Like a Fish To Water

"Yeahhhh man, He was like a fish to water...I never in all my life, all the swimmers I ever trained ever saw a guy who could swim like he could...He was a strong swimmer...Could swim distances too and I swear..If I didn't know better,I'd of sworn he was breathing under water...He had such great breath control...That's why he won so many meets...He was my star pupil." Said Coach Walter Flannegin...The former U.S. Olympic Coach...

Monica and I had interviewed him about Warren Rivers...

"Sir..Could he dive?" asked Monica...

''Could he dive? He was a natural...An expert diver....He lifted weights and worked out and bulked himself up and he became an even better diver and swimmer...I told him, with his looks..he could of been an actor....He was smart too....He uh got an MBA from Penn State and after the Olympics...He got another MBA from the University of Penn...Brilliant guy...but a great swimmer....Hey uh detective...you uh look familliar... You don't remember me?" he said smiling...

"No I-I'm afraid I don't." said Monica..

"Your father was a cop too!!... A Detective....Ray....Ray Talbert...That's your daddy isn't it?" he asked..

Monica smiled one of her sweet smiles..

"Yes...Yes...He's retired now.." she said..

"Ohhh man..Years ago...A guy was murdered here...I hate to talk about it..he was drowned....Killer didn't leave a clue...Found the guy here in his swim trunks laying along the side of the pool..Your dad investigated that case...Caught the guy too...Turns out a jealous husband thought the guy was foolin around with his wife who used to swim here...Me and your dad became good friends...You got a sister too....a twin...He brought both of you girls here....You two were about 7 or 8..Cute as a button...You let your daddy take you in the shallow area...Your sister cried and cried...she wasn't having it..."he said.

''Wow...and you remember me? That was years ago..."said Monica smiling...

"Yeah...I know..You and your sister were so cute...Your sister had the reddish brown hair...You had the jet black hair...So cute, both of you...My wife thought so too...So you followed your dad on to the police force huh??...A Homicide Detective too huh?? What does your sister do?" he asked.

''She works with me..She's a Forensic Investigator....A coroner."said Monica.

"Wow! Ray must be so proud of his little girls...He's uh still around huh?" he asked..

"Oh Yes..Yes.. He and my mom still live in the same house..."said Monica.

"Tell Ray that Wally F. said what's up?....That's what he used to call me." said Coach Flannegin..

"I certainly will."said Monica.

Just then ,I walked in...

Monica introduced us...

"Nate, this is Coach Flannegin...He's a friend of my dad....He coached Warren,says he was an expert diver and swimmer...Coach Flannegin...This is my partner, Detective Nate Nellis...He is also my fiance!" said Monica..

I smiled and shook his hand...

He smiled..

"Your partner and your fiance?? Boy things sure have changed...There was a time when you couldn't even date your partner....It's all for the good I suppose.." he said.

"Nice meeting you Coach."I said.

"Same here....Uh Warren is not in any trouble is he?" he asked..

"No..Not at all...We are just checking out all of the employees of the brokerage firm he works at..a young girl from there was murdered a few weeks ago." I said.

"Oh, well when you see him, tell him his old coach is still alive and kickin...He could visit every now and then." he said.

I smiled..

''Will do sir." I said.

The coach looked around...

"Aint no sir around here.....I'm Wally F." he said laughing...

We all laughed and Monica and I left....

I pulled her to me once we were outside

and kissed her passionately for a few minutes...

"Wow! What was that for?" she asked..

"Just felt good that's all."I said.

"Well...that's good to know...Now did your hunch play out?" she asked..

"Oh did it?  I got with a bunch of forensic accountants and we went through Carron's finances....Apparently somebody there has been siphoning money out of their accounts for close to a year and a half and to the tune of four million dollars now...It started with small amounts and then it got larger and larger and was spread out to three accounts in the Caymen Islands...

I looked into the accounts...All three names are phony....Naturally......They are still looking and they are trying to find out where the transfers are coming from...We need to call Lou and get a warrant to check Diane Harper's apartment before her people move her personal affects from there...I need to look in her laptop...Whoever was stealing from the company is probably in the laptop..."I said.

