Just Under Ten Million

The Train roared into the train station....It had been a week to the day that Frankie Dunaway had been slain on this very same train from New York City....He had wisely not shipped his briefcase with him....

Now both he and his murderer were dead....but people ,sinister people with their own agenda were still after his unclaimed cargo.....

The man who had pulled a gun on me and whisked me out of Josies , Rodney Davenport ,a night before for City Auditor, "Honest" Abe Satchel waited patiently for the cargo...He had a Baggage claim receipt....He gave it to the proper authorities and they in turn gave him the briefcase..

The briefcase that someone had given me twenty large to pick up , the briefcase that another man had come to my house and held me hostage for a half an hour to get and that the city Auditor had had me kidnapped to get.....

He had it now...or he thought he did...

Clerow walked up to him with a smile....That famous toothy grin of his..

''What'cha got there daddy?" he exclaimed..

The man looked at him and said-

"Beat it.."

Clerow smiled and stuck a .38 smokeless in his ribs...

"Now that wasn't very nice boss man." he said..

Before the man could respond...Kool Kat was behind him..

"Hand over the briefcase and be quick about it..." he snarled..

The man said-

"I don't know who you are...but you have no idea what you're doing!" he said.

Kool Kat slapped him hard...

"Owwwwwwwwwww!"he said, grimacing...

"Shut up...We know damn well what we doin, now hand that bag over...I aint askin you again." he growled...

Kool Kat had his .357 magnum aimed at him....He was no fool...He passed Kool Kat the bag and he and Clerow walked out of the Train station....they passed me the bag and got in a car and pulled off...

I got in a car, a few blocks away....Lt. Sissy Van Buren and ADA Keith Wallace were present...

"This should help you make a case against several corrupt people ,including our City Auditor..."I said.

"Kevin, I can't thank you enough." said Sissy....

"Thanks Kevin..." said Keith Wallace ,who passed me another briefcase...''What is this?" he asked..

"I made a phony briefcase.. complete with phony documents and phony zip drives...The people that want this are going to come for me...I don't plan to resist this time...I'm going to give it to them...by the time they figure out this is a phony briefcase...Police should be knocking on their doors.." I said..

"Be careful Kevin..."said Sissy...

"I'm always careful.." I said.

II-

My wife, Sepia met me later on that day at a tony little bistro...

''Kevin....What if they look at the documents?" she asked..

"I made copies of the real documents and I copied the Zip drives...the difference is...The Police have the originals...The best they're going to do is destroy this stuff...It's not going to save them.." I said..

As we enjoyed our meal...Rodney Davenport, The man who had kidnapped me from Josie's the night before walked up to our table..

He had his gun in a shoulder holster...He made sure both Sepia and I saw it..

"Hello Mrs. Morris...I hate to disturb your meal, but your husband has something my employer wants.." he said.

I looked at him...

"Apparently you don't hear well Rodney...I told you not to come anywhere near me again, didn't I?" I said.

He stuck his gun in Sepia's ribs...

"My hearing is fine....Don't make me put a bullet in your wife....I can shoot her in a way that will cause her to bleed out slow and die an agonizingly painful death...you dig? Now you got one hour to produce that briefcase or sugar britches here dies...And I worry about you like I worry about whether the sun will come up in the morning." he  said.

"Don't hurt my wife....The briefcase is in my car.. it's right outside.."I said.

"GO GET IT!  NOW YOU GOT TEN MINUTES....You think about callin the cops or your two little friends and I'll kill her and shoot them on sight....I'm just mad enough to do it.." he snarled..

"What happened...you got a trimming for screwing up this morning?" I laughed....

"NOW YOU GOT FIVE MINUTES...KEEP TALKIN!!!" he snarled..

I ran outside and got the briefcase....

I passed it to him...

"Open it...I want to see it's contents..." he said.

I opened it...He read the documents.....

''Oh My God...a whole lot of people could go to jail behind this...whoooooo." he said.

"There is more on the Zip Drives." I said.

He closed the bag up....

"Would you mind getting that gun off my wife?" I said.

He smiled...

"Damn baby, you fine as hell...You could do a lot better than this corny want to be tough guy..." he said and laughed...

