Honor Amongst Thieves

I was sitting in the van, about two blocks from Fruit Loops "office" ...It was on the second floor of The YMCA swim club....He was too smart to discuss important business at his home...in his two grocery stores or on his phones...We knew..We had been monitoring him...He discussed his real business in this office on top of the indoor swimming pool....

Clerow and Sean Jackson had discovered this office and had told Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson, who did their thing....Clerow, Tom,Lockpick, Sean,Kool Kat and I were watching and listening to their entire conversation in our van....

Moon and Drake had taken Fruit Loops the news that I wanted to trade the keys to the P.O. Box for 50k and Bone Hampton's debt being cleared...Those Kilos of good Heroin was worth millions to him on the street....He had to have it...He decided to make the deal...We already had him on tape agreeing to the deal with me....But all of a sudden, he changed things up..He called a meeting with Drake, Moon and Jack Rafferty in this office.

"Hey FL...what's up?  We gonna meet with Bone's guy to make the exchange?" asked Moon.

"I am...We however aint doin nothin..There's been a change of plans.." said Fruit Loops.

'"Change of plans? What do you mean ?" asked Drake.

"I got a call from Bone Hampton today." said Fruit Loops.

"Yeah?, where he at?" asked Moon.

"Fortunate for him, he's not as stupid as you...Do you really think he was gonna tell me that?" asked Fruit Loops.

"We'll find him Boss...don't worry" said Drake.

"Finding him aint important....You know,he told me how much he gave you to give to me.....Told me he got half from his studio and the rest from the now deceased Barbara Courtland...Apparently she sold off some of her brother's stash." said Fruit Loops.

"Oh yeah? That dirty broad....Why she front him the money?" asked Drake.

"He was screwing her...They were lovers apparently and she just wanted to stick it to me..Anyway, it aint important." he said.

"Right..we gone go and get the rest of the stash right?" said Drake.

"No...you're not...You two have been stealin from me..Takin a cut and tellin me that Bone was short..." said Fruit Loops...

"Nawwww man..nawwww..." said Moon.

"Don't believe that chisler..he lyin man." said Drake.

"I don't think he was...Jack!" said Fruit Loops!

We watched in horror as Jack Rafferty put his pistol to Moon's head and pulled the trigger!!!! blood and brain matter splattered against the wall..Moon was dead before he hit the ground....

"Oh my god...you lousy bastard...you lousy double crossing bastard." yelled Drake...He pulled out his forty five and shot Fruit Loops twice..once in the stomach and again in his side...

"ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH...I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!! I've been shot!!!" yelled Fruit Loops as he pitched forward....

Jack Rafferty didn't waste time waiting to be shot..He shot Drake four times in the chest...Drake tossed his gun up in the air!!!

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....I DON'T BELIEVE IT...I'VE BEEN SHOT....AND BY YOUUUUU...you..dirtyyyyyyyy ratttttt!!! ARGGGGHHHHHHH."
he screamed as he fell to the ground....

Jack Rafferty looked around, then took a hankercheif and wiped the room down as best he could...He took my number out of Fruit Loops pocket, and quietly closed the door...He rushed out of the building, jumped in his car and pulled off!

Kool Kat was the only one laughing...

"Can you believe those three goof balls...They shot each other???" he howled...

Clerow smiled...Tom and Lockpick Johnson were stunned by what they had just recorded...

"Gentlemen...I should be getting another call soon." I said.

II-

The police came to the YMCA...There they found the dead, bullet riddled bodies of Drake Evans, Rodney "Moon" Nelson and Kingpin, Benjamen "Fruit Loops" Kelly....We didn't turn in the evidence we had on Jack Rafferty just yet....I wanted to play this out...

Like clockwork...I got a call from him....

"Hello"

"Hey...You still want to make the deal for the four kilos ?" came the voice.

"Who is this?" I said.

"Who I am isn't important....You wanna deal or not?" came the voice.

"I made the deal with Fruit Loops" I said.

"Well, he's dead...but I worked closely with him...I'll still give you the 40k..."

"I believe I said 50k" I said.

"It's gotta be 40..that's all I got." he said.

"Okay...and my friend, Bone Hampton's debt is still clear right?" I said.

"I don't even know him..I just want the dope." he said.

"It's as good as yours...Meet me at The Mermaid Club..I'll be in the first booth with two of my guys." I said.

"I'll see you at 7:00 pm sharp." he said.

"Good deal" I said.

He was on time....He gave me a suitcase with 40 large and I gave him the key and directions to the P.O. Box... He was in  such a hurry it wasn't funny. Once he was gone..Kool Kat and Clerow burst into laughter....

"Man...I almost feel sorry for this cat..." said Kool Kat.

"You aint gonna tell the cops?" asked Clerow...

"Yeah..in a few days...I want to have some fun." I said.

I paid Kool Kat, Clerow, Peeping Tom, Lockpick Johnson and Sean Jackson....I pocketed the other half...about 20k for myself....

It had been a good day afterall..

EPILOUGE

It didn't take Jack Rafferty long to realize that he'd been had..That he had people cutting and packing cake batter and selling it!! Junkies and dealers alike were looking for him...
Lucky...FOR HIM....The police found him first!...With our information..He was charged and convicted of three counts of first degree murder.... He got three consecutive life sentences....He rode away on the bus headed for prison shaking his head and crying a little bit...He still didn't understand how his luck had turned so bad...

A few nights later.....My wife Sepia, Sean Jackson, his wife Sheila, Harry Charles, Bernadette, Downtown Rob Brown, Delores, Reed Nelson, Debbie, Mabel Jenkins, "88", Anita Jenkins, Chance Howard, Deacon Weatherford and Victoria Weatherford,
Clerow, His wife, Corrie, Chess, his wife,Rell, Chris Thompson,Donald Smooth, Newlyweds, Robert Foxworth and Bonita Turner-Foxworth ,Paris, Blake,Cherish and Gus were all guests at the gala opening and party for Bone Hampton's new recording studio....Ralph Scallion catered the event and the food was off the chain...

I walked over to Clerow...

"Hey man..come outside with me..I got something to show you." I said.

"Huh? Kev..I'm eating man.." he said. I looked at Cora beth who smiled and said-

"Come on Honey...you need to see this."

The three of us walked outside...Kool Kat drove up in a 2010 Nissan Versa...

"Well, what you think?" I said.

"Nice man....Kool Kat bought a new car..that's what you brung me out here to see?" said Clerow.

"That's not his car." I said with a sheepish grin.

"No..Who's car is it?" asked Clerow....

Kool Kat tossed him the keys....

"It's yours fool...Kev bought it for you with his half of the money he took from Jack Rafferty..He wont need it where he's goin." said Kool Kat...

Corabeth couldn't contain herself...She screamed with glee and kissed Clerow on the cheek.

"It's about time you had some new wheels man...You got a wife and two kids..." I said.

"Awwww mannnnn, thanks baby!" said Clerow as he and Corabeth ran to their new car.

Kool Kat shook his head..he smiled ,shook his head some more and went inside with the others to continue enjoying the party....

Sepia came out and put her arms around me....

"Well lover you done good...Bone Hampton has his studio and Clerow and Corrie have a new car....only one left who hasn't been paid is me." she said and winked and then walked back inside with a seductive switch.....
I smiled at her...She turned around to see if I was looking...which I was and she smiled back.I stood outside in the warm night and smiled... "In time my dear...in time." I thought to myself.

Keys Baby,Keys!

Within the next 48 hours, I put a full court press out on Benny"Fruit Loops"Kelly....I had Peeping Tom and Locksmith Johnson,posing as exterminators wire both of his grocery stores for sound and video...They watched his home and got inside of there and wired that for sound and video also...Eventually, they hacked into his computer, and his cell phones...

Clerow and Sean Jackson followed him, Drake and Moon in an assortment of rental cars and took photos...One day of surveilience brought about some interesting things. An assortment of known low level drug dealors came through his grocery stores with envelopes and packages..but bought no groceries...We got good photos of them and we had audio tape and video of their transactions..Drug payoffs and re ups of supplies...We annonymously passed this information to the District Attorney's office and The DEA...

