Straight To Hell

It was early morning....it was hot muggy and overcast...Hot like Hell..very humid! I wasn't going to work today...Neither was Sepia or Bonita...They, like me..had a capable office manager and staff to take care of any pressing business either one of them had..  I had asked Owen Todd and Donald Smooth to watch my house and Robert Foxworth's house...I still felt as if whoever tried to ice them and me, might be out there in the wind, looking to clean up...
Not on my watch!... With Clerow and Sean out of town and Kool Kat in parts unknown, that left me riding solo on this caper...

This morning, I was running a few laps with my friend, Cock Robbins...a former semi pro and pro football player and now a  football coach at the local high school...

"So Cock...you know this Herbert Dandridge fella?" I asked.

"Yeah ..I know him...He owned one of the semi pro football teams I played for..." he answered.

"What did you think of him? I mean what kind of guy is he?" I asked.

"I didn't like him....I busted my hump playin for him and he wouldn't renegotiate my contract....But that aint the real reason I couldn't stand him..." said Cock Robbins...

"No? Why was that?" I asked.

" I had a hot little number...A lawyer.....Her name was Lorita Banks....She's dead now...I read in the papers that she was found in that house with the sportscaster,Jimmy Belzer last week....Anyway this was back before I met you Kevin...I was datin Sepia and her mother on the side and some other chick....I was young, you know....He found out and arranged to have me caught......Lorita found out I was cheatin on her and she left me....Next thing I know, She ridin in his car, He takin her to lunch, dinner, to concerts, games and what not..." said Cock Robbins.

"So he stole Lorita Banks from you?" I asked.

"Yeah, old bastard...Lorita was just using him....to get back at me....make me jealous...Hell, he was only one year younger than Lorita's father...What was she gonna do with him? And he was married his damn self back then. Anyway...She was spending his money and sleepin with Jimmy Belzer and some playa named Ben Ali...." said Cock Robbins.

"Really?" I said.  Some of this story ,I knew already knew....

''Would you say he was possessive?" I said.

"Yeah, jealous and devious too... He paid good money for information." said Cock Robbins..

"What about his wife? She divorce him?" I asked.

"Nah..She run off...Left him....Nobody ever saw her again...After seven years...He just went on and got a divorce." said Cock Robbins.

"Thanks man." I said and left the track, took a long hot shower in the gym's shower room, dressed and headed into Northeast Philly to Peeping Tom's house.

Peeping Tom fit me for a nice , but powerful micro wire...He placed it in a place where it wouldn't easily be found.... He gave me a small micro GPS device, which I placed in my wallet...I then told him to call Kool Kat and tell him where I was going.

I did check out what Cock had told me about Dandridge's wife...He told people that she ran off to California with some guy....But there was no record of her ever living in any part of California. No credit or debit card activity, no phone records, no nothing on Darlene Ruby Dandridge after 2002!!  The man who she supposedly ran off with didn't  seem as if he existed..I found no records of this guy anywhere.. Strange indeed!

II-

The next morning was equally hot...It was 92 degrees and it was barely six in the morning..and getting hotter...Yes , this was what Hell must feel like! Sweat was running off of me and I had just gotten out of the shower, I couldn't wait to get in my car and turn on the AC.

 I had next to nothing I could prove to make a case against Herbert Dandridge...I was going to have to bluff him and play it close to the vest.....So I called him and asked if I could meet and talk with him....He agreed. It was he that suggested 7:00 am...Said he had an appointment! (This early in the morning?)

His house, was on a nice street in East Oak Lane...It looked like a mansion...in fact...was a mansion...So why was he buying real estate in Germantown??

He came to the door in a stocking cap....!!!!! Something about that stocking cap looked familliar.

"Mr. Morris is it?" he said.

"Yes...Kevin Morris...Private Investigator..." I said.

I walked through the foyer and sat down in his kitchen at his breakfast table.. He poured himself a tumbler of coffee, added cream and sugar and stirred..He had on a nice gray suit.

"Excuse my manners...Would you like some coffee?" he asked as he removed the stocking cap, revealing near perfect waves in his hair. He appeared to look at least 20 years younger than he actually was.

"No thanks. Not in this heat." I said. He smiled a very sinister smile.

"You said you were an investigator right?" he asked.

"Yes...I'm looking into the double homicide that occurred in that house in Germantown last week." I said. I looked for something in his demeaner, anything...but there was nothing...The man was as cool as a cucumber.

"I read about it in the paper...a terrible tragedy..What has that got to do with me?" he said and smiled a slick grin that was a little un-nerving.

"My wife and her associate were supposed to be showing you that house last week...only you didn't show up...They waited for you, you never showed up and in the meanwhile they happened on to a horrific double murder.  That was bad enough but then two goons tried to take me and them out." I said.

He laughed a hearty laugh...Like my friend Clerow..He had a toothy grin..Something about the sound of his voice gave me a chill-

They don't know nothin and they didn't see nothin." he said.

"But they saw my face.." he said.

"So, the important thing is that they didn't see my face!..now lets's go...apparently they had back up!" he said...

I stared at him....He kept laughing.....

"You were there!!!  That was you with the stocking cap on!!!.....and the scarf.....You were the other guy who we couldn't identify!!..." I said.

