Who You Know

 

It was a gruesome undertaking..I held Eva in my arms as we watched police bring the remains of Shawn Washington out of the river...Considering , he had been dead for weeks..His body was preserved well....It was in a body bag that had been weighted down...


Eva cried profusely as the body was brought out of the water...

Carlotta came over and spoke to her in Spanish...She spoke back to her in Spanish...Both women started crying and held each other tight..

Duke walked over to me...

"Top has been through this before...Having to identify a loved one ,long missing...We didn't want her to come out here today..but she insisted.." said Duke solemly.

Hazel looked at the body and photos of Shawn Washington.....She motioned for Eva to come look at the body...Carlotta went with her..holding her the entire time..

"That's him...That's him." she said ,still crying...Carlotta held her in her arms tightly and they both cried...

I felt bad...

"So when do we go after this piece of crap, Tony Locke?" said Jimmy....

Tyriq had just got off the phone..

"Relax Junior...No need for that...Uniforms picked him up..He's been shot..He's lost a lot of blood...He's in the hospital."said Tyriq.

"Hop and I are on our way to the hospital to brace him.." said Sirena...

"We got enough murder ones on him for him to be eligible for five needles.." said Hop as they left with three uniforms.

 

"That was a hell of a tip you gave us....I'm not going to ask you how you got it or what you had to do to get it...I'd rather not know..but once again...Thank you friend..." she said kissing me on the cheek..

"Keep this up and Eddie C. is going to get jealous." I joked..

"Oh hush up freshie.." said Sissy,laughing...

Eva walked over to me and hugged me for a long time...Her body was so soft, so round and curvaceous...

"Thank you so much Kevin...You found him....At least now I know what happened to him and he can have a proper burial..." she said.

"The man who did this is in police custody..." I said.

"Oh Thank you..." she said.

II-

Tony Locke was in custody...Ronnie Lawrence had told me where the body could be found and who had done it..He said...Tony Locke shot him twice in the back of the head and that he and another person who he did not know put the body in a body bag ,weighted it down and dropped him in the river..

He then packed his bags and caught the fastest thing smoking out of Philadelphia ,never to return he said...

He told me that he tried to get Shawn to leave it alone...Shawn had no idea how ruthless the people he was dealing with were...that being State Senator, Gerald Lonigan...

He certainly knew...Which was why he closed down shop and left Philly....Good riddance.

Gerald Lonigan and his aide met with me at the Broad Street Diner...A day later.

He was a tall ,light skinned and well groomed man about my height and build... He saw me and came and sat down....

"First of all, who are you and what do you want with me?" he snapped..

"You're in a lot of trouble Senator.."I said.

"I don't get in trouble.."he said arrogantly...

"Greta Morgan.....Shawn Washington..."I said.

"Who are they?" he snapped..

I started laughing...

"Are we going to play that game Senator?  You know damn well who she is...Your former personal assistant...You got her pregnant....Then you decided to marry someone else...who you also had pregnant...She wasn't going for it...So she vanished one night....Her cousin was on to you and he was going to expose you...So..He vanished...We found his body yesterday...I want you to know."I said.

"You a cop?" he asked looking around...

"Nope...I'm a Private Investigator..."I said..

He looked relieved..

"Oh Hell, you don't worry me." he said.

"I know all about your arrangement with drug dealer ,Ronald Lawrence...and I can prove it....I have documents....I know about your paid assassin, Tony Locke....He's in jail, or didn't you know? And a DNA test will prove you were the father of Greta Morgan's baby...I have her medical records and reports..."I said.

"What do you want?" he snarled...

"I want two million dollars....For two mill, I'll turn it all over to you...Tony Locke will take the fall for the whole thing and you'll walk away as clean as a baby's butt,Like you always do.."I said.

"Why you....Why don't I have you killed? Like I had them?" he said.

"Because I have copies of all the damning information...in a lawyers office...If I so much as catch a cold...You're toast...ADA  Keith Wallace gets those documents and you go to jail my friend..Two murders...That'll end your career, conviction or no...Just the scandal....Here is my number.. Call me when you've made arrangements for payment." I said and got up and walked away...

III-

Eddie C. sat on his steps as the limo drove up...He got in.....

State Senator Gerald  Lonigan looked at him...

"I hear that you know somebody who will uh take care of a problem for me.." he said.

"I know lots of people..." he said.

"I need a problem taken care of.." he said.

"You mean you need someone killed right?" said Eddie C.

"Yes...Can you provide that kind of service?" he asked.

"Who do you need killed?" he asked..

"A Private Investigator named Kevin Morris...You know him?" he asked..

"I know of him...Seen him around.." said Eddie C.

"Ok ,here is 20 G's for you....and 20 G's for your guy...and in the briefcase...the gun..It's clean..."said State Senator Lonigan..

"My man will meet with you in 24 hours..." said Eddie C.

"Good." he said.

Eddie C. got out of the car and laughed his head off...

The next day, Kool Kat sat drinking a tumbler of coffee in the diner....State Senator Lonigan walked in...

"Are you the guy?" he asked..

