Ice Queens And Tulips

My partner, Detective Monica Talbert sat alone in a tony little Bistro ...Detective Wally Becker walked in and looked around...He peered out the window...Monica looked a bit aggravated, but she said nothing..

Finally ,he sat down with her...He still looked around..

"You act like I'm setting you up for a hit."she said dryly...

"With you ,I can't be sure...."he said smiling..

"I'm kind of hurt by that...I thought you liked me a little bit."she said trying to force a smile.

''What is this....a trick?" he said.

"No trick....I ordered coffee for you....I don't know what you like in it...Feel free.."she said.

He looked around..Then stirred his coffee, added cream and three sugars...and slowly took a sip, all the while eyeing Monica..

''Where is Nate?" he asked.

"Probably doing what I should be doing...Investigating our murder case..." she said...

He smiled...

"Yeah,I heard you guys caught that case with Mimi Rivers, the actress and super-model..Wow! I never thought I'd be getting a text from you...."he said and smiled..

''Don't get excited...I'm just here to give you a little help."she said.

"Help? From you? That's a laugh" he said surprised..

Monica ignored his sarcasm..

"My sister's favorite flower is not roses...it's Tulips...She loves Tulips...And she likes a Mocha Latte with just a spritz of vanilla...if you can't get vanilla...Hazelnut creamer will do.." she said..

"You're giving me tips on how to get with your sister? Me? This is some kind of set up..."he said.

"No....I'm giving you an inside track.....Do with it what you like....I can't be responsible for how she responds....I'm just telling you what she likes...Oh and she works out at Planet Fitness Super Gym on Thursday nights....You might just happen to run into her there.She takes a kickboxing class.." said Monica..

He smiled..

"You on the up?" he said.

"I am..."said Monica..

"Why? Why now?" he said..

''Why not?...You asked me to put in a good word for you...I did...I told her that you were interested in her ,which she already knows...It's kind of obvious with you sending her roses two days in a row.. I gave you the inside tip...I kind of owe you..You did give us some good information that helped us close one of our murder cases...So we are kind of even."said Monica.

"Nate didn't have anything to do with this huh?"he asked.

''What do you care? But if you must know..This was his idea...He said I should give you something..That this wouldn't hurt."she said.

He smiled..

"Good Ole Nate..."he said...

"You tell my sister I told you this..I'll deny it and I will NEVER..I mean,NEVER, EVER speak to you again..."she said.

"Mums the word darlin...And uh look...I was never going to dime you and Nate out...What you two do is your business....Like I said...It wouldn't do any of us any good one way or the other...Nate was my friend once...I'm very sorry about what I did to him....I hope he'll find it in his heart to forgive me one day. I hope one day you too will be my friend....Seriously..."he said.

Monica managed a weak smile...She finished her coffee...

"This isn't a guaruntee my sister will wind up in bed with you....It's just an entrance...I figure...You being a ladies man and what not...You can handle the rest." she said..

''What about Lieutenant Cotton?"he asked.

"What about him?" asked Monica..

''Well he is kinda tryin to beat my time."said Wally.

"Beat your time?  What time have you got? As for my  lieutenant ,He has a girlfriend...My sister knows that!!...She just thinks he's cute ,as does every other woman in the precinct..."said Monica.

He frowned in acknowledgement of the fact....

"You really like Nate don't you?" he asked..

She didn't flinch...

''It's cool...That's good...I wish you two nothin but the best of luck...He is an extremely lucky man...and a real good guy...Like I hope to be with your sister...What do you think of me being your brother in law one day?" he asked..

"Okay Wally,Now you're pushing it..." said Monica, managing another smile...

He smiled..

"You got no flex do you? You are one tough cookie..." he said.

"Nate doesn't think so...He thinks parts of me are very soft." she said and smiled..

"Hmmm..I'll bet he does...Lucky devil..." laughed Wally Becker.

"There goes my phone...It's a text from my partner....I gotta go. Your coffee is paid for...Don't say I never did anything for you."said Monica as she got up and left....

"Thanks Mo.."he replied and chuckled.

