Out Of The Darkness

Back at Debbie's Apartment, we were eating and relaxing...She had been silent our entire ride back to her apartment..but now she had questions...as I knew she would.

"Reed...You said that not only do you think Chet Cook is alive ,but he's here in Philly...You gotta tell me what makes you think so?" she asked.

"I'm a man Debbie.." I said.

"I certainly hope so...I sure hope I haven't been sharing my bed with no woman all of these months.." she said laughing.

"What I mean is that when I talk to another man, I can tell when I've struck a nerve, when I've made him uncomfortable...Everytime I mentioned Chet's name..The hair on Ahab's neck seemed to rise and his body language just spoke to me...He said that he saw him on Blue Island and that he vanished...but I don't think that that was the story at all..Did you see his daughter, Verna?" I asked.

"Yeah...She's pregnant." said Debbie.

"Oh so you could tell huh?" I said.

"I'm a woman." she said.

I looked her up and down....

"Lawd Jesus you are.." I said , still looking at her lustfully..She laughed...

"Oh shut up Reed.." she said..

"Verna is the spitting image of that young lady, Carlotta ,who Chet was so smitten with on Blue Island." I said.

"Yeah....come to think of it...they do favor....Verna is like a younger, slightly smaller version of Carlotta, but I can see the attraction....the resemblance....You think Chet is the baby daddy?" she asked.

"I sure do." I said.

"Wow Reed, you sure are taking a long shot here..He don't have to be.." said Debbie.

"Normally ,I would agree, but the way Ahab acted...I'm bettin he is and that Ahab isn't too happy about it either." I said...

"Then where was Chet or rather where is he?" asked Debbie.

"That is the mystery....That I can't tell you...but I'm bettin he's close by." I said.

"Wow , that's a stretch." she said...

"I don't think it's too far fetched." I said as I pulled Debbie towards me...She sat on my lap and I kissed her slowly and passionately....

''Ummmmmm...we'd better stop this...I've got to clean up all this food and these bowls.." she said as we kissed some more...

She pulled away from me....

"Come on now..We keep this up and we just gonna wind up on the floor or on the couch and not a bit of work is going to get done..." she said, laughing uneasily as I opened her blouse and began kissing her stomach and then her neck , behind her ears..and unhooking her lacy black bra....and kissing and sucking her breasts...

"Ummmmmmm, ohhh Reed, stop it..ouuuuuuuuuuuu...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh that feels sooo good... ohhhhhhh.." she moaned as we continued kissing...Before I knew it..She had unzippered my trousers and was stroking me gently....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuu Reeeeed..ohhhhhhhhh.." she moaned......

Like she said...It wasn't long before we were on the living room carpet, my trousers off, her pants and blouse off and her thong off and me deep inside of her and moving in and out at a rapid pace....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Debbie...." I moaned...

"Oh Reed...don't stopppppppp...don't ever stopppp! " she moaned as we made sweet love on the floor for close to an hour and a half...

We woke up in Debbie's bed...looking at each other and laughing........

"You are sooo nasty....Now I've got to go in there and wash all of those dishes." said Debbie ,pretending to be angry....

"I'll help...." I said.

"Uh..Uh....We'll wind up back in bed again....No..you get dressed..Don't you have a missing trumpet player to find?" she asked...

We looked at each other and laughed out loud.

II-

I called Downtown Brown..He and Delores was in New York..I pitched him the idea of playing a benefit for Ahab..Turns out, he knew who he was and agreed to do it...Bone Hampton was in and Symphony Sam's represenative was in also...I called Brooke Taylor in San Francisco and the singer, Ingrid Rhodes..They both were in as were a few other musicians I knew around the area...

I stopped by Josie's and talked to Gus about it too..

"Yeah..I know that old rummy...I didn't even know he was in town....Tell him to give me a call...Having an All star Holiday Jam would be great for the bar...I might have to double up the muscle though....You know what happened the last time? " he said.

"Yeah...but between your crew and Chris and Chess's people..I'm sure that nothing like that will happen again." I said.

I showed him a photo of Chet Cook!

"Who's he?" asked Gus...

"A trumpet player....You ever see him in here?" I asked.

"Nah...He playin too?" asked Gus...

"He might be." I said.

I left Gus and drove to Meek Rollins spot... Meek came to the door in his boxer shorts.

"Man..It's 2:30 in the afternoon...you aint up yet?" I asked...

"Well man..." said Meek....I looked behind him and saw Yolanda...She was wearing Meek's shirt and was ducking into his bedroom...

"Oh...Bad time?" I asked stupidly...

''Nah...Nahhh, what's up Reed?" he asked...

"Chet?  Chet Cook! " I said.

"The trumpet player we met on Blue Island? What about him??" asked Meek..

"He's here...He's in Philly." I said.

"What? You seen him?" asked Meek...

"I've seen and heard his handywork." I said.

"Yeah? Where?" asked Meek.

"Long Story..but he's here." I said.

"How you know?" asked Meek...

Then I saw Meek's eyes grow as large as saucers..... I spun around....

"Meek Rollins....Reed Nelson.....It's been a long time hasn't it?" came the voice.....

It was Chet Cook!!

(TO BE CONTINUED..........)