"Fruit Loops" himself was much too shrewd to discuss his business on the phone or the cell phone..He had a goon named Jack Rafferty make his collections and conduct his business for him...

We eventually though did pick up this rather revealing conversation in the living room of Fruit Loops house.

"So let me get this straight...one guy...one guy beats the crap out of both of you knuckleheads and takes your guns?? One guy???" screamed Fruit Loops.

"Mann..He was good with his hands and he hit hard." whined Moon.

"Yeah, from the shiner on both of your eyes ,I can see that." laughed Jack Rafferty.

"You shut up..I'd like to see you try it." screamed Moon.

"Come on pal..come onnnn, give me a reason..I been wantin to knock you on you can for awhile now." said Jack Rafferty.

"Both of you shut up and pipe down....First off..Why did you shoot Bone Hampton?" asked Fruit Loops.

"He mouthed off at me in the club." said Drake.

"SO WHAT?? He owes me money...and you guys were supposed to collect that money..So far I aint seen but about a third of what he owes...He told me that he had most of it...What you shoot him for?? You coulda just have slapped him around...How come he had muscle at the hospital?? He musta thought you knuckleheds was comin back..WHAT WAS YA COMIN BACK FOR?" said Fruit Loops.

"Nothin man...We was just gonna scare him, tell him to keep his mouth shut..and get us the rest of that money." said Drake..

"I think they lyin boss...You shoulda put me on it..I woulda got the money and found the dope that that babe is hidin..." said Jack Rafferty.

"Awww man you wouldn't have done nothin..Just shut up." said Drake..

"Shut me up...Come ONNNN..COME ON baby..If you fellin froggy..Leap daddy oh.."
said Jack Rafferty..

"Dummy up all of you....That babe had four keys...four keys of good dope..street value ,millions...Go back to her place and toss it...Find me a P.O. box key or something..She has to be hiding that dope somewhere....Find Bone and get my money from him, that's all I'm askin you two to do..Nothin else..Ya hear me?" said Fruit Loops.

"Yeah and when I find his friend, am I gonna have somethin for him." said Moon.

"Forget about his friend...Apparently he had somethin for both of you...He beat the crap out of you..Leave him be....before he beats you up again." said Fruit Loops.

(Sound of laughter)

"Hey Jack, shut up..." said Drake.

"Shut me up..COME ONNNNN..puhleaseeeeee!" taunted Jack Rafferty.

"Will you both knock it off, you're all like children." said Fruit Loops.

We all howled with laughter after hearing that conversation....

"Once again Tom and Lockpick, great work...Sean...you and Clerow stay on them and keep me posted...I got some more nosing around of my own to do." I said.

"We on it Kev." said Sean Jackson.

II-

Several low level and middle management drug dealors who did business with Fruit Loops were arrested thanks to the information I passed on to the authorities..but I wasn't worried about that...It was the girl, the dead girl ,Barbara that was intriguing me.
I stopped in Josies and the Mermaid club and talked to a few people....Barbara was known, but not as a player..It was her brother...Eric Courtland that was player..He had once worked for Fathead Newton...He was enterprising and eventually bought his way out of Fathead's employ and went to work for himself.....

Fruit Loops did not take kindly to independent freelancers working on his turf...Eric had a supplier from somewhere in the south...He drove down south every month, got his own stash and quietly dealt it himself....It was said to be so good that pretty soon he began attracting Fruit Loop's customers away...His sister ,Barbara went from handling his books to helping him distribute product....

Sometime in late July of last year....Eric's bullet riddled corpse was found out near the golf course where Fruit Loops and some of his associates were known to play...His way of sending a message!

Heartbroken and enraged that her brother had been murdered..Barbara Courtland continued to sell off the rest of his stash...Which is why she had enough money to front a certain Jazz musician with a dream that she had begun dating and sleeping with.

Amazing what you can find out on the street...I imagine that Fruit Loops wanted that stash as well as the name of the connect, which Barbara wouldn't give up...and she paid for her defiance with her life!! She obviously had no idea how ruthless a man like Fruit Loops was!

III-

I drove out to the safehouse... Bone Hampton and Ralph Mole were playing cards and watching basketball on Television..I sat down next to them...I looked Bone Hampton in
the face...

"What?" the Trombonist asked.

"The keys baby, the keys....When were you going to tell me that you have the keys to that girls P.O. Box?" I asked.

"You hadn't asked." he said and held his head down...

"She gave you the keys didn't she and told you to hide them in case anything happened to her didn't she? That's how much she hated Fruit Loops didn't she?" I said.

"Boy you can't keep anything from you huh Kev?" said Bone Hampton.

"The keys Bone, the keys." I said.

Bone Hampton went in his pocket and gave me a key...and a peice of paper with a location on it..

"This is my key....It'll lead you to my P.O. Box...In there you'll find an envelope with her keys and the location of her P.O. Box...In her P.O. Box is the four kilos of dope man.  I was gonna sell it myself , raise his dough and pay him off." said Bone.

"You never pay a guy like him off...."I said.

"So what you gonna do?..." asked Bone..

"I'm gonna give him the dope , in exchange for your debt being wiped clean..."I said.

"You think he'll go for it?" asked Bone..

"He's got no choice." I said and laughed and was about to leave...I turned and looked at Bone...I suddenly had an amusing idea.....

"Bone...I want you to call this number...tomorrow...it's Fruit Loop's private cell.....Tell him that his two main men have been stealin from him." I said.

"He won't believe me." said Bone.

"Ohhh, I'm bettin he will...and once he does...the pot will really get stirred." I said.

"Okay Kev...if you say so." said Bone.  Ralph Mole looked at me and laughed...

"Kevin, you're a big trouble maker." he said, grinning at the thought of what might happen next.

IV-

Clerow couldn't control his laughter as he pulled the four Kilos of Heroin out of the P.O. Box and replaced it with four kilos of Dunkin Hines Cake batter...Kool Kat was laughing too...The only one not laughing besides me was the two DEA agents and ADA Keith Wallace...

"Thanks for the tip Kevin as well as the other evidence....but you think this will work?" asked ADA Keith Wallace..

"I'm going to set him up...When he and his goons come to pick this up...Your cameras will catch him and then, you got him!!!" I said.

"Seems too easy...but we'll take it." said one of the DEA Agents...

"We got him on conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance...I'd like to get him on murder, but if this is the best we can do..I'll take it." he said.

Drake and Moon were sitting at a booth in the Mermaid Club when Kool Kat, Clerow and I walked up to them...naturally they were startled...

"Don't get up....REALLY..DON"T GET UP!" said Kool Kat...Clerow stood behind him, snickering, holding a .45....I smiled at them..

"Heyyy Drake....What's happenin? Moon baby, how you doin? How's the eye? Look, let's let bygones be bygones fellas....I happen to know that your boss wants four kilos of some good dope that a recently deceased young woman left behind.....here is your chance to be a hero.." I said and tossed the P.O. box key on the table.

"What the hell is this?" asked Drake.

"That's the babe's P.O. Box key...The dope is in there..." I said.

"What's in it for you?" asked Moon.

"Tell your boss my finders fee is 50 large and I want my man Bone's debt cleared...Everybody wins...You get to be heroes.." I said.

"I'll think about it." said Drake.

"Well don't think too long...tick tock...the clock is tickin...Here's my number...tell him to call...Make the deal..If he doesn't...I know several players who will." I said.

"Alright...we''ll call you tomorrow and let you know." said Drake.

I then snatched the key off of the table...

"Evenin Gents." I said.

Clerow, Kool Kat and I left the club...All of us were snickering. The tide was about to turn!

(Conclusion Next)

Barbara

Old men and Musicians...I tell you...they always got their stories...Bone Hampton had more to tell me than what he told me in that hospital..but I sensed that that wasn't the place to go into it...I had Kool Kat and Clerow come up to the hospital...Clerow, dressed like an intern, "escorted " Bone Hampton out of the hospital and into his car.
Kool Kat and I followed.  We called Fathead Newton up and asked for the use of his safehouse out by the airport...The gregarious gangster agreed, but jokingly told me that he expected a big birthday gift from me within the next month!

