My Kind of Casket

Detective Mercedes Rodriguez drove me to the old San Juan Shopping district....There she took me to a nice comfortable apartment...We drove around for close to two hours before we arrived...There ,she gave me a set of keys and a smartphone..

"I'm sorry it took so long to get here...but I wanted to make sure we weren't followed." she said.

"Anybody following us, probably got bored and gave up the chase." I laughed.

She laughed too.....

"You have a great sense of humor Kevin.....From what you did to those hoods tonight...I see that you are pretty good with your hands too...You used to box didn't you?" she said.

"You read that in your work up on me didn't you?" I said..

"Yes...but I could tell by your movemants...and plus...My older brother is a professional boxer....I know the look." she said.

"Is your brother, Ernesto Rodriguez by any chance?" I said.

"That would be he...." she said.

"I've seen him fight....Wow...it is a small world...I never would have linked him to you and Carlotta." I said.

I looked around.....

"This isn't a police safehouse either is it?" I said, giving her the side eye..."

She smiled again....

"No it isn't...It's his spot...Where he takes his women for privacy....He's in Germany right now ,getting ready for a fight." she said.

"You use this place too from time to time...Don't you?" I asked, giving her the side eye...

She smiled...

"Nothing gets by you does it? Only once...I have a big family...They are all here in San Juan, except Carlotta...A girl needs her privacy."she said.

"An attractive woman like yourself doesn't have a boyfriend or several?"I asked.

"I have several that want to be, but I'm too busy for that and most people don't understand the hours a cop has to keep."she said.

I couldn't get over how much she sounded just like Carlotta when I first met her...I often wondered how Keith Wallace pierced through that exterior and found her sweet core...

"Another detective would." I said.

"You would, wouldn't you?" she said and smiled at me slyly..

I smiled...

"Yeah....I would..."I said.

"There's this guy...He just made Detective...He kind of likes me...but I'm older than him.." she said.

"By a lot?" I asked.

"A little over a year, maybe two years...He's like a baby...But he worships me...I trained him, mentored him...He's working in another precinct...He wants to be my partner....In the police car and in the bedroom.."

"What do you want?" I asked.

"What does every woman want?" she asked and then smiled.

"Stop hiding behind your job...and your age...You're a young  and attractive woman...There is a man who loves you or could love you and best of all,could understand you because he's a detective like you...Give him a chance at least." I said.

She didn't smile this time...She looked kind of hopeful....

"Carlotta's fella, Keith Wallace said that...You remind me of him! You're a very wise man Mr. Kevin...Be safe papi. I'll see you in the morning." she said.

"Now you sound like your cousin...Good Night Detective." I said.

"I thought we were on a first name basis now...It's Mercedes." she said.

"Good Night Mercedes and thank you." I said.

II-

The next thing I did was call  my wife, Sepia in Philadelphia...

"Hey Sepia.." I said..

"Heyy Lover...I guess that beach and all that sunshine got good to you huh?" she said.

"You were right...There is no easy money..This thing is way deeper than I  originally thought...These people I work for are not who or what they said they were." I said.

''You in some trouble babe?" she asked.

''Yes and No...Right now ,I'm in a kind of a safe house that the local police have stashed me into..Tomorrow,I'm going to use this claims check and find out just who or what is in that casket....I'm beginning to think that it's not a body!" I said.

''Ewwwwwwwwwwwww...What makes you think that?"asked Sepia...

"Well for one thing...These guys were too anxious to get my claim check for it to be just a corpse and when I told them that the police had it...They freaked out...Tried to kill me and worst of all, didn't pay me my money..!!!" I said.

"Ohhhh wowwww...I told you this caper looked too easy to be true."she said.

"Yeah..I'm gonna get to the bottom of it...Then I'm headed right back to Philly." I said.

"I hope so...I don't want to have to go to the wedding by myself.." she said.

I laughed...

"So what do you have on right now?" I asked..

"Mmmmmm, something new...I was going to surprise you, A light sheer paisley baby doll....with matching panties..." she said.

"Ummmmm...I sure wish I was there to see that." I said.

"Well hurry back...and you won't have to just see it." she said.

"I can't wait." I said.

Sepia laughed.....

"You are sooo nasty ....What am I going to do with you???....Do be safe lover..." she said.

"I will." I said and hung up.

Next, I called Lt. Sissy Van Buren...

"Is this you Kevin?" she said.

''Yeah..I'm in Puerto Rico."I said.

"Chica told me you were in Puerto Rico....Aren't you something...Philly isn't big enough for you, You gotta go all international on us." she said.

"Listen,I need you to look into something for me and call me back at this number....See if any of your detectives, Not just Carlotta,Duke,Jimmy and Tyriq....know anything about a recent murder of a Pepe Salizar....And see if you have anything in your files on an Eva Salizar..." I said.

"Okay..I'll look into it for you...Are you alright?" she asked.

"You know me, I'm always mixed up into something?" I said..

"Be Easy Kevin....I would like to see you at Chica's wedding." she said.

"That's the same thing my wife said....I'll be there...Bank on it." I said.

"I will, but with you it's never easy or simple.." she said.

"True that!" I laughed..."Take it easy Sissy." I said.

I called Sepia up again and talked to her for close to three hours before we both decided to drift off to sleep...I missed her...and hadn't been gone that long!

