Her Brother's Keeper

Back in Philadelphia , I got in contact with Robert Foxworth...His friend in records found out some interesting facts....$152,000 dollars worth of Gold had been bought by "Brian Carson" yesterday..
Robert, Clerow and I went to check out the actual documents...We took Cock Robbins with us.

"That's a fake....That aint Brian's signature." said Cock Robbins.

"You know this for a fact." I said.

"Yeah...Brian plays for me...he has the worst handwriting in 50 states...Look how neat that is...No way Brian signed this..." said Cock. Clerow and Robert and I looked at each other...I showed the
banker a photo of Ellis.

"Yeah that's the guy who signed for it.....His ID didn't match...He told me that he had lost some weight though."

"Thanks a lot, that's all we needed to know." I said.

Cock, Robert Foxworth, Clerow and I drove back to Robert's office.

"Cock have the brothers got any other relatives here in Philly?" I asked.

"Yeah...They got a sister. She lives here in town." said Cock.

"What's the relationship like?" I asked.

"She was cool with both brothers...She was always somethin like a peace maker...Her name is
Yasmine...Yasmin Carson." said Cock.

"Take me to her." I said.

II-

"I haven't seen Ellis in two weeks." said Yasmine Carson, a young and very pretty brown skinned woman who was their middle sibling. Something about the way she said that told me that she was lying. Cock Robbins , Clerow and Robert Foxworth were perplexed..but I knew what I was doing.

"Yasmine....look....your brother, Brian....When is the last time you talked to him? I'm trying to find out what happened to him....Your brother took his boat, forged his signature and took money from him...This I know...That's not right...If you care anything about your other brother
and his well being...you've got to help me get to the bottom of this...Now where is Ellis?" I asked.

"Look...Ellis called me.....yesterday....He sounded all weird...He told me not to pay any attention to anything I might hear...I asked him....I said "Ellis...what are you talking about? He said that he was in over his head and that he had to get away...He didn't make any sense." said Yasmine.

"I need you to take me to him." I said.

"I-I can't....I can't." she said.

"Yasmine...I've got to talk to him..." I said.


"My brother....My brothers never got along...Even when we were kids...Always competing...Always beefing...I always had to play peacemaker. When that girl...That Mary Salinas came into the picture things got worse...She was Brian's girl....but Ellis met her first and was romancing her first...but once she met Brian, that was it..She went for him in a big way...Ellis just saw that as one more thing that Brian had over him...Brian was the athlete, had all of the girls..Ellis was the bright one..." she said.

"Yeah ,I know...he was interested in more cerebral pursuits." I said.

I think I got to her...She looked at me with tears in her eyes...

"I'll take you to him....but only you....nobody else." she said.

"Okay Yasmine...but first I take you to see a friend of mine." I said.

I got my wife Sepia and then we drove to Peeping Tom's house...They wired Yasmine...I needed her to get Ellis to talking...Talking about where Brian and Mary were...What happened to them...It was the only way I could get the evidence on him that I needed.

I drove Yasmin to Penn's Landing where surprisingly enough...There was another boat there..A
smaller boat than what Brian had had....but roomy enough for a small group of people... I sat in the car...Yasmine looked at me soulfully...

"I'll do the best I can Mr. Kevin...I feel so bad about this." she said.

"Believe me...you're doing the right thing." I said.

She smiled kind of sweetly and then walked to the boat...She knocked on the door.

"Ellis...it's me. Let me in." she said.

"Come on in sis." said Ellis.

"Ellis...What was all of that talk about you bein in over your head?" she asked.

''Oh nothin...nothin...I was feelin kind of weird the other day , but now I feel better...You want somethin to drink?" said Ellis.

"No, I don't want anything to drink...I want some answers...Where is Brian?" she asked.

"How should I know? Probably with his babe on his boat." he smirked.

"They found his boat Ellis...They found it in Baltimore.....And a man fitting your description closed out his bank accounts....in Baltimore....I haven't seen or heard from Brian in two weeks...The cops are looking for him...His coach reported him missing a week ago." she said.

She was playing along exactly as I had told her. The Cops were indeed looking for Brian and Mary, but they probably didn't have as much information as I had.

"Cops? Cops are looking into this?" asked Ellis.

"Did you.....Ellis, did you do something to Brian?" she asked...

"No....Noooo sis...why would you ask me something like that? The cops don't know nothing, if they come again..just tell em you don't know nothin...cause you don't" he said.

"I think you did..I think you killed him didn't you? The cops came to my house asking about him" she said. She was now crying.

"Don't cry....Don't cry...Sis...SIS!...Look...Look...All our lives....Brian got it all, all the girls. all the awards, all the accolades... I made good grades...nobody noticed...The one time I had something of my own....Mary...He wound up with her too....Bet you don't know that Mary was seeing me on the side too did you? But she wouldn't give him up...Wasn't gonna leave him...She saw him as a meal ticket..Didn't see me as much...Just a stud...I couldn't take it...I just....couldn't take it." said Ellis.

"What did you do? Ellis, what did you DO?" asked Yasmine.

"They're gone......They're goneeee....I took em out on the boat." he said.

"Yeah and??" she asked.

"Why are you asking so many questions? They're gone okay...They won't be coming back." he said.

Not quite a confession....Not enough to do anything with...I was stumped... He wasn't going to admit such a monstrous act to his sister. She drank with him and then told him goodbye and left his boat...She met me a few blocks away.....

"I did the best I could Mister Kevin." she said.

"I know...it's okay.....He more than likely has killed them both....They're at the bottom of the ocean I suppose." I said.

"He shouldn't get away with that." she said.

"I have a little bit of circumstantial evidence that I'm going to turn in to the police...It's enough for them to question him at least...that may shake him up. Don't worry about it doll." I said.
I drove Yasmine home.

EPILOUGE:

With the evidence I turned in...The Police picked Ellis up a few days later on suspicion of murder.
He quickly made bail....A few days later , He was found dead on his boat at Penn's Landing. He had overdosed on insulin. He left behind a rambling letter to his sister Yasmine...There was no mention of Brian or Mary. Neither of them was ever seen or heard from again...They are presumed to be dead....

Sepia and I sat in a parlor eating ice cream and drinking coffee a few days later.

"I guess Cock took it pretty hard huh...His star player dead or missing huh?" she asked me.

"Yeah...His team lost that playoff game...He's kind of in mourning....more so than poor Yasmine, who lost two brothers." I said.

''Families are funny things Kev." said Sepia.

"They are indeed." I said.

Then Sepia began laughing....Laughing hysterically...

"What is so funny?" I asked..

''Cock Robbins in mourning and his team losing the last game." she laughed.

"You know something wifey of mine...you aint right...you aint right at all...but come to think about it...it is kind of funny." I said as we both shared a morbid laugh.

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