Feeding The Hungry

I sat in the Oyster house , sucking Oysters and drinking beer when I saw my friend, Walter "Kool Kat" Jones working his way through the crowd...Like me,he was dressed like a wall street banker...He had a beautiful dark tailored suit that fit his muscular six foot four frame just right...He had on his dark aviator shades and that baleful stare that scared the piss out of everyone who crossed his path...

He saw me and managed a smile and joined me on the stool I had had reserved for him...I already had his favorite micro brew sitting in front of him and a basket of fried shrimp and french fries...

"Ouuuu this must be somethin big Kev...First off ,you called me before I had to hear about it on the street and before you got yourself in a rowdy dow with some dangerous playa....And you got my micro brew and my shrimp and fries all lined up...What's the caper Kev?" he said.

I smiled at my friend..

"You ever hear of Bobby Driscoll?" I asked...Knowing that a man of the streets like him had heard of him...

"You mean Bobby Dee..the juice man...??" he laughed..

"The same..He's my client!" I said.

"What? We usually put guys like him away..What does he want?" asked Kool Kat.

"He had a sit down three days ago with a guy from Camden...Tyrone Mackey..."I said.

"T-Mack...Yeah..He's got the hot package on the streets now of days...All the independent crews in West and Southwest Philly and the white boys in Manyunk and Roxborough buy from him...."said Kool Kat..

I smiled..

"I knew I wouldn't have to school you too much Kools...Anyway...They used to buy from him...He got in a cab after meeting with Bobby Dee and hasn't been seen or heard from in three days...He and Bobby Dee were setting up a lucrative money laundering deal.."I said.

''Camden thinks Bobby Dee might have had something to do with this guy's disapearence...Only he wouldn't have...He would've stood to lose millions of dollars..."said Kool Kat.

"Right!!! He hired me to find him or find out what happened to him as a show of good faith to Camden...He doesn't want any trouble with Mackey's people..."I said.

"I see.."said Kool Kat.

"Kools..I been in Camden, West Philly,South Philly,Manyunk,Roxborough talking to all of the players and they don't know a thing..I checked this guys credit cards,debit cards, bank accounts and his cell phone..nothing...No movement in 72 hours...I talked to his family,friends, associates..They know nothing and haven't heard nothing...So I got to thinking...Maybe a rival hit this guy ,so that he could place his package on the streets.." I said.

Kool Kat ate and drank his beer...He was deep in thought...

"Who you think? New York??" he asked..

"Nahhh, a little closer to home...Clarence Basket..."I said.

He smiled..

"Him!  Yeah..that would make sense...But he has no reach in Manyunk or Roxborough..."said Kool Kat..."Not with the White Boys...They don't know him or trust him...They knew T-Mack..." he said.

"Well maybe he's about the business of making new friends." I said.

Kool Kat laughed...

''Well then let's find him and find out huh?"he said..

''Exactly." I asked.

II-

Clarence Basket was the younger brother of former Fathead Newton soldier, Charles "Bread " Basket... He symbolized the new generation of playas....He had no criminal record whatsoever...and actually held a Bachelors Degree in economics and an MBA...

By day, he worked in a cushy office job in downtown Philly, had a pricey loft in Center City....Drove a 2015 BMW with his initials monogrammed on the sides..By night though..He financed a hot package of both Heroin and Cocaine on the Main Line and in parts of Overbrook...His clients were mostly White college students who would pay big bucks...but it was said that he was looking to make in roads into the huge market in West Philly,Southwest Philly, Roxborough and Manyunk sections of the city....Unfortunately...T-Mack from Camden had beat him to it....

Not anymore...In just 72 hours...T Mack was gone and Clarence Basket was the man...selling to Mack.s hungry clients in West and Southwest Philadelphia and according to the word on the street ,talking to crews in Manyunk and Roxborough...

Kool Kat found him and his number two, Charlie Napier..known on the street as "Napes " in a tony little steakhouse...

We walked toward where he was dining with a shapely and attractive young woman in the back...His enforcer, Charlie Napier blocked our path...

"Relax Napes....I just want a word with your boss, that's all." I said.

"I don't give a damn what you want.....He's busy right now..so beat it.."snarled Charlie Napier...

