What Friends Are For

Two days later.....Monica tugged me gently and woke me up...

''Wake up sleepy head...You must still have jet lag from that trip to the moon..."she said smiling..

 I pulled her to me and hugged her..squeezing her tightly....

She giggled...and hugged me..

We had come back from the moon yesterday and had went right to work.....I had gone by Herbert Cummingsly's firm with a warrant and had gotten DNA samples they kept on file of all of their employees and turned them over to my sister in law...Dr. Monique Talbert...

Most big firms kept DNA samples of their employees as well as fingerprints...Which was very helpful in medical emergencies as well as when they became victims of crimes..or in some cases ,perpetrators.

Monica meanwhile had set up a meeting with Harry Carter ...A close friend of Herbert Cummingsly..I had interviewed him before...but we wanted a second interview with him...

I brushed my teeth and gingerly washed my mouth out with Scope....I smiled ,watching my wife walk around the room in her short baseball shirt ,which came to her shapely hips and accentuated her pretty legs...

We had both been very tired when we returned from the moon...I was just getting ready to put my arms around Monica and kiss her when the door bell rang...

It was Monique...Her twin sister...

"Goood morning Brother in law "she said and kissed me softly and walked in...."I expected to hear bed springs squeaking ...I just took a dare that you two might be up..."she said.

"It was pretty quiet on your floor last night too Sis...What happened..You and my Lieutenant break up or something?" asked Monica joking...

"Not hardly...While you two were gone, that's all we did..Well not all...We did go out to eat sometimes.."she laughed....

"You get a hit on that DNA?" I asked..

''Sure did...The DNA in the semen in the condom was Herbert Cummingsly..."she said.

''He was married..Why would he be wearing a condom in his own home?"asked Monica.

"I gotta give you a biology lesson Sister..??? He wasn't having sex with his wife...There was hair and other DNA on that condom...It belongs to Myra Bridges...an attorney..."she said.

"We met her...On the moon...Both of them were quite cozy....So apparently...He was doing the hibidity bibity in his home with her too.." I said...

"We really need to talk to Mr. Carter.." said Monica...

"We really need breakfast..Come on you two....get dressed..let's eat....Frankie is meeting us there."said Monique..

"Frankie Huh?  You two are pretty cozy too." I said..

Monique showed us a beautiful Platinum bracelet...that had "Sugar Baby" engraved on it...

"Oh My GOD Sister,it's beautiful....When did he give you this?" asked Monica..

"Yesterday morning..."she said proudly...

''Question is...What did you give him???...Oh Wait...I don't have to answer that."I laughed.

"Hush up smarty."laughed Monique..."Get dressed."she said.

"Okay MOM!"joked Monica...

II-

 And at Kylie's house...

Detective Wally Becker had Detective Kylie White spread eagle across her bed and had been going to town....making sweet love to her for the past two and a half hours...

Ummmmmmm..I missed you so much Kylie.." he grunted..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuu..ohhhh my goodness..ouuuuuuu...Wally...Ohhhhhh" came her shrill voice..

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...""Ohhh baby, give it to meeeeee....ummmmmmph..."she moaned...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... Kylie...Kylie......ouuuuuuuuuu, more, more... ohhhhhh..."

"Sock it to me Wally...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...this feels sooo damn good...I needed this,ouuuuuuuuuu...you don't know how I needed this...ummmmmmm... "she moaned.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh gooooddddddd lawdd it's soooo goood...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh damnnn girl...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sweeeeet jesusssssssssss ..arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.."he cried ...out!!"Morrre...Morreee....morrre...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.. "

"Wally..ouuuuuu..Wally....OHHHHHHH. Wally I'm cumming...ohhhhh my goodness..ouuuuuuu!"she wailed...

She was sweating profusely....So was he.....

"Ohhhhhhh,ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, here it comes...here it comes....ohhhhhhhhhhhh." he yelled...

"Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssss..ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, Wally!!!!" she yelled...

She had a huge orgasm and so did Wally.....His bottom lip quivered and his back stiffened and he exploded like a gusher...

