Sympathy For The Devil

Evan Lawson may have committed the most horrible mass murder of the year...Four people , including a young woman all shot to death!  I had to find him...Just in case he was innocent!  I really didn't think he was..but still I needed to find him...He was unemployed, except for a little lightweight drug slinging here and there...From what I knew...He didn't own a car and didn't have a known residence..He crashed with a friend here and there....

I called in all of my markers... Kool Kat and I interviewed several of the young people he hung around with..None of them had seen him...Clerow and I cruised the Mermaid Club and Josies and the Projects all to no avail... The three of us and some of Donald Smooth's associates checked the bus station, the train station and the airport...Zilch!

Meanwhile...I had Lockpick Johnson, Sean Jackson and Peeping Tom keeping an eye and an ear on Eldorado Mack's operation... He owned a Footlocker franchise...Well, one store really...He had kids selling drugs on seven or eight corners...A car came by...His street boss and associates...They picked up the money and they drove to the Footlocker, Where his assistant manager divied up the proceeds and paid everyone and then they left.  They in turn paid the young punks on the corner. We had the entire operation on video and audio...All of course Eldorado Mack himself....He was much too smart to be around any guns or drugs...

We did however follow him to a warehouse , where he met with some men who had Eastern European accents....Sean Jackson got some great photos of the Warehouse.
I sent all of this gathered information to the ATF and The DEA... Within days, The ATF and DEA hit the warehouse and arrested close to 40 people and seized drugs and guns galore...

The Philadelphia Police and The FBI arrested about 25 boys on the corner and raided the Footlocker where his Assistant manager and his street boss were also picked up..
Eldorado Mack himself was nowhere to be found.

"Kev, I don't understand...We supposed to be lookin for the boy and we busy puttin the screws to Eldorado Mack...I don't get it." said Kool Kat.

"I'm tryin to keep that kid alive....He killed Eldorado Mack's street boss...This was a two for...One, These arrests will keep Mack busy and I did the neighborhood a favor, I got the vermin off the streets..." I said.

"Man...you must be crazy..First off Kev...Mack will lay low for awhile...Then he'll just set up again..Somewhere else..Remember, he didn't get caught and none of those folks that got busted will give him up.." said Kool Kat.

"I know Kool, but he also doesn't have time or where with all to hire a hitter." I said.

"You wrong Kev...He already got a hitter on this kid....I'm sure." said Kool Kat.

"It's been two weeks.....We haven't heard anything." said Clerow...

"I know...This kid didn't have that many resources.....He couldn't have gone far." I said.

"Yeah, somebody would have seen or heard something." said Clerow.

"You think he's already dead Kev?" asked Kool Kat.

"I don't know...I hope not." I said.

II-

It was time to pay the kid's aunt a visit...Actually, I should have talked to her a lot sooner.

As soon as I met with City Councilwoman, Mona Jenkins..I got a weird vibe...She seemed the exact opposite of how she'd been a few weeks before when she had hired me.  She had been vivacious, gregarious, playful, even dare I say, sexy...Now she seemed reserved...As if she were afraid....She kept looking around as if she were afraid of being seen with me...

"Oh Mr. Kevin...Here is the remainder of the money I owe you." she said hastily as she passed me an envelope loaded with money.

"Thank you Mrs. Jenkins...But what I wanted to know is if you'd heard from your nephew?" I asked.

"No..No...Uh...No I haven't." she said.

"Then why are you paying me? " I asked.

"Well I know you found him." she said.

"How do you know I found him if you haven't heard from him?" I asked.

"Please Mr. Morris...Please....I've paid you , our business is done...Let's just keep it at that okay?" she said.

"He's in a lot of trouble...I know you know...He and another boy were seen running from a multiple shooting two weeks ago...I saw him in the bar arguing with a man over a woman they both were involved with." I said.

She stared at the ground....

"He was just no good...His father was no account...and my sister?  Ha? she was lousy when it came to picking men....He had no guidance...NO guidance...I am the ONLY one in that family that made something of myself...That's why I have nothing to do with them....Now please Mr. Kevin..please...Just leave it alone.....leave it alone!!!!Please" she said and he hurried off.

My Android vibrated in my pocket....It was Kool Kat!!!

"Kev...I leaned on a few people and I found the name of the other boy who was in the bar with Evan that night." he said.

"Yeah? Who is he?" I asked.

''His name is Tyquan Boyd." said Kool Kat.

"He got an address?" I asked.

"Yeah, I pulled one on him." he said.

"Okay...I'm here with Clerow...I'll meet you at Josies." I said.

"Kool!"


III-

Clerow drove me to Josie's and we followed Kool Kat to Tyquon Boyd's row house...
We were too late...The Police were pulling his bullet riddled body out of a row house..
He had been gotten to!!!

"We are too late!" I said as I pounded my fist into the palm of my other hand.

"I told you Kev...I told you that Mack already had somebody on it." said Kool Kat.

"WHERE IS HE?" I found myself screaming...Clerow and Kool Kat looked stunned!

"Hey man, Why do you care?  This kid shot and killed four people..He aint exactly no angel...Cats like Eldorado Mack just operate on the laws of the street Kev..You know how that goes.." said Kool Kat...He was of course right...but I still wanted to talk to Mack!

We found Eldorado Mack, surprisingly, drinking alone at The Mermaid Club...Kool Kat, Clerow and I "invited" ourselves into his booth...

"Heyyy what the hell..Get out of my booth..Who are you?" he asked.

"Mackkkk..What's up with your manners? No hi ,no hello?" I said. Clerow pulled out his .38 smokeless and put it on the table...Kool Kat didn't say a word..He just cracked his knuckles....Eldorado Mack looked at them both...then at me...

"What's this about?" he asked.

"The kid." I said.

"What kid?" he asked.

"Evan Lawson....." I said.

"I aint seen him...Not since he killed Fruit Loops and that girl." he said.

"Look...I know he killed your street boss..So you put a contract out on him."I said.

"Nawww...You got it all wrong.....Them two been beefin about that chick for months...I don't get involved in that crap....I was just worried about my money...Hell, I replaced Fruit Loops the next day...It wasn't no thing.." He said .

"What about Tyquan...His boy..You had him hit didn't you?" I asked. He looked stunned!!

"You barkin up the wrong tree.... A playa named Pee Wee Hankins shot him.....Tyquan stole some money from him...I aint have nothin to do with that.....The cops already got Pee Wee in custody..You should listen to the news, get your story straight ace...Look man, that's personal stuff, them two boys beefin over some babe...No player gets involved in that...You from Philly, You know that..That was on them...I got Feds bustin my connect , raidin my warehouse, closin my store,Po Po done arrested my people...I'm about to be under indictment myself..What the hell would I be worried about some punk kid and one of my dealers beefin over some babe for???...Go head with that baby!." he said.

Kool Kat looked at me... and silently shook his head. He was right.  I peeled off a few dollars and plopped it on the table.

"What's this for?" asked Eldorado Mack.

"For your time and your pain." I said... The three of us got up and left.....

IV-

Kool Kat and I sat on my steps...It was nearly sunrise....

"You feel sorry for that kid don't you?" said the big man.