Kool Kat smiled..

''Excuse me Kevin..." he said and pushed me aside...

"I don't think you understood what my partner here asked you." said Kool Kat...

"Look Walter...I aint scared of you...I know about your feirce street rep old school, but that don't bust no grapes here..."said Charlie Napier who had a fierce street rep himself..

Kool Kat laughed......

Charlie went to swing...Kool Kat blocked it..He swung again..Kool Kat blocked that...

Then I heard the sound of a huge slap....Kool Kat had punched him so hard that he left his feet and slammed up against the wall....and fell to the floor.

People turned around and gasped...

Charlie Napier stood up, stumbled and fell to the ground again,out like a light...

Clarence  Basket was stunned...

"Hey...What do you guys want?" he said...Shocked..

"Just a word with you in private my man...I didn't mean for it to get like this.."I said almost apologetic...

I didn't wait for him to invite me...I sat down at his table...Kool Kat stood a distance away and smiled...

A waiter and another man helped Charles Napier up...He was holding his jaw...His eye was black and nearly shut...

"I'm Kevin Morris...I'm a private investigator..."I said.

He looked at the young lady sitting with him....he peeled off a few twenties....

"Ugh here...buy yourself a few things and come back in a few minutes sugar!...This man and I have to talk babe." he said...

She smiled..Kissed him on the cheek and got up.....

"So what is this about?" he asked.

"Tyrone Mackey...Where is he?" I asked.

"I don't know...Why would I know?" he said.

"Well...until 72 hours ago...He had the hot package on the streets...Now he's missing and you have the hot package on the corners...."I said.

He looked around...

"Who you with?" he asked..

"The man who hired me wants certain people in Camden to know that he had nothing to do with T-Mack's disapearence.." I said.

"Bobby Dee?  " he asked..

I said nothing...

He pulled me closer..

"Look...I didn't have anything to do with that...but guys started calling me, reaching out after a period...All I was doing was feeding the hungry....If T-Mack shows up...whatever arrangement they had remains the same...Unless of course they like what I'm selling ,which is a higher grade of product.." he said.

I smiled..

"Ever the businessman eh Clarence?" I laughed..

"Hey man, you know how it is.."he said.

I smiled and nodded..." Same Bone, different dog." I said.  Now it was his turn to smile.

"Look man...three days ago...I wasn't even in Philly..I was in New York...I had no beef with T-Mack...I had nothing to do with this...I swear...I come back home...He's gone...I get a few calls from some of his clients for re-ups...They say...We aint heard from Mack and we can't get him on his phone..So..I'm in business...But only business...No other stuff." he said.

"Okay man...But I had to ask..." I said...I shook his hand and stood up...

I looked at Charlie Napier...

"You might want to see if they have a cold steak here to put on your face...It's swelling."I said.

Charles Napier looked at me like he wanted to strangle me...

Kool Kat snarled at him..

"Tell me again about how you aint afraid of me." he said...

Napes didn't want anymore of Kool Kat...He straightened his clothes out and  stared balefully at us...

Kool Kat cracked his knuckles ...

"Oh ,you gonna mean mug me right?  Apparently you didn't get enough!" said Kool Kat..

"Come on big man..I think he got the message..Let's get out of here."I said.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Charlie Napier sigh a breath of relief...He really didn't want to go another round with Kool Kat...He was just trying to save face...A face that wouldn't have been recognizable after a few more punches from Kool Kat.

III-

 As Kool Kat and I headed home he turned and looked at me...

"You believe him Kevin?" he asked..

"Until I have reason to think otherwise...Yes I do...Look...Bobby Dee stood to make a small fortune doing business with him...He had no reason to kill him...This guy Baskett clearly benefits from him being gone...but he doesn't appear to have that hunger to motivate him to make a move against a guy like this...I don't know...I just don't see him...doing this...It doesn't feel right.."I said.

"So where do you go now?" asked Kool Kat..

"I don't know...It's like I hit a brick wall..."I said.

"You know..You may never find him..." said Kool Kat.

"I know...and I'd sure hate to have to return Bobby Dee's dough if I can't.." I said.

Kool Kat did a double take and looked at me as he drove...