"Yes.... that was me...I completely forgot about the appointment to see the house because you see, so much happened in the 24 hours preceding our appointment." he said non-chalantly..."But then...you know all of that." he laughed.

"You told Carmella Belzer that her husband , Jimmy Belzer was sleeping with your girlfriend...Lorita Banks didn't you?  You told her where she could find them..." I said.

"Yes...that was me...Of course, I just planned for her to find them and perhaps use that in her divorce...I didn't know the little psychopath was going to go there with a gun and shoot and kill them both!" he snarled.

"So then you had to clean things up...That's what you were doing when my wife and Bonita arrived there..It was then you remembered that this was the house you were supposed to see..The one you thought you were buying for you and Lorita...." I said.

"I was buying it for her...I didn't need a house as you can see....I didn't know the little whore was sleeping with her young boyfriend in the house." he said with a little rancor.

"When I shot your partner and he dropped his gun out of the car, you had to kill him didn't you? Couldn't chance him being arrested or going to a hospital and mixing you up in all of this right?" I said.

"That's right.....You know...I wondered when you might figure this whole thing out and wind up at my door...I figured out who you were the day after our little brou ha ha...I've heard of some of your exploits." he said.

"You have?" I said.

"Yes..Mr. Morris and that's why ,I can't allow you to live to tell this story." he said.

I heard the click of a gun and looked around to see another man in the kitchen with a .45 aimed at me...He was smiling.....

"Get up." he said.

I stood up and he patted me down, took my.45, took my .38 smokeless...patted me down some more...

"What? Not wearing a wire? That's not like you." he laughed.  "You didn't think I was just going to surrender did you?" he laughed..

''I must admit...The thought did kind of grab me." I said.

"Ahhhh, gallows humor eh Mr. Morris." he said still smiling.

He went through my pockets....

"That's just my wallet..all I have is a couple of bucks and a debit card." I said.

He tossed it back to me.

"I'll let you keep it...You won't need it though." he said.

"Where we gonna do him boss?" asked the gunman....

"Get some cement...We are going to take him to the bridge as James Brown says and see how good a swimmer he is...WITH CEMENT BOOTS ON...It's early in the morning nobody will be out there." said Dandridge.

The man went in the basement and came back with two big cans of cement and loaded it into an SUV...Then at gunpoint, Herbert Dandridge and his goon walked me out to the SUV...Sitting in the back seat, bound and gagged were two women...one was Carmella Belzer and the other was one of the women who had been at her house cheering her on a few days before, Flory Johnson.

"Let me guess, this is Carmella and her girlfriend who was driving her the night of the murders right?" I said.

"Right again...." laughed Herbert Dandridge...

"Tying up all loose ends eh?" I said.

"That's right Kevin.....Two psychopaths and a nosy P.I...The only three who can tie me to this mess." he said.

"Why don't you take us in my car?" I said.

"Nice try Mr. Morris....Probably got a GPS device somewhere in there...a wire too...Uh UH." he laughed.

"I had to try." I said.

"You know...if it wasn't for this mess, I might actually see myself having a few drinks with you...You're quite humorous." said Dandridge...I found nothing about him humorous.. I felt like I was in the clutches of Satin himself.

He tied me up  and sat me next to Carmella Belzer and her girlfriend, Flory Johnson...Dandridge sat in the back with us...His goon drove.

III-

The sun was just starting to come up...Still hellishly hot! There wasn't much traffic...While we drove...I had been working my hands free of the ropes they had tied me with....They weren't tied very well and I had managed to slip a .22 out of the small of my back that his goon hadn't found ,into my hands....I just sat tight...It was a nice drive....

The two women were frightened to death...

"Don't fret ladies...We may just shoot you two and make it quick and painless before we put the three of you in cement boots and drop you in the lake..." said Dandridge non-chalantly....I snickered a bit.

"Something funny Mr. Morris?" he asked.

"You sound like you've done this before." I laughed...

"I was married once...If you did your homework on me, I'm sure you know that." he said.  I did.

''Ever wonder what happened to my wife?" he laughed  chillingly and then winked...

"You're a real sweet heart." I said. He smiled.

"It's a very efficient way to uh get rid of lingering problems..." he said.

"You need to go straight to hell." I said no longer laughing.

"Perhaps...but it looks like you'll beat me there Mr. Morris." he said, still laughing.  I was soon going to wipe that pompous grin off of his face.

We finally got to the bridge...We all got out of the car....His goon held his gun on the two girls....I stood behind them...

"Well we are here!" He said with a smile..

"Yes we are." I said and shot Dandridge  in the stomach with my 22.!!!! I slugged his goon, knocking him off balance for a minute and the two women ran on the other side of the SUV and ducked down..

Dandridge looked like someone had poured a bowl of hot soup on him....His mouth flew wide open!!!!

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...ARGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH

I DON'T BELIEVE IT....I've been shot!!!" he screamed and I shot him again in the shoulder...He fell to his knees, bleeding profusely....

''OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SWEEET BABY JESUS...I'VE BEEN...I'VE BEEN SHOT!!!OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" he moaned...I kicked his gun out of his hand...

