Girl Twenty One

24 Hours Earlier

A neighborhood bar in West Kensington (Philadelphia PA.)

A 52 year old, Well dressed man with a beard was crying profusely while drinking his bear...A cute , pretty young woman sat next to him...

"Are you alright?" she asked..

He smiled slyly...

"Why yesssssssssssss.." he said.

"You were crying in your beer awhile ago...I just happened to notice that." she said..

He smiled...His eye arched...

"Oh you did huh?" he said..

"I did, I thought you were upset about something..." she said.

"I think you were mistaken...but uh...I'd feel very good if you uh sat with me and uh had a drink..." he said.

"Is this some new way you have for picking up girls?" asked the woman...

"Yeah, that's it...Ingenious aint it?" said the man...

"You're a trip..." she said.

He put three fifty dollar bills in front of her..

"I'd be really gracious if you sat and had a drink with me.." he said.

"WOW! You must really want company....Okay.." she said.

An hour later she was getting in his van..

"I thought I seen you around here before...." she said..

"I install Air conditioners and uh Heating systems in all the bars , restaurants and hotels around the city....I work in Camden too!" he said..

"Why do you want me to enter from the back?" she asked.

"The lock is broke on the passenger side..." he said...

She looked at him skeptically....

"Look, I had a drink with you, a couple...but if you want anything more...you gonna have to pay.." she said.

He pulled out six fifty dollar bills...

She smiled..

"Wow!! Has it been a long time?" she asked as she got into his van...

He said nothing...He dropped his trousers...

"Oh my goodness...Woooooooooooo..Look at you..You already got your condom on...." she smiled..

He grabbed her and ripped her blouse...

"HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY NOT SO ROUGH....." she exclaimed...

He slapped her hard and then snatched at her bra...She kicked him in the shin...

"Let me out of here.."she exclaimed...

He punched her hard and her head slammed up against the wall...

"Owwwwwwwwwwwwwww..." she exclaimed and began to cry......

He had her bra half off and was slobbering..He yanked her panties down from under her skirt so hard that he partially tore the waistband...

He entered her hard, roughly....

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmph...." he groaned

"Ohhhh please, please stop....!" she cried.....

The van bounced up and down.....for close to an hour and a half....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh baby " he groaned and began to cum....."Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..."he moaned...

She took her elbow and cracked him in the nose....breaking his nose and causing an alarming amount of blood to spray on her and him...

"BITCH!" he screamed...

She kicked  the door of the van open and ran...He pulled out his .38 smokeless and fired twice...Hitting the girl in the back....She fell to the ground....

"Bitch broke my nose...ughhhhh.." he groaned and slammed the door of the van and pulled off..


II-

At our safehouse meeting the next morning....My wife, Carlotta had some news...

"I did a check of VICAP with Sharon and we found 10 murders in Camden in 2015 that are just like ours...Some girls were shot, some were strangled...All had been raped...The killer used a condom, but left saliva on the breasts " she said..

"Because they occurred all during the summer and were different in scope...A shooting here, a strangling.. Detectives never linked them to one person...Just like our twenty....All of the girls  were African-American or Latina...unlike our victims, all of them were working girls..These 10 cases fell under the cracks.." said Sharon...

"I think , Angie, Hazel and I ought to take a trip to Camden today and talk to Camden detectives about our cases . Good work Top." said Duke.

"Woww...if we get a match....We could be dealing with someone much more crafty than we thought.." said Angie..

''At any rate...We may get a ballistics match and more DNA...I'm positive our twenty are victims of the same guy.." said Hazel...

"That's a good idea you guys...Get over to Camden..." said Sissy...

"Jimmy, Hop and I and the FBI agents found something yesterday...Not much, but something.."said Tyriq..

"All these girls vanished around the same time of day, right after lunch....We found a White Van...belonging to Artis Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning Services....in practically every area..." said Jimmy..

"We found a lot of other business vans in the same areas too....but we found ARTIS HVAC vans in every single area , not long after each disapearence..." said Hop...

"It might be a good idea if we check the diners and restaraunts and other businesses in those areas that use that service..." said Sirena..

"Good Idea... Sirena...You and Hop, check out Artis HVAC, get a list of their drivers and their routes.. see if you can match it to the days of any disapearences.... Chica, you, Rico and Jimmy check out those area businesses....Maybe somebody saw something....Maybe you get video...Who knows?" said Sissy.

They all said in unison....

"We are on it Boss Lady!"

Sissy giggled...

"Ouuuuu I just love it when my guys say that!" she said..

Her husband , Eddie C. poured her a cup of coffee..

"I'd like to uh be on the boss lady.." he said in her ear, smiling..

Sissy blushed...

"You're on the boss lady every night..." she joked..

"Ummmm, but I never get enough!" he moaned...

