Other Levels

I had two tumblers of coffee on the hood of my car and I stood in front of the storage units in the early morning awaiting Detective Tony Hopkins...I had gotten a tip from a semi -retired fence that the mysterious Marilyn Blake and a unidentified man was trying to fence a lot of goods and that they had them stored here...The owner would not open the units for me...I could have gotten Lockpick Johnson to get me a look inside ,but I didn't want to go that route...the legal way was better..so I called Assistant District Attorney Keith Wallace and he got a warrant....

He told me that Detective Hopkins would be out first thing in the morning....I checked my watch...It wasn't long before he drove up...I could see that he had someone else in the car...I wondered if it was the lovely Dr. Hazel Hunter or his foxy fiance from the FBI!! I was wrong on  both counts....Still, it was someone I was glad to see...The lovely Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace.. The wife of ADA Keith Wallace...and my good friend.

They got out of the car and walked over to me...I hadn't known Carlotta was coming...I passed her a tumbler of coffee...She kissed me on the cheek...

"Hola Kevin.." she said.

I hugged her...

''Hola Married Lady!"I said. 'What's going on Detective Hopkins?" I said to him..

"Hey Kev...Thanks for the tip." he said.

"Hop...Most Private Investigators won't share information with you like Kevin does...They try to hog all of the glory until they need us...Kevin is not like that...That's why we love him." she said.

"What brings you out today Detective?" I asked..

"Jimmy and I closed our case last night...and Keith is in court...and I was just sitting around the office bored, so when Hop got a call from you, Boss lady asked me if I didn't mind riding along..So I said yes.." she said.

"And where is Boss Lady this morning?" I asked.

Carlotta smiled...

"Out trying to duck Lt. Cantrell's advances...He comes around almost everyday wanting to talk and stays all afternoon...He's got a thing for Boss Lady...He's got it real bad..So does Rollie Rollerson...but I don't think he'll be coming around anymore." she said. I laughed.

"Oh I know Ed Cantrell....Before I started dealing with Boss Lady...I used to throw him a few bones..He's a good guy." I said.

"But Boss Lady looks better than him right?" said Carlotta giving me the side eye.

"You're a good Detective Carlotta." I said.

We both laughed the type of laugh that only two good friends who know each other very well could laugh.

Another Police car drove up...Two uniformed officers got out with the owner of the storage units...Carlotta passed him the warrant...He read it and he opened up the units and there we found...all kinds of high end merchandise... jewelry, pocketbooks, clothes, tablets, smartphones, ipads.Television screens.Laptops.and more...

"Holy mackeral...Look at this..." said Detective Hopkins...

"This is like the Best Buy clearing house..." I said.

"All this merchandise purchased on Jack Stevens credit cards and debit cards without him knowing it..." said Detective Hopkins...

"The sales receipts are still on some of these items...They haven't been used...Damn Hop, your case is more interesting than the one Jimmy and I just cracked..." said Carlotta...

"The dead man has a daughter..I'm sure once this stuff is sorted out and returned...Some if not all of his stolen assets can be returned and she can at least recoup some of what her dad left behind." I said.

"Most definitely....Hop,I'm going to call a moving van out here to haul this stuff over to property and evidence." said Carlotta...

''Thanks Detective Carlotta...but it doesn't bring me any closer to closing my case." he sighed..

"Patience Hop...Patience...These guys are desperately trying to get some cash...We've frozen all but one of Stevens cards...and I'm sure they know that we are tracking the usage of it...My tipster told me that they have been trying to move a lot of this stuff for weeks...They're running out of money and options...They know they're hot and by now they're desperate..Where-ever they are...They've got to come out soon and when they do....We'll get em!" I said.

Carlotta smiled and patted Tony on the back...

"Trust Kevin...He won't steer you wrong.." she said.

''So what do we do now?" asked Detective Hopkins...

''We wait." I said. "I'd have a plain clothes guy on this Storage Unit...And I see you have an unmarked car on the duplex... That was smart ." I said.

''Yeah, I figured if they saw a police car, they 'd get in the wind...I send a different car over there every night." said Detective Hopkins..

I smiled...and looked at Carlotta...

"He's good...Reminds me of you." I said..  She smiled too!

"Be Easy Papi." she said.

''Always!" I said.

II-

Sepia and I drove over to the duplex again later that day...Had nothing to do with the case... I was just accompanying her...

"Oh this is going to be so nice... It's practically finished..."she said as we inspected the layout....

''Wow babes..We need to invest in something like this ourselves..." I said.

"Chris and Chess put me on to the contractor....and the architect...He's done work for them..." said Sepia.

"Yeah...well maybe they can give our house a makeover...Like this..Get an estimate..." I said.

"Ouu really? I've got some ideas." she said.