His goon had regained his footing by then  aimed his .45 at me and I heard the loudest sound I've ever heard!  His gunmen went flying over the side of the bridge into the river with a huge splash!!

It was none other than Kool Kat.!!!!...He had leveled the gunmen with his riot pump shotgun......Both women were shaking in their boots....

"Relax ladies....you're not going to die....You're going to jail, but you're not going to die." I said.

Kool Kat walked over to me..

"Damn man...what I tell you about goin out on these capers alone?" he chided... "I was afraid he might see me trailin behind him...but he didn't." he continued.

I laughed....

"I called you didn't I?" I said...  He laughed and shook his head...

We looked over at Herbert Dandridge...He was still alive, lying on the ground moaning....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHH...I'm SHOTTTTTT...OHHHHHHHHH GOOOD GRACIOUS OF LIFE...YOU SHOT ME...NIGGA YOU SHOT ME..OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he moaned in agony.

"Looks like you're going to live laughing boy." I said. "Not so funny now huh?" I added...He gave me the finger , then fell over on his back....

"YOU...YOU GO STRAIGHT TO HELLL...OHHHHHHHHHH LAWDDDD!" he continued to moan!

Kool Kat looked into the river....The gunman, 29 year old Ronald "Git Low"Garrett, a low level playa was floating in a pool of red blood mixed water...Very, very dead!

"At any rate....Dandridge over there is in better shape than that cat." said Kool Kat pointing to the gun man's body in the river below.

I looked over at his lifeless body ,floating in the river...

"No doubt!" I said, shaking my head.

Flory Johnson fainted.....Carmella Belzer began to weep....Soon the police would be here....I looked up at the burning early morning sun...

"It's gonna be a scorcher today." I mused..

"Yeah man..I'm going and find a swimmin pool to jump in...Think you can manage from here Kev?" laughed Kool Kat..

"Yeah man..Thanks." I said.

"Okay babe..I'm out..Be easy!" said Kool Kat as he got in his Escalade and pulled off..

"Always!" I said and waved as his Escalade drove off into the early morning sunlight!

EPILOUGE-

Carmella Belzer was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to two life sentences...Her driver, Flory Johnson was convicted of Accessory to Murder and sentenced to Five to seven years... Herbert Dandridge recovered from his wounds and stood trial. He was convicted of  murdering, James "Sonny" Carlton and sentenced to 25 years to life. He was also convicted of kidnapping and attempted murder and given another two life sentences for that.  The police dragged the river and found the skelatal remains of his long missing first wife, Darlene  RubyDandridge...She had been fitted for concrete boots and dropped in the river...He was tried and convicted in her murder and received a death sentence.!!!

Sepia sat on the sink in the bathroom with her arms around me and her legs wrapped around my waist...Kissing me with soft, teasing kisses...

"My big heroic husband put some bad people away.." she said in a breathy voice.....

"Yes I did...and now it's time for my reward." I said slyly...

We continued to kiss....

"Oh you get the same reward every night almost." she cooed...

"I'm not complaining..." I laughed...

"I see....Ugggghhhhhhhhhhhhh...I feel..." she said....

I smiled and we continued kissing in the bathroom.

The Good Wife and the Good Mistress

I picked up Sepia, Bonita and Owen Todd and then headed to the M.E.'s office where I met up with Lt. Sissy Van Buren of Philly Homicide...She was there with one of the coroners...

Sepia and Bonita and Owen sat in a room where a Flat screen television screen showed them the dead man lying on a steel morgue slab....

"That's him!! That's one of the guys who pulled a gun on us and tied us up." said Bonita.

"Yes..That's definitely him!! I'll never forget that face." said my wife Sepia.

"That's the guy who was standing outside who shot at me." I said.

''His name is James "Sonny" Carlton...He's a local hood...got a rap sheet as long as he is tall..He's mostly muscle, but has convictions for narcotics trafficking ,armed robbery and assault..." said Sissy Van Buren.

"There was another man with him...He had on a stocking cap and some kind of scarf covering his face." said Sepia.

"Yeah, he came out of the house...He shot at me too...This one here said something about, they saw his face and that they should kill them...The other guy said that the important thing was that they didn't see his face." I said.

"Hmmm...You wounded him in the shoulder and he dropped his gun on the street..We found it and we found shell casings.." she said.

"Wow!" I said.

"His gun had his prints on it...We did a ballistics check...It's not the murder weapon and the other slugs we found that your second unidentified shooter fired at you are not from the murder weapon either...Our two victims were shot at close range with a .22." she said.

"A .22?" I said.

''Yes."she said.

"Hmmmmm....Well...Keep me posted." I said.

Sissy smiled-

"I was going to tell you the same thing." she smiled.

II-

I dropped Sepia and Bonita off at their job.....Owen and I headed in another direction..

''Where are we off to Kevin?" asked Owen.

"We are off to see a grieving wife." I said.

I was short of help now of days...Clerow , Corrie and their kids were in Florida at Disney World...Sean Jackson and Sheila were on tour with Reed, Rob,Meek ,Bone,Ella and Debbie. I didn't need Peeping Tom and Lockpick Jackson's services as of yet and as for Kool Kat?  He was out there somewhere...Hadn't seen the big man in awhile....So Owen Todd, a very capable young man...a good driver and good with a gun was my back up.

