Agent X

A hot steaming cup of coffee sat on my desk....I looked up from what I was doing and saw Detective Kylie White...

"Morning Nate....I see you're working the Saturday Morning shift too!" she said.

The Squadroom was bare this morning...

"Yeah ,we caught a murder last night...In that club you was telling us about Shark Bar....Food Blogger, Anjelica Dallas was our victim." I said.

"Oh My God! Anjelica Dallas...The food Blogger?? She's dead??OH My God!! I used to listen to her pod casts all the time."said Kylie..

"So you know her huh?  I've been reading her blogs and listening to her podcasts all morning...She was pretty brutal....No filter at all." I said.

"She was spot on...That's how I knew where to eat and drink in the city and where not...I loved her.What happened?" asked Kylie..

''We really don't know yet....Might not even be a murder...I shouldn't have jumped the gun and said that...She was found in one of the lounge areas, just sitting up...No sign of physical trauma, no gunshot, no knife wounds...nothing...Just dead...Her pretty hazel eyes just staring into the nothingness..Stiff as a board."I said.

"I guess you guys were up all night huh?" asked Kylie..

"Yeah..We interviewed and checked out all of the club's guests and staff and alibied them and we put teams on all of the cameras in the area...Monique is examining the uneaten food and a half drank bottle of Vodka we found with her.."I said.

"So was she poisoned?" asked Kylie..

"I don't know....."I said.

"Where is your wifey?" asked Kylie..

"She went back to the club to interview Ray Penzo, the owner and his business associate, Rico..They were the last people known to see her alive and they dined with her.."I said.

"And they're alive?" said Kylie..

"Yeah...They ate the same meal....Wonder if they drank the Vodka?" I asked..

"They didn't!" came the voice of my wifey, Detective Monica Talbert-Nellis...

She was wearing tight Black Jeans and a Black Bustier...I had sweated her new hairstyle out last night and she was wearing her hair in a ponytail this morning...

I was eyeing her tight jeans and the way they fit every curve hungrily...

She gave me a soft kiss....

"Hey Kylie..." she said..

"Hey girlie...Looks like we are all working the Saturday Morning Shift...I caught a murder too last night.. A party girl...29, Blunt force trauma...No witnesses...But unlike you guys, At least I know it's definitely a Homicide." said Kylie...

"Yeah, you'll probably crack yours before us...Unless we learn this was accidental or natural causes.."said Monica..

"Where's Wally?" I asked ,Speaking of my former partner and Kylie's present boyfriend...

"He's over my house, fast asleep..." she said...

We all laughed...

Just then my phone rang...

"Hello." I said.

"Hi Brother in law...Is my sister around?" asked Monique...

"She's right here...Do you want to speak to her?" I answered..

"I think you both should come over here...I have your cause of death..." said Monique...

''We'll be right over... Come on Mo-Mo...Your sister wants to see us." I said.

"Well Kylie...We gotta go...Good Luck with your murder.."said Monica..

"Yeah, you too babe!"said Kylie as we left...

II-

 We went over to the Medical Examiner's Office...Where we met Monique..My sister in law..

"Hey Guys...." she said.

"Hey Sis...Do we have a murder or was this natural causes?" asked Monica.

"Oh you got a murder alright...The cause of death? Complete shutdown of all of her organs....Heart,Lungs,Liver,Kidneys et al..."said Monique...

''What? She was a healthy young woman in the prime of her life!!" I said.

"Yes, Well she had help....She ingested what we'll call Agent X....It's a banned chemical ,manufactured in Eastern Europe....The United Nations banned it twenty years ago, but we believe it can be found on the black market, but for a very high price....It's quick acting and if not captured in time...It completely disolves and leaves the body....It attacks all of the vital organs and the central nervous system...She couldn't even cry out for help...Horrible but painless way to die." said Monique..

"How did you know to look for it?" I asked.

"I nearly missed it...If I had let her body sit until this morning, All traces of it would have been gone..But I went to work on her immediately....I couldn't believe all of her organs just shut down like that...I couldn't find any of the known toxins I usually look for,so I did a search of government and United Nations banned toxins and I made a few calls and I found just what I was looking for.." said Monique...

"So our killer injected this in what she ate last night..right?" asked Monica..

Before Monique could answer...we heard a familliar voice...

"You'll have to shut this down...NOW! " barked the voice...

Men in suits and wing tip shoes and sunglasses cordened off the office and closed the doors....

It was FBI Agent Edward Lawlor....Who Monica had once had a very torrid relationship with...Before she met me of course...

"I had a brief affair with an FBI agent I worked a case with....but he had a fiance he didn't bother to mention." I remember Monica saying..

"Agent Lawlor" I said....

The last time he had been in Philadelphia, he had worked with us on a Serial Killing case... He had went all cowboy on us and wound up getting himself stabbed in the buttocks and the back by the serial killer...

