It was a beautiful house......A house I wished I could afford myself...I stood there staring at the body of the woman ,lying in the middle of the living room floor...49 year old Lillian Monahan...Wealthy socialite and friend of both the Mayor and the Governor....Which was why I was here...
I am Keith Wallace, Assistant District Attorney.....I prosecute major crimes.......Standing with me was Lt. Sissy Van Buren , Criminal Investigation Division-Homicide....
Sissy was watching my wife, Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace and her partner, Detective James "Jimmy " Barlow, kneeling down, applying latex gloves and observing the body, along with Forensic Investigator, Dr. Hazel Baylor..
"Aye Mios Dios..There is a lot of blood...There was a terrific struggle in here..." said Carlotta...
"Yeah....Somebody gave her neck a real working over..." said Jimmy, shaking his head..
"I would say the cause of death is blunt force trauma..but I could also say manual strangulation...take your pick.." said Hazel...
My wife's other partner...Detective Tyriq Pile weighed in...
"My guess is...She must have walked in and surprised whoever blew this safe...
and they killed her.." he said..
Carlotta walked over to the safe...
"This safe had a complex combonation and it was rigged to explosives....Whoever blew this safe was good...They bypassed the booby trap and still got inside.." said Carlotta...
"You're right Top...This was definitely a pro....but the violence of it...Nobody I know that did this type of work was known for this type of violence.."said Tyriq..
"You think she knew the thief?" asked Jimmy...
"Man, I can't say.." said Tyriq ,shaking his head..
"You guys are right about this being a complex safe...It's supposed to be thief proof, apparently it wasn't.... I called your old boss down here..Sgt.Danny Ho..He should be here in a few minutes..." said Sissy..
I watched as CSI people checked for fingerprints and DNA and snapped photos of the murder scene...I said nothing....
Just a few weeks before...Carlotta and I had celebrated Christmas and brought in the New Year on the beautiful beaches of San Juan, Puerto Rico with her family...Her father, her cousins, her older sister and her father...Endless eating, drinking, lovemaking...I didn't want to come back....
And now we were back..a week and a half of peacefulness and now this..a major murder and robbery..
"Can we release the body?" asked Hazel...
"Not yet....I want Danny to see it.." said Sissy...
Just then, Sgt. Danny Ho walked in...with two uniformed officers..
"Hey guys...Happy New Years....Rico, Carlotta...you guys startin trouble? he playfully asked..
"You know it Sarge." laughed Tyriq...hugging his old supervisor at Robbery /Homicide..
"You know I'm not starting any trouble Sgt. Ho..." said Carlotta, smiling..
"I know you're not gorgeous...You are trouble..." he said laughing..."Siss, what we got here? Ouuuuuuuuuuu a murder!!!" he said looking at the bloody body of our victim..
"Yeah , but the real reason I called you here is this...This safe...Look at it..." said Sissy.
Danny Ho...a seasoned Detective himself observed the safe...
"This is one of the newer more high tech safes and it was rigged with explosives...Which didn't go off...Somebody beat the safe and bypassed the booby trap..Wowwwwwwwwwwwww..." he said.
"What's your guess Sergeant?" I asked.
"Somebody is very, very good and or they were tipped off about the booby trap and they cut the electrical wires...I'll get some of my guys over here to examine the electrical set up and follow the wiring.." he said.
"This place has massive surveilience...I'll put a team on it." said Tyriq..
"And I'll put some guys on the streets and the traffic cameras in the area and have guys do a door to door search of the immediate area.." said Jimmy...
"I'll talk to family ,friends and associates and check her financials.....Has her husband been contacted?" asked Carlotta..
"Yeah....He's on his way." said Tyriq....
"That body is going to be here awhile Hazel. I know you're anxious to move it.." said Jimmy...
"That's okay...If her husband is coming , he can formally identify the body." said Hazel...
Danny Ho smiled... "Wow, look at these sharp detectives...I am impressed.." he joked..
