Georgie

I traveled to the condo where "Terrence Nylon"/Thomas "Shifty" Mills was supposed to be residing and not to my great surprise I was told that ''Mr. Mills left the premises a few weeks ago...and did not leave a return address."  They didn't call him "Shifty" for nothing...

I was paid by Mr. Shifty a large sum of money to find and follow a man on his way back here from Washington D.C.  On his way to Philly, somewhere between D.C. and Maryland, said man gets himself murdered  and his murderer escapes with a large sum of money and the briefcase...

The killer is identified and captured by the FBI...without this briefcase....The accused murderer is himself killed while in custody and the man who hired me is out of five large and he doesn't have his briefcase...It just didn't add up...but like Sissy said-  "I made some money and didn't have to do anything...I figured at this point...the briefcase was not my concern....the murder had been solved and if this mysterious person had any further business with me...They would make it their business to find me......So as far as I was concerned...Case Closed.

II-

Three weeks passed by and I heard nothing....I went back to work...Running my company, making the final preparations to buy the satellite Television company....Hooking up feeds to my radio station to more area businesses and overseeing my magazines and newspapers...

Sean and Sheila Jackson and Harry Charles were surprised because I was at work every single day...left at a decent hour and was home with Sepia in time for dinner and a little uh extra-curricular activity...

It was a Thursday night...I just happened to mosey into Josies....Kool Kat,Chris, Chess and Donald Smooth
sat at one table drinking and laughing it up...I waved to them...

Gus came up to me....He handed me a Corona...

" Hey kid...You got company." he said and pointed to a very attractive young lady at the end of the bar...She had a body that just wouldn't quit....curves that had curves...Some tight black tights...A White blouse ,some sexy boots and a scarf and sunglasses...She waved at me...

"She's been in here the past two days asking for you, who is she?" asked Gus.

''I couldn't tell you Gus...Never seen her before in my life."I said and took my beer and walked over to where she was sitting..

"Hi...I'm Kevin....Heard you were askin for me." I said with a smile.

She looked me up and down and then said-

"My god you're a handsome piece of man...That suit is great and your cologne is amazing...Shame we are both married." she said with a salacious smile.

"Yes it is...but I suspect that you weren't looking for me just to see if I was married." I said.

She handed me an envelope...It had five large in it...I now had ten thousand dollars...

'' My name is Beverly Neary.I think my husband is cheating on me..I think it's somebody that comes in here, but I'm not sure...I want you to find out." she said.

"Five large for I'm not sure?" I said.

"My husband is cheating on me and he stole something that belongs to me..a claims check...I just need you to follow him, tell me where he goes....who he talks to..." she said.

"Who is your husband? You got a picture of him?? A description?" I said.

"I've got better..a photo....This is him...His name is George Neary....They call him "Georgie"...He's a very unpredictable man, got a bad temper....Don't let on that you're following him....Are you armed Mr. Morris?" she asked.

"Yes mam, I am..." I said.

"Good...Be very careful....He works in the Flomar Building on the 17th floor...He's an actuary....."she said.

"Doesn't sound like the dangerous type." I said.

"Georgie carries a .45 and he will use it...Trust me...just don't let on that you're following him...Here is my card...That's where I'm staying...and that's my cell number...But don't try and contact me...I'll meet you here in a few days okay?" she said.

"Uhhh,okay. Beverly."I said.

She kissed me on my cheek, got up and ran outside...Gus, Chris Thompson, Chess and Kool Kat all looked at me funny.

"Hey Kev, who was that hot number?" asked Kool Kat..


Chris Thompson, Chess and Donald Smooth had all walked over to my table..

"That woman,gentlemen is my present client...She just laid some heavy cash in my lap." I said laughing.

"Sepia is my girl...I hope that's all she's layin on you." joked Honey Brown.....

"She's married Honey Bee...She hired me to follow her husband and find out if he's steppin out..." I said and showed her a photo of Georgie...

"Hmmmm, nice lookin guy...He probably is." said Honey Brown...

Kool Kat, Chess and Donald Smooth busted out laughing...Chris Thompson slapped his thigh...Even Gus was shaking his head laughing.