Ralph Mole and Roscoe were waiting for us when we got there...To my surprise..my friends, Chess, Donald Smooth and Chris Thompson were there too..They were playing cards, drinking "red" Kool Aid and eating potato chips..

''What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"Might ask you the same thing Kev, but I think I know..." laughed Chris Thompson.

"Hey Bone...how you doin?" asked Chess.

"I'm hangin man...they winged me..it aint like they was tryin to really kill me." laughed Bone Hampton.

"Kev..you really got some nasty cats on your tail this time." said Donald Smooth.

"No he don't...you should of seen him...he beat the crap out of both of them." laughed Bone Hampton..

"Wha? You beat up Big Moon and Drake?" laughed Chris Thompson as he slapped his knee in amazement.

"They are sleepin it off in the hospital...I imagine come mornin, they'll be lookin for me." I said.

"Man..How many times I gotta tell you to call me when you in to some mess..." said Kool Kat.

''Well hell Kool Kat..He beat both of them up without you, so I guess he aint need you." laughed Roscoe.

We all laughed...Chris patted me on the back...

"My man...I remember you from back when we both used to box at the PAL center." he said.

Chris Thompson was a fierce fighter...as fierce as they came...I remembered him too..Like me, he seldom lost..Surprisingly enough..we had never fought each other...but had fought and beat some of the same guys..Chess and Donald Smooth used to box there too. Good times!

II-

Chris, Chess,Donald Smooth and Roscoe finished playing cards and eventually left and went home..So did Clerow...After awhile, it was just me, Kool Kat, Ralph Mole and Bone Hampton sitting around talking...Bone began to talk about Barbara, the dead girl..

"Man, where do I begin...I met her in Josies...I sat in with Reed Nelson and his band one night...I saw her sitting alone...Man she looked good...Had on a black and white stripe mini skirt man...Her hips was rockin that dress...I watched her drink three glasses of wine..Finally, I told Gus to send her one more glass from me.You know Gus...He scowled at me, but he did it...She looked at me, smiled and I got up and sat in the booth with her."

Musicians and their stories.

He continued-

"Anyway, I eased next to her...damn she smelled good...I wondered if she smelled as good naked..you know me man..heheheheheheh..I introduced myself and she said that she heard me when I sat in with Reed's band and that I was good.. I smiled and she smiled...


"I'm Barbara, Barbara Courtland. Thank you for the drink."



"No problem. You look like you've had a long day."I said




"That's putting it mildly." She said as I giggled like a cheshire cat.


I couldn't help but notice her lips were absolutely luscious. Thick and full, just like I like em on women. I wanted to lean forward and kiss them but I held back. I think she knew I wanted to kiss her and she wanted to kiss me too..We chatted a bit longer and I guess I kept lingering on her lips because she finally caught me.


As she leaned close to me, she whispered in my ear, "Do my lips turn you on?".




I sighed with pleasure as I responded back, 'Abso-damn-lutely.baby.'

Kev, Ralph..Walter, I kid you not...she goes "Well lets get out of here and see how much more I can turn you on."


I threw a couple of dollars on the table..Got a cab and went up to her place and it was on like popcorn..." he said.

"So that's how it began?" I asked.

"Yup...and when I told her about my dreams to open up that studio, that's when she fronted me the money to pay off my debt to Fruit Loops...She told me that she hated him..." he said.

"Yeah well..there's more to this man..." I said.

"There is no more.that's all there is." said Bone..

"No, there's got to be more...There always is." I said.

Kool Kat yawned...

"Come on man, let's go home.." I said.  "You'll be safe here Bone...I'm going to do some nosing around." I said.

"Kev man, you better be careful...those two guys are gonna be looking for you." said Bone.

"I'm not worried about em...I got the big man here with me." I said pointing to Kool Kat.

Kool Kat smiled and Bone nodded...Then we left.

Kool Kat and I drove home that night..now early morning...

''What you think Kev?"he asked.

"This babe, Barbara Courtland..She's a freelance dealor on Fruit Loop's turf? No way man...She just fronts a guy some money she barely knows...That doesn't sound right."I said.

"No it don't...There must be some kind of connection." said Kool Kat.

"And we are going to find it..Tomorrow..I'm rounding up the troops..." I said.

(To Be Continued...)

Anticipation

Musicians and Old men have one thing in common...Their stories..They always have their stories and sometimes to get to the meat of the thing, you gotta listen to their stories...I was in the hospital room with Jazz Trombonist "Bone" Hampton, who'd been shot by two thugs at Mulberry Street lounge last night...And here he was telling me that he'd witnessed a murder!!!

''What do you mean you were there?" I asked.

"I was there Kevin..Barbie was my friend...We were business partners ." he said.

"Business partners?  Monkey business Bone? I saw her...What was left of her...She was a real good looking babe...She didn't look like no accountant." I said.

''Aww Kev, you got jokes, right? She fronted me some money...Money I needed to buy and refurbish a recording studio..." said the trombonist.

"A recording studio?? That's big cash.." I said.

"Everybody's got a dream man..That was my dream...I was in Josie's playin a set and me and Meek Rollins ,Reed Nelson, Downtown Rob Brown kept talkin about how it's so hard to book studio time for cats like us, because rappers and r& b singers got all the local studios locked down now of days...and I started talkin about us poolin our money and buying our own studio. Gordon Pratt died and his widow had put his old recording studio up for sale...That's where Benny "Fruit Loops" Kelly comes in...He overheard us and he offered to front us the money..." said Bone Hampton.

"Awww Bone...Fruit Loops is a stone gangster man...why did you get involved with him?" I asked...

"Yeah man..I know....Reed,Meek, Rob Brown and Gus all tried to tell me that he was no good...but I didn't listen....I couldn't get that kind of bread from no bank man...so I took his money...I got the studio refurbished and all and started booking acts...I made up half the bread he fronted me real fast." said Bone.

"And then Drake and Moon entered the picture.." I said...It was an old story...

"Yeah..they came in and broke a couple of my speakers and demanded Fruit Loops money...Not just what he gave me, but ten percent more...I gave it to em and each time they came back...they wanted more and more.. I feel like I paid back my debt twice...I'm caught up Kev...I can't get out." said Bone.

''Where does the girl come in?" I asked.

"Barbara....aww man..she fronted me some of the money....See, she was movin a little dope on the side...She had three or four kilos man and she fronted me the money...enough to pay him off....but them two jerks took the money and probably spent half of it..now they want more...Kev, you gotta help me...I can't keep kickin money back to them...You gotta get me outta here." said Bone.

"Get you out of here? Man you've been shot....you got bandages on...I can't move you out of here." I said.

"They'll be back here to get me...I'm tellin you." he said.

"What about this murder?" I asked.

"I was up in that room with her...We was about to , you know...and they come knockin on the door.." said Bone.

"They who?" I asked.

"Fruit Loops himself ,Drake and Moon." said Bone.

"They wanted you?" I asked.

"Nah...they didn't know I was up there...I was in my drawers man..She told me to hide, so I went out on the terrace and hid behind the plants so they couldn't see me.." he said.

"Then what?" I asked.

"They barged in...They had a big argument...Fruit Loops say that Barbara owed him four keys of heroin...and she said that she didn't owe him nothin, cause she was independent..she didn't work for him...She told them to get out...Fruit Loops told Moon to toss her out the window and that's what he did...Tossed her out the window." said Bone.

"You SAW him do that?" I said.

"Yeah man...I heard "Fruit Loops tell him to do that and Moon did it. They didn't see me." said Bone.

"Then you've got to tell the police...That can put Fruit Loops and Moon away for life and Drake tried to kill you...That will get him some time too." I said.

"Man...I won't make it to tell the police nothin...They gone kill me to keep me from tellin Fruit Loops that they stealin from him..Kev, please...you gotta get me outta here." he begged.

"Alright..I'm gone go and get my guys together...I'll be back in a couple of hours...Have your clothes and stuff together and be ready to roll, okay?" I said.

"Cool...Thanks Kev..they said that you was cool." said Bone.

''Who said?" I asked.

