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)