Always A Woman!

The next morning, Sepia and I were joined by Attorney Robert Foxworth and his wife Bonita at our favorite coffee shop...We were all drinking tall hot steaming tumblers of coffee and munching on freshly baked doughnuts, laughing and talking...
Robert glanced at the newspaper...

Of course the news of Ralph "Pretty" Penny's death the night before was all over the paper as well as a rather gruesome photo of the SUV that his body crashed into , after he leaped 22 stories to his death toavoid being arrested as a suspect in the deaths of three girls...including my wife's friend..Jewel Gardenor.

"Wow...I knew Ralph Penny...Good Lawyer...He usually took on some pretty slimy clients...Who knew that he was a closet freak all this time...Killing girls?" mused Robert Foxworth...

I rubbed Sepia's arms...and smiled at her...She was still torn up over Jewel's death...

"Well...he won't hurt anybody else Sepia... Jewel has been avenged." I said...

She smiled at me and said nothing...She just sipped her coffee..

"You know Kevin...He was your boy, Ray Kind's lawyer." said Robert.

"Not anymore he's not." I cracked...I wondered what Ray was thinking about now...He must know and this definitely was a set back...

"What do you think he's doing now Kevin?" asked Robert.

"Looking for a new lawyer." I said.  This drew laughter from both Sepia and Bonita..
They high fived each other...

"I know that's right." they both said in unison...

Robert smiled too, then he said-

"No really?...He's probably thinking about cleaning up." he said.

"Cleaning up?" I said.

"Yeah...Tying up loose ends...getting rid of anything or anyone that can hurt him.." said Robert Foxworth.

"You're right...Jennifer Maclin is the main witness against him, but she's in Federal custody...He can't get to her.....Then there's Memphis Slim and his Nephew...They're in State Prison in Tennessee...They can't hurt him because they really don't know much..." I said.

"The main evidence against him is the video and audio tape evidence you have of him taking the diamonds out of safe deposit box...Barbara's safe deposit box...and of him trying to fence the goods to Slim and of him cofessing to masterminding the heists.That's the case." I said.

"Where is that evidence?" asked Robert Foxworth.

"The Feds have it...I don't know exactly where it is." I said.

"If I were you...I'd find out and I'd make sure it was secured...Without that and if by chance he convinces Jennifer to back up on her previous testimony...He walks...and it doesn't matter who his attorney is." said Robert...

He was of course right...and the fact that he had a federal judge in his pocket made that an even more certain scenario.  How could Laura sell herself so cheap?,I wondered.

As we sat there..Sean Jackson and his wife Sheila walked in and joined us at our table...

"Ohhhhh, look who it is?" I said laughing and patting Sean Jackson on the back...

"Somebody has a tan." laughed Sepia as she and Bonita looked at Sheila...

"We just got back from Puerto Rico...We had a fabulous time there." said Sheila...

"Oh wow...that's nice.." said Sepia.

Sean Jackson looked at me and pulled out some photos..

"What are these?" I asked.

"When Sheila and I were at the airport yesterday, when we returned...Guess who I saw? Your boy Ray Kind....I thought he was cooling his heels in a Copenhagen Jail? he's free and back in the city." he said.

"Yeah, I know...he's been here...He bribed the officials in Copenhagen, then fled to Amsterdam where they weren't so accomodating, they picked him up and turned him over to the FBI in London who brought him back here...Where a judge let him out on bail." I explained.

"Well he's back...and he aint missin a beat..Look at that woman he's with?  He's back in action." laughed Sean.

I looked at the photos...He was seen kissing a light skinned Black woman....It wasn't Laura Como..I kept looking and then I realized where I knew this woman from!!...This was his girlfriend from Copenhagen..The beautiful multi-racial girl he was living with....Inger something or other...He must have sent for her...

Ray was apparently just using Laura....or both of these women...He didn't care...I was certain that Laura had no idea he was in fact seeing this woman....I was going to make sure that she did!

"Sean..You got some spare time today?" I asked.

"Yeah...I suppose so." he said.

"Bring your best camera..We goin fishin." I said and smiled.

"Fishin?" said Robert Foxworth, then he smiled..."Ahhhhhhhhh..." Sepia ,Bonita and Sheila just looked at me and shook their heads.

II-

It wasn't hard to locate Ray Kind...He usually hung out at the Aqua Bar...today was no different.

 With Owen Todd driving... We parked across the street from it..We caught Ray coming out arm and arm with Inger from Copenhagen...Kissing constantly... They stopped at the corner near the alley and he practically grinded her into the wall...Kissing her with wet sloppy kisses and running his hands up the very short and tight mini dress she was wearing...

"Ohhh Ray...Ray....When I heard you were free...I thought about the last time we were together...and I just had to see you again...Thank you for sending for me." she said in between moans... He looked around and unzipped his pants and pulled her hand close to his zipper...Inger looked around and snatched her hand back.

