Lies and Alibis

Carlotta and I sat in the tony new coffee shop... She smiled at me sweetly and leaned over and gave me a soft juicy kiss...I smiled at her and asked her..

"What was that for?"

"For not letting them rattle you yesterday with all that talk about you being whipped."she said.

"It's kind of true...I've never been swayed by any woman the way I am you...Everybody that knows me sees it." I said.

"The fact that you can admit something like that makes me love you even more...and it makes me very,very horny..."she said and kissed me again...this time longer...She was obviously remembering last night in the living room...So was I.

I smiled...

"For real Carlotta?" I asked.

"Yes..for real....For what it's worth,no guy...not even Mickey Lolo has made me feel like you make me feel.." she said staring into my eyes..

"Then why are we sitting here in this coffee shop? ,Let's go home....Just for an hour.."I said.

Carlotta broke out into laughter...

"You are serious aren't you?  I'd love to honey bunny....but we are waiting for Eva, remember? We are checking her alibi.." said Carlotta...

We were the only customers in the coffee shop so far...It had just opened...I pulled her off her stool and close to me and french kissed her..She returned my passion..kissing me for a long while and then she finally broke my embrace....

"Okay papi..that's enough...for now...I think somebody is coming in..." she said..

She was right ...It was Eva...

Eva greeted us with a smile...

"Carlotta....Keith Wallace right?" she said.

"Yes..that's right." I said..."Coffee?" I asked..

She produced a tumbler....

"I already have mine." she said.

''So What is this about ?" she asked.

"Uh Eva..Friday night after we saw you at Mulberry Street where did you guys go?" asked Carlotta..

"Valejo complained about having a headache...He drank too much rum he said...His friend, Tego drove me home...and I was there asleep the rest of the night...I had wanted him to come home with me...I had bought some sexy new lingerie and I was horny after drinking all of that Tequila..."  She said..She looked at me and caught herself...

"I'm sorry..." she said smiling...

I laughed..."That's okay...I hear a lot more." I said.

"I know Tego...Will he back up your story?" asked Carlotta.

"Yes...Am I in some kind of trouble?" she asked.

"No...Not at all." said Carlotta....

"Is this about Valejo?" she asked...

"Yes it is.. He told us he was with you all night." said Carlotta.

Eva looked distant...

"I've suspected that there was someone else.....for a long time...I've tried to ignore the signs.."she said.

''We don't know all of the particulars." said Carlotta..

"He has another cell phone...he forbade me to even touch it...He was talking to somebody on it...I suspected it might be another woman...he told me it was just business..confidential business." she said.

"Don't jump to conclusions...There might be a rational explanation to this."said Carlotta.

"Carlotta...I started dating Mickey Lolo after he broke up with you...but he was never really mine...You always had his heart...I could tell by the way he'd talk about you....I was just his rebound girl...He died ,loving you....I thought when I met Valejo that I had somebody who would love me...But even he has a side chick...a true love." said Eva...

"It takes time Mami....Took me a long time to find someone better than Mickey Lolo."said Carlotta, who looked at me and beamed...

We sat and drank coffee and chit chatted for about an hour...After Eva left...Carlotta went in the trash and took the styrofoam tumbler she drank from and put it in a plastic bag...

We found Tego and he backed up Eva's story...Valejo had asked him to drive her home, which he did and he sat with her for an hour talking and then left...

This cleared her for the murder...

II-

Hazel tested her DNA and fingerprints...lifted from the discarded tumbler of coffee Eva left behind...Her prints were not a match for any of the prints at Mindy Bridges home and neither was her DNA...This cleared her as a suspect completely...but it didn't clear Valejo...

"Lotta...Hop and I cleared just about everybody on her phone and Duke ran down the three girls that were in her home that night...and Rico helped us clear all of her social media contacts...so that leaves only two people...Swanson, Who Jimmy is running down and Valejo...." said Sirena.

"Duke and Rico did work ups on everybody...They were here most of the night...Hazel too..I doubt you'll see them today.." said Hop.

"Where is the boss lady?" I asked.

"She'll be in...She went to lunch with Angie.." said Sirena...."Thanks for doing that extra work for me Lotta...I'm going home...I was here all night with Duke,Hazel and my husband." said Sirena..

"Get some sleep lady..We got your back..We'll call you if anything comes up."said Carlotta.


"Okay...Cool." said Sirena as she left the office.

III-

Detective Jimmy Barlow was doing his best impression of my wife, Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace...He was already sitting in what the detectives called "The Fishbowl" or interrogation room waiting for Curtis Swanson, the number two man at Valejo Suarez's Distillery and Distributers..

Jimmy  sat alone in the fishbowl, looking over some case files as two uniformed policemen brought Jim Swanson in...

Curtis Swanson was tall, had blonde hair...a bit younger than Jimmy...and was dressed in Jeans and a Philadelphia Flyers T-shirt...he seemed pleasent enough..

He sat down took a seat and said nothing...Like Carlotta, Jimmy took his time before he addressed him...Then finally he looked up and smirked a bit...

"Curtis Swanson.....My name is... Detective Jimmy Barlow.."said Jimmy...

Curt Swanson said nothing...

"Usually we don't get people to come down here and talk to us on their day off when there is no charge...So I gotta think you're some kind of special." said Jimmy...

