I Am Curious Fuschia

Gus told me that a lot of times, people can't see the forest for all of the trees....Something I thought was perplexing and funny when I was a youngster...but what he meant was the the thing that was most obvious was often sitting right in front of your face...

Every morning for close to two weeks after the funeral of Brenda Green, Sepia and I and most of our neighbors were awakened to the sounds of bed springs squeaking loudly...and screams of ecstacy coming from Willie Green's windows...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, HAVE MERCY....OHHHH LAWDDDDD, WOMAN WHAT IS YOU DOIN TO MEEEEEEEE.AWWWWWWWWWWWWW,,,,,uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, arggggghhhhhhhhh..."

"Ohhh Willie...Willie....work  me...work me...work me like a jobbbbbbbbbb....what are you doing to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee? OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, OHHH baby, Ohhhhhhhhh darling....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, Mama LOVES YOU so Muchhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, UMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, UMMMMMPH....OHHHHHHHHHHHHH woman ,I.M BOUT TO EXPLODE........................"

"GIVE IT ALLLLL TO ME WILLLIE...OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, OUUUUUUUUU,
give it all to me....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.... GOD, it's SO GOOOOOOOOD...OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU..."

It was the joyous sounds of Willie Green and Belinda Rhodes, making sweet love....It had become a nearly nightly occurrence....Apparently neither of them was concerned with what the neighbors were saying and the neighbors were saying a lot...About how it seemed as if Belinda couldn't wait for Brenda's coffin to be lowered before she leaped into Willie's bed and how he was acting like a love sick puppy...Skipping to work, whistling all the time, buying flowers for Belinda and then keeping everyone awake all night long with their hollering and screaming their devotion to each other....They could at least close the window...Make an attempt to conceal what everyone already knew...That they were going at each other hot and heavy every chance they got!

This was all very amusing , but the reality was...that two people were dead...Fat Sam Collins and Brenda Green and nobody, not the cops and not I, had a clue as to who was responsible...All roads led to Willie Green....and he had the perfect alibi....He was at work with three trusted eyewitnesses when one occurred and he was helping my wife with a flat tire when the other occurred...The only thing that both murders had in common was a certain type of lipstick used to write rather unflattering things about both victims on their clothes...Nothing made any sense.

Then I started thinking about my wife's car...It was brand new...Strange she'd have a flat so soon...but she could have rolled over anything..Still, I asked her...

"Hey Sepia....What did you roll over the day your tire went flat?"

" You know...Kevin, I don't know....I picked up Bonita and we drove over to Chris and Chess's shopping center and the car was just fine....We went in a couple of stores and when we came out ...The tire was as flat as a pancake.." she said.

"So Gus and Willie put a patch on it?" I asked.

"No...See that's what was funny...the tire was ripped." she said.

''Ripped??" I asked...

"Yeah...Willie had his car, so he took me to Pep Boys and I had to buy a whole new tire...Then he and Gus put the tire on for me."said Sepia.

"Where did you run into them? " I asked.

"Oh Willie and Gus were in the juice bar of all places talking to Chess about buying some healthy drinks, imagine that?" she laughed.

"Yeah, imagine that...You still got the bad tire?" I asked...

"Yeah...it's in the trunk." she said.

I looked at the tire...It was a direct slash....Sepia hadn't run over anything....Her tire had been deliberately slashed!!! I decided to pay Chess and Chris Thompson a visit.

II-

Chess and Chris Thompson owned the Shopping Center and were more than glad to let me and Clerow watch several hours of video of who came and went in the shopping center that Sunday....We saw when Willie Green entered....He was with Gus.....and within the hour, we saw my wife Sepia and Bonita driving up and entering the center....I saw a yellow mini-cooper circling the mall...It had been circling the mall for close to an hour....Nobody got out...It just circled...It was as if the driver was following somebody....Then , when a space was available...The car drove up beside Sepia's Lexus.....The driver was dressed in Black spandex and wore a scarf and huge sunglasses concealing her face...It was quite obviously a female.

The four of us watched as the driver opened the door on the passenger side...took an ice pick and slashed Sepia's tire! We even heard the loud...boom as the air flushed out...Then they closed the door and pulled off,just like that.

"Damnnn Kev, she sliced Sepia's tire." said Chess...