''From what the coach told me...He has the strength, the swimming and the diving skills to have pulled this off...He strangled her and ...as fantastic as this sounds...Dove out the back window with the body into the water....Swam the length of the river and deposited her on the riverside by the bridge..."said Monica..

"I know it sounds crazy...I know nobody will believe me..but that's the only logical way this could have happened....We'll have an even harder time proving this."I said hanging my head...

''Nate..if anybody else had given me this theory I probably wouldn't have believed them....but it's the only thing that makes sense at this point...I believe you....You've been right too many times for me to doubt you...Your future wifey believes you bae."she said and kissed me....

I pulled her to me and kissed her passionately again....She eased out of my embrace after a few minutes...

"Let's uh get to that condo and check out that laptop." she said , smiling weakly...

II-

We went back to the late Diane Harper's condo....As soon as we got there we noticed the same back window was wide open....

''What's that window doing open?" I asked.

"I don't know...We closed it...The cops told us  to close it..."said the Manager...

''It smells like sea water, river water in here.." said Monica...

"Yeah ,it does..." said the manager...

"Even with my allergies...I smell it..I understand how he got out of here, but how did he get in?" I asked..

"Somebody had to have seen him..."said Monica...

"Damn it...our cameras still haven't been fixed yet....I'm calling those guys this morning."said the manager...

"He was back!  He came back to get any incriminating evidence...He's always a step ahead of us...Damn it...I hate being out thought like this." I said.

Monica rubbed my hands...

"Bae, you're taking this personally..You're making this about you....You're letting this guy get in your head...You can't do that." she said.

I smiled at her....Of course she was right....I calmed down...

''Call your sister.....He'd be too smart to leave another fingerprint..But just in case." I said.

"Bae....Diane's laptop has been stripped...Wiped clean..." said Monica...

"Damn it!" I said.

"Well what about his alibi??Veronica Elliot ??" asked Monica.

"Ahhh I talked to her yesterday...She said he was with her all night...Making love." I grumbled..

"Let's talk to her again...I want to interview her.." said Monica..

III-

We found Veronica Elliot swimming at the same pool we had interviewed Wally F. at just hours before...

She was an attorney who was on staff with the firm..A shapely and attractive woman who could really fill up a bathing suit...

Monica flashed her badge and signaled for Veronica to get out of the pool...She did and grabbed a towel to cover up...

"Hi Ms. Elliot...I'm Detective Monica Talbert.." she said..

She looked at me..

"I gave a statement to your partner yesterday." she said..

''I know...Tell me what you told him..."asked Monica.

"I was with Warren from about nine pm until early morning...We had a great night together.."she said nervously....

"Veronica..That's not true...You know this and I know this. You know that giving a false statement to a detective during a murder investigation makes you an accessory " said Monica...

She looked at Monica...

"You're a mutant too aren't you?   You're a telepath??  You're just like him..."she said.

"I am a mutant....You said he's a mutant? Who is a mutant?  Warren Rivers?" asked Monica..

"Yes...He doesn't know I know it...But I swim....and I came in here one night and I saw him ,sitting at the bottom of the deep end , Twelve feet of water...just sitting at the bottom of the pool, a lot longer than a normal human being should be able to stay under water...He can breathe under water.....For I guess a short period...I figured it out....I'm afraid of him...So when he called me and asked me to alibi him....I did...Don't hurt me."she said.

Monica changed her tone..

"I won't hurt you...I'm a detective....All I can do is read minds...Nothing else..No two mutants are exactly alike...Believe me,I can not breathe underwater....And as much as I pay to have my hair done..You won't find me doing that either.."she said and smiled..

Veronica was put at ease...

"Is -Is your partner a mutant too?" she asked..

"No...he's a plain old regular human being..."she said and laughed...

Veronica allowed herself to laugh too..

"So you weren't with Warren Rivers at all that night?" I asked.

"No...not at all....I'd never spend the night with him...I don't know if you've ever been around him,but he smells like river water..." she said.

I looked at Monica..

"Interesting perspective." she said and the three of us busted out laughing.