''Enjoy the rest of your meal." he laughed and got in his car...

Before he left, I grabbed him by his collar..

"I will see you again Rodney....and I won't be doing much talking...punk!" I said...

For a minute he looked a little frightened...but pulled himself together..

"That's totally up to you champ!" he said...but I could tell he was a bit shook, he tripped and fell on his way out the door...The waiter attempted to help him up, but he pushed him away...

"I'm alright...I can walk out a door.." he said and hurried out!

Sepia and I cracked up....

"The Joke is on him and his bosses..." she said.

"I give em two hours...They'll be at each other's throats..." I said ,laughing...

III-

Even I wasn't prepared for the carnage that was coming...

Attorney, A.J. Miller, City Auditor, "Honest "Abe Satchel and the gunman, who had just gotten the briefcase off of me were sitting in his City Hall Office drinking coffee and laughing

"You did good work once again...Rodney..." said "Honest' Abe Satchel, pouring over the documents in the briefcase... "Frankie was really gonna do a number on me.." he said, laughing...

The Attorney ,A.J. Miller turned to the gunman, Rodney Davenport...an ex-con and one of his former clients and said...

"This Private Investigator, Kevin Morris...He's not one to trifle with...Trust me...I've tangled with him several times...He's smart, he's tough and he has friends in the law enforcement community and the D.A.'s office.." said A.J. Miller..

"I aint afraid of him." snarled Rodney Davenport....who patted his pistol..."My trigger finger is working real good.." he said.

"Yeah tough guy...You do remember my other client...Dice Raw don't you? He damn near made you piss your pants a few years ago....He crossed Kevin Morris and Kevin Morris put him in the hospital....He was in a coma for three days...broken ribs...broken nose....both eyes damn near closed they were so swollen..And you know what he did?? He slapped Kevin's wife in the face....Kevin took that personal, he made it his business to find Dice Raw and take his pound of flesh....You tell me you shoved a gun in her ribs and threatened her life?? You didn't have to do that...All you needed to do was get the briefcase from Kevin...We had no beef with his wife..."said A.J. Miller..

"I did what I had to do to get results..."said Rodney...who now looked a little nervous...A.J. Miller could sense that what he had said had shook the wanna be thug up!

"Perhaps...but I'd tread very lightly....A trip to AC for a month wouldn't be a bad idea.."said A.J. Miller..

Abe Satchel laughed...

Rodney Davenport laughed...

"Like I said...I aint scared of him."

"Who you tryin to convince...me or yourself?" said A.J. Miller...

Abe Satchel slapped his thigh and laughed.....

"The way he bounced you off that wall yesterday, It sounds like you're tryin to convince yourself.."laughed Satchel...

"He had a gun to my head." protested Rodney Davenport.

They were completely caught off guard when the short portly man, the gambler who had come to my house two days before walked in and pointed a gun at the three men..

"Hand over that briefcase....I'm not going to give you a chance to destroy the evidence...Some un named operatives ,political enemies of yours have offered me Just under ten million for the information in that briefcase...Hand it over now!  I won't ask you again gentlemen!" he said..

The three men looked stunned...Abe Satchel recognized his old partner in crime, Owney Gladden

"Owney...Owney..Look...I got the briefcase....I'm going to destroy this...Nobody has to go to jail.. "said Abe Satchel.

"You sure???, because we did a lot of dirt together Abe...I'm too old to be going to prison...I need money for my retirement."said Owney Gladden, the gambler..

"Me too...Me too..You think I want to go to jail???....Whatever those guys offered you...I can match it...Just work with me...Come back into my fold." said Abe Satchel...

He didn't see the gun that was aimed at the back of his head...with a silencer...

The shot was barely heard...but the bullet went through his head and came out between his eyes and he fell to the ground, dead...

Rodney Davenport went for his gun, but he wasn't fast enough!!!!

It Was Carolyn Cartwright....!!! She fired two more shots...which hit the gunman, Rodney Davenport in the chest...He tossed his gun up in the air and fell backwards.....his blood splashed all over the office wall...He died instantly.....He never got a chance to do anything!!!

