Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

The .22 found on Fast Tony Costner's body went through Police ballistics and matched the bullets that ended Edna Walton's Life...I showed photos of Fast Tony Costner and his boss Edward "Diamondback" Matthews to Jimmy Dugan...The young Northeast Philly man who saw them deposit the car with Edna's body in the trunk to the Northeast Philly neighborhood where it was found and he identified Tony Costner as the driver and Diamondback as the one who picked him up.

The police picked Diamondback up....Of course he said that he had no idea that a dead body was in the trunk of the car...He told the police that Tony called him saying that he needed a ride and that he picked him up!

Of course this was a lie...but with no other proof...The police had no choice but to release Diamondback...More than likely...Edna Walton had been murdered by her now deceased ex-husband , Fast Tony Costner either on orders from Diamondback or to cover up his theft from Diamondback.... He deducted the money from her pocketbook. My guess is that Tony called her and led her into a trap of some kind...

It didn't matter now....Tony was dead! and as far as the police were concerned...The case was solved and closed...And it was... Jimmy Dee had paid me for my services and I was back to working everyday...

But Diamondback bothered me...I stood on the corner and watched him drive up in his Escalade , Go in the barbershop and just by his presence...Guys would get up and allow him to get his haircut next... He would stop off at a store and buy a lot of things
and he generally walked around like he owned the neighborhood.

He was too smart to be caught with drugs or a gun... He had people doing that for him and like others before him..Had someone who brought him an envelope...Filled with cash!.. I watched him and I seethed inside... I thought evil thoughts...

It was one of these times that Deacon Basil Robinson came upon me at a fruit stand...

"Hey Good Brother" he said.

"Hey Basil, what's up?" I asked.

"I'm good, just buyin fruit" he said.

"I'm just hanging out." I said.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm good." I said.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" I said.

"You look troubled...Your spirit seems troubled.." he said.

"It'll be better." I said.

"I'll be praying for you." he said...

"Thanks Basil...I can use all you got.." I said and smiled.

II-

Kool Kat, Clerow ,Lockpick Johnson ,Peeping Tom and Owen Todd sat in the car with me outside of a small row house that was in Diamondback's name....I had checked through records and had found this place...I knew that he lived in a condo in Mt.Airy...but from following him, I noticed that he stopped by this place several times a week and often spent the night...I suspected he had a girlfriend here....

We already had his condo wired for sound and video, as well as a gps device on his Escalade...This place was next...It was either a stash house or a place where he held court with his people...I couldn't have been more wrong as I was about to find out.

"Clerow....Owen...You sure this place is empty?" I asked.

"Yeah...Diamondback was here about an hour ago...He left and nobody else is there..The lights been off." said Clerow...

"How about the back?" asked Kool Kat.

"I didn't check the back...but man this place is quiet..aint a light on in that spot." said Owen Todd.

"Okay..Clerow..You and Owen watch the place...The rest of you..Let's go." I said.

Lockpick Johnson got us in easy, like clockwork from the back...Peeping Tom, Kool Kat and I slipped in...We crept up the stairs...Suddenly we heard somebody.....

"Edwardo...Is that youuuuuu...Surpriseeeee..." came the voice...

"Somebody's in here?" said Lockpick Johnson...

"No kiddin?" said Peeping Tom...

Suddenly the lights came on.....

"Ouuuuu, who are you guys ?" said a young man  with long hair ,who was dressed in a pair of panties and had on lipstick and and make up...

We all had our guns drawn!...

"Who the hell are you?" I asked.

"I asked you firrrrrrrrrrrrrsttttt." he said laughing...

"Uh..We are friends of Diamondback...We came here to surprise him!" said Kool Kat sarcastically...

"I live here..He just SURPRISED me...ummmmph...ummph ..ummmph...That man was rock hard...you hear me? He worked me like a damn job...ouuuuuuuuuu." said the man...."He works too hard..he was all tensed up and what  not...but ah took care of that...tee hee." said the man.

"What is your name?" I asked.

"I'm Raphael...what is YOUR name handsome?" he asked.

"Raphael...why don't you come with us.." I said.

"I'm not dressed." he said.

"Get dressed " barked Kool Kat....

"Ouuuu, I like a big ole muscular man ordering me around....We goin to a party?" he asked.

"Yeah...we goin to a party." I said.  Kool Kat laughed, Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson snickered....

III-

I sat in Chinese Bob's eating Chinese food with Jimmy Dee...the next day...

"You think that punk is coming?" asked Jimmy Dee.

"Oh he'll be here..." I said. "You just dummy up and let me do the talking , you hear?" I said.

"Okay,Okay..you runnin the show Kev." he said.

Like clockwork...The  Black Escalade drove up.  Diamondback's driver stayed in the car..Diamondback walked in...I motioned him over to our table.

"What's this about? Who are you?" he asked.

"Who I am isn't important....but what I want is 3G's..." I said.

"What? Three thousand dollars?" he snapped.