"Reed and Rob Brown and Debbie.." he said.  I smiled..It was nice to know that they thought so highly of me. I walked out of his room...Standing down the hall was either the ugliest nurse I'd ever seen in my life or a man!!She was mopping the floor..She eyed me and I eyed her....Something wasn't right.

The Dress she was wearing was too small and ill fitting and her arms were very muscular...She looked like a cross between Madea and Big Momma...That was no woman...That was Moon!!!I am betting that he was packing too...I turned around and walked back down the dark hall...Just as the nurse was getting ready to open Bone's door...I said-

''Visting hours are over ...MOON!"

It was Moon!! He spun around and tried to charge at me, but I ducked  out of the way, Then he hit me in my side and knocked me down....Moon was a Huge , heavily muscled and bald headed black man who I  didn't relish fighting.He was about to stomp me....I grabbed his foot and twisted it and sent him falling to the floor...I managed to get to my feet ,but I was in extreme pain....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...

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 moved from side to side...My training as an Golden Gloves boxer and again as a middleweight boxer in the Marine corps came back to me....I tagged him with several lefts and rights to his face..and after awhile...Big Moon fell to the ground...out like a light...!

Just as I was about to catch my breath..I felt cold steel on my neck...This was more than likely...Drake!!!!!!
"Uhh..Uhhh..Uhhhh..I don't know who you are, but right now...you one dead nigguh.." He said....I thought quick...A swift elbow to the bridge of his nose...stunned him and forced him to drop his gun..I spun around and cracked him hard in his ribs...He grunted..and then I cracked him in his stomach...I delivered some pretty solid lefts and rights to his face and caught him with an uppercut that sent him flying...then I put his arm behind his back and rammed his head hard into the wall until he dropped to the floor unconcscious!!!I picked up his gun and took the gun off of Moon and tucked them away in my jacket. I took a switchblade off of Drake too!

The commotion woke up a lot of the patients and sent a couple of nurses down the hallway...Oh NOW they showed up...

"What's going on here?" said the nurse..

"These gentlemen come in here...They must have been drunk..and lost their balance...They fell out." I said as innocently as I could.  The nurse knew I was lying, but she didn't question me any further...She let the matter go. Two interns brought stretchers and gathered up the two thugs and carted them off...

"Wow...I sho wish I could fight like that...I wouldn't have no trouble out of nobody if I could." laughed Bone Hampton..

"Yeah..Well, we aint out of the woods yet...They are gonna wake up and they are going to be mad as hell." I said.

"Yeah..and they gonna have one hell of a headache too!" laughed Bone Hampton.

(Definitely To Be Continued...)

A Deadly Co-incidence

Prolouge: 2 weeks before today!


I stood in the crowd looking at the lifeless body of a young African-American woman lying in the street...I wondered, how she had come to such a grisly end...She had fallen 17 stories to her death! That's what everybody on the street..in a crowd that was getting larger by the minute was saying.. She was identified as 27 year old Barbara Courtland....She was definitely a looker...

She had the kind of body that would drive a man wild....Nice long hair...(Coulda been a weave) and a short mini-skirt...Too young, too pretty to be lying on the concrete dead!! I stood silent and I listened to the people talking...None of them had seen her jump...All of them had seen what I was seeing...the aftermath...So sad....

The cops and the firemen and the EMT people were all around cordoning off the place...I soon moved on...The reason I was here was because my friend, Clerow's car had broke down yet again!!! He needed a jump.  Just weeks before...Kool Kat and I had watched another man die in these very high rises..A very bad man...A man who was called "Monster" on the streets...In his case...He had died by his own hand... Just being here and witnessing yet another death was giving me the creeps.

''Hey Bossman...I thought you wasn't comin at first." came the voice of my friend, Clerow...

"I started not to come.....Man, Clerow..When you gonna get a new car man? You make enough money." I said.

"I know Kevin man, but..I drove all the way from Louisiana to Philly in this car...This was my second car man.. I made love to Mabel Jenkins in this car years ago....and her sister ,Corabeth too, years later...This car got history man." said Clerow.

"How does Corabeth feel about it?" I asked. Corabeth, who was now his wife.....Mabel Jenkins, who was now his ex-lover and his sister in law..

''She like you, she want me to get a new car." he laughed sheepishly.

"Come on man...Where is your car? I'll drive around and give you a jump." I said.

''It's around the corner...What happened up the street?" asked Clerow.

"Some babe jumped out the window, killed herself." I said.

''Damn man...that's rough." Said Clerow.



II- Tonight

Sepia and I were the guests of Reed Nelson, his girlfriend, Debbie, Downtown Rob Brown, his girlfriend Delores and their good friend, Meek Rollins..We weren't at Josies tonight..We were at the more upscale 'Mulberry Street' club...Symphony Sam was on the stage..

"Ladies and Gentlemen..it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you, my main man...Haven't been around in awhile, but he's back now...Show ya love for....BONE HAMPTON ,baby!" he screamed...

There was wild applause......Reed Nelson turned to me and Sepia and said- "Man Kev..This guy is the business, the straight business..he plays the trombone like nobodies business."

"It aint often I agree with Reed, but it's the truth." seconded Downtown Rob Brown. Debbie, Delores ,Sepia and I all smiled at that remark...Meek Rollins smiled and drummed his fingers on the table...

Bone Hampton was a well dressed man, maybe my age or a little older who played the Trombone....He was indeed good...He played that trombone like a piano...Was playing all different kinds of melodies with his quartet...He had the place jumping....I was digging the music...but I was digging my wife even more this night..
She had on a blue mini skirt that was really hugging her figure this night...It was a sparkling blue....That plus her perfume was entrancing...

At the end of Bone's set...Sepia excused herself to go to the ladies room...I watched her intently as she walked to the ladies room and mused on what a truly lucky man I was...All of that good feeling ended when I noticed two hoods walk in...Drake Evans and Moon Nelson...Drake Evans was a gambler and a loan shark..
Moon Nelson was his muscle...They both worked for a playa by the name of Bernard "Fruit Loops" Kelly...another nasty piece of business that unfortunately was all too common in our neighborhood. It was said that "Fruit Loops" moved a large amount of Heroin and Coke in the neighborhood..He owned two Grocery stores...but everybody knew that they were just fronts for what he was really into...drugs and juice (loan sharking).

They took seats up front...Their reputations was such..That they didn't have to ask...A couple of guys just gave up their seats and allowed them to sit down...When Bone Hampton saw them ,he appeared to be a little
frightened...I noticed it...but my mind was on other things...I excused myself and walked out of the main showroom, which was on the rooftop, down the stairs and to the restroom area...It was extremely dark except for the blue lights which led to the restrooms...Anything could happen in this area....Kool Kat had told me of two young ladies he had had sex with in the hallway and eventually in the bathroom while a concert or party was going on and not once he said had anyone walked up on him!!  I found that incredible!

III-

As I walked towards the mens room, I smelled Sepia's enticing perfume...She grabbed me and pulled me towards her...

''I wondered when you were going to take the hint and come and find me." she giggled..

"I actually was coming to relieve myself." I lied.

"That Bone Hampton is pretty good...butttt...he's not that good." she cooed...

"Damn right about that." I said as I kissed her passionately...

''Ummmm...." she cooed. I ran my hand up her dress...but she removed it...

"Nooo..not here...somebody will see us." she whispered.

''Nobody will see us...I got it on good word that a lot can be done down here." I said.

"Good word huh?" she laughed..

'"Yeah" I said as I pulled her into the ladies restroom and closed the door...There we continued kissing each other.....

Within a few minutes though...we heard voices...I put my hand over Sepia's mouth and we backed away from the door.

"The man wants his money Bone." came a voice.

"Yo man...I gave you half last week..I told you I'd have the other half at the end of this week..I got a couple of gigs." came another voice..

"See that's where you wrong Bone...You gave us half...and Moon and Me took half of that...Our cut...so you owe us some more money mane.."

"Aww Drake..you can't do that man...You can't do that...I'll never pay off my debt you keep doin that..I aint givin you two nothin...I'm givin my share to the man directly and I got a good mind to tell him that you stealin from him..."