He lie on top of Kylie, kissing her passionately still for a few minutes...

"Whewwww Wally.....That was once again amazing...Okay...get up off of me and get in the shower...We are going to breakfast this morning." she said.

"Huh?? Breakfast?? Me and you??" he said surprised..

"Yes..Me and you...Nate and Monica will be there and uh so will your crush, Monique Talbert and Lieutenant Cotton...You have a problem with that?" she asked..

"Who me?? No..Nooooo, not at all" he said smiling gingerly...

"So you don't mind being seen with me?" he said..

"Get in the shower before I change my mind.."she said..

"So does this mean we uh go together?" he asked..

"We are still friends with benefits,but that's about to change soon...."she said.

He didn't wait to hear how...He leaped up and pumped his fists in the air and laughed and headed to the shower..

She sat on the side of the bed and laughed..

III-

 We went to the Buffet Bistro that ironically enough..Wally Becker had told Monique about and had invited her to..Two times he had been in here and seen Monique with Lt. Cotton once and Kylie with Carlos Wallace once..Both times he had dropped his plate of food and stormed out angry...This morning was different..

The Bistro was beautiful...It looked like an expensive joint, but from the crowd outside that was lined around the corner...maybe it wasn't...To our surprise..The crowd moved fast...and within ten minutes...the three of us,Monica, Myself and Monique was seated...

 "There's Frankie now.." said Monique...

Lt. Cotton walked over to where we were seated..He had already gotten his food as had we..

"Welll..look here...My space travelers....Any traction on this double?" he asked..

Before Monica or I could answer...Kylie walked in with Detective Wally Becker and sat down with us...

"Hey everyone...Sorry we are late." said Kylie, smiling sheepishly.....

Monica and I smiled..We knew the deal...Well at least some of it...

"Hey you two.."we said smiling...

"Uh Heyy girl."said Monique, both amused and a little surprised... "Detective Becker, how are you doing?" she asked ,smiling at him..

"Hey Dr. Talbert...I'm fine..Thank you for asking ." he said...He then looked at Lieutenant Cotton..

"Lieutenant sir?" he said..

''What's up detective?" was all Lieutenant Cotton would say....He still remembered their bitter competition for Monique..

"Isn't this food slamming?" said Monica , breaking the tension....

"Gurlllll, you aint never lied.."said Kylie...

"It's the bomb! ....It smells sooo good...Look, Pancakes, Waffles, French Toast...and they make eggs to order....What's not to love...?" " said Monique....

We all agreed.

All I could do was smile.

Wally looked so grateful to be included in the breakfast and fellowship for a change...I felt good for him..He was finally at the table...Not looking outside the window at the people at the table.

IV-

Harry Carter was a well dressed man who wore excellently tailored suits, wore a fresh fragrance and had a kilowatt light bulb smile that entranced most women he came in to contact with...He spoke in almost a whisper....He was a smooth guy I would never trust alone with my woman....

Today, two uniformed police officers picked him up and brought him down to the precinct...He sat in the interrogation room the detectives nicknamed -"The Fishbowl"....My wife, Detective Monica Talbert-Nellis was already in the room looking at files...

She smiled slyly when he walked in....He looked at her sheepishly and sat down across from her with a very arrogant and confident swagger...

I walked in and closed the door...

"Mr. Carter..would you like some coffee?" I asked..

"Uh yeah...yeahhhh, cream...four sugars....heh,heh,heh..." he said...

I opened the door and asked a uniform officer to fetch some coffee for the three of us and gave him some money...

I sat down next to him...

"Mr. Carter...I am Detective Nellis...My husband interviewed you a few days ago..."said Monica..

He looked confused...

"Nellis...I thought he was Detective Nellis?? Husband??? You two are married?"he asked looking disappointed...He had relished a chance to flirt with Monica...

"I'm afraid we are..." said Monica...

"Oh"he said...He turned to me and gave me dap...

"My man....Not only do you have great tastes...You must have a little game with ya...You snagged a fine babe like this."he said ...

I smiled... but said nothing...Since my wife was the primary...I allowed her to do the talking..