We arrived at Carmella Belzer's house.  There was five or six of her girlfriends there and they were all crying and holding her...She was weeping uncontrollably...
Owen and I walked over to them...

"Uh Mrs. Belzer...I know this is a bad time, but can I talk to you?" I asked.

"Y-Yes...who are you...argghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...Jimmmmyyyy!" she cried.

"My name is Kevin Morris...I'm a private investigator..I'm looking into the shootings of your husband." I said.

"Really? because I just talked to the homicide detectives." she said.

"I'm sorry...I just need to know a few things and I'll be gone.....I guess you heard about who he was found with and where he was found.....Uh...Did he own that house? Why was he there?" I asked.

"No...He didn't own that house...I don't know what he was doing in that part of town with that slut!' she said...

"You mean Ms. Banks?" I said.

"Yes...She was his attorney...I might as well tell you...We were in the process of a divorce....She was acting as his attorney at day and his mistress at night.Slut...Whore!" she snapped..

"You tell him gurl friend" said one woman...

"Yeah that slut ass slut got what she deserved....him too." said another woman named Flory Johnson.

"Don't you even worry about it gurl." said yet another woman.

"Was that property her house?" I asked.

"I don't know....Why don't you go to her office..I'll give you the address." she said.

"Please do...and my  condolences." I said.

"Thank you" she said.

She gave me the address and Owen and I were off...

III-

 At the law office of the now late Lorita Banks, we hit paydirt...A very attractive and efficient partner named Velma Collins greeted us...She was busy putting files in boxes and cleaning out the office that once belonged to her partner...

"Ms. Collins?" I said.

"That's Mrs. Collins." she said sharply and then smiled playfully....."That's Okay...you didn't know...Are you from Homicide?" she said.

"No ,I'm a private investigator." I said and showed her my card.."I'm Kevin Morris and this is my assistant,Owen Todd..." I said.

She smiled....

"You want to know about Rita...My partner?" she said.

"Yes." I said.

She motioned us into her office and looked around...I don't know why...There was only one or two other people in the office.  We went in, sat down and she closed the door.

"Lorita was a great attorney...She gave me a job here when I first graduated from law school....I interned under her  as a paralegal and when I passed the bar, she remembered me and brought me back here....I owe her a lot..I learned a lot from her...But what she could've learned from me is how to run her personal life better." she said.

"Come Again?" I said.

"She was a hopeless romantic...Always carrying on with guys ,usually clients who were on the verge of getting a divorce...Guys who promised her that once divorced it was going to be her and them and it never was...They were just in the game for sex..They'd tell her that they loved her....but they really didn't..Years ago she had a torrid affair with this semi pro football player named Cock Robbins....He wasn't married yet, but he was a player..That didn't end well....Then she dated the millionaire playboy, Rollie Rollerson....She thought he was going to marry her..but he has so many women it wasn't funny...and there were others." she said.

"Sportscaster, Jimmy Belzer was another right?" I said.

"Yeah...He started out as just her client...He was going through a divorce....Then one day I came to work early and Rita was on her knees in the office, had his penis in her mouth ,going to town..He was sitting on the desk, with his head cocked back, eyes practically rolling out of the sockets....That was the worst...We were both embarrassed and we both agreed that she would never do another man in the office." she said.

"So here is my question....How did she wind up in that house...Neither she nor Belzer had ever lived there...In fact! My wife was going to show that house to a buyer...That's how the bodies were found!" I said.

"I don't know." she said.

"She had a key to that house.." I said.

"Well..that house used to belong to one of her clients..." she said.

"Oh really?" I said.

She was quiet for a minute....

"He's a gangster...A guy named Ben Ali...She repped him a few times...He's in prison serving a life sentence for murder." she said.

"Yeah...Him I know personally..."I said. After all, I was responsible for him being in prison.

"That was another bad romance...Mr. Ali was kind of violent...After he went to jail..His house went on the market..." she said.

"Was she still repping him?" I asked.

"I don't think so...but she  still had the keys to that house." she said.

"That explains why she had the keys...It was perfect...The house was empty, My wife's company had purchased it and was selling it...but they hadn't changed the locks...It was a cheap and discreet place to meet and have trysts with Belzer...Who would look for either of them there?? It makes sense.. Thing is...Somebody knew they were there...Somebody followed them there and killed them." I said.

"I can't help you there." she said.

"You've helped quite enough. Thank you darlin. And uh oh...if you're looking for another law firm to work at....Here is an address and a phone number...Her name is Cindy Waters, she's looking for another attorney" I said.

She looked at me and smiled... "Thank you,I'll give her a call."

"No...thank you, for your help." I said.

Owen and I left.

IV-

After I dropped Owen Todd off..I did some checking...I checked Carmella Belzer's phone and cell phone records for the entire week leading up to the murder...She had made calls to one Herbert Dandridge quite a bit!   Where did I know that name from?
Then it hit me...That was the man that Sepia and Bonita were supposed to be showing the house to, who had never showed up!!!

She said she had been in Los Angelas at the time of the murders, yet a check of her debit card and credit card records showed purchases made in and around Philadelphia practically everyday leading up to the estimated time of the murders...Then a trip to Los Angelas the day after the murders and a return , two days later, after the bodies are discovered....It looked pretty fishy...

