New Years Eve

 Life is never quite as simple as you may think it is...I didn't expect to sleep with my new partner, Detective Monica Talbert as soon as I did...I could still see her the way she looked when we both woke up in bed together....Hair, long, wild, sexy....Doe like eyes....that sexy pout...

I never expected the experience to be so good and I never, never thought I'd be catching feelings for her as fast I undeniably have...but try as I may..that's exactly what was happening..I had never felt that way about any girl I'd met this soon...

"I know I'm not supposed to be in your head Nate, but I couldn't help but feel and hear your emotions and thoughts and I have to admit...I'm thinking and feeling the same thing.." said Monica as we raced to the next scene in my Flying Car..

It's kind of cute that she can do that, I thought.

"Wow!  You know..You were right all along..We shouldn't have done this...This could get out of hand..and...and..and...I like working with you..Being your partner..We have a kind of simpatico..a rhythm if you will...I can tell just by working this case..."I said.

She looked at me and smiled the sweetest smile...

"I know right? You can tell just by how we don't get in each other's way...on this case..." said Monica.

"We uh also have some great rhythm in the bed too..I'm sorry..I just had to say that because it's true...I mean like damn girl..you...you rocked my world last night." I said looking at her salaciously.She had the prettiest legs and a nice little figure..

"It's okay...you rocked mine too...and I don't regret a minute of what we did..." she said, blushing...I knew she could hear my thoughts...Surprisingly I wasn't thinking about asking her to get out of my head..

''So uh, what are we going to do about this?" I asked.

 ''We are going to ride this thing out...crack this case and continue being partners and keep our little uh arrangement a secret." she said.

"How long can we do that?  People always find out these things." I said.

''Not if we don't tell them..My daddy always said that three men can keep a secret if two of them are dead." she said.

''Your daddy sounds like he was or is a gangster." I said.

Monica laughed...

"He was actually a cop..." she said and we both laughed...

"That explains so much about you...But uhhhhh..What if you come to work lookin all good ,like today for instance and I want to uh pull you in an empty office with no one lookin and just ravish you? I can't do that can I?" I said laughing sheepishly...

"I think you know the answer to that...But uh...we can always uh go on long lunches...especially if we have a murder to investigate..and stop by a motel." she said and winked...

We both were filled with so much shame at that point...

"Damn...listen at us...we both seem and sound soooo bad...We gotta stop talkin like this.."I said.

"I know right?...but I've never felt so alive ,so excited in a long while." she said and smiled..

"Me neither.."I said..Itv was the truth..Our little secret made me feel alive, daring..It gave me a reason to wake up in the morning!

The idea of a clandestine love or sex affair, whatever it was we were doing, appealed to me...but I knew that somewhere down the line it was going to come to it's inevitable conclusion...I was just going to enjoy the ride, while we could.

We headed to the home of Kora's Husband... Jim "Big Marny"Shelton.....He was not in a mood to talk to us...

A Big Hulk of a man,...with reddish brown hair and freckles ..He sat in his apartment, drinking a scotch....

"Hello Mr. Shelton...I'm Detective Monica Talbert and this is my partner, Detective Nate Nellis." she said.

He didn't bat an eye, he took another swig of his drink  and looked at us like we were crazy...

"We are investigating your wife's murder." I said.

"I didn't do it...What'cha come here for?" he asked..

"We know you hired a Private Investigator to follow her....and we know he took photos of her going into the loft where she was found dead." said Monica..

"You know she was a whore? , bangin two guys..the two guys that own that place." he asked..

"Yes sir, we know about that...But what we don't know is where you were around midnight...Two nights ago.." asked Monica.

"I was at Kelsey's Bar in Port Richmond....Until 2:00 am..Twenty five people will vouch for that." he said.

I watched him carefully....Yes he was six feet ,  and yes I know that he was a big hulk of a man...but his hands ..They were amazingly small for a guy his size...

''You willing to leave your fingerprints and a DNA sample with us?" I asked..

"Yeah sure." he said..

I pulled out a tablet that took his fingerprints and Monica swabbed his mouth and put the results in a plastic bag.

He looked at us....

"Yeah, I knew what she was doing...but I didn't kill her...I would have gotten around to it...but somebody beat me to it" he said...not trying to hide his rancor in the least bit...Unless he was the world's greatest actor...He was not our guy I reasoned.

We both left his apartment..

II- 

As we headed back across town I talked to Monica...

"He's not our guy..I don't like him for this." I said.

"I know..I could hear his thoughts...He was telling the truth... How could you tell?" she said.

"His hands...They were too small..." I said.

Monica smiled..

"Good Observation...I noticed that immediately..."she said.

We went to the bar he said he'd been at and sure enough...We found close to 15 people,including the bartender that vouched for him....

His Fingerprints and DNA was not a match for what we found in the apartment...That cleared him.

III-

"We are looking at this all wrong Mo." I said, while we sat in the break room.

"Awww that's so cute...you already have a pet name for me and we haven't known each other a week" she laughed...She rubbed my hands softly....

I ignored her...

''We know that neither Jaybird killed her or his partner Rod right? They liked her....Although her husband, "Big Marnie"had knowledge of her infidelity , thus a great motive..It wasn't him.....Only one other person we haven't cleared...The one person who we never even asked for an alibi.." I said.

''We just got back the time stamped video from the night of the murder....This is from a street cam across the street from the loft..." said Monica..

''Wowwww Mo...Look who it is.." I said.

She smiled...

"Well I'll be damned...We could've closed this thing a few nights ago and saved us a trip to the moon. Helloooo killer!" she said.

We looked at each other and smiled.

