Murder In The Middle

 PHILADELPHIA- 2040-


Monica sat on the couch in our Duplex and waited patiently...

"Okay Nate ,so what is it you want me to close my eyes for.."she said.

"I said it's a surprise...now close your eyes.."I said.

"You've already asked me to marry you and gave me a fantastic ring and I said yes and we got married...so what more can you surprise me with?  Especially since I can read your mind.."she said.

"Then you really ought to be surprised that you don't know what it is."I said smiling..

Monica looked puzzled....

''Oh My God...you've learned how to bury thoughts in your subconscious so they aren't readily apparent...How did you learn that?" she asked..smiling..

"I read a lot...I downloaded this book about dealing with telepaths on my tablet the other night...It was good reading...but that's not the surprise...This is.."I said and I pulled out a platinum alloy bracelet..

Upon seeing it...Monica's eyes grew as large as saucers and she gushed...

"Oh my God Nate!!!! It's ..It's beautiful....Ohh my goodnesss..Why did you just buy this out of the blue???" she asked...

''Don't you know what today is? It's the day we first met...The day I first walked into Homicide...The day we became partners..."I said.

"Ohhh wow! You remembered that?  Wowwww, Thank youuuuu!!!...Awwww Nate, this is beautiful...I'm never going to take this off." she said...''Come here...give  me a kiss."she said.

''Don't mind if I do.." is said and I took her in my arms and kissed her passionately......

"Wow Nate..we're married.." said Monica..

"I know right? I can't believe it myself." I said.

I smiled ,remembering our first conversation...The day I met her in the squad room..That seemed like so long ago..I mused..

 "So what is your story Detective Talbert?" I asked.

"Nothing special...I graduated High School...Got an associates degree from Community College...Did a stint in the Air Force...worked in intelligence...Came home, joined the police force...Worked in Special Investigations, Major Crimes and now I'm Homicide...I've been here a year."she said.

 "You have perfect clearence....I know...I saw your murder board....So how come there is no Mr. Talbert?" I asked.

"Because I was waiting for you....You want to be Mr. Talbert don't you?"she laughed..."I'm kidding....I just haven't met the right guy yet..." she said.

"Maybe you have." I said and winked.

"Uhh Maybe I haven't."she said.

Just then her Smartwatch began beeping...

''Well Detective...We are up..There's been a murder" she said.

"Damn it...Three days left in the year and somebody has to kill somebody...."I said. 

 "Nate..Nate..Snap out of your day dream baby." said Monica, who kissed me once more...She had read my mind.....

"Huh?" I said.

''You were thinking about the conversation we had the first day we met...I remember...and being married to you or anyone was the furthest thing from my mind that day...but my smartphone really did just go off..We do have a murder...We gotta go babes.."she said.

"WHAT??" I said.

 ''Yeah partner....We gotta go." she said.

II-

The Aqua Bus just sat there eerily on the water in between Philadelphia and Camden....This was the bus that took tourist to and from the Undersea Hotel...There they would board a mini sub that would take them nearly a mile underwater to a luxurious undersea hotel and series of bistros and high end retail establishments...It was the ultimate vacation for hip young Philadelphians and South Jersey with disposable cash and no fear of being that far underwater in a pressurized mini city.

Only this boat ,which had left the Undersea Hotel and hour ago had never made it's destination...Several calls had failed to get an answer from the boat's captain and the boat was just sitting there ,quietly in the water.....

Officials from the Undersea hotel had taken a Hyper sub out to the boat and made a grizzly discovery....

FIVE bodies..apparently all shot to death !  On the boat....

Monica and I took a Hyper Sub also... out to the boat....It was surprisingly very fast and smooth...Monica drove...I had a Flying car..but I could not drive a Hyper Sub..While surprisngly..She could!

"I took a course two years ago...I know you're surprised that I can handle one of these things. I learned during a course one summer."she said as she drove us up to the Aqua Boat..

"Bored huh?" I laughed...

''Yeah..Me and the Lieutenant were bored ,so we took the class the Marine Police were offering.."she laughed..

But once on the Aquaboat...there was nothing to laugh about...

We saw six bodies strewn all over the place and lots of dried blood....

I looked at the two Marine police...

"Don't let anybody on this boat....Except the coroner and she should be here shortly.."I said.

I put on my latex gloves and began examining the bodies..

Monica had on latex gloves, but she was walking throughout the Aqua bus looking at the scene...

"Lot of blood splatter." she said...

I just smiled a little bit and observed my wife...God ,she was put together well, nice legs...nice body, short black mini skirt....I still can't believe we are married..

"Yo bae...I know some of the victims..."she said...

I rolled over one body....A strong, African-American male...

''This is Belt Strappings, the retired Football player..." I said..he had a gunshot wound to his left temple and a second gunshot wound to his sternum...he was very,very dead....

