Only Her Hairdresser Knows For Sure

The next day, I accompanied Lt. Sissy Van Buren, Detectives Tyriq Pile, Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace, my wife and Detective James "Jimmy" Barlow to the Aqua Bar...A place we had all drank at and a place owned by the murder victim's husband, Millionaire developer, Justin Harris.

Sissy was with us, because she did not want a replay of yesterday's conversation with Lt. Eddie Cantrell, who had had a bouquet of roses sent to her office this morning... I found it funny....Carlotta and Hazel didn't..

''Wow! The Assistant District Attorney , The Lieutenant from Homicide and not one, but three Homicide Detectives...and for Emily....Wow..She'd of loved this." said Justin as he sat at the counter crying profusely...

Tyriq engaged him....

"I'm very sorry for your loss sir, believe me I am...but...You're going to have to get yourself together sir and try to help us ...so that we can bring whoever did this to justice....When was the last time you saw your wife?" he asked.

"We had lunch at our place around 1:30.....Then...we had sex.....Around 4:00 pm, she showered and got dressed....She said she was going to the hair dressers...Give me a piece of paper..I'll write down the address and the phone number..." he said.

''Where were you?" asked Carlotta.

He eyed her up and down and smiled...

"I was here until around 4:50 pm...I went out and had a cheese-steak at Dells...and then I had a business meeting at the Horseshoe Club...with some friends...I'll give you their names and addresses and phone numbers..." he said.

"Sir...I know this is going to sound funny, but what was your wife wearing when you last saw her?" asked Jimmy.

"Huh? What? " he asked.

"Sir...When my detectives found her...All she had on was her panties...No bra...Nothing else...She was floating in 26 feet of water in a water tank on top of the Cavalcades Condo." said Sissy.

"She had on a ...a ahhh ruh..yeah, a Rust colored dress with black tights and knee high boots...She was wearing a white fur jacket...and Black Aviator shades...You didn't find her pocketbook, her phone,
nothin?? She had credit cards, a debit card... What about her car....She was driving a 2013 Lexus...White" he said.

"We found none of that. No car." said Tyriq.

"We had uniformed policemen doing a room to room search of that entire building and we haven't turned up anything." said Carlotta.

''That's weird and plus...I don't know why she'd even be on that side of town anyway...She didn't know anybody on that side of town anyway." he said.

"Okay sir...I have to ask you a tough question....do you think your wife might have been stepping out on you?" asked Tyriq.

"No...No..certainly not...She had no reason...Look at me?? I'm loaded...who could give her more?" he asked.

II-

A few hours later...Sissy, Tyriq, Carlotta and Jimmy met with Detective Edwin "Duke" Baylor...

''Lou,Rico,Top,Jimmy..We did a room to room search of this entire building and checked out everybody's alibis...We got nothin...Half of the people weren't here and those that were didn't see anything...I'm still waiting for a report from the guys Top has doing a two mile radius search of the homes and businesses around here." said Duke..

Sirena and Hop drove up just then...
"We checked out the husband's alibi....He's straight..." said Detective Antonio Hopkins...

"Yeah, he checks out and she did go to the hairdressers and then to the bank...we have video footage taken of her at the bank...and at a WAWA..She was wearing exactly what the husband described..." said Sirena..

"Then we've got to check the traffic cam and see if we can find that car....Justin gave me the plate numbers..Junior...That seems to be your area of expertise."said Tyriq,

"Good..At least I get to stay inside out of the cold...Maybe I can get Angie to keep me company." he said as he headed towards his car.

"Boss Lady...You feel like taking a ride with me?...Sirena, you too...I think we ought to talk to the Hair Dresser..Girl talk...If anybody can tell us about this woman..She can." said Carlotta.

Sissy's eyes lit up....

"That's a great idea Chica." she said.

"I'm in." said Sirena.

"Alright girls, hop in my SUV...I'll drive" I said... Tyriq laughed...

''You have all of the fun counselor." he said.

''That's why I'm the ADA." I smiled.

"Well while you do that...Duke...Let's me and you re canvas the area around that condo...Maybe we missed something... Hop...keep checking her credit cards and debit cards for any activity..." said Tyriq.

"Okay...We'll all meet up at CID in a few hours." said Duke as we all scattered and went our seperate ways.
III-

We drove up to the Tony beauty parlor that Emily Harris attended on the last day of her life...I was shocked at the prices...

"Oh My God...$165 dollars?..and to think,I complain about a twenty dollar haircut." I said.

"This place is beautiful..." said my wife,Carlotta.

''Wow...Lotta, after this case is over, You and me and Angie and Boss Lady have to make a trip over here...It's so nice and it smells so nice ...ouuuuu." said Detective Sirena Pile.

''Yessss...Gurllll...This is the business." said Sissy, who was just happy to be out of that office and with her girls...She didn't have to be here...But she was and they didn't mind...Me ? On the other hand...I felt kind of out of place,so I just bought a newspaper from down the street and took a seat.

