Medium Blue

''Damn Kev...remember when you and I used to go on these assignments?" said my friend, Sean Jackson as we stood in the airport with a number of my friends and associates...

"Yeah man...If I didn't have so much to catch up on...I'd be going on this assignment." I said.

"You mean if you wasn't the BOSS MAN now!" he laughed.

"Yeah...I guess you're right." I said.

My new company, Morris Communications was making money ,hand over foot now of days...and I had to do administrative work now...

So when this tour to Spain opened up, which we were financing...I wanted to go, but realized I just couldn't..

I looked at the crowd...It was a lot of my friends... Reed Nelson, Downtown Rob Brown, Bone Hampton, Ella, Brooke Taylor, Ingrid Rhodes and their perspective bands...Producer Meek Rollins and a crew of engineers and mixers were going to record the entire concert...Also going was "88" and his new wife, Mabel Jenkins...B-Flat was going and his wife, Honey Brown was in tow....

Reed's wife, Debbie and Rob Brown's girlfriend, Debbie's younger sister Delores was also going...They were writers who worked for me...They were covering the event... SPAIN JAZZ FEST 2013...in Barcelona...

I was excited for all of them...They were going to be gone for two weeks...Sean Jackson's wife, Sheila...my number two person at Morris Communications was to join them at the end of the week...My gift to her.. Sean, my ace was going to be photographing the entire event and in charge of a video crew that was going to film it.

"So Kev , what are you gonna do while we are all gone?" asked Meek Rollins...

''Work hard at keeping my company afloat." I said.

"What? No cases...No kingpins to take down?" joked Honey Brown...

''Nah...things are quiet....I'm going to just work at the office...Magazines and Newspapers have to be published...Websites have to be maintained and our radio station is still running." I joked.

"Wow...Josies is going to be dead...All of the main acts are going to be in Spain." said Downtown Rob Brown.

''Well, Symphony Sam and his orchestra will still be the house band...and they have a D.J." I said.

"Yeah, you right." said Bone Hampton.....

"Still they'll need some opening acts...and please,please don't bring back that wack ass comedian they had in there last year." joked Reed Nelson...

"I know right." I laughed..."Unfunniest man I ever heard in my life " I said as we all shared a laugh...

Mabel's sisters, Anita and her boyfriend, Chance Howard, Victoria and her husband, Deacon Larry Weatherford and Corabeth and Clerow were also there to see everybody off...

The Deacon said a prayer and then we all waved as they got on the plane and took off for Spain...

"I know you sure wish you was on that tour with em boss, don't you?" said Clerow...

"Yeah kind of...but I gotta run my company....My number two is going to be joining em in a week." I said hugging Sheila, Sean's wife...

"Oh Kevin...You'll do just fine." she said.

II-

A week went by....Josies wasn't exactly dead... Symphony Sam and his musicians kept the joint rockin...He had many fine musicians in his employ and his nephew, a D.J. filled in.... but I could sense that he was needing a break... It occurred to me that I knew two musicians...who could use some steady work....

One was a  Saxophonist named Charles "Dutch' Van Buren...who just happened to be the father of my good friend, Lt. Sissy Van Buren.....The other was a Blind Piano player who really wasn't blind..named Chaz Gillison...I got Gus to hire both of them!  They got together a Bass player, a Guitarist, A Drummer and borrowed a couple of horn players from Symphony Sam and put together a nice little group...

"I can't thank you enough Kevin...I was just tellin Selma that I need some extra bread...With the baby comin and all." said Dutch...

''Yeah, thanks Kev...I was meanin to ask Gus if I could gig here....This is perfect with all of his headliners out of town." said Chazz.

"Don't mention it..." I said

''Kev, does my uh..Does Sissy come down here?" asked Dutch.

''Every now and then...She works hard Dutch...." I said.

"Yeah, I read about her in the paper every now and then...I heard she caught that boy that killed some girl and came all over the floor outside of the girl's apartment....What a mess." said Dutch.

I laughed...Sissy told me that the case made her want to take a shower...It did sound kind of disgusting I mused.

III-

Josies wasn't exactly empty....Chris Thompson, Chess, Donald Smooth, Owen Todd and Kool Kat were there ,laughing it up and joking in their seperate booths...and even though Honey Brown was gone, Gus, Eddie and Albert were still holding things down in her absence...

''Hey Gus..what ya know good?" I said.

"Livin is good Junior...You keepin your nose clean?" he asked...

"Always" I laughed.

"Liar" he laughed as he slid me a beer...

Just then Dutch Van Buren walked up to the bar....

"Hey Gus...Did you see that Vibes player I hired for tonight?" he asked.

"Who? Flaming Moe?" said Gus.

''Yeah, he missed our last set...Bad enough he was late." said Dutch...

"Nah...Wasn't he late last night?" asked Gus..

"Yeah...He didn't get here until our last set." said Dutch.

"Hey, he aint on that stuff is he?"asked Gus.

"Nah man, he's clean...He's from out of Patterson ,New Jersey..." said Dutch.

"And that's supposed to mean something to me?" asked Gus.

''He's good people..just has a problem with his watch...but when he plays them bones man...He's on time." said Dutch.

"Musicians!" said Gus... I smiled and finished my brew...

The night drug on......Josies was still crowded, but most of the people I knew had cleared out....

''Shouldn't you be heading home to your missus?" asked Gus..

"Yeah...I guess you're right...She didn't feel like comin out tonight." I said.

Suddenly a blood curdling scream was heard from the parking lot...

Gus, and a crowd of people ran out into the parking lot...

Out in the parking lot, lying face down was a man with a huge butcher knife protruding from his back!

Chazz walked over to the man felt him then looked up...

I walked over to where he lay....

"You know him?" I asked...

"Yeah...That's Flaming Moe." said Chazz..

Dutch ran over to where the crowd was....

"Oh my God...Somebody killed him..." he said.

Gus and I stood there...

"Yeah...now he's really late!" I said....Gus cracked up and slapped my shoulder!

(DEFINITELY TO BE CONTINUED!!!)