And Now She's Gone...

Sometimes, a case can be dead in the water and then in one day...it can suddenly come to life...Once again...I was in Lt.Sissy Van Buren's office looking for an update on our double murder...We were alone..All of the other detectives were out...Carlotta was with Tyriq Pile, Jimmy Barlow was with Duke ......

Sissy had finally got around to reading my report...which was why she had called me... She placed a file on my desk...

"Who's that?" I asked.

"Recognize him from the other day when we were at Blue Skies?" she asked.

"No...Should I?" I said.

''His name is Daniel...Daniel Blunt." she said.

"Oh yeah...one of the attendents." I said.

"He's a convicted sex offender." she said.

''What? How did he get a job working at a mental health asylum?" I asked.

"That's a good question and one I'd like answered...I think I'm going to take another run out there." she said.

Just then Detective Jimmy Barlow came into the office...

"I thought you were out with Duke" I said.

"I was....I think I got somethin...Think our killer got careless." he said.

"Oh really?" said Sissy...

"Both of our victims are on streets where we have those crime stopper video cameras that the taxpayers paid for...So check this out...I pulled some video of a woman in a scarf, black leggins and sunglasses going into Mary Talbots hotel at 9:30 pm.....Leaving around 11:40 pm..." he said.

We watched the video....and sure enough, it was a woman, but it was very hard to see the face and determine just who it was..

"We can't see the face Jimmy." said Sissy...

''Ahhh, here's the rub...The lab guys can enhance the face eventually...but here is the rub...we don't need the face...I got a pure visual of the car our girl left in....a licensce plate number. That's a 2008 Ford Fusion" he said.

"Good pull Jimmy, but that could be a stolen car..." said Sissy.

"Or she could have ditched it." I said.

"Yeah, Duke thought that..So we went to Auto Theft and checked to see if  that car had been reported stolen...It hadn't!!! Then we got lucky...We got video tape from Sondra Clarke's block on the night of the murder....Look,same mysterious woman ringing the doorbell, Sondra lets her in...She leaves a few hours later and look....same car.. 2008 Ford Fusion ...same plates..." said Jimmy.

"And Guess what Lou?" came the voice of Detective Edwin "Duke" Baylor....The car is registered to one Daniel Blunt...an ex con..an ex sex offender who works at a place called Blue Skies Mental Asylum...It's for the Criminally Insane..." he said.


Sissy and I looked at each other....

"Duke, Jimmy...go out to Blue Skies...Pick him up! and Pick up Olivia Rockland also...Suspicion of murder!" she said.

"We're on it Lou..." they said.

I looked at Sissy....

She looked gravely at me.....

"Oh my God...If what I suspect is true...He's letting her out and letting her use his car....That's her on the tape...Oh My God..." said Sissy.

II-

Detective Carlotta Rodriguez walked in just as Sissy was saying that...

"Heyy Boss Lady.." she said with that sunny smile of hers....Perhaps because everyone else was gone and it was only Sissy there, She walked over to me and gave me a long ,soft sensual kiss that nearly sent me in orbit...

"Hi you." she said.

''Heyyy" was all I could manage...

Sissy cracked up...I was blushing...Carlotta even laughed...Sissy looked at me again and shook her head...

"Heyyy Chica...you look like you have some good news to tell me.." said Sissy.

"We may have a break on the store those wedding bands with the engraving came from." she said.

"Really?" said Sissy.

"Yeah...A woman called me from a jewelry store called Regals...It's near Penns Landing...Olde City, Jewelers Row....We've put out feelers and been on TV asking about it and she said she saw it and that she's the one who made the engravings...Her name is Ava Bradley.."

''She called you?" asked Sissy..

"Yeah...Called my cell...I don't know how she got my number...It's been awhile since we rode together Boss Lady..Want to check it out?" she said.

''Sure" She said.

"I'm coming with you." I said.

"I know you are...but I'm riding shotgun..." said Sissy laughing. "You can sit in the back and calm down." she said giving me the side eye and laughing...

Carlotta smiled...

III-

And then again...as soon as a case seems in the bag...you can find out that it's not!

Jewelers Row is in downtown Philadelphia,located in the Center City section of the city, is composed of more than 300 retailers, wholesalers, and craftsmen on Sansom Street, between Seventh and Eighth streets, and on Eighth Street between Chestnut and Walnut streets.


It is the oldest diamond district in America, and second in size only to the one in New York City. Many of the area's retail, jewelry making and appraisal businesses have been owned by the same families for five generations.

Finding Regal's was no problem.... We parked on a side street... Sissy and Carlotta got out and entered the store ...My phone rang...it was Detective Tyriq Pile..

"Wellll, here's another country  heard from." I said.

"ADA, we got problems.." he said.

''What kind of problems?" I said.

"Lou sent me and some uniforms to watch the model, Tammy Thompson...you know, the third broad that our boy, Rollie was engaged to?" he said.

"Yeah and??" I said.

"And now she's gone!!! Not a sign of her !!!..We got a search warrant and went inside her residence man...We found an undrank cup of coffee and two wedding bands with "r.r. engraved on them...and a list." he said.

"A list? What kind of list?..."I asked

 "It had these names on it... Mary Talbot ,Sondra Clarke, Tammy Thompson, Portia Collins and our own Sissy Van Buren!!! on it..Mary,Sondra and Tammy are crossed out..Sissy and Portia aren't." he said.

"Oh My God...I'm with Sissy and Carlotta...Good pull man..I'll tell them right now." I said.

Just as I was about to get out of the car, Sissy's car phone went off...I answered it..

"Yeah Man, what's up?" I said...It was  Detective Jimmy Barlow...

"Where is Lou?" he asked.

"She's at a jewelry store questioning a lady with Carlotta...I'm outside." I said.

"Duke and I went to Blue Skies...We picked up Blunt...But Olivia Rockland isn't here and neither is Blunt's car, my guess is...she's on the street, with his car!!!" he said.

"Oh My God....Okay...Hold him....I'll call you back.." I said.

I walked into the Jewelry store... Carlotta and Sissy were talking to Mrs. Ava Bradley....They showed her the Wedding bands...Four of them.

"Yes...I did these, I made these about a year ago...An attractive, petite woman named Rachel...Rachel Rollerson had these made." she said.

"Rachel Rollerson....That's Olivia Rockland Rollerson's alter ego...That's what the "R.R." stood for, not Rollie." said Sissy.

"It all makes sense now...but how could she have been in here last year and had these made? she's supposed to have been locked up?" asked Carlotta as she and Sissy headed for the door.

"Sissy That's what I came to tell you " I said as I walked up to them....

''Tell me what?" she asked...but before I could say anything....

Carlotta turned to Mrs. Bradley and said..."Thanks Again for calling us."

Mrs. Bradley looked puzzled and then said- "I never called you."

Funny how a split second can make a difference!!  In a life, In a death...in anything...We all looked stunned..

"GUN!!!" I yelled!

I looked outside and saw a bright shining light coming from a building across the street, I remember Carlotta leaping off of her feet and knocking Sissy to the ground and me diving for the floor with two customers as two shots rang out!!!

One shattered the front window of the jewelry store and the other shattered the window of the door!!, Then there was silence...Mrs. Bradley ducked  down, as did two other customers....

Silence!!!  Luckily, no one was hurt!!!

Sissy looked around...Carlotta rose silently...Then I rose...We hugged each other....Glad to be alive...Then Sissy and Carlotta pulled their glocks and headed out into the streets...

"What's going on?" asked Mrs. Bradley....

"Good Question...I'll let you know when I have the answer." I said.

(CONCLUSION NEXT!)