Dis Arming Quality

I sat in Detective Carlotta Rodriguez's office the next day.  Lt.Sissy Van Buren was out on another murder case.. Carlotta and I were drinking two hot tumblers of coffee..
She looked at me in a surprisingly motherly way that I had never seen from this beautiful, yet tough as nails detective before...

"You okay Kevin?" she said.

"Your kindness and concern is kind of disarming." I said with a weak smile.

"I know...The rare time I show it, it disarms everybody around me." she said with a warm smile.

"Yeah...I'll be alright...I had a hard time sleeping last night." I said.

"Really?" she said.

"I had nightmares....nightmares of that guy Billy Sunshine blowing his brains out..." I said.

"Be glad he wasn't aiming that pistol at you...He was very capable of doing that too, just so that you know." she said.

"Yeah...I seen him in action the night before.''I said.

"If it'll make you feel any better...This was the first murder that anybody could pin on him...He was a suspect in his fiance's disappearence..." she said.

"Really?" I said.

"That's why I busted him last year...Only thing, our main witness against him was herself shot to death while he was in custody....We think he had it done...but couldn't prove it...We never found his fiance's body and the murder of the one witness against him remains unsolved...And now he's dead...after comitting yet another murder...I say good riddance ." she said.

"That's the Carlotta I know and love." I said sipping my tumbler of coffee and laughing.  ''Hey anyway I could see his partner, Ricky Ransom?" I asked...

"Yeah..He's up at CFC....I doubt you'll get anything from him." she said.

''Well it's worth a try." I said.

"Okay Kev, but the case is pretty much closed...He's definitely our shooter and he's dead...The world is so much sweeter without Billy "Sunshine" Jones in it."she said.

"Indeed." I agreed.

"Oh and Kev?" she asked..

"You really love me?" she asked...

I was taken aback.... Then she smiled and cracked up laughing...

"Just kidding..." she said as I smiled and left her office.



II-

I drove up to the Curran -Fromhold Correction center where Ricky Ransom was being held on Accessory and Conspiracy to commit murder charges...

He was like most young inmates...Surly and pretending to be harder than he actually was... He saw me and immediately had a look on his face that said he'd rather go back to his cell..

''Hello Ricky." I said.

"What do you want?" he asked...

"We took several guns off of you, including that Nickel plated .45 that your boy offed himself with....But none of them was the Gold plated .45.....Where is that?" I asked.

"How the hell should I know?" he asked.

"Where is the gun Ricky?" I asked.

"I told you...I don't know...." He said sarcastically.

"Where did you get it?" I asked again, beginning to get a little testy with him.

"I bought it from Wal-Mart." he smirked.

"Ricky...You're 21 and Billy was just barely 22, Both of you are on paper( parole or probation)...No way either of you bought those guns legally....and none of the names listed as purchasers of the guns the cops do have seem to be anybody that really exists...Now, who is your strawman?" I asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." he said.

"Look....I'm not trying to jam you up....You're already facing weapons charges and murder charges...I just want the Golden pistol that's all.." I said.

"What's it to you?" he asked.

I smiled...

"Goodbye Ricky." I said and got up to leave...

"Wait...Wait...Will you put in a good word for me if I tell you? Get my sentence cut a little slack?" he asked.

"I'm not a cop....I'm a private detective...but I'll do what I can..."I said.

"We bought em off of a guy named Steve...Big Steve Nelson...A white guy, lives in the northeast....He buys guns for people on parole, people on paper that can't buy weapons.." he said.

"Good..Give me an address." I said.

"He don't stay one place too long...He's got two girlfriends he stay with..I can tell you where they live." he said.

"Good Ricky...That's a start." I said and smiled.....

III-

A little while later...I sat in the Aqua Bar....The man who had called me the night before had sent me a text message and told me he would meet me here....I decided to get started on his request a little early.

He was a short stubby, yet well dressed little man with a clean, bald head, an ear ring in his left ear ..Light skinned with freckles...

"You Kevin Morris?" he asked.

"I am...and you are?" I asked.

"Wallace Bell....I'm sorry about your friend's terrible death...I just happened to be in the bar that night...and I witnessed the ambush and your shootout with those two goons...One of them had my Golden .45....I understand that my nickel plated .45 is at Police headquarters." he said.

"Both of these guns are yours." I asked.

"Yes..They were stolen from me about a month ago.  "he said.

"Yes...You see, I'm a gun collector and seller....I need that Golden .45 back.It was one of my favorites." he said.

"Even if I find that gun...That's evidence in a murder." I said.

"The murderer is no longer with us....I understand that you and at least two other people are eye witnesses to his crime....You don't need my gun..." He said.

''What about the nickel plate?"I asked.

"That was unfortunately stolen also...but I know that the police have that in custody...unfortunate, but not as important...It's the Golden Gun that I need and I'm prepared to make it worth your while...I'll pay you a quarter of a million for it's retrieval." he said.

"Wow! It's really that valuable huh?" I said.

"It is to me." he said.

"Where can I reach you?" I asked.

"Here is a cell phone number...When you have found the gun, call that number...I'll tell you where to meet me." he said.

"Okay but...." I said.

"That concludes our business Mr. Morris." he said and he got up and walked out of the bar...

I waited about a minute and then walked out of the bar and down the steps and into the streets...It was if he had vanished into thin air...Not a trace of him!!!

Something not right about this guy at all.

I hoped I could retrieve this gun...For all I know, Sunshine could've tossed it in the ocean by now!

IV-

Later that afternoon, Sepia and I lie across the bed in our home talking-

''He wants to pay you a quarter of a mill to find that gun?" she asked. 

''Yeah..My biggest payday yet."I said.

"You think that gun might tie him to some horrible crime?" she asked.

"That or something else? I said...

But what that something else was...remained to be seen.

(To Be Continued.....)