Retirement Fund

A crowd of people gathered around as did the police and people from the Medical Examiner's Office.... I identified the deceased white male as Dennis Douglas...An Attorney I had met only a few days before.....The decomposing African -American female's body wasn't identifiable but I was 100 percent certain it was Public Defender, Mary Powell-Mabry....

I gave my statement to the two Homicide Detectives on the scene as did Mr. Abbott and an All points bulletin was put out for Duke Snyder...A relatively easy one...or so I thought.

''Well Kev, wasn't much for me to do in this one...but it's all good...Guess it's nice to have an easy one huh?" laughed Kool Kat.

"Yeah...sure is...Thanks for your help guys...." I said.

"Guess we'll see you tonight at Josies huh?" asked Clerow...

"Yeah...first round is on me.." I laughed. "And thank you for your help Chance." I continued to the young attorney, who's leg work had helped so much..

"It was my pleasure Mr. Kevin." He said.

I dropped all of them off and decided to drive over to Cindy Water's office to collect my fee and give her the final report on the case...Suddenly, my Android began to vibrate....I didn't recognize the number.....

"Hello?" I said.

"Hello yourself gumshoe...." came the coldest voice I had ever heard...

"Who is this?" I asked.

"I'll let you figure that out...you've figured everything else out..." he said.

"Snyder...Duke Snyder!!" I said.

"Very good gumshoe...you really are good....and fast too...You know...a few days after I snatched sugar britches..I came back to that house...Just in time to see you comin out with a strongbox full of money and that ledger....You got to it before I could or her ex-husband....I started to kill you then, but I thought better of it....I followed you...Then I get a call from you wantin to meet with me...That's when I started checkin you out....I know where you live, I've seen that fine, sexy wife of yours...I know where you work, everything..Even know who hired you...I gotta hand it to you...You deal with some sexy women." he said.

''Where are you? What do you want?" I asked.

"That's what I'm gettin at....I'm at that cute little lawyer's ofice...You know..the one what hired you.....If you want to see her and her staff alive again...you'll bring me that Ledger and that strong box with that money in it.." He said...

"That ledger won't help you...The cops already have your name and address Snyder,it's all over for you." I said.

"I doubt that....They don't know where I am right now...Only you and these good people do...and don't get cute and tip them off...You do that and I start killin people....
You got one hour...bring me that book, that dough oh yeah and the keys to your car....
They won't be lookin for me in your car gumshoe..." he said.

"You're crazy, you'll never get away with this." I said.

"I think I will, it's a longshot....but I think I will....I need that dough..It's for my retirement fund." he laughed.

"Retirement fund???" I said.

"Yeah...I'm leavin town...Gonna start over someplace else...Some dough and a nice Lexus will look good on me." he laughed...

"You're mad." I said.

"You got one hour or the dyin starts..." he said.

Click!

Duke Snyder was crazy....but he had me in the short and curlys..He knew I wouldn't jeoapordize Cindy Waters and her staff.

II-

I stopped by my house .....Sepia was there...I whispered instructions to her...I didn't know if he had bugged my house or not...Then I got a ledger book and a strongbox and filled it with cash....I got in my car and prepared to drive to Cindy's office...

Sepia appeared at the door...She looked worried...I walked back up the steps and kissed her long and passionately and tried to smile..

"Don't worry...I've been in tough situations before...Just do what I tell you...It'll all work out." I said, hoping I was right.

"Be easy lover." she said.

''Always" I said.

When I knocked on the door of Cindy Water's office, I noticed how silent it was...What did I expect?   I only hoped that they hadn't killed or harmed anyone.
The door opened slowly and Duke Snyder put the muzzle of his .45 to my temple.

"Nice and Easy gumshoe...Nice and easy..hand over that dough and that ledger ,oh and your peice" he said.

I did as I was told and he marched me into the inner office where Cindy Waters, her receptionist and her administrative assistant were tied up , bound and gagged, but still alive...A man with a hood had a gun pointed at them....Duke passed him my .38 smokeless.

"Well, at last I meet the brains of this operation..." I said with a smile.

"What, what are you tryin to say?" sneered Duke Snyder...

"Oh come on Duke...I know that you're too stupid to be pulling the strings in something like this, Isn't that right Josh? Joshua Mabry, Ex dirty cop and  current all around dirty guy.." I added...

The hooded gunman removed his hood and smiled....

"Damn, I said you were good...How did you know?" he asked.

