He's Not Home!

To tell you the truth ,I didn't really give Lance Terrier another thought....I called him the next day....at his home and his cell....I didn't get an answer...I put the key and the address he gave me in my desk drawer at work and went on about my business...

I had photos to look at with Sean Jackson and Sheila and the staff of the recent tour by Reed Nelson, Bone Hampton Downtown Rob Brown and Ella Washington.   I was editing the story written by Reed's wife, Debbie Nelson...It was very well written...

In the afternoons after work...I was going over the details with my new magazine's staffers and meeting with webmasters and people who were going to help me launch my radio station....by the time my day ended..I was just happy to come home to Sepia, eat a hot meal and maybe make love on the living room floor...

On this night , we were sitting , cuddled up on the bed eating grapes and sipping wine, listening to Reed Nelson and Bone Hampton's new music on our ipod....

''Kevin did you ever call that guy?" she asked.

''What guy?"I asked.

"That reporter. The one who tried to feel up that hooker ,pretending to be a teacher, Stephanie Ellis." she said.

"Oh you mean Lance Terrier? Yeah..I did call him a couple of times...He never answered either of the numbers he gave me...and for the record..he didn't try to feel her up....She fibbed...They were having an argument and she didn't like what he said , so she slapped him and then said he tried to fondle her." I said.

''So she lied."said Sepia.

''Yeah...I was standing right there ..I witnessed the whole thing."I said.

"Well dont you think you ought to find out what it was he wanted?"she asked.

I looked at her as she got up out of the bed and walked across the room...

"I think you want to know what it is he knows." I said.

"I think he had some dirt on her." said my wife.

"You don't like her do you?" I mused...thinking about how tight and clingy that black cat suit was she had on at the awards..

"Nah I don't...she just seemed so phony...Sheila felt the same way about her."said Sepia.

''Why am I not surprised?" I said with a chuckle.

II-

The next day I was off...Well,I wasn't at the office...I was tele-commuting as they say...
I was up early.....I walked into the bedroom where Sepia was getting dressed...

''What are you doing in here?" asked Sepia..

"Just came in here for a minute...I've been up for a few hours getting a little work done." I said.

"Did you call that guy?" she asked again.

"I'll call him..I'll call him." I said.

As I walked away Sepia called to me.....

"What? No early morning grope?" she said coyly.

I turned around and walked toward her...threw her up against the wall and began kissing her passionately....

My hands moved down around her wastes and hers moved into my pajama bottoms...

"Ummmmmmm.....I know I'm going to be late for work this morning, but I need this.." she said.

"I need this too." I moaned...

Sometimes I wondered who was worst, me or her?... I slipped her panties down and she stepped out of them and we walked back into the bedroom and fell across the bed...

Kissing, fondling each other and finally Sepia straddling me and taking me all inside of her wet and warm body....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she moaned...

"Ugggggggggggggggggghhh.." I moaned as we made sweet love....

III-

Sepia was late for work that morning....She wound up having to put her hair in a ponytail, which was a dead giveaway to Bonita, her partner as to what we were doing early in the morning....That was our little inside joke...If Bonita's hair was in a bun or a ponytail and she was late...That meant that her and her husband Robert had been getting in some early morning loving.

I drove to Lance Terrier's Brownstone and rang the bell... No answer!!  I noticed that there was a weeks worth of mail and circulars on his steps...His car was parked in front of the house...I looked at it.... The keys were in the ignition, but the car wasn't on....and the car door was open....It was a wonder the car wasn't stolen....This wasn't like him at all!!!

I called both of his numbers again....Nothing!  I walked up to his door...it was open!!! I pushed the door open and I called out to him!

''Lance!!! YO BROTHER...This is Kevin man....You in there?" I said.

Nothing!  Eeerie silence!!!

I walked inside....I pulled my .38 smokeless and a small flashlight I had....I walked around...The house was immaculate...very neat...The kitchen was the same...Clean as a bone...I walked up the stairs...I went through each bedroom and the bathroom...Every bed was made except the one in the front room... In the bathroom there was nothing....

While I was upstairs ,I heard the front door creak open...I heard footsteps...I turned around and walked towards the steps...

"Who's there??" I said.

"Who is that?" came the voice....

"Lance that you?" I asked.

"No...I'm looking for Lance" came the voice.

I walked down the steps slowly......It was Conrad Nelson, my company's attorney as well as Lance's...

"Kevin, what are you doing here?" he said.

"I could ask you the same thing."I said.

"A week ago at the Teacher of the year awards,Lance told me he had a big story that he wanted to share with me....I've called him several times and he hasn't returned my calls..So I stopped by to see what he wanted...Looks like he just stepped out." I said.

"Nah...I aint heard from him in a week myself....and he would never step out and leave his house unlocked like this..." said Conrad Nelson.

"His car door was unlocked and the keys were still in the ignition." I said.

"Nah..that definitely aint him..." said Conrad.

''He gave my wife this key...He said that you knew where the safe deposit box was." I said.

"Yeah...he told me he had some story on that Stephanie Ellis, who had been nominated for teacher of the year...but I didn't think nothin of it..." said Conrad Nelson.

"Hmmmmm...does he have a computer here?" I asked.

"Yeah, upstairs in the back room" said Conrad Nelson.

It was the only room I hadn't been in...Conrad and I walked upstairs ,went in the back room....There was no computer...Only a monitor and a keyboard and cables...The actual computer was gone!!!

"That's odd...His computer is gone!" said Conrad Nelson.

''He have a Laptop?" I asked.

"Nah, not to my knowledge." said Conrad...

"Where is his phone?" I asked.

"It's where-ever he is." said Conrad.

Conrad and I walked out of the house....

"You know,I hate to jump to conclusions....but something is very wrong here." I said.

"You read my mind Kev." said Conrad...

"Let's check out that Safe Deposit box...You know where it is?" I asked.

''Yeah... " he said.

We drove to where  the Safe Deposit Box was located.

We opened it.....And found nothing!!

''Yeah ,like you said Kevin...Something is wrong as hell with this." said Conrad.


(To BE CONTINUED!!)