"I have some ideas too." I said and pulled Sepia to me...

''Ohhhhhh...I can feel your uh ideas..."she said.

Sepia had been wearing some skin tight gray tights that accentuated her every curve...I pulled her to me...I was certain she could feel my erection in my pants...I unbottoned her black blouse and slipped it off...

I turned her to me and we kissed softly at first and then gradually more passionately...

"Wow...what brought this on?" she said...

"I don't know...a certain energy about this place." I said.

Her hands wandered down my trousers and then her eyes got huge....

''Oh Myyyy.I had this certain energy the other day..." she said.

"Yeah,I recall that you did." I said..

''Something about life and death...sudden death just makes you need to make love doesn't it?" she said.

"It's not that deep for me Sepia...You look good in those grey tights and you always smell good and your skin is so soft and I just find you irresistable some times." I found myself saying..

"Like most of the time..." she said with a sly grin...

"Yeah...and since we have this great opportunity." I said.

"It's not really a great opportunity...I'm at work... But.....There's a bedroom right upstairs " she said.

"Lock those doors and kill the lights." I said.

''Are you serious?" she said, giggling like a schoolgirl..

We walked up the stairs and into the bedroom...

I kissed Sepia on the neck...

"Ouuuu, I can't believe we are doing this...I've never done it in a house we were getting ready for sale before." she said..

''Always a first time for everything." I said.

''Shouldn't you be out trying to solve this murder case?" She asked...

"Sex helps me get my thoughts together." I said.

"Oh My God....you are sooo nasty....I can't believe I'm at work getting ready to...ohhh my goddddddddddd....." she said as she helped me out of my trousers and marveled at my raging erection...

I pulled her to me, helped her out of her tights and her top and panties...

"I'm the one who should be saying "Oh My god..." I said.

Sepia smiled...

"You are soo good for my ego." she said.

"Amongst other things." I said.

"Yes....other thinggggggggs..ohhhhhhhhh.." she moaned.

It wasn't long before we were making sweet love in that bedroom....Moaning ,groaning...and rattling the walls....Oblivious to the fact that the windows were open and we could be heard...
There was a waterbed in the bedroom and it moved with the body's movemants...I plunged deeper and deeper into Sepia's warm moist places...and she moaned..tossed pillows off of the bed.. and held me tighter, wrapping her legs around my back and following my every move...

We were both sweating profusely and listening to each other's breaths...

We finished making love some hours later, drenched in sweat....Sepia lying between my legs...

"Wowww, that was something else..." I said.

"Whoooooooooooooweee, It was....Are your thoughts together now?" she asked..

"I think so..."I said.

"We've got to get out of here...and straighten this place up." she said.

"Still can't figure out where those two could possibly be.."I said.

"I bet they're right under our noses." said Sepia....

We got dressed....Sepia used the washer and dryer and washed and dried the sheets...

She had a peculiar look on her face...

"What's with you?" I asked as she folded the now dried sheets and pillow cases..

"Lover ,I could swear I heard something....Like people talking." she said!!!

"That's Floyd Peterson...The carpet guy upstairs." I said.

"No...it sounds like it's coming from out of this vent." she said.

I listened ,but I heard nothing.

Sepia shrugged her shoulders...

"Maybe it's my imagination.." she said.

I helped her make up the bed and straighten up the bedroom...She lit some jasmine incense and opened all of the windows....

As we were leaving....I listened to that vent again...Nothing!!! I peered across the street at the other Duplex...eerily quiet!

We got in the car and pulled off! 

III-

That afternoon, Sepia and I sat chilling in our living room...

"I don't feel like I've been to work at all..." she said.

"But you did...You got that place ready.." I said.

"I had sex in the bedroom of the Duplex I might try and sell." she said.

"Well think of that as a business retreat." I joked...

"You think of everything dont'cha?" she joked.

"Hey what's that?" I said pointing at what looked like plans for the Duplex.

"Oh..I forgot ..Here is the architect's original plans for that Duplex.....I had em here all the time." she said.

"Let me see those..." I said.


I looked at them...Everything seemed pretty normal and then I saw it...

"Sepia?" I said.

"Yes" she answered...

"You guys are refurbishing the first floor and the second floor right?" I said.

''Yeah..it's a duplex." she said.

"What about the apartment at sub- basement level?" I asked.

''There is no apartment at sub-basement level." she said.

"Yes it is...How did you miss that?" I said.

She looked at the plans....

"That was never mentioned...It's not supposed to be there...In fact, we were told that there was no sub-basement." she said.

"Apparently you were told wrong....We need to have a talk with that architect." I said.

And I needed to have a look in that sub-basement....That might be where my two little killers were holed up!

(CONCLUSION  NEXT)