He smiled... Maybe sometime in the future the two of them might be friends at least..he thought.

Monica thought the same thing..She allowed herself to smile as she walked out...Wally Becker might be a lying womanizing dog ,but he wasn't without his charm.

II-

Monica called me as she headed back to the precinct...

''Heyyyy Partner...I got your text...It's all good." she laughed.

''He go for it?" I asked.

''Hook ,line and sinker...You were right...He melted like some ice cream in the sun..." said Monica..

"Glad we gave Monique a heads up...I'm surprised she went along.." I said.

''She likes the attention...But if he steps out of line...She'll put him in his place." said Monica..

''And you're the nice one?" I asked ,laughing..

''I'm very nice..You know that...I think I was verrry nice to you last night in bed, wasn't I?" she laughed seductively...

"You certainly were...LAWD!!"I agreed... still thinking about the time we had had at her apartment..

"Uhhhh...As for our case..I'm still trying to get a bead on who owns this account in the Caymen Islands where our vic was wiring her money to....I checked Detective Sykes accounts...He wasn't getting any new money, but he was still paying her alimony and recently he had withdrawn some extra money and wired it to her account...He's on the street right now...but we need to talk to him again..."I said.

''Nate..Next time I interview him...I want you in the room with me...I'm not going to hold anything from you anymore..." she said.

"I never thought that you were....I understand that you two had history...and that he might be a better witness if you talked to him alone.."I said.

''We had history...But you and I? We are now...No need to close you out.."said Monica.

''Wow! That's...That's cool...Hurry up and get back..." I found myself saying..

''On my way baby."she said.

I liked the way she said that.

III-

Detective Bobby Sykes sat in the interrogation room again....

"I can't believe you guys are looking at me...Didn't you test my access card?  I entered her apartment at twelve midnight...She was already dead...I couldn't have done it...I called you guys..."he said.

"Where were you before that?" I asked...

He looked down at the floor...

"My partner asked you a question Bobby...You don't live but six blocks from her...You texted her at 10:30 pm...Yet you didn't arrive until midnight...It wouldn't have taken you that long to get to her house and for a booty call....Where were you?" asked Monica..

He hung his head down...

"Some place I shouldn't be....Look...I was at a crap game...an illegal crap game...I play every week...."he said.

"We are homicide...We aren't Bunco and we aren't Internal Affairs..We don't care...Give me a name and we'll check it out." I said.

He was reluctant at first...

"Bobby...we are trying to clear you..." said Monica..

"Alright....Alright...The guy's name is "Smilin Sam....Sam Williams....He hangs out at this bar...Don't tell him I'm a cop ,please.."he said.

"We won't...I promise you."said Monica..

"Look...I know she was cleaning you out for Alimony...But you were giving her more money...What was up with that?" I asked..

"You flagged my accounts?" he asked..

"You're a Detective ,Sykes...you know the drill.."I said.

He frowned...

"Yes...She was taking my alimony money and...She was offering uh her considerable bedroom expertise for uh more money..." he said looking at me sheepishly and looking away from Monica...

"She said somebody was shaking her down for money...We suspect it was blackmail...Do you have any clue as to who that might have been?" asked Monica..

"No...She asked me to look into it for her...That was why I was coming over that night...She was going to tell me who....I told her I didn't have any money right now." he said.

"From the card game right?" said Monica..

"I had a bad night..I was tapped out..but she was desperate..."he said.

"So she was paying you with ill na na." said Monica..

Detective Sykes and I looked at her and smiled...

He looked at me...

"Your girl always had a way with words....Among other things." he said.

"Yes...among other things."I said with a laugh...

IV-

"Dr. Talbert....They're for you." said the Morgue Attendant...

''Ohhh Wow....Tulips...My favorites...They're beautiful..."said Dr. Monique Talbert...

''Damn girl..You got two bouquets of roses...and now Tulips...You got yourself a secret admirer..."he said.

"Ummmm not so secret...It's from Detective Becker...Special Victims Unit."she said...

"Ohhh, no wonder he's been down here so much lately..."said the attendant as he walked away and laughed..