"Did I stutter?" I asked

"Mannn, I clock that much in an hour." he bragged..

"I know you do....That's why I want it...You're responsible for this man's wife being dead...." I said.

"What? I don't know him?" said Diamondback...

"You knew his wife...Edna ..Edna Walton....She owed you money or rather her husband owed you money....and you or he killed her and took the money she was going to pay you back." I said.

"That was Tony...but anyway...People owe..People pay..." he said.

I started laughing....

"What's so funny?" he spat..

"It's funnier than even you know....When am I gonna get my 3G's?" I said.

"Oh I'm just gonna give you three thousand dollars just like that cause you asked and because you think you got somethin on me...Nigga you crazy...I oughta have you hit for wasting my time..." he laughed...

I dialed a number on my android and I passed it to Diamondback....

"Edwardooooo...How are you doin?  These nice sexy mens with these guns have me...They been takin good care of me...Are they strippers?   Ummmmph, Ummmph Ummph..They so sexy.." said Raphael..

Diamondback looked like he'd seen a ghost!!! His eyes got as large as saucers...

"You have Raphael???  " he said.

"I have him..and he's safe for now." I said

"Look Don't hurt him...please...All you want is three g;s...I'll be right back." he said...

He ran to his Escalade...He came back with three thousand dollars..

I gave $1000.00 to Jimmy Dee......My employee, Lonnie Johnson stopped by and I gave him $1000.00 to make up for the money he had loaned Edna...and I pocketed $1000.00.

"This is for my silence." I said.

"Yes...Thank you...Please don't let this get out...You won't have no more trouble out of me...Now where can I get Raphael?" he asked.

I made another call... Sepia and Bonita drove up, Raphael leaped out of the car and ran in Chinese Bob's..He gave Diamondback a sweaty kiss on the lips in front of everybody....

"Raphael..Not here..Not here..Come on man." said Diamondback..

"I'm sick of being your dirty little secret...This is who I am..and who you are.. I'm ready to come out....I'm comin out....I want the world to know...Got to let it showw,I'm comin out..." he sang.

Diamondback was visibly embarrassed...

"Please man...don't say anything about this...I promise...You won't have no trouble out of me...I swear..Word is bond..." he said.

Diamondback's driver came in...He was disgusted...

"Oh my God...Youse a sugarbooty..I don't believe this...Awwww hell to the nah...I'm out man." he said in disgust as he stormed out.... Jimmy Dee was equally disgusted.

"You might have promised him you wasn't gonna say nothin...but I aint promise him a damn thing..." he said.

Diamondback and Raphael hurried out to the Escalade and pulled off in a heap....

By now, Kool Kat,Clerow, Owen Todd, Lockpick Johnson,Peeping Tom ,my wife,Sepia and Bonita were all laughing...

"Who would have thought that? Him a sugarbooty?" laughed Chinese Bob...

We all laughed at that....

"You got him Kev." said Kool Kat.

I sure did...but now I wondered if it was worth it...I didn't feel as good as I thought I would...True, he was a bad man, a drug dealer, a killer...but outing him like that was kind of dirty pool...I would have felt better getting some real evidence on him and sending him to jail if that had been possible...After all, Tony had killed his ex-wife to cover up a debt he owed Diamondback...I had no proof Diamondback had ordered it or even knew about it.

I felt like a part of me had gone over to the dark side in my need to dispense justice or was it a need to get vengeance??

EPILOUGE:

Word that Diamondback was a closet homo-sexual spread like wildfire....In his homo-phobic and super macho culture he was treated like a pariah...All of the people who used to sling for him and all of his peers shunned him..The reputation he had tried so hard to build had been shattered....

He and Raphael wound up leaving Philadelphia a month later...Last I heard..They are both living in Atlanta.

Sepia and I went out on the town...We were enjoying a delicious meal at "The Bottom of The C." One night when we saw Jimmy Dee out on the town with Honey Brown, the bartender at Josies...

"Hey Kev..Hey Sepia..How are you two tonight?" he said, grinning from ear to ear..

''We fine..How are you?" said my wife.

"I'm good...just out enjoying life a bit." he said.

"Heyy gurl, that dress is fierce." said Honey Brown to Sepia.

"Thank you." she said.

"Kev...I can't thank you enough for finding my wife and bringin everybody involved to justice..." he said.

"Don't mention it Jimmy ..really don't mention it." I said.

"Well..We are going to find a table...you guys enjoy yourselves." he said as they headed towards a table.

Sepia smiled...

"He loves those older women...Honey Brown is older than him isn't she?" she asked.

"Yeah, about five or six years." I said...

"You still bugged about outing Diamondback? ..look Kev..He's done a lot worse things to people..I'd say he got off easy, He's lucky he's not in jail...Forget about it ." she said.

I looked at her and mimicked an old Italian gangster-"Yeah forgettaboutit..."

Sepia looked at me and chuckled...I laughed too and rubbed her hands softly across the table as I stared into her pretty brown eyes.