"Yo Kev...it's none of my business, but uh....you been creepin around on Sepia?" asked Chris Thompson with a rye smile on his face...

"Yeah man, I been creepin..You have seen my wife haven't you? Do I really have a reason to creep?" I said with a laugh....

"I agree...I agree, but one thing I do know...If you was creepin around ,You don't mess around...did you see the titties on that broad?? and that body is slammin, whoever she is.....Whoa?" laughed Chris Thompson.

Now Clerow laughed..... We all had a big laugh.......

"That's a huge scarf and those large sunglasses are covering her face...Sorry I can't get a better visual for you Kev." said Chess...

"That's okay...this was plenty good enough.." I said.

Just then ,Donald Smooth walked in...He tossed hoagies to Chris and Chess...

"Hey Kevin, Clerow...If I'd known you was gonna be here ,I'd of hooked you up." he said.

"That's okay....I just came by for a little info...I'm bout to roll anyway." I said.

"Kev thinks he may know who this "Lipstick Killuh" is." said Chris.

"Oh yeah?" said Donald Smooth.

"Fellas...I think I know who the killer might be......I'm gonna keep it under my hat for now." I said.

"Well if anybody can get to the bottom of this mess, I know you can" said Chess.

"I hope so man.....All the time...I was halfway suspecting Willie Green." I said.

"Nah, not Willie Green...He aint the type...besides..he was already here." said Chris.

"You're right...He was....and the killer wanted to make sure that he was here too...." I laughed....

"Huh" said Chess, Chris ,Donald Smooth and Clerow in unison...

"I'm on to something boys...Watch and listen in the future." I said as Clerow and I left...."Thanks again guys." I said.

Next Clerow and I hit three Car rental places....It didn't take us long to find the mini-cooper in the photo and the name of the person who rented it....I then cross checked for a rental on the night of the first murder and there was the same name, same rental....This was too easy.....We next visited Robert Foxworth and got his friend in records to look up gun registrations...It took a few days, but we got a direct hit...a .22 caliber registered to the same person who rented the cars....It was amazing.....But all I had was the fact that this person rented two cars and slashed my wife's tires..It wasn't enough....Oh and that this person owned the same gun used in the murders....Still not enough...

III-

I drove by Bernadette's Hair Salon, Bernadette, Sepia and Bonita were marveling at Belinda Rhodes new hairstyle and her lipstick....

"Girl, you are looking fierce." said Bonita...

"Gotta keep up appearences...My MAN is taking me out tonight." laughed Belinda...

"Oh finally...does that mean we can get some sleep?" said Sepia with a laugh...

They all laughed out loud....

"Yeah yall can sleep til we get back.." joked Belinda...

"Ouuuuuuu, you is terrible...you wearin poor Willie out...He aint used to gettin it this much..." laughed Bonita.

"I know...He should have been with me all along." said Belinda...

"Gurl, you got him whipped...He be skippin to work, whistlin, buying flowers...." laughed Bernadete.

"Yeah girl, I put it on him." laughed Belinda...

"Well, you need to bottle that and sell it." laughed Bernadette.

The women continued to laugh....

I stared out the window at Belinda's fuschia lipstick....Game, Set, Match.....

IV-

Later that night-

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMGHHHH, OH LAWDDDD WOMAN...OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.."

"OHHHHHHHHHHH  WIllIE, I LOVE YOU SOOOO MUCH....OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU..."

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BABY, YOU FEEL SOOOO GOOOOOODD..."

"OOHHHH DARLING...ROCK ME...ROCK ME...OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..."


Sepia turned and looked at me....

"There they go again....I thought you were bad when we first got together, but they take the cake.." she said laughing.

"Me? What are you talking about?" I said ,laughing..

"Kevin, the first few days after I moved in with you, you were pawing on me every second..." she laughed...

It was true....I knew how Willie and Belinda felt...They were happy..It was new love..I had been there with Sepia, she had been there with me...It's the greatest feeling in the world...I'd seen Willie skipping and whistling to work in the morning...He was a nice guy...He had been unhappy for so long..It was great seeing him happy....I lie in bed staring at the ceiling, hearing them making love....I felt so sorry for what I was going to have to do.


(Conclusion Next)