''Well usually you probably don't have two big cops in a squad car come to your door and persuasively ask you to come down here on your day off with no charge either." he retorted..

Jimmy laughed...So did Curtis Swanson...

"Touche....So listen...I know you've heard by now that Mindy Bridges was murdered over the weekend..." said Jimmy...

"Yeah man....I heard...She was a nice girl....I liked her...She worked for me.." he said.

"When did you last see her?" asked Jimmy...

"Just hours before she died...At work Friday...When she clocked out.." he said.

"Were you two close?" asked Jimmy.

"She worked for me...She was like a book-keeper slash administrative assistant...I don't know where I'm going to find another one...We uh had lunch a few times...I stopped by her place once or twice...I uh seen her out at Aqua Bar and Roxys a few times....but it didn't go further than that." he said.

"I see you follow her on Twitter and Instagram and were Facebook friends.."said Jimmy..

"Yeah..we were cool." he said.

"She ever mention a boyfriend?" asked Jimmy...

"No...but everybody knew she was seeing somebody...She just wouldn't reveal who...Was very secretive about it...She kept two phones..One was her main phone and the other was the phone he ,whoever he was gave her...She would always call him on that phone in private...You know in the ladies room,out in the parking lot...We knew...but we didn't know who he was. I had my idea on who it might be" he said.

"And who might that be?" asked Jimmy...

"I'm thinkin it might be the boss...Valejo...Although I never seen them together, but once....About six months ago at a pool party, slash fund-raiser at Rollie Rollerson's house...They were pretty cozy in the pool...We all were..Lots of drinkin, weed smokin..Everybody was kind of loose...You know the deal...Shortly after that party...I noticed she had two cell phones and she guarded that second phone like Fort Knox..Wouldn't explain why she had it and always talked on just that phone out in the parking lot...It was weird...but I didn't pay much attention to it." he said.

"So what did you do Friday Night?" asked Jimmy...

"I went to Roxy's watched the game...had a couple of cold ones and left about 11:00, went home...that was my night." he said.

"You don't have a girl?" asked Jimmy...

"Not at the present time...but I've seen your girl..." he said looking at Jimmy slyly..

"You have?" asked Jimmy..

"Yeahh..I saw you two in Roxys...and I saw you at Stoleys another time...I knew when I saw you I had seen you before...Just didn't know where...I remembered you because , well...your girlfriend is Black..." he said..."But she's got some curves on her...I totally understand.."he added...

Jimmy smiled...He smiled....

"Okay man...Well thanks for the talk...One of the officers will escort you out...They'll take you home." said Jimmy...

"Nice meetin you man...Maybe we can knock back a few drinks...I'm a regular at Roxys and Stoleys." he said..

"That'll work" said Jimmy....They shook hands...

"Look at that...There's your girl right there....Is that your boss with her?" asked Swanson...

"Yeah." said Jimmy....

He looked at Sissy and Angie and then peeped at Carlotta standing by the side...

"You got nothin but babes working here.....Not a bad assignment.." he said and smiled.

While they were talking...Sissy and Angie  had walked in..

 "Hey guys..."said Angie..

"Hey Angie...Sissy"I said.

 "Hey Chica..Keith..."said Sissy..."Jimmy is interviewing Swanson I see." she observed..

 Sissy observed everything going on around her...That was what made her such a great detective....

''Yes.. And I interviewed Eva this morning...Apparently Valejo lied to us...His Alibi didn't stick...He was not with her after we saw him at the club Friday night.."said Carlotta..

FBI SAC,Sharon Hopkins walked in just then...She had some glossies in her hands...

"Hey guys...Duke, Rico and my husband were lucky last night...I knew they were too tired to wait around...but I told them I'd show this to you...They got a hit on an ATM machine camera just three blocks from Mindy Bridges house..Look who's in the photo...Valejo Suarez....and it's time stamped...That's 2:45 am...Saturday Morning....Then he's at the Gas station...He was caught on this camera at 2:52 am getting gas..and that's him on the crime stopper camera walking down her street and her letting him in...He was at her house...Oh and that finger print? The one we couldn't match...It's his!! He has a misdemeanor charge from three years ago....He was in a bar fight and was finger printed when he was arrested at the time..It's a match!" she said.

''Sirena,Hop,Duke and Tyriq all went home..They were here all night...So was Hazel...Chica ,you want to pick him up?" asked Sissy.

"No problem Boss Lady...She can interview him in the morning..." said Carlotta...who strapped on her kevlar and her holster...''This hurts my boobs." she joked..

''I know right? You want some company Carlotta..Jimmy is busy...I got nothing to do." said Angie.

''Sure" said Carlotta, who kissed me....

"I don't want them saying you are whipped...Wait here for me okay?" she said and gave me a passionate kiss.

''Sure " I said and watched as they both gathered three uniformed policemen and took off...

Sissy looked at me...I expected a smart remark about me and Carlotta's PDA just now..but she didn't say anything...I guess it was just too easy..

"So..What do you think?" she said-"About the case?"she continued, not cracking a smile..

"I like this Valejo person for the murder...He lied about knowing her,He lied about his whereabouts..Lied to his girlfriend and his fingerprints prove he was there...He's our guy.."I said.

"Yeah..I think you're right...This was an easy one.." she said.

"Yeah..We deserve an easy one every now and then.." I said.

What I didn't know was how wrong I was..

(TO BE CONTINUED)