"Yeah..seems like everything is or was against him...Like he didn't have an equal shot." I said.

"You good like that Kev...You've always had sympathy for the devil....Cats like me ." laughed Kool Kat.

I looked at my friend...I managed a smile...

"That boy is out there somewhere Kools...Dead already or still alive and afraid...I hope I can find him." I said.



(TO BE CONTINUED)

Crap Shoot

This tony little Coffee Shop in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia was not the type of coffee shop my friends and I were accustomed to having our morning cup of joe in...But when a client like City Councilwoman, Mona Jenkins calls you and offers to pay for your coffee...You can't say no... It was a nice enough place...They had coffee's from all over the world..but me...I just chose to get my regular brew with extra cream and sugar..

I was polishing off a nice slice of Cherry Pie when The city councilwoman and an aide walked in.. They saw me and they came and sat down at my table. She was a very attractive older woman who's hair was just starting to gray..Her aide was young, fresh faced, tall  and thin...

"Mr. Morris? Kevin Morris?" she asked.

''Yes mam...and you our City Councilwoman Mona Jenkins." I said as I stood up.

"Yes ,I am...The reason why I'm here is because I need a favor...and I've heard that you can do people big favors...uh...for a price." she said.

''Who have you heard this from?" I asked , very amused.

"I happen to know, Rollie Rollerson...I believe you've heard of him." she said with a sly grin that made her look kind of sexy.

"Yes...I have uh, heard of him...He's on the board of directors of my prime place of employ." I said trying to sound sophisticated...I suspect that she suspected that and that was why she laughed and gave me a sly sexy grin again.

"Nice Car....How much trouble did you get Rollie out of , to earn you that?" she laughed. Her aide smirked...I sat stone faced and had another coffee and another slice of pie.

"Okay, let me get to brass tacks....I have a nephew....He's a rather wayward boy....I need you to find him for me..He's my sister's son...His name is Evan...Evan Lawson...He's about 19....I haven't seen him since he was five.  My sister and I were ,uh...a bit estranged." she said.

"Oh?...Where is your sister now? " I asked.

"She's dead.  She was murdered by her loser husband.....He's in prison for it... The boy was living with my mother in Mt. Airy, but she can't keep up with him and I'm afraid he's gotten in with the wrong crowd." she said.

"And you don't know where he is?" I asked.

''Well ,he hangs out at a bar called "The Mermaid Club" , Sometimes he hangs out in a nicer place called "Josie's" ,but I haven't been in that neck of the woods in years." she said.

"About four years right?" I said...Now it was my turn to give her a sly grin..She represented that district, yet she was never ever seen in the district, except election time...and she kept getting re-elected because she was afterall, Black, one of us...even though she hadn't lived in the district for years and like I said ...Was never ever seen there.

"You got a photo of him?" I asked.

"Yes..." she said and she handed me a photo taken of him about two years before....

"My mother sent that to me...about two years ago, when he was 16...He's 18 or 19 now...He doesn't look too much different." she said.

"So when I find this kid..What then?" I asked.

" Give him my address and phone number...Tell him to get in touch with me." she said.

"That's all?" I said...

"That's all...He's family...My sister is dead and my mother is too old to look after him...I want to do right by him...by my family." she said as her aide passed me an envelope with seven large in it.

"Done...I'll get the word out to him." I said.

"There will be more when you find him." she said.

"Okay." I said...and they got up..She peeled off a few dollars and dropped it on the table.."That should take care of your coffee and pie" she said with another sly sexy grin.

II-

It didn't take me too long to find her nephew ,Evan Lawson...I went to the Mermaid Club with Clerow the next night and showed his photo around and within an hour , I got the book on him...He was 19...He had recently dropped out of school , His grandmother had kicked him out and he had been living with his girlfriend, One Jada Thornton. I even got her address...

The next night...Kool Kat and I drove over to her apartment building...To our surprise, there were two young toughs standing outside the apartment building...As we attempted to walk inside one of them got in our path.

"Hey, where you think you goin playboy?" asked one.

"Son...Get out of my way...I'm handlin grown folks business." I said.

He pulled up his shirt to reveal a nickel plated pistol....He smiled...His friend smiled too."

"Now ah asked you...Where you two goin?" he said.

Kool Kat began laughing and slappin his knee... I laughed too....I then punched the talkative one in his stomach and then landed another hard blow to his bird chest...Kool Kat hit the other guy so hard that his feet left the ground and he landed on top of my car...Kool Kat grabbed him by his boxer shorts and lifted him up and slapped him several times and then took his pistol....I put the other guys arm behind his back and punched him in his ear and took his pistol....I then smacked his head against the door and watched him fall down the steps to the ground...He groaned in pain..

The other guy put both of his hands up as if in surrender-

"Don't hit us no more...Don't hit us no more.." he screamed like a girl....

"Got anymore questions boys?" I asked.

"Nah..." they said in unison..

"Then git." said Kool Kat.

"Those are our guns!" they said...

"They were...They're ours now." I said.

"I gotta tell you fellas to git again?"snapped Kool Kat.  He didn't..They both got up off the ground and ran as fast as their sagging jeans would allow them..  I knocked on the door... A surly young man answered the door..It wasn't Evan..

''Hello...Is Jada here?" I asked.

"Who the hell wants her?" he asked.

"Tell her Kevin Morris." I said.

"Man, I aint tellin her nothin...That's my woman...by the way..where are my guys?" he asked.

I smiled...Kool Kat snatched him out of the door way and slammed him against the wall....He attempted to swing at the big man...Big mistake!!! Kool Kat clocked him and knocked him out for the night!!!!I leaned down and took his gun from him...Around this time...a female appeared..I suspected this was Jada Thornton!

She was cute enough!  She looked at the guy lying on the ground unconscious, then frowned...Then looked at us...

''What Yall want?" she asked.

"We are lookin for Evan ....Evan Lawson." I said.

" He aint here. He in trouble? He used to be my boyfriend...but he aint workin...didn't never work...so I put him out." she said.

''He's not in trouble..We have a message for him from his aunt." I said.

"Oh,well he don't live here no more...Hasn't in six months." she said.  "You sure his aunt sent you two? Yall look like gangsters." she continued,

''Us? Gangsters..Nah!" laughed Kool Kat... She smiled at him and laughed...He laughed back.

"I see you moved up in the world... a drug dealer !" I said ,looking at the groggy boy who was now just starting to regain consciousness...She smirked...

"Well, at least he got money. Evan wouldn't work in a pie factory."

"You wouldn't know where Evan is staying would you?" I asked.

"Nope..Haven't seen him in about six months...He be around though...He slingin too...Mostly lightweight.." she said.

"Not big time like your boy here?" I said as the guy finnally stood up..

''Yall nigguhs must don't know who you messin wit...I'm Fruit Loops baby!" he said.

"Ask me if I care...Oh and don't look for your gun...it's mine...as is the other two we took off of your guards outside." I said... Kool Kat cracked his knuckles and stared at Fruit Loops...The boy looked like he might crap his pants...Still he tried to put on a brave face for his girl...

"That's alright....I'll see you cats around...This aint over..." he said.

