Death On The "A" Train

It was a Monday Morning...and here I was driving up to 30th Street Station and parking and getting ready to go inside...I was actually on a case...If I recall....This is where my very first case began....Years ago...I came here on a day like today to meet someone...Turned out it was my future wife, Sepia..Or better known by her government name then, JoAnne Cokely...and my very first case....I was a writer and  a blogger then...I didn't even have a P.I.'s license then...Hadn't met Lt. Sissy Van Buren yet and didn't own the company that I was working for then...

I was fresh out of the military, where I had been a NCIS investigator at a time and a middleweight boxer at yet another time in my career which started in the Marine Corps... I had earned a bachelors degree in communications -journalism while still in the military and had thought that I would write...Use my law enforcement training to be an investigative journalist and sometimes blogger....Then I met my future wife Sepia, solved a mass murder and found that I still liked hunting men....bad men.....

I met another woman instrumental to my future...A sexy Lieutenant of Homicide named Sissy Van Buren, who helped me get my private investigators license and the rest is history....Today I own the magazine Ionce worked for and  a couple more, a newspaper and a radio station...About to buy a cable TV station and I also own a private investigation firm out of the same building with six operatives...Me? My name is Kevin Morris...Today...I'm in Private Detective Mode.

II-

This was a weird case...Just 24 hours before...a dark skinned man dressed in a white suit with a pink silk shirt and a white fedora came to my office at Morris Communications and asked to talk to me...I thought he wanted a subscription either by mail or online to one of my publications or a sattelite feed run into his business from my 24 hour  sattelite radio station...Several businesses had done this...They loved the mixture of Hip Hop, Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Classic R&B and Neo Soul music that I offered....

''Mr. Morris...I know who you are and what you do...."he said..He passed me an envelope with 5G's in it and a glossy photo of a man...A well dressed ,light skinned black man with freckles.

"My employer is very interested in this man." he said.

''Who is he?" I asked.

 ''His name is William Dunn..and he has something in a briefcase that is very important to my employer." said the man..

"Well who is your employer? and for the matter, who are you?" I asked.

"Who my employer is ,is not your concern.." he said.

"Considering, your employer is now MY employer...I would say that is my concern." I said.

He smiled a toothy grin, like my friend, Clerow...

"My name is Nylon...Terrence Nylon...It is I , who you will do business with....That's five grand....Mr.Dunn will be coming into 30th Street station on the Acela train tomorrow at 10:30 am... You are simply to follow him...See where he goes and find out where he stays...and by no means let that briefcase he has with him out of your sight....There is more money from where that came from." he said.

"Okay...Do you have a phone number? An Address where I can contact you?" I said.

He passed me a card....

''That's my cell phone number...I'm staying at the Alonquin Hotel...Are you familliar with it?" He asked.

I looked surprised....A man dressed like him, passing out envelopes with five large in it...Staying at that place?  He obviously wasn't what he pretended to be, a Boss...He was no more than a well dressed errand boy.

III-

So, here I was waiting at the train station for the mysterious Mr. Dunn and his briefcase from Washington D.C.  I bought myself a huge steaming tumbler of coffee and I walked toward the station...I smelled a familiar fragrance and heard a familiar voice...

"My you're looking good today Mr. Morris." came the unmistakably honey smooth voice of Lt. Sissy Van Buren. Philadelphia Homicide.

I smiled upon seeing my good friend...

''Happy New Years Sissy." I said smiling...

She hugged me and kissed me on the cheek....

''What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm on a case...I'm supposed to meet a guy on the 10:15 Acela train..and uh follow him.." I said.

I then looked at her....Soon ,I saw about three uniformed cops....Detectives Sirena Pile ,Tyriq's wife and Detective Tony Hopkins and Forensic Investigator, Dr. Hazel Hunter Baylor, Duke Baylor's wife....

I looked at Sissy....

"You've got two of your detectives with you, three uniformed cops and your forensics investigator...What's going on?" I asked...

