Scratching An Itch!

All I knew about her, besides the fact that she was a white woman and blond  and my neighbor of a few doors down was that her name was Meaghan...Uh, I think it's Meaghan ....Meaghan Hearst...I have watched her...Oh I'm not a stalker...Just a neighbor...I moved into this apartment complex the same day she did..About a year ago now...We've made eye contact...Smiled at each other....Maybe we've even spoke a time or two..No more than that...

I've seen her boyfriend...a real smarmy guy, White dude...looks like he had some money....Real stuck up....Used to have a guy pick her up in a Bently....She looks the type that would have had a boyfriend like that!   I say had ,because I read in the papers that he was convicted of killing two women....Two black women!!! One, three years ago and the other just recently....Rather than go to jail..He committed suicide while in custody!!

Ms. Meaghan seems just lonely now...I haven't seen her go out but once...With some Black people...We made slight conversation in the elevator...Said she was at an oyster bar with them.....Had a few beers...

Who am I?  I am Jacques Genet' ....I am an African exchange student.....by way of France...I was born in Ghana...Lived in France since I was 18...Which was 18 years ago...And been here in the U.S. of A. for a year... Just recently got my citizenship!!! I like it here...I think I'll stay....

"And hello to you Ms. Meaghan." I say as I see her come out into the hallway...

"Oh Hi.....Uh...Jack right?" she asks....

''Jacques...Jacques Genet'  ...prounce it Jock!" I say with a smile.

"You have such pretty white teeth Jacques...I like a man with a nice smile." she said with a sweet smile..

''Really?..Then I should smile more." I said.  She blushed a little , but played off my attempt at flirtation..

"So, if I'm not being too nosy...where are you heading today?" I asked.

"Nowhere in particular...just going out to do a little shopping." she said.

"Got any plans for tonight?  I-I-I mean it is New Years Eve and all." I said.

"Not really...Money is kind of tight and I'm a single woman now." she sighed..

"Well...you missed the big Jazz Concert a few weeks ago...but I would love to take you out for some drinks and maybe some music tonight...That-That.-That is..uh...if you didn't uh ...have-have...you know...uh other plans..." I said.

"Why Jacques..Are you flirting with me?" she asked with the widest smile...

"Uh no...UH..er...Well yes...I'm asking you out....No strings attached." I said.

"Well Jacques..I don't uh know....That's so nice...but maybe some other time...Okay?" she said.

"Yeah...okay....some other time..this was kind of sudden." I said..

There was a long pause between us that seemed like two hours , but was really a minute.....Then she frowned, then she looked at me ...

"Oh what the hell....Why not...What time do you want me to be ready?" she said.

"How's seven o'clock?" I said.

"Seven is just fine." She said.

II-

We went to a quaint Chinese Restaurant , My friend, Ralph Scallion had told me about....It was in another part of town...Where I was certain nobody would know us...Not that it mattered to me...but it might matter to Meaghan...

"Oh Jacques...the food is incredible here." she said as platters of hot steamy food were placed in front of us...

We ate and we talked about our backgrounds for seemingly hours.... No two backgrounds could be more unalike... I mean...I was an African who left Ghana for France, studied in the university there and then came to the United States...She was white, an American....A Philadelphia native who went to elementary school here, and then moved to the suburbs with her family and was educated there... She attended college for three years and then dropped out...Moved in with her folks in the suburbs and worked for awhile and then moved here...  Like I said...She snagged a rich man about town boyfriend who turned out to be a murderer....who was now dead....

When the waiter came with the check....She reached for it...but I snatched it away....

"I got it." I said as I pulled out my credit card...

"I thought we were gonna go dutch?" she said...

"I asked you out to dinner...My treat!" I said.

''No strings?" she asked.

"Of course not." I said.

We next drove to Josies.....I was surprised that she was familiar with this place....But she was and had been a somewhat semi-regular in here.... Downtown Rob Brown and his quintet was playing tonight..Or at least part of it and we had drinks and listened to them play...While clapping and snapping our fingers to the beat...

I ordered a bottle of Ciroc Vodka and some cranberry juice for our table...

"I insist you let me pay." she said.

"Okay...Okay..you can pay." I said.

We had a bottle of Tequilla after that...Again, she paid....

We wound up staying until 11:30.....

"I'd like to go home now Jacques." she said.

''Really? " I asked.

''Yeah...I don't want to bring in the New Year in a Bar." she said.

"With a strange man..." I said.

"No...I didn't mean that...It's just that ...I'm a little tipsy..." she said.

"Okay...I'll take you home." I said.   "Did you have a good time at least?" I asked.

"Oh...I had a great time...The best...I've had in a long while." she said.

I drove her back to our complex....We sat in the car quietly for awhile...Not saying anything....I thought she was going to get out of the car as soon as I drove up...but she didn't...She was drunk....Or was she??

"Jacques...How long....How long have you wanted to take me out?" she asked...

"For awhile I guess...but you had a boyfriend..." I said.

"Oh...I was just curious...You were a perfect gentleman tonight...I had a great time...Otherwise..I would have sat in my apartment alone..." she said.

''Well see ...I saved you from that." I said with a weak smile...

''Yes you did....Thank you." she said and she leaned over and kissed me lightly on the lips....I looked at her and leaned over and kissed her....We smiled....Then she straddled me and we began making out in that car like two teenagers...

III-

Inside Meaghan's apartment...We tossed off our shoes and I slammed her up against the wall and began kissing her passionately...She returned my passion....Our coats went to the floor as I continued kissing her and she continued kissing me...I unzippered her dress and slipped it off....She unzippered my trousers and I hurriedly stepped out of them....She held my now massively erect penis in her hands...

"Oh My God...Jacques....Ouuuuu...you are loaded.." she exclaimed...as I unhooked her bra and began sucking on her breasts.....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh Jacques.....ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she moaned as I slipped her panties down ......

I thrusted my tongue practically down her throat and while squeezing one breast with my hand...With my other hand I pulled out a condom...She helped me tear open the wrapper....I slipped it on and lifted her up and positioned her on me as I entered her and began thrusting away...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY LAWDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD..." she screamed as I continued to thrust , harder and feverishly more.......

She came really fast....and began to shiver........

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..." she moaned...

I wasn't done with her yet ...I led her to the sofa and turned her around....I entered her from behind...I began pumping strong and steady and she really began to moan then....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMPPHHH...OHHHHHHHOhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."
" She moaned as I continued...

I go on like this for close to an hour and she cums again.!!! I can feel it......but surprisingly enough...I haven't cum yet!

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.....Oh My goodness Jacque...." she exclaims....

I lay her across her bed....She pulls my condom off.....

"I want to taste you she says and she takes me into her mouth..working feverishly......I can't hold it much longer...I try to pull out but she won't let me....I explode all over her face with wild abandon......

We lie there naked and spent...Clothes all over the floor....

"Wow!" I said.  She looked at me with surprise-

"You must have wanted to do that for a long time....I have never cum that much in one session." she said...