Kool Kat and I laughed some more.....

"Jada...Thanks for your time...A word of advice...  You can do better than this chump right here." I said.

"You don't know who I am!!" he spat...Kool Kat laughed and pushed him aside and we both walked away and got in my car.

"THIS AINT OVER PLAYBOY!" he yelled as we drove off...laughing all the way!

III-

"You and Kool Kat just can't stay out of trouble can you?" asked Gus as he served us beers in Josie's the next night.

''What are you talkin about Gus?" I asked as Kool Kat just smiled and sipped..

"I heard you rousted that drug dealer, "Fruit Loops" and his boys last night." he said.

"Nothin gets by you Gus." I said.

''Anybody that calls himself ''Fruit Loops'' deserves to get rousted." laughed Kool Kat....

"He aint so tough....but his boss, the one he slings for is another story.." said Gus.

"Oh?" I asked.

"A new playa..His name is Eldorado Mack....He's got a number of corners around here..Fruit Loops is his street boss..." said Gus.

"Him?" laughed Kool Kat and  I....

" Hey Kevin...aint that the dude you've been lookin for? Evan ??" he asked.

"Yes...Yes it is." I said.  "Sit tight" I said...It looked like my job was done...I walked over to him...he was sitting at a table drinking with another guy, who didn't look much older than him.

"You guys old enough to be in here?" I asked.

"Hey what's it to you?" he asked.

''The owner is a good friend...Wouldn't want him to get in trouble because of a couple of under age drinkers." I said.

"Mind your business." he snarled.

''I'm gonna ignore that Evan." I said.

"How you know my name?" he snarled..

"I got a message for you...It's from your auntie...Your Aunt Mona...She wants you to get in touch with her." I said and I passed  him the paper with an address, phone number and an envelope with some money in it. His
entire demeanor changed then...

"You saw My Aunt?" He said.

"Yeah, Evan...give her a call...." I said.

Just then his friend tugged at his arm...

''Evan look..it's that boy, Fruit Loops...the one that's messin wit yo girl." he said.

It was Fruit Loops and he had Jada with him....

"Aww hell, I don't believe it..." said Evan , who leaped up and walked over to him...

"Hey man..What you doin with my girl?" he said.

"I'm not your girl anymore Evan, I tole you that." she said.

''Yo girl?  She aint been YO girl for a minute now playboy." laughed Fruit Loops...

"Yes she is...We been tryin to work things out." said Evan.

''Well while you been tryin to work things out...Me and Jada here been workin things out....IN THE BED!
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..." he laughed...

Evan pulled out a pistol....but he was outnumbered....Fruit Loops and the two guys from the night before, that Kool Kat and I had beat up and disarmed pulled out their pistols!!!.....Gus , Andrew, Eddie and Kool Kat pulled out their pieces...

"TAKE THAT CRAP OUTTA HERE! ALL OF YOU!!" screamed Gus...as people ducked behind tables..

Fruit Loops smiled, put his gun away...So did his people...He looked at Evan....

"You and me...We gon dance again buddy." he said.

"Fo sure." said Evan.

They all left.....I breathed a sigh of relief....

"Whew...That was a close one." I said.

"Them youngins came close to get wiped out is what was close to happenin." said Gus.

Kool Kat and I went back to the bar and continued drinking...My job was done...I'd found Evan and delivered the message...It was up to him to contact his aunt and me to collect the rest of my money!

IV-

The next morning , I awoke early and flicked on the Television....

"Last Night was the scene of an ugly mass murder at the Carlton-Chase Apartments.." came the newscaster's voice.

The Carlton- Chase Apartments!  That was where Jada Thornton lived!!!!...I thought...

"The Bullet Riddled bodies of 24 year old Jada Thornton, her boyfriend, reputed drug dealer, 20 year old, Alton "Fruit Loops" Artist and 17 year old Wesley Lumbly and 16 year old Curtis Williams was found in the courtyard and in the apartment building....Neighbors saw two young men running from the scene..."

Oh My God...That was Jada ,Fruit Loops and the two young guys from the night before...Someone had slaughtered all four of them....It didn't take a rocket scientist to guess who!

(TO BE CONTINUED.....)

Can't Stop Thinking About You!

You're the friend of the girl I've been kind of kicking it with for awhile...
but ever since I laid eyes on you,
Let's just say I've been enchanted with, more than just your smile..
I find myself thinking about you ,even while I'm sharing her kiss..
Maybe I've made a mistake here...
Maybe it's you that I should be with../

And I don't know what it is...
but I
can't stop thinking about you..
I
can't stop daydreaming about you..
And I try...
but it doesn't matter what I do...
Girl I,
Can't Stop thinking about you...
I know it's wrong, but what am I supposed to do?/

The way you dress
The way you wear your hair
Has me so spellbound that I often stop and stare...
You've smiled and you've caught me looking at you a couple of times..
So how could you possibly ignore...
that it's more than just lust behind all of those silly smiles I've worn?
One feeling I know that I can't resist...
Is the one that tells me , you're the one that I most want to kiss..

If you tell me you don't feel the same as I do..
Then I'll reluctantly try to walk away from you..
but you have a devilish look in your eyes...
or is it sympathetic?
that seems reluctant to tell me goodbye./

And I don't know what it is...
but I
can't stop thinking about you..
I
can't stop daydreaming about you..
And I try...
but it doesn't matter what I do...
Girl I,
Can't Stop thinking about you...
I know it's wrong, but what am I supposed to do?/

I can't stop
Thinking About you...
And I've found that...
I really don't want to...
Could it be...
You're having the same thoughts too?

Assertion

Our Bodies so close together.
Tonight, by the ocean, there is such great weather..
My lips massage your lips
My hands silently grip your hips./

My tongue meets your tongue.
We are discovering thatf rench kissing can be so much fun..
Our chests rubbing,
Our bodies overdubbing...
Your nipples teasing my chest.
This feeling is the best.../

Ouu girl...Assertion!

The Music that is playing is being drowned out by your soft moans.
My Hands are roaming your body, seemingly with a mind all their own..
The part of me that makes me a man is at full attention against your pelvis.
Your body is doing a wiggle in the sand that is akin to Elvis../

Inside you're warm and wet and smooth like oil.
I find myself going in and out...
Up and down...
All around....Stroking you...
So hard that it is that I toil.../

Assertion ,Baby!
Ouu girl, Assertion..../

Let me be a little bolder...
I want to get deeper baby...
Let me put your legs over my shoulder...
I want to unlock all of your hidden passion...
And then just stare in those pretty brown eyes
and watch your reaction.../

Assertion....
Assertion ,Baby...
Ouu Girl, Assertion./

Me Inside of you...
underneath the moon..
Assertion!
Assertion....
Assertion ,Baby...
Ouu Girl, Assertion./

No Risk , No Love

You play it cool baby..
Look at you
You're nobody's fool, lady..
You've probably got me all checked out on the sly...
You've got your own rules sister...
You say..
"Nobody touches these crown jewels mister"

but it's no use..
I see that as
just another excuse
not to give my love a try.....
You can't have your cake and eat it too...
It's a nice idea...
but in the end....
That's not gonna work for you.../

