Wild Eyes

Of course, William Hutton was arrested a day later by the Philly P.D. on suspicion of murder...but they had to release him.  He had an airtight alibi...You see, just about an hour after he and the Bennett sisters had met with me in Josies..He had in fact been picked up by THE FBI!!!

 It seemed as though the inquiries I had made to the detectives in Sarasota, San Diego and Daly City had got them to making calls and suddenly the local FBI was interested in his past marriages and the subsequent tragic conclusions... He had been in federal custody for close to six hours and released...No way he could have tampered with Antoinette Bennett's car!

Carlotta told me that they lifted a fingerprint from the underside of Antoinette's car....but that it wasn't Hutton's and it wasn't a match for anybody in their database or the VICAP federal database.....With no witnesses and with him actually being with the FBI at the time, they had no choice but to let him go..

I did a check of his phone records before and after he was in custody....The only person he called was Veronica Bennett and a Lawyer and a gambler named Sidney "Wild Eyes" Booker....

So naturally,I did a work up on Mr. Booker...Born and raised here in Philadelphia...He did a four year stint in the Army, then moved out to California where he got in a little trouble and did a four year stint in the Federal Prsion at Lompoc!  The same time a certain Mr. William Hutton was also doing time there!

I knew that he played in a high stakes crap game in the backroom of a diner near the airport...I decided to pay him a visit.

II- 

Sidney Booker wasn't hard to find...I went in the diner, ordered a tumbler of coffee and called for the manager, a guy named Nat, who I'd done a favor for years ago....

"Hey Kevin...What's good?" he asked.

"Card game still hot?" I asked.

He pointed to the back room....

''Thanks Nat." I said.

''Hey man, say hello to Kool Kat, Donald Smooth, Chris Thompson and Chess when you see em." he said.

''Will do Nat.You need to come out to Josies...They're all in there most weekend nights...They'd love to see you." I said.

''When I get the time Kev...I may come through."said Nat.

I walked to the back of the diner and an electric buzzer opened the backdoor for me and I entered a backroom where a high stakes crap game was going on. Several low level playas were involved in a spirited game....a table of all types of cold cuts and cheeses remained untouched...Proof positive that this was a hot game...Cold Brews and Barbecued Chicken wings were being consumed though and several scantily clad young women were sitting around the men, looking bored...

Sitting there in the middle of it was Sidney ''Wild Eyes" Booker , a high stakes gambling man... He was nicknamed  ''Wild eyes " because no matter what kind of hand he had...His eyes got as large as saucers...

I sat down next to him and whispered in his ear...

''You Wild Eyes?"

He looked at me and gave the usual retort-

"Who wants to know?"

I smiled..."I want to know....My name is Morris, Kevin Morris....I'm a private investigator.." I said.

"Private ,which means you're being paid by somebody, Private which means I don't have to talk to you if I don't wanna." he said.

"Now why would you not want to talk to me? I just want some information is all." I said.

"Information on who?" he asked

I showed him a glossy photo of William Hutton....He smiled...

"Wow..Slick Willie...." he said.

"Slick Willie?" I said.

"I did time with him in Lompoc....Federal Prison....He's a real shark that guy...always got somethin cookin." he laughed.

"He ever talk about his wives?" I asked.

"Yeah...just said he was married twice and both of em died and he collected a lot of insurance money.Heard another of his wives died after he got out of the joint. That man didn't need to be married. You know...He never said and I wouldn't expect that he would...But I always thought that he offed all of his wives...He's a stone psychopath man!" said Wild Eyes...

"He called you the day before yesterday." I said.

"Yeah, he's havin a bad week..First the Federalis pick him up, then get this....They cut him loose and then the Philly coppers snatch him..hahahahahahahahahahahahaha...How do ya like that? He called me for bail money!" said Wild eyes..

"You give it to him?" I asked.

''Nah...Didn't have to...They cut him loose..Wonder who will pick him up next? The CIA..hahahahahahaha."he said.

I laughed too...Then looked at his hand..

"You look like you're having a good week eh?" I said.

His eyes got as large as saucers...He looked at me and smiled..

"So what do you know huh? Huh?" he said...and we both laughed....

"Tell me somethin Wild Eyes?" I asked.

''Yeah." he said.

"Hutton ever give you the willies...?" I asked.

He looked at me strangely, then he motioned to me to lean in further...

"Every time I talked to him...No emotion in his face...His eyes , a blank stare...This guy was capable of anything....When I heard he was back in Philly...I avoided him...I don't want nothin to do with the guy...Please don't tell him you saw me." said Wild Eyes..

''Don't worry Wild Eyes...Your secret is safe with me." I said.

''Between me and you..I think he did kill his wives...Somethin in the way he talked about it when we was in the joint...Like he aint even care about them, like all he was concerned about was whether he could have insured them for more cash..."said Wild Eyes.

''A real sweetheart of a guy huh?" I said.

"Not a guy I'd like to meet in a dark alley ."said Wild Eyes...

I laughed...He laughed too.

I got up and left and headed home... I thought to myself...Carlotta told me that the brake job on Antoinette Bennett's car had been a real amateur job...A cool, smooth little hustler like William Hutton would have been more professional, less obvious...As much as I thought he was probably a murderer...This had to be someone else..But who? And if it was somebody else...Were the two of them working together?? So many questions...So few answers!

It was out of my hands now...I had been paid and my work was done..Still something nagged at me....

III-

It was always nice ,ending anyday at home with my wife,Sepia...I liked rubbing her feet , rubbing her soft legs and just feeling her soft brown skin in general...

"So lover , your case is over?" she asked.

"Looks like it...I got them the information they needed on Hutton and I got paid.."I said.

She rolled over on the bed...

"But I know you..something is bothering you." she said.

"Yeah...I know that Hutton killed his three previous wives and got huge insurance payments...and I'll never be able to prove that...I suspected that he had a hand in killing Antoinette Bennett, but I can't prove that either and he's got an airtight alibi.....I mean it's not my job to bring him to justice....but I just feel like something bad is going to happen to Veronica Bennett if she marries him and I'd hate to see that slickster get away with murder again." I said.

"Don't worry...you'll think of something.You always do." she said with a smile...

I rolled over on top of her...and just looked at her and smiled...

"You have so much faith in me don't you?" I said.

"Yes, I do.." she said...

"I don't know about Hutton, but I'm thinking about something right now."I said...

"I can- ouuuu...I can feel what you're thinking about....Ummmmmmmph.." she said...

I slid her nightgown up...and slid her panties down her legs and off... She slipped my boxers down and I crawled up  on her and entered her slowly..smoothly...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH KEVINNNNNNNNNNNN...OUUUUUUUUUUUUU.." she moaned softly...

Our lips locked in a slow ,passionate embrace.....The more I kissed Sepia, it seemed as though I got even harder.....She continued to stroke me gently...It was driving me crazy!

I caressed her breasts slowly and began kissing her from her neck down to her belly button...

Sepia giggled like a school girl...I cupped her round shapely buttocks and pulled her closer to me as I began kissing her soft lips again, slowly, softly....

She began to tremble, slightly....

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.." she moaned....

And we continued making sweet love throughout the night and the early morning...Whatever was bugging me about this case would just have to wait until the next day.

(TO BE CONTINUED...)