A Tea Room in Chinatown

I stood in the hallway down the hall from where Lynette Dubois  lived....A bouquet of flowers were delivered to her door. It was Roses of every possible color...It was beautiful...After the delivery man left.. I walked over ,picked up the roses..There was a card that said.


"To Lynette ,with all my love...Call me please.."
Eddie Coker.

I picked the flowers up....There was a phone number written down the bottom of the card...I took the roses and the card and quietly left out the back hallway and entrance...My car was parked down the street..I quietly got in my car and pulled off..

I had been watching Lynette's apartment for awhile now...I knew that Eddie Coker's man, Baby Santanta came around at least twice a day with Ludwick "Ludie"Nelson, a murderous thug   out of Brooklyn ,who moved to Philadelphia a few years ago who drove Eddie Coker around...I knew Ludi....I had kept Kool Kat from shooting him a year ago after they had had a loud argument in the Mermaid Club that nearly turned deadly.

Neither man was around this early in the morning..So I took the roses and the card and left.

I went home, put the Roses in a vase and wrote a card of my own...

"To my dearest Sepia ....with all my love, Kevin.."

I walked upstairs and looked in the bedroom...Sepia was sleeping soundly.... I leaned down and kissed her cheek..She woke up slowly and smiled at me...She motioned for me to come closer and she kissed me softly and slowly and sensuously.....

''Where you been all night lover...Mama missed you?" she said.

" I was out making sure your girlfriend was safe." I said as I took my socks and shoes and trousers off and my shirt and got in the bed next to her..

"Well is she safe?" asked Sepia..

''Reasonably so...for now." I said.

Sepia snuggled up next to me...

"Now I feel safe." she said...

I smiled and drifted off to sleep.

II-

"Kevin, you don't visit like you used to." said My good friend, Attorney Robert Foxworth, who I was visiting at the time...

"That's because I've been busy...Cracking cases, working." I laughed.

Robert's associate attorney, Chance Howard and his other associate attorney, Cole walked in with hopefully what I needed..

"We traced that number to a cell phone and our friend in Telephone security pin pointed an address." they said...

I smiled..

''Chance...Cole..You guys make great investigators yourselves.." I said.

Now I had an address on Mr. Eddie Coker..I had a meeting with Lynette Dubois later on today...but it was good that I had a real address on Coker...It would definitely come in handy in the future.

''Thanks guys."I said.

"Kevin...where are you off to now?" asked Robert Foxworth...

"I got a lunch date with a beautiful woman." I said and winked...

"I'm tellin Sepia." he laughed and winked back.

III-

Lynette asked me to meet her at a Tea room in Chinatown.....I stopped by my house and got a Kevlar vest and a trauma plate and put it on under my shirt as well as my fully loaded .22 and my .38 smokeless...Just in case I had some un-invited visitors myself...

She was there when I arrived...No waiting..I liked that...We both ordered Hot Teas with lemon...

"I'm so glad you decided to talk to me."I said.

"Look Kevin...I'm taking a chance...Eddie has me followed everywhere I go...I've changed my number three times and each time, he's gotten it and continues to call me...He called me this morning around 7:30 am and told me to look outside my door...I did and there was nothing there...He swore that he sent me a bouquet of roses.. I told him there was nothing there and he lost his temper...He was yelling and screaming at somebody...He sent Baby and Ludi to my apartment building and was questioning all of my neighbors about the flowers and doing a door to door search of all of their apartments....I was never so embarrassed.. He's crazy...You've got to get me out of here.." she said.

"You want to go back to Brooklyn?" I asked.

"Yes..I was going to move out anyway...Buddy Dwyer and me was gonna go to City Hall and get married..we didn't want to wait...but Baby came around threatening Buddy....Buddy didn't beat him up like you did...But Buddy stood up to him and told him to beat it..And as you can guess...That didn't set too well with Baby." she said.

"You know that Baby killed him?" I asked.

"I didn't see it..I was working...But I know it was him...Baby kills because he enjoys it...He's a psychopath...I witnessed him and Eddie kill a man two years ago." she said.

"You did?" I said.

"Yeah, a small time hood named Little Frankie Flowers...Frankie disrespected Eddie in front of me in a restaurant....He and Baby stabbed him to death...Baby then visited every diner in there at the time...As you can guess...Nobody testified or said jack to the cops..."she said.

''Look...I have a friend...He's the Assistant District Attorney, His name is Keith Wallace...He can protect you...My other friend is the head of Homicide...Lt. Sissy Van Buren...The lady that interviewed you the other night...They can put Eddie and Baby away forever..If you'll testify...." I said.

"Forget it...Never gonna happen...People that even think about testifying against Eddie Coker don't live too long....I can name you twelve people who didn't." she said.  "That's why I want to get away from him...when I first met him,I didn't know who and what he was....I didn't know how insanely jealous and possesive he is..
He's crazy...I can't get away from him...You've got to help me.." she said.

"I can help you...I can make a few calls, get you packed and put you somewhere safe...and then get you out of town.."I said.

"Oh thank you Kevin...Oh My God!! It's them!!" she said...Her eyes got as wide as saucers....

Eddie Coker himself....Larry "Baby"Santanta and Ludwick "Ludi" Nelson walked into the Tea Room..All of the customers got up and slowly eased their way out....