No risk, no love
Gotta put your heart on the line...
sometime...
No Risk...No Love
Keep being cautious..
Keep being cautious..
Just keep being cautious
and the parade will pass you by./

Now I know that
Other guys have tried...
So many other guys have tried baby...
And those other guys have died , lady..
They didn't pass your litmus test...
And you laid their poor hearts to rest.....
Well that was before...
cause I'll wear you down babe...
I won't let you hide behind your excuses anymore....../

but....
I know-
You play it cool baby..
Look at you
You're nobody's fool, lady..
You've probably got me all checked out on the sly...
You've got your own rules sister...
You say..
"Nobody touches these crown jewels mister"

but..
like I said-
You can't have your cake and eat it too...
It's a nice idea...
but in the end....
That's not gonna work for you.../

No risk, no love
Gotta put your heart on the line...
sometime...
No Risk...No Love
Keep being cautious..
Keep being cautious..
Just keep being cautious
and the parade will pass you by./

Like Little Sally Walker...
settin in her saucer...
Checkin out all of the guys  that
go passin by...
by...
by...
by....
bye...
bye bye..baby....so long baby...


No risk, no love
Gotta put your heart on the line...
sometime...
No Risk...No Love
Keep being cautious..
Keep being cautious..
Just keep being cautious
and the parade will pass you by./

What Dreams May Come

I didn't change my routines...I went to work, I came home...I went to Josies...I went to Bottom of The C., et al...If a hitman was after me..He'd have to move quick...I stayed around lots of people....I wore a kevlar vest and a trauma plate at all times and I never went anywhere without packing...My .38 smokeless and my .22, which was strapped to my ankle...Still I worried about the people around me, Like Sean Jackson, Sheila, Sepia, Bonita, Robert Foxworth, Chance Howard..Harry Charles and Bernadette...Innocents who might get caught in the crossfire.

I even worried about Clerow..He was married and a father of two children...I'd feel just awful if anything happened to him or his family...I didn't worry about Kool Kat...The Quiet man had better worry about him!!
I mused.

I knew what my killer looked like.  Robert's friend in public records had a photo of him..Several...He had no convictions, but he did have arrests for "suspicion of" and several mug shots...I studied them..and studied him.
He was an ex-Army Ranger...So I knew he was a good shot..a guy who could hit you from a far range...
Because of that, I didn't walk out in the open much and I stayed in crowds..

One night , I believe In saw my killer...I saw a man fitting his description with Lojack...His face still swollen and pufy from the beatdown I had given him...If I was right..Lojack was pointing me out and he was getting a bead on me...I wanted to drive to Dagg's house and beat the fool out of him...but his just desserts was coming.

I hadn't heard from Kool Kat in a week...I supposed he was sleeping good , hadn't had any bad dreams...
Then a peculiar thing happened...Sepia and I got free tickets to see Ingrid Rhodes singing at Mulberry Street,
The rooftop jazz club!!...Here it was...Nobody just sends you free anything and for no reason...I was going to be taken out on the rooftop...I had to laugh...These jumolks had no idea that I knew about them....

I called Kool Kat and told him about the free tickets...He laughed...

"You know it's a set up don't you?" he said.

''Yeah and if I didn't know ahead of time that they were going to hit me...I'd be in big trouble." I said.

''Well go...don't worry..I got you covered..I'll be there." he said.

"What?" I said...

''Just trust me." he said.

II-

I didn't take Sepia...but I was at Mulberry Street myself , a few nights later....Kool Kat and I stood on the rooftop with drinks in our hands , enjoying Ingrid Rhodes in concert and a nice late summer wind...

"This guy is an ex army ranger , so I figure he's set up somewhere across those rooftops with a bead on me." I said..

"Relax Kev...all of your worries are about to be over ,right about now!" laughed Kool Kat...

Just then, I heard a terrific explosion, saw a bright light and heard someone yell....

"Oh my godddd, I don't believe it....I've been shot!"

The person tossed their M-16 rifle up in the air and fell off of a balcony into the street..

I was astounded...He had been right across the street!!!

"Kool Kat!!! What the hell??" I said.

"That my friend, is the last time the so called "Quiet man" will ever set up on anyone." he laughed...

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Kev...I'm standing here with you...How could I have done anything?" he said with all seriousness.

Within minutes..Roscoe and Ralph Mole joined us on the roof...Kool Kat looked at them and nodded...Roscoe smiled.

"What's Up Kev?" he laughed.

"Man, what did you do?" I asked Roscoe.

Before he could answer, Kool Kat looked at me hard and said-

"Kev....Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to...You feel me dawg?Sometimes it's just about the law of the street." he said.

I didn't ask anything else....I was convinced that the less I knew , the better.Besides , he was right.

III-

Out on the street, lay the body of Jack Killigen, contract killer....The top of his head had been blown off by a high powered rifle...he had tossed his rifle a few feet away...The police and a crowd of people were near by..
They were searching the rooftops...They wouldn't find anybody or anything...I walked by his body ,all contorted and bloody lying in the street..He had come to kill a man he didn't know and had been killed himself.


"If it makes you feel any better Kev...Jack Killigen killed Roscoe's good  friend years ago....So for Roscoe, that was payback." said Kool Kat...

"I feel sooo much better knowing that." I said wryly as we got in my car and headed for Dagg's house. I rang the doorbell....

Lojack came to the door....

"Surprised to see me Lojack? " I said.  Kool Kat laughed and then pulled out his .44 mag...

"Aint no need for that man...He's upsairs...He's gone crazy." said Lojack...


"ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH.....ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG...NOOOOOOOOOOO....
CORA PLEASE!!!!I DIDN'T MEAN IT...I DIDN'T MEAN IT!!ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH!!"came the scream and the wails from his room...

I called the police...Armed with the information I gave them...They had enough to arrest Dagg Hammerskold and charge him with two murders and solicitation of murder....They brought him out of his house in his pajamas screaming and moaning hysterically....

"CORRAAAAAAAAAAA...PLEASE...GO BACK TO THE GRAVE...YOU'RE DEADDDDD....DEADD...DEADDDDDDDDDD...AWWWWW COME ONNNNNNNNNNN....LEAVE ME ALONE...I DID NOT MEAN IT...I DID NOT MEAN IT...I HAD  TO DOOOOOO ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT..ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH.'' he screamed.

"He's mad" said Kool Kat.

"He's crazier than a crackhouse rat." said Lojack...."White boy claim some broad that been dead for forty years is in the house, holding a baby in her arms tellin him he was gonna pay...Only can't nobody see her but him...He swore she was in the room...but I aint see a thing..Did you?" he continued.

"No, I didn't see anyone." I said.

"Beats me boss" said Kool Kat..

"That dude crazy as a mother." said Lojack.


EPILOUGE:

Dagg Hammerskold was locked up in the psych ward for observation...He screamed and yelled for "protection " from Cora Waters, who he said was haunting him...Despite being in a padded room, he suffered a massive heart attack one night and was found dead the next morning in his cell..His eyes eerily wide open and his mouth open as if he'd ......seen a ghost. He was never tried for the two murders and attempted murder.

