I walked over to her...She was having a coffee...
"Mind If I join you or would you rather be alone? You look like you're deep in thought." I said.
"Oh Good Morning ADA Wallace..No... sit down...I thought ...I thought you'd be in here with Carlotta..You two seem almost joined by the hip now of days." she said.
I smiled...
"I just dropped her off at C.I.D...You know you never did stop by like you said you were." I said.
''I know....I just couldn't talk about it...Juanita was one of my closest friends." she said.
"Well Carlotta and Jimmy are working it hard...They interviewed damn near everybody in that apartment complex yesterday and they've been up all night watching videotape of all of Juanita's visitors.....Today they're stopping by that bar she was in the night before." I said.
''Oh I know if anybody can crack this case...She will...Your girl is a great detective." said Angie.
''Wow....That's high praise....Coming from you...I understand that at one time you were one of Sissy's aces, when you worked Homicide." I said.
She smiled...
"I did alright....Carlotta kind of thought that I didn't like her at one time....During the investigation and afterwords...But we sat down one day and had a heart to heart...and we are cool now...We sweet like cracker jack and I'm happy for her, that she has a man like you, who loves her, who is enthralled with her like you are....Which brings me to my next subject....I'm not going to visit Soloman Foster anymore?" she blurted out..
"Huh?" I said..."Where did that come from?" I said.
"I meant to tell you before.... I don't want him to think that he and I have a future...a romantic future when we don't.....Last time I went up ,he was talking about us having a conjugal visit." she said...She blushed a little bit, which was surprising to me.
I laughed...Soloman was ever the hound! I mused.
"Conjugal...???You have to be married for that." I said.
"Yeah ,I know right?....He seems to think that he has drag with the Warden and that he could swing it....What would I look like in a situation like that?....Me...a Detective in a tawdry relationship like that??" She said...She was afterall ,right...I had wondered what she was doing myself.
"Yeah Angie, you're right....So what are you going to do?" I asked.
"I'm writing him a letter, explaining my feelings and asking him not to call or text me any further."she said.
''You know...You may be destroying the only ray of hope the man has left...He's locked up." I said.
"I know...I feel bad about that...But this shouldn't have gotten as far as it did." she said.
Again she was right...
I paid for her coffee.and then bought four coffee's, got a cup holder..and got up...
"You're not eating?" she asked.
''Nah.....I gotta meeting with Sissy and the guys." I said.
"Give her my love...I haven't seen her lately." she said.
"I will." I said.
II-
I entered Sissy's office, where all of the detectives were congregating...I passed Sissy a tumbler of coffee and tumblers for Duke and Tyriq...
"Hey guys...long time no see." I said.
''What's up ADA?" said Duke.
"Heard you cracked that butcher's murder up in Little Norway." I said.
"That was me and Jimmy..." said Tyriq.
"Yeah and me and Top cracked the Stansfield Case a few nights later."said Duke..
"With the help of a certain Private Investigator we all know and love." added Sissy...
They all smiled and raised their tumblers of coffee!
''To Kevin" they said in unison and broke into laughter.
''And how are you my esteemed Lieutenant?" I said looking at Sissy , who seemed to be glowing..
"Never felt better Keith....Your girl and Jimmy will be back...they went to bring a suspect in." she said.
Dr. Hunter walked into the office just then...She was blushing something terrible...Tyriq and I stared at Duke...He shrugged his shoulders....and smiled sheepishly.
"Hello Dr. Hunter." said Sissy.
"Hello Lieutenant.....I'm sorry Detectives Rodriguez and Barlow aren't here...I have a DNA report from their murder the other night...." she said.
"What's going on with that?" I asked.
She looked around and then blushed something terrible...
"Well...There was an awful lot of seminal fluid in that apartment....On the bed sheets on the floor, in the bathroom and even outside the door in the hallway...Well, ohhh
my...we have three different people's semen!!! " she said.
"What?" I said.
"We extracted semen from her anal cavity, from the vagina and from her mouth even....That belongs to two different men...The semen we extracted from the condom is yet a different man and that matches the semen we found in the hallway outside of the room..." she said.