"Ummmm maybe later today if we get a break in this case..." she cooed..

While the detectives were getting ready to go...I pulled Carlotta to the side...

"Keep it warm for me baby.." I said softly as I kissed her in the doorway of our room..

"Always papi...I'm always warm for you..." she said and I pulled her to me and kissed her passionately...


"Ummmmmmmmmmmm good to know.." I said...

I didn't want to let her go.. But she eased out of our embrace slowly...


"Gotta go papi...I'll see you tonight..." she said and smiled.


III-

So while Duke, Hazel, Angie and Sharon were off to Camden...

 Duke drove...It was raining lightly....He looked over at his wife, Hazel....She was tired from last night...They had made love until damn near three in the morning...

Hazel as prim and proper as she was ,could be insatiable in the bed, behind closed doors...He had never imagined her as being this wild when he first met her.

 Hazel ,meanwhile laid her head on her husband's shoulder...She loved her husband and his partners...She had never had this much fun in her life...or this many friends.. She wasn't a detective.. Merely a Forensic Investigator...A Doctor...but she was willing to bet that none of her collegues were this close to real life cases and had this close of a relationship with the actual Detectives and Federal Agents...She loved her life right now.

 Sharon was tired too...She and Hop had been making sweet love all during the night and during the rain as had Carlotta and I...

She leaned on Angie and dosed off..

 Angie smiled...She and Jimmy too had been up half the night and early morning, making love...She wanted some more in fact....

So bad that she was wide awake...



Sirena and Hop off to South Philly...

 Sirena drove....She looked at her partner ,who was dosing...

"Sleepy partner??? You're going to have to give Sharon a break some nights...She knows you love her.. She aint goin nowhere.." Sirena joked...

 Hop just smiled..He didn't say anything..

and my wife Carlotta and her partners, Tyriq and Jimmy off to Northeast Philly...

 Carlotta tossed the keys to Tyriq...She was exhausted...We had made love all last night and had had a quickie, early this morning...

After this case was over ,she was going to take a few days off and just sleep ,she thought to herself..

 Tyriq drove....Thinking about his and Sirena's kids...glad they were boys...but equally worried about the world they were growing up into...

 Jimmy studied the case files of their 11 girls....He ,the wise cracker and joker of our bunch was becoming a very serious detective...It was beautiful to watch.

That left only me, Eddie C. and Sissy at our Safehouse...

The only difference between here and headquarters was that we didn't have to drive home after working around the clock...We could retreat upstairs to our rooms..

 I was going over some legal briefs in the make shift law library and Eddie C. had left for work and with a list of food to bring back for dinner...

 "Girl...I must love you...Who would have ever of imagined me, and who I used to be , bringing food orders to cops.." he joked..

 Sissy kissed him passionately...

"The payoff is good isn't it?" she asked..

He smiled..

"Damn sure is." he said.


It looked like it might be quiet when Sissy got a phone call..

"Lt. Sissy Van Buren...Criminal Investigation Division" she answered...

It was Captain Edward Cantrell..

"Darlin..I'm giving you a heads up on this because I don't want Tragg anywhere near this...There's been another attack." he said..

"Oh My God....All of my guys are on the street..."said Sissy...

"Well darlin...You're still a detective....Get from under that paperwork and get to the Hospital." said Ed Cantrell..

"The hospital??" said Sissy...

"Yes...This girl is alive..." he said.

IV-

Sissy and I drove to the hospital....

A uniformed policeman that worked at headquarters with us and another uniform was outside of the door..

Sissy and I walked up..

"I found her last night Lieutenant....I know you guys are off sight working this case...So I sat on it...I called Captain Cantrell...because I didn't know how to get in contact with you." said the officer..

"That's fine Charlie.." said Sissy..

"Same M.O. as the others.. torn panties, ripped bra.. and more...blood all over her blouse...that's not hers.."said the officer..

"Wow...Good work officer...You remind me of one of our detectives...Tony Hopkins...He was sharp like you...when he was a patrol officer.."I said.

"Thank you sir.. I know Hop...We were in the academy together!" he said.

"Can we go in and see her?" asked Sissy...

"Yes." said a Nurse.." She was in surgery last night.. Two gunshot wounds.." she continued..

"Wow" I said..

"Neither was fatal...both through and through.. She's very lucky to be alive.. said the Nurse..

"My partner and I recovered the shells, and we bagged and tagged the bloody blouse.." said the officer..

"He left shells? That's a first!!! Outstanding...What is your name?" asked Sissy...

"Sharp...Officer Charlie Sharp..." he said..

"I'm going to remember you.." said Sissy, smiling..

We walked into the hospital room and there a young white girl was lying in the bed..She was young...Had streaky blond hair and fit the profile..Attractive, early 20's , Buxom...