One warm Sunday Morning, Gus, Kool Kat ,Chelsea , Sepia and I went to Cora Waters grave and placed flowers on her headstone.....

"She finally got justice...It took forty years, but she got it..I believe she's at peace now...Thanks to you boys." said Gus.

"You think old Dagg really saw Cora in his living room?" asked Kool Kat.

"I don't know...but I think he thought he did...Guilt is a powerful thing man." I said.

"Hey Walter, you still havin bad dreams?" asked Gus...

''Nah man, I been sleepin like a baby."said Kool Kat.

Chelsea walked up and put her arms around him...I put my arms around Sepia and Gus kneeled down and laid another bunch of flowers on Cora's grave.


"For in that sleep of death what dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, / Must give us pause."-William Shakesphere

Bringing The Ruckus!

Kool Kat sat at my kitchen table holding his head down....Sepia felt sorry for him...She poured him a tall tumbler of cold water and dropped two alka seltzers in it...

"Here Walter...this will settle your stomach ,make you feel better." she said.

I was sitting across from him..

"You don't look well man...You aint been sleepin?" I asked.

"I try to go to sleep Kev...But that woman, she just keeps haunting me...She's in my dreams..Tellin me that I'm close...that I'm almost there..to dig deeper." he said.

I couldn't believe any of this conversation....Just like that ,I was sorry I asked. I was sorry I was involved in such a dead end case...Dagg Hammerskold had not answered any of my calls...I had left about ten messages..I was pretty sure he had gotten them....Listening to him was getting us nowhere...A week had gone by and all we heard was business talk and a few calls to a few women..Not one thing that showed he was even concerned about the dead baby found on his property.

Following him and snapping photos of him had also proved fruitless...The man's life was pretty routine...He got up, he got a newspaper, went to a coffee shop, then went to his downtown offices, then maybe to the barbershop or the market and then out to the strip clubs or other erotic playrooms and massage parlors in the area..I was going to have to take a more direct approach.

"Kev..?" asked Kool Kat.

"Yeah man." I answered..

"How come she's not in your dreams?" he asked with all the seriousness in the world...

"I can't say." I said...but I quietly thought..Maybe it was because I refused to believe this nonsense.  Gus had cautioned me though..."Kid, there are some things that happen in this world that just can't be explained..."
True enough..Like where was Clerow with the rental car? I had told him to rent a car because I didn't want this guy getting a line on me..

"Kevin...Clerow just called..He's outside with the car." said my wife, Sepia.

"It's about time." I said...I kissed Sepia and looked over at Kool Kat...

"You comin big man?" I asked.

"Of course." he said as he slowly got up....

"Be Easy Walter." said Sepia...

''All the time baby."he said as we got into Clerow's rental car.

II-

"Sharp Ride Clerow" said Kool Kat as he checked his gun...

"Thanks man." he laughed as he took the wheel.

"I don't think you'll need that." I said.

"You never know...Lojack aint no joke." said Kool Kat.

Lojack was Thomas Lojack, a six foot five, 250 pound nasty piece of business who was Dagg Hammerskold's driver/bodyguard...He drove him to work, to the strip clus and around Philadelphia.  He was a feared enforcer for Big Daddy, Wally Gator, The Diaz Brothers and several other big time playas...He was well known and well feared...I took that into account...Which was why I brought my "muscle" along with me.

When we got to the house, I had Clerow park the car a block away...I told him to circle the block every now and then..Kool Kat and I walked to the house and rang the doorbell.

To my surprise...Dagg came to the door...He was much shorter than I suspected...He may have loved Black women...but it was quite obvious that he had little love for Black males...or maybe it was just me.

"What do you want?" he scowled.

"Just a minute of your time." I said.

"Do I even know you?" he asked.

"No, you don't...I'm a private investigator.....The remains of a small baby were found underneath your property a few weeks ago..." I said.

"Former property...I sold it..." he snapped..

"Yes...but your dad owned it at the time of demolition and from what I have ascertained...Your dad and the gentleman, a Mr. Jones...were involved in some pretty shady affairs...and not only that...You, my friend were-" I said before he cut me off.

"I been over this with the cops...I don't know nothin about no dead baby or how it got there....I don't have to talk with you and this conversation is over." he snapped.

"IT WAS YOUR BABY WASN'T IT?" I shouted..."Now if you don't want your neighbors to hear the whole sordid story about you and Cora Waters, you'll let me inside and we'll talk like gentlemen." I continued with a smile on my face.  Dagg laughed...

''Lojack...Help these mooks to their car." he said...

''With pleasure" he said...

He was huge....Before Kool Kat could do anything...A smaller guy who we didn't see pulled a gun and stuck it to his neck...

Lojack, a huge hulk of a man came rushing at me...He had brass knuckles on his left hand...I couldn't allow him to hit me...One punch and it would be all over...I dodged and I ducked and he kept swinging....Dagg stood back and laughed...

Lojack swung at me again and missed...I cracked him in his jaw..then I landed several lefts and rights to his mid-section..He grunted and I landed several more lefts and rights to his jaw..I spun and landed a perfectly placed kick to his jaw that sent him flying backwards and down on the ground...

He leaped up and charged at me..I dodged a few more of his wild swings...I got up under him and landed a few more well placed lefts and rights to his mid section and his solar plexus...I could hear him grunt and see that he was out of breath...I then cracked him in the jaw again and sent him sailing towards the side of the house..

He charged me yet a third time...Kool Kat took his elbow and cracked the man holding the gun on him right at the bridge of his nose...the man fell down and dropped his gun..Kool Kat picked the gun up...There was no need for him to worry about the gunman..He was out like a light..Lojack swung at me again and missed and broke the window of Daggs limo completely...I cracked him two more times in his jaw and Kool Kat cracked him just once and it was lights out!!! Lojack fell to the ground , out for the night!!!

The snarky smile on Dagg's face was gone...That's because Clerow had a .45 in the small of his back...

"You don't know who you're screwin with " he said.

"Oh, I do know....a guilty man... a child killer...but, I can't prove it..So we are gonna go now.." I said.

''What?" said Kool Kat.

"Let's go guys...If his conscience doesn't bother him..well then Cora will." I said.

"Cora...Cora?  She's dead." He said.

"Yeah? Well she seemed pretty alive to me...How do you think I got on your trail." I said.

"You didn't see Cora..." he screamed.

"She told me to tell you...she wants her baby back." I said with a smile .  I motioned for Clerow to let him go and the three of us walked down the street...Dagg  walked back into his house...He left Lojack on the lawn,still asleep..as well as his other gunman...Incredible.

III-

I knew after the ruckus we brought at Dagg's house , it wouldn't be long before the conversation at Dagg's house would get a tad more interesting...It did...

Peeping Tom called me just a few days later.

"Kevin...I want you to listen to this.." he said...He looked worried..

"Hello."


"Hey, this is Dagg.."


"Heyy Dagg, how you doin?"


"Hey listen...I got a problem...a problem that calls for your expertise.."

"Ohhhhhh."


"Yeah...some guy...a private detective and some of his goons came by my house the other night...asking questions...questions about things long since buried..you know?"