IV-

Larry Latimer had a very nice apartment...He looked surprised to see us...

"Hey you two...Detectives...You guys get a break in Kora's murder ?" he asked .

"As a matter of fact..We did." I said.

"Can I offer you a drink?" he asked..

"I'm on duty...so is my partner.." I said.

"Oh ,uh yeah,right." he said...I could see that he was beginning to sweat profusely..."So uh,er ,ahh,what brings you here?" he asked.

"Larry, why didn't you tell us that you went to the loft the other night?" asked Monica.

"Me? I didn't go to the loft??" he said.

"That's a lie...You know it and we know it..." she said.

''We know you were...We have you on video entering the loft only seconds after Kora went in....We also know that you texted her and told her that Jaybird wanted to see her and to come there and get comfortable.We checked her smartphone...." I said.

"You knew that both Jaybird and Rod were not going to be there....They often got you to text their girls ,so that it would never come back to them...and you did their bidding...I'm guessing you purposely told her to go there so that you could get in on their action and something went wrong..didn't it?"said Monica..

He was astounded...

"It's like...It's like you're in my head.."he said.

"She uh has that effect on people." I said.

Monica looked at me and smiled...

''What Happened Larry?" she asked...''We know it was you...I'm bettin if we get your fingerprints and DNA they will match the only prints and DNA in the apartment we can't match..." she said.

He hung his head...

"For years...We was all friends...Those guys bought that loft, they always had swingin chicks up there...THEY NEVER INVITED ME, THEY NEVER CUT ME IN ON THEIR ACTION...THEY NEVER INVITED ME UP...YOU DON'T DO THAT TO YOUR FRIENDS." he yelled.

Monica talked to him soothingly,quietly...

''No Larry you don't...You liked her didn't you?" she said softly...

"I LOVED HER!!!....I'D BRING HER FLOWERS, COFFEE...GO RUN ERRANDS FOR HER  just HOPING SHE'D NOTICE ME...BUT SHE NEVER DID." he screamed..

"She was married man." I said.

"She didn't care about him....Plus she was sleeping with both of them....I went there to tell her how I felt...That she could do better than all three of those guys....She blew me off...Like I didn't matter...and I just snapped...I just snapped and I strangled her..I didn't mean to do it...I just snapped.." he said ,sweating profusely and shaking...

I handcuffed him...

"Larry Latimer...You are under arrest for the murder of Kora Shelton....You have the right to remain silent..Anything you say can and will be used against you...You have a right to an attorney ,if you do not have an attorney,one will be provided for you...Do you understand these rights?" I asked..

"Yeah man..Yeah! .YOU DON'T DO THAT TO YOUR FRIENDS." he said again..."YOU CUT EM IN ON THE ACTION...YOU CUT EM IN!"he yelled and stomped his foot!

Monica opened the door...Two uniformed officers came in and took him away.....She smiled and looked at me..

"Well Partner...We cracked our first case.." she said.

''And not a moment too soon...It's New Years Eve." I said.

She smiled..

"Indeed" she said and winked..

I pulled her to me to kiss her...

"Uh Uh...Too many cops around...Not here..." she said and looked around...She eased me back inside Larry's apartment...Then she took her foot and kicked the door to his apartment shut...

"In here is a different story." she said, smiling slyly and putting her arms around me and kissing me passionately.

EPILOUGE-

 Larry Latimer's fingerprints and DNA were a perfect match....He was convicted of Manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years...

Jaybird and Rodman sold their love nest...But I'm pretty sure they have another one someplace else.

"Excellent work detectives"said Lieutenant Frankie Cotton Jr.  "I knew you two would crack this one quick..right before the New Year too." he said. We were at the local Diner...

"We work well together Lieutenant. I think my new partner and I are going to be just fine together." said Monica..

"Glad to hear it...Well ..I got a hot date...I can't keep her waiting...What are you two planning to do tonight..It's New Years Eve?" he asked..

At first we looked guilty....Did he Know about us? was our mutual thought ..Then we realized he was just asking a general question.

 ''I've  got no plans...I may go have a couple of drinks , bring the New Year in." I said.

"No date?" he asked.

"I just got divorced Lieutenant..."I said.

"All the more reason you should be out there testing the waters...young man...But hey, you'll find your way soon..." he said.

"What about you Talbert??...I know you got a couple of guys jockin you..."he laughed...

"Well I'd better get home and give them a chance to call me." she laughed...

"Such a playa...Well...Good work guys....I'll see you guys in a few days...Have a good time what ever you choose to do...I'm out.." he said and rushed off...

I tossed down a few dollars to pay our tab.. I stood up and shook my new partner's hand..

 "It was nice working with you Monica...I hope we can do this again sometimes...We do work well together."I said and prepared to leave..

"I uh kind of thought I'd visit your apartment..You've already been to mine.."she said coyly...and winked.

"I uh thought you had some dates lined up."I said.

''Silly...I said that to throw the Lieutenant off." she said.

"Woww...So you're coming home with me?  To bring in the New Year? Future Mrs. Nellis?" I asked.

" Yes..unless you have other plans. " she said laughing and totally ignoring my Future Mrs. Nellis remark.

''I don't....but you already know that." I said.

She kissed me softly and took my hand and led me out to my Flying Car...

"Yes...I already knew...Almost Mr. Talbert"she said..and laughed.

I pulled her to me and we kissed each other passionately for awhile.....She finally eased out of the embrace..

"You don't want to be too tired for tonight do you?" she asked...

''I don't think that's possible." I said.

"Oh hush up freshie and come on.." she said..

The New Year looked promising..