Money (That's what I want)

I said nothing to anyone for the next few days...Well, I did tell my wife, Sepia , but only after we were both out of Ann's ears...I told her the entire deal in the car on our way to work that Thursday.

"So what are you going to do?" asked my wife..."We've got a murderer staying with us" she said.

"Only for a few more days...I've got a plan...I hope it works." I said.

"For both of our sakes...It had better." she said.

''Well first off..Call Bonita..Tell her something came up and you won't be at work today." I said.

"What?" she asked me.

"Just make the call...We are going to the police." I said.

"I thought you had a plan?" asked my wife.

"That's part of my plan." I said.

Sepia laughed....

"What?" I said.

"Do you make this stuff up on the fly?" she asked...

" Most of the time....but trust me...I gave this one a lot of thought." I said...

Sepia just shook her head...

"If you say so lover." she said.

 Lt.Sissy Van Buren of Homicide, Myself and a Detective from the Bunco Unit entered the bank that Kool Kat told us about...I presented the phony account numbers, My wife ,Sepia and photos of the murdered Mavis Morgan to prove that the accounts were phony...They went through their videotape of Monday's business day and it clearly showed Ann Williams setting up the accounts...with two different tellers at two different times...

"Ohhh myy this is highly irregular " said the bank manager..She had fake ID and she went to two different represenatives claiming to be both Mrs. Morris and Ms. Morgan..." he said.

The accounts were immediately frozen....The Brokerage firm in San-Francisco was contacted and Ann Williams's two phony credit cards were cancelled as well as her debit card...As of now...unless she had cash, she couldn't buy a damn thing!

I turned the ratty suitcase over to the police...It had her fingerprints on it and her sister identified the suitcase as belonging to the late Mavis Morgan...

"Kevin...Where is she now?" asked Lt. Sissy Van Buren.

"I couldn't tell you...She hangs out all day with different people and usually comes home around the time we get home from work.  She has already found a new apartment she said and she plans to move out tomorrow." I said.

"Then we have to move fast...I'll put a man outside your house .....we'll snatch her as soon as she comes to your place." said Lt. Sissy Van Buren.

"She might be pretty mad when she gets to our place dear" said my wife ,Sepia.

"Yeah...if she's trying to spend any of that loot...she's probably getting declined everywhere." I laughed.

"Why don't you guys wait....I want to watch her hang herself..I promise...I'll deliver her to you." I said.

"Okay...but don't make us wait too long Kev.I want this woman in custody." said Sissy.

I called Peeping Tom. I instructed him and Lockpick Johnson to get over to my house ASAP and do what they do!

II-

Apparently she had been using cash...She had close to ten g's on her person..She came home with three boxes of new shoes, top of the line perfume and some new dresses... She was in a good mood.

"Kevin...Sepia....You have been such good friends to me...letting me stay with yall for damn near two weeks....Since it's my last night here...I'm takin yall to Josie's and everything is on me... Call Clerow,Corrie,Sean, Sheila, Robert, Bonita, Walter and Chelsea and that Owen fella...Drinks ,food, you name it...It's all on me...I can't thank you enough for your hospitality." she said.

Sepia and I looked at each other....

"Sure." we said in unison...This was going to be interesting." I thought.

Josies was ..Well ,Josies on a Friday Night... Sepia, Ann and I joined Sean and Sheila Jackson,Kool Kat, Chelsea, Robert Foxworth and Bonita and Clerow and Corabeth at Josie's...The place was packed and Tonight's headliner...Reed Nelson and his band, had the crowd jumping...

Ann was as usual...the life of the party...Laughing and talking and joking with everybody...including Gus.. ''Kev, you got a live one....I like her! I like this woman." he laughed. If he only knew !

Kool Kat made a gesture to Honey Brown....

"Let me buy the first round" he said.

"No...No...No..I won't hear of it....Here's my credit card....Run a tab." Ann said.

Kool Kat looked at me...I just shrugged my shoulders...Sepia laughed uncontrollably....Bonita, Chelsea, Corrie and Sheila all looked at her...