III-

George "Georgie" Neary was indeed an actuary... I looked him up... Born and raised in Philadelphia, educated in the Philadelphia School system..Graduated from Temple University with an Accounting degree and married and divorced from Beverly Neary for nearly five years.
His credit was good and he had a reasonable bank account....He also had a bit of a sheet..Three arrests, no convictions for domestic abuse and assault...He also had another arrest but no conviction for assault and battery...These complaints were brought about by Beverly Neary, who also had a restraining order out against him.

If she had a restraining order out against him and was in fact divorced from the man...What did she care if he was seeing another woman?  I smelled a serious rat...

Still, she paid me to follow him...I spotted him, Six foot four, well muscled , wearing a nice tan tailor made suit...His shoes looked like they cost him plenty and he had a nice hair cut...He walked like he used to be a boxer...

I followed him to a jewelry store...Then to a newspaper stand, then to a coffee shop...He sat alone, drank coffee and took several calls on his smartphone...Then he got his shoes shined and he headed towards parts unknown...

I did the best I could to remain inconspicuous..but something about the way he kept turning and looking around told me that he kind of knew that he was being followed..He walked down a dark drive way...I followed him....

I found that I had lost him...he was nowhere to be found!!! I kept walking and then I heard footsteps behind me...I also heard the click of a gun!!! A big gun...

''End of the line Mister Morris." he said..

I immediately ducked as he fired three rounds at me...

I crawled behind a row of trash cans that had been washed and stacked...

He fired three more times...

"Follow me eh? ,Follow me?? I'll kill ya..." he said as he fired again..

I pulled out my .38 smokeless and returned his fire, hitting him three times in his chest....

"Arggggggggggggggggggghhh...I don't believe it....I've been shot!" he said as he staggered and fell to the ground, dead!!!!



IV-

Police photographers snapped photos and  Crime scene investigators and uniformed policemen counted shells ....

Lt. Sissy Van Buren was out by herself tonight...None of her detectives were with her....

''Sissy...I was paid to follow him...I followed him down this alley...and I thought I lost him...He came up behind me and started shooting...He knew my name and everything....I fired back in self defense." I said.

"Well from the position of the shells, it looks like your story checks out Kevin, but I will need your weapon for evidence...I'll try to have it back to you as soon as possible." she said.

I passed it to her and a patrolman put it in a plastic evidence bag.

"You say you were hired to follow him?" she asked..

"Yeah." I said.

"By who?" she asked.

"By his wife!" I said.

"His wife?? This is George Neary...I know him because  my detectives have picked him up for attempted murder, assault and battery and several other charges on his wife several times....She always dropped the charges....But she divorced him five years ago...He's a very violent ,hot tempered man...It's a miracle he has no convictions...But anyway..his wife left here and moved to California after the divorce."she said.

"This makes two times I've been hired by somebody who wasn't who they say they are...This woman told me her name was Beverly Neary and this is her address and phone number." I said, giving her card to Sissy.

An hour later, Me, Sissy and five uniformed policemen went to the apartment complex of "Beverly Neary"..
we found the apartment completely empty, like it had never been lived in...

We asked down at the front desk for Beverly Neary...

"Mrs. Neary checked out of here two days ago..." said the man at the desk....

Sissy looked at me...

"Looks like you got set up my friend.." she said.

"She paid me to follow her husband...and then she tipped him off that I was following him...but why?" I asked.

Sissy put her soft index finger on my lip and motioned for me to follow her outside...

"Might be because she was looking for this." she said and passed me a claims ticket.

"What?" I said.

"I took it off of his body before the officers got around to checking this...Now normally if my other detectives were around...I would have let them run this down...but I figure you can run it down just as well..." she said and winked.

"You mean, you're not taking me down town?" I asked.

"Nooooo, don't be ridiculous!! You're a licensed Private Investigator...I believe your story...If you were anyone else maybe...But not you friend...Now we never had this conversation and I never gave you that claims ticket....Get to the bottom of this and give me a call when you do." she said.

"Damn Sissy thanks..." I said and grabbed her and gave her a big bear hug and kissed her on the cheek..

I thought for a moment I saw her blushing....

"You're welcome....Friend!  Now go on...Get out of here." she said. "And be careful." she added..

I got in my car and left....

Something about this whole thing sounded very familiar ,like the last case I had had...

(TO BE CONTINUED)