"I'm not playing any longer...That's to let you know I mean business...He was offered just under ten million....The man I slept with last night offered me twice that much....HAND IT OVER!!!" she barked...

Honest Abe wasn't about to go out like that....He pulled out a .38 from his drawer and fired twice.. hitting her in the chest....and her side..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...I don't believe it...I've been shot.." she moaned..

She fired just once, hitting him in the chest.

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." he moaned......he dropped his gun and bent over his desk in pain, blood just running out of him...He stared at her...He began pouring a glass of water....The water overflowed and he pitched forward....


She then fired two more times, hitting Attorney A.J. Miller in the chest and in the head...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..you hit me..arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" screamed A.J. Miller..


He fell off of his chair and hit the floor, Surprisingly, still alive!!!

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu weeeeeeeeeeeee...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu I've been, I've been shot...ouuuuuu!" she moaned..

Carolyn Cartwright stumbled into the hallway and collapsed.....Very dead....

Honest Abe Attempted to call for help,

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh lawwwwwwwwwwwwwwd!   ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" he moaned as blood poured out of him like a sive....

but he too fell to the floor, very, very dead!!

IV-

Sissy and I stood to the side.. Drinking coffee as the bodies of Honest Abe Satchel, his henchman, Rodney Davenport , an ex -con , who had been in his employ for five years... the gambler, known as Owney Gladden and Carolyn Cartwright...my former client...

were all removed from City Hall...

Four people...Four Greedy and corrupt people....killed by their own greed....

Attorney A.J. Miller, though badly wounded...was still alive...The only survivor of today's carnage.. He was brought out on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital, where they operated for several hours and saved his life....He continues to be the luckiest man alive!!!

"This is a mess Sissy....but it should be cleaned up shortly..." said Hazel...

"Thanks for calling me Siss." I said.

"It looks like your client, Ms. Cartwright killed  Rodney Davenport, , Owney Gladden and Abe Satchel....but Abe Satchel got her ....These guys really went after each other....That rat A.J. Miller survived.." said Sissy...

The M.E. Vans pulled off with all four bodies...and an Ambulance pulled off with the barely alive A.J. Miller. This case was indeed over...

"Mannn,I had no idea that these guys were going to go at each other like this..."I said.

"Carolyn Cartwright was going to offer that information to the highest bidder, Owney Gladden wanted to destroy it, to keep himself from being indicted...And of course Honest Abe wanted to destroy it...It would have ruined his career and put him in jail." said Sissy...

''And A.J. Miller was in the wrong place at the wrong time....Ironically enough...As crooked as he is...He's alive and as clean as the board of health.. Nothing on him in this case." I said.

"He'll be judged by a higher court one day.....This was a great case you brought in Kevin...Another classic." said Sissy..

"Except for the ending!" I said.

"Maybe...but I don't feel sorry for a one of em." said Sissy...

"Come to think of it....Neither do I." I said and we both stood there and laughed our heads off...Could it be, we both had been doing this so long we had gotten cynical...???Who knows!

EPILOUGE:

27 people were indicted and convicted in the Abe Satchel corruption scandal...The deceased Owney Gladden and Abe Satchel were the only ones amongst the four dead who were mentioned in the indictment...Carolyn Cartwright, Rodney Davenport and A.J. Miller were not named at all in any of the documents...

And me?  I had 20k , tax free dollars...

 Sepia and my daughter were all smiles as we headed for an indoor water park in New Jersey that weekend..

"Kevin, this was a great idea...but you know...these places are better visited in the summer time..." said Sepia..

''Oh Nonsense...The water is very warm inside and the place is room temperature...Kimmie will love it!" I said..

"You just want to see me in a bathing suit that's all." said Sepia, giving me the side eye..

"And what's wrong with that after the week I've had?" I asked..

Sepia leaned over and gave me a nice wet, sloppy kiss.....

"Nothing at all baby...Nothing at all." she said..

Visits

I sat quietly on the sofa at my home...The Man , short, portly, slightly balding....Had a .38 smokeless pointed at me.. He sat across from me....

"You have something I want Mr. Morris.." he said.

"I don't know you...I've never seen you before in my life....What could I have that would interest you?" I said.