I layed her across the bed again, a few minutes later and I entered her softly and gently and began to stroke her softly and slowly....She moaned and put her arms around my neck and drew me closer to her..She wrapped her legs around my waste and we began to move in a slow, yet deliberate rhythm for quite some time...

"Ohhhhhhhh Jacques...Ohhhh Jacques.....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh this is soooooo gooood..."she moaned as we continued to make love....I don't know how long we lie there on her bed like that before she turned me over and positioned herself on top of me and began going up and down , up and down.....Her hair partially blocking her face....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..: I moaned...as she held on tightly and began moving faster and harder..
I pulled her to me and began kissing her passionately.....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Jacques...this is beyond goood...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she cooed..

"Yessss...arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...it is..." I moaned as we continued....

Outside, The entire city was celebrating the New Year coming in....Fireworks were exploding into the sky...In some quarters...Men were firing pistols in the air....And Meaghan and I were missing it all..We were making sweet love in her bedroom....

"Ohhhh Jacques...Don't stop..Don't stop....ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she continued to moan.

I continued until I couldn't hold back any longer...I came furiously......Meaghan came too...I held her as she shook violently.....and collapsed softly on me...I wanted to stay inside her just a little more..but she rolled off of me...She leaned over and kissed me for a long while...Stroking my penis gently and then she drifted off to sleep....I rolled over on my back and soon ,I was asleep too...!



EPILOUGE:

I left Meaghan's Apartment around 6:30 am the next morning....I was so exhausted..I could hardly move...I poured myself a glass of wine and ran myself a hot bath and sat in the tub...Sipping the wine...The night had gone better than I could have even hoped....But we had both said "No Strings attached"....Which meant that there might not be a repeat...Which meant that we might see each other in the hall or the parking lot and act like we didn't know each other...I had seen people do that who had just scratched an itch and had sex one time...I didn't want to be with Meaghan like that...I wasn't sure what I wanted.....She had been asleep when I had left her apartment...Sound asleep!


It was a new year!  Full of possibilities....I would have to wait and see!

Change Of Heart

Clerow, Robert Foxworth and I sat in an Oyster Bar that Robert had been raving about for months...a day later...We were drinking beer and sucking oysters like they were going out of style...

"So Kevin...I get the strangest call from Deputy District Attorney , Keith Wallace yesterday...He tells me that Lewis Berger has suddenly had a change of heart and has dropped all charges against you.. Not only that...but some woman named Meaghan Hearst has completely changed her story...Said that she didn't actually witness anything and that she couldn't be a reliable witness....said the whole thing as explained to her was a big misunderstanding." said Robert Foxworth.

Clerow sipped some beer, looked at me and then laughed.....

"Is that right Robert?" I said, smiling and continuing to suck down oysters and drink beer.

"You know , if this was Fathead Newton or The Diaz Brothers or somebody like that, I wouldn't be surprised...but you Kev, you?" said Robert Foxworth.

"Counselor....I assure you, I went straight home with my wife and was sufficiently occupied all afternoon...I didn't go out, nor did I make any phone calls to anyone." I said.

Robert smiled and gave me a side eye...Clerow continued to laugh...then they both took huge gulps of beer.

"Well anyway...The D.A. isn't interested in pursuing this any further, so the whole matter is dropped.." said Robert Foxworth...

"Lucky me huh?" I said.

"Yeah, lucky you." said Robert Foxworth...

"Me and Clerow stopped by Homicide yesterday.....Slim's grand-daughter was full of semen....In her mouth, and in her vaginal area..." I said...

"Kevin...I'm eating." said Robert Foxworth.."I mean ,so what? She's a young girl and she had a hot body...Somebody was going to sex her." said Robert Foxworth...

Clerow flashed that toothy grin of his.....

"What I meant was that they have a definite DNA match Robert..." I said.

"A match to what?" he asked...

"They don't know the identity of the sperm donor....but Lt.Sissy Van Buren....you may know her? Your ex-wife...is a very thorough detective...She ran the DNA sample through decks and it matches another dead girl that was found in a dumpster three years ago....She too had been raped and strangled...So all we know is that our boy has done this before.." I said.

"You can't prove it was him....All you know is that he was at Josie's that night as was millions of other people and he and her were at the 7Eleven...." said Robert Foxworth...

"You're right.....what I need is a sample of his DNA , to prove that he was the one." I said.

"Yeah and all you got then is that he had sex with the girls...Still doesn't mean he killed them....Your case is thin Kev.." said Robert...

He was right....but I had to at least have something to make Colin Huxley sweat a little, I thought.

II-

"Boss, you taken a chance coming here." said Clerow as we pulled up in front of the apartment complex...

"I know....that's why I brought you along." I said with a smile as we boarded the elevator... Clerow was right,Why should I trust this woman???..She had tried to set me up with a phony assault charge just days before..and now she was calling me, saying she had had a change of heart?? Sounded too good to be true..It could have been a trap...Which is why I brought the troops along... Owen Todd was outside , standing at the car as an extra measure...I wasn't taking any chances.......

I rang the doorbell.... To my surprise...Meaghan Hearst came to the door immediately and wasn't in a nasty mood.  She was the white woman who had been rather loud and expressive a few nights before with Colin Huxley at his apartment...She was sporting a fresh black eye....I immediately thought about Kool Kat and Owen Todd who had been to see her and Lewis Berger...but Kool Kat would never strike a woman without extreme provocation....Would he?

She looked around and then motioned us inside....She had a nice little apartment....Clerow and I sat down....

"I'm sorry about what happened...with you getting arrested and all....Colin made us both do that." she said.

"That's okay....How did you get that shiner?" I asked.

"Colin....It's not the first time either....He's a self centered , self absorbed bastard." she snapped with a venom that sounded so different from a few nights ago when she was moaning in ecstacy...

"I know what you think." she said, nearly reading my mind...."I have to make sounds like that...to make him think he's really doing something....He comes incredibly fast and sometimes......Well sometimes he can't get it up and he becomes frustrated and punches and chokes me...This was one such time." she snapped.

''Why do you put up with that? You know you're not his only girl.....He hops around to New York, L.A. , Miami, Paris, London, Amsterdam...He's got girls in all of those places.." I said gently...

"Yeah I figured....But he's not like that all the time..Sometimes he's good to me...He buys me things, takes me out.." she said.

"When he's in town." I said.  She looked at me and burst into tears......I held her in my arms as she shook with hurt, anger...I wasn't sure..

"You want to make him pay? Want to make him sweat??  I can do that...but I need your help...We have DNA matches on the dead girl's body and on another dead girl who was murdered.....If I get something that is definitely his DNA....We can pin him to two murders and take his sick ass off the streets." I said.

She thought for a long moment...then she looked at me.. "Wow..he's killed somebody...Two people you say?" she said.

"If he gets uh ruh frustrated the way you claim and then gets violent...it could be even more." I said.