The fun was about to start.

We ordered Hot wings, Multiple Beers, drinks for the ladies...Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad..et al...By 2:00
pm....Honey Brown came back with the bill, well over $300.00 dollars...and a surprise.

"Baby, your card was declined!" she said.

"What?  You're crazy..." said Ann...."Ohh here, take this card." she said producing another card.

Honey Brown came back again a few minutes later...

"Baby...That card was declined too." she said.

Everybody was starting to clear out...It was two o'clock, the bar was closing....

"It probably takes a few days for the money to clear that's all...take this card."..she said , producing a third card.

This time Honey and Gus came over to her....

"What the hell is going on...This card is declined and we got a message that said to snap the card?" said Gus.

"I ..I.. I don't understand....I was just at the bank a few days ago...I've got plenty money...I'm loaded...." she said.

"Yeah, well according to all three of your cards , you're broke as a joke baby...You sure you aint been overspending?" asked Gus.

Ann gave Gus a glare that was as cold as Ice....

"NO." she replied....This was a complete 360 from what all of us had been seeing for nearly two weeks.  Wanting to cut the tension..I cut in..

"Uh don't worry Gus..I'm good for it." I said and I handed him my credit card.

Gus looked at me with a side eye...

"You sure you good...I'm trying to close out now?" he said.

"I'm positive" I said. Gus gave me the side eye...Ann continued to glare at Gus and Honey Brown...Even they felt a change in the temperature.

Within minutes , Honey Brown came back with a receipt..I signed it and we were all square.

"Glad someone's card is good around here." said Gus...Not joking at all!  Ann was obviously embarrassed!

"Don't worry about it Ann...I know you good for it." I said... She looked at me with a strange never before seen rancor!  I wondered if this is how she looked at her victim, before she killed her?

Behind me...Sepia tried hard to conceal her laughter!!  Something about Ann worried me...Not only did her mood change...but it was as if her body took on another smell..!!
Like she was undergoing a transformation! It was eerie!

III-

On the ride home, Ann's demeanor was 360 degrees different from what we had been seeing...She was very quiet...

As we drove home...Sepia asked-

"You sleep back there sugar?"

Ann was silent! Her eyes were closed...but I don't think she was asleep!Sepia looked at me..I merely shrugged my shoulders..

We walked into our house and Sepia and I took our shoes off....Ann walked straight upstairs to her room and slammed the door..

Sepia was about to laugh, but I cautioned her not to...She smiled at me.

"Want a bottle of water?" she asked me as she headed to the refrigerator in the kitchen...

"Yeah...I'll take one...Thanks." I said.

Anne's door swung open and she marched down the stairs with a .38 smokeless in her hand...It had a silencer on it!!!!!

"WHERE'S MY MONEY???" she demanded.

"Heyyyy, what are you talking about?"I said ,faking looking surprised....

"Don't play with me Kevin...I know who you are...You're a private investigator...Some of the people in the bar let that slip a few days ago....Looks like you and Walter weren't joking...." she said.

"Okay..so I am?" I said.

"You must have checked me out....I WANT MY DAMN MONEY!" she said and aimed the gun at my head.

"The money you took from that sweet old lady?" I said.

Ann laughed... "Sweet ole lady...yeah right."

Just then Sepia walked in the living room...She turned, aimed the gun at Sepia and motioned to her to move next to me.
"You should have left it alone...I was doin right by you two....cookin, cleanin around here, treatin you to meals when we went out...I was gonna move tomorrow..." she said.

" No you weren't... I found a one way plane ticket to the Cayman Islands" I said.

''So you went through my panties and bras?" she asked. "Freak!" she snarled.

"Whatever! Ann...I found the plane ticket...You weren't planning to stay here...You stole that money from that woman and you killed her didn't you?" I said.

"Add one more to that and you got it." she said coldly..

"You killed Roy?" I asked.

