A Name

Tyriq sat in the interrogation room nicknamed the Fishbowl and stared at State Trooper, John Skokie...

Tyriq said nothing..He just sat and stared...An evil stare that sent chills down John Skokie's spine...

The officer had been a bully...Tyriq had asked for and gotten his personell file... There was ten complaints of brutality and false arrests against him, (Six were African-Americans, Three were Latinos and one was an Asian man.) and several write ups for insubordination...And this was before Attorney Olivia Bennett Alexander and her team  began representing six individuals who were suing him and by him the Pennsylvania State Police for false arrest and racial profiling and harrassment...

Tyriq just stared at the man who had done the same thing to him and his wife, Detective Sirena Pile.

Just two weeks before...What saved them from being arrested was how embarrassing it would have looked for him to bring in two Philadelphia Police Detectives on bogus charges...No Tyriq scowled and John Skokie wilted under the pressure.

Finally, my wife, Detective Carlotta Rodriguez -Wallace and Detective James Barlow walked in...

Carlotta dropped a stack of files on the table...as was her custom...The loud thwack un nerved some suspects...

He looked at her...

"Well, aint you gonna go and get me some coffee?" he said jeeringly....

Jimmy smiled..

"Hey Carlotta....This mope has a sense of humor huh?" he said sitting down next to him....

He looked at Jimmy with pure disgust....

"You Irish?" he asked..

Jimmy laughed...

"Why?" he asked..

"You seem like a drunken mic..." he snarled..

Jimmy looked at him and busted out laughing which made him even angrier...Carlotta began to speak...

''You're in a lot of trouble you know? You and your two friends...First and foremost...You're cops...You've dishonored the badge by propositioning prostitutes...You have illegal drugs in your system...Cocaine, to be exact...We tested the urine of all three of you...You all tested positive and then there is the matter of the dead young woman..." said Carlotta..

He said nothing....

"We got a tox report back...Your semen, along with the semen of both of your playmates was found in the deceased young lady..."said Tyriq...

"Look we were off duty and we hooked up with a couple of chicks...Is all...She tripped and hit her head on the table ..That was what had happened..."he said.

"Really John? Really , because the other girl said that you guys over powered her and rat packed her...They found semen from all three of you in her mouth, in her anus and in her vagina and all over her body...but get this...This is where it gets cute....We got your skin...DNA from your skin under her fingernails and your prints on her neck...So it looks like YOU strangled her John."said Jimmy...

" You're a gotdamn lie..I didn't kill nobody..." he said.

"We got a witness and forensic evidence that says otherwise John..."said Carlotta.

"You take the word of a hooker over a cop? " he asked..

Tyriq spoke for the first time...

"Yeah...in this case...We do...."said Tyriq..

"This is because I wrote you and your wifey that ticket aint it??? So now you're gonna stick it to me."he bellowed...

"Really? You're going with that? Personally ,I was hoping to never see you again...And it's just my luck that I catch a murder case....and you are the suspect....How sweet is that?" said Tyriq...

Detective Angie Belton-Barlow and I walked in together at this point...

Angie sat down next to Carlotta...I stood up...

He looked at us...

"How many Detectives do you need in here?" he said.

"I'm Assistant District Attorney ,Keith Wallace" I said.

"I'm Detective Angela Belton-Barlow." she said.

He looked at her, then he looked at Jimmy...

"She's your wife?" he asked..

"She sure is." said Jimmy...

"I should have known.. Now you being here with them makes sense.." he snapped...

"I used to work in Internal Affairs...I used to put away cops like you...Cops who dishonor the badge, Cops who abuse their power and make it hard for good cops everywhere....You've been a bad boy John...You've got  ten complaints, ten complaints of brutality and false arrests against you, and several write ups for insubordination...And this was before Attorney Olivia Bennett Alexander and her team  began representing six individuals who are suing you and by you the Pennsylvania State Police for false arrest and racial profiling and harrassment.....They are probably going to pay these people to make this go away...But I just got off the phone with your Lieutenant and Your Captain...and you my friend are toast...You've been fired ,effective immediately as I've been told...So have your two buddies...They got themselves lawyers...They're going to try and fight this...but they're going to lose...Question is...What are you going to do? See they aren't facing murder charges like you." said Angie.

''What do you want?" he asked.

"A name...A name of the man you guys were muling for...That girl you killed...She wasn't a pro John..." I said.

He looked at Carlotta....Then he looked at me...

"Your husband right?" he asked.. looking at me..

" Si." said Carlotta...

"What the hell kind of outfit is this? Everybody is married ?" he asked.

''Who I'm married to is the least of your worries." said Carlotta.

"You aint colored?" he asked..

Carlotta looked at Tyriq and smiled..

"He's a real winner Tyriq." she laughed..

"Aint he though Top?"said Tyriq...

"I'm Puerto Rican.." said Carlotta, shaking her head and laughing...

"Now that you're clear on the race of my wife...I need a name...The name of the man you guys were working for.."I said.

"He'll kill me...Uh Uh..." said John Skokie..

"Okay...You can always spend the rest of your life in prison for murder....You know what they'll do to a racist ex-cop like you in the joint?" I asked..