Tyriq and Duke turned and looked at each other and smiled...Even Sissy chuckled to herself...
"So we are looking at three suspects?" I asked.
"I don't know....The sex seems to have been consensual...The cause of death was two injections....One which relaxed her muscles and the other which stopped her heart.." said Dr. Hunter...
"She had an ex husband and a boyfriend." came the voice of Detective Angie Belton.
"Heyy Angie." said Sissy.
''Hey Sissy, Hi guys, Duke, Tyriq...I've already seen you Keith." said Detective Belton..
"Angie,I'm so sorry...We will do everything we can to get whoever did this." said Sissy.
"I know you will....I came here to give you the address of her ex-husband and her boyfriend." said Angie.
"Carlotta and Jimmy went to pick him up already...They have his address and his work address." said Sissy.
Detective Angie Belton smiled..."Damn, she is good."
"That's my chica." said Sissy with pride.
"Well this is the boyfriend's information." said Angie.
"I'll pass it on." she said.
"Duke...Why don't you and Tyriq stop by that bar our girl was in and see if you can find anybody that saw anything that night." said Sissy...
They both got up...still smiling ...
"We are on it Lou." they said as they headed out..
"Don't look so enthusiastic about this." said Sissy with mock seriousness..All three of them chuckled.
Funny as this may have seemed...It was still a murder of a young woman.
"Oh Detective Baylor." whispered Dr. Hunter..
Duke smiled from ear to ear ...Dr. Hunter whispered something in his ear and he looked like he was blushing...They both giggled and walked out together...Tyriq smiled and shrugged his shoulders...Sissy and Angie looked confused...I just laughed.
III-
Carlotta stopped by my office a few hours later....I hadn't seen her in two days...She had a new hair do and a nice new dress...She didn't look like a cop...She looked like she was getting ready to go to a broadway show or out on the town...
My eyes nearly popped out of my head...She just laughed at my reaction...
"WOW!!! You working today?" I asked..
"I'm working everyday" she said as she pulled her badge out of her pocketbook.
"Damn Carlotta, you look great!!" I said.
"Why thank you...I thought you might want to go to lunch." she said.
"Sure!" I said...I grabbed my coat and my car keys...
"Don't I get a kiss?" she asked...
"Carlotta...If we start kissing...I may take that dress off of you and..." I said.
"Ohhh no you won't!!..Come here." she said and she kissed me good and long...She eased out of our embrace gently...
"Okay,Okayyy, that's enough for now... Come on...I'm starving.." she said.
"I'm starving too...but not for food." I said.
She looked at me, smiled and shook her head.
''What am I going to do with you?" she asked.
We found a tony little bistro in Olde City and we sat down and enjoyed a nice lunch...
"I know you hate shop talk when we are together like this, but I have to know...How is this case going?" I asked.
"Goose Eggs...Her ex husband hasn't been seen in days and we stopped by his job and they said that he took some days off the day before Juanita disappeared. Which makes him suspect number one!' said Carlotta.
"I'm sure he'll turn up." I said. "Detective Belton stopped by the office earlier...She left the home address and work address of Juanita's present boyfriend.." I said.
"I'll pick that up from Sissy...Jimmy was asking about that guy." said Carlotta...
"Dr. Hunter stopped by too....She said that the DNA in all of that semen comes from three different men.... There was semen from at least two men found in the body and semen from a third in a condom and on the floor and outside of the apartment" I said.
"WHOAAAA! She had quite a night...Myyy My myyy." said Carlotta ,whose eyes got a large as saucers and who then burst out into laughter...She was blushing at the thought!
"Apparently....The cause of death was an injection of two drugs...One that relaxed the muscles and another that stopped her heart." I said.
"Oh my god....I know Dr. Hunter was blushing...She is so cute, but so prissy and proper." said Carlotta.
I laughed thinking of what Duke told me about Dr. Hunter behind closed doors...Hard to believe that this could make her blush...but it was making ME blush!
"Uhhh you know...I think that that's enough shop talk." I said.
"Yes...Let's enjoy this moment." she said.
I took her hand in mine and stared at her...
''Carlotta?"I asked.
"Yes.." she said.
''Are you...Are you pregnant?"I asked.