"I don't know how much this will help....but here...I'll give you this." she says as she went into her hamper....

Clerow and I stared at each other.....

''Here... Here is a pair of my panties and my negligee that I was wearing that night that you came over." she said.

"Huh? What?" I said...

"They are full of semen....His semen....He came as soon as I got undressed and I had to wait for him to be ready again....This ought to at least help you with a  DNA match." she said.

Clerow and I looked at each other.....

"Well...I'm not used to a woman handing over her undergarments to me without at least me paying for dinner."
I laughed....

Clerow, Meaghan and I  laughed..

III-  Atlantic City, three weeks later!

About three weeks later...I got a call from Eric "Shark Dollars" Redding....

''What's goin on Shark Dollars?" I said.

"Got a tip for ya Kev.....That high roller you was talkin about...Colin Huxley?  He's here....I can tell you where he's staying and what casino he's playing at." he said.

" Good.... Walter and I will be in AC tonight." I said.


That night, Kool Kat and I drove to Atlantic City....Using Shark Dollar's tip...It wasn't hard to find..Colin Huxley....He was at the crap table and losing badly....

"Mr. Huxley...you owe the house ten thousand dollars." said a dealer...

"Don't tell me how much I owe...just deal me in." snapped Colin Huxley..

"Still making friends I see." I said as I sat down next to him...Kool Kat sat on the other side.

He assessed the situation and smirked...

"Ohhhhh it's you Mister Morris...Freshly sprung from the hoosegal."

"No thanks to you." I said.

" You know...I could have your two thugs, Mister Jones there and Mister Todd arrested and charged with witness intimidation , if I wanted to.....Didn't think I knew about that little stunt they pulled for you, did you? You also don't know that you are way out of your league with me....I'm not one of your little ghetto cases...You fool with me...I'll have you in jail and own your house and maybe...just maybe take that pretty little wife of yours too.!" he said.

"You couldn't satisfy her..." I snapped.  ''Besides...Mr. Jones, Mr Todd and I am the least of your worries...You got big problems buddy boy." I said.

"Oh really?" he said looking angry about my last statement..

"Oh really....I know you murdered Maysa Giddings and I know you murdered Natalie Owens three years ago and dumped her in a dumpster like she was trash...I can finally prove it." I said.

"You don't scare me....You can't prove nothin and I won't ever do a day of jail time...at least not on your say so." he said.

"Well, I have photos of you....I have DNA from you that matches DNA found in both girl's bodies and a witness willing to testify about that DNA...and worse...We found the clothes the dead girl was wearing that night that you didn't quite get rid of quick enough....With your DNA on it...Is that enough?" I said.

His face grew pale....His jaw dropped and he looked up and saw Two Atlantic City Detectives and several uniformed policemen converging on his crap table...

"It's tank time stupid....Time for you to go to jail." I said.

He stood up, then stomped his foot..."NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...NO.... NO WAY!!! I DON'T BELIEVE THIS....I'M BEING ARRESTED? NO...NO.. NO... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....NO....NOOOOOOOOOOOOO...NO WAY! NOOOOO." he screamed as they handcuffed him....

I smiled as they dragged him out of the casino kicking and screaming!

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.....LET ME GOOO...I CAN'T BE ARRESTED....I CAN'T....DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM??? NOOOOOOOOOO...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.I can't...I will not...do a day of jail time...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" he screamed...

"Wow, he didn't take that so good ." said Kool Kat...

"He sure didn't.." I said and we looked at each other and burst into guffaws of laughter!


EPILOUGE:

Colin Beowoulf Huxley was  extradited from New Jersey to Pennsylvania to stand trial for two first degree murder charges. He was tried and convicted of the murder of Maysa Giddings and of the unsolved murder of Natalie Owens from three years before.. He was sentenced to Life Imprisonment for both murders...but he would have the last laugh....Someone smuggled some cyanide tablets to him...and he was found dead in his cell, just one day before he was to be transported to State Prison...He was serious when he boasted that he wouldn't do a day of jail time! Now he'd be judged in a higher court for his crimes!

Sepia and I, Bonita and Robert Foxworth, Clerow and Cora Beth and Kool Kat and Chelsea all met at the Oyster Bar that Robert had turned me and Clerow on to....We were joined by Slim Giddings and Meaghan
Hearst....We were drinking a round of beers and eagerly sucking oysters out of their shells....

"Kevin...I can't thank you enough for not only finding my grand-daughter, but bringing the monster who killed her to justice.." said Slim Giddings..

''Don't thank me Slim...Thank Meaghan here....It was her testimony that blew the case wide open." I said.

"Yeah , among other things!" said Clerow, giving me the side eye...

I burst into laughter...Meaghan blushed....and Kool Kat, Chelsea, Robert Foxworth, Bonita, Sepia and  Corabeth all looked bewildered...Which made Clerow and I laugh even more at our private joke.




For All of my loyal readers! Happy New Years!

Sprung

I spent the night in a jail cell down at what they call -"The Round House " in Philadelphia...It's where the recently arrested are booked , fingerprinted and processed before they go off to one or two main facilities...I hadn't been fingerprinted or booked yet....I just sat in a cell that smelled like generations of urine and sweat with a huge white man with  way too many tattoos on him..

"Hey fella...what you in here for?" he asked me.

"Something I didn't do." I said and left it at that.  I had seen too many times on the television where somebody had been arrested and locked up with somebody they didn't know, only to find out that it was a plant and they had spilled their whole case out to the law..

I had been falsely arrested for assault with into to kill one Lewis Berger....Louis Berger was heavily muscled and about two inches taller than me...His employer had ordered him to attack me...I had defended myself against bodily injury.....and now his boss, who I strongly suspected of murder had slyly put me on the defensive...A nice move!

"I killed my wife , her boyfriend and his daughter...that's what I done." said the tattooed white man.

"Oh yeah?  Well you should keep that to yourself...You don't know me...I could be an undercover cop." I said.

"HAhahahahahahahaahahahaha...They wouldn't need one... I done confessed." he said and laughed maniacally... Now he was giving me the creeps...Why was I in a cell with this mad killer? I thought...

Just then, a guard walked by our cell...

"Which one of you is Kevin Morris?" He barked.

"I am." I said.

" Get your stuff....you've been bailed out...your lawyer and your wife are upstairs." he said.

I got up......I looked at my "cell mate" and nodded my head...

"Well...good luck" I said...I felt as if I should say something.."

"You the one with the luck pally..." he said and smiled in a deranged kind of way....

Once upstairs..I was given my coat, my wallet, my car keys and my android....I walked out into the lobby and into the arms of my loving wife, Sepia and my friend, Attorney, Robert Foxworth....

"Guess you just aint with me for my money afterall.." I joked to Sepia as she hugged me and kissed me..

''Silly...I missed a day of work for you." she said...

"Wow, Kev...Never thought I'd be coming down here to bail you out.." he said.

"Look..let's just get out of here and find a diner...I'm sure we all could use some breakfast.." I said.