"Well if you have any trouble out of him..I'm a phone call away..." he said..

I smiled at my friend..

"I know...it's all good baby." I said.

IV-

A day later ,I met with my operatives at Morris Investigations in the basement of Morris Communications...My multi-media company...Where I was Chief Operating Officer...That was my day job...My night job was of course, a Private Investigator....

In the basement of my company was headquarters where I had computers,laptops, monitors ,files on all of my past cases...

Tonight I sat with with Peeping Tom, former CIA operative who helped me equip this basement office with the kind of equipment that would rival most police departments...Lockpick Johnson, his partner...a man who could get into any building and beat almost any security system...My boy, Sean Jackson...Who along with these two were my go to guys for surveilience ... Also there were my boys, Clerow and Owen Todd who provided security for me at times...

"Well Kevin...Clarence Basket was telling the truth...He was in New York , according to his debit and credit cards....He was there all day...He also paid a toll on the George Washington Bridge the next morning and on the Ben Franklin Bridge coming back to Philly."said Peeping Tom

"Okay..So he couldn't have done it..."I said.

"Boss Man..A guy like him doesn't get his hands dirty....He wouldn't have done it.."said Clerow..

"Good point."I said.

"Yeah well Owen Todd and I checked out his boy, Charles Napier like you asked...He was shacked up with one of Big Chicken's pros the entire day...And there are no calls on either of their phones or any movement of any major money from their accounts..."said Sean Jackson.

"So that clears those two..."I said.

"My friend at the police department let me look at the Street cam and ATM cam footage from that day and we did get the license plate number for that cab...and the company.."said Owen Todd...

Clerow, Sean Jackson ,Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson looked at Owen Todd..

I said-"Friend on the Philly P.D.? I thought I was the only one with friends on the force."I laughed..

"Well she aint a high fallutin Lieutenant like Sissy Van Buren or a detective....Just a girl I was seein and she uh kind of let me take a look see.." said Owen sheepishly...

I pulled the license plate photo...

"Good friend to have.."I said smiling..

"Oh and Kev..If you do see your Lieutenant friend..uh please don't mention this." he said..

Clerow smiled that toothy grin of his..

"I won't say a word.."I assured him..

We all laughed...and called it a night...

It was slim, but it was all I had....Tomorrow...I'd visit the cab company and see if I could get a make on this cab.

V-

When I got home...Sepia was still up...She was sitting in the bedroom window...

"Hey babes.."I said.

She smiled and put her arms around me and gave me a big wet juicy kiss...

"Get anywhere on this case?" she asked..

"No just a bunch of dead ends..."I said frowning...

"Aww don't frown....Maybe I have something that will make you feel better."she said as I took off my clothes and sat on the side of the bed exhausted..

"Ummmm,I know you do babes..."I said as I slid her practically see through sheer white nightgown over her head and began deep throat kissing her...

Sepia began fondling me softly and kissing my chest,my neck, my earlobes and once again my lips...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...Ohhhh lawd.."I moaned...

I slipped her panties down...

and we practically crashed on the bed as I entered her warm and very moist center and began to enter her ...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu....oh my goodness Kevin...Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.."she moaned as we began to make sweet love...

"Yessssssssssssssssss..."I sighed...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.."she moaned..

The bedsprings began to squeak and our bed's headboard began smacking against the wall...

"Ummmmmmm.." she moaned...

The next five hours....We made passionate, sweaty ,primitive love....groaning and moaning...

Sepia's eyes got as wide as saucers and her mouth opened but no sound came out....tears and sweat streamed down her face and she began shaking and gyrating something fierce....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..I'm cumming...I'm cumming...."she moaned..

I began to slowly erupt myself...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.."I cried out...

I finally pulled out and lie on my back ,trying to catch my breath....Sepia was still shaking and moaning..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..I'm still cumming...I'm still cumming...."she moaned for awhile and then slowly stopped shaking....

She smiled at me and kissed me again..

"Wow! that was good.." she said..

"I was just feeding the hungry baby." I said...

"What?" she said laughing....

"Just feeding the hungry."I said laughing remembering what Clarence Basket had said to me earlier in the night..

"Funny,that's what I thought I was doing."laughed my wife, Sepia.

TO BE CONTINUED