A Sharp Dressed Man

Sam the Tailor was old school...He was like Gus the bartender....Maybe the last of a dying breed...He had a clothing store in our neighborhood that sold the finest suits...He also provided a service that few could afford... He made fine tailor made suits to perfection...

When I first started making a little money...Gus and my dad took me to Sam the tailor's and had two good suits made for me...I still have those suits to this day...

My name is Kevin...Kevin Morris..I'm a private investigator most days...

My musician friends, Reed Nelson, Downtown Rob Brown, Bone Hampton, 88, B-Flat, Chazz Gillison,Symphony Sam , Dutch Van Buren and Producer ,Meek Rollins all come here and have suits tailor made by Sam the Tailor..I've never seen any of them wear the same suit twice...

Detectives Duke Baylor and Tyriq Pile also come here and have their suits "tailor made" as does ADA Keith Wallace...

So Today...I was here with my good friend, Walter "Kool Kat" Jones who had been getting his suits tailor made here for years...

We were both getting suits tailor made for us... Kool Kat had talked me into getting five suits, tailor made for me....He was picking up his latest suit...

"Look Kev...you run a business big homie...and you're a successful private investigator...You're making good money now...You gotta dress the part babe...Believe me...when Sepia sees you in your new suits, you won't be able to keep her off of you." he laughed.

"That uh has never been a problem." I laughed...

"Man...and look at all them other women I know have a thing for you....That foxy Lieutenant, Sissy..I seen her checkin you out and that FBI babe, Sharon ....and before she married Keith Wallace...That Puerto Rican Detective, Carlotta...She used to check you out too...Imagine if you had of been dressin like this then?" he laughed and nudged me...

"I'd be divorced and living with you." I said dryly...

Kool Kat looked at me and smiled and shook his head.

"Yeah, you probably would.... Good thing all them babes got men...Carlotta's married....Sissy is with my man, Eddie C. and that FBI babe is engaged to that young Detective they call Hop." he said.

"Wow, nothin gets by you does it?" I laughed..

"That's why they call me Kool Kat baby...Because I keep my ear to the wood jack!" he said as Sam finished measuring him for his next suit...

"Pay him no mind Kev...You got a beautiful wife...She has guys necks breakin when she walks down the street...You got no need to look at other women." he said.

Kool Kat smiled..

"Oh I aint telling him to do that...Kev knows I love Sepia like a little sister...I'm just tellin him to look the part..He's a boss now! I'm helpin you out Sam." he laughed devilishly....

"Oh then by all means." said Sam and the three of us laughed...

II-

We were boxing up our suits... Sam directed us to the cashier when another man walked into the store...A sinister looking man...

Kool Kat nudged me....

''Hey Kev...Know that guy?"he asked...

I looked at him for a long while then looked back at Walter...

"No...Should I?" I asked...

"Look harder" he said.

I looked and then it hit me...

"Is that Joe E. Boyd?" I said.

"You got it Kev..That is he!The man, the legend!!" said Kool Kat..

"I thought he was put away for life!" I said.

"It's been twenty years. Me and you was just gettin out of high school when the cops put him down.." said Kool Kat.

Joe E. Boyd was the man...He ran everything, Drugs, Prostitution, Loan Sharking,Protection,Fencing....You name it...His hands were in it...The Police finally made a case against him and he and his organization was taken down completely....I never thought I'd ever see him free again...and yet there he was ,picking up a couple of suits from Sam the Tailor and paying in cash!!!

"Here you go Joe.." said Sam..

"Thanks Sam...Hold on to em...My daughter will come by and pick them up...I just wanted to pay you." he said.

"Thanks Joe." said Sam..

"How ya been babe?" he asked.

"I been doin just great." said Sam.

"Glad to know somebody is still around that I remember...So much has changed...I don't know nobody..All the playas I knew are dead or in jail..." he said.

"That's a good thing Joe...Keep your nose clean...Stay out of trouble...It's a whole new game now..." said Sam...

"Yeah I see...Some games though don't change....Be easy Sam." said Joe..

"You too Joe." he said.

Kool Kat and I were getting in my car...We saw Joe E. Boyd walk out of Sam's shop....

Just then... A white 1970 Cutlass turned the corner....

The windows came down and a guy wearing a black leather jacket, a black stocking cap and black aviator shades pulled out an uzi and cut loose.....

Joe dodged the first fusilade and then ran for all he was worth....He ran across the street and ran behind a road sign...The shooter lit the road sign up... Joe ran past a display of potted plants....

The shooter destroyed the plants...

Joe ran into another store....

The Cutlass Roared past it and stopped at the corner...