II-

We found a diner in Midtown Philadelphia and the three of us had orders of Eggs and Bacon, Tumblers of Coffee, Toast and Hash Browns... It felt good not being locked up...even though it was only for a few hours.

"Kev, who is this Lewis Berger??? I saw photos of his face...and I got a hospital report...You really did a number on him." said Robert Foxworth.

''He tried to kill me." I said.  "Colin Huxley ordered him to do it...after I caught him in two lies...First ,he said that he wasn't even at Josies that night." I explained.

"Oh well that's a lie...I saw him there myself." said Robert Foxworth.

"You saw him there?" I asked.

"Yeah...and Gus served him and a couple of people saw him..He was drunk, tried to hit on a couple of people...He's crazy about Black and Latino women...Asian women too...Man just loves women." said Robert Foxworth.

Sepia gave him the side eye and then she looked at me...I smiled...

"Yeah, well I have photos of him there...two or three." I said.  "Then he said that he didn't know the dead girl ,Maysa...I have a photo of the two of them in the 7 Eleven...It was the last known sighting of her alive.." I said.

"Oh...and that's when he sicked Big Lou on you?" asked Robert.

"Yeah...but that's his word against mine." I said.

"There was a woman there too..and she's backing his story." said Robert.

"Colin was screwing her when I got there...of course she's backing his story." I said.

"WHATTTTT? What kind of party was this?" asked Robert , his eyes lighting up...

"They were off in a room...I waited with uh Big Lou." I said dryly....Sepia began laughing then, almost spit her coffee out...

"Well , I'll use the self defense excuse....You don't have any priors and everybody that knows you on the Police force will vouch for your charactor." said Robert.

"Thanks counselor, but a murderer is out there and he might just get away with it...and I can't go near him until after this trial." I said.

"Well, just because you saw them in a 7 Eleven, doesn't prove anything." said Robert...

"Yeah, but then why lie?" I asked.

III-

After we finished eating....Sepia and I went home...We showered , together of course ,made sweet love into the mid-afternoon and just chilled in bed......It had been a rough 24 hours.....

Slim had asked me to find his grand-daughter...I had done that!  It wasn't my job to bring her murderer to justice...I could just let the police do that....Then I thought to myself...They weren't going to do anything..They didn't even want to look for the girl when she was first reported missing...And the thought of that smug bastard getting away with it and setting me up and costing me legal fees to get out of a manufactured charge just made my blood boil...No..I was going to find a way to bring him down if it was the last thing I did...This was personal now!

As Sepia and I lay in the bed....The doorbell rang!

"Kev...who could be at the door? Who knows we are here?" she asked...

"Anybody." I answered as I got up and put on my bathrobe....

It was Kool Kat and Owen Todd!! Hmmm, wonder what they wanted?...

 

"What's goin on guys?" I said as I opened the door and let them in...

"We won't take up much of your time Kev...We just stopped by to tell you that uh, er..that Lewis Berger guy dropped all of the charges against you." said Kool Kat...

"What? Huh?" I said.

"Yeah Kev....Me and Kools had a ...a...er ugh , you might say, lengthy discussion with him and that broad about things and after we uh er, ruh talked...They saw things our way and they kind of agreed that it was all a
mis-understanding....They called up the Police and said as much...so ..You're off the hook." said Owen Todd.

"Off the hook? What did you guys do?" I asked....I could see me being arrested all over again!

''Relax Kev...You worry too much and you have no faith in my ability to handle things..Look at us, do we look like we been fightin or engaged in any violence?" asked Kool Kat with a maniacal smile.

Both he and Owen Todd were dressed to the nines in beautifully and expensive European  tailored suits , with shoes that might have been worn by a banker.. They had on some wonderfully smelling cologne also...If I didn't know them...I would have sworn that they were the lions of finance or commerce.

"We simply impressed upon Mr. Berger and his blond friend, Ms. Hearst  that a lot of things could happen in the course of a day." said Kool Kat.

"Yes.. a lot of things." said Owen Todd.

"We impressed upon them both that the most important thing in life is not money, but simply health...and that making phony claims and putting an innocent person like yourself behind bars would definitely not be worth their health and good standing... and guess what Kev?   Why those two nice people understood right away what I was talking about and they called the Deputy District Attorney and the Police , right while we were there, isn't that something?" asked Kool Kat...with a mischievous ,yet deadly grin that sent chills down my spine.

"Oh Really?" I asked.

"Yeah...they were only too glad to do it." said Owen Todd.

I laughed and just shook my head.....

"Where was Mr. Huxley, during all of this?" I asked.

"Long Gone Kev...He took a plane to Miami late last night...He won't be back for awhile." said Owen Todd.

I smiled-

"You know...I don't know what you two did...and I don't want to know...In fact, we never had this conversation." I said.

"Oh, that goes without saying." said Owen Todd..

"But I'm grateful to you...I really am." I said ,patting Kool Kat on the back..

"Hey Kev...don't mention it man...You're my ace...Who am I gonna run the streets with if you in the slams?" the big man said.

The three of us laughed...........but now....I was going after that snake, Colin Huxley....The hunt was back on! It was my move now!

( CONCLUSION NEXT )

Dandy

Colin Huxley was wealthy beyond anything I could measure....He was a man who placed particular importance upon his physical appearance, only the best clothing for him, the latest cars, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of Self.He was like those guys who historically, especially in late 18th- and early 19th-century Britain, a dandy, who was self-made, often strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle despite coming from a middle-class background.

He had been born and raised in Philadelphia, but had grown up on the main line...the suburbs...Had gone to private schools and had graduated with honors from Columbia University....Had done his grad school at the University of Pennsylvania and had then moved to New York for a spell where he wowed the financial world of Wall Street and beyond...

He had a place in Miami on South Beach, In Los Angelas, In London, In Paris and in Amsterdam....So why was someone like this....At Josies on Friday Night at the big Jazz Concert.?? Why was he on foot ? Why was he hobknobbing with people who he normally wouldn't give the time of day to?

These were all the questions I wanted to ask him when I went to meet him....He was staying in a plush condo in Downtown Philadelphia .  I had done my homework on this guy...

To my utter surprise , A huge bald headed(why are they always bald) , thick necked man answered the door... I could hear a bed squeaking and a headboard ramming furiously up against a wall and the sound  of a woman in the throes of ecstacy...,

"Ouuuuu..OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...oh Goddddd  Colin..Colin...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."


"You love it..you like it...you know you like it..."


"OHHHHHHHHHHH COLIN...Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.."


It must be nice...To have that much money...To not have to work...To be able to have sex in the middle of the day like this, after you've agreed to see me on the phone hours before...  Thick neck looked at me and scowled...

''What do you want?"

"I'm here to see Colin Huxley..We had an appointment." I said.

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Colinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...I'm about to cummmm..ouuuuuuuuuuuuu." came a woman's voice from the bedroom..

''Well obviously...He's busy come back later." He snarled.

