Killer Stillettos

Detective Angie Belton sat in the "Fishbowl" as we called the interrogation room...She laid her head down on the table..She was very woozy....I brought her a tumbler of hot coffee...Sissy, Carlotta,Sirena and Jimmy sat in the room with her...

"Guys...I'm telling you, I don't know what happened...I don't remember driving way out there....I never saw that man, who was in the trunk of my car and I know I didn't have more than three drinks...I had about two Vodkas with Cranberry juice...That was it....Oh...I might have had a beer when I came in...but definitely not more...Run my credit card...You'll see." said Detective Angie Belton..

"Mami, Can you remember the sequence of events? You know like anything?" said Carlotta...

"Angie, you know we believe you...We just need to know what you know, because none of this makes any sense." said Sirena...

"Please Angie, Please....You gotta give us something we can go on..." said Jimmy...

Sissy rubbed his back gently, Even though she had forbidden him to take part in the investigation ,she felt she couldn't keep him from sitting in on our informal interrogation...

I knew that it was about to get really bad...The media was already spinning the story that an Internal Affairs Detective had been taken into custody and that a dead body had been found in the trunk of her car...I felt so bad for Angie...this was really bad.

II-

"I remember earlier in the day, around lunchtime...You remember Sissy...You and I went shopping at lunchtime and I bought this dress...and these Killer stillettos...You said "Gurl...My detective isn't going to want to come to work tomorrow after he sees you in this dress and those killer stillettos."  I had bought them for you Jimmy, because we were supposed to go out dancing...but you and Carlotta were closing a case the night before and you and Hop were working the late shift last night...so I called my friend, Detective Sally Conroy from Narcotics. She had been trying to get me to hang out with her for a couple of weeks and so I did..."

"She suggested the Low End Theory Bar...I hadn't been there since we arrested Kenny Dennard back in March...So we went there...It was pretty early..Around 6:00 pm...The new Bartender...Vince Culligan kept ogling me and complimenting my dress and offering me drinks on the house..but I wouldn't take it from him..Then he'd feel like I owed him something..."

"Sally bought me a Corona...Right around this time there was this guy...a handsome fellow as guys go..He asked me to dance...I danced with him a few times and he and I talked for a minute...I told him I was in a serious ,committed relationship and he smiled and he offered to buy me a drink anyway...I ordered my usual, Vodka with Cranberry juice..He paid for that drink....Later,I ordered one for myself...That was the only drink I paid for...and that was it...One beer, two vodkas with cranberry juice...Certainly not enough to get me drunk...and that's all I remember.....Next thing I know...I'm waking up in the passenger seat of my car and you guys are all around me." said Angie."

Carlotta looked at us...

"I did find that funny that she was in the passenger seat of her car when we found her...." she said.

"Yeah and I noticed that the front seat had been adjusted...As if to accomodate the size of someone else."said Sirena...

"Meaning someone put her in that car and drove her there." said Jimmy.

III-

Hazel walked into the Fishbowl just then...
''Her urinalysis is complete...Somebody definitely slipped you a Ruthie..Angie...You had enough in your system to knock out a horse....You could have been under anywhere from 4 to 6 hours..." said Hazel...

''Okay, so we got a little something here to prove her innocence."said Sissy...

Tyriq and Duke entered the room just then..

"Our dead guy is DeAndre "Turk" Gentry....a major drug dealer....Special Investigations have been profiling this guy for months...He's a New York transplant who moved here a year ago and has been selling and supplying most of the drug organizations in this area...He's kind of like the linchpin to all of them." said Duke..

"Bad news...He was killed with two injections..One was a muscle relaxer and the other stopped his heart...We found two syringes, with traces of the drugs in Angie's glove compartment...Her fingerprints are the only prints on the syringes...Sorry Ange.."said Tyriq ,holding his head down..

"It's okay Rico,Duke...You're doing your job...Just like I'd do..." she said.  'But I didn't kill this man..I don't know him...I never seen him before in my life." she said, tearing up...

Carlotta and Sirena put their arms around her...

''Don't worry Mami..We are going to go over to Narcotics and talk to Sally Conroy...She can clear this up..." said Carlotta...

"Yeah, she must know something...I'm surprised she's not over here." said Sirena...

IV-

Detective Tony Hopkins walked into the room just then....

"I went over to the Low end Theory Bar...The Bartender ,Vinnie Culligan said that he doesn't remember seeing you there tonight Angie.. And the videotape for tonight from the bar is missing." said Hop..

"That's Impossible...He was all over me..." she said.

Sissy walked back into the interrogation room...

"I called Narcotics...They said that Sally Conroy had yesterday off ..I called her house and her cell...No answer...I left a message..." said Sissy...

"Damn This looks bad...I should have gone with you...This is all my fault.." said Jimmy...

'It's not your fault...you were working."said Angie.

I felt bad hearing all of this....I had to do something...

''Hop...Go up to Internal Affairs tomorrow...Look through all of Angie's recent files...Interview all of the cops she's recently investigating...Let me know if anybody gives you any trouble...You tell them to call me or Lt.Sissy Van Buren." I said.

''Chica..You and Sirena find Sally Conroy....I want her down here... Duke, Tyriq...Get on the street, tomorrow....Rattle your C.I.'s, give me the book on this dead guy... DeAndre "Turk" Gentry..I want to know his associates...His enemies...Who was leaning on him ,the works...If you have to go to New York City,I authorize the travel.." she said.

They all said in unison-"We on it Boss Lady"

Some other time...I would have smiled...but there was nothing funny about this..

Sissy then looked at Angie...

"Girlfriend...You know I hate to do this...but I'm going to need your gun and your badge..." said Sissy, tears streaming down her face...

"You arresting me Sissy?" asked Angie..Tears running down her face...

"No...Noooo......but this is ...this is just procedure until we can straighten this out... " said Sissy..

They hugged each other.....

Carlotta looked at Jimmy...

"Partner...Take Angie with you...She shouldn't be alone tonight...Be with her....You're her man now, you're supposed to take care of her...and I promise you Jimmy, I promise you, I'll get to the bottom of this..Whoever is setting Angie up will pay...and I'll let you put the cuffs on them." said Carlotta...

They high fived each other...

Duke,Hazel, Tyriq, Hop and Sirena looked very stoic and solemn...I'm sure they felt the same way..

Angie turned over her weapon and her badge...She managed a smile..

"I feel naked..All I've ever been is a Detective...So long...I can't remember when I wasn't." she said.

''You'll be one again."said Duke.

''Yeah girl..we'll crack this case...''said Tyriq.

"Don't you worry Angie..."said Sirena.

She sat down in the hard chair and eased her stillettos off..

"These things were killin me...Sorry Jimmy, You're gonna have to carry this old girl tonight." she said, looking hopeful.

"Nothin, I'd enjoy better, Come on Cupcake." he said.

Angie smiled...

"I like that you call me Cupcake...It's cute." she said. It was funny that she could even think of something like that at a time like this...

Jimmy smiled..

"You know that whatever happens...I'm with you right?" he said...

Angie stroked his arm gently....

"No guy has ever had my back the way you have Jimmy...I never imagined... I-I never thought that you and I would ever be this close...That I- That I- That I would come to need you so much like I do now." she said.

"It's okay Ange...We gonna get through this.." he said.

She smiled and kissed him softly...

(TO BE CONTINUED)