Time Out Of Mind

A rare week night found me, Assistant District Attorney Keith Wallace sitting in the high priced but very tony...Aqua Bar....I was here tonight with my wife, Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace and Lt. Sissy Van Buren and her boyfriend, Eddie C.

''Wow this is my first time in this spot....It's nice looking, but the drinks are high as hell." said Eddie C.

"You got that right Eddie...Give me Josies any night." I said...

"Oh stop complaining about the price of the drinks, both of you...This is a nice place...Isn't it?" said Sissy...

"Yeah, it looks great and I really love the set up...The music and all." I said.

My wife Carlotta smiled and rubbed my arm...

"They have a Salsa night....We've got to come back on that night so that we can salsa and groove to some raggaeton music." she said.

"Makes you homesick doesn't it?" I said smiling at her...

"Kind of." she said..

Just then...another familiar couple walked in...Newlyweds, Detective Edwin "Duke" Baylor and Forensic Investigator, Dr. Hazel Hunter-Baylor...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh Look who's here!!" I exclaimed as they smiled and joined us...

"DUKEEEEEEEEEEEE." said Sissy who ran and hugged him and Hazel as well....

"Dukeeeeeeeeeeeee." said my wife Carlotta...She also hugged them both...

'What's up man? Congrats on the wedding" said Eddie C.

"Congratulations Buddy"I said giving Duke some dap and hugging Hazel...

"How was everything while we were gone?" asked Duke.

"The bad guys were nice...They stayed calm while all of you were out." said Carlotta.

"I thought I would go crazy with all of you out at the same time...Hop and Sharon, You and Hazel and then Tyriq and Sirena....but...Chica and Jimmy watched the shop pretty well...I used some other detectives and borrowed one or two from Major Crimes and Special Victims...everything worked out well...but you two were missed." said Sissy.

"We didn't have anything major...Nothing that kept us from going home at a normal time."I said smiling.

"Well we are back at least." said Duke.

"I've posted wedding photos and honeymoon photos on Instagram" said Hazel...

"Awwww...Did you have a nice time girl?asked Sissy...

"Oh Sissy it was wonderful...Second time around is the charm." said Hazel.

"Where is everybody else?" asked Duke.

"Hop and Sharon came back last week as did Tyriq and Sirena..." said Sissy...

"So with the return of you two...The gang is back together.."I said.

"The office seemed so empty with all you guys gone...I missed you." said Carlotta.

"Aww..well we are all back together now." said Hazel.

II-

The place was packed... We all danced a little bit and then returned to our booth where we ordered another round of drinks and sat and talked and laughed..It was an overall good night...No clue that as we sat there ,one of our most baffling and strange cases was about to unfold...

Carlotta's phone went off , just as one of the waitresses was passing us our bill....

''Who could this be?" she asked.

None of us was paying much attention...Except of course me....I always kept my eyes glued to Carlotta most of the time....She was an acquired habit of mine you might say....She looked like she'd seen a ghost...

"That was Jimmy..." she said.

"I forgot to ask about Junior...How's he doing?" laughed Duke...

Carlotta wasn't smiling...

"It's about Angie...He thinks she's dead!!!!! She's in a car, parked under an underpass in the Little Norway section." said Carlotta...

"WHAT?" said Sissy....

"He sounds devestated...We'd better get there." said Carlotta...

"Little Norway??? What are they doing up in that area....They don't hang out up there?" said Duke..

Sissy was in tears....

"Oh My God...she can't be dead...I just talked to her this morning...No...Noooooooooooooo!" she sobbed...

Carlotta and Hazel put their arms around her.....She looked at Eddie C.  He shrugged his shoulders...

"Police Business...I understand babes...go do what you have to do...I'll be at you place when you get back." he said and tried to manage a smile...

She kissed him very passionately....Then, she, Carlotta, Duke, Hazel and myself got in my SUV and headed for the scene.

III-

When we got to the scene...we saw Angie's car just sitting by itself... To our surprise...Tyriq, Sirena and Hop were arriving at the same time...

"Heyyy Duke...What's up?" said Hop...

''What's Goin on Partner?" said Tyriq..

Jimmy was standing by Angie's Car...He looked distraught....I could tell he had been crying...

We looked at the car...Angie Belton lie eerily still inside....