"I'll wait." I said...Not liking his attitude at all and not the least bit intimidated by him.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...OUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu." came the sound from the bedroom.

"Oh..Oh..Oh...OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..UMMMMMMMMMMMMphhhhhhh..." came the grunt of a male....

"Ohhh Colin.....you're incredible.." came the female voice...

"You don't have to tell me that...I know it!" came the male voice..."Now get your clothes on and get out of here..I have business to attend to." he said.

I stood in the doorway as a buxom and shapely young blond ran out of the room with a black nightie on and nothing more and Colin Huxley walked out of his room with a long white bathrobe on and a Martini in his hand...He looked at me like I was dirt as he sat down and motioned for me to come into his foyer...

"Mr. Morris is it? What can I do for you?" he asked.

"I'm a private detective and I was hired to look for a young lady who went missing from the club, Josie's bar and Grill last Friday night....This girl..." I said as I slapped Maysa's photo down on his coffee table.

He eyed it and smiled a bit and then tossed it back down on the coffee table.

''What has this got to do with me?" he asked.

"I understand you're a big jazz fan.....and a fan of R&b music too." I said.

"Indeed...I am.." he said.

''And you were at Josies Friday night at the big concert." I said.

''Me? No...I meant to go...but I didn't make it." He said.

''So that's not you?" I said tossing three large glossies of him on the table....After we developed a photo of him at the 7 Eleven....I went back and looked at the video footage of the big Jazz concert at Josies...I found him on the footage and had prints made.

He bristled.....He didn't like being challenged and he especially didn't like being caught in a lie!

"Now look....I just want to ask you about the girl....Maybe you just saw her and talked to her..Walked her to the 7Eleven....Did you see anyone else around her?? , Did she say where she was going?" I asked.

"I don't know that girl....I never met her." he said.

I showed him the photo of him and Maysa at the 7 Eleven.....Now for the second time , he had been caught in a lie...

''And this isn't you either, I suppose?" I said. I was starting to get angry..he had brazenly lied to me twice.

"Lewis...Mister Morris here  apparently doesn't understand when a conversation is over...Educate him ,would you.?" he snapped.

"Wit pleasure Mr. H." he said as he grabbed me in the collar and cold cocked me so hard that I saw stars and then he tossed me clean across the room...I landed on a table which broke in half and I went sprawling across the floor....I was holding my jaw as Lou charged towards me...From the corner of my eye I could see Colin Huxley laughing his head off!!


He charged at me..I crouched and I landed about 12 good lefts and rights to his face.....I caught him with an uppercut that damn near ripped his head off and then clocked him in his jaw and sent him flying.... He quickly got to his feet and charged me again...throwing haymakers...I dodged them all and ripped his midsection with well placed lefts and rights and then cold cocked him in his jaw, sending him spinning around...I attempted a swift kick to his solar plexus , but he caught my foot , twisted my leg and sent me flying to the floor...

I managed to get up , but not before he caught me with a good blow to my mid-section., I grunted..I hit him with several more lefts and rights that snapped his head back and then caught him with a right cross that shook him and a left right combonation that dropped him to the floor....

Lou wasn't to be outdone...He got up and charged me again...He lifted me up by my neck and put his massive hands around my neck..I kicked him as hard as I could in his privates and he let me go...I again punished his midsection with 10-12 lefts and rights and then planted more lefts and rights to his face...He fell to the floor.....I thought I had time to catch my breath....but he was up again and charging at me...

I picked up a serving tray and brought it down hard on his massive head..several times...He was bleeding profusely now and I put his arm behind his back and slammed him into the wall so hard, it shook me!!

Lewis  dropped to the ground...Out for the night!!! Breathing heavily...

Colin Huxley was no longer laughing....

"You want to come again Colin?" I snapped.....

His lady friend, a Meaghan Hearst... had heard the commotion and had come out of her room screaming and yelling...Colin ran into the room they had been making love in and closed the door..locking it and leaving the girl out there with the unconscious Lewis Berger ,still on the floor.  I was getting nowhere here...I decided to leave.

II-

A little while later I sat in Dunkin Donuts with my wife Sepia and Clerow and his wife, Cora Beth and Kool Kat and his girlfriend, Chelsea ...We were all drinking coffee and eating Donuts....

"Kev..I keep tellin you about goin it alone on these capers....Now if Clerow and I had of been there..None of that would have happened..." said Kool Kat.

"Listen to Walter Baby....I don't want to be a widow...Take somebody with you on these things." chided my wife Sepia...

Corabeth and Chelsea looked concerned...They smiled weakly......I continued to drink coffee...I didn't figure this case warranted me bringing in anybody else..

Two Detectives and four uniformed Philadelphia Policemen walked into the Dunkin Donuts and walked right up to me....

"You Kevin Morris?" the detective asked as my wife and my friends looked stunned.

"Yeah...who wants to know?" I asked...

"I'm afraid I have to place you under arrest." he said.

"Under Arrest?? For what?" I asked.

"For Assault with intent to commit murder of one Louis Berger and for destruction of property at Mr. Colin Huxley's estate." the officer said..  "Smitty..read him his rights." he said.

One of the officers handcuffed me , while the other read me my rights and then they marched me out of the Dunkin Donuts into the Paddy wagon.

I had watched so many criminals take a perp walk to the paddy wagon and here I was , taking one myself..What a revolting development!

(Definitely To Be Continued...)

Remains Of The Day

I was sitting in Robert Foxworth's office , with attorney Foxworth and his young protoge' Chance Howard..We were all drinking coffee and talking about the great jazz concert of the week before....

"Kev, Reed Nelson and Rob Brown always bring it....but that last cat..uh...Sammy...Sammy Hideaway..he was the bomb." said Robert Foxworth...

I laughed and I looked over at Chance Howard...a young attorney with good instincts , who I predicted would make as good an investigator as me one day laughing at his boss, Robert Foxworth trying to sound hip...We shared a little private laugh that just went right by Robert...

"You guys want to break and get some lunch? I know a cool little sandwich shop .." I said.

"Yeah..I'm a bit hungry.." said Robert Foxworth...."How bout you Chance?" asked Robert.

"Yeah...I'm down..." he said.

As we were getting ready to leave ,Slim Giddings....one of Robert's clients and a neighborhood fixture walked into the lobby of the office.

''Hey Slim..What's shaking baby?" asked Robert...

Chance and I looked at each other and smiled .....

"I'm so glad I caught the three of you here..." he said.  Robert had recently helped him out in his divorce case and had settled a civil case he had been involved in....He trusted Robert for all kinds of things.

"You guys were at that Jazz concert Friday Night right?" he asked.

"Yeah" we all said in unison...

"Well so was my grand-daughter and she hasn't been seen since....Her name is Maysa Giddings" he said.

"You call the police?" I asked.

"Yeah and they gave me the same old bull about she's a grown woman and she can vanish if she wanna and all and I aint got time for their do nothin bull...If it was the mayor's daughter or some big wig..they'd already be on it." said Slim...

