Shots Were Fired

A Saturday Morning in late summer, Philadelphia...It had been quiet for the past few weeks...Too quiet....We had all been going home on time every day after a normal shift...We all had 100 percent clearance...No major cases... And a lot of days where we all sat around the office at our desks talking,laughing...and what not not unless we had a court case to appear in...

Sissy Van Buren...Our stalworth  Lieutenant had even taken a much deserved vacation with her husband, Eddie C. to Punta Cana and had just returned two days ago..

I'm Keith Wallace...Assistant District Attorney...I prosecute Major crimes...I work closely with the Detectives of the Criminal Investigative Division of which my wife,Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace is a member...Today...we were not working..Today we were enjoying the company of friends..

Life was good...Too good and it had been too quiet for too long..All of us knew that something was going to disturb all of that peace and quiet and soon...

On this Saturday Morning...We had no idea....Carlotta and I, Sharon and Hop and our friends Eva and Flora were having a delicious brunch at a rooftop bistro in Northern Liberties where Carlotta was living when I first met her...

''Flora, this place is wonderful...I am so glad you invited us to brunch." said Carlotta in between forks of good food.

"My Pleasure Carlotta and plus, I wanted to see Sharon again...I see You've gotten married, got a law degree and Deputy special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia FBI....Who would've thunk it ,if they knew you when?" laughed Flora...

Sharon laughed and said...

"I know right? And who would've thought I'd be married and to Tony..." Sharon added...Kissing Hop in the lips right in front of everybody...

"I love me some him.." she added...

Hop blushed....

"I know right? Tony....You got your woman...You never gave up....I didn't think you had a shot , but you proved us all wrong... And Carlotta...You landed yourself quite a hunk...WOW!" added Flora,laughing and hugging Hop...

I just smiled and continued to eat....

"Don't make his head any larger...Please..." joked Carlotta, who hugged her new friend...Eva Corona...

"You enjoying the food Mami?" she asked..

"Yes Carlotta...I've been here before...The food is incredible.." said Eva....

"Don't be shy around us...We are terrible."laughed Flora...

"She's speaking for herself." laughed Sharon...

II-

While that went on...Another group of friends were meeting at Bernadette's Beauty Salon where they had just got their hair done...

"This is nice....I've needed my hair done for the past three weeks, just been busy." said Bridget Jones...

"Girl ,you aint never lied..Every time I wanted to though..We got caught up in some big case ."laughed Angie Belton Barlow..

''So what was your excuse last week?" said Sissy Van Buren,laughing at Angie..."

''She wanted to wait...To see if the peace was real...And for you to come back from Vacation Boss Lady!"laughed Sirena..

The four women laughed.....They didn't notice a young man walking in with a black gym bag in one hand and a small machine gun pistol in the other hand....

Three women who were just finishing up noticed him...They seemed to know who he was too...

Before they could say anything..He fired a round into the ceiling.....

This got everybody's attention!!!

Panic abounded...

Admid screaming...Several women bolted past him for the exit....Others hunched down behind the couch and behind the chairs...

Sissy ,Angie, Sirena and Bridget Jones ducked down...

The man seemed to aim his comments at the three women who were just finishing up...

"YOU BITCHES RUINED MY LIFE....SHE WAS GOING TO MARRY ME UNTIL YOU CACKLING HENS CHIMED IN AND TURNED HER AGAINST ME!" he yelled...

"Tyrone....Don't...Don't be a fool..Calm down...Let's talk this over...."said one...

"Aint Nothing to talk over, you were the ring leader..The main one." he said and fired a volley of shots her way...The woman was hit with seven bullets...She jerked furiously as she fell to the floor...dead!!!!!

Sissy and Angie were trying to inch over to their purses , where they kept their service revolvers...but the man saw them and fired up into the ceiling and then over their heads.

"GET BACK BEHIND THOSE CHAIRS BITCHES!" he commanded...

Sissy and Angie froze without saying a word...

He then aimed at another woman who was running for the door..

"And you...You called her and sent her a text of me and that girl in the bar,didn't you?" he snapped and fired another volley...

Ten rounds dropped her where she stood and she fell up against the door and slid to the ground...dead before she hit the ground....

The last woman was crying..."Tyrone,please....please don't ...Please...You need help...Tyrone..."she said..

He snarled..."The only help I need is seeing all of you bitches dead.....I WOULD BE GETTING MARRIED TODAY...TODAY IF NOT FOR YOU.....YOU SENT HER A TEXT TOO....YOU TOLD HER I WAS NO DAMN GOOD!!" he screamed...


"No Tyrone, Nooooo I didn't.."she sobbed..

"LIARRRR!" he screamed and fired his last volley..

16 shots....Eight which hit her, killing her instantly.....

Bridget had passed Sirena her pocket book...Sirena pulled out her .40 cal and fired at the shooter....

