her detectives suspected as I did that this was not the work of some street hood looking to make a quick score....
"Kevin....Whoever did this killed the security guard and disabled the security cameras...and I'm betting we won't find any prints...You wanna tell me what's really going on?" she asked. She didn't get to be a Homicide Lieutenant by not being sharp...I wasn't surprised...but I wasn't ready to level just yet.
"I don't know Sissy, but I'm going to look into it...." I said.
"I know you are." she said.
"You know I'll keep you posted, don't I always?" I said.
"You'd better." she said as she and her detectives continued their work...
I walked over to Chris Thompson and motioned for him and his crew to follow me outside...They did.
"You no doubt know what this is about?" I said.
"Oh yeah....Bristol is coming back at me and Chess and Smooth because we made him give that money back and we took out the Westies...He's a psychopath...doesn't like losing." said Chris.
"What's your plan of action Kev?" said Chess.
"I know how you guys are....but I want you and your families to leave town for a minute...At least until I can locate this hitter...." I said.
''Runnin aint my style Kev...but ......I was plannin to take a trip to Puerto Rico anyway....and Chess, you and Rell and your son could come with us..." said Chris...
"Alright Kev....We'll let you do what you do...for now." said Chess.
"I can roll down to the ATL for a few..I got cousins..." laughed Donald Smooth....
"Me? I aint goin nowhere....Not til I'm ready...Besides...you gonna need the kind of ruckus I can bring." said Kool Kat.
"Yeah,I figured you'd say that.....but okay....As long as the rest of his targets are missing...I can
go to work..Okay guys....Be Easy....I'll let you know when this is over and Bristol is in a box." I said.
We all shook hands and went our seperate ways...With just Clerow and Sean Jackson left in the office...I looked at Sean..He knew exactly what I was talking about.
''Kev...the micros right?" he laughed.
"Exactly" I said.
After my rowdy dow with Little Willy Basemore, a hulking killer who attacked me in the lobby, I had Peeping Tom and Locksmith Johnson plant micro cameras and audio devices all over the lobby and in most of the offices. Nobody here at the magazine knew about them. They were only to be used in case somebody else broke in here to steal or to try to attack somebody. The killer may have thought he was being smart...but we had outsmarted him.
Sean, Clerow and I immediately viewed our video tapes.....and bingo...there the killer was..A white man, about six feet, two, 220 pounds...solidly muscled...very handsome....Shot the security guard twice...Then we see him disabling the video cameras....He obviously knew his business, Then we see him taking the elevator and surprising Seth as he walked out of the door...He shot him five times in the chest with a silencer...He rifled his pockets and then rifled my office...He didn't find what he was looking for and then we see him leave.
He apparently didn't disable the camera across the street in the adjoining parking lot. We quickly walked across the street and viewed their video from the night before...Since we knew who we were looking for, we got a licensce plate number of the car the killer was driving.
"Man, this was too easy boss...I thought this guy was so good?" said Clerow.
"Oh he is...He had no way of knowing there was a back up security system." I said.
"Yeah Clerow and he parked in the lot across the street....No one would be looking for him there because no one would know who they were looking for." added Sean.
"Yeah...but the question is...Why was Seth here? Why did he come in after he knew we were all gone? How did he get past the security guard?" I asked.
"He was here to bring you something." said Clerow.
That wasn't exactly as off key as it sounded....There wasn't any real reason for him to be here, unless he was leaving me something.. I had a secret compartment in my desk ,that only he knew about. The reason being was because this had been his desk before it was mine... He alwys told me to use it to hide top secret documents. I laughed...This was a music and entertainment and life styles magazine...What would we have that was "Top Secret"...He always said- "You never know Kev" I looked in my secret compartment. There it was, Seth's medical records...He had terminal cancer!!!! He was dying and he knew it...This is why he was so adamant about me publishing his story...He wasn't afraid of any hitman on his trail...He knew he was dying anyway!!!! I didn't share what I had read with the others...I just hung my head.
