Night Of The Murder

A nice unseasonably warm Friday night found my wife, Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace and myself, Assistant District Attorney Keith Wallace enjoying a delicious meal and some very good wine at a very tony Philadelphia eatery....

Carlotta looked sensational in a black form fitting dress with the back out and black stillettos...I couldn't take my eyes off of her...

She snapped her fingers at me...

''Come out of it papi...You're staring right through me..." she said with a sweet smile..

"I can't help it...You...You...You look sensational." I said.

"Awww thank you baby....You have always looked at me like that..Even before I was your girlfriend..."she said...

"That is true....I didn't know you knew that." I laughed...

"I knew it...and people used to tell me how you stared at me...I was kind of flattered, because I liked you too."she said...

"I'm glad of that....or else I could have had a sexual harrassment suit on my heels."I joked...

Carlotta raised a glass of wine up in the air and smiled..

"To us...on the anniversary of our very first date." she said.

''Our first date? At Sam Mothers Diner??" I said..

"No silly...our first real date...at Josies....Remember?? The first time I kissed you in the parking lot..."she said..

"I remembered...That was some kiss."I said.

"I was drunk....but I meant it...It was the only way I could get my courage up to do it...I didn't know how you were going to react....but it was the first time I admitted to myself how I felt about you...After that kiss..I KNEW how you felt about me...I wasn't worried anymore....I slept good that night.."she said..

I had slept good that night too...I had had a very explicit dream about Carlotta that night....I had dreamed for two years of kissing her and of course doing other things and here I'd done it...Now we are married....going on two years now..who would have thought it?

I raised my glass...

"To us." I said and leaned over and kissed her....

"To us papi...forever!" she said.

 "Forever babes."I said and leaned over and kissed her again....

It was the perfect night....

A beautiful full moon... All I could think about at the time was getting Carlotta home and un zippering that beautiful ,tight form fitting black dress and making sweet love to her...After all the wine I had imbibed..I was more than mellow and aroused..

 Carlotta was smiling seductively at me...She was thinking the same thing too ,until we heard a blood curdling scream...several blood curdling screams...

We both got up as people were rushing out of the restaurant and a witness was pointing to the nearby alley.

II-

 Carlotta pulled her badge out of her purse and waded through the crowds with me struggling to keep up behind her...

"Get out of the way...please...I'm a detective....Out of the way..."she said as she found the body of a young blond haired white woman, clad in a white sheer babydoll, white sheer bikini panties and a matching white bra lying in the alley...Her hands were crossed over each other as though she was in a coffin....She looked very peaceful...as though she was sleeping...

I looked down at her...

''Whoa..What the hell is this?" I said....

Soon three uniformed policemen arrived on the scene..Carlotta showed them her badge and told them to back everybody up.....She got on her phone and called the gang up... What a way to ruin a nice night...a fresh murder!

Dr. Hazel Baylor showed up first with C.S.I. people and photographers.....

''Hi Carlotta, Keith...Oh Myyyy look at that dress....It's gorgeous Carlotta.."said Hazel as she knelt down and looked at the body....Hazel's husband, Detective Edwin "Duke" Baylor and his partner, Detective Angie Belton Barlow arrived next with Detectives James Barlow, Tyriq Pile and Sirena Pile bringing up the rear..

 "Gee Top...If this was anyone else but you, I'd of ignored this call." joked Duke as he kneeled down, gave his wife Hazel a big juicy kiss and examined the body....

 "Carlotta girl, that dress looks fierce...Shame your night got ruined by this and right around the corner from where you guys were eating too."said Angie..

 "Damn Carlotta.....You sure you didn't do this?" joked her partner...Jimmy....

 Tyriq looked at me and managed a weak smile... Damn Keith...I can imagine this spoiled your plans didn't it? he said..

I smiled ruefully and acknowledged that what he said was true...

His wife ,Detective Sirena Pile joined Duke and Carlotta and Hazel in looking at the body.....Her partner, Detective Tony Hopkins arrived just then...He was out of breath...

"Whoa...What we got here?" he said...

"Young woman....no identification on her...I don't think she was killed here...I think she was dumped here....I ran her fingerprints through the system on my Ipad mini...Didn't get a hit..So she has no priors..."said Carlotta..

"At least not in our system....Have Sharon run em through VICAP."said Tyriq...

Just then, The boss lady drove up...Lt. Sissy Van Buren...

"Hey guys....a fresh one huh?  Murder never takes a holiday." she said as she looked at the body...

"Cause of death is manual strangulation and judging by body temperature and lividity...I'm guessing this woman has been dead at least two days....Rigor is starting to set in..."said Hazel...

A chill seemed to go through Sissy's bones....She looked like she'd seen a ghost......