He cocked his gun...

"Don't get cute Morris...I want that Baggage Ticket that that girl gave you and don't tell me you don't have it.." he said.

I smiled...

"Okay I won't tell you." I said.

"Look you got a business...A drop dead gorgeous wife and a cute little daughter...You want Sheila Jackson to be the new CEO?? You want Your wife to be a widow??? You want to miss that little girl growing up? And for what??  A Baggage ticket that means nothing...You've collected about twenty large....Tax free...Hand over the ticket...And live and spend that money..." he said.

I smiled..

"Well since you put it that way....I'll get it for you." I said..

He smiled..

"You really think I'm stupid don't you? It's in your wallet...Get it out and GET IT OUT SLOWLY! I aint gonna ask you again.." he said..

Just then, the door bell rang...

He looked at me..

"Who is that?" he asked..

"I look like a mind reader to you?" I asked..

"GET RID OF EM...DO IT!!!" he said..

Then I heard a key in the door...

"That's my wife...Now look man...I'll get you the claim ticket ,don't hurt my wife..." I said.

"That all depends on you." he said..

Sepia came in....

"Hey babes...I forgot a change of clothes for the baby..Uh ,who is your friend?" she said.

He aimed the gun at her..

"Sit down baby....I didn't want to get you involved...." he said ,aiming the gun at Sepia...

He didn't see Kool Kat slowly enter from the basement...

Kool Kat put his .357 magnum to his head and cocked it...

"Drop that heater pal, drop it now! I AINT GONNA ASK YOU AGAIN!" he growled...

He took one look at the big man and dropped his gun on the floor..

I made him sit in the kitchen....I now had both of my guns and his.....

Sepia had a .22 aimed at him...

"I circled the block because I really did forget Kimmie's change of clothes and I saw this guy pull a gun on you and force you into the house....I called Walter and told him what was going down." said Sepia..

"Good Thinking.." I said.

Kool Kat had his .357 mag aimed at the man also....

I looked at him and smiled..

"You've got some explaining to do.." I said..

The man shrugged..

II-

"You uh got any coffee?" he asked..

"You must be off your nut...Not for you...Now talk!" I said.

"You heard him...talk!" said Kool Kat.

"You guys got it from here....I really have to go." said Sepia , going upstairs and getting clothes for our daughter...

"Yeah we got it....Thanks babes.. Now talk!" I said.

"I'm a Gambler...I used to run some tables in Atlantic City at various places....I'm a , well I was an associate of Abe Satchel..." he said.

"Honest Abe Satchal, the city auditor?" I asked.

"Honest Abe my ass... He's been taking bribes from certain officials he had dirt on for years...He's got 14 bank accounts in 7 different cities...Philadelphia, Atlantic City, Camden, Wilmington, Cherry Hill, Chester and one in D.C....He hasn't paid his taxes in close to 15 years and he has suspect real estate deals, made only in cash....Mr. satchel has become a very wealthy man..." he said.

"So? What's all this got to do with you?" I asked..

"Frank Dunaway hated Satchel...he worked under him for years...He knows where all the bodies are  buried. He has documents, Zip drives with records of cash payments and wired payments to all of his accounts...The bribes that were being paid to him...The real estate deals, tax returns...the whole deal and more...The scam he and I were running...See for years...He ran a scam in Atlantic City...suckers would lose 250K on the tables....and I would see to it that he would get the skim off of every big loss..." he said.

"So your name is listed on those documents?" I said.

"Yes...my name and several other people who could find themselves in serious trouble if the information in that briefcase sees the light of day..." he said.

"You workin for Satchel then?" I asked.

"No...I'm workin for myself....I'm too old to go to jail...." he said..

"You and Cartwright working together?" I asked..

"That broad you was with? Nah, she was Dunaway's girl..." he said.

 I looked at Kool Kat....

"It's time for you to go...I don't know you, nor do I care to know you....but If you go anywhere near my wife and child, and if you're stupid enough to come to my house again or my job....You're going to end up like Ollie Osterman...."I said and I put the business end of my gun to his head.. "Now get out of here!!" I said.