"You gotta photo?" I asked.

"Sure" he said.

She was indeed a looker...Both Robert and Chance were spellbound by her photo.....

"I can't believe ,I've never met your grand-daughter before." said Robert....

''She'd be a bit young for you counselor, wouldn't she?" snapped Slim staring at Robert unaprovingly....Chance and I looked at each other and laughed again.......

"What can you tell me about her last night?" I asked Slim...

''Well, she went to Josies with some friends...Two girls and a guy....They said that she got very drunk and left
before the show was even over.....They called her on her cell, but it went to voicemail....Her girlfriends said that she didn't show up at church Sunday and that they dropped by her apartment and the door was open and there was no sign of her..Thas all I know." said Slim...

"You got an address for her and a cell phone number?' I asked.

"Yeah...I can give you all of that.." said Slim....

"How about the names of her friends? The ones who were out with her?" I asked...

"Yeah..I got all of that." said Slim....

"Okay...I'll start from there, see what I can dig up." I said.

"Thanks Kev....I'll pay you..." he said.

"Don't worry about that...Let's see if I can find her first." I said.


II-

Robert, Chance and I went to the sandwich shop I told them about and had Hoagies ,Chips and Cokes....After we ate,,,We Went to the Parking lot of Josies... It didn't take us long to find a woman's pocket book!!!!

"It's got credit cards and a debit card in it Kev...a make up kit....lipstick and lottery tickets....This is Maysa's alright...Here is a drivers licensce.." said Robert Foxworth...

I looked in the pocket book , found her car keys too!

"Hey look what I found?" said Chance....

It was a cell phone!!!  I checked it and found out easily that it was Maysa's phone....I checked the last calls and sure enough they were all from her girlfriends....They started at around 11:00 pm Friday night and were made steadily into the next day and the day after that..Apparently , they weren't answered!!!!

We walked just three blocks from Josies and there was her car, a 2010 Ford Fusion....It had a flat tire!

We opened the car...Nothing was amiss...Everything was in order...This was odd....And so within the next few hours Robert ,Chance and I began asking people in the neighborhood, People who attended the concert,of which there was many and local vendors if they had seen Maysa Giddings...

To my surprise...Many had seen her..She had been visibly drunk and then had gone to her car and found that she didn't have her keys or her purse, which we of course found blocks away...Two or three people recalled seeing her with a tall well dressed man walking towards the corner of the very block we were on!!!!

I went to Josies and to a couple of other businesses and asked if I could check their parking lot cameras....Chance helped me out...We went through hours and hours of survielience footage and we found Maysa!!! Maysa and a young lady were fishing around the parking lot..Probably looking for her purse and cell phone...but it was dark and they both looked drunk.

At a 7-Eleven , we saw her buying a sandwich and a coke...This was 4:54 am Sunday Morning....You can see a man at the door, but just barely....and that represented the last time Maysa Giddings was seen alive!!!
We went by her apartment...There was no sign that she had been there recently...I talked to both girls and the guy who she came with..Their stories were all consistant...They had been partying...She had gotten really drunk ,had said she was going to the restroom and had not been seen since...All three confirmed that they had been calling her and calling her into the next day...It matched her last phone calls.

III-

Peeping Tom was good at taking photos and video and expanding them and making them clearer...A visit to him with the 7 Eleven videotape gave me a clear photo of the man who was with Maysa....I didn't know him..but Robert Foxworth did...

"That's Colin Huxley.....a real high roller.." said Robert Foxworth...

''Playa?" I asked.

"No...No...No.. Not like that...He's loaded..He's a day trader...Supposedly a financial whiz kid...Big Jazz music fan...and a big fan of Black women...." said Chance Howard...

"I never heard of him." I said.

''Yeah, well you wouldn't...None of us travel in his circles...but your boy Rollie Rollerson would know him." said Chance Howard...

"Hmmm, well maybe I should get to know him." I said.

"If he's still here...He travels from Philly to New York, to Miami, to Los Angelas, To London,Paris,Amsterdam..." said Robert Foxworth...

"What's the odds he's still in Philly now?" I asked.

"50-50" said Chance.

"You should check with Rollie Rollerson first." said Robert Foxworth.


My Android went off....It was Homicide Lt.Sissy Van Buren.....

"Hello Sissy...To what do I owe this honor?" I asked.

"Kev...I'm gonna give you some directions.....I want you to meet me there...I think we've found something, someone of interest to you...." she said.

"Oh really?" I said.

''Yeah..take these directions down." she said.

I did and then I looked at Chance and Robert Foxworth.....

"That was Homicide...They said they found something of interest." I said.

"You didn't tell the police that we were searching for this missing girl did you?" asked Robert.

''No...No...This must be something else.....I'll get back to you tomorrow.." I said as I headed to my car...

I was right off the interstate.... I had been here a couple of months before ,searching for another missing person....Mr. Bruce Harvey....I brought his killers to justice....but we had never found him...The Police had searched this area from top to bottom  and could find nothing.....As I drove up...I found a slew of police...State Police, Philadelphia Police, County Morgue officials and Lt. Sissy Van Buren....I had never seen so many people in an area like this...

"A guy was driving by here today and he stumbled across a girl's body...a young black girl!!... We had a missing person's report filed yesterday that nobody was acting on....and I heard this report and come out here...take a look....you know her?" she asked.

She pulled the cover up and there was the nude body of Maysa Giddings!!!!!   Where was her clothing???

"Her Grandfather had me looking for her, Her name is Maysa Giddings....He had just hired me....She vanished Friday from Josie's bar and grill....after a big concert...I found her car, a pocket book, and her cell phone right outside Josie's...and I talked to plenty of people who saw her that night and early the next morning.." I said.

"Wow...Well Kevin...you found her....but she's not who I called you out here for." she said.

"She's not?" I asked...

"No... a guy was also out here jogging and tripped over some human remains...further back....Look at this one.." she said....

These remains were skelatal...but the clothing remained on it....the Leather jacket, the pants....the beret...and the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity pin.....These clothes belonged to only one man...The man I had been searching for and had never found....Bruce Harvey, investigative journalist!!!!!  His remains had been located at last!!!

"This was the guy you were hunting for all that time....wasn't it?" she said solemnly....

"Yeah...it was..." I said.

"He died quick...two slugs to the back of the head...I'm amazed that we couldn't find him..We took apart every inch of this area....I guess the recent rain and winds unearthed him...just a few feet from where somebody dumped this girl..... This girl has been dead about 48 hours....Whoever dumped her out here took all of her clothes off of her...So they couldn't be identified..." she said.

"Wow...this is something..." I said.

"I just thought you'd like to know.....I'll keep you posted." she said.

"Thanks Sissy." I said...

IV-

A little while later, I went to Slim Giddings house....

"Slim...We found Maysa." I said.

"Damn...I heard you was good...." he laughed, but I wasn't laughing or smiling.

