"You Forgot These"

I tell my suspicions to Homicide Lt. Sissy Van Buren the next day....She puts her index finger to her mouth and directs me into her office where she closes the door.

"Kevin, I've been instructed not to talk to you anymore about this...Not just me, all of the detectives who worked this case, the coroner ,everyone." she said in a whisper.

"Huh? What?? By who?" I asked.

''By that butthead upstairs...The Deputy Commisioner." she said.

"Haywood Stevens?" I asked.

''Yes." she said.

"I know that Gerald Brown is probably crazy....A lying manipulative psychopath...but it bothers me that he's admitting to three murders and denying two others....For some odd reason, I think he's telling the truth." I said.

"Kevin, we did find all of the bodies at the same dump site...The dump site he led us to." she said.

"Yeah, but listen.....He knew all three of the missing girls that he has confessed to...He worked with them...They all lived in the same high rise...They had history...He tried to date them and was rebuffed....We found their personal effects in his apartment and his DNA....right?" I said.

"Yes, go on..." she said.

"But these last two...One not only didn't work with him, but didn't even live in this part of town...There is no connection whatsoever.....The other one didn't work with him either...She lived about six blocks away and there is no record that they even knew each other...I don't know Sissy...I just don't think the last two girls is him....Plus...he told me he saw someone else out there dumping a body when he dumped the last girl." I said.

"And you believe that?" she asked.

"Well if that's the case , why not just say somebody else did all of em?" I said.

"I don't know Kev....Look...do whatever it is you do...Bring me something I can take to him....But until then, Make yourself scarce around here okay?" she said.

"Okay Sissy...I'll see what I can find. If it makes you feel any better, My people think I'm barking up the wrong tree too. What does ADA Keith Wallace think about this?" I asked...

Keith Wallace was the Assistant District Attorney who prosecuted Homicides...We were friends...and like Sissy...I trusted him.

"I don't know...I haven't talked to him...But yesterday, even he told me that there was something weird about the last two."she said.

"But he won't buck the Deputy Commissioner will he?" I asked.

"Not if he doesn't absolutely have to....You're on your own on this one friend." she said with a slight smile.

"Yeah...that's how it usually is." I said..

Sissy rubbed my hand softly...

"You always have a friend here Kevin...just be careful, tread lightly." she said.

II-

I left her office, but I got on the elevator and went a few floors up....Maybe I could talk to the Deputy Commissioner myself... His office was at the end of the hall....The door was closed tight, but I could clearly hear the sound of a woman's voice-

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...Ouuuuuuuuuuuuu
Haywood.OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...ouuuuuuu baby...don't do that..don't do that, ohhhhhhh you're going to get me all excited and everybody will know...OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU ,ohhhhhh, you are so nasty...put that big thing away..ohhhhhhhhhmy lawddddd!Ouuuuuuuuu..."

I started to walk away...Then I heard ruffling...and whispering...The sound of zippers being pulled up ,papers ruffling and gigling.....

The door swung open....An attractive and shapely woman emerged from his office...She was fixing her hair and straightening her blouse...She was smiling sheepishly.....

"Ohhh Haywood, you are such a devil..tee hee hee...." she said.

Haywood Stevens came to the door blushing...He was holding a white lace thong in his hand...

"You uh ,forgot these..heheheheheheh." he laughed..

"Ohhhhh you devil...you're a bad boyyyyy, give those to me." she laughed...She looked at me glancingly and rushed down the hallway....Haywood Stevens looked at me with more disdain than some armed killers I had faced in the street.

"What do you want?" he said.

"Mr. Stevens....I had a talk with Gerald Brown yesterday and while he takes full responsibility for three of the bodies we found...He says that he didn't kill the other two...In fact, he says he saw someone else out at the dig sight dumping bodies." I said.

"Oh he did, did he? And you believe him? I think you just want to get your name in the papers or on the Television." he said.

Wasn't this the pot calling the kettle black? He was on the TV news acting as if he had personally
captured the Mt.Airy Strangler...But I let that slide.

"Did he say who this other person was?" asked Haywood.

"He didn't get a good look, it was dark...but he says he would recognize the voice if he heard it again." I said.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha....You amuse me Kevin...Look, go home...Forget about this...We got him and he's going to burn for these murders....Forget about it
okay.....He's playing you...I don't want to hear another thing about this...Now I have a press conference to go to." he said.

"Oh Mr. Stevens?" I said.

"Yes?" he asked...

"Isn't that your wedding band on the table.....You wouldn't want to uh forget that." I said and I winked at him as I walked away...He looked at me as if he wanted to shoot me.

(To Be Continued....)