"Oh yeah?"

I heard a gunshot!

"Arrggggghhh....Drake....you son of a bitch...you shot me..argggghhhhhhhhhhhh!""

I heard another shot...then the sound of a body falling on the floor...

"Argggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......"

''Tell me again what you gonna do?  If you manage to survive...I'm gone come and find you and get the rest of that dough...ya hear? . Come on Moon, let's bounce."

I heard footsteps ...I told Sepia to stay put....I ventured out into the hallway and there, laying in a pool of blood was Bone Hampton, the jazz trombonist!!!!!!

"Oh my God...man, I'll call an ambulance." I said...

"He shot me in my side and in my shoulder man....dirty bastard...argggggggghh..." said Bone Hampton...

''Don't talk...stay quiet and still." I said.

By now a crowd had gathered...A woman screamed!  Pandemonium was breaking loose in the joint!

IV-

The ambulance took Bone Hampton to the hospital...I gave a statement to the police about hearing an argument and hearing gunshots...but I left out the names of Drake and Moon...I wanted them for myself, for messing up my good night...They were going to pay and pay dearly....I knew that a guy like Bone Hampton wasn't going to tell the police their names either...He owed them money, probably something illegal...and he was probably scared.

"Man...what is the world comin to Kev?" said Reed Nelson as Meek Rollins, Downtown Rob Brown, Debbie, Sepia and Delores stood on the street after everything was over....

''Can't come out and enjoy a nice night out anymore...Damn..What they wanna shoot Bone Hampton for? He was a real nice dude." said Downtown Rob Brown.

I said nothing.  I did however visit Bone Hampton in the hospital the next day.....

"Hey man, thanks for visiting me...and thank you again for calling an ambulance.." he said.

"Man, what are you into?  You owe Drake Evans and Moon Nelson some money don't you? Gambling, Drugs, what?" I asked.

"Man, you don't really want to get mixed up in what I'm mixed up in." he said.

"Yeah...I kinda do....I kinda want to take both of those guys down a peg..." I said.

"Sayyyyyy...I know who you are now!! Your name is Kevin aint it? Kevin Morris...you do favors for people,don't you?" he asked.

"Usually for a price...You aint in no position to pay me now are you?" I asked.

"Nah...not really...but if you was down...I got somethin on "Fruit Loops" Kelly that could at least take him out the game...and without him...those two aint got a reason to live." he said.

"What do you have on him?" I asked.

"How bout a murder?" he said.

''A murder, what murder?" I asked.

''Two weeks ago up by the high rises, a gal fell to her death...everybody say that she jumped..She didn't jump,she was tossed out the window." he said.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Cause I was there." he said.

Was it a co-incidence that two weeks ago, I witness a death of a beautiful girl, and now a shooting and all of this was somehow related?? It sounded like I was about to find out!

(To Be Continued.....)

Mister Here And Now

You say that you're looking for../someone who can offer you more..
and you tell me that, it's a fact...that your search has yielded you nothing.
don't you realize that you're the one I adore?/

You say that you're searching for Mr. right.
but you haven't found your bright and shining knight
and maybe I should tell you
that what you really need is near you...
but you don't have to surrender to it and not put up a fight../

Turn around, turn around girl/ Turn around, turn around girl
by now you've found....
That the guy you've always ignored
is the guy you've been looking for../

I may not be Mister Right
but I sure am Mister right here and now...
I know it's hard to believe
but girl try to concieve
that I'm the one you need
Let me show you the way to love...
Let me show you how.../

You tell me that you're searching for a man with a little more seasoning..
For the life of me, I can't always understand your reasoning...
The parade is going to pass you by..
While you're busy wasting time with a truly waste of time guy.../

Think of what I'm saying to you...
Make up your mind,
what do you want to do..
Do you think you can afford to wait?
My love is right here,
Why hesitate?/

I may not be Mister right..
I know it's hard to believe
But I'm sure Mister right here and now
I'm the one that you need..
Let me show you the way to love...
Let me show you how../

Maybe I'll Never Learn

My name is Ralph Scallion...I am a cook by profession...actually a chef...I'm the head cook at a classy Seafood Restaraunt called "Bottom of The "C"...but lately I've been thinking about moving on and starting my own catering business..I just recently discovered that I've got a daughter who is damn near grown..She's about 19 and in college...and I've got a baby on the way....the aftermath of a night I spent with a woman from out of town...The last thing I needed to be doing was thinking about sex...at all!  But yet I was !

It had been about two months since I'd seen either the mother of my 19 year old daughter or the mother to be ...I had had memorable nights with both women.  The mother of my 19 year old daughter was now involved with another man and had made it clear to me that there wasn't going to be a repeat of the multiple orgasmic night the two of us had had the last time we encountered each other...That was strictly for old times sake.  Her words..Not mine!

The mother to be, a nice woman from North Jersey was in no condition to come to Philly at this point or have sex...so that was out. I had called her two times since she left and she had not returned my calls or my texts..Didn't know what was up with that. Debbie, was solidly back with Reed Nelson and had changed the number on her phone so that I couldn't call her anymore.  I so enjoyed the late night booty calls and our little negotiations. Bonita Turner, a delicious woman if ever had now gotten married and wasn't even in town...That left me heading for the weekend with no one.

So why was I sitting in Mabel Jenkins's Soul Food joint on a Friday afternoon talking with her? She was the sexiest woman of all I had named..and I didn't have a shot at her.  I had had her over my place once and had come very close to getting her in the bed, but she had resisted.  Now , her boyfriend, "88" was back in town and there was no way I could even get a word in like that.

"Your business plan looks solid Ralph...but what you need now is a steady client list, so that you can bring in the money as soon as you get started." she said.  She had been reviewing my business plan for my kitchen and my catering business. She was leaning down talking to me and all I could do was look at her massive breasts that seemed to be fighting her bra... She had the softest honey brown skin...and she smelled so good...I was losing my mind slowly....I couldn't take this kind of temptation.

"Uh, thanks Mabel." I said.

"I can't believe you gonna leave Dollar Bill's joint..How long you been workin for him?" she asked.

"Too long...I haven't decided if I'm gonna leave yet...This might be a little side venture...If it picks up...then I might do it full tilt." I said.

"That sounds like a good plan....Hey Baby Phat...come over here and pour Mr. Scallion another cup of coffee...You want anything else to eat Ralph?" asked Mabel.

"Uh yeah...how about a helping of Cherry Cobbler with that tumbler of coffee?" I asked.

"Baby Phat...bring a cherry cobler too...Good Luck Ralph." said Mabel.

'Hey, where are your sisters today?" I asked.  Every last one of her sisters were just as sexy as she was...Ms. Victoria..Her older sister, the deacon's wife... Corabeth, her younger sister, Clerow's wife and even her baby sister, Anita..who was going with the young lawyer,Chance Howard...ummmph,ummph, ummmph!...Lawd...I had fantasies of having one big orgy with the Jenkins sisters.

"Victoria is at my other store over in Chess and Chris's shopping center...Corabeth is over there helping her out and Anita is running late....Baby Phat is helping me today." said Mabel.

"Baby Phat"  was the waitress...Her real name was Ameilia Robinson....She was brown skinned and had a curvacious shape that had men snapping their necks when she walked by...She knew it too....Her skin was soft and she smelled like a newborn baby...She had cute dimples too and always had a nice smile....If I could stop looking at her breasts perhaps I would have appreciated her smile a while ago.. She brought my coffee and my cherry cobbler and set it down...I tossed a couple of dollars on the table.

"Ummmmmph...Ummmph Ummmmph...My...My..My...Gurll, you looking good today." I said as she placed my food on the table.. She giggled....I grabbed her hand gently before she walked away...

"Hey Baby Phat...When you gonna let me take you out?" I asked.

"Mister Ralph..I didn't even know you was interested..I always thought you was tryin to get with boss lady." she said, still blushing and giggling.

"Well, I was..but that was about a year ago...She got a man...I know that YOU know that...I just come by here now for conversation and to get some advice." I said.

''Advice?" she asked.

