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The search for the mysterious hitman continued....We had 20 people dead in an apparent war for turf between two rival Drug Kingpins....Everyone from the Mayor to the District Attorney was on our backs for an arrest....Something...Anything!!
I had Duke and Tyriq arrest the would be king, the winner, (if you could call him that) of the drug war between China White and Big Cheese...One Franklin "China" White...So named because of his mixed racial heritage...His Mother was Asian and his father was African-American...
I charged him with Conspiracy to committ murder in the case...of Big Cheese and 12 others...It was the only way I could hold him...and I didn't have a lot but here say to hold him on...Something his attorney was quite aware of.
My wife, Detective Carlotta Wallace and Detectives Jimmy Barlow, Sirena Pile and Antonio Hopkins were busy trying to find me that evidence I needed..They had better hurry...because after 48 hours...I was going to be forced to drop the charges and release China White...Who for his part was not nearly as charming and gregarious as his late rival Big Cheese had been...He was refusing to say anything and his lawyer was already moving to have the charges dropped.
II-
It was a rare time that I entered the squad room and no one was around...Sissy was out, FBI Agent Sharon Ferrell was out...Even Hazel was out.... The only one in the office was FBI Special Agent, Miguel Sanchez...
He was ironically ,sitting at Carlotta's desk studying case files....He looked relieved to see me...Anybody he could talk to...There were other policemen and detectives around...but none that he knew...
"Hey" I said.
"Hey counselor..It seems like it's just me and you today...Boss Lady and Sharon went out about an hour ago...and Duke and Tyriq never showed up...Carlotta, Sirena and her partner and Jimmy are on the street... I was just looking over their case files...You don't have a lot to hold China White on." he said.
"Yeah ,I know...Carlotta and Jimmy said that some of their street sources are telling them about a contact guy who might have introduced your boy to both people...They're out looking for him and Sirena and Hop are out hunting down possible eyewitnesses."I said.
"Good effort...but that's not going to get them close to this guy...He's good...He doesn't leave much behind...and he works fast and quick..." said Sanchez...
"He left behind some DNA and fingerprints at a couple of his sights....Which gave me enough to indict him for all twenty murders....We got fingerprints and DNA on shell casings at several sites." I said.
"And you're going to convict him with just that? Good Luck...but don't let me tell you how to do your business...I know of your rep...Hear that you don't lose too often." he said.
I smiled weakly...
I sat down at Tyriq's desk....We were quiet for a long while...and then the inevitable conversation began...
''So.....tell me how you and Carlotta met and hooked up?" he said.
I was a little annoyed he was siting at my wife's desk looking at her photos..He looked at me and smiled...
"Come on...I've been here all night studying your case files...I'm bored...Talk to me." he said.
"Tyriq and Duke introduced her to me and Sissy about four or five years ago..She was a rookie Detective who had helped them take down a major playa and had subsequently cleared several homicides for us....including a cop killing...I was impressed..."I said.
"With just her work right?" he sneered, laughing...
"No...I thought she was hella hot...That long hair, that body, that accent..." I said.
"I know that's right." he laughed...
"I found myself inquiring about her often....When I saw her I'd strike up a conversation, ask her how she was doing...If she needed anything, you know...Simply work related and professional...Then she got transferred to Homicide temporarily and I decided to go for it..I took her to Breakfast, then lunch and out to drink at Josies a few times and we all caught a big case...A serial killer...We cracked the case and a week later,I told her how I felt about her and asked if I could take her out...She told me that she liked me too and we started dating...Dating led to spending the night at each other's place and eventually a trip to Puerto Rico with her where I met her family...I proposed to her down there...We got married soon after and the rest is as they say ,history." I said.
"You're a smart man...You took her off the market...That's what I should of done when I had the chance...Damn...Oh well...Win some, lose some, right?" he said.
"If you say so." I said.
He continued to look at the photos of our wedding, of Me and Carlotta on the beach...Of me and Carlotta in our new house...Of Me ,Carlotta, Sissy,Duke,Hazel,Tyriq,Sirena,Angie and Jimmy at Aqua Bar ,Another of Carlotta, Sissy,Jimmy,Tyriq,Duke,Hop and Sirena and one of Me, Carlotta and her sister,Carmen in Puerto Rico....and shook his head...There was a photo her sister Carmen had taken of me and Carlotta kissing under the miseltoe last Christmas that he stared at and then turned away from...I felt that my privacy was being invaded ,with him looking at my wife's photos on her desk.
To my relief, Carlotta and Jimmy walked in with a suspect right then...
Carlotta walked over to me, leaned down and gave me the slowest ,warmest kiss ,right in front of him...I know that hurt him...He turned away....
Jimmy marched the suspect into the "Fishbowl" or interrogation room.
Carlotta spoke to me....
"Good News Honey Bunny...Jimmy and I found this guy...Mr. Wally Drollinger...Nicknamed "Lolly"...He introduced our shooter to China White..." she said.
"You know that rhymes?" I joked..
Carlotta smirked...
"You make corny sexy..You know that?" she said and we both laughed...
I could see the pain in Miguel's face watching the two of us banter.
