Two Guns All Day

For the second time in one day, I was talking to my two favorite detectives, Homicide Lt.Sissy Van Buren and Detective Carlotta Rodriguez...First it was an attempted murder of my friend and client, Rollie Rollerson....and now it was the murder of his associate and friend, Wayne Cooper, who like Rollie was a jet setter, swinging Black Millionaire.  Wayne was thirty five years old!

"Gee Kevin..I love seeing you, you know I do...but does it always have to be work related?" joked Detective Carlotta Rodriguez...

"Yeah..I know right?  At this rate, I might just stay inside." I said to her smiling...

Lt. Sissy Van Buren wasn't smiling...

"Kevin, you want to tell me what's goin on here?" she asked.

Sissy was a beautiful woman and we usually bantered lightly and joked , even about these types of things..but make no mistake...She was serious about her business..and also...not in the mood to see Rollie Rollerson twice in one day...Which was amazing to me...Her first husband, Attorney Robert Foxworth had cheated on her too...and yet..she forgave him...From what Robert told me...They had even slept together for up to a year after their divorce, until he remarried and she got involved with Rollie. The mystery of relationships..

"He is one of Rollie's friends..He was supposed to meet us at Dunkin Donuts...This is where we were headed when his vehicle exploded..." I said.

"So somebody tries to kill Rollie and somebody finishes the job with his buddy?" she asked...

I pulled Sissy to the side...

"Hey Sissy....I'm going to stop by your office soon...I need your help anyway..I promise..I'll tell you everything...Don't I always give you a closed case?" I asked.

Sissy eased up...

"I know Kevin..It's not you...it's your client there...I despise him...He's such a liar and a snake....Did you know he started calling me some months ago...Talking about he wanted to get together with me for some drinks and whatever...I asked him about his fiance and he said that the engagement was broken off...So We went out for drinks a few times..and then a couple of dinners and eventually to Atlantic City for a nice weekend..I was just starting to warm to him..but I was still keeping my guard up..We had seperate rooms in AC...I didn't give him any of the goodies.. After that weekend, He would call me up at 2:00 in the morning, begging me to let him come over, asking me what I had on.."she said.  "He kept begging me, sending me roses everyday, saying that he was into me." she continued.

"You let him come over didn't you?" I asked, Imagining in my mind what that might have looked like and guiltily envying Rollie Rollerson...Though I quickly killed those thoughts....Sissy was my friend...Like a big sister to me...almost....Older than me by three years, Sissy was my sister and friend...I mused as my thoughts trailed off.

She didn't answer...but continued..."Then I see photos of the both of them in the society section of the paper a few weeks later...planning their wedding."

"You let him come over didn't you? And.....you did let him sample the goodies?" I said again..

Sissy looked at me...She looked like a hurt little girl, but she still didn't answer.

"Sissy, I'm your friend...and like you...I've been doin this a long time...You don't have to explain anything to me or feel embarrassed...I don't judge my friends." I said.

Sissy smiled at me and hugged me..I wiped a small tear from her face....

''It's okay....we all do things against our better judgement...Lord knows I have, more times than I care to count." I said.

"You're a good friend Kevin." she said.

Carlotta was watching the entire thing...She looked at me puzzled...I just shrugged my shoulders.

Another Black Detective walked over to us..He was about my age...I had never seen him before..

''Kevin...This is Detective Tyriq Pile...He's the primary on this case." said Sissy..

"Detective" I said and shook his hand.

"I've heard of you Kevin...All good things." he said.

"I'll be stopping by Homicide tomorrow..I'll fill you guys in with what I have." I said.

"Good deal...Lieutenant...I'm releasing the body now." he said.

"Okay...I'll be looking forward to that visit Kevin." she said.

''Count on that" I said.

II-

I drove Rollie to the place he was staying at....

"Look Kevin...There are only a few of us still alive.." he said.

"Perhaps you better give me the names and addresses of these people...I'm going to go and check them out thoroughly..."I said.

"Well the first one you need to check out is Nick Cassidy..." he said.

"Nick Cassidy?? Nick "Two Guns" Cassidy?" I said.

"You know him?" asked Rollie.

"He's a drug dealer...He took over all of the real estate in my general area..He's a snake.." I said.

"Yeah, and he had two million dollars to throw into the investment club.. He's not the most cultured of men, but he had the money." said Rollie..

"It makes sense...He would have the connections to hire a bomber and a hitter to take Cooper and the others out.  It would have to be somebody good, somebody who works clean."I said.

"I don't know where he stays." said Rollie.

"How do you get in contact with him?" I asked.

"I didn't...He was Wayne Cooper's friend..." said Rollie.

"That's okay...I know somebody who works for him...He'll tell me where to find him?" I said.

"Kev, anybody who works for him aint gonna talk to you?" said Rollie

" Are you kiddin...I'm a very persuasive guy." I said and winked. "Sit tight Rollie..I'll have some good news for you." I said.

III-

George Bailey was Nick "Two Guns" Cassidy's number two man...He and several of his goons sold most of the drugs in my immediate area...I'm sure Nick had more people selling for him, but none was as visible as George....I called Kool Kat and Owen Todd, then I sat in Josies, had a beer and waited...