The next day ,I stopped by Lorita's Law firm again...Velma discreetly allowed me to see some files pretaining to Jimmy Belzer's divorce.... He was a millionaire many times over...He had a prenup that only gave his wife a percentage of his earnings in the case of divorce...She was going to get paid anyway...So this wasn't about money and what did Dandridge have to do with this???

I checked gun shops and gun permits and I found a .22 purchased by Mrs. Belzer just two days before the murders...It was purchased with her debit card...Proof positive that she was no professional...

I spoke to several people in the neighborhood.....People who I know wouldn't be caught talking to cops, but who would talk to me.....One person told me that he saw Jimmy Belzer and Lorita Banks entering the house that afternoon...He knew because he recognized Belzer and asked for his autograph...Belzer gave him the autograph and slid him a few bucks to be quiet about seeing them go inside..

Another person told me that sometime after one in the morning they saw what looked like a woman, with her hair in a bun and dressed in all black, get out of a car and enter the house...This person said they heard screaming and what sounded like a sucession of popping sounds...Then nothing!!! The mysterious figure in black got back in the car and pulled off....she wasn't driving , which meant that someone else was also present.

I checked the phone records further....Carmella Belzer made a 25 minute phone call to Herbert Dandridge....This was the early morning hours before he was supposed to be shown the house by Bonita and Sepia... and when Carmella was supposed to be in LOS ANGELAS!

She left for L.A. the next day!  How convenient!

I think I knew who my shooter was...but now I had to find out what Dandridge's involvement was and who were those other two men.

V-

That afternoon at home, My wife Sepia and I sat in the comfort of our living room talking...

"I think I know who killed that couple in that house." I said.

"You do?" she said.

"Yeah...I think I've compliled enough information to take it to the police tomorrow." I said.

"That's good..and I'm glad that at least one of those gunmen is dead." she said.

"Yeah...but it's the other one I'm concerned about...Tell me about this Herbert Dandridge..What do you know about him?" I asked.

"He owns a Semi-Pro Football team..He's an older man, got a lot of money to throw around...He wasn't planning on living in the house...He just wanted it from us as an investment property." she said.

''Ever meet him?" I asked.

"Oh God yes...Very firtatious..He saw me and Bonita and he was like a kid in a candy store...The lewd remarks , the double intendres .....but all in all...he was very nice." she said. "Confident to the point of arrogance. He thinks he's sexy." she giggled.

''You mean he had nice money." I said.

"Okay, he was an important and loaded client." she laughed.

"Well I'm going to meet this loaded client tomorrow." I said.

"You don't think he had anything to do with this do you?" she asked.. "He was a bit of a horn dog, but other than that harmless." she said.

"Don't you think it's funny that he never showed up at the house for the showing?" I asked.

"Maybe he forgot?" she said.

"Yeah I don't think he did...I think he sent some guys there to clean that mess up and they walked in on you...Then they decided that they had to get rid of you two and then I showed up...." I said.

"If you say so." said Sepia.

"It's more than just a hunch Sepia.It's a certainty." I said.

"You're the private eye." she laughed.

(CONCLUSION NEXT!)

Bloody Little Mess

The rain stopped eventually and Police cars and detectives were everywhere....Lt.Sissy Van Buren and about seven homicide detectives and C.S.I. personnel were all over the house...My wife Sepia and her business partner, Bonita Foxworth were giving a statement to the police and detectives...

Robert Foxworth , the attorney and husband of Bonita drove up....he had his assistants, fellow attorneys, Chance Howard and Cole with him...

"I got here as fast as I could Kev." he said.

"They're fine...They're giving a statement to the police..." I said.

"What the hell happened?" he said.

"They came here to show a house to somebody...a guy who never showed up....They said that the house smelled....They walked upstairs and found a man and a woman , nude in the bedroom and shot to death!"I said.

"Whattttt?" said Robert..

"And while they were at it...two goons came in the house...bound and gagged them and kept asking them what did they see." I said.

''Dayummmmm" said Cole.

"How you find them Kev?" asked Chance Howard...

"I was just coming to pick Sepia up....I apparently walked up on something because one of the men opened fire on me....The other one came out and he started shooting...I think I hit one of them." I said.

Lt. Sissy Van Buren, Philadelphia Homicide , who incidentally was Robert Foxworth's first wife walked over to us...

"Hello Robert.." she said.

"Hey Sissy" he said.

"Your wives are going to be alright....They've made their statements and they can go now...I've got a mess to clean up." she said.

''Do you know who they are?" I asked.

"The man is Jimmy Belzer..." she said,

"The Sportscaster?? The guy on the radio??" I said.

"Yeah...I recognized him right away...didn't you?" she asked.

"I didn't get that close to the bodies...didn't go into the room....He's not one of my favorite guys." I said.

"Yeah I know, he savages all the Philly teams..." she laughed...

"I guess he and his wife decided to get busy before they sold this house huh?" I said.

"That's the thing...They didn't live here...Had no connection to this house at all and that isn't his wife." she said.

''No? Who is it?" I asked.

"Ahhhh, now that's why they pay me the big bucks....To find that out!" she laughed.