"Damn right....I've been at that firm for 22 years..22 long years investigatin fraud....bustin people who just went for it...Stealin more money than I could make in a lifetime...That sweet old lady embezzled a cool million...I had her dead to rights...She offered to split it with me if I didn't tell.....A million dollars is a lot of money..a lot of cash...More than I cared to split with my dumb ,unimaginative, no ambition havin husband and more than I cared to split with her theivin ass....If I turned her in..All I'd get is some worthless accomodation....Might not have gotten that...It was my job to turn in people like that...No..this was my ticket to the big time...the good life.I made her think that we was in it together...but in the end...I couldn't have her around." she said.

"You came here to Philly because you have no ties here...Only she did...Nobody would think to look for you here." I said.

"Right. You're a very smart man Kevin...Smarter than I gave you credit for." she said.

"How'd you get that gun on the plane?" I asked.

"Didn't...I paid an underworld contact to supply it for me when I got here....It was in the ladies room, taped under the toilet." she said.

"Incredible." I said

"WHERE IS MY MONEY KEVIN?"  she asked again.

"You know the cops have it...You know the jig is as they say up." I said.

She angrily stomped her foot..As if she hadn't heard what I'd just said.She aimed the gun at Sepia's head....

"I'm gonna start with your wife first...then you gonna tell me what I want to know.." she said and she pulled the trigger!!!!

Nothing!

"I guess you're looking for these" I said and pulled the bullets out of my pocket..."I found your gun a few days ago and I took the liberty of removing all of the bullets." I said.  "Oh and by the way..Every bloodthirsty word you said has been taped...My house is wired.." I said.

The doorbell rang....Sepia opened the door and Lt. Sissy Van Buren , three detectives and two uniformed Policemen came in and handcuffed Ann Williams...

"I don't believe this...I don't believe this....?I'm being arrested?....You two yokels out smarted me!!!!!...I don't believe this...You don't understand...I was tired of just getting by...This was my ticket..My ticket to the big times...I deserved that money..I deserved that damn money...MONEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" she yelled as they took her outside ...

"MONEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" she yelled to the top of her lungs as her rights were being read to her..

"MONEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY" she continued to yell as they put her in the police car...

"HEYYYYYYYYYYYY QUIET THE NOISE YOU CRAZY BROAD...I'M TRYIN TO SLEEP.!!!" yelled one of my neighbors..

"MONEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!" she yelled defiantly!!

"That woman was stone crazy." said my wife Sepia as we watched until the last police car was out of sight!

"Crazy like a fox" I said.

EPILOUGE:

Roy Williams corpse was found at the bottom of the San Francisco Bay , weighted down with one shot from a .38 smokeless in his head...It is not known if Ann  Williams had an accomplice in this murder or not. She was tried in absentia in the State of California and convicted of his murder and given a death sentence... She was tried in Pennsylvania for murder and given a Life sentence...If she is ever paroled in Pennsylvania, she'll be immediately transferred to California's Death row!!

I was at her sentencing hearing....So was Lt. Sissy Van Buren...She looked at both of us and giggled maniacally....and whispered- "MONNNNNNEYYYYYYYYYYYYY"
Sissy looked at me and shook her head...I just stood there and watched as the bailifs took her to the bus that was going to take her to State Prison..She was still laughing and giggling derisively and saying..."Monnneyyyyyyyy..."  She was completely gone from reality now...in a world of her own... I'd gone up against many bad guys..but none had put a chill in my spine like Ann!

Hot steamy water flowed and ran down both Sepia's and my body as we took a shower together.....We weren't doing much showering...just kissing as the water splashed and rolled down our bodies....

"Oh Kevin..I'm so glad she's gone in so many ways....I missed all the fun we have when it's just the two of us." said Sepia...

"I know...I know.." I said as we continued kissing.. I looked and for a split second..I saw Ann, nude...in the shower with us...lathering down in soap and whispering-"Moneyyyyyy.." Then I blinked and she was gone...

"You okay baby?" asked Sepia....

"Yeah...Yeah...I'm cool.." I said....