The Headless Woman

I had Sepia in the kitchen, up on the counter...We were kissing very passionately and waiting for our morning coffee to brew...

"You know Kevin, if we get started with this...we are both going to be late for work and I really have to be on time today..Bonita and I have a very important client to meet....and don't you have a conference call this afternoon with an important advertiser?" she asked in between kisses...

"Yeah, you're right...We'd better stop before we get too worked up and wind up late for work...I'd hate to spoil that nice new hairdo." I said.

We both took deep breaths and we both headed for the breakfast table...

I poured us both a tumbler of hot coffee....

"Don't feel bad Kevin...You know tonight when we get home you are free to sweat my perm out if you want to." she said with a smile..

"Promise?" I said jokingly...

"Cross my fingers and hope to die." she laughed...

We had both been working steadily for awhile now...Me in my office with Harry Charles, Sean Jackson, Sheila Jackson and the gang and she and Bonita at their Real Estate business...Coming home to each other every night and hanging out with Gus and the gang at Josies on the weekend...Normal life...No cases..No bullets flying..No intrigue...I wasn't complaining..It was kind of nice..

Except for Honey Brown and B-Flat's wedding, we hadn't really been to any gala affairs...and except for moving Sissy's bed out of her house a week before...I hadn't seen the Lieutenant or Carlotta, Hadn't seen Peeping Tom or Lockpick Johnson...Hadn't needed their services..  I did run into Clerow and even Kool Kat from time to time..at Josies....Ahhh the sweet normal life...The sweet boring life....All of that was about to end today...I just didn't know it yet.

"Kev, you like these matching terry cloth robes we are wearing?" asked Sepia as she got dressed..

"Yes indeed." I remarked..

"No silly, not just mine...Yours?" she said.

"Yeah..I like .." I said.

"Well I got them from the person we are showing the house to ...Her name is Bridget Jones...She's a black entrepreneur ...She owns a lingerie business called "Lady Chatterlies Lover...panties and bras for the discriminating woman." she said.

"Oh really?" I said, snickering a little..

"Yeah....She's got a little shop across town...Got some nice things...Bonita bought some things there..She said Robert loves it!" said Sepia.

"Yeah, Robert loves anything on or off of her.." I laughed...

"You're no better, so stop trippin." said Sepia.

"I had better get to work...I keep watching you get dressed like this and we are just going to miss work today!" I laughed...

"No goodbye kiss?" she asked with a fake pout.

"Nahhh...I think we've kissed enough this morning." I said jokingly...

''Awwww..."she said.

II-

I went to work....Chess and Chris had found us a brand new building...just a few blocks away from the shopping center that was all ours...It was called "The Media Arts Center" Both of my magazines were published on the first floor...On the second floor, all of our internet and web services as well as our servers were housed and on the third floor was the radio station...It was also where the conference room was and my office.... I loved being in control of what was now called Morris Communications...

Sean Jackson walked over to me as I headed for the office...He had a peculiar grin on his face....

"What's up buddy?" I laughed.

"Man..Wait til you see the little number that's in your office waiting for you...It's a good thing that Sepia isn't here." he laughed.

"Who is it?" I asked...I wasn't expecting anybody..

"Some woman...Her name is Bridget Jones...Says she owns a ,get this..Lingerie company...Lady Chatterlie something or other." he laughed.

"Hmmm, that's the woman Sepia and Bonita are supposed to be showing a house to." I said.

"Well she made a detail....Damn glad she did....The body on that woman." he said.

"You better make sure Sheila isn't roaming the halls." I said.

"Yeah man...you're right." he laughed.

I was amazed that he and his wife had managed to work at the same job for so many years and not ever clash...

My assistant, Harry Charles passed me a tumbler of coffee and escorted me to my office where a very attractive Black woman was waiting for me.

"Mr. Morris...I'm Bridget Jones ." she said.

"Yes...You own a lingerie store...I hear you're going to be the next Victoria's Secret." I said.

She seemed impressed that I knew this..

"Wow...I was told that you were good...You know more about me than I know about you." she said.

"You're supposed to be meeting with my wife and her business partner this morning...She told me everything." I said with a smile. "Can I offer you some coffee?" I asked.

"Yes ,please... I am planning to meet with them in an hour...It's a small world...I did not know that Sepia..Mrs. Morris is your wife...But then again...Sepia Morris, Kevin Morris!! I should have put that together. The reason I'm here is that I hear from friends of mine that you're a private investigator on the side...Where do you find the time?" she asked..

"Yeah...I'm asking myself that." I said.

"Well to get right to the point...I suspect that something not too kosher is going on in my warehouses...and I'd like you to take a look into the matter." she said.

"Not too kosher like what?" I asked.

"Well, I get my merchandise from an outfit in New York City....I was dealing with a guy named Frankie Cash for a longg time...Then he sent a guy named David Cord down here to be the warehouse manager.. I know this sounds funny and baseless Kevin...but I'm a West Philly girl...I'm college educated and all, but I grew up in the streets...I know a player when I see one...David Cord just seems like a criminal to me..He has guys around that just don't look too kosher...He never allows me in the warehouses and the manequins in my store get switched almost weekly...and when they come in, they seem so heavy....When my girls are trying to fit them for the panties and the bras....sometimes they can hardly lift them....Then other days, the manequins are as light as a feather...and they're different mannequins...It just seems weird...I don't want to get the police involved just yet...Could you look into it?" she said.

"Okay...Sure." I said.

She passed me an envelope...

"That's a down payment....and this is a pass key..It'll get you into the store without any problems.." she said.

"Thanks." I said.

"No Thank you for looking into this." she said.

''What do you think it is I'll find?" I asked.

"I don't know...I just want this looked into." she said.

"Okay...I'll check it out tomorrow night." I said.

"Tomorrow night?" she asked.

"Tonight is uh date night with the wife." I laughed.

"Oh...I perfectly understand, tee hee." she said

III-

The next night...I used the pass key to let myself and Owen Todd in...Clerow was at home watching his kids and I couldn't find Kool Kat...For once I didn't need Lockpick Johnson to open a place up for me..

''Kev...What is it, we are supposed to be looking for?" he asked.

"I don't know...Just try the manequins...Pick em up...If one is particularly heavy...Let me know..." I said.

We used our flashlights to get around in the store...Most of the mannequins were normal weight...

"Damn Kev..this sure is some frilly stuff...I might buy this for my girl." said Owen.

"My wife already bought some of her things..." I said.

"You like em?" he asked..

"For the few minutes she had em on." I said laughing...

"Hahhahaha..I get your drift Kev." laughed Owen...

Then I came across a mannequin that was pretty heavy...

"Whoa...Owen come here..lift this.." I said.

"Damn...this is pretty heavy.." he said.

"Take the head off!" I said.

I unscrewed the head of the mannequin and to both of our surprises...several baggies of what I identified as uncut heroin fell out and on the floor....

''Ohhhhh crap Kev...It's filled to the gip with...with..." said Owen...

"Heroin" I said.

"Oh My God...what are we going to do?" he asked...

"Check every single mannequin in here." I said.

We did...It took us three hours..but we found a total of seven mannequins filled to the gip with Heroin, Cocaine and Meth....

"Mannn, what did we stumble on here?" asked Owen Todd...

"Find a box...Box all this stuff up......" I said.

"What are you going to do with it?" he asked.

"Oh Philly Narcotics are going to get a surprise anonymous package tomorrow...Then we are going to come back here and see who comes in to make a pick up....Put those mannequins heads back on." I said.

Bridget was right!  Something fishy was going on...and I was going to get to the bottom of it!

(Definitely To Be Continued...)