"This guy here is the country and western singer...Bo Hopkins..." said Monica ,who was looking at a white male...mid thirties...Gunshot wound to the head,chest and back.....also dead....

We walked a little further and saw another man, an older man lying face down in a pool of blood ,with a gunshot wound to the back of the head...

''That's John E. Carson....The radio talk show host.."said Monica...

Not lying too far from him was somebody neither of us knew...a white male with two gunshot wounds to the chest, one through his hand and one to his forehead...

I went through his wallet and found some identification....

"Hmmm, says his name is Ralph Gittens.."I said.

''No cash on any of them..."said Monica ,who was looking at the fifth body...."This one's name is Samuel Collins...He works at Bio-dynamics labs in the city." said Monica..

''So we have five men, who it doesn't appear knew each other and they are shot and robbed possibly on this Aqua Boat."I said.

"Or maybe they did know each other and were going to the Undersea Hotel for the weekend?" said Monica...

''This was the return boat..Which means they had been and were coming back...We gotta find out where this boat came from...who was the driver and what these men did in the Undersea hotel..."I said.

"Awww honey bunny...I know you wanted to celebrate with me today...And now we got this funky multiple murder to work...I'll make it up to you...I swear." said Monica..

"It's okay...We are our best when we are working these kinds of murders.."I said and pulled her to me and kissed her softly...

III-

"Come on you two, knock it off...How can you think about freaky sneaky in the middle of all this carnage "said Lt. Cotton who had just entered the boat...

"Holy moly..What the hell happened here?" he said.

Just then...My sister in law..Dr. Monique Talbert...The coroner came up in another Hyper sub...

''Sorry I'm late guys...I was off today.."said Monique ,who had on an electric orange mini-skirt that was turning heads when she walked on the boat.

Lt.Cotton whispered in my ear..

"You know..I uh perfectly understand how you all was thinkin about freaky sneaky...Lawddddd today...Will you look at your sister in law....!!!!!Ouuuuu." he said..

Monique looked at the bodies...and took their temperatures...

''Well we know the cause of death...multiple GSW's....I place the time of deaths at two hours ago...Their bodies are still warm...Good lord...What caused this?"she asked..

"I'm going to say...it was a robbery."said Monica..."No cash was on any of these guys.."she said.

''And that is odd...This here is Ralph Gittens..a big time gambler and playboy...He's loaded....and John E. Carson, Belt Strappings, Bo Hopkins...These are players ,ballers.."said Lt. Cotton..

''Any chance they knew each other?" I asked.

"These guys gambled together..They followed the hot card game...Wherever it was..."said Lt. Cotton.

"But there are no casinos in the Undersea Hotel."said Monica..

''No, but there are illegal card games down there..Get down there and find out where the card game is and who was playing, who was running it...You'll find out where these men were...Where is the driver?"asked Lt.Cotton..

"Nowhere to be found Lou." said Monica..

''Finding him is first priority...Find him and find out about those games." he said.  Then he looked at Monique....He put his arms around her waist..

"Damn girl.....I haven't seen you in a few days....but you are sayin a taste in that dress..."he said.

"Frankie...We are in public..Stopppp."she cooed..

He kissed her on the neck

''Well when can I get you alone?" he whispered in her ear..

''Tonight okay? I've got five bodies to autopsy.."she said.

''We'd better notify next of kin and start talking to the people in their lives." I said.

"Yeah and checking their financials too..."said Monica..

"I know somebody...You know him too..Who would know about the illegal card games.." I said.

"The Zigster..."laughed Monica..

Monique noticed the bracelet on Monica's wrist...

"OHHH MY GOD! Mo-Mo...where did you get that?" she asked..

"Nate got it for me...Today is the anniversary of when we first met."laughed Monica..

''And he remembered that?  Mo-Mo...I think he likes you."joked Monique...

"Yeah...I think so too." she said and kissed me softly...

By now C.S.I. people and photographers had finished taking pictures, dusting for prints and bagging and tagging evidence...

Monique then said..

"Okay guys...release these bodies...bag em and remove em..."she said and then she caught herself.."That sounded kind of cold.."she said.

''Yeah it did sis"laughed Monica..

Lt. Cotton walked up behind her...

"Damn girl,let me warm you up." he whispered in her ear and kissed her neck..

"I'm going to have to change out of this dress...you are getting way too excited.."she joked.

IV-

 Monica and I boarded the Hyper Sub and headed back to the shore...the city...

She drove with one hand and held my hand with her other hand..

"I told you that you and me were going to be just fine didn't I?" she asked me..

''You sure did..and look at us..married and still partners.." I said as we headed back to the city to try and solve our latest murder.

TO BE CONTINUED