"Yeah...." said Kool Kat..

"I gave you 20G's...Why is it necessary that we meet?" he asked ,obviously irritated..

"I need 30more G's...Killin that guy is a tall order...He's no slouch...." said Kool Kat.

"WHAT?  This is blackmail..."he screamed..

"Keep your voice down....You could always kill him yourself.. I've already found those files you were tellin me about  and destroyed em and killed that lawyer, Robert Foxworth who was holding em for him....Now you gonna pay me or what?"said Kool Kat...

"Oh alright..." he said and had an aide bring him an envelope...He counted out thirty thousand in hundreds and gave it to him....

"He's as good as dead." said Kool Kat...

"Tonight if you can. I want this whole sordid mess handled as neatly as possible." he said.

"Sure thing boss man." said Kool Kat,laughing his head off.

IV-

The next day I walked into the very busy campaign office of State Senator Gerald Lonigan...He looked like he had drank two cans of paint when he saw me walk up to him...

"Really Senator, Really?  You try to have me whacked..I always knew you were a back stabber...." I said and I played him the conversations he had with both Eddie C. and Kool Kat...on my IPAD mini...

He was furious...

"You set me up...They work for you?.."  he said.

"Proof that solitciting murder is nothing new to you, Mr. Robert Foxworth wasn't too pleased when he heard the tape recording of you ordering his murder.....Now I want you to meet a friend of mine." I said and Assistant District Attorney Keith Wallace walked into the office..

"Hello Jerry...It's been a long time.." he said.

"Wallace...Does this man work for you?" he snarled..

"Kevin? No..He's a Private Investigator...But he did show me a very interesting video...Of you paying two people to arrange his murder...but not only that...somebody dropped us off a zip drive that had some really interesting information on it...It was real interesting..I couldn't stop watching..." said Keith Wallace.

"Wallace...You're mighty damn close to being disbarred..I know people..." he snarled.

"I know somebody too...A guy named Tony Locke...See ,My detectives have about five murder charges on him....He's facing the death penalty....and even though I have so much dirt on you I didn't need his testimony...He cut a deal anyway...He told us about two murders he did for you my friend....Greta Morgan and Shawn Washington...." said Keith Wallace..

"Ha...You take the word of a common thug over me, a state senator?" he snarled.

"He sounded pretty convincing to me...At any rate..I have a warrant for your arrest..Rico..Duke..Would you do the honors?" said Keith Wallace.

"With Pleasure" said Tyriq ,who read him his rights..

"This has been a long time coming you rotten ,corrupt son of a bitch." said Duke ,who cuffed him as two uniform police officers walked him out...

"Wallace..your career is done, you hear me...You're done and your two smart ass detectives...I'll have their badges...and you..you Mr. Kevin Morris...I'll ruin you...I'll have your P.I license snatched and have you put in jail...I know people in this damn town..I know people gotdamn it...I KNOW PEOPLE...DO YOU KNOW
WHO THE HELL I AM??  " he screamed and stomped his foot as the two officers dragged him out...


I looked at his staffers...

''School is out...He won't be back anytime soon.I suggest you folks look for future employment" I said as we all laughed and walked out..

Justice had been served.

EPILOUGE:

 Tony Locke was convicted on five counts of first degree murder,including Greta Morgan and Shawn Washington...because he testified against his boss, State Senator Gerald Lonigan...He was given Life instead of the Death Penalty....

Gerald Lonigan was convicted of three counts of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced  to 25 years to Life..

A new Pizza joint opened up in Chris and Chess's new shopping center...Naturally...Chris, Chess, Donald Smooth and their significant others were there...Along with Clerow and Corabeth, Sean and Sheila Jackson,
Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson and Harry and Bernadette Charles, Kool Kat and Chelsea..my good friends...

 Sepia , Eva and I shared a long table with Sissy and Eddie C. and Carlotta and Keith Wallace..

"Thank you again Ms. Sepia and of course you ,Kevin for all of your help..." said Eva..

"The pleasure was all ours and thank you for agreeing to work at our Real Estate office and babysit for Kevin and me from time to time." said Sepia...

Eva had moved into one of Clerow's apartment complexes...which was just two blocks from us.The same one that Paris and Blake lived in..

"I am sooo glad you have moved into the neighborhood Eva...It will be soo nice to have another Latina to talk to." said Carlotta..

''Now she'll be speaking spanish to someone other than her sister and her cousin....She'll be speaking spanish all day long." said Keith Wallace..laughing with fake exasperation...

"You lovvvvvvvvvvvve when I speak Spanish." said Carlotta seductively...

We all laughed...

"This pizza is incredible." said Sissy biting into the rich juicy Pizza..

''Yeahhh mon..I'm definitely going to be stopping by here on the way home from work on Friday nights..."said Eddie C.

"I feel like I'm part of a new family.." said Eva..

"You are baby....You are...It's all in who you know.." I said.

And I smiled ,thinking about all of my friends...Some old, some new...and all the contributions we made to this area...New homes, New businesses..safer streets...so much...

I looked around the room....I was happy...It truly is all in who you know.