"Siss, you okay babes?" I asked her...

"I've seen this before...But...it can't be...."she said.

"You've seen this before?" asked Carlotta...

"It can't be....It can't be him...He's surely dead..."Sissy mumbled...

Duke,Tyriq and Angie looked at her...They had never seen Sissy look like this before...She actually looked afraid...

"Siss, what's wrong, what are you talking about?" they asked..

Sissy ignored them...This wasn't like her...

"Who is the primary?" she asked...

"I guess I am..." said Carlotta....

"Is that the dress you were telling us about Chica???...It's beautiful girl..So sorry this had to spoil your night...If you're ready, release the body...Everyone....back to the office immediately....I'll fill you in...Hop...You and Jimmy get a team...Check out the street cam, ATM cams and traffic cams...expand your search for up to a 15 mile radius..get as many men as you need.."said Sissy..

''We on it Boss Lady."They said.

"Rico, Sirena...find out if anybody saw anything...Oh My God...What am I doing? It's your crime scene Chica...I'm so sorry."said Sissy...

Carlotta smiled sweetly...

"That's okay Boss Lady...you just saved me from having to say all of that?" she laughed.

"That's okay....We don't mind...Long as it's you Siss."said Tyriq...who then nibbled on his wife's neck and said "And besides...I get to work with you for the first time sexy...His nickname for her." he said...

"Are you going to be able to focus?" she asked...

''I'll try very hard."laughed Tyriq.

"My next move is to go home and change out of this dress..." said Carlotta..

''I'm not trying to scare you guys...but you all need to pack bags and head over to our safe house...Disable the GPS on your smartphones, tablets and your cars and be as discreet as possible...Talk to no one....I promise you..I'll explain everything to you.."she said.

"This sounds big Sissy...I've never seen you quite like this.."I said.

"You guys have never seen a killer quite like this."she said.

"Serial Killer Siss?" asked Duke...

"I'm certain of it...I know I've seen this pattern before...I can tell you that Hop,Jimmy, Rico and Sirena aren't going to find any witnesses or anything on those street,ATM and Traffic cams...but I need them to look anyway, they might get lucky..." said Sissy..who looked around..

''What is it Siss?" asked Angie.

"I've investigated ,I don't know...How many murders...but now you've got me a little afraid Boss Lady."said Carlotta..

''Fear is good...I want you all on your toes on this one." said Sissy...

III-

Within the next few hours...We were all back at headquarters...We hadn't retreated to our safehouse yet....

Tyriq and Sirena returned.....Sissy's predicition had been right....

''Siss ,Sirena and I combed the entire area....We talked to everybody we knew was on the streets, the staff of that restaurant and some of the other establishments in the immediate area...and we got only one thing of interest...." said Tyriq..

"One woman saw a white four door sedan speeding off after the body was found...but couldn't make out who was in it." said Sirena...

Likewise, Jimmy and Hop returned...

''We searched and searched and searched and guess what..we found that white four door sedan on the traffic cam ,high tailing it over the Ben Franklin Bridge.."said Jimmy..

''And we got a plate number..."said Hop..who was excited that they had all made progress...

"He more than likely is in New Jersey...We need to call the New Jersey State Police." said Carlotta..

''Way ahead of you Top...I already did that and they put a bolo out on the car..As soon as Rico,Junior,Sirena and Hop told me what they had found..I called New Jersey."said Duke.

"You guys are so good....but I can tell you this much....They'll find that car...They'll find that it was stolen and it will be wiped clean of prints and bleached down to destroy any DNA.."said Sissy with certainty...

An hour later, Carlotta walked into the conference room...

"New Jersey State police just called me...They found the car outside of Camden...Bleached down, clean of any prints...And you were right...I called Auto theft...That car was reported stolen from a used car lot a month ago..."said Carlotta.

"Oh My God...This does sound scary."said Angie...

"I'll say." I said.

"Sit down all of you.....I'll tell you what this is about..."said Sissy....

"Years ago...I was a rookie..Wasn't even a detective yet...and I didn't know any of you....Chica...I imagine you and Sirena and Jimmy were just thinking about entering the police academy then...Hop,you were in your next to last year of law school...Rico, Angie, Duke...You guys were probably just graduating from the academy...Hadn't been on the streets yet..still fresh faced recruits."she said..

''Damn...then this was a long time ago." joked Jimmy...

Tyriq playfully smacked him in the head...

"Watch it Junior." he said..

"Yeah, you're married to one of those fresh faced recruits."said his wife, Angie Belton...

Carlotta and Sissy shook their heads and momentarily allowed themselves to laugh....Sissy continued...