"I see, about the bones found in that lot huh?  Why didn't you clean that up before they started digging?"

"To tell you the truth...I didn't know they were there...I told Icebox to get rid of the body after I drowned the kid...I didn't know he buried the kid there...hell it was 40 years ago..."


" Yeah, well your old man would have disowned you if he had known that you had a kid with a black chick...he was already upset that your wife was half and half."


"Yeah, well that's water under the freakin bridge....It's been 40 years...Nobody has been talkin about it and I would like to keep folks from talkin about it...Icebox got to runnin his mouth, got to feelin guilty about buryin a child and we had to shut him up remember?"

"Yeah, what a hypocrite...as many bodies as he dismembered and froze for us...back in the day..and he gets spooked about a 6 month old baby....I hated shooting him..he was a delightful old coot."


''Yeah, well I want you to shoot this P.I., his name is Kevin Morris,He hangs out in Josie's..."


"Gus's spot?"

"Yeah... "


"You got a picture of him?"


"Lojack will point him out."


"It's as good as done."

"Good...do it soon..I don't want him shootin his mouth off to too many people."


"Okay."


(Click)

"Hmmm...Not the first time I've had a contract on me." I said.

"Yeah Kev..but this guy...he's different...We traced the call...It's out of Atlantic City..His name is Jack, Jack Killigen...He's real good..works quietly..no fuss, no muss..very efficient...He's a suspect in some 22 murders, contract hits..no convictions, no indictments..he's known on the street as "The Quiet man". said Lockpick Johnson.

"Watch your back Kevin." said Peeping Tom

"I will....and good lookin out." I said.

IV-

That night in my living room, I told Kool Kat about the tape recording I had that put Dagg in , not only for the murder of his own child, but also for Icebox Jones..

"We got him baby....we got him...for a double..." I said.

"Yeah man, but he's got a contract out on you." said Kool Kat.

"I'm not worried about that." I said.

"Well you ought to..The 'Quiet man' aint no joke." he said.

"He killed "Icebox Jones" I said.

"Yeah and he's killed a lot of others too...but don't worry, I got you covered." said Kool Kat.

" What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"A lot of things , you'd be better off not knowing Kev...Ya feel me?" said the Big Man.

"Okay." I said.

"Now get some sleep." he said.

"Me get some sleep? How about you?" I asked.

"Oh I'm going to sleep good tonight." laughed Kool Kat....


(Conclusion Next!)

Pre-Emptive Strikes

Gus accompanied Kool Kat, Clerow and myself to the facility where "Beauty " Williams lived.   It was in the middle of downtown and it looked as clincical as these places tended to look.. Inside it was very clean, but it smelled like a combonation of Pine Sol and fresh urine ,depending on what floor you walked on...Here many older adults lived who could no longer take care of themselves and who's children could no longer take care of them...For some reason, this place reminded me of prison, despite the fact that it wasn't.

Carlotta "Beauty" Williams  still had a head turning shape...even though she was old....Her hair was still long and pretty, even though now it was completely white....and if you looked hard enough, you could see the stunningly beautiful woman she used to be... She had high cheekbones and strong very distinct facial features.

She was a very fastidious woman....Her room was clean, it had fresh flowers and it smelled fresh, unlike the rest of the facility.

"Gus...Gus...How long has it been?" she said when we entered the room...And look...you bring three handsome young men with you!!!! Now that's my kind of visit." she said with a gregarious smile."

"Hey Beauty...How ya been babe?  This here is Kevin Morris, Walter Jones and Clerow Hamilton...Friends of mine." said Gus.

"Oh my god.... That's Kenny's boy....Kevin?? Oh lord...he looks just like his daddy, spittin image...and this big hunk of man here....ohhh that's Junie Jones son.......This third one ..He don't look like nobody I know." she said.

She was right..I was the son of Kenneth Morris and Kool Kat was the son of Walter "Junie" Jones Jr.  His given name was Walter Jones III...but we have called him "Kool Kat" since we were in grade school.

"Your mind is still sharp as a tack babe." said Gus, laughing.. I looked around the room...I noticed photos of her and a young handsome white man...These photos were taken in the 60's...Maybe the 70's...then there were what looked to be more recent photos of her and another man...a Black man.

"I know why you're here Gus.....I read the papers...I know they found a baby's body underneath old Iceblock Jones's warehouse...The cops don't have a clue...but I know...It was that louse of a first husband of mine's love child." she spat.

"First husband?" I questioned.  She smiled....then she answered...

"Yeah....White boy loved Black women...He probably still do...He was always in West Philly and Southwest Philly back then...Hangin out, tossin money around...Buying friends....The word was that his daddy was mobbed up...So the brothers loved him...He started runnin with me because I was a redbone you know..I looked close enough white that his Daddy might not mind....But of course his daddy did some snoopin..found out I was mixed and tried to bust us up...Course..He didn't have to do that....My husband and his wanderin eye was already doggin around with Cora Waters...Guess he wanted a real Black woman.." she laughed wryly.

All the while she was telling this story, Neither Kool Kat nor Clerow said a word...Gus held his head down...

"So you knew about him and Cora?" I asked.

"Everybody knew about em...You can't do nothin out in the street and nobody not know about it." she said.

Gus nodded his head in agreement.

"I didn't know about a baby until the child was about six months old...Then I confronted him about it and he denied that it was his....He said that he broke up with Cora Waters before she got pregnant.....and then she she......hung herself.....in that house on the corner of Creighton Way." she said.

"Creighton Street...Corner House??? That's where I live!!!!." said Kool Kat...

"Might explain your dreams junior." said Gus.

"You've been dreamin about Cora ??? You don't even know her...She was dead before any of yall was born." said "Beauty"

"That's what I said" said Gus.

"Funny...I been dreamin about her too." said Beauty.

"Oh Lord." said Kool Kat.

"It's her!!!...She's tryin to find her baby boy."  said Beauty.

I dismissed this part of the conversation...but Beauty, Gus and Kool Kat clearly did not!

Gus and Beauty reminisced about the old days for another hour and then we all bid her goodbye...She hadn't told me anything I hadn't surmised...

"So tell me...Who pays for you to stay here?" I asked.

"Inquisitive fella aint you?" she laughed... "My second husband, God rest his soul died and left me enough insurance money to pay for my stay here if you must know....not that dirty rat Dag Hammerskold." she said.

I smiled and she smiled back at me!

"Get him!" she said..

"If I can...I will." I said..She smiled again..a sweet smile.

II-

A few nights later, Kool Kat, Clerow and I located now retired private detective...Burt Flowers in of all places, Joe Neptune's joint...The Mermaid club...He wore a shabby and ill fitting brown suit, with a black shirt and a white tie and a dingy fedora...He smelled like liquor and cigarettes....

I bought him a drink and the three of us sat down and talked...

"Yeah...Old man Hammerskold hired me to get the skinny on his son....He knew that his son liked to hang out in the black neighborhoods and had a thing for sweet young black girls...He didn't mind it when he was a teenager, but when he went and married one...that was that...Her name was Carlotta Williams and I tell ya Kev..She coulda passed for white...Look jes like a white girl...but that booty and that coarse hair gave her away...I checked her out..White mother...from Germany...Her dad was a Black G.I, , who got her mom pregnant and brought her back here.." he laughed.

