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...)