"Uhhhh huhhhhhh." I said. "What a mess." I said.

"Indeed!" she said... "Would love to talk, but I gotta release the bodies and  make my report." she said.

"Bye Sissy " said Robert and I...

''What you make of this Kevin?"asked Robert...

"I don't know...but I think those two guys came here to clean this up...I think there was another shooter...and our significant others walked in on something that maybe they shouldn't have." I said.

"You think we ought to lay low?" asked Robert.

"Nah..I don't think these guys know anything...Just take Bonita home..That's what I plan to do." I said.

Sepia walked over to me...I took my jacket off and wrapped it around her..she was shaken...She had every right to be...There was blood all over that room....on the wall, on the floor.... The killer had obviously caught them in the act of having sex and had shot them both in cold blood...

I would start taking this apart later...Right now , my first concern was for my wife...I put Sepia in the car with me...Bonita got in the car with Robert and Chance. Cole took the wheel of her car...and we all pulled off!


II-

We got home and Sepia quickly got out of her clothes , showered alone and joined me on the floor of our living room...

"You feelin better baby?" I asked.

" Not yet...Not yet...I can't believe what I walked up on.." she said.

"You're safe now..." I said.

"Oh Kevin, if you hadn't of found us...we'd be...we'd be..." she said.

I put my finger to her mouth....

"But you're not...I did find you and you're both alright." I said softly...

She kissed my finger....then she put it in her mouth and sucked it.. I kissed her in the lips...she returned my kiss...

We drank some more wine....I rolled over on top of her and kissed her....I slipped her nightgown up over her legs and slipped my pajama bottoms off....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....Kevin, I need this...I need this." she said...

I entered her slowly delicately....

"Ouuuuuuu harder, faster, harder..." she moaned....

She felt good, warm, wet...I began to move in and out of her faster and harder the way she asked...She seemed to move wilder and more aggressive than normal....We weren't making sweet love, we were having, hot wild  aggressive sex on the living room floor!

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"
she screamed as we both climaxed violently!






III-

The next day , I wound up at Robert Foxworth's law offices....We ordered cheese-steaks and talked....

"Kev....I had some of the best sex of my married life last night...Bonita worked me like a job." he said..

''Yeah..Sepia was like a wild animal." I confessed..

Robert laughed and slapped me five....

"I hate to say it, but damn, they should walk in on more double homicides...maybe a triple , if this is the payoff." he said.

"You're a sick man counselor...but I almost agree." I said.

Robert put two glossies on his desk in front of me... One was of the murdered sportscaster Jimmy Belzer..taken about a year ago when he was alive and minus two holes in his head...The other was of the dead woman....Shapely, attractive, huge breasts...I didn't know her.


''Chance pulled these Kev...That's Jimmy Belzer...You know him.....The skirt is Rita Banks....She was an attorney ..His attorney!! and apparently...his lover." said Robert.

"Where is his wife?" I asked.

"She was in Los Angelas ..She's been told and she's on her way to Philly." he said.

"You've been doing your homework..." I said.

"Sepia told me that neither one of these people lived in that house...She said she had never seen them before and she didn't know what they were doing there." I said.

"I talked to one of the case detectives." said Chance Howard, who walked into the conference room...

"They found a key to the house in her pocketbook.." he said.

"Really?" I said smiling..

"Hmmm, they were going to show that house to somebody...somebody who conveniently didn't show up..."I said..."You guys know anything about him?" I asked.

"Only that his name is Herbert Dandrige and this is his current address." said Cole passing me an address.

"Okay...you guys did some good work..Tomorrow...I'll have a talk with Mr. Dandridge." I said.

My Android went off!

''It's Sissy!" I said.

"Heyy what's up Lou?" I asked.

"You told us that you shot one of the assailants yesterday?" she said.

"Yeah...I shot him..He was trying to shoot me." I said.

"You shot him with a .38 smokeless right?" she asked.

"Yeah.." I said.

"Well we found him with a .38 slug in the shoulder and two hollow point .45 slugs in the head." she said.

"Hey hold up...I don't have a .45" I said.

"Then our boy was murdered..We found him stripped nude in a gulley ...." she said.

"We need to talk!" I said.

"Yes we do." she said.

I hung up....

"What's Up Kev?" asked Robert.

"This case just took another nasty turn!" I said.

(To Be Continued.....)

Rainy Little World Of Murder

Usually on a day like this, I'd choose to stay home, sleep late, get up, go to my computer...do a little work from home and go back to bed...On days when I was very fortunate...I could talk my wife Sepia into staying at home too and we'd spend the entire morning making sweet love all over the house with neither of us getting a thing done...

Those days were far and few now...Sepia and Bonita had several houses to show here of late and I ,in addition to running Hype Magazine...was now running my new online and published newspaper, a staff of 93 people and launching a new magazine...

I was at work everyday...so were my partners, Sheila and Sean Jackson.  Harry Charles, my office manager was doing a stellar job running the show in my absence....He had moved up from just getting me coffee and defraying my calls...I had other people doing that now...

On this day...I had Reed Nelson, Bone Hampton, Meek Rollins and Ella Washington and Downtown Rob Brown in my office...Reed's new wife, Debbie had just joined my staff as a full time writer and was getting ready to cover them on their next big tour...They had a new CD out and had played Josies and and Mulberry Street and were getting ready to perform on the road.