Just then...Detective Sirena Pile and Antonio Hopkins walked in with two people..one was a woman and the other was a man...
"Keith , these two people saw our killer eating with the late "Big Cheese" at Bottom of the C...about a month ago...right before the bodies started dropping.." said Sirena..
"Dollar Bill gave us all of the video footage that we asked for....and we have a guy known on the street as "Lolly" talking to both of them...He's kind of like a middle man...He contracts hitmen for the highest bidder." said Hop....
"That's fantastic guys...Good work....Carlotta and Jimmy have Lolly in the box.."I said.
Sirena and Hop smiled....
I looked at Miguel Sanchez...He smiled...
"You got top notch detectives counselor...No doubt....You might even have a case...but you don't have Bullseye Snider..." he said.
He was right...All of this meant nothing if we couldn't put our hands on him..I had no idea where our sniper might be laying his head.
"No, but we have the doctor who treated him..." came the voice of Lt. Sissy Van Buren, who walked in with Dr.Eval Jennings, a defrocked old coot who patched up gang bangers and other unsurly types with no questions asked...I was going to make sure his license was pulled..
"He was wounded two days ago in our shootout...Badly wounded...This guy might be able to tell us where he is holed up." she said.
"Look guys...Two guys brung him to me...I think they worked for China White...they put a gun on me and told me to stitch him up....Yeah,I treated him...I removed the bullet and cleaned his wound the best I could and stitched him up...I told them that he needed to be in a hospital...but they refused..." said Jennings...
"They put a gun on you? They didn't pay you? " asked Sissy..
"Yeah...they uh gave me $500.00 dollars..Thas all and told me to keep my mouth shut...Which I did....If they know I'm talkin to you guys they'll kill me..." said Jennings...
"Oh poor poor you." said Sissy dismissively. Carlotta and I just smiled.
"Man Sissy...You guys are incredible...Just like that...I got a case to press against both China White and Lolly..." I said.
Just then, Duke and Tyriq came in....
"Hey guys...Guess what? We've been leaning on some of our C.I.'s and we heard that Pete Moss and a cool customer named Lolly met with our shooter just a week ago...At any rate...Pete Moss is already putting his dealers on Big Cheese's corners...Corners that should belong to China White..." said Duke.
"These guys are really in a fight for all of that good real estate...This thing could get real interesting...We gotta find this cat named Lolly. His real name is Drollinger,William Drollinger." said Tyriq.
Duke and Tyriq looked at Carlotta ,who smiled sheepishly...
"We created a monster Duke" Laughed Tyriq, who hugged his former partner and protoge'
"I thought Fathead Newton owned all of that real estate in West and Southwest Philly?" asked Carlotta.
''Wow..At least Fathead kept things quiet in that part of town when he was running things...Now it's once again the Wild Wild West...Oh well,let me go in and talk to Mr. Lolly." said Carlotta.
"I'll be your second." said Duke.
III-
Carlotta walked into the Fishbowl where Lolly was sitting...Duke came in to be her second...
Duke had pretzel sticks...He said nothing..He just stared at Lolly and snapped a stick menacingly...Carlotta put some file folders on the table and smiled...Outside, Jimmy laughed and shook his head...Sirena and Sissy smiled too!
"Would you like some coffee or tea or a soda?" she asked..
"Yeah, coffee, two creams, three sugars." he said.
She signaled for a police officer to get him the coffee...Miguel watched from the two way window, smiling...
"Mr. Drollinger...What would you say your profession is?" she asked sweetly...
He smiled at her and said...
"I'm a businessman...I own a store where cigars from all over the world are sold...I sell newspapers, magazines and sandwiches too.." he said.
"You are also a facilitator as such ."she said.
"Yeah...I put people together...Interested parties you might say." he said.
She pulled out her ipad and showed him video footage of him talking and eating with
Big Cheese, China White and Pete Moss...on different occassions.
''What would they do if they knew that you were cutting side deals on all of them? asked my wife...
"I'm a facilitator of sorts...It's my job to put interested parties together...." he retorted..
"Well one interested party won't be giving you any more business papi...Big Cheese caught a bullet last night."she said matter of factly.
"Shame...that's the nature of the beast." he said non-chalantly.
"You sold the services of this man...Bullseye Snider to them didn't you?" she said pointing to him in the video...
He got uncomfortable...
"The video doesn't lie...And now some twenty people are dead...and I suppose more bodies will drop." she said.
"Now look...Look...I just set up a meet...I-I-I didn't kill nobody.." he said.
"TOP ,STOP PLAYING NICE WITH HIM" shouted Duke, slamming his fist so hard on the table that Lolly jumped... Jimmy,Hop and Sirena jumped too...I smiled and shook my head...Duke could be very intimidating.
"We got 20 dead...We know that you fix people up with killers...Everybody on the street knows it....Now either you tell us where he is...or you're goin down for all 20 murders..." screamed Duke.. Outside, Sissy ,Jimmy, Miguel and Tyriq were cracking up...They knew that Duke was over-acting...I wondered how Carlotta was managing to keep a straight face..
''You got nothin...Just got me eatin dinner with two guys!!!...You can't stick 20 murders on me!!!!..." he said.
