The Season of Eva

It was an early morning...I was on my way to work...I bought two tumblers of coffee and I stopped by the C.I.D. building.. Not something I usually did....Usually, I visited Lt.Sissy Van Buren when I was in the middle of one of my cases or she had information for me...Neither was the case this morning...Things had been rather quiet for me lately...

I'm Kevin Morris, sometimes Private Investigator!  Most of the time, owner of Morris Communications, The closest thing the Black community in this area of Philadelphia had to a media conglomerate..Morris Communications consisted of two magazines, a newspaper and a radio station..which I ran with my two friends, Sheila Jackson, deputy CAO and her husband, Sean Jackson, our cheif photographer and my right hand man, Harry Charles...and a staff of about 63 people...

The past few weeks...I went to work....went home to my lovely wife Sepia and then went back to work...No cases....No action out in the streets...I'd meet with Clerow, Kool Kat, Peeping Tom,Lockpick Johnson and Owen Todd for drinks at Josies and we'd all chew the fat with Gus, the bartender and owner and Honey Brown, his right hand girl...who had graduated from bar maid to General Manager and had married B-Flat, a musician in the house band...

Life was normal...For me anyway...Sissy was surprised when I showed up this early.... We walked up on the roof and had our coffee and looked over the city..

"To what do I owe this visit Kevin?" she asked smiling...

"Oh I was just in the neighborhood...Thought about you, and so I stopped by...Things are quiet on my front." I said as I passed her a tumbler of coffee..

"I wish I could say the same....In the past month...We've busted two ex cops who gunned down an ADA and his wife, a lawyer and a gangster....A rouge cop who was responsible for the disapearences of two men, one who had been missing for two years and an ex mental patient who killed a prominent psychologist and talk show host." she said.

''Wow you guys have been busy...I've read about your exploits in the paper." I laughed.

"The fun doesn't end there Kevin...Last week..Three guys..A stick up crew...All three of em from Puerto Rico took down a Armored Car, killed both the driver and the guard and got away with six million dollars in cash." she said.

I shook my head...

"Wow...You know I heard about that too." I said.

"Carlotta, Jimmy and new guy we have named Detective Hopkins captured the stick up crew...and identified the two shooters.." she said proudly....

"Damn...you guys are good!" I said, meaning every word of it..

"We didn't recover the money though!... Duke and Tyriq, got a lead and they found the guy who contracted them...A guy named Victor Ramos..."she said.

"I've heard of him...Big time Playa,Used to put down scores...Was connected to both the Diaz brothers and Minolo Sentterro..and had some dealings with the New York boys." I said.

"Yeah, well Ramos and his whole gang are cooling their heels in state prison...but we still don't have that money and or a name of whoever they were working for...It's somebody big, somebody they all are very afraid of . They won't speak his name or give us anymore information...They had all apparently been paid, because they were living high off the hog for awhile...but of course ,the big shipment went somewhere else." she said.

"Where?" I asked.

''I don't know. but I think it's out of Philly...Which is why I've been on the phone with Frank Cotton of the FBI." she said.

"So you're still looking for the money eh?" I said.

"No...We mainly wanted to solve a double homicide..We did that!!...The money is now Frank Cotton and the FBI's problem, not ours..." she said and smiled..

"Good for you...I guess you guys are gearing up for Keith and Carlotta's wedding in two weeks huh?" I said.

"Yes....Yes...some good news for a change..I tried to give Chica some time off...But she wouldn't take it...You know her...a Detective to the end." laughed Sissy...

I laughed...

"That's just nerves...The job keeps her mind off of it." I said.

"Yeah..I guess you're right." she said.

''Well Friend...I guess we ought to enjoy this peace and quiet while we can huh?" I laughed...

"Yes...Yes indeed...This is the first time in about a month that my detectives are resting...No major cases, 100 percent clearence." she said.

"And me with nothin goin on....I'm almost bored." I said.

"Stay bored and safe Kevin." said Sissy...

I hugged her...Something I didn't used to do, but found myself doing everytime I saw her now of days...

''See ya around Sissy." I said and left.

II-

I met Robert Foxworth, an Attorney and Sissy's ex-husband at Josies for drinks later after working a full day...

"Heyy Kev...been kind of quiet lately huh?" he said.

"Yeah...Streets are quiet...No cases.... Just work and home and here." I said.

"Same here...I gotta buy a tux...I'm best man at Keith Wallace and Carlotta Rodriguez's wedding in two weeks...I know you're going right?" he said.

"Oh yeah...I'm  good friends with both...In fact ,I'm one of his groomsmen." I said.

