Monday Morning....The phone was ringing.....
"Kevin....Kevin...get that." said my wife ,Sepia...
I groggily woke up....
"Uh...Hello." I said.
"Hey man...Kev, where you at? It's 11:00 am." came the voice of Robert Foxworth...
"Eleven O'clock???" I said and shot up with a start! I never slept this late...I hadn't planned on working today....Neither had Sepia...but we never stayed in bed this late, unless of course we were uh busy and this morning we hadn't been..We were just sleeping and enjoying our rest...
"Uh..okay...I'm up..." I said. There was a pause, then I heard Robert laughing.....
"You nasty negro...I know what you two been doin....." he laughed.
"No...you're wrong...We were just sleeping good...is all." I said.
"Tell Robert to mind his business" laughed Sepia in the background...
"Tell your wife that I took care of mine and managed to get to work on time." he retorted...
''What did he say?" laughed Sepia...I ignored them both.
"What do you want counselor?" I asked.
"My client...The woman I wanted you to meet...She's down here..." he said.
''You better get in that shower and go handle your business hero." she said with a laugh a little while later.
Sepia had already gotten up, showered and was preparing to get dressed....I stared at her..
"Damn girl...I feel like maybe, being a little late." I said.
"Later than you already are?" she laughed. "Bonita,Bernadette and I are supposed to go shopping today anyway..We are all on vacay today...Don't worry..I'll be here tonight....Question is....Will you be back in time?"
"I'll damn sure try." I said.
II-
I showered ,dressed and hurried to Robert's Office...Chance Howard and Cole brought an attractive , middle aged woman into the office where Robert and I sat...
Robert stood when she came in the room....
"Kevin...This is Mae Horton....Mrs. Horton, this is Kevin Morris , the private investigator I told you about." he said.
"That's Miz...Ms.Horton" she said, smiling broadly and staring daggers at me...
"Pleased to make your acquaintence..." I said.
"Not as pleased as I am...My My My...Your wife is a lucky woman....Lawdddd!" she said.
"Uh Ms. Horton...your uh ahhh case?" said Robert. Cole and Chance smiled sheepishly.
"Yes... a year ago...My co-worker, Mrs. Althea Washington and her husband...Frederick Washington were murdered in their bedroom...They were shot in the head at close range....I live right down the street...Nobody heard or saw a thing...Their murders remains unsolved." she said.
"And you want me to do what the Philadelphia Police couldn't do?" I asked.
"I want you to do what they wouldn't do...They didn't particularly care for my co-worker's husband...He was on City Council and he was also a neighborhood activist...One of their main critics.." she said.
"So you think his murder was politically motivated huh?" I asked.
''I don't know..I just know that it's been a year and they have no idea who did this or why." she said.
"Well ,I'm friends with a certain high official in Homicide....I'll talk to her, see if I can see some case files.." I said.
"You know" she continued..."I had a feeling there was more to this than just a random killing or robbery gone wrong, because nothing was stolen....I got a friend of mine...an insurance investigator to look into this ...Now he dead...got killed Friday night..same M.O." she said.
"Really? Why would you hire an insurance investigator to look into something like this?" I asked.
"I didn't know who to call...He was an ex cop...I figured he could look into it." she said.
"Oh...Who was this guy you hired?" I asked.
"His name was Ray Lord." she said.
"RAY LORD??" I said, looking at Robert.
"Yes..You know him?" she asked.
"I know of him..One of the best insurance investigators in the business..In fact, I was there Friday night at an establishment not far from where he got shot." I said.
"So was I" said Robert.
"Oh my God...." she exclaimed.
"So you'll take my case?" she asked.
"Yes...I'll look into this." I said.
"I can pay." she said.
"Tell me something...What is all this to you?" I asked.
"Althea was like a daughter to me...I watched her grow up into a fine young lady...and her husband, Frederick was the salt of the earth...you hear me? The salt of the earth..I hate to think of somebody doing this to them and getting away with this." she said.
I looked at Robert....He looked at me...
This was more than just a year old double murder.....There was a fresh murder attached to this and perhaps a fresh connection too...At any rate...I had my work cut out for me.
(TO BE CONTINUED......)
1 comment:
Okay...I'm hooked...Can't wait until tomorrow..First time you've had a two day set up.
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