Chicken's Delight

Harlon "Big Chicken" Platt was a pimp....His girls were not the type who stood on street corners. No, you had to make an appointment with someone....That someone was his main man on the streets...Rollo Jones. Rollo Jones wore very nice, very expensive suits, drove a Jaguar around town and spent most of his time in Bars or restaraunts... A person who wanted a girl usually contacted him...He had the person checked out and then with half down, given to him of course..He sent a girl to where-ever you were staying...He and a tough guy known as "Bolt" would of course come around and collect the rest of the money after the girls left. Rollo and Bolt took their cut, they paid the girl her cut and the rest was given to Big Chicken...

Big Chicken was never seen with the girls or exchanging any money...This was why he stayed out of jail....He had a small "office" of sorts in a run down building that also housed a check cashing joint,
a pawn shop and a Crown's Fried Chicken joint. How appropriate!

Finding Big Chicken was going to be difficult enough...Finding Rollo Jones would not be...He hung out in Ciro's....Fathead's nephew, Chick's place. I walked in Ciros and peered around...Most of the people were talking quietly and drinking...It was not a lively place like Josie's....The only time you heard music was if somebody played the jukebox.. There was four pool tables and several guys playing pool and laughing and talking..

Rollo Jones was sitting with three guys at a booth near the center of the bar...I walked over to him and tipped my pork pie hat...I had taken to wearing one with my trench coat once I saw how cool Reed Nelson, "88" and Downtown Rob Brown looked in one...Even Meek Rollins and Gus had taken to wearing the pork pie hat.

"Mr. Jones...Mr. Jones... May I have a minute of your time?" I asked. He looked at me like I was dirt and then said...

"My office hours is closed....and besides...all of my girls are booked..." he laughed.

I showed him a photo of Ramon Hernandez....He looked at it and then looked at me again as though I was dirt...

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" he asked.

"He was one of your clients...You remember him?" I asked.

"Am I supposed to? " he asked...He was a real sweetheart wasn't he?

"Well really...I need to talk to your boss, Big Chicken....Can you set up a meet?" I laughed.

"You a cop?" he asked.

"Do I look like a cop?" I asked.

"As a matter of fact...you don't....Jeff, Elmer, Thad...throw him the hell outta here." he said.

The three men sitting with him made moves toward me...I grabbed one and slammed his head hard on the table...I placed a nice swift kick to the groin of the second man...He went down fast..
The third man swung at me and missed..but I didn't...I put several lefts and rights to his mid-section..then cracked him in his jaw ...He went out like a light....By now, the man, who's head
I'd smashed into the table was up and he had run into me ...ramming me into the wall..I hit him
with several lefts and rights to his face until he finally fell to the floor and did not move...The man who I had kicked in the groin ran towards me...I ducked again and smashed him with an upper
cut and then a beautiful left right combonation dropped him on the floor for the night! The crowd watching this clapped....

Rollo Jones looked like he was going for a gun...but by now, I had my .38 smokeless next to his cheek bone...

"Not a good move Rollo baby...Now you've made two dumb moves already tonight....Let's talk turkey or in this case..Chicken." I said with a smile.

"Who-Who...Who are you?" he said...now with a look of pure fear in his eyes....

"Who I am is not important...What is important is that I want to see your boss?" I said.

"He-He -He don- don't meet with customers." said Rollo..

"Do I look like a customer to you?" I asked.... Rollo looked like he was about to either cry or defecate his pants...Then to make matters worse...Kool Kat and Clerow walked in and walked over with Chick, the owner and Fathead Newton's nephew...

"Everything good Kevin?" asked Chick.

"You know Chick?" asked Rollo.

"What's important is he knows ME." came the voice of Walter "Kool Kat" Jones...My friend, a six foot four, heavily muscled weapon of mass destruction. Rollo and his three henchmen were about ready to faint...

"The man wants to see a man...and you gone make that meetin happen.Can ya dig it?" said Kool Kat.

"Guess you wonderin where your boy "Bolt" is huh?" laughed Clerow...."He alright...When he wake up..he'll be even better..He's sleepin it off outside." laughed Clerow.

"Alright...I'll call him, tell him you guys are coming....I'll give you an address." said Rollo.

"See how easy that was Rollo baby?" I said... "Chick ,give these boys whatever they want to drink...They've had quite a work out." I said with a laugh as we left Ciros and got in my car. Chick looked at them, shook his head in mock disgust and then looked at Kool Kat, Clerow and Me and smiled...Then he looked at Rollo and his battered trio and calmly said-

"Okay boys, what will it be? Don't order no top shelf liquor neither."