"I didn't know at first....but after I talked to William Powell and a young lady in the neighborhood, I realized the discrepancy in the story you told me and the story both of them told me...You said you   came over there and found the children dirty and hungry and uncared for....But then I figured....How would you have come over there and not have looked for the ledger and the money while you were in the house legitimately? You got a call from Lola Bey, her neighbor...She had the kids over at her house, and she called William Powell....You were never in that house and by then ,you already knew that your ex-wife was dead....That's why you came back that night...To get in there and get that money and that ledger....Only I had beaten you to it. It seems your boy Duke here also had designs on that money and that ledger...both of you unknown to the other came back there to break into that house..."I said.

Josh angrily eyed Duke Snyder , who just smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"You knew because you and that white lawyer , who by the way also represented YOU in your case were blackmailing your  ex wife....Only she stopped playing ball...So Douglas hired his client and ironically her client to make her disapear...am I right so far?" I said.

Josh Mabry laughed...."Yeah...Yeahh...go on Kev.." he said.

"You never had any intention of splitting close to one million dollars three ways...So you got your boy Duke to ace the white boy ,Douglass out of the deal...You already knew who hired me and so here we are...You got your money, your ledger and my car and nothing to lead anybody to you..You don't intend to let any of us leave here alive and that includes you too Snyder.." I said.

"You're full of it....You tryin to trick us, play us against each other, Just shut your yap gumshoe." said Duke Snyder...

"Come on Duke...Even you can't be that stupid....The cops are on to you...They found the bodies in your warehouse....You're too much of a liability now." I said.

"He's right Duke.." said Josh Mabry coldly...To our horror, he aimed my .38 smokeless at Duke Snyder's head and pulled the trigger....Blood and brains splattered across the wall and Duke Snyder fell to the ground, very, very dead...

"You're right Kevin....Duke was holding you all hostage and started killing everybody and you killed him....but unfortunately, he got you too and you died of your wounds.." he laughed.

"That's how you're gonna play it?" I said ..

"That's the only way to play it....Nothing leads to me...nothing at all..Nobody even knows I'm here." he said.

"Pretty good plan...Now if I was you, I'd get away from that window..." I said.

"Huh, what are you talking about?" he said...

A shot rang through the window....fired from across the street..It ripped through his shoulder and came out the front of him....Another shot hit him in back near his lower left side....He screamed in agony as he tossed his gun in the air and pitched forward....

"ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....I DON'T BELIEVE IT.........I've  been shot!!!..."

He fell to the ground.....Still Alive, but in pretty bad shape.... I walked to the window and looked across the street.... Roscoe was taking his sniper rifle apart and packing it up....He looked at me and cracked up laughing and waved and then left the room, across the street from the office...On the street, Kool Kat nodded and put his gun away, got in his car and pulled off...Within minutes...Roscoe got in his car and he too left the scene....

I knelt down and looked at him...He was still breathing.....

''Damn man....that looks like it hurts."  I said....

He winced in pain...but he extended his middle finger to me  just before he lost consciousness.....I laughed my head off.....The laugh of a survivor....I wondered how many more of these close situations did I have left in me.


I untied Cindy and her staff and called the police....

"Wow....You really are good." said Cindy Waters...

"No...Those guys were just that bad." I said....

"You're a married man and a good guy Kevin, but I swear...I am so turned on right now..." said Cindy Waters seductively...

I smiled at her and I opened the door slowly and left the office.

EPILOUGE:

Josh Mabry went back to prison...This time for the rest of his life....First Degree Murder and complicity in the murders of Dennis Douglas and Mary Powell-Mabry.

I gave the 600k to my church...They used it to make a down payment on a building for their youth outreach program, which was being run by Deacon Basil Robinson.

The contents of Mary Powell Mabry's ledger was never made public. A lot of men are breathing  many sighs of relief right now...

Cindy Waters paid me quite well for my services and asked me if she could use me for future investigative work...I told her sure..As long as she was paying...

Sepia and I were in our bedroom talking...

"That was a close one..." she said.

"Yeah...but I had faith that either Roscoe would come through or Kool Kat....They like anything that involves shooting...I'm just glad Roscoe didn't kill him....If he hadn't of been able to get a shot off..Kool Kat would have mowed em both down coming out of the door.." I said.

"Wow, you always stay a step ahead don't you?" she said.

"That's how I stay alive sugar." I said with a smile as I put my arms around my wife and held her tight....