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..