It took Carlotta,Sissy and Sirena no time to get chummy with the Hairdressers and strike up a conversation about the dead Emily Harris.

''Emily was good people....She used to be a stripper and before that she uh kind of made her living, staring at the ceiling if you get my drift...But she got out of the life...she went to community, graduated and was just a smester shy of graduating from Temple...She met Justin.....He was uh one of her clients at the strip club..she turned that poor guy out...He didn't know what hit him...she put somethin on him!" said one hairdresser.

"He took her away from all that...He married her and the sky was the limit...He dropped that fancy car on her that she was drivin, gave her a bank account, credit cards...clothes...everything she had ever wanted..He loved her....She tried to love him..she did...But it just wasn't ,you know..poppin..She didn't hear rockets exploding..." said another.

"She was seeing another guy...He was just like Justin, Powerful.....A District Attorney or something or other...Mitch...Mitchell Nelson...He came in here to pick her up once." said another.

"Oh My God..Mitchell Nelson...I know him...He's currently under a federal investigation for corruption...You say he came by here once." said Sissy..

"Yeah once...He came by here in a Town car and she got in...but that was about a month ago...He never came back again...She was on her way to see him when she last came by here."

"Hmmm, wonder if he lives in that area at all" said Carlotta ,who pulled out her IPAD mini.... ''Bingo...He lives about six blocks from where she was found."she said.

"But that's cuttin it pretty close...ADA Nelson is married...Why would he be playing around that close to where he lives/" asked Sirena..

''Men are stupid when it comes to sex...They often throw caution to the wind." said Sissy.

''Ah know that's right."

''You said it girl."

Came the voices of two women who heard what Sissy said.

Carlotta and Sirena laughed....

I cleared my throat....

''Oh,present company not included." said Sissy,looking at me and laughing devilishly...

Carlotta and Sirena laughed.

IV-

When we returned to C.I.D. Jimmy was waiting for us....

"Lou...I got good news and some bad news for you...." he said.

"Oh Brother...The good news?" asked Sissy...

"Duke and the guys on his detail found the dead girls clothes...about 20 blocks away in a dumpster in a plastic bag,,,Bra, dress,tights, boots,purse....wallet and smartphone ,With fingerprints and a busted condom with a  large amount of semen...Duke took that over to Hazel for processing...

"Hop is still running down all the hits he got on her credit cards and debit cards...he's been to a couple of boutiques..a gas station and a Wawa..We kind of have a timeline as to how she spent her last hours." said Jimmy.

Before Jimmy could finish...Tyriq walked into the office...He kissed Sirena and then he smiled...

"Lou...we found her car!!! It was just two blocks away in a parking lot.... I'm havin the lab boys dust for prints." he said.

Sissy smiled...'Well, that was good news...Good work guys...Now you said that there was bad news Jimmy?" she said.

Jimmy pointed to Sissy's office...The door was open and sitting in her office was Lt. Eddie Cantrell....

Sissy stomped her foot...

''Damn" she said.

On that note...Tyriq and Sirena and Jimmy slowly slipped away...Carlotta motioned me to take a seat at her desk and she sat in my lap and kissed me slowly...something she knew would take my mind and ears off of what was going on in that office.

V-

Lt. Eddie Cantrell smiled when Sissy walked into her office...She closed the door and closed the shades...

"Don't get excited...I just want privacy." she said as she sat down...

"Sissy...I know you are attracted to me as much as I am obviously attracted to you....I can't hold it in much longer....This is just how I feel about you baby....I can't dance around it anymore...I want you...." he said.

"But Lt. Cantrell...What about me being in a committed relationship don't you understand.?"she said.

"How committed is he Sissy? Think about it...You started seeing him around the time that uh ADA Wallace and Carlotta were dating right?  Keith Wallace and Carlotta are married.... Duke and Hazel met after they did and they're married now!....Young Detective Hopkins and that FBI agent got together this summer and they're married!!  You're going to mess around and Jimmy and Angie are going to be married and you and that jailbird will still be just seeing each other." he said.

"So you're going to marry me Edward?" she asked...

''Yes...HELL YES...if you agree to be my woman. How long you been seein this guy??...How long has he been treading water?? I'm not one to tread water...I'm making myself available to you , right here, right now Sissy..."he said.

"What do you want from me Eddie?" she asked.

"Just say you'll think about my proposal....You can't tell me that you don't feel something for me...You just can't." he said and then he got up and let himself out...

As he walked out... Jimmy sat in the video room looking at Traffic-cam video....Detective Angie Belton sat on his lap, kissing him every once in awhile..

Carlotta was still sitting on my lap gently kissing me...

And Tyriq was standing in the hallway kissing his wife, Sirena...

Sissy looked at us and sighed....

I could only imagine what my friend was thinking at the moment....

(TO BE CONTINUED.......)