"HOW BOUT IF I STICK YOU IN A PINE BOX?" yelled Duke. It clearly un-nerved Lolly.. You could see the fear in his face...
Carlotta smiled sweetly...
" Lolly ,I'll bet we can call licensce and inspections and have them check your storefront out from top to bottom....Wonder if they'll find anything out of sorts? And yes..We do have enough to indict you for several murders..." she said.
"Okay....Okay....What do you want? I'll give you what I know...Just keep him away from me..." he said looking at Duke.
"Damn she's good...I'd confess about something I hadn't done." laughed Miguel Sanchez.
Once outside the Fishbowl...Duke and Carlotta high fived each other...
"Textbook example of how you play good cop, bad cop. It was all I could do to keep from laughing." she said.
"My girl. You played it close to the vest." said Duke laughing....Sissy,Sirena,Jimmy,Tyriq,Hop,Miguel and I all joined them in laughing and clapping.
IV-
China White sat in the fishbowl alone for close to an hour...Then Sirena walked in...
Miguel Sanchez had asked if he could be her second...Sissy allowed it...
Sirena got him coffee and a cigar...She smiled at him...He looked her up and down and he smiled...Finally she began talking to him...
"China...you're in a lot of trouble babe...We've got at least two witnesses that place you with our killer and we got you on video tape eating with him and another man before you tell me that you don't know what I'm talking about...."she said.
"Yeah...It aint against the law to eat breakfast." he laughed...
"It is when 12 or 13 murders are contracted through that breakfast." she said.
"Murders?? I don't know what you're talking about." he said.
"Come on...Everybody knows that you and Big Cheese have been warring over turf all summer and all of the bodies belongs to one or the other of you...Don't play dumb now.." said Sirena...
"Again...I don't know what you're talking about....I aint killed nobody and I have nothing to do with some personal beefs between individuals." he said.
"Alright you stupid bastard...let me make it plain for you."said Miguel Sanchez...
"We got you and your late rival in collusion with your boy Lolly and the shooter we are looking for...You can help us find the shooter and do yourself a little favor or you can eat the whole pie for all 20 homicides....That ought to fit you for a nice needle.." he said.
"You don't scare me...You got little to nothin.." he spat...
Sirena showed him video footage on Carlotta's Ipad of him, Lolly and Snider ....Then she showed him crime scene photos of all of the dead on both sides...
"That's enough to indict babes." she said cooly..
"Sirena...Let him go...He's right....We got nothin.....Wanna know what I heard??...I heard that since you been locked up, Pete Moss has been puttin his dealers on your corners..and running your people off. corners you won from Big Cheese....Pete Moss has met with your boy Lolly" he said and showed him video footage on Carlotta's ipad of Lolly,Pete Moss and Bullseye Snider having breakfast together...
"Guess who's next on the all time hit list? You killer!!...Pete Moss moved up...Advancement through attrition." he said.
China White's eyes got as large as saucers....Despite his denials...He knew what was up..He knew we had him over a barrell.
"If-If...IF I help you...What am I lookin at?" he said.
"You'll have to talk to the ADA on that....But if you don't help us....pop goes the weasel." said Sanchez....
"Wh-Wha-What do you want?" he said ,almost in tears...
"Tell us where he is..." said Sirena...
"He doesn't stay in any one place for very long....I can give you a pager number...That's how we got in contact with him."said China White.
"In this day and age...He uses a pager?" asked Sirena..
"Hey, what can I say...He's old school." said China White.
I hugged Sissy, who was watching along with the other detectives...
"We may crack this case just yet!" I said. Sissy smiled...Carlotta put her arms around me and kissed my neck..
V-
FBI Special Agent ,Miguel Sanchez looked at me as we both stood at the doorway of The CID building...
"You did good in there today.."I said.
"Your detectives did good...They broke this wide open...I could use tenacious investigators like them...I'm going to run down a lead...I'll call you or Sissy when I get a scope..." he said.
"Don't go Cowboy on us..."I said.
"Never that...But I was sent here to get him...dead or alive... And I just want to say...I am in awe of you man...You got Carlotta....You got a great girl...Be good to her." he said.
"I try as hard as I can man." I say...
He smiled...
"You're lucky you get to try." he said and patted me on the shoulder and walked off...
"What was that for?" she said.
"I'm lucky I get to try to be good to you everyday." I said.
"Whatever you mean by that,I like it." she said and kissed me again...I spun her around and we walked toward my car.
(CONCLUSION NEXT...)
5 comments:
This story is so good on so many levels...Good to see Old charactors like Mabel Jenkins and Fathead Newton mentioned...I'm lovin this..Two ,now three rival drug crews warring...
Great Storyline...I'm loving the action and the way the detectives are breaking down the suspects...Duke was hillarious!
One of the "Murder Police" best storylines to date...Emphasis on real gritty police work and not so much on relationships...Keep up the good work!
This FBI guy really has a thing for Carlotta...He needs to accept the fact that she's married now and move on...He had his shot and he missed the boat...
Nobody has had sex in this entire storyline....I need something to throw my panties for!
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