My phone rang within two hours...It was Owen Todd.

"Heyyy Kev, it's me, Owen." he said.

"What'cha got?" I said.

"We found Georgie...I'll give you the address of where you can find him...His two goons tried to flex a little bit, but uh...Me and Kools persuaded them to see things our way if you know what I mean...Heh,heh ,Heh." he laughed.

"I'm on my way." I said.

The address they gave me was an old building in Southwest Philly...I had to climb four flights of steps and then enter the rooftop through the roof entrance...Once there,I saw two thugs, unconscious and tied up, laying on the side...Kool Kat had George Bailey tied by his ankles and hanging over the side of the roof...

"HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!" yelled George....

I looked over the side of the roof...Kool Kat was laughing that sinister grin of his..a grin that probably sent waves of fear through some of the toughest players back in the day...

I looked at Kool Kat and smiled...

''You know..your methods are somewhat extreme, but I do like the results ." I said.

''I uh figured you would." said the big man.

"Hey Georgie....My name is Kevin.." I said.

"HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!" he yelled.

"I'm bettin you want to get down don't you?" I asked him...

He said nothin...

"Look..all I want is information...I need to know where I can find your boss, I just want to ask him some questions, that's all." I said.

"You got a funny way of askin." he said.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"He's at the Imperial man, the Imperial...It's a strip club.." he said.

"I know where it is...Thanks...See how easy that was?...Kools, Owen...Cut em loose." I said.

Kool Kat reeled him in and Owen marched him and his two goons down the steps and out into the streets...

"Sell your junk at least three blocks away....I bet not see any of you cats in the neighborhood." said Kool Kat.

"Man, you got us way out here in West Philly, How we gon get home?" asked one of the thugs.

"You mean you big time playas aint got enough short money to catch the subway?  Damn man, crime doesn't pay...Not for you two." said Owen Todd..

Kool Kat cracked up laughing...

I gave them each two dollars a peice and told them to get lost...Which they didn't hesitate in doing.

I thanked Kool Kat and Owen Todd.

IV-

Clerow drove Owen Todd, Kool Kat and me to the Imperial...A High end strip club in the Northeast section of Philadelphia....It was packed...Nick "Two Guns" Cassidy was holding court in the back..stuffing dollars into the g-string of a young stripper...and entertaining a table of young Black thugs..

Clerow sat outside at the wheel of the car...Owen stood outside by the door, Kool Kat and I walked inside...

Women were everywhere in thongs, bikini panties and g-strings...Some had on bras and others ,nothing...Men were hollering and drooling...We spotted Two guns and headed towards him...One of his goons stopped us in our tracks...

"Where you goin?" he said.

Kool Kat clocked him.....knocked him cold.....

A second attempted to grab me..I grabbed him by the neck and slammed his head into the table...He fell to the floor...

Still another man attempted to pull a gun out...But Kool Kat and I beat him to it..We pulled our guns...My .38 smokeless and his .44 mag... People began to back up and move away quickly...The mood in the entire club changed...

"Don't make a big mistake son..put that heater away." I said.

Nick Cassidy didn't flinch though...Cool as a cucumber, he had his two .45's drawn and aimed at us..

"Hold it Two Guns...I'm here to ask you a few questions that's all." I said.

"Yeah? well you got a funny way of askin." he sneered.

"Look, you're in an investment group...and I don't know if you know it, but several of your co-investers have been ending up dead... Sean "Shakes" McGonigle , Cole Cummly,Wally Drollinger and Wayne Cooper I said.

'' Besides Coop, I didn't know or particularly like any of those dudes, but I didn't kill none of em. I aint even know Coop was dead til you told me just now. Why you come here man? You think I was behind it?" He asked.

"I don't know...I might be coming to tell you to watch your back."I said.

"I don't need to watch my back" he said and fired a shot at the bar, wild west style, shattering one of the bottles of liquor.. The crowd got quiet..People backed up.

"Hey man, what's wrong with you?" asked Kool Kat.

"Not a thing..I'm not scared of a livin ass...Anybody comes for me..They get two guns baby, two guns all day...and that was my right hand..Watch the left!" he said and he aimed his second gun at the bar...The bartender ducked...

We heard a loud explosion, but no liquor bottle exploded....We looked at Nick Cassidy..Blood began pouring out of  a big hole in his chest....His gun had backfired....He had shot himself!!!

"I don't believe it....I've been...I've been shot." he said and then fell to the ground, very,very dead...

We were stunned...

Kool Kat kneeled over him.....

"Kev, He's dead!!!!..His gun was rigged....Poor smuck didn't even know it." he said.

By now, a crowd had gathered... Owen Todd and Clerow had heard the shots and had come running..

"What happened boss?" asked Clerow..

"He shot himself!" I said in awe.

''WHAT?" asked Owen Todd...I nodded.

Kool Kat looked up at me...

"Well...one thing you can be sure of Kev....He's not your suspect!" he said.

(To Be Continued-)