She laughed.....Then she blushed....I was surprised that that question made her blush...She looked cute when she was blushing!
''NO!!! Why would you ask me that?" she asked incredulously.
"I know you didn't wear this to work today...and this lunch and all...I thought maybe you were trying to break some news to me." I said.
"I didn't...I changed before I came to your office...I bought it Saturday and I couldn't wait to model it for you, that's all." she said.
"Okay, but if you were pregnant...it would be cool...you know...I would love to have a baby with you. " I said before she put her index finger on my lip..
"Slow down slugger...I'm sure we'd produce a beautiful child..I'm sure one day we will make a beautiful baby...but I'm not pregnant...I use the pill religiously...Especially since you can't keep your hands off of me every time we are alone....If I didn't ,I'd have about six kids by now." she said and winked at me, before busting out laughing. "But hey, that's not a bad thing...I'm enjoying you immensely." she said.
''Well that's good to know...You really think we, me and you would have a beautiful baby?"I asked.
''I know we would..but relax for now playboy...Just Calm Down and Love me." she said.
"You are soo cool girl....I couldn't ask for a better girlfriend." I said.
"Glad you're satisfied." she laughed and rubbed my hand.
"Immensely." I said.
IV-
Hours later, Carlotta, Jimmy, Tyriq and I were back in the apartment of our murder victim....
"You know...Everybody I talked to about this woman gave me a portrait of her that was the exact opposite of what looks like happened here...She was single, no children..a good dependable worker...Had just finished getting her MBA...and lived a pretty quiet life....No parties...no controversy." said Carlotta...
"Top...you know that everything isn't always how it seems...People are one way in public...and another way in private...How many cases you and I worked on that were like that?" he asked.
"Yeah, you're right Tyriq." she said. "But this girl just didn't seem like the type that would have an orgy or wild sex party." she continued..
''Who says she did? This might have been a gang rape or a one time thing that got out of hand." said Tyriq.
"I don't think so Tyriq..Her ex husband and her present boyfriend hated each other...Everybody I've talked to has said as much, including Detective Belton." said Jimmy., who also had on latex gloves.. He picked up a pack of matches and a cigarette butt.
"Jackpot....Look at this." he said.
"Must have missed that a few days ago." I said.
"No way...You know neither Jimmy nor I operate like that....Somebody has been in here since we were last here...She didn't smoke...So those weren't hers." said Carlotta.
"These matches are from that bar that she and Detective Belton hung out at." said Jimmy.
"You think maybe she had a boyfriend from that bar?" I asked.
"Nobody mentioned it....We may have to go back there..." said Carlotta, whose phone rung!
"Hello...oh hey Duke! You what? wow thanks....Good Pull...I owe you!" she said and smiled. "That was Duke...He located Juanita's husband...He's at C.I.D." she said.
Jimmy smiled...
"We need to brace him Carlotta." he said.
"Yup...Maybe we can begin getting somewhere on this." she said.
I smiled....
"Another long night eh?" I said.
"Doesn't have to be...Grab some coffee...Keep your girlfriend company." she said.
"You don't mind?" I asked...
"Of course not...Then...We'll stop by your place, get a change of clothes and you can stay with me tonight.." she said.
My eyes opened up wide....She smiled and then shook her head...
"You look like a kid the night before Christmas..." she laughed.
"I feel like a kid on the night before Christmas." I said...I was glad that Tyriq and Jimmy hadn't heard our conversation...
"Carlotta...you interview Juanita's husband...I want to look at more video tape of the people who came in and out of this building." said Jimmy...
"Okay..That'll work..." said Carlotta.
I smiled..I had put together such a good group of detectives...Detective Tyriq Pile looked at me...
"Well Chief...I'm not needed here right now...I'm going to take my wife out and have a great steak dinner...and then......Don't dare call me!" he said and smiled...
"Tyriq...I promise you we will not disturb you tonight." I laughed.
(To Be Continued.)
1 comment:
Wow...a lot of information in this story....I had a feeling that Angie was going to stop seeing Soloman Foster eventually...and Keith and Carlotta might as well go on and move in together or get married...What is the hold up??
Loving this story!
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