In Front Of My Face

I knew who my client was....and I knew his history...but maybe if I back tracked and found out who the woman was that gave him my business card...I could find the missing pieces of this baffling case...

First off...I had only printed about 75 of those business cards that had my photo on it and my business number and cell numbers...I had decided that that wasn't such a good idea and had scrapped them... I had a file with the names of the people I had passed these cards to.....I don't know why I had kept a file on that...but it certainly came in handy now.....

First off, some sixty of the people I gave these cards to were men...So I easily crossed them off....That left 15 women...Ten of the women were not people who had any dealings with John Kilroy Jr...So it took only two hours of either phone calls or visits to determine that...

After another short search ,I found her!! Her name was Bernadette Kilroy!!! I don't know why it had taken me so long to make the connection...The Detectives curse as Detective Edwin "Duke" Baylor used to tell me-

"I was looking everywhere else and the obvious answer was right in front of my face." he'd say...He was definitely right this time.
II-

Bernadette Kilroy lived in a beautiful Condo in midtown Philadelphia...Finding her wasn't hard at all....She was a pleasent enough woman...

"Mrs. Kilroy ?" I said.

"Yes...Come in quickly." she said looking around and closed the door quickly...

"My name is..." I said.

"I know who you are...Kevin Morris, the Private Investigator I told my ex-husband to contact..." she said.

"Okay...I have your husband in a safe place..." I said.

"How is he?" she asked..

"He took a pretty bad beating about a week ago...Two men tried to kill him....The beating was so bad that he's lost his memory....."I said.

"Oh My God...They came around here three times looking for him....I told them we were seperated...but they kept coming back, following me to work...Thinking he and I were going to hook up...but we didn't..I haven't seen or heard from him in weeks..." she said.

"You don't have to worry about those two guys...One is in jail and the other one is dead..."I said.

"This won't end with them...They'll just send someone else." she said.

"Why don't you pack a few things and come with me..." I said...

"What?" she asked...

"You're not safe here...Whoever is after him doesn't know about me yet...But I know about him...I've heard his voice.." I said.

I played her a recording of the wire tap I heard days before...

"Mister Mckindles....It's been a week what do you have to report?" came the mysterious voice..

"Uh sir...We had him...and he got away from us..." said Clean.

"You used to be a cop...don't you know how to find people?"

"I've looked in all of the local hospitals...Nobody by that name has checked in...I'll find him..I'm sure he'll turn up."

"No...He better turn up.....I hired you because I heard you were the best in this kind of business...If this matter isn't handled and handled as quickly and discreetly as possible...then Mr. McKindles..it will become MY business and if it has to become MY BUSINESS....I'll make sure you are out of business for good...Do I make myself understood?"

"Yes...Yes sir..."

"I'm paying you a hefty fee for your services...I want a positive return on my down payment...."

"Yes Sirrr..Sirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..I'll find him within the next 24 hours...."

"DO IT!"

(Click!)

 "Do you recognize that voice?" I said...

"Oh My God...That's Rick!" she said...

''Rick? Who's Rick?"I asked...

"Rick is Richard Bain...Dr. Richard Bain....He's the head of Product Research at Lock 15..Where my ex-husband was working.." she said.

"Lock 15...What is Lock 15...I've heard of this company before...What is it?" I asked...

"It's a Bio-Chemical and Medical Research manufacturer among other things....They have a lot of government contracts...My husband was a legal advisor for Lock 15....He and I split up about a year ago, but we were kind of friends and he came to me about a month ago, frightened out of his wits...He had discovered that Lock 15 had greenlighted the sale of a product to our soldiers that had dangerous, murderous side effects...In fact it was the lincpin of a case in court now in which a soldier killed his wife and daughter while using this drug....Lock 15 was being sued...Naturally they said that no such drug existed and if it did they had no knowledge of it...Only it was a lie....My ex-husband did research and he had proof...proof that such a product did exist and he got inside and took photographs of the documents...The product not only existed but had been signed off by Dr. Richard Bain...." she said.

"So they want the documents?" I said.

"No...they destroyed the actual documents, but my ex-husband has them on a zip drive....in a safe deposit box...." she said.

I produced a key....I suppose this key is to the safe deposit box he's talking about right?" I said.

"Yes...That's it..." she said.

"Okay...let's get out of here and get you someplace safe.." I said.

"Where you taking me Mr. Morris?" she asked.

"To My house. My wife and I have a newborn baby..."I said.

"Awwwww..." she said..

"And we have an extra guest room."I said.

"You'd better call her..." she said.

''Oh yeah...No woman wants this kind of surprise."I said.

III-

I drove Bernadette to my house where my wife Sepia and our daughter Kimberly awaited her...She made herself as comfortable as possible, while I drove out to Fathead's safehouse...