"Mr. Carter, you told my husband that your friend Mr. Cummingsly is a timid man...We happened to see him and Ms. Bridges in Luna City and uh ,he was anything but timid..."said Monica..

Harry Carter laughed...He slapped his thigh...

"Herbie finally grew a pair...He was timid...a pushover until he met her....I was the one who got him to approach her...He didn't think he had a chance...Until I started talkin to him...Helpin him upgrade his wardrobe and what not...I created a monster..Heh-Heh-Heh..." he laughed...

"Did you know first hand that his wife was playing around...Cheating on him?" asked Monica..

Harry Carter was silent for a minute ,then he spoke....

"Yeah....I uh went over to pick Herbie up one afternoon...It was a Saturday, we were supposed to be playin some hoops and I looked in the window and uh ruh, I uh saw...Mrs. Cummingsly uh on her knees, uh giving uh Mr. Givens oral sex...He didn't see me, but the window was opened and she heard me and turned around and saw me..." he said...

"That was your boy's wife...You must have been shocked."I said...

"I-I-I was...I came inside....It was all out...They uh swore me to secrecy..."he said..

"Just like that? You're his best friend and they swore you to secrecy?" I said..

''Or did Mrs. Cummingsley make you an offer you couldn't refuse?"asked Monica staring into Harry Carter's eyes deeply...

He began to squirm, get uncomfortable....

"Yes...she gave me a ..a ..a blow job right there in front of Givens....It was only that once...I swear..."he said.

"And you felt guilty didn't you?" said Monica...

"Damn,it's like you know my whole story...YES...I felt bad...I like Herbie..That's my boy...I used to tell him that he couldn't trust Burt Givens..."he said.

"And here you did the same thing."I said..

"It was just that once..."he said defensively....

''So while you didn't tell Herbie what you did..You fixed him up with Myra Bridges didn't you?" said Monica..

"Yeah..Herbie had had a crush on her for about two years...but he was the shy type..Yeah ,I fixed him up...She was a widower...She was lonely....She wanted a man....Herbie was just the type for her..Hey look...I didn't commit no crime here..."he protested...

"She represented you years ago didn't she? When your own wife died suddenly at 29 of Heart Failure,didn't she? You were suspected of killing her...but no one could prove it...They never found the chemical that stopped her heart did they?" I asked..

"What you sayin? Huh,What you sayin man?   I was acquitted...." he said..

"No..charges were dropped due to lack of evidence...Your lawyer....Ms. Myra Bridges knew your secret didn't she???...and she wanted Herbie for herself....Only his divorce was nasty and drawn out wasn't it?? When did she come to you and propose to you to give Mrs. Cummingsley a bottle of her favorite champaigne,spiked with Aramatat?" asked Monica..

"HOW YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT? DID SHE TELL YOU ABOUT THAT?" he asked..

"She's not here is she? She said YOU came up with the idea because you felt so guilty about Herbie's wife cheating on him and messing over him...and what you did with her....You told her everything...Herbie never knew that you two were friends with benefits many years before you hooked them up did he?" I asked..

"It's all heresay,You can't prove any of it."he retorted...

"Well, we have a credit card receipt from the State Store where you purchased the Champaigne...We have your latent fingerprints on the bottle found at the crime scene....We know you recently painted your living room and you purchased the paint thinner that contains.. Aramatat in it..and we have several witness statements that say you indeed did have an intimate relationship with Myra Bridges years before when she was repping you for the suspicious death of your wife....And I'm betting if we dig up your wife's body and check the tissues for Aramatat, now that we know what we are looking for..We will find out that you killed her the same way you killed Mrs. Cummingsley, Burt Givens and Beaser the dog.."said Monica..

He hung his head...His smile and swagger was gone...

"We have a few things more Mr. Carter..but by the time the jury hears all this...They will have heard enough."I said.

"I was Herbie's friend...I really was trying to help him when I hooked them up.....It was Myra's idea...She told me to go back over there...Sleep with his wife one more time and give her this bottle of Champaigne as a gift...She knew that Mrs. Cummingsley would probably have some of it ,while Herbie was out of town...She loved Champaigne...Givens was never part of the equation...Neither was the dog...Who the hell gives a damn dog champaigne anyway?" he retorted...