"She dead aint she?" he asked as he hung his head down.

"Pretty much" I said.

(TO BE CONTINUED...)

Sweet Baby Blues

The joint was jumpin...The streets were crowded....Gus was happier than I'd ever seen him...This night..Josies was going to make more money than any single night this year....

Captain Ahab..The pirate broadcaster, presently on a ship docked at Penn's Landing had put together the biggest Jazz music festival this city had seen in at least a year...

Me, Reed Nelson, "88", Bone Hampton, Downtown Rob Brown, Brooke Taylor, Ingrid Rhoades , Symphony Sam and his all star band and several others had the joint jumpin....Drinks were flowing...Fried Chicken was being served up via, Mabel Jenkins's Soul Food Joint...   Mabel, Corabeth, Victoria and Anita...As well as Clerow ,Deacon Larry Weatherford and their staff were busy serving plates of soul food to hungry party goers like Kevin Morris and his wife Sepia, Sean Jackson and his wife Sheila, Attorneys
Robert Foxworth and his wife, Bonita and  Conrad Nelson and his wife Jill...

Harry Charles and his wife, Hairdresser, Bernadette was in the crowd...Not to be outdone, Dollar Bill and his cheif cook, Ralph Scallion had a catering truck set up and were serving fine cuisine to other hungry concert goers... Gus and his crew had set up tents with huge Flat Screen Televisions outisde so that Mabel and company and Ralph and Dollar Bill could watch the festivities while working.

Kool Kat, Owen Todd, Donald Smooth ,Eddie and Albert were providing the security and eating and drinking for free..They were loving it...Chris Thompson and his new girlfriend and Chess and his wife Rell were also in the crowd as was my girlfriend, Debbie and her sister Delores...

Fathead Newton, Ralph Mole and Roscoe were also amongst the party goers snapping their fingers and clapping their hands to the beat as artist after artist performed...

Kool Kat's girlfriend Chelsea gave me a napkin to wipe the sweat off of my face as I finished my set and came off the stage...Debbie came up to me with a plate of Ribs, Potato salad and turnip greens..

''Come on over here and get some of this good food Reed." She said as I walked over to her...

"Thanks baby." I said.

"Seen Chet?" she asked.

''No Not yet." I said.

"He's still going to perform?" she asked.

"Yeah..I tried to talk him out of it...I told him an FBI agent is in the crowd...He said he didn't care.  He's just reckless with his." I said.

"Well you did the best you could Reed." she said as I sat down and listened to Downtown Rob Brown and his quintet..

II-

It didn't take long for me to locate the FBI agent I had met the day before..Burt Shylock..He was dressed like a nerd trying to look hip if you can imagine that...He didn't look like he was working....He looked like a fan..but then again..that could have been a ruse to trap Chet!

There was an even mixture of Blacks, Latinos, Asians and whites in the crowd...I imagined that when Gus and Ahab settled up, they would both have a very happy holiday..

I noticed a very comely woman....She looked like a mixture of White and Latina..Walking through the crowd....When she walked past Burt Shylock, he flipped...
Not that I could blame him...She was stunning...He sauntered up to her...

"Heyyyyy Sweet Baby..how are you doing?" he said.

Uh Oh..he had already gone down the wrong road with her...

"What? Who are you talking to?" she said...

"Awww come on Sweet Baby..allow me to buy you a drink..." he said.

"Do I know you?" she asked...

"Of course you don't....But how else can you get to know me sweet baby, unless I buy you a drink and we start talking to each other?" he said.

She shrugged...then she said-

"Ohh, Okay."

He got away with that?  I had better step my game up! I thought as I chuckled...

Then I saw Chet from a distance...He had on what looked like a fake beard and sunglasses...I laughed...I couldn't believe this..

Downtown Rob Brown was just finishing up his set and Symphony Sam was on the stage...

"And now ladies and gentlemen...The very last act of the night...A young man from the islands who is slowly becoming a legend....Show your love for Mr. Sammy Hideaway!!!"

The crowd went wild with applause...and Chet took the stage with his trumpet...

I looked around for Agent Shylock, but he could have cared less...He and the woman were engaged in deep conversation....They were laughing and drinking and laughing...Maybe he wasn't working..Maybe this wasn't a sting...

Chet played his beautiful haunting melody, Carlotta's song and the crowd swooned...

 He next played a beautiful version of the Jackson 5's "Maybe Tomorrow and then played Miles Davis's "So What?"  The crowd was applauding mightly....Downtown Rob Brown walked over to me...

"Damn Reed...I love this guy's technique...He's so smooth." he said.

"Indeed.." I said....

I looked over towards the booth where Burt Shylock and the comely young woman were sitting..He was sitting next to her now and they were kissing....Kissing passionately!!!!! Who would have thought that this square had so much game!!! Any game for that matter...I shook my head and laughed to myself..

Chet finished off his set with "My Funny Valentine" and was met with a roar of applause!..To my surprise , some of the youngins , Paris, Blake, Cherish, Cole, Nicole Butler and Chance Howard were in the crowd and they were cheering too..... Both Downtown Brown and I smiled...

''Give it up yall for Mister Sammy Hideaway."said Symphony Sam......Sammy Hideaway!  A phony name and an obvious one at that, I mused.

III-

The concert had been a huge success....but it was over...the droves of people began to pour out into the streets and the parking lots...Delores ,Yolanda and Debbie went to the ladies room, Rob, Meek,  and I walked out into the parking lot.. A small car was bouncing up and down furiously...Meek tapped me on the shoulder....I looked....There was the young woman...her blouse gone...her purple bra unstrapped, the front seat bent back as far as it could go and Agent Burt Shylock and her were kissing and obviously doing something else!

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm..ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh...aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...ohhhhhhhhhhhh sweeeeeeettt babbbbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy..."


"Ohhhhhhhh Burt...Burt...Burttttttttttttttttt...put it to me...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."


"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sweet baby, sweet baby..ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

Rob Brown and Meek Rollins laughed out loud....

''Awww man...this is better than the show...awww man." they said.

This went on for another few minutes....

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmph...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...."said Agent Shylock


"Ohhhhhh Burt...." said the woman


"Wow...that was something." said Burt

She got out of the car first, she fixed her skirt, and put on her blouse, She tried to fix her hair....Burt fixed his pants and shirt and tried to straighten himself out....

"Can I see you again?" he asked...

''Oh,I don't know..maybe..." she said.

"Can I have your phone number?" he asked...

"I'll tell you what...I'll take yours and I'll give you a call ." she said.

"Here's my card...Please call me...Please..I need to see you again.." he begged.

She kissed him softly.... "Sure Burt" she said...as he swooned...

Soon He drove off into the night....Just as the girls were returning to the parking lot, the real surprise of the night occurred...Rollo Jones...a known pimp and second hand man to Big Chicken walked up to the girl with an envelope, stuffed with cash...

''How did it go baby?" he asked.

"Piece of cake...He's in love and he gave me his card." she laughed.