"Hey Kevin" said Sirena..

"Hey girl " I said and hugged her and kissed her on the cheek...

"What's up Kev." said Hop..

"Heyy man." I said and shook his hand..

"Hi Kevin" said Hazel...

I was afraid to hug her...but I did...She was just intoxicating.....Nice round curvy body, soft skin...

"Hi Hazel" I said...she blushed a bit...

"We got a call that there was a murder on this train.." said Sissy.

"The same one I'm waiting on?" I asked.

"Yeah the same...a businessman from Philly, on his way back here from D.C.  They found a huge butcher knife plunged in his chest...A man named Dunn...William Dunn...Since it happened on the train...It shouldn't even be in my jurisdiction." said Sissy.

I pulled out my glossy....I showed it to Sissy and her detectives...

"This is him...This is the man I was hired to follow...I was paid five large to follow him when he got off the train." I said.

''Well Kevin...He's dead...He won't be going far." said Sissy.

IV-

Sissy and her detectives and cops were met by Railroad security when the train stopped...I went into the train with them to look at the body...and sure enough...He was in the sleeping car with a huge butcher knife in his chest....blood was everywhere and surprisingly enough...There was no briefcase!!!!!...

''Where is his briefcase?" I asked.

''What briefcase?" asked the Railroad security man who found the body...'There was no briefcase on him when we found him...Somebody rooted through his wallet too...All his money was gone...They didn't touch his credit cards." he said.

Hazel ,Sissy and Sirena checked the body....Hop and I and the uniformed policemen did a car to car search and began questioning and searching all of the passengers....

"Sissy...only one passenger is missing...Whoever it is must have gotten off in Deleware...That's the only time this train stopped." I said.


"I got the name of the missing passenger ..His name is Terrence Nylon and he did indeed get off the train in Deleware." said Hop.

"Terrence Nylon??? Terrence Nylon...That's impossible." I said.

"You know him?" asked Sissy.


"Yes...That's the man who hired me to find and follow Mr. Dunn....He's here in Philly...He couldn't have possibly have done this...This is his cell phone number and this is his address." I said.

"Then somebody... Either our killer or your client is using a phony name."said Sirena.

Sissy smiled and hugged me...

''Well Kevin...Your new year has started off with a bang hasn't it?" laughed Sissy.


V-

When we all returned to C.I.D. headquarters a few hours later after the body had been released...Detectives Carlotta Rodriguez Wallace and Tyriq Pile were waiting for us...


"Hola Kevin...Happy New Year" she said hugging me and kissing me on the cheek..."My cousin Mercedes was so upset she didn't get to see you over the Christmas Holidays, but I understand you had quite a guest list yourself for Christmas.." she said.

''Heyy Chica...I sure did..Nearly thirty people in my poor house...I meant to stop by and say hi to you guys too." I said.

"Bad news Kev..Top and I stopped by that address in the Aloquin Hotel you gave us...Nobody by the name of Terrence Nylon ever stayed there...Nobody matching the description you gave the police sketch artist either." said Tyriq.

Detective Jimmy Barlow walked in also...

"Happy New Year Kev...That cell phone number you gave us was to a burner phone...A couple of uniforms I had detailed to me found it in a trash can, not far from where you work...I don't know who your guy is, but he's definitely not who he told you he was." said Jimmy.

"The good news for us is , this murder is out of our jurisdiction...He was killed before he even got to Philadelphia...In between Washington D.C. and Deleware...Either the FBI or the State Police of either Maryland or Deleware will be handling this." said Sissy, who looked at me sympathetically ......


''Well Kevin, you got five thousand out of it and didn't have to do anything..That's not bad...But I know you...This is going to eat at you...You're going to try and get to the bottom of it aren't you?"she said.

I smiled.

"No...I'm going home...Remember what you told me once Sissy...Try and duck a few punches sometimes??Well That's what I'm going to do." I said..."See you guys around " I said and I walked out of their office, got in my car and pulled off.

(TO BE CONTINUED)