"Can I have my gun back?" he asked..

Kool Kat busted out laughing...

"You got a live one Kev!" he said..

"GET OUT!" he barked..

The man jumped up and ran down the steps for all he was worth...jumped in his car and pulled off....

Kool Kat looked at me..

"You know you haven't seen the end of him." he said.

 "Oh I know...I expect to hear from the Auditor...Honest Abe Satchel next..." I said , smiling.

III-

I stopped in Josie's later on that night...The joint was jumping as usual...It was mid-week...

And Josie's had a big crowd...

 Reed Nelson and his band was the headliner....

 Downtown Rob Brown and his quintet was up next...

 And "88" was in the mix, setting in with both groups...

And Bone Hampton had put together a little group and was jamming too....

Gus was snapping his fingers ,along with the crowd and enjoying himself...I smiled...This place had once been a dive bar...Now it had expanded and was the premiere place in the area...With live entertainment and D.J.'s and an influx of working people from Chris and Chess's shopping centers and the new Lofts, Apartments, Condos and homes in the area...Josies brought in crowds like this almost every night...

Honey Brown walked over to me...

"Kevin, that gentlemen over there in the corner would like to talk to you..." she said.

I figured as much....I walked over to the booth and sat down....He didn't smile...or say anything...

I broke the ice..

"Well at least offer to buy me a drink!" I joked..

I heard the click of a gun...It was under the table..

"I'm not here to play games Mr. Morris...I know this is your joint...Don't make me blow it up....Now under this table is a .45...That's a big gun...I fire it...You'll be wearing a colostamy bag the rest of your life and forget ever making love to that fine wife or yours...Now let's walk out of here slowly, real slow...No sudden moves..." he said.

I recognized him...His name was Rodney....Rodney Davenport...A cheap low rent thug and gun for hire...I didn't know him personally, only in passing..

I sighed...I expected this..

I walked out of Josies and got into a white Caddy....The man with the gun, Rod Davenport sat next to me...The driver drove me to City Hall of all places....

We walked into an elevator and we walked down the hallway to an office at the end of the hallway....

Once inside..I saw the man of the hour...The City Auditor...''Honest" Abe Satchel... and his Attorney, A.J. Miller...

" Mr. Satchel...If you wanted to see me , you could have just called me.. You didn't have to use the rough stuff.. Hello Mr. Miller." I said.

"Do I know you?" asked the Attorney...

"I know you...Your name has come up a lot lately....I've known some of your more interesting clients...Oh Bob "Big Butt" Thornton, Dice Raw, Fat Masterson...Walter Becker.. Don't act like you don't know who I am." I said icily...

"I know you by reputation only Mr. Morris..."he said diplomatically...

"My Attorney is not important.. What is important is you have something I want..." he said.

"It seems everybody wants this baggage claim check.. Here...Take it!" I said and gave it to him....

"Who is uh everybody?" asked  Abe Satchel.

"Oh the girl you've been sending at me and the gambler...You know who they are?" I said..

He looked totally surprised..

"Girl?? I didn't send any girl... And Gambler???What Gambler?" he asked.

I smiled...

"You didn't know did you?  You got problems you don't know about...You got what you want....Good Day gentlemen." I said...

Just as I walked out, I turned and slugged the gunman, Rodney Davenport, who had taken me from Josie's hard in his stomach..

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." he groaned...

I punched him in his jaw so hard , he spun around...He dropped his gun...I then smashed his face into the wall.. sending him crashing to the floor as the stunned men looked on..

I cocked his gun and put it to his head as he lie on the floor, his nose bleeding and in pain...

"Rodney....yeah, I know your name...If I ever see you in Josie's again or anywhere I hang out...I'LL KILL YOU!! You hear me Rodney?" I snarled..

I kicked him hard in his side..

"NOD IF YOU HEAR ME TOUGH GUY!" I said..

"Yeah...Yeah...I hear ya...ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" he groaned...

I took his gun and put it in the waist band of my trousers and walked out...

I walked outside and hailed a cab and left....

A.J. Miller laughed and said to Abe Satchel...

"Well, I guess he won't be voting for you this spring..."

(CONCLUSION NEXT)