"You're the best....I knew you'd open that fed's nose up.heh heh heh...." he said as he slapped her on the behind...

Within a few minutes....Captain Ahab walked up and gave Rollo Jones an envelope...

"Thanks Buddy." he said.

''No...thank you..Pleasure doing business with ya ." said Rollo..

"Tell Big Chicken I said Hi." said Ahab as Rollo Jones got in his Porsche and pulled off.... I walked over to Ahab...

"That girl was a Prostitute." I said.

"I don't like words like that...I'd like to say she was like hired help." laughed Ahab...

"You fished her into the club." I said.

"Nothin gets past you Reed Nelson...When you come on the boat tellin that fool Chet about the FBI agent and pointing him out..I knew I had to do somethin.....Wasn't no way that fool wasn't gonna perform...He's gonna be the father of my grandchild..Can't have him in the slams....Plus he's making me a mint in promotion money...So I went to Gus for help..Gus told me about Rollo Jones..." said Ahab.

"Slick...Nice plan...a diversion huh?" I said.

"Yup....Plus..I know Big Chicken....I've been around Philly a time or two...I know some of the old playas." said  Ahab...

We both laughed heartedly....

EPILOUGE:

Debbie and I drove down to Penn's landing the next morning to see them off...Chet and Verna looked very happy and content...Ahab was counting his money..he looked happy too...

"Well Reed, ladyfriend...until we meet again..." he said.

"Okay guys...Chet..take care of that little lady and that baby." I said as Chet and Verna smiled and waved..

"I will my friend...I will." he said.

"Oh and don't worry Reed..We'll be back this way soon...cause you Philly people know how to put money in a dude's pocket...Good God Almighty." laughed Captain Ahab...

Debbie and I laughed...we all laughed at that in fact.!




FOR  SLC

The Ghost Who Walks!

"What The Hell?" I said as I stood ,startled ..looking at a guy who had vanished into thin air just a year before!!!!

"No Hi, No Hello? " said Chet Cook with a big wide grin as Meek and I both stood speechless...

"I would ask man where have you been, but I can imagine..." I said as we embraced in the doorway... Chet turned around..Looked from side to side and then said...

''Well Let me in...I don't want to stand outside too long.....You understand of course." He said as Meek reluctantly let us both in..

"Man, you're a fugitive...I saw you in the post office." Meek joked...but it was true...Chet was on the FBI's wanted fugitive list...."Interstate Flight to avoid prosecution for the crime of attempted murder."

"Perhaps...but they are looking for me in Miami, New Orleans...Puerto Rico....Not here in Philadelphia...I have no ties to this city...." he said.

Yolanda, still clad in Meek's shirt walked out of the bedroom and sat with us at the table...

"Hi Chet..How have you been?" she asked.  Chet looked at Meek and cracked a smile...

"You know,I was going to ask you why you were in your drawers this time of day and in this kind of weather, but I see now..." he said with a sly grin and a glance toward Yolanda who cracked a wicked smile and burst into laughter...Meek gave a sheepish grin and hung his head...

"I've been fine....After you guys left..I hid on Blue Island for as long as I could...The local police there knew where I was...but they didn't look for me too hard....then the Federalis came and it was a different ballgame..They were investigating the corrupt police chief and in turn opened up a number of previously unsolved cases...including mine!!! I thought I was a goner until Captain Ahab's boat docked on the shore and he began broadcasting his radio show....I gave him some copies of the recordings Meek cut on me last year that were never released and some of my released copies...We ate good food and drank wine and hung out on the boat.....Then his beautiful daughter flew in and we met, we fell in love and now we have a baby on the way." said Chet.

"I'm sure Ahab is tickled pink about that." I said dryly.

"Ahhh, he aint too happy with it..but what can you do, eh?" laughed Chet.

''Question is..what are you gonna do?" I asked.

"I saw you boarding the boat yesterday...I hid...I thought you was the FBI at first...I started to say something when I realized it was you..but I waited...I followed you, which is how I wind up here." He said, ignoring my question.

"What are you gonna do?" asked Meek Rollins.

"I'm going to hang with Ahab..We don't stay anyplace too long.. Nobody thinks to look on that boat..Not for me." he said.

"You can't hide forever ..You're about to be a father now..and everyday you stay with them, you make them accessories to your crime..." I said.

"What would you have me do, turn myself in.???.What good would I be to my baby then?" asked Chet.

"What good are you now? You can't even get work giggin.." I said.

"Oh I have...I've played in New Orleans and Miami with a false beard and a phony name.."Sammy Hideaway" he said.

"What?  You were taking a chance." said Meek Rollins...

"I plan to play at this jam session too that Ahab is hooking up..." he said.

"Are you crazy?" I said.

"Watch me...I'm going to close the show." he laughed.

"Mannn, you are gone baby goneee." laughed Meek..

''Who knows I'm here? Who cares??....They are looking for me down south..Not up here." he said.

"Okay Chet or ..Sammy...but you'd better be careful." I said.

"Always." he laughed...

Yolanda poured Meek, Chet and I three tumblers of Sangria and a tumbler for herself...

We drank and talked some more and laughed.....Finally, Chet got up ,put his coat back on and turned down his hat...

"It was great seeing all of you guys again..." he said.

"You need a lift somewhere?" I asked.

"Nope...I have a car outside... a rental...Phony name, Phony I.D.  It's two blocks from here..I'm going to return it and return to the boat...I look forward to hearing you play again Reed." he said.

"Okay Chet...take care of yourself man...and be easy baby." I said...

"Yeah man, be easy." said Meek Rollins..

"Always" he said as he tipped his hat to Yolanda and left.

II-

A few nights later, Debbie and I were joined by Delores and Downtown Rob Brown at Josie's...They were back from New York City and eager to go out...No one was performing tonight...There was a D.J. ,Gus was giving us a run down of the order of the big show...

" Brooke Taylor and her Quintet are going to open the show and then Bone Hampton is going to follow her and do a set with his guys...Ingrid Rhodes will come out next and then Symphony Sam and his all star band will follow...You and Downtown here can flip for who will go on next...." he said.

''Gus, I don't care ..I'm just happy to be giggin." said Rob......

''I got this out of towner closin the show...guy calls himself Sammy Hideaway...He plays the trumpet..pretty good too Reed." said Gus..

I smiled- "Yeah, I met him once..in Puerto Rico," I said...

Just then a white man....the only white man in the bar at the time  asked me a question...

"Sammy Hideaway eh? Plays the trumpet??  I heard him when I was in New Orleans on a case..He's going to play here huh?" he said.

I didn't say a word....but Gus did-

"Yeah...he's the closing act." he said..."You a musician or a fan?" he asked.

"Oh I'm a fan...I'm no musician....can't play a note." he said.

"What line a work are you in?" asked Gus.

"The name is Shylock...Burt Shylock...I'm an FBI special agent!" he said.

My mouth dropped to the floor!

(Conclusion Next!)