''What about Cora Waters?" I asked.

"What about her?  She was a hot little number from the hood...Young Dagg was tossin dough around and drivin his fancy cars around the neighborhood like he always done and he hooked her..." he said.

"Did you know she gave birth?  To his child? " I asked.

''Yeah I did...He kept it a secret for six months." he said.

"What happened to the baby?" I asked.

"I don't know.....One day I ran into Junior and I confronted him with it...He swore me to secrecy..Paid me off.  He told me that he had broken it off with Cora and that the baby wasn't his...That he'd broken up with her before she got pregnant." said Burt Flowers.

"You believe that?" I asked.

"No...but he was payin me...I didn't see no evidence of no baby, so I kept my mouth shut...And to his old man's delight..Him and Beauty busted up not long after Cora hung herself!" he said.

"Hmmm, so the only person who can shed some light on this is "Icebox" Jones." I said wryly.

"Good Luck with that...He's been dead for over thirty years now...Somebody shot him." said Burt Flowers.

"Ohhh really?? The cops get the guy?" I asked.

"Nope...Unsolved after all these years." he said.

"Unbelievable." I said.

I tossed a couple of dollars on the table to pay for his drinks...

"Thanks a lot Mr. Flowers." I said.

"No...Thank you." he said and raised his glass to me.

"Where to next Boss?" asked Clerow...

"I just got a text from Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson...They're down the street in the van.." I said.

"What did they want?" asked Kool Kat...

"I had them do some work for me...a sort of pre-emptive strike ." I said.

III-

Kool Kat ,Clerow and I walked down the street to where our surveillance van was parked...Lockpick Johnson and Harry Charles tossed the three of us a beer....Peeping Tom and Sean Jackson were inside the van...Tom came to the door.

"Any problems?" I asked.

"None at all Kevin...Lockpick and I got inside his house..disabled his alarm system and planted micro -cameras and listening devices everywhere that it was pertinent...We also got a tap on his phone and his computer."he said.

"What about his downtown offices?" I asked.

"Got them too...It was a good idea to have Sean and Harry Charles follow him and keep us informed of where he was..." said Lockpick Johnson..

"Old dude is still up to his old tricks..Still chasin Black tail...Strip clubs...After hours joints...He gets around."
said Sean Jackson.

"Kev, you buggin this guy before you talk to him?" asked Kool Kat...

"Yeah...I got a feelin  he might not be as receptive as the other two people I've interviewed...I want to make sure we glean something from him." I said.

"Mannnn, that's thinkin ahead like a mother.." said Clerow.

"No..that's staying alive like a mother." I said..

All of us, Peeping Tom, Lockpick Johnson, Clerow, Harry Charles, Sean Jackson, Kool Kat and myself broke out in gales of laughter!

(To Be Continued....)

Lovely Bones

"Ouu Kevin, Why did you bring me here? This place gives me the creeps." said my wife Sepia....

"It'll just be a minute...I had some questions to ask the M,E., then we can go to lunch." I told her.

"Lunch? How can you think about eating after being in here?" she asked.

"Just wait out here in the waiting room...I'll be right back." I said.

''You're not leaving me alone in this ghoulish place." she said as she followed me, but once the door was opened and she saw several dead bodies lying on steel tables , she changed her mind.

"I think I will wait out here for you." she said.   I looked at her and just shook my head.  She was better than both Kool Kat and Clerow...I couldn't get them to even consider coming with me.

"The body is of a six month old infant male and it's been buried there at least 40 years..if not more..." said the Medical Examiner.

"Can you determine what caused the death?" I asked...

"No, not really...there isn't much left...and it's been so long." he said.

"Well the fact that the child was buried under that plant all this time smells like foul play." I said.

''Yeah, the police think so too, but there is no clue to say one way or another if this little boy was murdered or if he just died and someone disposed of him." said the M.E.

"Oh alright...Thanks Doc." I said.

With that..I left...Sepia and I got in the car and pulled off..

"So what did you find out?" she asked..

"Nothing...The bones have been buried under that plant for close to 40 years.." I said.

We had a brief lunch and then I dropped Sepia off at her job.....I next went to see , Attorney Robert Foxworth and his young Protoge', Chance Howard at their law offices.

"Well Kev...I did some research on that property.... Joseph "Icebox" Jones never really owned the property..
It was actually owned by one Dagg Hammerskold Sr." said Chance.

"Really? I've heard that name before ." I said.

"I can't see how you could have...He's been dead for over thirty years...He had a son...His son was married to a bi-racial woman... I saw a photo of her..she could have passed for white. Old man Hammerskold didn't know she was half black..but he hired a private eye to look into her background...When he found out she had a Black father and a white mother he damn near hit the ceiling.Needless to say,he wasn't pleased with that and did everything he could to break their marriage up." said Chance.

"So when or if he found out that Sonny boy was cheating on this wife with another Black woman, he must have hit the ceiling. Wow Chance, you really do good research..you ought to be in my business." I said.

"You think he knew about this other woman Kev?  and the fact that she might have had his half black grandson? " asked Chance..

"I don't know...but I'll bet that sonny boy knew and I'll bet sonny boy knew that now he'd gone wayyy too far and had to bring the show to a close ." I said.

"It's all speculation  Kev, but my  guy in research came up with some dope on "Icebox " Jones, who ran the meat packing plant. He said that Joseph "Icebox " Jones, in addition to running a legitimate meat packing plant was quite a charactor...He sold Beer and Liquor illegally, had  convictions for rum running and bootlegging and he ran numbers..had a conviction for that too." said Robert Foxworth...

"Really? sounds like a real hustler. Was he connected?" I asked.

"Was he?" said Robert Foxworth...."It was never proven...but there is a nasty little story on the streets that when the old gangsters rubbed somebody out....he kept the bodies in the back in a deep freezer ,until somebody came around to pick the body up and dispose of it.... It's been said that many a missing playa was dis-membered and disposed of in the back of that shop." said Robert Foxworth....

"So if he could make a grown man vanish into thin air...a little baby would be no problem." I said.

"Yeah Kev...I guess....But I was talking about gangsters, playas man....They wouldn't kill a child..." said Robert Foxworth as Chance looked on...

"No they wouldn't...but someone else...Someone close to the boss might need a child "disposed of..",especially if it was the illegitimate child of a woman whom his father definitely wouldn't have approved of." I said.

"Wow Kev...you're really running with this.." said Robert Foxworth..

"Nah, not really..everybody involved is dead...Icebox Jones, Cora Waters, Beauty Williams Hammerskold and old man Hammerskold." I said.

"No Kev...Not everyone....The son... Dag Hammerskold is still alive...Very much...He lives out on the mainline, he's a big time developer and Beauty Williams...She's no longer married to him , but is in an old folks home." said Chance as Robert Foxworth smiled.

"How about the private eye that old man Hammerskold hired?" I asked.

"He's still around...Retired though..His name is Burt Flowers." said Robert Foxworth.