Outside it was raining cats and dogs....

"Well guys...I can't wait to see the photos of your tour, when you get back." I said to them...

"It's going to be a great tour Kevin...We are honored to be featured in your magazines and your newspaper."
said Reed.

"What's this I hear about you startin a radio station?" asked Downtown Rob Brown...

"It's true...Ole Kev done already rented out space in my recording studio, where they gonna broadcast from." said Bone Hampton...

''Really?" asked Debbie...

""Yeah...It's in the works....I got plans to be the king of all media." I laughed.

"Thank you again for giving me a straight gig." said Debbie...

''No thank you...for becoming part of my group." I said.

Since I had taken over Hype Magazine and created Morris communications... I had been able to hire double the amount of bright young college educated people looking for work and been able to take care of my friends..Kool Kat (who really needed no financial help) ,Owen Todd, Lockpick Johnson, Peeping Tom and Clerow ( who was now a part owner!)  ...When Debbie asked for a job here...I had no problem...She had written several freelance pieces for us dating back to when I first became editor as had Mabel Jenkins, a successful business owner herself and part time contributer to my magazine and newspaper.

The rain began to pour down something fierce....

"Wow ...it's pretty bad out there...I'm headed back home..'' said Reed, clinging to Debbie... Bone Hampton put his arm around Ella.

''Yeah man... I need to be curled up on the floor with a nice cool drink and a nice warm body..." he said.

Ella giggled...Everybody just looked at him and laughed.

I looked at my watch , it was three o'clock.....I got on my phone and called Harry Charles...

''What's up boss?" he asked...

"Cut everybody loose....The weather is bad..." I said.   I loved being able to do that.

II-

I drove over to my wife's office, which wasn't far from where I was working..... Neither she nor Bonita was there!

I chit chatted with the receptionist...

"They showed three houses today....They should've been back by now...." she said.   "I called Ms. Bonita and Ms. Sepia and neither one of them answered their phones...which is odd...." she said.

''When is the last time you spoke to either one of them?" I asked...

''When they left to show the last house to a Mr. Dandridge....Only thing is...They said they were waiting on him..He never showed. That was two hours ago." she said.

I had driven Sepia to work this morning..I glanced out in the parking lot and I saw that Bonita's car was gone!

''You got an address on that house?"  I asked.

"Yeah...here it is." she said.

''Okay...I'll check it out...I'm sure they have their phones on vibrate and they probably didn't hear you."I said.

I had complained to Sepia one thousand times about that and Robert Foxworth, Bonita's husband said he had gotten on her about the same thing... I got in my car and headed to the last house they were showing.

II-

It took me very little time to drive through the wet Philadelphia streets and locate Bonita's car and the house that they were showing...

Nothing seemed amiss... Her doors were locked, as they should be...There was a half drank bottle of water in the cup holder....nothing else!...

I walked toward the house and I heard footsteps behind me...I turned and saw a man in a raincoat ...I couldn't see his face...but I could see his gun!!!!

I ran and dove for the ground as he fired three shots at me... My .38 smokeless was in the trunk of my car...what a hell of a place for it...but I did have my .22 on me..

I pulled it out and fired three shots at the man in the rain coat..He ducked behind a car...Another man emerged from the house , with a gun.He was wearing a stocking cap and a scarf that covered his face from his mouth to his eyes...He was trying to find out what had happened....He looked around, He saw me and he aimed a gun at me and motioned for me to drop my weapon and come inside the house...
I answered him with two shots that just missed his head...

"Jeeeeeeeesus.....this guy is crazy..." he said... He returned my fire and I took cover....

The other man told him...

''Come on let's go."he said.

"What about the skirts?" he said..

"They don't know nothin and they didn't see nothin." he said.

"But they saw my face.." he said.

"So, the important thing is that they didn't see my face!..now lets's go...apparently they had back up!" he said...

By now,I had run across the street and got into the trunk of my car...I had my .38 smokeless...Now I was ready for action.....

The two men got in their car and began to speed down the block towards me....The guy in the raincoat aimed at me...I ducked and hit the ground, rolled and lept up, entered the street and fired again....I hit him!

''ARGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH...I DON'T BELIEVE IT, I'VE BEEN SHOT!!!OHHHHH!!!"
he moaned as the car sped off down the street...

I dashed into the house... Sepia and Bonita were in the corner...bound and gagged....I quickly untied them...

"Ohhhhhh Kevin....Ohhh Lover, how did you find us?" cried Sepia as she hugged me tightly...

"I'm soooo glad to see you." cried Bonita....

The two women were visibly upset....

"What the hell happened here?" I asked.

"Kevin...upstairs....upstairs....murderrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.." babbled Bonita....

"Huh?" I asked....

I pulled out my .38 smokeless and charged up the stairs and in the master bedroom I found a horrific sight....

A  nude man facedown near the door with two slugs in his head....very, very dead.... in the bed, a nude woman with a slug between the eyes...very, very dead....

Sepia and Bonita followed me upstairs...