"I suppose you didn't know that I own this place also did you Lynette?  I found out that you liked to come here with your girlfriends...So I bought it...I bought it last year." said Eddie Coker, a tall debonair and well dressed man who resembled a young Billy Dee Williams...

He sat down at the table...Ludi stood beside him...Baby stood near me...

"Run along Lynette..I have business with Mr. Morris." said Eddie Coker..

She looked frightened...

"It's okay Lynette.. Go on...I'll call you later." I said.

Lynette slowly walked out...

"Mr.Morris...Mr. Kevin Morris ." he said..then paused...

"You must be the legendary Eddie Coker.. " I said smiling..

"Mr. Morris, you have become somewhat of a nuisance lately, inquiring about me, inquiring about my business.. and talking to my girl." he said.

"She's not your girl." I said.

He smiled and looked at me like I was a fool.

"You know...I know who you are...I know all about you..I've heard of your exploits..Heard you stuffed Mike Train in a dryer, Heard you shot David Cord in the ass...Heard you took down Malik Lockjohn, Junkyard Dog, Johnny Porter, Big Daddy , Bob Big Butt Thornton...and many many big time playas...But sir..You are out of your leauge here...I'm not any of them...I'm your worse nightmare." he said.

"You know...All of you tough guys say the same thing....I'm different and you all fall just as hard in the end." I said.

"Oh really? Well...I won't fall...I'm built  to last...and I'm a very impatient man Mr. Morris...I'm real impatient with you...You know,I give everybody a warning, a fair warning...They used to didn't get that, but I mellowed in my old age. One fair warning and then...Well I'm sure you know." he said.

"You kill them!!..Or rather you have your errand boys do it for you.." I said looking at Baby and Ludi.

"You've had your warning Mr. Morris...Baby here gave you a warning the other day." he said.

"Hey Baby...How is your eye? The swelling gone down?" I laughed..

Baby hit me with a sap, which knocked me to the floor... I got to my feet fast...Ludi made a move towards me and I broke a chair over his back, dropping him to the floor... I was just about to go in on Baby when I heard the click of a gun...Eddie Coker had a big .45 pointed at me...

"I am out of patience Mr. Morris. Out of damn patience. You no longer amuse me Mr. Kevin.....My patience has worn thin...I see now that you aren't going to heed any warnings...Funny, I'm told that you're a very smart man...You don't seem smart to me......Ludi...Baby,take him out back and kill him!!" he said quietly....

Before they could make a move we all heard..

''Heyyyyyyyy Kevin..What's shaking baby?" 

It was Detective James "Jimmy" Barlow and two uniformed policemen...I was actually glad to see them...It was about to get real funky in here...

Jimmy walked over to the table...

"You must be the great ,great Eddie Coker huh? Heard soo much about you...Nice to finally meet you...You need to get out more!  And you must be Larry "Baby" Santana..Wow Kevin, you're really entertaining some class A felons here." he laughed..They said nothing.

"You know me Jimmy, only the worst for me." I joked.

Eddie Coker looked like he could have strangled me if he could have.

Ludi was getting up off of the floor....

"Heyyyyyyyyy Ludi...What happened, you trip?" laughed Jimmy.

Both Ludi and Baby gritted their teeth and looked like they wanted to strangle both Jimmy and I...But we had the advantage now..

I snatched the .45 from out of Eddie Coker's hands and tossed it to Jimmy who put it in a plastic bag and passed it to a uniformed policeman..

"Now Eddie ,I know that you have a license to carry and that this gun here hasn't been used in any MURDERS right Eddie boy?" jeered Jimmy Barlow...

Eddie Coker looked at me and Jimmy with white hot hatred...but he couldn't do anything...Those two uniformed cops, one Black, one White were huge and looked like they'd shoot Eddie as soon as look at him...

"I'm going to take this nice gun down to police headquarters and check it out...If you want it back just bring your license to carry and proof of legal purchase and you can have it back..." he laughed....

"Hey Jimmy ,Can you give me a lift to my car?" I asked.

"Sure thing Kev." said Detective Barlow...

I smiled at the three of them....

"It sure was nice meeting you Mr. Coker....and Baby, you really need to put a cold compact on that eye or wear some sunglasses or something." I said.

Baby Santana stomped his foot and gritted his teeth....

"Oh and Eddie...My wife loved the roses...You have excellent tastes..." I said as Jimmy, the two cops and I walked out of the tea room...

Eddie Coker looked at me like he wanted to strangle me, so did Baby....I laughed my head off.

Once outside...I turned to Jimmy....

"Sorry I couldn't get him to confess to killing anybody." I said.

"That's okay...You rattled his cage to the point that he's going to do something stupid sooner or later and when he does..We'll nab him...I tried to wait a little longer, but it sounded like it was about to get funky in there, so I had to step in..." he said.

"And not a minute too soon..I was about to Black Baby's other eye." I said.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha." laughed Jimmy.

"Tell your Lieutenant thank you and that she'll be hearing from me." I said.

"She worries about you man...I told her that you can take care of yourself.. But she still worries. Be easy Kevin." he laughed as he and the cops pulled off..

"Always." I said.

I had really angered those gangsters...so much that they were bound to do something stupid or desperate...and I was bound to trap them too...

The die was cast!

(CONCLUSION NEXT)