"He gave me a zip drive....It has the story of how he brought in guys from out of town to rob the money that was going to be used to pay the musicians and workers... He was doing that to discredit Chess and Chris because they bought that property from Seth's step-father who was in hock to Bristol." I said.
"Yeah? That happens all the time...so what?" said Sean.
"Bristol is a psychopath...He's crazy...He wants to kill Chris and Chess and others now because they not only foiled his plans, but they forced him to return that money and kind of made him go to ground.." I said.
"Man, who is this guy?" asked Sean..
"Bristol?? Let's start with his real name first guys...His name is Stephen Bristol Jr. He was born right here in Philadelphia PA. the son of a businessman, Stephen Bristol Sr.. Young Bristol was skilled at mathematics and developed an early interest in illegitimate business, whereas his older brother ,Samuel Bristol studied to become a preacher. By 2000, Stephen Jr. had finished Morehouse with a Bachelors and a Masters and gotten a second Masters from Columbia.He moved to the East Oak lane section of our fair city, where he established an important, but illegal gambling casino,much like Chris and Chess's operation. Bristol purchased holdings in a number of other operations just like that. He also invested in a horse racing track at Havre de Grace, Maryland, and it was widely reputed that he "fixed" many of the races that he won. Stephen Bristol had a wide network of informants and very deep pockets when it came to paying for good information, regardless of how unscrupulous the sources were. His successes made him a millionaire by age 30. Now at the age of 44, Young Bristol is looking into being a kingpin along the lines of a Fathead Newton, but on a much wider scale...He's trying to build a street rep, which he can't do if people are making him return money he stole now can he?" I laughed.
"Wow man, you really do your homework Kev.." said Sean.
'How are we gonna stop him boss?" aske Clerow.
"Clerow, I don't even know where he is...but what we are gonna do first is stop that killer." I said.
"We don't know nothin about him?" said Clerow.
"No, but I know somebody who might." I said.
(To Be Continued....)
"He gave me a zip drive....It has the story of how he brought in guys from out of town to rob the money that was going to be used to pay the musicians and workers... He was doing that to discredit Chess and Chris because they bought that property from Seth's step-father who was in hock to Bristol." I said.
"Yeah? That happens all the time...so what?" said Sean.
"Bristol is a psychopath...He's crazy...He wants to kill Chris and Chess and others now because they not only foiled his plans, but they forced him to return that money and kind of made him go to ground.." I said.
"Man, who is this guy?" asked Sean..
"Bristol?? Let's start with his real name first guys...His name is Stephen Bristol Jr. He was born right here in Philadelphia PA. the son of a businessman, Stephen Bristol Sr.. Young Bristol was skilled at mathematics and developed an early interest in illegitimate business, whereas his older brother ,Samuel Bristol studied to become a preacher. By 2000, Stephen Jr. had finished Morehouse with a Bachelors and a Masters and gotten a second Masters from Columbia.He moved to the East Oak lane section of our fair city, where he established an important, but illegal gambling casino,much like Chris and Chess's operation. Bristol purchased holdings in a number of other operations just like that. He also invested in a horse racing track at Havre de Grace, Maryland, and it was widely reputed that he "fixed" many of the races that he won. Stephen Bristol had a wide network of informants and very deep pockets when it came to paying for good information, regardless of how unscrupulous the sources were. His successes made him a millionaire by age 30. Now at the age of 44, Young Bristol is looking into being a kingpin along the lines of a Fathead Newton, but on a much wider scale...He's trying to build a street rep, which he can't do if people are making him return money he stole now can he?" I laughed.
"Wow man, you really do your homework Kev.." said Sean.
'How are we gonna stop him boss?" aske Clerow.
"Clerow, I don't even know where he is...but what we are gonna do first is stop that killer." I said.
"We don't know nothin about him?" said Clerow.
"No, but I know somebody who might." I said.
(To Be Continued....)
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This is getting good....
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