Missing You

I stood at the port with several uniformed policemen talking as CSI personell snapped photos of a flying car that looked just like mine...

I loved summer in the city...A warm breeze broke up the nearly sweltering morning heat....My partner, and fiance, Detective Monica Talbert drove up with her identical twin sister...Dr. Monique Talbert, our coroner...

She kissed me softly in the lips and passed me a tumbler of steaming hot coffee....

"Good Morning Partner...What do we have here?" she asked..

"The real question is what we don't have....and that's a corpse....I got a frantic call from a woman named Megan , an account manager at a huge real estate firm, who claims that her fiance ,Marvin Zane has been missing since Saturday and she's certain that he was murdered..." I said..

Who am I? Detective Nate Nellis, Homicide..

"This sounds more like a missing persons case or a case of cold feet." said my sister in law to be...Dr. Monique Talbert, Monica's identical twin sister...

"I agree and I was going to call Missing persons...but his fiance was frantic...certain that he's been murdered."I said.

"How can she be so sure?" asked Monica..

"I don't know...So I took this car's license plate number and I traced the lojack on it to here...I expected to find a body,but I found....well...the keys....the man's wallet on the front seat with $500.00 in cash, credit cards,debit card intact and drivers and flying license.."I said.

"A lot of people go diving in this area...Maybe he's swimming....."said Monica.

"That's just it...He was a diver and an instructor...He went out Saturday Morning and never returned.."I said.

"Then we need to question the area divers around here and check the street cams and the port cams.." said Monica...

"Sayyy, uh how is your Lieutenant doing?" asked Monique...

I noticed that he wasn't at the crime scene...Odd for him because he'd been at every one since Monique became the coroner..

"He's fine Siss...I do notice that he's not here...You two have an argument or something?"asked  Monica.

"No...I haven't seen or heard from him since we all went out to breakfast that Saturday...

"That was about six weeks ago..."I said...Monica and I had cracked about four murder cases since then and the Lieutenant hadn't shown up at a one of the scenes...Odd considering how attracted he was to Monique..

"How bout your other boyfriend Siss?" asked Monica with a sly smile...

"Barry?? From New York?? I've been calling that joker and texting him for about six weeks and I haven't got a text or a call back...I'm not calling him again...He just came down here to get some that's all...I'm done with him."said Monique...

Up until now, neither Monica or I knew his name...He was just "New Yorker guy" We'd only heard him moaning in the bedroom and seen him getting into his car,pulling off....So now he had a name...I mused.

"Actually Siss,I was talking about Detective Wally Becker.."laughed Monica..

"Him? Haven't heard squat out of him either...in about six weeks.."said Monique...

"Damn Sister in law to be...I guess your Mojo done wore off huh?" I joked...

"Or my newness...Is there a new girl working here somewhere?" she asked..

"Nope....You're it.....It was like this when I first started ...Five or six guys were all jockeying for position and after I shot them down..things got quiet.."said Monica..

"You didn't shoot everybody down..there was that Detective...Bobby Sykes...That FBI Agent and of course,Nate here.."said Monique...

"Yeah....Couldn't turn everybody down.....When you gonna stop turnin guys down?" she asked..

"Actually I haven't turned anybody down...I just haven't given anybody the greenlight..but to answer your question siss...I don't know...Maybe when something is just right...Like you and Nate.." she said.

II-

It was eerily quiet at Penns Landing and the surrounding port.....

"All we have is an empty vehicle and not much else..."I said.

"Let's find those divers and question them ,ask if they saw anything...This guy may have drowned and is stuck at the bottom of the bay...I'm certain this isn't a homicide...I'm hoping this isn't a homicide...I've been enjoying these last few days with my baby."she said looking at me..

I smiled at her...and at the same time I felt sorry for Monique...She really felt lonely and was definitely missing the attention....I know that Wally Becker falsely believed that she had slept with the Lieutenant that weekend and then he saw all of us at brunch the next morning...All of which was unplanned and totally innocent...The lieutenant had not spent the night with Monique...He had heard Barry from New York....And Brunch??We had no idea the Lieutenant was going to be there...But I certainly understand what that must have looked like...That explained why Becker wasn't sniffing around her..but it did not explain the Lieutenant....Wonder why he wasn't sniffing around her? I'm certain we'd all find out soon enough..

A uniformed officer brought a guy over to us.....

"Detectives..I think I can be a little help to you....My name is Drollinger, Wally Drollinger the third..I'm an Assistant Diving Instructor here..." he said... He was White,Blond haired, Blue eyed, athletic build..about my age...

I showed him a photo of the missing man...

"You know him?" I asked..

"Sure do...that's Marvin Zane  , We both teach diving here at the port...Every Friday and Saturday...but I wasn't here this past Saturday." he said.

"Any chance Marvin came out with a class this past Saturday?"asked Monica..

"Sure..In fact...He took about six people out.....by himself.." said Wally....

''When is the last time you heard from him?" asked Monica..

"Saturday around noon after the class was over and he brought the class back...We take em out on boats..they dive and after the class is over...We bring em back..." said Wally...

"He ever go out diving by himself?" I asked..

