Treacherous Brothers

Chance Howard and I took my car... We drove through the tony spots that Alan Drinkwater was known to frequent....The tony malls outside of Philadelphia...The car showrooms, the jewelry stores, The high priced and very private strip clubs...

We must have talked to and questioned close to 80 people and no one had reported seeing Alan Drinkwater for close to a week.

"Kev...How do you know the places this guy frequented?" asked Chance Howard...

"He attended my church as I told you...and well uh, we talked a couple of times..Got kind of friendly and he used to drop the names of some places I might want to buy my wife some nice things, such as jewelry and articles of clothing and the like.." I said.

"What about the strip clubs?" laughed Chance slyly ,giving me the side eye...

"He uh er ruh might have mentioned that he frequented those types of places." I said.

"I noticed that all of these places are exclusively populated by caucasions...He never hung out amongst his own people did he?"asked Chance.

"He's in a different money bracket Chance...." I said.

''So are Chess and Chris." he pointed out...  He had a point...but Chess and Chris were street guys originally..Alan Drinkwater went to private schools all of his life...He was born into money. I didn't bother to argue the point with Chance anymore...

"Well Chance...I'll drop you off...I'd say we questioned enough people today..tomorrow, we'll look at some more places." I said.

"I gotta be in court tomorrow Kev." he said.

"Okay well tell Cole to check his credit cards and bank cards for any usage....Call your guy in records and find out if their is any usage of his cell phones or home phone." I said.

"Okay..I'll put Cole on it as soon as I get to work." he said.

''Good,I'll see you later." I said.

II-

As Sepia and I lay across the bed that afternoon I questioned her-

"Sepia...who is this Byron charactor?" I asked.

"He's guy I knew back in East Orange...He used to be sweet on me...but I could never stand him...He and his brother were bullies...Anytime one of them liked a girl, she almost had no choice but to date them...If any other guy came around, they would usually run them off....If the guy stood his ground, they got beat up...That's how they rolled...I despised both of them, but especially Edward....You've never met him...and I'm glad you didn't...Byron is bad enough...but his brother Edward...He's a natural killer...They're both bad news baby...." she said.

"Ahhh Byron isn't so tough." I smirked...

"I see...you really handled him....but you have an advantage...you're an ex-boxer and you take that kickboxing....He didn't stand a chance...But Kevin, watch your back...They both carry guns...." she said.

"I carry a gun!!" I remarked.

"Yeah, but you still should be careful...I'm just sayin...I hope their business in Philly is short." she said.

"Unfortunately I don't think it is." I said.

''What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well for one...They're about to buy Dollar Bill's joint..."Bottom of The C" from him or rather take it..If they haven't already....He lost it in a crap game....and I think one of them is involved with Robert's client's wife." I said.

"You workin a case?" she asked.

"Yeah and I think one or both of them is mixed up in this..." I said.

"They're treacherous Kevin....Trust me...I think I can find out where they are staying.." she said.

''And how is that?" I asked.

"Edward has been eating at Mabel's Soul Food Joint and trying to make time with Baby Phat....I'm sure she knows where he's staying and his number....I can get that for you." she said.

"Well if you do...be subtle about it Sepia...Don't tell Baby Phat it's for me...." I said.

"I'm going to have our administrative assistant get it....I'm going to tell her to tell Baby Phat that Byron has a female admirer who is too shy to ask for herself." said Sepia.

I gave her a side eye...and a frown...

"What? Baby Phat aint that bright...she'll go for it. What else you got?" she laughed.

I smiled...I admired my wife's ingenuity....at times.

III-

Sepia hit the jackpot..Within a day...I had an address and two phone numbers...both cell phones... Peeping Tom had illegal taps on both numbers...and after careful observation by Clerow and Owen Todd...Lockpick Johnson, Sean Jackson, Myself and Peeping Tom found both brother's residences and broke in , leaving micro cameras and micro listening devices all over their places...

This would allow me to both listen and observe anything going on in the two brothers residences and to hear anything they talked about on the phone.

IV-

I sat in Robert's office a few days later with him, Chance and Cole.....

"I haven't located Alan Drinkwater yet....but I have the man in that photo with his wife and his brother ,Edward under surveillence." I said.

"Good...Cole said that there hasn't been any activity on his credit or debit card in two weeks and no activity on his cell phones or his home phone either." said Robert Foxworth.

''What about his estranged wife?" I asked.

"She moved out of Drinkwater's place a month ago..."said Cole.

''Anybody got an address on her?" I asked.

"Yup...Got it right here Kev...She's in a high priced condo and guess who it's registered to?" asked Chance Howard..

"Byron Wood" I said.

"Nah...but you're close...His brother, Edward Wood." said Chance...

"Hmmm..Well..She's our next stop." I said.

(To Be Continued...)