"You trained them well Danny....Carlotta and Rico and Jimmy have been nothing short of excellent since the day they started working for me." laughed Sissy..
Danny Ho eyed the safe...
"I know only three people who could beat a safe like this...John Longhorn Sykes...but he's in prison....Doing a 25 year stretch as a guest of the federal government.. The other person is an old friend of yours Rico ,Carlotta...Gerald Glenn Felton. better known as the Road Runner." said Danny Ho..
"He's in Prison too." laughed Tyriq...
''Actually...He's not...He got paroled.. He did seven years...Earned a Masters degree while in the joint...taught reading to inmates and was a model prisoner...He's been out for two years now...Not a peep from him..." said Danny Ho.
"Really?" said Sissy, who was just as surprised as Tyriq was...
I remembered the story Carlotta told me about how she and Tyriq
tracked this guy for six months and when they finally got up on him.....He took what turned out to be an undercover cop hostage and escaped.....That undercover cop was Detective Sirena Harris...
who unknown to them had also been tracking this guy as part of a Special Investigations probe...
Sirena Harris and Tyriq Pile first got off to a rough start...but eventually began to be attracted to each other and worked together ,along with Carlotta's friend, Detective Jimmy Barlow...
and they captured The elusive Road Runner and ended his criminal career...It was the first time these four had worked together...Who knew that they'd all be part of this elite unit many years later..
A short courtship and a marriage and three children later and Detective Sirena Harris is now ,Detective Sirena Pile and a member of this unit..
"You think this could be him?" I asked.
"He certainly has the skill set to do this type of job....but the violence???.. That's not him..."
"But she surprised him..She walked up on him.." said Jimmy...
"Nahhh, he doesn't have this kind of violence in his past at all...At best, he'd of shot her...but I can't even see him doing that..." said Sgt. Ho.
II-
Just then, we heard a man yelling and screaming at the uniformed police officers who were securing the area..
"LET ME IN..LET ME IN...I KNOW THE MAYOR AND THE GOVERNOR AND THE GOTDAMN DISTRICT ATTORNEY....IF ANY OF YOU WANT A FUTURE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT....YOU'LL LET ME IN!!" he screamed..
It was Jerome Monaham...Millionaire Developer and Lobbyist and husband of Lillian Monaham...
I signaled for them to let him in....He came in, took one look at his wife's lifeless body and continued yelling...
"Is this your wife, Lillian Monaham?...I'm just asking for identification sir" said Hazel..
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK IT IS? WHY WOULD I BE CRYING LIKE THIS IF IT WASN'T?...LILLIANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH LAWDDDDDDDDDDDDD NOOOO!!! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! LILLIANNNNNNNN!!! NOOOOOOOOO!"he yelled...
He then asked..
"WHO IS THE LEAD DETECTIVE HERE? WHO?? WHO GOTDAMN IT!!!" he yelled..
"Sir...I am the primary on this case.. I am Detective Carlotta Rodriguez- Wallace...and these are my partners..Detectives Tyriq Pile and James Barlow." she said..
He looked at the three of them.....
"WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE??? WHY AREN'T YOU OUT FINDING MY WIVFE'S KILLER? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY ??? WHY?????????????????????
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY??"
"Sir, I'm Lieutenant Sissy Van Buren...My detectives are surveying the crime scene as is procedure...They will do all they can to bring whoever is responsible for this to justice.." said Sissy...
He looked at her...
"Lieutenant....So you're actually the head cop here...Why didn't you come forward when I asked for the one in charge?" he snapped..
''She is the primary on this case....She is the head detective..."said Sissy..
"But you're her boss....So It's on you...Find my wife's killer...I'm holding YOU responsible...I know the mayor and the governor...and your boss , the Commissioner..I want movement on this..!" he bellowed..
"Sir....Where were you in the past few hours?" asked Carlotta..
He smiled..
"What? You're asking me where I was?" he asked.