Monique put the vase of Tulips in between her two vases of Roses and prepared to go back to work when Lieutenant Cotton just happened to walk into the room..

''Hey lady ,how is it going?." he said.

''Hi. Just fine...I'm actually working my sister's murder case." she said..

He looked at all of the flowers...

"Looks like you've got yourself a secret admirer..."said Lt. Cotton..

''Not so secret...Just Detective Becker.." she said smiling..

"You know if he spent as much time working a case as he does trying to get in the girls panties around the station...He might actually wind up being a good detective.."he snarled...

Just then ,his phone rang...

"Oh excuse me..I have to take this." he said...

She stared at Lieutenant Cotton...It was obvious he had a girlfriend...She called several times a day and usually when the two of them were together...She didn't want to get in the middle of that...As fine as he was,she reasoned...She needed to wait until he was available...Or just move on she reasoned.

What she couldn't know was that my ex- partner...Detective Wally Becker..had the Lieutenant's girlfriend's phone number and was texting her from a burner phone everytime he thought the two of them was together,which caused her to call him and ask what was going on....

V-

I don't know what type of person Mimi Rivers was when she was alive, but her lawyer,slash business manager ,Portia Jenkins was an ice queen...about five foot ten bare footed and with her stilletto heels..easily six feet...

She sat in our interrogation room dressed in a white mini skirt that hugged every curve...Long ,shapely legs in white shoes with stilletto heels and bright white hair, cut short......Ice Queen, that was the appropriate name for her...

''What brings you here?" asked Monica..

''When I heard about Mimi...I was just sooo hurt...I flew in from Los Angelas just two nights ago...Have you caught a suspect yet?" she asked..

"No..but we are looking at a few persons of interest.."I said.

"I think her creepy ex-husband did it...He's a cop...Like you guys..Bobby Sykes..." she said.

"Why do you think that?" I asked..

"She told me that if anything happened to her...To look at him.....He was shaking her down for money."she said.

"He was shaking her down? He was giving her money.."said Monica.

"Is that what he told you?  He was nearly bankrupt....Credit cards maxed out...He had a gambling habit...Plus he was paying her alimony.....He wanted her to stop the payments...Her is a legal request he filed to have the payments stopped...From a month ago..She was fighting them...." she said.

"We searched his house thoroughly and he has an alibi...."I said.

"Who? The guy that runs his crap game?Smiling  Sam Williams? he's into Sam for some serious cash...Go to Penns Landing..Check his boat...."she said.

"He has a boat?" asked Monica..

"Sure does..Check it...you'll find what I was talking about...documents...maybe even the murder weapon.."she said.

"Okay...we'll check it out.."I said.

"Ohh..Anybody got any coffee?? I'm so tired...I just got in this morning...The movie they were showing..The Expendables  22...was terrible...How old is Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwartzenagger now..100? and they're still making action movies? That movie should have been called the Dependables.."she said.

We all laughed...

VI-

Monica, Three uniformed officers and I approached Detective Syke's boat...We had a warrant...We talked to the harbor master...A short, balding black man with a beard....

"Yeah..Bobby had quite a few women visit him on this boat...His ex-wife and some others...He never took the boat out on the water...But believe me...That boat was rockin if ya know what I mean...and I know you do...heh ,heh, heh...Some tall drink of water was here just the other night..." he laughed as Monica, the three uniformed policemen and I entered the boat..

We searched the boat from top to bottom...One of the uniforms called me..

''Detective!" he said. He had found a steak knife...It was covered with blood ...

"Oh My God...Mo-Mo...Look at this!" I said.

She grimaced....she got on her phone...

"Lieutenant...We found what we believe may be the murder weapon on Bobby's boat....Pick him up." she said.

I rubbed her hands

''I know this isn't easy for you...Why don't you let me handle the interrogation." I said.

She ignored me..

''Bag and tag that knife...Get that to my sister at the coroner's office."she said.

"We're on it Detective Talbert." they said.

As they left...she put her head on my chest....She kissed me softly....

"Hold me Nate." she said.

I put my arms around her...and held her quietly...

She rubbed my hands softly....

(CONCLUSION NEXT)