"Yeah..usually after the class was over..He and I both would go out by ourselves and take a dive for fun.."said Wally....

"Okay..I'm going to need the names of all six of your students that day and of the harbour master."I said.

"Okay...I'll give you the manifest...It has names and addresses and email addresses"he said.

"Good ,uh did he have any uh problems with anybody? Any unsatisfied customers?" I asked.

"Marvelous Marv???You gotta be kidding...All of our students were women and they loved him...they were heartbroken that he was getting married and that his fiance was pregnant.."he laughed..

"You think any one of them was a little too upset he was getting married?" asked Monica..

He smiled..

"Oh nooo, not like that...Whoa..Wait a minute...Youse guys are detectives...Something happened to Marvin?" he asked.

"We don't know yet...His fiance called my partner...She hasn't seen him since Saturday when he left to teach the diving class and we found his Flying Car here with the keys in the ignition and his wallet,complete with money, credit and debit cards..." said Monica..

"I got a spare keycard...pop the trunk."he said and passed the keycard to Monica.

She popped the trunk open....

His Smartphone and Smartwatch were in the trunk.

Wally looked at me..

"He always locked his phone and his watch in the trunk..Nothing odd about that." he said.

"Hmmm, I said..Let me check his last calls.."I said.

A uniformed officer walked over to me with a plastic evidence bag...I placed his phone, his watch,his wallet and his Drivers License and Registration card in the bag...

"Man this is strange...I don't like this." said Wally Drollinger...


"Maybe it's nothing...Cold feet or something."I said trying to reassure him...

"Cold Feet?? Nah....Not him...He couldn't wait to be married to Megan..." said Wally.

"Maybe someone else could wait...We'll know more after we investigate...Can we get that manifest?"said Monica.

"Oh yeah,sure..I'll got and get it." he said.

"I'm sorry Mo-Mo...We didn't have a case and I uh dug one up..."I said totally apologetically...

Monica smiled the sweetest smile ever at me...

"Partner...I'm not mad at you...This is what we do...We are Murder Police!!! Even though we don't know if there has even been a murder yet...but this sure looks like it could be...or at least a good mystery."she said.

"Well there is nothing for me or my guys to do here....NO sign of any real foul play,no blood ,no guts.."said Monique...

"Sorry."I said.

"Will you stop apologizing...Mo-Mo..Smack him for me..."she laughed and hugged me...

Wally gave us the manifest...and we all packed up and left...I called two unis over and told them to put a stake out detail on that Flying Car and to let me know if anybody went near it tonight...

With that we all left....

III-

We headed back to the precinct... Lt. Frankie Cotton Jr. was laughing with two uniformed policemen when he spotted Monica and me returning to our desks...

"Well if it isn't the Dynamic Duo....How is my two crime busters doing today?" he said smiling...

''We got a weird one Lieutenant....Found a flying car with wallet,phone, watch,credit cards and cash and no body....Guy hasn't been seen since Saturday..."I said.

"Pass that one to missing persons...We work murders here.."he said.

"It looks like it might be a murder sir." said Monica..

"Based on what?  ....If you guys got a hunch, I won't go against you....You two have been right too many times for me to do that...So ahhh, work it for one more day...if you don't find anything...pass that on to missing persons...let them handle it."said Lieutenant Cotton..

"We live to keep you happy my esteemed Lieutenant." joked Monica...

Lt. Cotton smiled and walked over to Monica...

"Uh speaking of happy...uhh how is that sister of yours doing?" he asked..

"You should ask her that yourself Lou...It's been six weeks and two days..."said Monica...

He cracked up laughing....

"You are if nothing else very entertaining..detective...She uh asked me to keep our relationship professional and I've been trying to do that....Very unsuccessfully....I can't get her out of my mind..to tell you the truth.." he said.

"Don't you have a girlfriend Lieutenant?" asked Monica.

"Well kind of sorta...We uh have an uh understanding?" he said.

"An understanding huh? An understanding that you're going to pursue my sister and there is nothing she can do about it right?" said Monica laughing...

"Not quite like that...but uh...we have an open uh relationship now.."he said..

"You guys aren't married..."said Monica...

"That's right...That's what I was saying...That's why I've always liked you Mo-Mo....We think alike ."he said and winked and walked away smiling...

Monica looked at me...

"I don't know what he's talking about...but we do not have any open relationship....."she said.

"Baby...it's you and only you for me..."I said..

"That's right..."she said and gave me a light kiss..."

"So uh how bout we uh sneak off somewhere and uh work on that relationship a bit." I whispered to her...She blushed...

"Nattttte..we get off in a half an hour...Wait til we get home sugar.."she said.

IV-

Monica and I had a quiet dinner at home and then we were sitting in the living room watching a movie..She was sitting on my lap and I had my arms around her...

"You couldn't have told me last year when I first met you that I'd be living with you and engaged to marry you..That was never in my plans.." said Monica.

"It was in mines ,the minute I laid eyes on you." I said ,hugging her...

"Liar!!!...You just wanted to get in my panties..back then...You just didn't know you was gonna fall in love that's all."she said.