He sat quietly and thought...

II-

At the M.E.'s office, Hop stared at the body of Glynnis Cartwright..

He said nothing...He just stared...

''Did you know her young fella?"asked Doc Gibbons..

"No...I'm just amazed at how much she resembles my wife...They're the same age, same build.." he said.

"She does favor Sharon a little bit...But she's not Sharon....Sharon is alive and well."said Sirena...

"This was a young idealistic woman...She didn't deserve this Sirena.." said Hop...

"No she didn't partner...but we got the killers...We got em in custody."said Sirena, gently rubbing her partners back..

"It was that same State Trooper that rousted you and Tyriq two weeks ago..." said Hazel...

"They filled her full of blow and then took turns raping her until she was dead.... That just wasn't right.. she deserved better than that.." said Hop..

"Come on Buddy ..Let's get out of here." said Sirena..

III-

 "You think this knucklehead will roll?" asked Duke Baylor , who was standing outside the Fishbowl talking to Sissy and Sharon...

 "It's the only play he's got." said Sissy.

"At best , all we really have him on is manslaughter...He'd do 10-15 years...but he doesn't know that...He's thinking life or the death penalty...Which is what we want him to think...He's not the brightest bulb on the lamp...He'll deal.." said Sharon.

Tyriq, Carlotta and Jimmy got up and took their files..

"If I were you Skokie...I'd give the man what he wants...because whatever he's offering is better than the murder ,I already got you on."said Tyriq..

"Goodbye John...For now." said Carlotta, smiling as she left...

"John!!!!" said Jimmy, who paused....

"Ahhh, never mind..." he continued as he followed Carlotta and Tyriq out into the foyer...

"The good news guys is that your murder is down...That was rather good..." said Sissy...

Now it was just Angie and I in the fishbowl with John Skokie..

"I want a name Skokie...The girl you guys gang raped and murdered was a reporter...She was writing an expose about rogue cops bringing Heroin and Cocaine into Philadelphia...She knew that you three good time boys were muling Heroin and Coke into Philadelphia for somebody...She was afraid...We told her to come in...She said she was in just a little bit..She was getting close...but her contract was canceled.. Now I know ...I know her death was not an accident...I know you three goofballs were told to make it look like an accident...The only thing was you were supposed to get out of there...You weren't supposed to get high and do this in front of a witness.. You guys screwed up.. You're all toast....You can't fight this and being a cop won't save you ...Now I WANT A NAME!" I said ,pounding my fist on the table..

"You don't understand...He'll kill me..He's high up,he's untouchable..Look that girl ,the dead girl..She hung around us at the bar....Her and the white girl...We always drank and hung out...We just took em up to the room to you know, have a little fun...Things got out of hand...." said John Skokie..

"Things got way out of hand....She's dead." I said.

"It was an accident...I swear...We was havin rough sex...We didn't know she was no reporter...Nobody told us to kill her..It was an accident." he said.


He was right...These three guys were too stupid to be given an assignment like that.



"The other girl in the room said that she didn't want to and that you and those other guys said and I quote..."What you think you're too good for us..bitch??"and the three of you rat packed her...That's rape and murder....You go into any prison with a rape tag on your back...and you're toast..."I re-iterated...

You could see the fear in his face as he thought about what I had said.

"Think hard about your future John..."I said.

"Looks like you got me by the short and curlies." he whimpered.

"You need to co-operate...It's the only play you have..."said Angie...

Just then, Sirena and Hop walked in...Hop was staring daggers at John Skokie..

"What?" said John Skokie...

It was all Hop could do not to strangle him..

Sirena walked over to him...

"Mr. Skokie...I would call you Officer Skokie...But you've been fired as well as your two friends... They were going to get lawyers and fight this...Doesn't look like they will now.."said Sirena..

"What are you talking about..?" he asked..

She dropped two glossies on the desk...

"We just got a call from County Lock Up...Both of these guys were found stabbed to death in their cells and hung ..That's your boys...That how whoever was paying you guys to mule drugs covers up if there is any chance of a light shining his way. So ironically enough...Your life is in OUR HANDS right now." said Sirena...

John Skokie looked at the photos of his two partners...both had numerous stab wounds and were hung from bedsheets from the ceiling of their cell..

He screamed in horror...

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"That's your future Skokie...I'm done talkin...Sirena!!! ,Hop??" said Angie as she got up and exited...

Sirena and Hop both followed her out...

That left only me...

"Last chance Skokie...I want a name or we'll book you on Murder charges and send you over to county...It won't matter that you didn't talk.. Your boys didn't tell us a thing and they are still dead...."I said.

"You want a name...Okay...I want to walk on that murder charge....and I want protection..."he said.

"THE NAME!" I said.

"Boaz...Emilio Boaz....That's who we was workin for. He's the man on the street.. And everybody knows it...If you got a crew and you need product ,you buy from him...He's got the best dope and coke in Philadelphia."he said.

"Emilio Boaz?? Aye Mios Dios..."said Carlotta...

"You know him Carlotta?" asked Sissy...

"I do....He's a Lawyer....Aye Mios Dios...And..And we dated once..A long time ago..." she exclaimed.

(TO BE CONTINUED)