"Him? I've heard of him.....I need to talk to him and Beauty Williams before I go to see
Dagg Hammerskold." I mused.

"Really? You got addresses?" I asked.

''Right here Kev , This is Hammerskold's business office and his home address and the facility where Beauty Williams lives,but none for Burt Flowers" he said.

''Kevin, why are you draggin all this mess up? It was years ago and you don't have any proof of what happened." said Robert Foxworth.

"I know...but a baby is dead...and his mother committed suicide because of it....and possibly...the person that killed that child is still alive and has to pay." I said.

"But you don't know that. This is all speculation based on what? A dream that Kool Kat had that frankly sounds so bizzarre ,I don't know if any of this makes any sense at all." said Robert Foxworth..

"No I don't...but I intend to try at least to find out. The remains of that baby are real Robert..That was no dream and as bizzarre as it sounds..Cora Waters did exist and killed herself..and she was involved with a white man, just like Kool Kat described in his dream" I said.

"Mannn this is some spooky mess here." said Robert Foxworth..who pulled out a bottle of Jameson's and took a swig...

"Indeed it is...but all of this ,all of this that I'm talking about is real and some answers need to be heard to the questions that are in the air." I said.

On a table in the medical examiners office were the bones, the lovely bones of a baby boy....Somebody had to speak for him I reasoned.

(To Be Continued.....)

Where Dreams May Take You

"Kev, it was almost like it was real." said my friend, Kool Kat as He, Clerow and I sat at a table in Josie's enjoying some "adult " beverages and listening to a new player, Lemonhead Jefferson on the Guitar and his band perform tonight...They had the joint rockin...People were clapping to the beat and drinks were being ordered in mass...Which was what was keeping Gus happy!...

"So what happened man?" asked Clerow....I sat with a bemused smile...Walter "Kool Kat "Jones, was six feet, four inches tall, a well muscled man of about 240 pounds, with a bald head and an earring in his left ear and packing a .357 magnum most of the time...He'd been my friend since elementary school , which is why I was maybe one of six people in the world who wasn't afraid of him...Once a much feared enforcer for Chris Thompson,Fathead Newton and others...He was now semi -retired from that life... but still, not one to mess with and here he was looking as pale as a ghost , talking about a bad dream... The humor of this escaped most.

"Man, there was this woman...." he said

"Oh boyyy, here we go." I laughed.

"No Kev..I'm serious....She was fine as hell, had a little brown ,tight skirt on, had on make up...Looked great..  She was young too...No more than 28 or 29...She came in my room..." he continued..

"Oh I bet Chelsea liked that!" I said...Clerow slapped his hand on his thigh and we both laughed....

''She wasn't in the dream." he said matter of factly!

"Ohhhhhhh.." said Clerow and I almost on cue..

"She came in my room and she asked me to find her baby...She said she'd been searching for her baby for years and couldn't find it..." he said..

"Her baby?" I asked....

"Then I saw a man...A young White man...He had a wedding band on...He was taking what looked like a baby and putting it in a tub of water...The baby was screaming and kicking and then the woman screamed and I...I woke up." said Kool Kat..

"Dang man, you sho have some messed up dreams " said Clerow...

''Sounds like you really need a drink" laughed Gus , who had just come by our table to shoot the breeze..He had three bartenders working tonight..

"Man Kev...It was sooo real man....She even told me her name...Her name was Cora...Cora Waters." said Kool Kat... When he said that....Gus looked as if he'd seen a ghost...He turned and stared at Kool Kat and asked him-

''What did you say she said her name was?"

"Cora...Cora Waters" he said....

"What did she look like?" asked Gus.

"Gus...it was a dream, some broad he met in a dream." I said incredulous....Both of these guys were bonkers, I thought. Clerow just looked bemused.

"She was petite, about five two, five three....Nice little shape on her , Wore her hair in a bun...Had on a nice brown or auburnish skirt...." said Kool Kat.... I was impressed that he knew this much detail...Again, I smiled.

"Yeah that was her...Yeah...but she didn't have no baby." said Gus.

"You dreamed about the same broad?" asked Clerow. 

Gus looked at him like he was crazy....I was waiting for a smart remark from Gus...I just knew it was coming..

"No...No.....I knew her once....a long time ago." he said...looking completely spooked.

"Okay, so Kool Kat dreamed about a lady he saw you with." I said.

''No...No he didn't...There's no way he could have seen me with her." said Gus.

"Huh...How do you know?" I asked, amazed that I was in such a ridiculous conversation....

"Because Cora Waters has been dead and buried for years!!!! She died before the three of you were born!!! There is no way he could have possibly have dreamed about Cora unless she's come back!!" said Gus.

"What?" I said...  Even Kool Kat and Clerow were perplexed...Gus just wasn't the type....Not to say something like this....

"She hung herself Kevin....Kool Kat described what she was wearing the last day of her life..Last time I ever saw her....There is a story that she was running with a white man...a married guy named Dag Hammerskold..and that they were madly in love....He had to break it off with her cause he was married and his wife...(We used to call her "Beauty" ,She was half Black, Half White...) was on to them...She never got over it....Your Father and I tried to talk to her Kev...but she just grieved so hard over that no account lout.....She hung herself....Such a beautiful, beautiful girl..." said Gus.

"And Kool here, who never met her, dreamed about her?" I asked.

"Maybe your dad told you about her...He knew her." said Gus,

''I can't remember him mentioning her and you know like I know...My old man knew a lot of women." said Kool Kat.

"Yeah...the apple don't fall too far from the tree." said Gus....The four of us burst into laughter.

II-

Two days later, Gus, Clerow, Kool Kat and I stood across town watching them tear down an old long since closed Meat Packing house...

"Damn man, end of an era." said Kool Kat

"Yeah man...I remember when you,me, Chess, Chris Thompson and Donald Smooth were kids and we could smell the meat from in that warehouse..." I said.

"Yeah, Old Icebox Jones used to own this place...Clerow, you wasn't up here in Philly yet, but you could get the finest cuts of meat from that joint.." said Gus...

"Yeah?" asked Clerow.

"Oh yeah..My pops used to get Bacon, Scrapple, Sausage and not to mention, Pork Chops and steaks from there." I said.

"Not to mention, Icebox Jones sold Beer and Liquor in the back also...and ran numbers in there too." laughed Gus.

"Where is Icebox Jones now?" asked Clerow.

"Oh he's been dead...For years...." said Gus...

As we stood there , we heard a construction worker yell out-

"OHHHHH SWEET LORD...WHAT THE HELL!!! HEY MIKE, BILL COME HERE LOOK AT THIS!"

Mike and Bill stopped working and came and looked...

It was the small skelatal remains of what looked like a baby!!!!!!!!!! Gus, Clerow, Kool Kat and I looked on
also...


"Oh my god" I said.


"A baby?? A baby's skelaton, buried here?? After all this time...?? said Gus.

"Kool Kat...you think this is what your dream was about?" asked Clerow...

"To tell you the truth...I don't know...I don't know." said Kool Kat.

I didn't know about his dream...but I knew there was a dead baby buried under this warehouse or what used to be this warehouse...and I was curious about how it had gotten there.

(To Be Continued..)