Joe came out of the back with a .45 and cut loose himself....

He blew out the back of the car window and he must have hit the shooter...

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...I don't believe it...I've been shot!"moaned the driver, who dropped his uzi...

Joe fired again...

He was a good shot...because he must have hit the driver in the back....

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...I don't believe it...I've been shot!" he moaned!

"Hey man...drive nigga drive...we been hit!!!! "somebody yelled...

The Cutlass pulled off and sped off down the street...

Joe put his pistol back in his jacket pocket...Looked around and walked in the opposite direction...Cool as a cucumber!!! Soon he was lost in the crowd!

III-

Kool Kat and I sat stunned....

"Hey man...Did you see that?" he said to me...

"Yeah man...Somebody tried to hit Joe.."I said.

"Man aint been out of jail a week and already he's got somebody tryin to off him." said Kool Kat.

"You know what they say..Live that life, die in that life."I said.

"Yeah man...Whoa...Let's bounce Kev....I need a drink after that." said Kool Kat...

"Yeah man...Me too." I said.

Later at Josie's...Kool Kat and I relayed our story to Chris Thompson, Chess, Donald Smooth, Owen Todd and Clerow as we sat at the bar....

"Damn and you said, Joe came out the shop cool as a cucumber and hit both the driver and the shooter?" asked Chris Thompson.

"Yeah man...just as if nothin happened."said Kool Kat.

"I heard he had ice water in his veins." said Donald Smooth.

"Yeah, well I saw it first hand." I said.

"This guy sounds like he was the real deal." said my friend Clerow, who was not from Philly, but hailed from Louisiana...

"Oh he was ...When we all were kids...Joe E. Boyd ran this neighborhood....Ran a good part of Philadelphia period.." said Chess.

"I was surprised the cops ever got anything on him." said Owen Todd.

"The way I heard it...Somebody in his own organization gave him up....Never knew who it was, since they all went down with him." said Gus as he served us more beers...

''Yeah..that's usually how these things go down."  I said.. We all nodded our heads in agreement and continued to drink.

IV-

As the afternoon went on...a very attractive young woman walked into the bar...She looked too young to be in Josies....

She walked over to me...

"Are you Kevin Morris?" she asked.

Chris Thompson looked at me and smiled...So did Chess, Clerow, Donald Smooth ,Kool Kat and Owen Todd.

"Yes, who wants to know?" I asked.

"I do obviously...Uh ,can we speak in private?" she asked.

"Sure, let's go over to an empty booth." I said.

I excused myself and we walked over to an empty booth and sat down...

"You drinkin?" I asked.

"Vodka and tonic with a splash of cranberry juice." she said.

Honey Brown served us our drinks...I ordered another Corona...She looked at me and smiled slyly and then laughed to herself..

''So...You know my name...What is yours and what can I do for you?" I asked.

"My name is Josephine....Josephine Boyd." she said.

"Let me guess...You're the daughter of Joe E. Boyd..."I said.

"Good Guess...I am.." she said.

"He sent you here?" I asked.

''Yes he did...He asked around...He was told that you help people and that you're the best at what you do."she said.

''So how can I help your father?" I asked.

"He should tell you that himself...Here is his phone number and his present address...Please don't share this with anybody..." she said...

Then she passed me an envelope...It had seven thousand dollars in it....

"That's a down payment....Take the job and there is more from where that came from." she said.

"Okayyy...When does he want to meet me?" I asked..

"Tomorrow...Around ten o'clock." she said.

"Okay...I'll be there" I said....

We continued drinking...I paid for the drinks and she got up....

"Thank you Kevin."

"Thank me if I can help your father." I said.

I walked back over to where my friends were...

"Sooo what was that about?" asked Gus giving me a side eye and smiling slyly!...

"I got a job."I said.

"A job?" asked Kool Kat...

"Yeah...That was Joe Boyd's daughter...Her father wants my services." I said.

Just then, my wife, Sepia walked in...I turned around upon seeing her...

''Hey Babes." I said.

Gus smiled and whispered to me...

"Boy ,Kevin...you played that one close." he said.

Chris,Chess, Clerow, Kool Kat ,Owen Todd and Donald Smooth all smiled and nodded in agreement...I ignored them all....

"Excuse me gents" I said and kissed her in the lips...

"I figured I'd find you in here...You wanna walk over to Mabel Jenkins Soul Food Joint and grab a platter?" she asked...

''Sounds like a plan babes." I said. I looked at my friends and nodded my head...They all smiled and returned my nods.. I took Sepia's hand and we walked out into the Philadelphia afternoon! We would get our food and spend the rest of the afternoon at home!

(TO BE CONTINUED)