IV-

Lt. Cotton sat in his office...Coroner, Dr. Monique Talbert surprised him with a visit and lunch....

"I thought I'd visit you for a change.." said Monique...

"Thank you baby..." said Lt. Cotton..

"Monique...Did I ever tell you how I met your sister?" he asked...

"No you haven't...Funny thing...You know..She looks exactly like me...And I know that people are first attracted to people by looks...So why me and not her? Since you knew her first? " asked Monique..

"I don't know....Maybe I was in a different place back then....But as I recall...I was Detective Sergeant Cotton back then...and one day this spunky,fresh faced little patrol officer was assigned to me and my partner...We were working a major murder investigation...

It was your sister....Most uniformed officers just check traffic cams, help us take doors and back us up with muscle and guns...but your sister was real sharp, real observant and she discovered a few things that we missed...We broke that case wide open largely because of her..

A few months later, she was with us on yet another case and she did the same thing...Saw something me and my partner missed.. I was impressed...I ran a make on her...Found out she was just a few months out of the academy...She had an Associates Degree in Administration of Justice from Community College and two years of Law school.. Had worked intelligence in the Air Force and that she was an honor graduate from the academy...and her dad was Ray Talbert...a legend in Homicide...

And I thought....Damn..with a little more training and seasoning...She would make a damn good detective...
I started talking to her...Encouraging her to take the detectives exam...See ...All the other cops and detectives were just trying to get in her panties..I wanted to be different, to actually help her....I aint gonna lie..I'm a man...I checked her out...She really could fill up that uniform..Yes indeed...But I was kinda looking at her as a protoge'...someone to mentor...Not to sleep with! I thought of her as my little sister..I still do..

She aced the detectives exam as I knew she would and she wound up in Narcotics....and then Special Investigations and finally in Major Crimes...By then I had been promoted to Lieutenant....I ran into her and told her to put in a transfer to Homicide...She was ready and when she came over here...I personally trained her and partnered with her for a minute....Your sister is the finest homicide detective I have ever trained.. bar none...and the only one close to her is your future brother in law...Nate..He's damn good..Thinks outside the box.... Those two grab a hold of a case and they take to it..Like a fish to water"said Lieutenant Cotton.

Monique smiled...

''Ray Talbert is my daddy too."she said smiling..

"YESSSS LAWD..And I want to thank him for bringing two of the finest young ladies ever to grace this precinct into the world, LAWD JESUS...ESPECIALLY YOU!!...OH MY goodness!" said Lt. Cotton..

Monique busted out laughing...

"You're too funny Frankie.."she said..

''When I met you...I was like wow! Another one.....This is the one I want for myself!!!I didn't mean to get this wrapped up in you, but I have.." he said.

''So are we a ....a couple now?" asked Monique..

"Hellll yeah...I thought you knew!!! You're my woman now..." he said...

Monique smiled from ear to ear....

Unknown to both of them...Detective Wally Becker had walked in the office...He was actually looking for Monica and me..We weren't there....He peered in the Lieutenant's office and saw Monique sitting across from him laughing....

He kicked the squad room door so hard the glass broke....He stormed out and down the hallway to the elevator..

None of the other cops and detectives said a word...

Just then Monica and I returned to the squad room...

We looked at the broken glass..

"What happened here?" I asked...

One of the other detectives, a Black female, Detective Kylie White... pointed to the Lieutenant's office... Monique was sitting across from Lt. Cotton and they were both having a laugh while munching on lunch....

I said-"Detective Becker?"

She nodded and walked away...So did the other two detectives and uniformed policemen who witnessed it..

Monica walked in just then..

''Whoaaa..What happened?" she asked..

I pointed to the Lieutenant's office...

Monique was sitting across from Lt. Cotton and they were both having a laugh while munching on lunch....

"Detective Wally Becker!" said Monica, smiling and shaking her head..

"You know Mo-Mo...That gives me an idea.... Detective Becker can help us take down our suspect....I have a plan...and plus it'll keep him out of the Lieutenant's way....You down?" I asked.

"You're the primary on this one....and my future husband....You lead and I'll follow." she said laughing...

(CONCLUSION NEXT)