Witness

"Mrs. Morris, everything looks just fine...Your ultrasound is back...You're going to have a healthy baby so far." said Dr. Meadows...

''I don't want to know the sex of the baby Dr. Meadows...I want it to be a surprise." said Sepia..

I smiled wryly....

Dr. Meadows...An African-American Doctor who reminded me of my Mother a little bit smiled at me..

"I bet you'd like to know wouldn't you Mr. Morris.." she laughed..

''She's the boss...If she wants to be surprised...Then I'll be surprised with her."I said..

She looked at Sepia and I...

"Your husband is a smart man.." she said.

''Happy Wife, Happy Life." I said..

The three of us laughed...

Sepia was two months pregnant, close to three months...

I leaned over and kissed her softly....

"Awww, you two are just too cute." said Dr. Meadows as Sepia and I left her office and  got in my car...

Surprisingly...The streets had been quiet for awhile...At least for me.. We both had been going to our perspective jobs and coming home to each other every night...Which explains how Sepia got pregnant...

Some nights ,we just would for go dinner and head to the bedroom...

Sooner or later this was bound to happen...

Even pregnant...My wife still could turn heads...I was mildly amused when a guy would do a double take to look at her and then realize she was pregnant and have a comical look of both amusement and shame...doubled by a sheepishness....

We headed for Mabel Jenkins Soul Food joint...

''Sepia..Do you think you should be eating this kind of food right now?" I asked her..

''Kevin, let her eat what she wants...She's eating for two now." said Mabel, who overheard us...

Mabel, Clerow's wife , Corabeth and younger sister, Anita and their waitress Baby Phat all came and sat down with us...

"How you doin girl?" They said as the ouued and ahhed over Sepia.

''I'm fine...My husband won't let me out of his sight." said Sepia..

"I can see that...That's uh why you in the shape you in." laughed Mabel...

We all busted out laughing...

One customer who wasn't laughing was a guy I knew named Benny...Benny G...
He was finishing up his food when he saw me...He took his napkin and wiped his mouth and walked over to us...

"Heyy Kevin, Am I glad I ran into you." he said.

That sentiment was probably shared by only him...

II-

Our food had just arrived...He sat down with us ,without being invited...

"Is this your wife Kevin?" he said smiling at Sepia...

"Yes it is."I said.

"Ohh and I see she is uh, with child...Congratulations man....missus." he said.

"Thank you." said Sepia.

"So what's up?" I asked.

"Kev ,can I talk to you in private for a minute?" he said.

"Excuse me Sepia..I'l be right back.." I said.

She smiled...She was used to this...

I walked him over to his table...

''Okay Benny, What is bothering you so much ,that you have to bother me?" I asked.

Benny  G. was one of those types that could never stay out of trouble...Trouble lived at his door...And his misery loved company...

"I witnessed a murder Kev." he said.

''A murder?? Who??" I asked.

"I don't know who the girl was...but I think I know the guy...." he said.

"Come again?" I said.

''Last night...I was riding the El...I was up in Frankford...at the station just before you get to the end of the line..."he said.

''Where is your car? What are you doing on the El?" I said.

"Long Story Kev...I lost my car..."he said.

"Let me guess...The juice man right?  You owed money?" I said.

"Yeah Kev..Yeah, but that's besides the point...I was on the El and the train stopped in front of this store front...I looked right into the window and I saw...Chucky "Big Chick"Mooney...He was in his boxers, arguing with some girl...She slapped him and he grabbed her and choked the life out of her...Killed her with his bare hands...And he turned...The el was sitting right there and we stared into each others faces..." said Bennie G.

"So you think he saw you right?" I said.

''Yeah...He'll kill me Kev." said Bennie G.

''Why don't you go to the cops?" I asked.

"I did...I did..They all but laughed in my face...But Miss Sissy, Miss Sissy Van Buren , a real pretty Puerto Rican Detective and a  pretty forensics investigator and three uniformed cops went to the building where I told her the murder occurred...

"That would be Sissy, Carlotta and Hazel." I said.

"Yeah...We all went to the building and guess what?  The room was empty...No fingerprints , no DNA , No sign of anybody ever living there....And we found the landlord and he said that he hadn't rented that room out to anybody.."said Bennie G.

"Wow!  You sure you weren't drinking Bennie G.?"I said.

"No Kev...I had just come back from this fine honey's spot...I wasn't drinkin...and I was wide awake...I know what I saw Kev...He killed that girl.."said Bennie G.

''What about Chucky Mooney?" I asked.

''Can't find him...The cops went to his last known address...He wasn't there..Not a trace of him."he said.

''So he's split...If he did know he was seen..He left town...You got nothin to worry about."I said.

"You don't know him Kev...He'll kill me just for g.p."said Bennie G.

''What do you want me to do?" I asked..

He slipped me an envelope with two thousand dollars in it..

"Look into it Kev...He killed somebody...I know he did....The cops won't listen to me..but if you say it too...They'll listen and they'll take that mad dog off the street...There's more money from where that came from." he said.

I doubted that.

"Okay Bennie...I'll check it out...Where can I contact you?" I asked..

"This is my phone number.....We can meet at Josies...You can contact me through Gus."he said.

I smiled..

"Okay Bennie..Keep a low profile." I said.

"Oh you know me Kev." he said..

"Yeah..I do." I said.

III-

I walked back over to my table....I kissed Sepia softly and tenderly....

"Ouuuu, what was that for?" she asked...

I placed two thousand dollars in her hands...