"I didn't touch it...I got an anonymous call saying that I'd find her here." he said.  "I called Auto...They're bringing somebody down to open it up." he said.

Hazel , Carlotta and Sirena looked the car over and then inside....Carlotta smiled and put her arm around Jimmy....

"I've got good news partner...Angie is not dead.." she said.

"Huh? What?  What are you talking about? How do you know that?" he asked....

"Very simple Jimmy...She's yawning." exclaimed Hazel....
Indeed she was...Angie began to yawn and to look around..She saw all of us and she looked a bit shocked... She opened the door and staggered out of the car... Sissy and Sirena grabbed her and held her...

''Girl ,you gave us all a big scare...Jimmy called us and told us you were dead!"said Sissy, visibly relieved that her good friend was indeed, alive!!

"Damn Junior...you got us all upset, had us flying out here and all it was , was your girl just hung one on and went someplace to sleep it off." Joked Tyriq..

Duke cracked up....but neither of them fooled me...I know that they were relieved to know that Angie was alive too...She was no longer Homicide...but she was still one of us...Part of the family...

"We are just glad you're alright Angie." I said.

She looked bewildered....

''Where am I? What am I doing out here?" she asked.

''You were out partying...You had too much to drink mami..It happens." said Carlotta.

Angie looked bewildered..She lost her balance and Jimmy grabbed her and helped her sit down on her car seat...

"I only remember having one drink....and I was at the Low End Theory Bar...Where am I?" she asked.

''You're right outside "Little Norway babes...a long way from that bar you hang out in." he said.

"That doesn't make any sense....I don't ever come up here....I don't know anybody...I was at the Low End Theory...Me and Detective Sally Conroy, from Narcotics...She'll tell you...Where is she?" asked
Angie..

"I don't know...I got  a call shortly after midnight saying that I'd find you here in your car...and it was from a man." said Jimmy...

"I wasn't with any man...This doesn't make any sense...I feel so woozy.." she said and collapsed in Jimmy's arms..

Hop noticed that her trunk was partially open....

"Hey guys look...Her trunk is partially opened..." he said and he opened it fully.....

Sissy,Carlotta,Duke, Tyriq,Jimmy, Sirena and I were stunned....in the trunk of her car was the body of a man....and unlike Angie...This man was dead....

Hazel checked for a pulse...

"He's dead...and just by an estimate...He's been dead about six or seven hours...He's cold, but rigor hasn't set in yet.." she said.

By now Angie had regained consciousness, She walked around to the trunk of her car..She was stunned to see the body....

"I never saw that guy before in my life... I don't know how he wound up in the trunk of my car...I swear....Oh my God..." she said and tears began to stream down her face....Jimmy put his arms around her...

More police cars began to arrive and news reporters....We hadn't called this in...How did the press know..and who called more police???

This was definitely fishy....and it looked very bad...An internal affairs detective found with a dead body in the trunk of her car and no memory of how she arrived at her destination...

''Papi....Angie is no killer ...She didn't do this." said my wife Carlotta...

"I know...but it sure looks like somebody went to great lengths to make it look like she did..."I said.

Sissy walked over to us..."Chica...you're the primary on this...Sirena will be your second...Duke, Tyriq and Hop will back you up." she said.

Jimmy walked over to us...

''Hey what about me?" he asked.

"I can't Jimmy...She's your girlfriend...You can't be objective...You're going to have to sit this one out...It would be the same if it involved ADA Wallace...I couldn't let Chica investigate or Hazel or Sirena...That would ex out Duke and Rico...." she said.

"But Lou.." he protested...

"Jimmy...Nobody here loves Angie as much as I do...Next to Chica...Angie is my very best friend...You know that...And you know I'm going to move heaven and earth if I have to ,to get to the bottom of this..But even I've got to fall back...You gotta trust your partner...You gotta trust the rest of us...We'll get to the bottom of this.."said Sissy...

Jimmy hung his head and walked over to his car... I felt bad for him...

Sissy looked at Duke and Tyriq...

"Take her back to CID and get a statement..." she said.

"Lou...we don't have to....We don't have to handcuff her do we?" asked Duke..

"No Of course not....She hasn't been charged with anything yet...She's being taken in for questioning." she said...

So what started out as a nice night had turned into something truly bizzarre.....I suppose it comes with the territory!

(TO BE CONTINUED....)