"Yeah..I'm thinkin of startin my own catering business....I might need some help...Might could use your help..." I said.

"Yeah?" she asked.

''Hell yeah..It would be some extra money for you...think about it...But uh anyway..I've been checkin you out for a long time...I've always liked you."

"You have?" she asked, giggling!

II-

I picked Baby Phat up after her shift was over and brought her back to my apartment....If she had been shy and unassuming at work...behind closed doors , was a different story! In no time, we were standing in my doorway kissing passionately....I squeezed her round apple shaped rump and rubbed her thighs...

"Your hands are so strong and big for you to be a cook." she said...I just snickered..

Her lips were full, soft, luscious and enticing...I didn't want to stop kissing her...She clearly knew how to kiss a man...unlike some other women I had known and had to teach. I gently rubbed her thighs and she began to moan slowly, yet quietly...She was in my place, yet she took my hand and led me to my bedroom....I liked this girl already!

I tried to pull her to me...but she wouldn't let me...She made me watch as she took off her skirt, then her bra and panties and then slowly unbottoned my shirt and helped me out of my pants....We lay across the bed and she just began to straddle me...I was very erect by this time and she just looked at me and smiled....I reached for and began to slowly stroke her breasts and she moaned a little bit...she bent down and took my penis in her hand...slowly stroking it and driving me insane....Then she took as much of it as she could in her
mouth and went to town....I grabbed her rump and squeezed it as hard as I could as she continued...I didn't know how much more I could take....and finally she stopped...I turned her over and began quickly to lick ,lap and suck her goodness as much as I could...She was holding my pillow and squeezing it tightly and coming close to screaming...which I didn't want her to do....My neighbor would probably be knocking on the walls...

I finally turned her over and entered her from behind, doggie style....It felt good being inside a woman again....She moaned really loud then-

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH GAWDDDDD RALPHHHHH!OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed...I thought for sure my neighbor would hear her...If he did, there was no knocking on the wall this night.

At last we were in the time tested missionary position...She was so soft and so wet...it wasn't funny...I just kept moving in and out, in and out for I don't know how long....Her eyes looked as if they were rolling in the back of her head...yet, she was a quiet lover....Not noisy and loud like both Debbie and Bonita had been....I wondered what Mabel Jenkins was like in bed...if she yelled when she was cuming?

The thought of Mabel was more than I could take...I pulled out of Baby Phat and shot off like a gusher...Her eyes grew as wide as saucers at the sight of that...

"Long time wasn't it?  Since you'd had some lovin!  It's been about six months for me too." she said...

"Whewwww, yeah...it has been awhile...Not six months.." I said.

''You aint mean all that stuff about you had been checkin me out for six months did you? And that you had always liked me." she asked.

"Well uh ..ahhh yeah." I said.

"No you didn't....you just wanted some that's all...I'm not stupid and I'm not insulted....I was horny too..." she admitted.

I was glad she let me off the hook...I got a condom from out of my drawer and this time we made love again, much slower and much longer....We both came a lot more instense the second time!...

The next morning I woke up with Baby Phat laying next to me, snoring gently..What was I doing? Didn't I have enough problems with women already ? Did I really have the time to get involved with another one...I know she was going to expect something...A relationship or something...Maybe I'll never learn.

I Know

Softer than a rose petal....
and warmer than the sun that makes it grow...
these are the thoughts that come to mind
whenever I see you...
and girl, that's how I know.../

I know
that even though you don't know my name
that you've been what I've been trying so hard to find.
I know
that I have nothing to lose and everything to gain..
and you're going to be mine../

Cooler than a tropical breeze
blowing across the Carribean seas
watching you smile brings these visions of
you to me and re-inforces the reasons I'm
coming to want you so...
and girl, that's why I know.../

I know
that I'm going to do whatever I have to do to
get next to you.
I know
that I'm going to say whatever I have to say
and hope and pray that you'll see things my way../

I know
that even though you don't know my name
that you've been what I've been trying so hard to find.
I know
that I have nothing to lose and everything to gain..
and you're going to be mine../

Even though you don't know my name..
you're what my heart has needed to find..
and even though you might not know it yet..
I won't stop ,
until the day you are mine...
I know this..
baby I know.../

Martyr (Wash Your Tears Away)

You say you don't wanna take me
down your bitter road..
it's just too soon after the hurt..
and it's just not fair for me to have to
carry your load..
Sometimes you need an ally to help
you..
win the fight..
or are you just content to be a martyr
tonight?/

baby please...
let me wash your tears away
you don't have to be so strong
tonight you could give in and allow me to stay
I know it has been  so long
since someone has been good to you.
so girl let me be the one
who is understood by you and a soother 
who washes those tears away../

In the past you've put up such a strong front..
pretending to be evil...
when I'd speak..
you'd just stare and grunt..
and well, maybe that forced the week guys to run..
but you don't scare me..
I've been around the block a few times
and frankly, you've got nothing new under the sun..

I'm not afraid of being in a fight that I might not win..
I could be good for your heart and mind tonight
If you'd just let me in..
Sometimes you need an ally to help
you..
win the fight..
or are you still content to be a martyr
tonight?/

baby please...
let me wash your tears away
you don't have to be so strong
tonight you could give in and allow me to stay
I know it has been so long
since someone has been good to you.
so girl let me be the one
who is understood by you and a soother;
who washes those tears away../

It's okay..
let me wash your tears away..
please let me stay..
I'm not trying to go to bed with you..
In time ,maybe that will come..
but tonight you need someone
who will hold you and soothe you../

I'm not to proud to get down on my knees
and beg you to please..
let me stay with you tonight...
when you realize..
I'm not like those other guys...
then maybe I won't have to beg
and you won't have to fight../


Sometimes you need an ally to help
you..
win the fight..
or are you still content to be a martyr
tonight?/

But I think you know..
and you're not about to turn around ,nor go..
That you don't want to sleep alone tonight..
I can give you what you need..
Wash your tears away and indeed...
maybe this time, you'll get it right./

Honeymooners

I finally had Bonita to myself...The wedding was over, the reception was over, we were far from our friends in Philly...We were in a fabulous hotel in Honolulu....with a gorgeous view of the beach...

It was perfect...There was no nonsense, no wind blowing, no drunken guest falling in the punchbowl, no tropical storm, no power outage..no nothing...We had a nice well attended wedding in a church and a reception at one of the fanciest clubs in the area we live in that was attended by just about everybody we knew. We had a nice flight to Hawaii...and at Bonita's suggestion...a round of drinks at the bar on the beach before we headed to our hotel room...With that said..I , Robert Foxworth, attorney at law , now married to my third and foxiest wife was about to consumate this marriage!

It was almost as if our clothes melted off of us...I had Bonita's totally nude body up against the wall and was trying mightily to jam my entire tongue down her throat....

"Mmmmmmph...ohhhhhhh Robert..ouuuuu...ohhhhhhhhh babyyyyyyyy.." she moaned as we were up against the wall kissing and making out like two teenagers...

"Ohhhhhh Robert...I'm wet.." said Bonita....

"Huh? What?" I said....I looked up toward the ceiling....Was it leaking? Was there another storm? Bonita must have sensed what I was thinking because she giggled...

"You are sooo silly...I'm wet!...."she giggled..

"Ohhhhhh...I seee.." I laughed sheepishly..

I was fully erect and as hard as a baseball bat...a fact that wasn't lost on Bonita as she gently stroked my hardness....

"My goodness Robert....I can't believe I turn you on like this...oh my goodness...whooooo.." she said as she stared at it in seeming amazement!!

We stood there on that wall kissing like that for close to an hour...She running her soft hands through my hair and me stroking her breasts gently...

I rubbed her inner thigh...she let out a little sigh or gasp everytime my hands got close to the goodness.....I attempted to squeeze her breasts , but this time...she moved my hands....

"Playtime is over Robert.....I need you inside of me nowww." she said softly but firmly...and she took my hand and led me to the bed...all the while looking back at my raging erection and shaking her head in disbelief!

''Oh My God...I-I-I can't believe how ...how...ohhh, how large you get..." she said...