"I got a call ....I was a roller then..In a patrol car.....My partner and I came across a young white girl...just like the one we found tonight...Attractive,shapely and clad in panties and bra and a babydoll..
Lying in the alleyway with her hands folded...She looked peaceful and serene as though she was just sleeping...just like tonight...

She was a local school teacher...Then a month later....we found another young woman, same description, a lawyer...no connection what so ever to the first victim...found the same way....both were strangled..both were lying in a coffin like position...I was just the cop who happened to be first on the scene when both ladies were found...You'll never guess who the primary was on this case..."said Sissy..

"Okay...you weren't even a detective yet so it wasn't you....Cantrell?"I asked...

"No...Wait for it....Rookie Detective Arthur L. Tragg." she said...

"Oh My god!"said Carlotta...

"Well...That explains why it wasn't solved."laughed Duke...

Tyriq, Hop,Jimmy and myself all busted out into raucous laughter and slapped Duke on the back...

But Sissy wasn't laughing....She was very serious...almost sad...

"As much of a butthole as he is now...He was a little different then...Believe it or not, he actually was a good detective at one time...He made cases.....I mean you don't get to be lieutenant by being a screw up.

He worked the case and worked it hard...Questioning family friends and co-workers of both girls...Checking their financials...Questioning witnesses....driving old Doc Gibbons crazy trying to find out if any trace evidence was available....He brought in every sex offender that had been recently released...Staying up all hours with about six other detectives...and they couldn't find anything...Nothing.."she said.

"How often was he on the television giving news conferences?" asked Hazel...

Angie and Sirena busted out laughing..

"Ouuu Hazel girl...you've been married to Duke too long." They both said...

"That's when it began...He liked being on Television, He liked being heralded as the Detective that was going to snare the "Grim Sleeper " as it was..." said Sissy...

"Did he give the killer that name?" asked Tyriq...

"You know it...."said Sissy... "This killer was smart...an electronics genius..He hacked into our system...He heard our police reports and all of the reports coming from our cars...and whoever he was ,he managed to slip into our police station....I was like you Chica....very observant...I find the listening devices in our office and I ascertained that this killer was able to clean up behind himself because he was listening in....FBI Special Agent in charge, Frank Cotton  was able  to on my suggestion trap and trace this guy's calls...and we got a hit...I rode with Detective Tragg to the residence of one "Jackson Hunter."We saw a big hulking figure in a black ski mask and all black clothing...Could never tell if it was a man or a woman...But the person was so big...I didn't know....

They ran and got in a car, a hearse if you can believe it and pulled off...He was surprised that we had caught up to him...Detective Tragg and I and two other patrolmen..engaged him on the Ben Franklin Bridge in a wild shootout...

I was sure that I hit him center mast....He flipped over the side and fell into the river... Of course, Detective Tragg took credit for the shooting and figuring out how to trace him....I was just a lowly patrol cop and damn FBI SAC Frank Cotton's help...it was Traggs brilliance...

We never found a body in the river....Back at his rented house...we found photos of the dead girls in death and lingerie and credit card slips and receipts...all phony....No DNA or Fingerprint evidence...nothing...The car was stolen...We did get a fingerprint and some DNA..but no hits in the system.....

Get this....We found the black clothing near the river bed, days later.....It had been in the water so there was no trace evidence...but no body...This was never made public!!

I told all of this to Tragg, but he didn't want to hear any of it...He said that the killer was dead and the case was closed..I was just a patrol cop..What could I do???...The killings had stopped...The bosses were happy and that was it...

All these years though It's bothered me...It was too easy how we caught him...I think he wanted us to catch him or think we did and his "death " had to be public.....He was tired of being chased."said Sissy.

"And how does a wanted man stop from being chased? He dies in front of a group of people."said Carlotta.

"Exactly Carlotta...So we are going to disable our GPS system in our cell phones and our vehicles ,Use burner phones and I'm going to get plain clothes guys from Vice and Special Victims units..guys we've worked with before to stay with us out at "Copland" I called Sharon and my husband...They'll be joining us soon." said Sissy....

IV-

Within a few hours...We all were huddled up at our secret location...The hotel..The government purchased that we used for some of our investigations...This allowed us confidentiallity and relative autonomy from both the brass and people like Lt. Tragg.

It was late...we were all settled into our rooms...No hanging out tonight...

 "I am sooo sorry this happened...I know you really wanted to be alone with me tonight papi and here we are working a murder."said Carlotta.

"That's okay...At least I'm with you.."I said as I unzippered her dress..."Remember what you always told me?  "I said as I looked at her laying across the bed...

 "What was that?" she asked...

"Murder would always keep us together....It brought us together then and it keeps us together now."I said.

"That's morbid papi....but it's true." she said as I rolled over on top of her and began kissing her passionately.....

TO BE CONTINUED!!!