"You better get fitted too." he said.

''Yeah..maybe we can go together this weekend." I said.

Just then, Gus called me...

''Hey Kevin... Somebody over here wants to talk to you." he said.

Robert looked over towards the bar and his eyes got as wide as saucers...

"Holy mackeral...she's gorgeous....Somethin you're not tellin me Kev?" he said and nudged me playfully...

"Something nobody told me!!...I've never seen that woman before." I said.

III-

She was gorgeous!  She was a Latina...I had never seen her before and had no idea what she wanted with me...or how she even knew me!

I walked over to the bar...

''Hello mam."I said.

"You are Kevin Morris?" she asked.

"I am...and who are you?" she asked...

"I am Eva...Eva Salizar.." she said...Tears began to stream down her face....

''Hey..Heyyy what's the matter?" I said.

"Oh...Ohhhhh excuse me Mr. Kevin...It's just that last week my husband, Pepe..was brutally slain in a drive by.....He's dead..." she said as tears streamed down her cheeks..

''Okay,I'm very sorry for your loss...Did you go to the police?" I asked.

''Yes..the police are looking into it...but that's not why I'm here.." she said.

''Why are you here?" I asked.

''I ask around...People say that you help people out.." she said.

"Yes..I am a private investigator..."I said.

She went in her purse and peeled off four thousand dollars.. and placed it in my hands...

"I want you to escort his coffin back to San Juan.." she said.

"What?"I said.

She handed me a round trip Airline ticket.

''Please... We are not from here,It was his wish that he be buried in Puerto Rico...I  want to honor his final wishes..Please escort his body to San Juan...Once there..there will be a man, Fillipe' Castro, our family funeral director, who will meet you...See that he gets the casket and he will pay you another three thousand dollars...It will only take a day...Two days at the most...Please do this for me. My husband...My husband, he was a bad man...He told me he was getting out of the game, out of the life...but he stayed in the game too long..The game took him." she said.

"Again,I'm sorry for your loss." I said.

"It's alright...You live that life...you die in that life..I tried to tell him." she sobbed...I pulled out a hankerchief and dabbed at her tears...For a moment ,her soft hands touched mine...She had the most beautiful eyes...I got back to the subject at hand.

"Well where is the casket now?" I asked.

"It is at the Good Rest Funeral Home in West Philadelphia...It will be ready for the airport tomorrow...Can you leave then?" she said.

"On such short notice?" I said.

She began crying...I was a sucker for a woman's tears.....

''Okay...Okay...I'll do it...All I have to do is escort the coffin to San Juan...Mr. Castro will pick it up and that's that...right?" I said.

"That's all...Castro will pay you and you can hop on the next plane back to Philadelphia." she said.

''That's it?" I asked...

"That's it." she said...She hugged me...Her body was so round, so soft... and she smelled so great..

"Oh Thank you Mr. Kevin...Thank you so much." she said..then she got up and quickly left the bar...

Chazz Gillison ,the "blind" pianist , Gus and Robert Foxworth all walked over to me after Eva left....

"Whoa, who was that?  The Puerto Rican girl had curves with curves...Lawdd..What is it with you and Puerto Rican women Kev? You and that Puerto Rican Detective and now you got this babe comin in here." said Chazz..

Gus and Robert gave Chazz the side eye...

"How do you know she was Puerto Rican? and How do you know she was curvy?" asked Gus.

''Yeah?" said Robert Foxworth...

"Well ahhh..I heard her talking...The accent...and I know Kevin only associates with good lookin women." said Chazz nervously...

I laughed quietly....

Gus looked at him ,then he said to me as Chazz walked away..

"If I didn't know better,I'd swear that that guy can see as good as me and you." he said.

"Who knows?" I laughed ,knowing that Chazz's secret , that he in fact could see...would soon be out and known to everyone...I'm surprised that his girlfriend, Bridget Jones didn't know..

"So what was that about Kev?" asked Robert Foxworth...

''She wants me to escort her slain husband's casket to San Juan, Puerto Rico....She paid me half upfront..and she says the funeral director there will pay me the rest when I arrive." I said.

"Yeah?" said Robert....

''Yeah..She even gave me a round trip ticket." I said.

"You would think that you'd had enough of San Juan Kev..Remember the last time we were there? and that business with Mr. Tickle?" he said.

"Yeah that was something...but Tickle is safe in his cell on Death row...This looks like easy money." I said.

I didn't know how wrong I was at the time...There is no such thing as easy money...And I should know this by now."

(TO BE CONTINUED..)