"It's procedure...Where were you sir.?" asked Tyriq..
He smiled and shook his head..
"My wife is dead....and from the looks of my safe...Millions of dollars worth of jewels are gone and you are busy asking ME where I was..." he said.
"Where were you sir?" asked Carlotta...
"I don't like your tone of voice young lady....And your accent is thick...I want a cop I can understand...One who speaks English...No Offense..." he said.
"Where were you? Is that clear enough English for you?" asked Tyriq who was visibly getting angry...
"I don't like your attitude.....I think I'll be making a call to Cap-"
"WHERE WERE YOU SIR?" asked Jimmy....
"ANSWER MY DETECTIVES QUESTIONS!" said Sissy...
"I was at the country club with my colleauges..." he said.
"I need the address, the phone number and the names of the people you were with."said Carlotta..
He laughed...
"What did she say? Me no Hablas Espanol..." he laughed..
I had heard enough....
"I'm Assistant District Attorney Keith Wallace....You'll co-operate with the detectives fully ,you got that..and mock my wife's accent one more time and I'll put you through that wall....YOU UNDERSTAND THAT ENGLISH??" I said..
Sissy got in between the two of us...
Danny Ho and Jimmy ushered me away from him....
"Officers....Take him down town...He'll co-operate then.."said Sissy ,who had had enough of his foolishness..
"What You're going to take me in? DO you realize who I am? DO you know..??
An officer handcuffed him and ushered him out....
"I'll have your badges.. All of you.. Wait til my lawyers hear about this.. "he said.
"Release the body." said Carlotta.
As the body was removed... Jerome Monaham yelled again...
I called the District Attorney, my boss and the Police Commisioner, who Duke, Tyriq, Hop
and I played cards with every Wednesday Night.. I gave them the entire story of the night's activities..
Sissy called the Deputy of Operations and The Commisioner...They both acknowledged that Jerome Monaham was a huge pain in the ass..They said they'd talk to the Mayor....and instructed us to question him and then let him go.
FBI, Deputy Special Agent in charge , Sharon Ferrell-Hopkins and her husband, Detective Tony Hopkins were enjoying a sweet kiss , It was late night.. practically everybody was gone ,except a hand full of people...Hop and Sharon were right inside of her FBI office, kissing passionately.......
when we came in hauling Jerome Monaham with us..
"Honey Bunny, he looks important..." said Sharon...breaking their embrace...
"Yeah, I wonder what he did..?" asked Hop...
Sirena and Angie were playing Solitaire when they saw us....They perked up too...
He was still yelling..
"I WANT MY PHONE CALL!!!...I WANT MY PHONE CALL!!!....THE MAYOR WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS!!!!...I'M CALLING A MAJOR PRESS CONFERENCE!!!!"he bellowed..
Duke was coming in with cheese steaks and cokes for him, Angie and Sirena..He looked stunned...
"Heyy Duke, Angie, Sirena.....He's Jerome Monaham, husband of the murder victim, Jennifer Monaham....He won't tell us where he was last night..." said Danny Ho...
"I WANT MY PHONE CALL!!!...I WANT MY PHONE CALL!!!!....THE MAYOR WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS!!!...I'M CALLING A MAJOR PRESS CONFERENCE!!!!"he bellowed..
I passed him the phone....
"Someone wants to talk to you genius...It's the Mayor!!!" I said.
"Ouuu Keith looks mad...I've never seen him like this." said Sirena..
"What happened?" asked Angie...
"Let's just say...You don't mess with Chica when he's around." said Sissy, smiling...
"Where is Lotta?" asked Sharon...now bristling..."Nobody hurts Lotta, while I'm around..."said Sharon...
"Me neither.." said a now angry Sirena...
They both loved my wife unconditionally...
"It's okay...We got it handled.."said Sissy..
I watched as Jerome Monaham talked to the Mayor...in the Fishbowl...
