Dread

The next day I stopped by the police garage...I saw a team of CSI guys going over the cadillac that Carlotta and I found with a fine tooth comb... Dr. Hazel Hunter was supervising the entire operation...I walked over to her and gave her a tumbler of coffee...

"Thank you ADA Wallace." she said.

"Don't mention it..Don't mention it...You're part of our team even if you aren't a detective..What you do for us is very important." I said. She blushed and smiled weakly...Duke had himself a real sweetheart of a girlfriend.

"We found fingerprints....They belong to the missing Lawrence Robinson...He has a sheet...Nothing major...One conviction for possession of marijuana....A three month stay in county for failure to pay child support..." said Dr. Hunter...

"Any other prints?" I asked..

"Yeah...His mother, his girlfriend ,his baby's mother and Officer Clinton Warwick!!!" she said.

''Hmmm, interesting."I said.

Just then, Duke and Jimmy walked in..

"Heyy ADA...Thought you'd be here...Me and Jimmy interviewed the girlfriend...We found several calls to her on his cell phone just days leading up to his dissapearence..But they were nothing...just boyfriend and girlfriend talk...We interviewed the mother...She said that he was supposed to come pick her up and take her shopping on the day he was last seen and that it wasn't like him not to show up and not to call." said Duke..

"I ran down his baby momma...They weren't on good terms...He was three months behind in child support payments..He was due to appear in court on the day he went missing..Never made it...I went to the courts..They said that that wasn't the first time he'd missed a date, but that eventually he did show up...but not this time." said Jimmy...

"So this guy could have just skipped to keep from paying his child support?" I said.

''Well, he had just got a new job.. Me and Duke checked it out...He was always on time and was a good worker...They were all shocked when he didn't show up for work and didn't call..." said Jimmy.

"Hmmm..."I said.

"ADA...His phone records show that everybody he was close to, His Mom, His girl, his baby mom, last talked to him on the day he went missing...We checked out the gas station you said you found the car in...
Nobody there remembers how or when that car wound up there..." said Duke.

''How bout video?" I asked.

"We are on that...We'll be looking." said Jimmy...

''Good work Guys" I said.

"Hey man..No coffee?" asked Duke..

''I didn't know you guys were going to be here...I gave Dr. Hunter some coffee." I laughed.. She smiled too.

Both Duke and Jimmy gave me the serious side eye...I just shrugged my shoulders..

II-

Later that day, I drove over to Sissy's office.... her boyfriend, Eddie C. , Pastor John Struthers and Deacon Basil Robinson  were sitting in her office when I got there...

"ADA Wallace...Glad you are here.." said Pastor John Struthers..

"That boy, Lawrence Robinson was a member, a recent member of my church.." he continued..

"Yeah man, Basil and I were working with him in the outreach program and we were getting through to him..We had helped him get a job." said Eddie C.

''Did you know that he was behind on his child support?" I asked.

"Yeah..but he was working and he was going to court to work out a payment plan...I was there waiting for him." said Eddie C.

"Yeah man...He had his rough edges...but he was a good dude....He give me his word he was going to make that hearing and he was going to do it." said Basil Robinson.

"When is the last time you saw him?"I asked.

''The day he went missin..He stopped by the out reach center..he had a coffee with us and he got in his car and pulled off...and we never saw him or his car again." said Pastor Struthers.

''We found the car!" I said.

"You did??" the three of them said.

"Yes and we are investigating his disappearece...I've got a task force already in motion..."I said.

"Oh wow...That's great...Because his mother is worried sick..She called the police...and it didn't seem like much was being done about it." said Eddie C.

"Done about what?" I asked.

''Well he was arrested!" said Basil Robinson..

"Arrested??This is the first time I'm hearing this...I heard he had car trouble...and an officer had him towed.There is no record of him being arrested."I said.

"He told his mom was  being arrested..He called his mom and told her he was being arrested...The  arresting officer was Clint Warwick...She went to the roundhouse with a lawyer to bail him out and they told her that he was never there." said Pastor Struthers..

"This is interesting...Look..We are looking into this...What I need for you guys to do is to keep a lid on this..No press conferences...Tell the mother not to talk to anybody...We don't want to alert anybody who may be behind this."I said.

"You guys have a suspect?" asked Basil.

"Come on...you guys know that I can't say... It's an ongoing investigation.."I said. "Keep a lid on it...I promise you..We'll get to the bottom of this. You have my word."I said.

"Okay...but you can only keep a lid on something like this for so long." said Pastor Struthers..

"You guys know me.. I've always been on the level...Trust me." I said.

"You're a pretty on the level guy Keith...I remember you from back in the day....I'll ride with you, for the time being."said  Deacon Basil Robinson, a reformed drug dealer who had turned his life around and was now a deacon...We were about the same age...and had both grown up in West Philly.

"Alright Keith...Your word is good enough for me...Sissy,I'll see you tonight ."said Eddie C. He  planted a wet juicy kiss on her lips...Sissy blushed like crazy.

"You handled that well counselor." she said.

''You know we gotta move fast on this Sissy...If Angie hadn't of brought this to us..It would have fallen in our laps anyway." I said.

"You don't think I know that? I'm sick to death that a cop...One of us, may be involved somehow.." she said.

"If he's involved in this...He's not one of us...." I said.

"Yeah, you're right." said Sissy.