II-

An hour later, we were parked two blocks from the office where Big Chicken was to meet us.
Clerow stayed a block back.....Kool Kat walked across the street and a little ways away from me.
I didn't want it to look like we were together...We all had on Kevlar vests under our clothes...I was certain that Big Chicken had a "reception" planned" I was right...Two guys in sneakers ,Leather Jackets and jeans began walking towards me....When they went for their guns, Kool Kat
knocked the hell out of both of them. Another guy that tried to run up on me felt the butt of Clerow's gun...We tied the three of them up and then preceded up the stairs and into "Big Chicken's office.

Big Chicken was a fat brown skinned and bald headed man about five foot, eleven..He was constantly sweating and as you can imagine was sweating even more when he saw me, Clerow and Kool Kat in his office.

"God, Good Help is hard to find now of days." he said ,obviously annoyed that the three of us had beat his security.

"Chicken look...I just want to ask you a few questions about him." I said tossing a glossy of Cuban Saxophone player Ramon Hernandez on the table.

"What about him? Frankie Fingers is who you oughta be talking to...He contacted Rollo about him, we supplied the girls and he paid the freight...That's it. I swear." said a now aggravated Big Chicken.

"So Ramon didn't owe you any money for your girls?" I asked.

"No...We collect up front..Half and once the girl calls us and tells us she's done...We immediately come collecting." said Big Chicken.

"Yeah...I've seen your collectors." I laughed.

"From what I heard...you wouldn't have had a problem." laughed Big Chicken.

We all laughed...Something about the moment that caught us, I suppose. For that moment we all forgot that we loathed each other...In laughter we were all just Black men caught up in life , trying to make it the best way we knew how.

"Big Chicken...it's been real babe...Maybe we can meet again under better circumstances." I said.

"Yeah maybe." said the gangster , Who I suspect was glad to see us leave.

III-

Finding Frankie Fingers was easier...He was in Josies...He was a Piano player, who played with a trio only on nights when all of the other acts were off or out of town...He was no longer as good as he used to be, but Gus had a soft spot for him, allowed him to work on slow nights.
Clerow ,Kool Kat and I had some drinks and some Peanuts and we sat by the bar and waited for him and his trio to finish their set...Then Gus motioned for him to come to the bar.

Frankie Fingers was a frail man who was roughly about 70 or 71 years old...He walked over and sat down and smiled at me...

''Kevin...Long time no see....You look just like your daddy....Lawd have mercy.....I know why you're here...Ohhhh lawd....I might be in trouble." he said.

"What kind of trouble Frankie?" I asked.

"Look...Two guys helped smuggle Ramon out of Cuba...One was his cousin, Natividad and the other was a sleazy lawyer named Roger Slezak...Natividad and Slezak eat at Dollar Bills joint all the time and I was there and they asked me if I could put Ramon up for awhile...I hooked up with Meek Rollins and he got him a place to stay and some gigs...Ramon was a little wild...He wanted girls..So I went to Rollo, Big Chicken's main man and got him girls.." said Frankie.

"Yeah, so what? Big Chicken said that you paid his expenses." I said.

"The lawyer, Slezak gave me money for his rent and money for the girls....When Ramon started working...He paid Meek himself and gave me money to pay Big Chicken and Rollo." said Frankie.

"So what was the problem?" I asked.

"Natividad and Ramon had a big falling out.....and I think...that's why Ramon wound up dead." said Frankie.

"About what?" I asked.

"What else do men fall out about Kevin...Women and Money....." said Frankie.

"Yeah you're right." I laughed...So did Clerow and Kool Kat.

"Kevin....I'm in trouble...They...them two don't trust me....They think I'll go to the cops...I'm scared of them.....I hear they brought in a hitter from out of Patterson, New Jersey...He's good..He's the one who took out Ramon...He's still in town....I'm scared." said Frankie.

"Well why are you here working, out in the open?" I said.

"Gus said he has a room here that I could hole up in until the heat is off." said Frankie..The hitter won't come in here, shoot me in front of witnesses." he continued. Gus's boys, Eddie and Albert said that they'd look after me while I was here" He continued.

"Never the less...I have some friends who have a safehouse, that's better...We'll put you up in there until the heat is off and I can make some sense of this." I said.

"Thank you Kevin." said Frankie.

"Kool Kat, call Chris and Chess....Ask em if we can use Fathead's safehouse." I said.

"I'm on it Kev."said Kool Kat.

I was no closer to solving this murder, I knew....but I had a feeling in my gut that something was going to happen.

(Definitely to be continued.....)