III-

I slept like a baby that night....The next morning..I heard a car drive up outside...It was Detective Mercedes Rodriguez and she had a bag with her...She knocked on the door....

''Rise and Shine Papi..I brought us some breakfast." she said.

She had Spanish Omelets, 2 Tumblers of Coffee, Some Home Fries and two tumblers of Orange Juice...The food was delicious!!!..

"You didn't buy this...You prepared this yourself!" I said.

"Carlotta told me that you are a great detective...and I see that you are...How come you do this privately and are not on the force watching my cousin's back?" she asked..

"Your cousin watches my back, quite often....She works with some fine detectives..We help each other out from time to time...Like I'm going to do for you." I said.

"Oh?" she said.

"Look...I know you're sharp and I know you're following Mr. Castro for a reason...A reason you haven't spelled out to me...You're fishing...Castro is into something major...And I know something else...He's not the boss...He's just muscle...You're trying to find out what he's into and who he's working for....And so am I...since it appears that I have been duped and used....You didn't just happen to show up in the airport....You knew I'd be coming." I said.

She continued to eat...Then she looked at me...

"I knew somebody would be coming to make contact.. Just didn't know it was you..." she said.

"Let me get dressed and let's go check out that casket...and see who or what is in it that Castro was willing to kill me for." I said.

"You think it's still there?" she asked.

"They can't get to it without my claims check." I said. "But once we get there..I want you to tell me everything...Everything you're holding back." I said.

 "Wow...you are special." she said and smiled that beautiful, disarming smile at me.

IV-

Detective Mercedes Rodriguez drove me to the Airport warehouse where I produced the claims check and we both went inside where the Casket was lying...I popped it open and to both our surprises...There was money! Lots of money stuffed in it..

"Oh my God....There is millions in this casket, " I said as I rifled through the money.....This is what they were looking for...This is why they wanted me to guard this casket....This is my kind of casket!" I said..

Detective Mercedes Rodriguez cracked up laughing.

"You are soo crazy Kevin." she said.

Detective Mercedes Rodriguez dug through it some more...

"There's more...Look up under the money....Look!!" she said...

Bags of uncut Heroin and Cocaine.....

''We hit the motherlode..."I said.

"The street value alone is worth more than the six million in cash on top of it. Victor Ramos must have owed Castro or whoever, this swag...This was a payment of some kind of debt." she said.

"Okay detective...Deal straight with me...What's up?" I asked.

"That young man I told you about...The detective that uh kind of has a thing for me...His name is Detective Munez....He had an informant..an informant that told him that Fillipe Castro and whoever he works for was into something big...but not here in San Juan in Philly or possibly New York.....He told him about a guy named...Victor, Victor Ramos..a local hood who moves major weight here and in Philly and New York. Apparently, Victor Ramos and one of his operatives  got the key to an armored truck in Philly...Victor did business with Castro off and on and they hired a bunch of local hoods to go to Philly...A few weeks ago they took down an armored car..They killed the guard and the driver...That wasn't supposed to happen...Anyway...Victor got the money and he had drugs that he owed  Castro and or whoever Castro works for...We don't know...The informant was murdered before we could learn more..Probably by Castro...."

"The Philly Coppers caught the stick up crew and Victor Ramos...but they had another person..A point man still in Philly...This point man hired someone to escort this money back here...and they hired you! Only, we didn't know how the money was coming back...So I followed Castro...and I figured, somebody from Philly would be meeting him and that somebody would lead us to the money and dope...Never figured they'd send it in a casket...Never figured they'd hire a straight guy...a Private Detective to do the job....But then that makes sense..A known hood would have been spotted...suspected....You wouldn't be...I've been working with the local FBI to trace the money trail." she said.

"This is the money from the armored car robbery that Sissy, Lt.Sissy Van Buren was telling me about...You guys have it now."I said.

"Yup." she said.. "I'm going to call the FBI." she said.

"Go ahead and call them...but move this money quietly...Leave this casket here...I can get you Castro and his boss."I said.

"You can? How!" she asked..

"They're still looking for me...You can bet they're all over the airport...They know I'm still in San Juan..If I make myself available....and act like I'm cutting a deal...Our fish will fall for it,hook line and sinker.."I said.

"You are the best!!...Oh My God...Carlotta didn't lie about you!!...I like how you think. We've been trying to nail Castro for close to a year now...He has his hands in everything, but we've always known that there was someone else..an unseen boss behind him, who we don't know about, but who all these hoods around here fear." she said.

"No doubt...Oh and Mercedes....This young Detective...Where is he now?" I asked.

"He's in Philly...He's on his way back here." she said.

"He did a hell of a job...He broke this wide open..You trained him well....Now let him uh train you...You might like it..You feel me?" I said.

"How do you know I didn't like it?" she said and looked at me slyly...

"Oh yeah?" I said and smiled.. She blushed for the first time!

"Once...Well one night, several times...It was nice..."she said...

"Just nice?" I asked...She blushed again...

"Okay..Okay...It was the bomb...but I'm a cop and so is he and we can't ..we can't .."she said.

"Why can't you? He's in a different precinct...You aren't partners..."I said.

"But" I said.

"But what?" she said.

"There is always a but "I said.

"I'm two years older than him...well actually a year and a month, but who's counting?" she said.

"Age aint nothin but a number." I said. "Now let's go and catch some bad guys."

(CONCLUSION NEXT)