We found him in an alley in a pool of blood, clinging to life....I couldn't help but smile remembering it...

Monica and I cracked the case, while he was in the hospital recovering...

This was the same guy...FBI Special Agent Edward Lawlor, Monica's ex-boyfriend, who had attempted to make a grandstand play and hijack our investigation into the serial killer who had butchered three women...Only ,his plan had backfired on him and he nearly became the killer's fourth victim..

Here he was standing before us in the M.E.'s office with about six FBI agents...

"Yes..It's me..."he said...He looked past me to Monica..

"Monica baby, you are looking well..."he said, smiling and staring at her in those tight jeans salaciously..

 "Eddie ,what are you doing here? How is this FBI business?" asked Monica.

"I could ask you two the same question....Your sister here made an inquiry into a banned substance..known only as "Agent X" and Homeland Security and the NSA alerted us... I can't allow this to leave this room...We have to confiscate everything you have on it immediately....Autopsy Report, everything...Including the body of the deceased.." he said.

"What? You can't do that."said Monique...

"I'm sorry Monique...It's a matter of National Security...We'll return the body, in a week after our Medical Examiners have throroughly autopsied it..." he said.

"I can't allow you to do that." said Monique..

"I'm afraid you have to Sugar Baby." said Lt. Cotton as he and three uniformed policemen walked into the M.E.'s office..

"I just got a call from the Assistant Director of the Philadelphia FBI saying to cooperate with Agent Lawlor and his men..."said Lt. Cotton..

Monique directed her assistants to turn over the body to Agent Lawlor and the FBI and her files on the toxin and the autopsy....

The FBI agents boxed them....and wheeled the body out to the van...

"Your involvement in this case is over!!!!...This is an FBI matter now." he said to Monica.

"That's where you're wrong....THAT is your problem, that chemical...This is still my husband and mines murder investigation..."said Monica.

He sighed..

"Mo-Mo..please, don't get in my way....I would hate to bring you up on Obstruction of Justice charges." he said..

"You won't....I won't be anywhere near you, if I can help it." she said.."Come on partner...Let's go..." she said to me..

''Wait..Wait...You didn't tell me about you and Nate's date last night at that club."said Monique looking at her sister...

FBI Agent Lawlor sighed....

"How's your uh back doing?" I asked him...

Lt. Cotton tried to hide his smile, by turning away ....Agent Lawlor looked at me like I was dirt and sighed...

"COME ON MEN,LET's GO!" he said.

He turned and looked at us all...

"I trust you all are professionals...Not a word of this gets leaked to the public...Understand?" he snapped.

"We understand....You have everything you want....If there is nothing else..You can go."said Lt. Cotton.

Agent Lawlor looked over at Monica, who walked over to me and kissed me softly....

He stomped his foot in anger and stormed off!

"Sis...I made copies of the autopsy and the files...I anticipated that someone from the government might come by here demanding stuff, so I copied it.."said Monique..

Monica had read her mind and already knew that!

Monica kissed her sister in the lips...

"I love you Sis..." she said smiling...

"Love you too baby!" said Monique.

"Oh and I gave him the uneaten meal...He won't find anything in there..."said Monique...

"The poison wasn't in the food?" I asked..

"No...It was in the Vodka...That bottle had been tampered with prior to it's delivery." said Monique...

"Sweet, now uh could you two kiss in the lips again...That was hot!" said Lt. Cotton...smiling sheepishly....

"WHAT???" asked Monique...

Monique and Monica both looked at Lt. Cotton and sighed...

"Oh god have mercy!"said Monica, sighing.

I laughed....but I had been thinking the same thing...That kiss between the two of them had been hot!!!

"In all seriousness...We know how she died...She was poisoned...but now we have to find out WHO poisoned her..I watched her Podcasts and read her blogs...I even streamed her syndicated Television show...She was pretty brutal in her assessment of local clubs and eateries...There is our suspect pool right there."I said.

''Well I know it wasn't Rico or Ray..I interviewed both of them and they alibied out...Maybe we need to talk to the fired cook and the present cook..."said Monica..

"Yeah and some of his rivals....But you know...She killed his other joint...Her criticism was so biting ,Penzo was forced to close his doors...That is motive right there..."I said.

"It is, but he was so afraid of her, he didn't want to do anything to risk his standing with her..."said Monica.

I know that she had scanned both of their minds and knew behind a shadow of a doubt that they hadn't killed her...but Lt. Cotton didn't know that...

''Still..Check Penzo out again...He has the best motive for wanting her dead." said Lt. Cotton...

 "We are on it Lou." I said.

"See you later Sis..Thanks " said Monica..

"Anytime" said Monique smiling...

As soon as we left...Lt Cotton pulled her to him and kissed her neck, her cheeks and her lips and ran his hand up her dress..

"Ouu Frankie stop...Not here out in the open...Stoppppppppppppppppp.."laughed Monique..

''Well Let's go in one of these empty offices.."he said.