Monica gave him paper and pen and he wrote a lengthy confession.....She signaled for two uniformed officers to come in...

They read him his rights and handcuffed him and walked him out...

" Another one down partner..."I said...

"Another one down.."she said...

I pulled her to me and kissed her passionately.....

We held hands and was walking out when we ran into Lieutenant Cotton..

"You guys just put the Cummingsly case down huh?" he said.

"Yupper."said Monica..

"Outstanding!  Uh Nate, you mind if I have a word in private with your wife?" he asked..

"Sure Lou...I got some paperwork to write up on this.."I said.

''What's up Lou? And let me commend you on having excellent tastes...I loved that Bracelet you bought for my sister..She loved it too!" said Monica..

"I'm glad to hear that...Uh look,not that I'm the gossiping type ,but uh did something uh go haywire at Luna City??Something not case related??"he asked..

"No..Why? Oh because of Wally Becker and her?? They're just friends..."said Monica..

"This has nothing to do with Becker..Look...I'm gonna tell you this and you only...I'm not going to tell your sister and you know I love her deeply..."he said..

"Uh Oh..This must be deep.."said Monica..

"I was talking to a friend of mine...Lieutenant Ronnie Montgomery..." said Lt. Cotton...

"As in VERONICA MONTGOMERY!"said Monica ,giving him the side eye...

"Okay...yeah..it's a female..We chat from time to time..Police business...Anyway....I told her that the three of you were on the moon conducting a murder investigation and that one of her own, Detective Wallace was assisting you...I praised him up and down about the great job he did helping us with that serial killer case a few months ago...She went on to say that he was one of her best detectives and with a high clearence rate and that HE IS ABOUT TO BE A FATHER!!  She said he's dating her husband's cousin , A Sherrif's deputy and that she's eight months pregnant!!!" he said...

"OH MY GOD!!! Then she got pregnant right after he and Kylie started seeing each other..."said Monica..

"How serious is Kylie about him??...I don't want to see her hurt...Next to you and Nate, She's one of my best detectives..."he said.

"She said that they were friends with benefits....They uh spent the night together while we were there..but he was gone by the time she woke up...She didn't like that too much...He told her he'd be here in Philly around Christmas."said Monica.

"I doubt that seriously...He'll be a daddy by then....You can't keep something like that a secret too long...I'm not going to say anything...She's your friend...You may want to tell her about it or not." said Lt.Cotton.

"Not...My daddy used to say there are two rules to business...Mind Yours and Stay the Hell out of mine."said Monica..

Lt.Cotton laughed....

"Your father is a very wise man..."he said..

EPILOUGE-

Harry Carter and Myra Bridges were both tried and convicted of two counts of second degree murder and given life sentences...

His wife was exhumed and examined ,but after ten years ,all traces of the poison known as Aramatat was gone from her tissues...He was not charged with her murder...

We were never able to prove how much Herbert Cummingsly knew or didn't know about the murders..He was never charged with any crime...

A few months later, He married Myra Bridges sister Lucy Bridges..Also an Attorney...She is now pregnant with twins!!

 Monica told me about her conversation with Lieutenant Cotton...I was shocked...

"You're right not to get involved...I think Kylie was getting a little tired of going up there and him never coming down here anyway...And her and Wally seem to be getting along better now..They came to Breakfast together and yesterday,I saw them together in the Supermarket..."I said.

"My sister saw them together at Lourdes...He was buying Kylie a bottle of wine."said Monica..

"You think maybe...Maybe they could make a go at it?" I asked..

"Yeah...He's different with Kylie...He doesn't stalk her...He doesn't question her like a perp and he's calmed down..He doesn't act like a jerk anymore...He's actually maturing before our eyes...My sister said the same thing.."said Monica..

"The right woman can do wonders for a man.." I said..

"Look at what I've done for you."laughed Monica....

I just laughed....


FOR    L.