The Back Up Hard Drive

"One of your dead guys was of course Chessly Waters...He's kind of a middle man, and in this case, he also helped with the hit, it appears." said Lt.Sissy Van Buren of Homicide as we walked down the street drinking tumblers of hot steaming coffee one morning some weeks later...

"Yeah and the other guy?" I asked.

"Your other guy is real interesting....His name is Ivanek Zelkov...He's a Russian....Former KGB, recently, a contract killer...Known for doing good work...Good as in no clues, no body, no loose ends...He basically operates in the New York area....So somebody reached out big time with some big bucks to find him." she said.

''Westly East??? He doesn't strike me as the type to run with that crowd or know that type of crowd..." I said.

"No, not him...but his lawyer, Woodley Verizon....That's a whole nother story..He was a Public defender years ago and after that..he was a criminal defense lawyer for awhile...Then he went back to law school  for a spell and emerged as a corporate lawyer....Somehow or other he wound up being the CFO of the same foundation where Westly East is also a respected member." she said.

"Was a respected member?" I said and laughed..

Sissy Van Buren stopped walking and nearly spit her coffee out of her mouth...

''That's right..I read that piece you wrote on him in your magazine....and on the internet...that was really damaging....And your wife and a couple of other women are now suing him..is that right?" she asked.

"Yes...We got the five women who originally were interviewed by Bruce Harvey to come forward and my wife, a woman I work with and the wives of two attorneys that were at that function also came forth...." I said.

"Oh My God....And with the story running in all of the news media ,he must be feeling the heat..." she said.

''Yeah..I hear that the foundation has asked him to resign." I said.

"Guess your killer didn't kill or intimidate enough people fast enough." she said.

''Guess not." I said.

"We found blood and DNA in that van and on those instruments that match Bruce Harvey..We got DNA samples from his family members...He must have met a gruesome death." she said.

"Shame I can't locate his body or what may be left of it..." I said.

''Would you even want to?" She asked.

I shook my head.....Something she said bothered me though......

"Guess your killer didn't kill or intimidate enough people fast enough."

They certainly had the time to do it...We didn't know who they were....No, this was something more...I didn't see why I hadn't seen it before...The story about Westly East and his sexual harrassment was already out..The damage was already done...And the women had already been contacted and bribed and intimidated...The story was also dead on arrival when Bruce Harvey approached me about continuing the investigation!!
So why Kill him?  He had no story!!! Unless he did!!!!

II-

I went back to Bruce's house....I went through his computer files...It was as I had suspected..Someone had been here before me and had stripped the hard-drive...But if he was like most writers I knew...He kept a back up somewhere.

I went back to his newspaper...I asked several people about Bruce...His friends, his close confidents and finally,I was given a key to his office....Someone had been in here too and tossed it....

Once again...A dead end....Just as I was about to bag it and call it a day...

"I think you were looking for this!" came a female voice...It was Valerie Bonnet!!!

"You work here?" I asked astonished as she stood in the doorway with a laptop.

"Yes....I'm a columnist...I was doing a story on Westly East and he damn near raped me as I told you....and surprisingly enough..When Bruce started doing his story on him...I was one of the last people to step forward and tell my story....But Bruce was on to another story..something even deeper..... He gave me this laptop and told me to hold on to it ,just in case something happened to him..." she said and handed me the Laptop!

I went through his files and here was a story about flat out corruption at the foundation...  He had documentation of money being embezzled..Lots of money!! Of money being laundered for known Drug Kingpins from New York City,Here in Philadelphia and Atlantic City..and several off shore accounts being opened in the Bahamas and the Caymen Islands...

Woodley Verizon could have cared less about Westly East and his sexcapades...He used that for a cover....What he really didn't want was Bruce Harvey blowing the whistle on THIS!!!!!

So he contacted Chestly , who put him in touch with a cold blooded hitter from New York and had Bruce Harvey wiped out....Apparently he was still trying to make sure there was no remnants of THIS story around...

"Thank You...This is the missing link in my case...This guy is going to pay." I said.

"What about Bruce?" she asked.

"I don't know about Bruce....but I'm pretty sure he's probably dead." I said and hung my head.

III-

Penns Landing in the fall is still beautiful...People still walk around and stare out at the ocean and shop and sight see... Rich movers and shakers like Woodley Verizon hung around these parts also.

He was there....In a very expensive ,I'm sure Grey Suit at one of the outdoor cafe's drinking a martini and laughing with several nice looking and well dressed young ladies when I showed up...

"Mr. V... Can I have a moment of your time." I asked with a smile..

Despite the fact that I had on an equally expensive tailored suit and tie...The women looked at ume and got the impression I was a thug...They got up and left within minutes...

Woodley didn't flinch...He cooly looked at me and smirked...

"Kevin Morris....so at last we meet eh?  Hey , did you find Bruce Harvey?" he asked and laughed.

"No...You talk to him lately?" I asked.

"No...I haven't..You know you could have been like him too...Missing..Had I of known you were snoopin around helpin him...but I guess you just lucked out, huh?" he laughed.

"You're pretty cocky Mr. V." I said.

"Why shouldn't I be?" he asked.

"Because your two hitmen are dead....I have phone records that tie them to you and phone records and testimony that you called and tried to intimidate those five women in the sexual harrassment suit.." I said.

"Really?   and what do you think I'd get for all that...if I got anything at all..Probation?" he laughed.

"Maybe more ." I mused.

"You got nothin..nothin ,so get out of here...I'm tired of lookin at you, ya rent a cop." he smirked.

"How about embezzlement...wire tap fraud, money laundering....and the best part, frozen off shore accounts that you can't use anymore...I found the back up hard drive...I turned it in to the FBI.....If you look to your right...That's them rushing over here now with those shotguns...." I laughed...

His eyes got as large as saucers........Agent Frank Cotton and close to twenty FBI agents grabbed Woodley Verizon and put him in handcuffs....He looked like he wanted to faint...

''Are you okay Verizon??" asked an FBI agent...

"Ohhh..Ohhhhh...Ohhh lawd...I can't...I can't breath...Ohhhhhhhhh.." he wailed as they dragged him to the FBI Van...

"Oh Lawddddd..Ohhhhh my God....Jesus help me....I can't breathe..ouuuuuu..ohh lawddddddd..I feel faint.... Help me Lord...ohhhhhhhhhh.." he continued to wail as he was practically dragged away!

I stood there laughing......I looked up at the sky...

"That one was for you Bruce."I said silently.

EPILOUGE:

Woodley Verizon was convicted of wire fraud, embezzlement, money laundering and an assortment of other crimes...He got close to 25 five years in a federal penitentary. There was no evidence to indict him for conspiracy in the probable death of Bruce Harvey.

Bruce Harvey was never seen or heard from again and his body has never been found..He was declared legally dead!

Westly East entered sexual rehab..From what I heard, he's doing pretty good!

Sepia and I enjoyed a delicious meal at Minay Jordan's loft...Ralph Scallion, her boyfriend and chef had prepared the meal....

"Minay , your place is beautiful.." said Sepia...

"Thank you Sepia....This is one of Chris and Chess's properties." she said..

"Wow...Bonita and I have got to get with them and get the name of some contractors..They did a wonderful job on this property." said my wife...

"Hey Kev...you like my main course?" asked Ralph Scallion...

"Mannn you put your foot in this food as usual." I said....

"Hey man, I heard you cracked another case...Did you ever find that reporter?" asked
Ralph.

I sighed....

"No...but his death was avenged...and where-ever he is..I'm sure he knows that." I said .