She got some kind of massaging oil and began to rub it on my chest....and she straddled me...but she wouldn't allow me to enter her just yet...She just began to rub it and lick my ears, my neck and soon my chest...I reached for her breasts, but she moved my hands...She took the back of hand and slid it gently back and forth up and down my penis....I couldn't take much more...Then she got up and lowered herself down on me...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......oh my goddddd!!!" I said....

"You like?" she cooed!

"Ohhhh you know I do...You know I do baby!" I said...

She moved up and down in a smooth soft rhythm and I tried to work every last inch I had into her...

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....calm down lover....we don't have to rush.....we've got forever.." she said as she continued to ride me...I felt like I had died and gone to heaven...

She rode me like that for close to an hour...She got up off of me and I stretched her across the bed...I entered her from behind and jerked her hair a little bit...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Robertttttttttttt...ohhhhhhhhhh..." she moaned as I pounded myself inside of her...

''Good lawd woman, you feel soooo damn good.." I heard myself saying...

We finally found ourselves breathing hard and facing each other in the missionary position...I stared into her eyes...She really was very pretty and had pretty eyes...It wasn't like I was screwing her for the first time...Off and on over a two year period I had made love to Bonita several times a week, despite having other girlfriends..but for some reason...this afternoon, I realized just how pretty she actually was...All those other times..I had been fixated on other parts of her...her legs, her hips and thighs...her bountiful breasts...Now it was her eyes and her very, very pretty face...

I was more turned on than before and I entered her with a force I hadn't entered before....

''Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Roberttttttttttttt...ohhhhh, slow down baby.ohhhhhhhhhh.." she moaned..

"Ohhhhhh, I can't get enoughhhh...." I yelled as I began moving in and out of her!


I couldn't believe it , but Bonita came first.....violently and loudly...I was embarrased....It took a little while longer, but I finally came, like a gusher....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...ROBERTTTT !!!!!!!!" she howled as she tossed and turned.....She was having an intense orgasm!

So did I........We held each other for a long while....I felt myself getting hard again..She looked at me in complete disbelief...

'Robert!!! I can't believe you!!!" she said...

Two hours later...We were both spent and exhausted.....I was almost completely out of breath...So was Bonita!

We lie on the floor naked, drinking champaigne  and lying in each others arms....A warm breeze came through the window...

"I think I'm going to like being your wife...Mrs. Bonita Foxworth....It sounds white, but that's okay..I'll get used to it." she laughed...

"Yeah...I think I'm going to really like you being my wife..."I said as I held her in my arms....

"I just know you are." she cooed.

Just then...the air conditioner went off....so did what lights we had on.....I heard a voice from the next room...

"Damn it...the power is out...I don't believe this...Everywhere we go there is a disaster...I'll be damned." came the angry voice.

"Call room service." came a female voice.

''We can't...the damned phone is out."came the angry male voice.

I looked at Bonita who stared at me...

"Of course...being married to me will have it's challenges..." I said...She smiled sweetly and said nothing!

My name is Robert Foxworth...I'm on my third honeymoon! I'll see you good people when we return to Philly, Aloha baby!

2 Have and 2 Hold

My doorbell rang early the next morning....

"Who is that? Kevin, you expecting somebody?" asked my wife Sepia, who was just waking up.

I shrugged....

"No, are you?" I asked.

"Nope." she said.

I put on my bathrobe and walked down the stairs and opened my front door...It was Attorney, Robert Foxworth!!! He was holding a day old newspaper.....Page 56. It wasn't front page news, but it was news after all...

Philadelphia Real Estate Agent, a suspect in murder of popular Yoga Instructor!  it read!

"You know huh?" I said dryly...

He also showed me some glossy photos of Bonita in bed with Larry John Spann that had been sent to him...He glared at me a little bit...then his eyes looked as if they were getting moist!

"Everything isn't always what it seems Robert...If I recall, some angry woman sent photos of you to both of your ex-wives and some people you worked with some years ago." I said.

"I know...I Know...I got no room to talk...plus these photos are old...they two years old." he said. "We wasn't together then...not together together...I was doin my thing with the Pinkston gal and the undertaker and the sexy ,overweight stripper and Brooke Taylor and- "

"I get the picture Robert....How do you know how old the photos are?" I asked.

"See that thong she got on in that photo?  I bought that for her...I ordered it from Victoria's Secret...She aint even got it no more...I ripped it off of her with my teeth one night...and that was at least about a year and a half ago.." he said matter of factly....Ya gotta love Robert's attention to detail!

"So you're not mad?" I asked.

"No....What's past is past....Hell, I got more than that in my past." he said.

"Okay....Let me get dressed...We are gonna go catch us a killer." I said.

"You know who done this?" he asked, looking almost relieved....

"Got a good clue...Now listen...I need you to sit tight and do exactly as I say." I said.

"You're the boss Kevin." he said.

"Good...Get on the phone..Call Clerow...Tell him to meet me at this address." I said handing him an index card with the address scrawled on it.

"How do you know the killer will be at this spot?" asked Robert.

"Because I called the killer last night and made a request." I said and laughed.

II-

Larry's Health and Wellness Restaurant was open for business...Several people were buying pills, eating healthy meals in the dining area and milling about. I made one more phone call on my Blackberry and then I got out of my car, sat down at a table and waited.  Robert came in also and sat about three or four rows behind me as I instructed...No one would have guessed that we came together.

It didn't take Amber Curicle long to show up...She strode over to my table and sat down..She looked me over and smirked!

"You.  So what did you want to talk to me about that was so important?" she asked.

''Nice place you got here...guess you're running it now, huh?" I asked.

"Yeah...Look, I'm busy...Don't beat around the bush man...What do you want?" she asked.

"Why did you do it Amber?" I asked.

"Why did I do what? , What are you talking about?" she snapped.

"Oh I think you do know what I'm talking about. You killed Larry Spann...No..No..Don't go lying...I'm going to lay it all out for you...See I know the deal....You were his student...He was your mentor....He looked good..You had a crush on him...One day he told you that he had a crush on you too and you two made love for hours...right back there in the back room where he took all of his women....You fell in love...Only he wasn't in love...you were just another notch on his bed weren't you?  You hung in there...you even left your husband and your son for this man.....He must have been hell in the bed wasn't he?  Only, after about a year, he had found some new booty...Some booty that blew HIS mind!! Now this man that no longer could give you the time of day was all over this Philly real estate woman....the way you wished he would have been all over you.."

"You had left your husband for him...He couldn't treat you like this!!! You planned this for a long time,didn't you?  You bought the spyware from Best Buy....You took photos of them in bed together and you mailed it to the cops and to the woman's fiance...and finally...you went in his phone...you knew that she was coming here to see him one last time. You , being his "Assistant " came in killed him and locked the place up...Killed him with a gun you stole ,when you rifled the woman's purse last year...You even hung around and fired two phony shots in the air didn't you?  Am I starting to sound right to you now Amber." I said.

Amber smiled, curled her lip up and said-

"Nice Story....You got it pretty right...but you can't prove any of it...Not one bit." she laughed. Just then her phone rang! I leaned back...

''Aren't you gonna answer that?" I said with a wry smile.

" What is this?" she said.

"You were the anonymous tipster weren't you ? and you called the police from that number to tell them that Bonita Turner had an argument with Larry....I know because her fiance, sitting behind you is the one dialing it...I got photos of you buying the spyware from Best Buy and dimes to doughnuts, that's your DNA in the saliva samples the cops pulled off of the envelopes you mailed to them." I said.

"You got no proof I killed anybody." she said.

"Sure I do...I think that's enough to at least shine a light on you my dear." I said.

Amber slipped a .22 caliber pistol out of her purse....

"Okay smart guy...but only you and I know the truth.....Shame I gotta off you...I couldn't let that lame just run all over me...All the hard work I put into helpin him start this business...all the nights I spent on my back ,staring at the ceilin while he humped away on me...He told me he loved me..He wasn't gonna just throw me away like I was trash....Wait a minute...Are you wearing a wire?" she spat..

"Of course I am." I smiled.

"TAKE IT OFF!!" she screamed....

"I'm afraid I can't do that." I said.

