Every Man's Weakness

Kool Kat, Clerow and I sat attentively as Tony Dio began the story of what led up to the murder of 23 year old Bradley Lee Rivers.

"Well Kev...it always begins with every man's weakness....a good lookin woman.  "Monster" was possibly the most feared man in Philadelphia at a time...A hot headed muscle bound hood with a bad temper...Quick to punch somebody out, quicker still to shoot somebody..He ruled with absolute fear....but when he came across Kelly Belle..he was putty in her hands." said Tony Dio.

"Kelly Belle? The lingerie model?" asked a now very interested Kool Kat.

"Indeed, the one and only." said Tony Dio....Clerow and I were clearly baffled ...We had never heard of this Kelly Belle...but Kool Kat and Tony Dio did.

"Oh my God man....Open up any Victoria's Secret catalouge or watch any hip hop video and you can't miss her....She's got the body of life...In and out of underwear!" said Kool Kat...Clearly amazed that neither Clerow or I had the faintest idea of who they were talking about.

"Man, you're friends with that babe, Cherry who manages the Victoria's Secret in Chris and Chess's spot..Go ask her...She probably knows who Kelly Belle is...I bet your wife, Sepia knows too." said Kool Kat.

"Okay, I get it...the babe is fine." I said.

"Fine is an understatement...In fact...wasn't she a little out of a rusty dusty street cat like Monster's league?" asked Kool Kat.

"Yeah...I thought so...I mean on the real...A babe like that givin a guy like Monster the time of day? But you know what they say about how babes love their bad boys...He met her at Jay Z's joint...The 40 -40 club in Atlantic City...He was smitten with her....She's a smart girl...She knew who and what he was from the jump..but she liked it....He bought her a car the next week." said Tony Dio.

"A car? Dannnggg!" said Clerow.

"It gets better my man...He had  a dozen roses in all different colors sent to where ever she was staying every day of the week...Had me and the Diceman deliverin them...Wined her, dined her and took her to Tiffany's and let her buy whatever she wanted...All of this was before he got so much as a kiss from her....I tell you she had him playing old school love songs and singin em...while he washed his car...Calling and texting her around the clock..It was crazy..."

"Man...After he sexed her, his mind was really blown..Said it was the best shot he ever had in his life...His nose was so wide open..you coulda drove an Escalade through his nostrils...After they became an item he began to get paranoid...He placed a GPS unit on her car...Had her followed by me and Dice, Called her and texted her around the clock and was jealous of every guy who said two words to her. He through some dude out the window for talking to her too long and ogling her breasts... He pulled a gun on another guy.....and threatened a dude that turned out to be her brother!! He was going crazy..."

"After about a year of his crap, I guess she got bored with him....That's when she started sneaking around with Bradley Rivers...A kid that was seven years her junior." said Tony.

"This Bradley Rivers...What was his story?" I asked.

"Some kid, He had just graduated from College...He was working as a waiter in one of the fancy places here in town that Monster took Kelly. Nice lookin kid..Monster paid the bill for their meal one night and excused himself to go to the john...I saw Kelly slip this kid her number...I didn't report it...I knew what Monster would do if he found out...but his flunky..his number one flunky, Mr. Dice told him..."

"Kelly and the kid met at a house...A house that Monster was renting...A spot where he  once went to chill and cool out, but seldom used anymore...Of course he gave Kelly the keys to everything....Kelly and this guy went there and Kevin...I aint gay or nothin...but this kid was hung like a horse...He was screwing Kelly seven ways to Sunday...She was making so much noise in that bedroom that the whole blessed neighborhood must have heard it..Monster followed them there and he broke the door down.....He was in a rage...I had never seen him like this before...He pistol whipped the boy...beat him so bad that even Dice tried to stop him...but he threatened Dice.. He took a box cutter and slashed the boys throat...Then he severed his head off...Right in front of us...He dared any of us to leave the room!!!! He cut his hands off and his feet and then for his final act, cut the boy's penis off!..." said Tony Dio....

I was sick to my stomach...So was Clerow...Even Kool Kat was horrified!  This guy was a Monster, he wasn't human!!! Tony Dio continued..

"Dice threw up!   So Did I.....Kelly was in a state of hysteria.....Monster made us clean the room up...We used  soap and water and paper towels...blood was everywhere...send the cops in there with a team and they'll uncover the blood...I'm gone tell you where the house is...Anyway, Dice and I put the torso in a body bag and we took it out to that field and buried it...Monster took the hands , feet and penis and discarded them himself...It's anyone's guess where...Kelly was so scared of him that she was speechless...He owned her lock stock and barrel then...A few days later, she disappeared... She had to get away from him.  He was inconsolable...Breaking things..beating people up for no good reason, talking pretty nasty to me about how I knew about it all along and didn't tell him and how he didn't trust me and what not...When Monster starts talking like that...You aint long for this world." said Tony.

"And yet you continued to work for him?" I asked.

"Yeah...I was going to put away enough bread to get away from him..I figured." said Tony.

"Where is this house, where the murder took place?" I said.

"I'll show you...and I'll also tell you something else....I'll tell you where Kelly Belle is...Find her, you got your eyeball witness to the crime...That should be enough to put Mr. Monster on a table with a needle." said Tony Dio.

"Think so huh?" I said.

"Yeah...With my testimony and hers...you got him...I only want one thing." he asked.

''What's that?" I asked.

"I want a pass...Put me in witness protection...with no jail time...You do that..I'll give you the murder and everything else.." he said.

''I can't promise you all that...but I will talk to my friends in high places." I said.  From the corner of my eye, I could see Clerow and Kool Kat laughing.

II-

Tony Dio's story was tight... Lt. Sissy Van Buren and her team found the house and enough blood evidence and DNA to prove that this was where Brad Rivers had breathed his last breath!

"Good Work Kevin...We got more than enough to indict Frank "Monster'' Watkins...Only thing is...He's nowhere to be found...He's gone to ground...and we need to find that girl." said ADA Keith Wallace.

"Never Easy is it." I said.

"Never" laughed ADA Keith Wallace.

(Conclusion Next-)