"No...Nooo baby...not here...Let's go to a hotel." she said.

'I don't know if I can wait." he said as they kissed some more.

Sean Jackson got every bit of that corner action....He was just snapping away.

We followed them to a Hotel,  a cheap joint  in the neighborhood  that had little or no curtains in the windows.and photographed them going into a room....We got a stroke of luck and were able to get into a room across the street from them..Sean's super lense was able to get a good photo of them making love...

"We got enough Kev?" asked Sean Jackson...

"Yup..this is enough?" I said.

''What are you gonna do with these? Aint no law against him gettin his freak on." said Sean.

''Sure aint...but I know somebody who would be real interested in these photos." I said.

"If you say so." he said.

III-

The next day I stopped by the Federal Building....I stopped in the office of FBI Special Agent in charge, Frank Cotton...

"What can I do for you Kevin?" he asked.

"The evidence in the Ray Kind case...Where is it?" I asked.

"It's in "Evidence" downstairs below the courtrooms." he said.

"Evidence is in evidence...that's hilarious!" I laughed. "Look..do me a favor..get that file...that stuff I gave you and move it...lock it up in your safe or something." I said.

"Why?  Do you know something that I don't?" he asked.

"I don't know anything...I just don't want any chance of it being compromised." I said.

"Way ahead of you Kevin...I moved it the day after he made bail...along with all of our information on his case...I smell a rat...I don't want to say just yet...but we are watching this case pretty close." he said.

I didn't like the sound of that...It meant that they already knew about the connection between Ray and Laura....I certainly didn't wish for her to get in any trouble...but afterall she brought this on herself.

"Is that why you came down here today...To ask me to move his files?" he asked.

"Pretty much." I said.

"Then why did you stop by Judge Como's office?" he asked.

"You don't miss much do you?" I said.

"No, I don't...I know that she and Ray Kind had a relationship years ago...I also know that you and her had a relationship too...And I know that she has been seen in his company more than once....I could have her removed from her position on that alone...but I'm not...As long as she doesn't completely overstep her bounds...She's in the clear...but if I suspect that she's doing anything for him related to this case..I'm going to bust her....I know she used to be your girl Kev...but that's my job....And she should know better than to be a federal judge consorting with a known felon. She should know better."he said.

"I know man...I tried to tell her...I hope she listened." I said.

''I hope so too."he said. "I'm trying to look out for her because in case you haven't noticed, there aren't a lot of people who look like me and you in these courthouses sittin where she's sitting...but she's wrong on so many levels...so many." he said.

He was after all right..I couldn't argue with that.

Laura wasn't in her office...I had slipped the photos under her door...I left Agent Cotton's office and I walked down the hall..I saw Laura getting off the elevator..I ducked into one of the empty offices...I didn't want her to see me or know I had been here. She sure looked good.

She and her administrative assistant were walking down the hall and talking-

''You had an expensive bottle of champaigne and a Steak Dinner waiting for him and he didn't show?" she said.

''No...I waited until 1:00 am. No call, no nothing....I had on some new lingerie I bought from Victoria's secret,had his favorite fragrance on too..but nothing.." said Laura.

''Did he call?"asked her assistant.

"No and that's not like him...This past week he's been so distracted...and I guess with his lawyer dying and all, he's just been depressed." said Laura.

"Too depressed for a steak and good sex??  I don't know Laura!!" said her assistant.

''What are you trying to say?" asked Laura.

"I don't know this boyfriend of yours...but he could have another woman in the mix." she said.

"Nahhh not Ray...he's crazy about me and for what I'm doing for him...There can be no other woman." said Laura.

"Oh? What'cha doin for him?" asked her assistant.

'Never mind.." said Laura and they both laughed and went into the office.

"'Looks like somebody slid an envelope under the door...It's addressed to you." said her assistant..

"Hand that to me...Hmmm looks like photos of some kind." said Laura.

I listened as she walked by and I watched her walk into her office... I knew it would only be a few minutes before the explosion....

"WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTT??????? OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDDD...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...Why that two timing, low down nasty dog.....Oh I don't believe this.....No wonder he didn't answer his phone all yesterday....OHHHHH MY GOD!!!!!!!  " came the screams from her office...

A female administrative assistant looked at the photos..

" What's the matter?  Are you alright?" she said.

"Look at these photos?" she screamed...

"That's...That's your boyfriend isn't it?   Ohhhhhhh...that aint you." she said.

"NO IT'S NOT ME!!!!! Dirty low down cheatin dog...OUUUUUUUUUUUU!" said Laura.

"Men!" said the administrative assistant...

''I know right?"screamed Laura.

I tipped towed to the elevator....I know this is bad, but I couldn't help from laughing...

Sean Jackson sure took good photos!

(Conclusion Next!)