"Yes Sir...I know all about them.. I know they're a crack unit...I know they've cracked some of the most baffling cases the city has had...but...I don't like the way I was treated tonight...Yes sir....I will co-operate....but I want them removed from this case...Don't you have other detectives who can take over this investigation??? You don't? Well...Yes sir...You're not going to remove them? What....I've given a lot of money to your campaign...but...What? Well Alright!" he said and passed the phone to me...He was as red as a beat...
He called Carlotta over...
"Uh Detective Rodriguez-Wallace..I am ..I am very sorry for how I talked to you tonight...It will never happen again...I was totally unprofessional.....It's just that I'm grieving over my wife's murder and the loss of millions of dollars of jewelry...." he said.
"Forget it...Now where were you?" asked Carlotta dryly...
"I was at the Country Club...Give me a piece of paper and I'll write down the address ,all of the phone numbers and the names of the three people I was with...." he said.
"I'll take that..." said Tyriq...
After he gave us the information...Jimmy walked him downstairs to the motor pool..
''We'll check this out and we'll keep you abreast of the investigation sir...Do you have a number or address we can contact you if we need to talk to you?" asked Jimmy.
He passed him a card...
"MY LAWYER!!!.....YOU CAN CONTACT ME AND GIVE ANY UPDATES THROUGH HIM!" he snarled..
"The officer will take you wherever you want to go." said Jimmy...
IV-
Danny Ho talked to us upstairs...
''So as I was saying...there are only two people at large who could have pulled that job..blew that safe and bypassed the alarms and the booby trap...Gerald Glenn Felton, the road runner...currently paroled." he said.
"He's out?" asked Sirena..
"Been out for two years...Has fallen off the radar..."said Sissy...
"I remember him....You Tyriq, Carlotta and Jimmy put him away." said Angie..
He was kind of sweet on you wasn't he?" asked Angie..
"He and Rico proposed to me the same night...It was kind of sweet..."said Sirena, gushing..
"I remember...It was sweet...." said Carlotta...
"So who's proposal did you accept?" joked Hop....
We all busted out in raucous laughter.....
"Well I have three children by him and my last name is Pile...Who do you think partner?" laughed Sirena, who hugged her husband, Tyriq...
who blushed, uncharacteristically....
"Who is the other person Danny?" asked Sissy.
He paused....
"She could do this, but she's 86 years old...Her name is Edith Barry....Queen of the Safe Crackers.....She's been at large for six decades....The old detectives used to talk about her...She has one arrest...One arrest only and the case was thrown out...No convictions, but suspected in some 25 jewel heists....A Master safe cracker...hasn't been seen in years....She might be dead....I don't know...My guess right now is the Road Runner.. You guys want to take a run at him?"said Danny Ho.
"I'm game.." said Duke..
"Let me find him....He might talk to me.." said Sirena..
Tyriq looked at her....
"Rico, she helped us get him eight years ago....She is our best chance to get him again..."said Carlotta...
"I'll take Angie with me...." said Sirena...
"I'd take you Lotta, but you and Rico and Jimmy arrested him...He might not want to talk around you guys..." said Sirena.
Even though this was their case..
"I'll wire you up....in a way he'll never find it." said Sharon....
"Good....but let's find him first...I want to wrap this case up and quick." said Sissy.
11 comments:
Looks Like a good one...A Heist and a Murder!
I agree...I love a good Heist Story.
Love the title, Love the Story!
Great Lead in story...
Very Interesting Premise...An 86 year old Female Safe Cracker.
Great Lead in story..
An 86 Year Old safe Cracker??LOL! I gotta See this!
An 86 Year Old safe Cracker?? I gotta See this! And the Return of Glenn "Road Runner" Felton...Classic!
An 86 Year Old safe Cracker?? This ought to be good! LMAO!
Hopefully we'll see some scenes with Sirena and Glenn Felton, The Road Runner...He was "Sweet in Her" as you like to say...
I so love Sissy,Carlotta, Keith and the gang!
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