"Hey Mr. Kevin." said John as I entered the house...

"Hey John...Good news...I'm driving you to my house...I've got someone I want you to meet...Your ex-wife,Bernadette." I said.

"I was married?" he said.

"Yes you were..Maybe if you see your ex-wife your memory will come back...." I said.

"Okay..I'm game" he said.

"Hey Ralph, Roscoe....Thanks again." I said.

"We would say you're welcome.....But we know you'll be back" laughed Roscoe as John and I got in my car and pulled off..

"Does Lock 15 mean anything to you?" I said.

"Lock 15!...Lock 15!...Lock 15?  No...should it!" said John....

''Damn man..I wish you could remember something." I said.

"I'm sorry man.." he said as we pulled up in front of my house..

He took one look at my wife Sepia and smiled...

"Wow man..You got a wife that looks like this and you're out dodging gunfire and solving crimes?" he said.

I smiled...

"Wait til you see your wife or ex-wife." I said.

"Hello Johnny." said Bernadette...

Upon seeing her..His eyes popped out of his head...

"Oh My God...I was married?? And Married to her?" he said smiling shyly...."WOW..She's cute" he found himself saying...

Bernadette smiled...

''Wow...That's not the man I was married to...He almost never complimented me." she said.

"Gee...I guess I was a jerk huh?" he said..

"And a liar and a skirt chasing womanizer...but there were times when you were...well....nice...Like you are now Johnny." she said.

"Is that why you guys split up?" said Sepia...

"Yeah, Johnny couldn't keep his pants zippered up and he was always lying..." she said.

"Damn...I sure am sorry...I can't see how I'd cheat on a woman as fine as you.." he said.

Bernadette smiled..

"Well you did...The only reason I was talking to you at all is that when you came to me a few weeks ago you seemed so desperate, so afraid...I felt sorry for you..." she said.

"John...Bernadette has filled me in on your situation...It seems you have sensitive information..Information that could put a very influential man behind bars...and cost your former employer a great deal of money...Do you know where the safe deposit box is that belongs to this key?" I asked..

He was busy staring at Bernadette...She was blushing...

"Johnny please....you're acting like you're seeing me for the first time.." she said shyly...

"It feels like it is the first time.."He said dreamily....Then he answered me..

"I uh sure don't remember..." he said.

"Then I've got my work cut out for me..." I said.

"Enough Shop Talk guys...let's eat." said Sepia, who had prepared a fine meal for us...

IV-

Bernadette held our daughter,like she was her own.....John made goo goo eyes at her the entire night...It was if ,despite his memory loss...some psychic sexual attraction in his sub-conscious was drawing him to his ex-wife...Bernadette..

Sepia thought it was cute.....

"Ladies...After this fine meal...I can not allow you to wash the dishes.." said John , who got up and washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen...

"Oh My God...Who is this?  This is not the John I was married to." she told Sepia..."He was very smart...He's got degrees from Penn,Columbia and St. Johns...He's got an MBA and a J.D...He was very arrogant and lazy..Never helped me around the house, unless he wanted sex of course.....I actually like him without his memory...He seems more attractive." she confessed.

''Maybe that knock on the head did him some good.." laughed Sepia..

''Uh John...I've got some extra sheets and pillowcases...I can make a comfortable pallet here in my living room.." I said.

''Uh Mr.Kevin...If you don't mind...I'd uh like to sleep in the room with my wife.."said John..

Sepia and I looked at him with surprise...

''Johnny, we aren't married anymore...We haven't been married for about a year now." she said.

''Yeah...Uhh that was presumptious of me..I don't know what I was thinking.." he said and hung his head..."I'm very sorry..I-I don't even know you...I mean I don't remember you.. and you don't know me anymore.." he said..

I felt sorry for him..

Finally Sepia broke the ice...

"Bernadette honey...I feel like we are old friends..If you don't mind...It's cool with us..We are all adults here." she said.

"Okay."said Bernadette...

I was shocked...

John smiled....He looked at me...

"I was married to her?"he asked...

"Yes man,apparently you were." I said.

"And I cheated on that woman? What was I crazy?" John asked me...

"Only you can answer that man and right now you can't remember.."I said.

"I know what I see....she looks like she was the answer to everything in my life..."I was looking everywhere else and the obvious answer was right in front of my face. It was her."he said...

I smiled... I had heard that before.

Sepia looked at me and gave me a Kanye shrug....I just laughed...

But somewhere out there was a killer, who was being paid well to find John and the key and the contents of that safe deposit box and I had to nail down the location of the safe deposit box and soon before the killer and the man that was paying him did and bring this thing to a head. No pun intended.

(CONCLUSION NEXT)