"I'm Assistant District Attorney Keith Wallace and this is Lieutenant Sissy Van Buren...we are investigating the murders of several young women .."I said.

"I know who you both are...I watch the news...You still think all these cases of these girls being attacked are seperate cases huh?" she said looking at Sissy...

Sissy looked at her..

"No....No I don't...We have proof that one man is doing this..but I can't say that on Television...I want to catch him...I don't want whoever this is to know that we are on to him...and you...you may be the key to catching this guy.."I said.

"He's got the entire city scared to death..." she said.

"Not for long...We have some good leads...some solid leads...we are very close.."I said.

"That's what you guys always say..." she spat..

"Look...We have his DNA and his fingerprints...but he's not in the system...You saw him....Tell us what he looks like...That will go a long way to us catching him..."said Sissy...

"He's white, about six feet even, heavy set and he does repairs and installations on Air Conditioners..I've seen him before...His truck is always around the area..Around Lunch time...He's got a white or gray beard...I couldn't make out the company name on the front of the truck...but that's him...

We met in a bar...He paid me to have a few drinks with him...Maybe I had too many...He offered to take me home....I told him I didn't live far...but he tricked me into getting into the back of his van...He said the lock on the passenger side was broken...

Next thing I know...We are in the back of the van and he's all over me...He ripped my blouse....He tore my panties and he RAPED ME....HE RAPED ME REPEATEDLY!!!!I fought him back..I elbowed him in the nose.." she said.

"That accounts for the arterial blood splatter.."I said.

"Why did he let you live?" asked Sissy..

"He didn't let me live....I escaped and he shot me twice...He thought I was dead.."she said..

"I'm going to have policemen outside your door and on this wing at all times...Do not talk to anyone about what you just told us...Not the press...Not anyone!" I said..

"I did talk to that other Lieutenant.." she said.

"You mean Captain Cantrell.."said Sissy..

"No the guy that was with you on Television...Lieutenant Tragg.." she said.

"Oh My God!" I said.

V-

"Captain Cantrell.....Did you know that the files and evidence of all  twenty of those murders is missing..??" said Lieutenant Tragg..

"It's not missing...The Case Detectives have them....That would be uh , Edwin "Duke" Baylor, Angela Belton-Barlow, Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace, Tyriq Pile, James Barlow, Sirena Pile and Tony Hopkins

said Captain Cantrell..

"I know they're the case detectives...but I can't find them and they are not answering my calls...They're working off site somewhere.." bellowed Lt. Tragg..

 "Operative word is they are working...Something you aren't doing right  now.. They've been working around the clock, interviewing people, studying various camera footage and forensics...You know.. the things detectives do during multiple murder investigations.." said Ed Cantrell.

"You give Sissy entirely too much lee way with her detectives and with damn near everything....She's married Ed...You blew it..Move on." said Lt. Tragg.

"Sissy and her detectives bring me closed cases.....Big cases...They don't embarass the department...You've been in the city two months and you've already embarrassed yourself with the Eddie Queen case...That's why I told Sissy and her guys to work off site, so that you wouldn't bother them and the press...That's why I believe they'll nab this guy.." said Ed Cantrell..

"So you admit that there is a Serial Killer and that these aren't individual matters??" said Lt. Tragg..

''Artie....We've known that this was the work of a Serial Killer for days now...We just don't know who he or she is...Sissy and her team have Fingerprints and DNA....I probably shouldn't even be telling you this..but this guy is not in the system...but they'll find him soon...Her guys have zeroed in on somebody as we speak.." said Ed Cantrell..

"Oh yeah? Well one of his victims survived...I read the 20's last night...I even went and saw the girl...She's given a description of the killer..Why aren't Sissy and her team on that?" he asked..

"Sissy interviewed that young lady today...Don't go by there and bother that girl Artie...That's an order..."

Just then the phone rang...

"Captain Ed Cantrell....Yes...He's right here...." he said...he looked at Lt. Tragg..  "It's for you...It's the Deputy Of Operations.."

"Probably wants me tot take over this investigation..."he said..

"Good Afternoon my esteemed Deputy of Operations....Huh?  Yes...I was discussing it with Captain Cantrell just now...What?  why I did have a press conference scheduled....Cancel it?? But sir...I had National News  ,CNN and MSNBC....Yes sir....I'll uh cancel it....Yes sir...I will not hinder Lt. Van Buren or her detectives in anyway....Yes sir..." he said and handed the phone to a smiling Captain Cantrell..

"Anything else Artie?" asked Captain Cantrell...

"That's okay...For all of their investigating and harrrrrrrrrd work..They haven't turned up one suspect...And a 21st girl almost became a victim....They got one more week , then I'll be taking over..and I'll get results.."said Lt. Tragg as he walked. out..

Captain Cantrell laughed wryly...

"Of course you will Artie.." he said.

(TO BE CONTINUED)