"You want me to put this in the safe?" she said.

''No...that's yours...You need anything?" I asked.

She hugged me...

"No...Everything I want is right here in my arms. I just need you to do me one favor" she said and kissed me softly and long....

''What? What is that?" I said, speechless...

"If you're going out on a case...Take Walter with you...No more lone wolf stuff..Okay? Promise?" She asked.

"Okay Sepia...Okayyy....I promise."I said.

IV-

I called Walter "Kool Kat" Jones....He was more than eager to ride with me on a case...Even though this case didn't seem like it would give him the kicks he might have been looking for...

 ''Damn Kev...You take me to the nicest places." he joked as we pulled up in front of the landlord's office.

I laughed...

We walked inside the smelly office...It smelled like body sweat and urine combined with bleach and Pine Sol...

The proprietor greeted us with a frown...He was a nasty looking man with stains on his shirt and smelly breath...

''Heyy,I'm not into no alternative lifestyle...I aint rentin a room to no two dudes." he snarled.

"DO I LOOK LIKE I'M THAT KIND OF GUY? AND DO I LOOK LIKE I'D BE RENTIN A ROOM IN THIS DUMP??" snarled Kool Kat, whose suit probably cost more than the rent of one of this guy's smelly apartments..

The man looked frightened...

"Look you guys...I don't owe no money....I aint put down a bet in weeks.."

I smiled..

"We aren't here for that...We just want some information... That room you had upstairs..Who did you last rent it to?" I asked.

"You cops? I already told the cops I aint rented that room out to nobody in months." he said.

I smiled..

"Yeah...That's what you told the cops...Now tell us the truth...Who did you rent that room out to?" I asked.

"You guys aint cops?" he asked.

"No sir..We aren't cops." I said.

"Then get the hell out of here...I aint got to talk to you...Get out ,before I pull out my gat!" he snarled...

I sighed...

Kool Kat gripped him up in his collar and pulled him over his desk....He pulled out his .44 mag and said..

"Sounds like this guy needs some of my attitude adjustment !"

The man looked like he might faint of pure fear....

"No...Nooooooooooooo..please don't hurt me...Please....Okayyy,Okayyyyy..I rented it out to a guy named Mooney... Charlie Mooney....They call him ''Big Chick''...Look...I told him..No parties...No rough stuff...He-He brought some broad up there with him...They were arguing about somethin..It was pretty loud...That's all I know.."he said.

"Put him down Kool Kat." I said.

Kool Kat slowly put the man down...

"Who was the girl?" I asked.

''All I know is he called her Shirley...I didn't get a last name." he said.

''Did she leave?" I asked.

He scratched his head...

"Funny...I seen her come in here..but I never seen her leave...Big Chick called somebody.. Some guy came in here...and the two of them left out the back...He came by the next day and paid me and told me not to talk to the cops or anybody about him ever being there..." he said.

"It's all good...Your secret is safe with us."I said.

"Hey man,look..I don't want no trouble...Big Chick is bad news man..He'll kill me."he said.

"I could kill you now."said Kool Kat...

The man said nothing else...

I gave him fifty dollars...

"Thanks...You know where we can find Big Chick?" I asked.

"He drinks at Ciros and at the Mermaid Club...He stays with a number of his girlfriends...That's all I know." he said.

"Good enough...You have a good day sir." I said and Kool Kat and I left..

"Hey Kev..That was fun.."said Kool Kat.

"I figured you'd like that." I said.

'Would you have gotten that information out of him without me?" he asked.

''Probably not.."I admitted.

''Where to next boss?" he asked.

"Ciros and the Mermaid Club."I said.

V-

We went to Ciros and questioned and talked to close to 50 guys...Street guys, Guys who knew things...None of them had seen Charlie "Big Chick"Mooney...We went to the Mermaid Club...It was pretty much the same thing, but we did get the address of three of his girlfriends...

That proved to be a bust...All of them said that they had cut ties with him and that they would duck him if they saw him first... One of them gave us an address of of a place he was said to be living...

Another bust...No one was there and the place looked like it had been cleared out a month ago...

I looked at Kool Kat...

"Let's call it a night buddy...We'll hunt tomorrow or another day." I said.

"Okay, but a word of caution Kev..I know this guy..."Big Chick"...He used to be a leg breaker for hire for the local juice men and he has been a gun for hire too for a lot of the locals...If you come up on him ,he'll throw down....and if he finds out somebody is lookin for him...He no doubt will be lookin for you." said Kool Kat.

"That's good to know." I said.

''Well, you got a pregnant wife and a baby on the way...Me and Chess and Chris and Donald Smooth was talkin yesterday after you left..We got enough security lookin over the shoppin centers and other businesses that we can spare a guy or two to watch your house and escort Sepia and Bonita to and from work for you." said Kool Kat.

I smiled..

"Thank you man.." I said.

"You know you're alright with us..Kev, you've helped us all at one time or another...We are there for you man." said Kool Kat...

I smiled.. I had called Sepia...

She was in the doorway when Walter drove up with me...

''Hey Mommy." he said when he saw her..

"Heyy Walter...Thanks for bringing my sugar home."she said.

''Safe and sound babygirl." he said and smiled at her.

I smiled as he pulled off..

Sepia and I relaxed in our bed...

I rubbed her belly and she giggled....

I thought about a lot of things as I dozed off that night... My wife, my unborn baby and my good friends...

This case?  Didn't give it a second thought..

(TO BE CONTINUED)