"We came here to show this house to Dandridge...He never showed up....We noticed that it smelled pretty bad in here...We walked upstairs and walked in on that!!! Two dead people!!" sobbed my wife ,Sepia..

"Who were those two men?" I asked.

"We don't know...but they had a key...They let themselves in and they bound and gagged us....They kept asking who we were and what did we know...We told them that we didn't know nothing......The one guy kept saying-

"Well you've seen too much....we can't let you live." said Bonita...

"Then we heard shooting from outside." said Sepia..

"That was me...The other guy was guarding the outside and when I was about to walk up the steps...He shot at me." I said. "What's going on here?" I asked.

"We don't know!" said my wife Sepia...

And here it was...another caper that I had been drawn into...and the worst kind...a non-paying one.

(To Be Continued...)

Yes You Did

"Yes you did Salim." exclaimed Nancy as we sat in Josies enjoying our drinks...

"No, I didn't." I exclaimed...

"You're going to tell me that you weren't staring at me." she said.

"I may have glanced at you a couple of times...but I wouldn't say I was staring." I said.

''Well I remember it diferently..." she said.

"What do you remember?" I asked her...

Nancy Lee, a beautiful Asian woman I had met only two weeks ago was telling ME of all people that I was staring at her when we first met...

"I had on that really short dress and you and a few of your friends eyes practically fell out of your head." she said.

"Oh you exagerate...I admit I looked  a little, but I didn't stare." I said laughing..

"Why didn't you just come over and introduce yourself? Say something to me..I didn't bite? " she said.

"I didn't know how to approach you." I said.

"You'd never been with an Asian woman before huh?" she asked.

''Nah..I hadn't.." I said.

"Well , what do you think?" she laughed...

"Not bad...Not bad." I laughed...

I remember a slow song came on and I got enough courage to ask her to dance....To my surprise she agreed....

"I'm Salim.....What is your name? " I asked.

"Nancy...Nancy Lee." she answered..

" I love this song...it's very romantic...Would you mind dancing with me to this?" I asked.

"You don't have a sweetie to dance to this with?" she asked.

"No...not anymore...we broke up." I said.

"Awwww..that's a shame...I'll dance with you." she said.

We got on the floor and danced...slowly...I tried to absorb her petite but shapely body into my whole being...

I pulled Nancy close...close enough to feel her body heat...I got an immediate erection...I was a little embarrassed...Nancy stared in my eyes kind of strangely...We were in a crowded room full of people... She slowly and descretely ran her hands down my leg, felt my erection and squeezed it a little bit....Her eyes grew wide and she looked at me...

"Whooooooo...oh my god.....you've got a horse in your pants ." she whispered...

She slowly broke our embrace and I slipped my suit jacket off and attempted to cover the front of my pants casually...

"Wow" she said...and wiped her forehead...

"I'm sorry." I said, very embarrassed..

"For what?" she answered and wiped the sweat from her forehead....

"Would you like to dance on another song?" she asked..

"Sure.."I said.

We exchanged phone numbers with our smartphones and adresses.... I didn't expect to hear from Nancy again....

II-

Less than two days later, Nancy showed up at my apartment door...with a bottle of Saki..

''Wow , what a pleasent surprise." I said.

"Is this a bad time? I was in the neighborhood and I thought I'd stop in." she said.

"No...Not at all." I said laughing.

"I brought food and wine." she said...

"Food?" I asked.

She had a basket of fried chicken......

"Wow." I said...

"My best friend is Black....She cooked the chicken." laughed Nancy....

I laughed...I already knew that I liked Nancy...

We ate the chicken and we killed the entire bottle of wine over conversation about our pasts....I found that Nancy was born and raised here in Philly and grew up and went to school with and  around African-Americans...She was as down as any sister I had met and had as much attitude to boot...I liked that...Still she had never been intimate with a Black man before...she said...

"No time like the present" I joked..."I was just kidding.." I said, realizing how forward that sounded...

"I was hoping you weren't.." she said in a tone that made me realize she wasn't kidding...

I looked at her....

"Word!" was all I could say...

She slowly unzippered my trousers...Just the act of her doing this made me as erect as could be...She smiled and began to softly caress my erect penis....

"Ummmmmm...Oh my goodness.." she said...I eagerly slipped out of my trousers....

She softly stroked me....I slipped her sundress off of her.....and unhooked her bra....

She took all of me into her mouth and began to move up and down slowly...slower every time...which had me close to exploding...

She sensed that and she stopped...She stroked me softly and we stood up, I slipped her panties down and we embraced....

"I just realized ...We haven't even kissed yet." she said.

"No time like the present." I said again ...

and we kissed passionately, slowly....

"Ummmmmmmmmm..." she  moaned....

I layed her across my bed...spread her legs open and entered her slowly, deliberately!!!
I wanted to savor every minute of her....

She softly put her arms around my neck and began to guide me inside of her...She felt good...warm, wet and soft.....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh lordddddd..." I moaned as we continued to make sweet passionate love on my bed...

"Ever since I felt your erection on that dancefloor I was curious...I just had to see you again." she moaned.....

"I'm glad you did!" I moaned........

III-

"Can't believe that was just two weeks ago." I laughed as we ordered two more glasses of wine..

"I can't either...seems like we've been a couple for a lifetime." said Nancy...