"Noooooooooooooooo..not today...I'm at work..Somebody is likely to walk in here at anytime..Come by tonight...." she said...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh,Okay....Damn girl, what you do to me..." he said.

Monique just laughed...She loved the fact that she got him so horny....Of course,It worked both ways..but he was more obvious with his feelings.

III-

Monica and I headed back downtown in my flying car...

We spent the next three hours interviewing other local chefs who had been savaged by Anjelica Dallas, her fellow employees at National Public Radio and television who employed her and friends and relatives...

All of them alibied out....We checked her bank accounts and her credit cards....There was nothing in any of this that was out of the ordinary...And lastly, we stopped by her condo and talked to everybody in the area,including merchants who knew her...

None of them had a bad thing to say about her...And all of her movements on her last day of life were perfectly normal...

She did a Podcast..Her last....That morning..She wrote two entrys for her Blog and she filmed a segment of a late night television show....Then she relaxed by going to the Shark Bar...

We couldn't find any evidence of anyone who crossed paths with her, who meant her any harm...

The Key was..Who  sent her that Vodka??? and where was it before she drank it????

We still hadn't seen Ray's wife...Corrie...Several calls to her phone went unanswered and unreturned.

"How long do you think it'll take your ex-boyfriend to figure out that Monique held back something?" I asked.

"He'll know by tomorrow..but by then hopefully we'll be further along in our murder investigation.." said Monica..

"Let's take a look at our victim..."I said.

Monica and I did some digging and found-

Anjelica Dallas was born Angela Dallas here in Philadelphia PA.  She attended Philadelphia Public Schools and graduated from Temple University... with a degree in Communications and Journalism. She got her Masters at Lasalle University...Also in Communications and Journalism. 

She got a degree in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of Paris France...She was said to have had a torrid affair with Chef Guseppie Gapepi that lasted four years in which she cooked at several top restaurants in New York City...When he ended the affair, she was heart broken and tried to commit suicide...

After a stint in a hospital....She remade herself as a food critic...Getting a broadcasting job and starting a popular Pod Cast and an even popular Blog....Soon she became the foremost food critic in the tri-state area...With a reputation as one who could make or break a restaurant, bar and grill or bistro..And she went after the big ones too..Not the small family places or chain spots..

Monica and I interviewed the owners of the places she particularly savaged..None of them had been anywhere near the Shark Bar that night and although they universally despised her..All of them alibied out..None of them had killed her..

"Hmmm...Maybe we should interview her ex-love, Chef Gapepi.." I asked.

 "He's been in Italy for the past four years...I don't think it's him."said Monica.. "Let's look and see if she had any boyfriends after him...See if there was any jealous girlfriends or wives in the mix.." she said.

I landed my flying car on the roof of headquarters...I stared at her...It had been a long day...

"What?" she said smiling...I know she was reading my mind...

"You know, you are wearing those jeans today ." I said..

"My goodness Nate, you are the horniest guy I've ever met..." she said laughing...

We began kissing passionately....I slipped her bustier down and began sucking on her breasts a little bit..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...oh my god...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..Nate...Oh my goodness.." She moaned..

After a few minutes...We stopped kissing...I was breathing heavy...

"What's the matter?" she asked..

"Let's not do this here.." I said as we both began to straighten out our clothes...I had a feeling, call it a sixth sense that somebody important might be downstairs in the squadroom...I didn't want to chance someone looking for us and we up on the roof in the middle of lovemaking.

"Yeah, you're right.." she said as we got out and headed downstairs....

To our surprise...FBI Agent Ed Lawlor was in our squadroom...


"Nice trick you two...Where is the Vodka?" he asked.

"It's a little too early to be drinking isn't it?" I joked.

"KNOCK IT THE HELL OFF DETECTIVE! I'M IN NO MOOD FOR YOU OR YOUR SOPHMORIC JOKES...HAND OVER THE VODKA!!!!....I KNOW THE POISON WAS IN THAT!!!" he snarled..

"We don't have it...We don't need it...We know the poison was in there...If you want it..You'll have to get it from my sister." said Monica.

"Mo-Mo...If we didn't have history...I'd lock both you and your husband and your sister up...But I won't.." he said.

"This is still our murder investigation...and we still plan to do our jobs.."I said.

He looked like he wanted to punch me...

"JUST STAY OUT OF MY WAY DETECTIVE!" he said and stormed out...

Monica laughed...

"He's not really mad about that Vodka...He's mad because I'm with you Nate...I know him..."she said.

"You read his mind?" I asked.

"Of course...His thoughts were so loud...It was like somebody was playing a loudspeaker...Oh and you aren't the only person who was aroused by me in these jeans....I think I'm going to wear something more conservative tomorrow." said Monica.

"What can you wear that won't make me want to jump your bones.?" I asked.

Monica smiled..

"You have a point!" she said and we both laughed...

(TO BE CONTINUED)