"Yeah, you're partially right...but you fell in love too."I said.

"I did..I fell hard for you baby!..." she said and we began kissing passionately....

And a floor down...the doorbell rang....Monique went to the door....It was Lieutenant Cotton...Monique smiled cheerfully...She really was glad to see him.

"Well Look who it is...Haven't heard from you in awhile...I was thinking about you today."said Monique..

"I'll bet you were...Can I come in?" he asked..

"Sure."she said and let him in...

He looked around....

"Nice!....Nice digs you got here....I likes..."he said.

"Can't believe I've been here all this time and this is the first time you've been by to see me..You owe me a house warming gift." she said.

Lt. Cotton pulled her to him....He smiled....She smiled....

He kissed her passionately..At first she was hesitant...then she returned his passion, kissing him passionately and closing her eyes...

Ten minutes of passionate kissing went by and both eased up and out of the embrace...

"There..I hoped that warmed your house up."he said.

He had certainly warmed her up!! she thought to herself.

"Wow! Where is this coming from?" asked Monique...

"I haven't seen you in a long while...I was uh missing you." said Lt.Cotton...

"Oh really? Missing me huh?" she laughed..

"Yeah..." he said smiling raffishly....She liked that....

''How long have you been wanting to do that?" she asked..

 "A long time...Since your first day of work." he said.

She smiled salaciously...

''Oh My.."she said.

"I'm glad I got that out of my system" he said.

"You're gonna get in trouble."said Monique laughing...

He pulled her to him again..but she eased out of his embrace...

"Slow down playa..."she said, giggling...knowing she wanted to kiss him some more...

Just then his phone rang...He looked at it and pulled her to him....

"We all gotta get in trouble at some time or other."he said softly.....

He kissed her passionately again and they both fell up against the wall..

"Aren't you going to get that?" she asked......in between more hot and sweaty kisses...

"No...Not this time.." he said and continued kissing Monique passionately.....She was ready to take her clothes off and let him have her...

Just then...Her phone rang.....

"Ohhh who is this?" she said...

It was Barry from New York....

It was a Text....

"HEY MONIQUE...JUST GOT AROUND TO SEEING YOUR MANY MESSAGES....I GOT A NEW PHONE........I HAVE BEEN BUSY THE LAST SIX WEEKS..A LOT OF NEW THINGS HAVE HAPPENED SINCE I LAST SAW YOU....I HAVE GOTTEN MARRIED!!!...IMAGINE THAT!!! ME HUH???THUS THE NEW PHONE...I HATED TO TELL YOU THIS WAY..BUT UH I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE WISE FOR YOU TO CONTINUE CALLING ME AT THIS NUMBER..SORRY!"- BARRY.

Her entire mood changed...

"Bad News?" asked Lt. Cotton...

"Uhhh, crazy news...You could uh say it's sorta bad..."she said.

"You uh going to be alright?  Nobody died did they?" he asked..

"Oh no..no..no..Nothing like that...Just uh something that uh caught me by surprise.."she said..

"Well uh look...I can come another time.." he said...

"Oh..I'm sorry...this is uh just some disappointing news...Something I uh didn't expect.."she said.

"Yeah I know how that can be...When you feel better..Let me know..Maybe we can go out for drinks or dinner or something."he said.

"Yes..Of course." she said.

"Well uh look...uh , this is a nice place you got here...Perhaps the next time I come by...If I can come by again..Uh,ruh, you'll give me the entire tour...Maybe your sister and Nate will be up."he said.

"Oh yes..of course...of course....and hey look...Thank you for coming by...Please...don't be a stranger.. Don't be....Really!"she said trying to smile...

"I definitely won't....Good Night Monique...Uh Dr. Talbert.."he said and smiled and walked to his car and got in and pulled off...

Monique walked up the stairs and knocked on our door...

I opened the door..

"Heyyy Monique..."I said.

She tried to make a joke..

"Nate,you're dressed..I was certain you'd have my sister undressed by now...You're losing your touch."she said...but then I noticed first one tear,then a stream of tears running down her cheeks...

Monica walked to the door...

Monique showed her the text...

"HEY MONIQUE...JUST GOT AROUND TO SEEING YOUR MANY MESSAGES....I GOT A NEW PHONE....I HAVE BEEN BUSY THE LAST SIX WEEKS..A LOT OF NEW THINGS HAVE HAPPENED SINCE I LAST SAW YOU....I HAVE GOTTEN MARRIED...IMAGINE THAT!!! ME HUH???THUS THE NEW PHONE...I HATED TO TELL YOU THIS WAY..BUT UH I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE WISE FOR YOU TO CONTINUE CALLING ME AT THIS NUMBER..SORRY!"- BARRY.

Monica didn't say a word...She put her arms around her sister and hugged her...while Monique cried...

"You said you were just friends with benefits....You said he was just somethin to do....Guess it was more than that.."said Monica..

"It's the principle of the thing Mo-Mo.."said Monique..now crying profusely.....

"I know honey...."she said..holding her twin sister...

 Women..I'll never figure them out totally...I walked back inside and put a pot of coffee on..It was going to be a long night...

TO BE CONTINUED