She cocked her pistol and Clerow grabbed her wrist and snatched the gun from her!  Homicide Detective, Jack McCrackin and two uniformed Policeman walked over to the table and handcuffed her....

"Thanks Kevin...Give Sissy Van Buren my regards." he said...

"Don't mention it." I said.

Amber looked at me and just began laughing maniacally......It was a chilling laugh...as they put her in the patrol car and drove off with her.

"Traffic was rough this morning on the boulevard boss." said Clerow.

"That's okay...At least you found the place." I said with a smile.

Robert walked over to us...

"That clears Bonita huh?" he said.

"Yup, she's off the hook...Now go get your tux...You got a wedding to go to mane." I said.

EPILOUGE:

Amber Curicle kept on laughing the entire time....She never stopped...She was found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to 30 years .She should have been convicted of first degree.

A few days later at Robert and Bonita's wedding reception party, held at Mullbery Street , Sepia and I toasted the happy couple!...Gus laughed and patted Robert on the back...

"Third time is the charm eh counselor?" he laughed.

"Yeah man...I guess." he said sheepishly.

Bonita walked over to me and gave me a hug...

"Oh Kevin...Thank you so much for gettin me off the hook." she said.

"Don't mention it..." I said as I helped myself to more champaigne....

"So where are you going for your honeymoon?" asked Sepia...

''Hawaii." beamed Robert as he put his arm around his partner, Chance Howard..

"Chance will mind the store for me." he laughed.

"Oh by the way...A new juice bar just opened up and they givin away free memberships if anybody is interested...They teach Yoga, Pilates..the whole works...It aint my kinda thing..but if any of you good people are interested...I got the coupons outside in my ride.." he said.

Bonita and Robert both spit their champaigne out of their mouths.....Sepia looked at me....I was trying to keep a straight face....Chance was bewildered....

''Was it something I said?" He asked.   At that point...Sepia and I both excused ourselves and walked outside
and laughed and laughed until our sides hurt!

(For Carlene....)

The Cold 48 (Part 2)

''Kevin, you never told me you was married." said Robert's friend in the city records department. He was all smiles upon taking a look at my wife, Sepia.

" You didn't ask." I replied dryly as he continued to ogle her. Normally I would have been a bit bothered by him, but I didn't have the time to afford that luxury...I needed to look up the public records of the recently deceased Larry John Spann.

It appeared that he had grown up just a few blocks from me and had attended the same high school. I never recalled seeing him or knowing anyone who ran with him.  He did a stint in the U.S. Navy, then earned an associates degree at Community College of Philadelphia...

Next up, Larry moved out to California for four years where he attended the University of California at Berkeley. He didn't graduate.... He returned to Philadelphia . He got married. He married a woman named Veronica Jefferson, A Lawyer, A west philly girl, ten years his senior. They were married for five years and divorced. He opened up his Health and Wellness center and sold vitamins and other products..He also began a body building regimen and began teaching Yoga, Pilates, Dance, etc..

He married again soon afterwords... This time, it was a real estate agent named Michelle Vargas...A South Philly girl, ten years his junior...They were married for six years and divorced....I was satisfied that I knew enough about the man.....at least the printable information...Now time to learn about THE MAN...from the two woman who knew him best!

II-

Sepia and I drove to Veronica Jefferson's office.  As irony would have it...Her office was in the same office building where Robert Foxworth and Chance Howard had an office...Just a different floor...I hoped that we didn't run into either of them as we went to talk to Veronica Jefferson.

Veronica Jefferson was a stunningly attractive woman who still had the looks that could make men half her age snap their necks doing a double take when she walked down the street...I was glad that my wife was with me..She kept me honest and on the task.

"Larry and I had mostly a good marriage.....all except the last two years...I kept finding panties and bras under the bed...under the pillows, in my closet that didn't belong to me...Kept hearing rumors about all of his women. I hired a private detective, much like yourself to follow him and I found out about not just one ,but four women!!! I put up with that foolishness a lot longer than I should have...then I finally got a divorce.  Larry was hell in bed...I miss that much about him...but I guess too many women thought so..He was still a doll, just not a good husband." she said.

"How long have you been divorced?" I asked.

"Oh gee...about 11 or 12 years." she said.

"When did you last see him?" I asked.

"Oh about three years ago...We didn't  exactly run in the same social circles." She laughed.

Sepia and I next ran down Michelle Vargas , a beautiful young woman who was half Black, Half Puerto Rican, Very nice looking too...

"Ohh Larry was something else...I knew he saw other women when we first met...I thought I was going to be the one to tame him...but I couldn't...He tried...He really tried to be a good husband...but I'm afraid he never saw a skirt that he didn't want to take off...I found two bras in my laundry basket that didn't belong to me...He tried to say that they were mine, but I knew they weren't...So after six years of lying to myself..I got a divorce from him." she said.

"When is the last time you saw him?" I asked.

"Larry? Wowww...about three years ago...We 've been divorced for four years...I saw him once...At a party, I think...He was with this young chick...Amber something or other." she said.

"Oh his assistant?" I said.

''Assistant? She wasn't no assistant...She assisted him in the bedroom...that was all the assisting she did." laughed Michelle.

Sepia and I drove back to records and looked up one Amber Davis Curicle....She was 23 and had married a guy named Kerry Curicle, a guitarist in a local band, right out of high school...They had one child, a two year old boy named Kerry Jr.  They had seperated about two years ago and her ex -husband was living in Germantown with his mother and his sister. He also had custody of the child.

"Amber and I were high school sweethearts, but you know how that goes man..We were too young and immature to have ever gotten married...It just didn't work out...When she started taking yoga classes ,it didn't help...That Larry guy was like Charles Manson...Had all them women strung out." said Kerry, a slight man with a boyish grin.

"She quit her job...said she wanted to be a stay at home mom....but every time I come home...Our son was either here or over her mom's house and she was at the damn spa...Didn't take me long to figure out that she was messin around on me with dude.  He' s a big dude...I knew I couldn't compete with that...I thought about gettin a gun and rollin up on dude and slumpin him...but that aint me man...So I just moved out...I'm gone get me a lawyer and get this divorce on the move so that me and junior here can start all ovah man." he said.


III-

"Well Kevin...We've talked to his ex-wives and Amber's soon to be ex-husband and we've got goose eggs." said my wife, Sepia.

"Maybe not...." I said.

"Where we goin now?" she asked.

"To the police station." I said.

"The police station?" she asked.

"Yeah..I got an idea." I said.

The Homicide Detective gave me the envelope that the photos had come in , I suggested that a Lab team might extract DNA off of the seal....The anonymous call had come in around the time that we had made our statement to the police....That was around 4:35 pm yesterday...It was listed as "Unregistered"...I suggested that the police bring in a team to trace the number and determine where it came from...

My Blackberry went off while we were there...It was Peeping Tom.

"Hey Tom, what's up?" I said.

"Got good news for you...." he said.

"You found the store that stuff came from?" I asked.

"Not only that....We got a surveilience photo of who purchased it..." he said.

"Really?" I said.

"Yes, really." he said.

"Okay, I'm on my way." I said.

Sepia and I were back in my car speeding towards Peeping Tom's house...

"Okay Kevin,Level with me...You have them taking DNA off of the envelope....and tracing an anonymous number and now Peeping Tom has information on that camera and listening device...How does this all tie in?"she asked.

"Simple...Our killer is someone who was watching Larry, thus the spyware...They planned this for a long time
I believe ...up to a year and even picked a person to lay this on...Stick with me baby...you'll learn something here." I said.

When I got to Peeping Tom's house he had prepared Italian Sausage and Peppers and Pasta for us.

''Sit down my friends..Sit down, eat...you've been running around all day, you must be famished." he said as he opened a bottle of wine.

"Oh thank you Tom...I'm famished." said Sepia as she sat at the table and began devouring the food.

Tom tossed an envelope on the table....

"Best Buy...can you believe it?  They sell this stuff in a place like this now?   Look, there is your perp!" he said.

I looked at the photos...I smiled...Sepia looked too...We weren't the least bit surprised!

(Conclusion Next!)