The shot knocked him down...But he was wearing a vest and a trauma plate...He quickly got to his feet and fired a volley at Sirena, who dove for cover behind many chairs and rolled before returning his fire...

He dropped his gym bag and returned her fire...He missed and ran out of the salon and jumped into a red sports car and took off...

He drove six blocks and got out of the car and got in to a Blue Tow truck..

And pulled off in the opposite direction......

At the beauty salon...there was pandemonium...Women screaming, crying...blood and glass all over the place...and three dead bodies....

Sissy talked to Sirena..

"Sirena honey, are you alright?" she said..

"I'm fine boss lady...." she said....

Angie was comforting Bernadette Charles, the Salon's owner....

"Oh My god...They were three of my best customers....Oh My God!" she kept saying....

Angie looked at Bridget ,who was also stunned..

"Never fails...Get my hair done and what happens? A big case." she said.

"Normally I'd laugh Ang...but under the circumstances..." she said.

III-

By the time we all got there...There was reporters from ABC,NBC, CBS, CNN,MSNBC and Fox there interviewing witnesses and getting in the way, as well as CSI photographers and personnel dusting for prints....and DNA...

The salon was a mess......Hazel had on latex gloves and was examining the three bodies...She gave an extra pair to Carlotta...

''Well death was obviously from multiple GSW's and they've only been dead for an hour." said Hazel...

"Aye Caramba...What made someone shoot three women down like this ,like dogs?" asked Carlotta to no one in particular...

"Your victims names are, according to drivers licenses found in their purses....Robin Tolliver,29 , an Administrative Assistant at Community College...Tamika Rice, 29, an Office manager for a Law firm in town and Aquilla Robinson, 28, Manager of a jewelry store around the corner.." said Jimmy...

 "Hop and I found the getaway car.....Six Blocks over...."said Tyriq..

" We got a CSI team dusting for prints and DNA..."said Hop

"Well we know who we are looking for...The whole incident was caught on the Salon Cameras, Everything...All three murders and your partner's shootout with him." said Duke, hugging Sirena...

"He was wearing a bullet proof vest and a trauma plate.." he added.

"He left behind a gym bag full of weapons...3 Uzi's, a .40 cal, a .357 mag, a.Glock and a Sig suer and a .45, This guy was a killing machine....I need to check these guns out, see if I can trace their origin."said Sharon.

"Our Killer's name is Tyrone Ransom....He's 29 also and he used to drop his fiance off here to get her hair done...Bernadette knows both of them."said Angie...

"This doesn't make any sense...He walks in here in broad daylight and guns down three women....In front of eye witnesses..Several eye witnesses...He allows himself to be filmed and then pulls off...The only thing he seems to have done right is to ditch the car..."I said.

"Somebody put a team on the traffic cams and street cams...See how he got away and which way he went..."said Sissy...

"Anybody know what this was about? He could have very well of slaughtered everybody in here...and yet he seemed to be interested in these three girls...."said Carlotta.

"Bernadette said that he was engaged to be married to Latoya Rice, 27, the sister of one of our victims...and apparently these women, her older sister and two of her girlfriends told her that he was no good and apparently one of them texted her a photo of him and some other woman together in Josies....Because of that, Latoya Rice called off the engagement...Ironically enough...The Wedding would have taken place today." said Sissy...

Eddie C and Harry Charles....Bernadette's husband came running in the salon just then...

"Wholllly crap....What happened?? "they said in unison....

"Some nut came in here and shot and killed these three women."said Sissy..

"Oh My God...I'm just glad you're alright...Did you get him?" asked Eddie C.

"No, he got away...but he won't get far...We know who he is..We witnessed the entire thing...and he's on tape..and we have his get away car."said Sissy...

"Oh My God...Is that Tamika....Latoya's sister???Robin?? and Aquilla??? Oh My God...I know who done this?" said Eddie C.

"We know too..Tyrone Ransom..."said Angie...

"I know where he lives."said Eddie C.

"We need to know where his ex-fiance is."said Carlotta...

"I can show you..." said Eddie C.

"Good, Chica, Rico and Jimmy, go with Eddie C and bring her in...She's not safe until we get this guy.."said Sissy...

"We're on it Boss Lady" they said...

"Angie...You are the Primary... Sirena , you and Hop...Go to that address....take all the manpower you need..wear vests and trauma plates...All of you and see if he's there...Bring him in...Bring him in alive if you can...

 "Release these bodies...We know the cause of death and we know who did it...And help Bernadette clean up in here."said Angie to the uniformed officers...

 "We're on it Boss Lady."said Sirena..

"I'll round up some guys now." said Hop...

"Duke...Get me the book on this guy...See if he has any priors....Any mental health issues..."said Sissy...

"I'm on it..." said Duke..

Police Officers were picking up shells and other evidence.....

I couldn't help but think..as open and shut as this case looked...There was something more to it and the most
terrifying thought was.....Our killer wasn't through yet!

(TO BE CONTINUED)