"By the way uh.." I said looking out over the cubicles...Most of the detectives were gone ,out on cases...  Sissy gave me the side eye and smirked....

"Wow!!..Engaged to her ,Living with her and she still has you sprung...She's out with Detective Belton.."said Sissy.

"I wasn't asking about Carlotta...I was actually inquiring about Detective Belton." I said, blushing...

"Really? ,Love got you lying so bad counselor! It's okay...really...." said Sissy laughing...

I just smiled. Just as I was getting ready to leave....Both of them walked in... Detective Angie Belton and Detective Carlotta Rodriguez...Two fine women!  One of em mine!

III-

"Duke and Jimmy did most of the leg work on the Lawrence Robinson case...So we piggy backed them..Carlotta and I went over to Warwick's district..He's not too well liked by the African-American and Latino officers there..They say he's a racist and has made off the cuff remarks before...Several of the people in the district he patrols say that they don't care too much for him either..." said Detective Angie Belton.

"I went over to his precinct and checked the records...There is no record of an arrest that day for anyone named Lawrence Robinson..." said Carlotta..

"So why would he call his mother and insist that he was being arrested and ask her to get him a lawyer?" asked Sissy...

"We are going to have to ask Officer Warwick himself." said Carlotta.

"I don't want to tip our hand too soon..."said Angie..


"I have tapes from the precinct for the three days up to and around the time Robinson went missing..I'm going to be listening to them." said Carlotta...

"What about the Tow Truck?....It was said that his car broke down and a towing service was called."asked Sissy.

"I called every towing company that we do business with and then some and nobody recalls getting a call from Officer Warwick or Robinson to tow the car...Plus I talked to Dr. Hunter earlier today...The car didn't break down...It was in tip top shape...I called the DMV...His license was up to date, his stickers and his registration....Even his insurance was up to par...I can't see why he was stopped. His sister told me that he owed her money, because he borrowed money from her to pay his insurance just weeks before. His reports don't match any of the information Angie and I were able to fact check." said Carlotta.

Angie beamed with something that looked like pride...

"Oh my God Sissy, you said she was sharp.. She is...!!!!!She is the bomb...I love this girl." said Angie hugging Carlotta and kissing her on the cheek...

Carlotta smiled..

Sissy smiled and said-"I told you my chica is the truth."

"Stop it...you're going to make her head so big she won't be able to get through the door." I joked...

Carlotta playfully punched my shoulder..

"I checked out the police brutality claims...I have a witness who will be coming in to talk about that tomorrow.and I visited Warwick's soon to be ex wife...She said that he caught her with another cop from their precinct and he blacked her eye...Said it wasn't the first time..." said Angie...

"And he's still on the force? Incredible.." said Sissy in disgust.

"Well, we put in a good days work people,let's all go home and get back on this thing tomorrow." said Sissy.

"You goin over Eddie C's tonight Boss Lady.?" asked Carlotta coyly.

Sissy looked at me and smiled sheepishly..

"Don't you even talk Keith Wallace..." she said.

"What? What did I do?" I said.

"He's been staying with me since this case began.." Sissy said.

''Companionship right?" I laughed.

"Y-Yes...I'm working late hours...It's ..It's nice to come home to someone to rub your feet." laughed Sissy slyly.

"Oh just your feet Sissy?" laughed Angie...

I smiled..Sissy ,Carlotta and I gave Angie the serious side eye..She blushed..

''Yes...Yes,I've been staying at Jimmy's house!!!...I couldn't bare to go to my empty house alone."said Angie.

''Of course not!" I mused.

"Carlotta, can I hit your future hubby?" joked Angie...

"Duke is probably at Dr. Hunter's house." said Sissy.

''Well, I don't have that problem anymore." I laughed.

''Ohhh Stop bragging." sneered Angie jokingly.

"Oh hush up Ozzie and Harriet." said Sissy laughing...

Carlotta and I laughed ,So Did Angie....

This was a great unit, a fun unit...I was proud and glad I'd put it together...Angie looked at us and I could see why she was always hanging around...She missed being here...If I could.. I was going to try and get her transferred back here if that's what she wants.. She's a good investigator and the way I saw it...The more the merrier.

IV-

Carlotta and I drove home that night, she looked at me and smiled... A light rain began to fall, which turned into damn near a torrential rainstorm within minutes...

"What are you smiling about?" I asked.

"I know this is a serious case and all, but I always have so much fun at work..I mean I've always liked being a cop, but you've got me in a unit with all of my favorite cops...Jimmy, my first partner as a patrolman in a car and on the beat and later on my partner in Special Victims Unit.. Duke and Tyriq, my partners from Major Crimes and Narcotics as well as my mentors.....and finally Sissy, who is like my best friend in the whole wide world, next to you...I mean , this is great...Everyday is fun...I'm actually excited about working with them." she said.

"They feel the same way about you...And so do I." I said.

"And we are going to get married." she said and sighed..

"Yeah,I can't wait...If I had my way, we'd do it tomorrow." I said.

"We got time." she said and leaned her head on my shoulder as I drove.....

I wondered about this missing boy...Where was he? What happened to him? Was a cop really responsible??

I hoped upon hope to find him alive...but deep down inside of me...I knew he was more than likely dead!

Despite the happiness I felt about the unit I put together and the elation I felt at my upcoming marriage to Carlotta..I suddenly had this huge feeling of dread come over me! A dread like I'd never felt before...

(TO BE CONTINUED..)