Man In A Straw Hat

" Okay Ladies....Liv, Bev, Sepia, Bonita...Let me get these individual shots" said Sean Jackson as he snapped photos for our cover story for my new magazine... "The Neighborhood today.." in which we did stories on the movers and shakers in our own neighborhood..

A Freelance Journalist named Jacques "Papa" Papadouris did a feature story called "Sisters Are Doing It For themselves." Not exactly an original title....on Activist-Attorneys at law, Olivia Bennett-Alexander and her niece, Beverly West...

He smiled as he snapped their photos...

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssss that's it...Sexxxyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" he said...

I smiled and looked at my friend, Olivia's husband and fellow Private Investigator, Donnie Ray Alexander, who was sipping a tumbler of coffee..

He smiled ,but said nothing...

Jacques "Papa" Papadouris smiled, then motioned for Sepia and Bonita, who owned a successful real estate company that sold Homes, rented apartments, condos and lofts to pose for the next set of photos...

My friend, Sean Jackson was clearly annoyed at his interference...Taking photos was clearly his level of expertise...but out of loyalty and courtesy to me...He said nothing..

Sepia posed for her photo and her partner Bonita, posed for hers..

"Alright....That's it ladies...Got it.." he said...

Sean gave him the side eye ,which made them all smile..

"I want to thank you all for coming down here for the photo shoot....The new Newspaper will be out in hard copy and digital form next Friday.."I said.

"You are quite the mogul Kevin..." said Olivia, smiling..

"I don't know anybody else quite like you.." said Beverly...

"That might be a good thing.." I joked..

"I hope the story is good..." said my wife Sepia..

I whispered in her ear...

"As long as you're good, it doesn't matter about the article.." I said raffishly...

 ''Why does that sound like a sexual come on?" asked Sepia..who looked at me and laughed...

"Okay you two, stop whispering sweet nothings in each other's ears." said Bonita...

Beverly,Olivia and Donnie Ray laughed...

"Nothin SWEET about what Mr. Nasty here was whispering in my ear..."said Sepia...

"Okay,Okay....We don't need to be hearing that...Come on, we got a house to show in an hour.."said Bonita,laughing...

'We have to be going too Kevin..."said Olivia..

"Well thanks everybody for indulging me.." I said..

''As always...It was a pleasure man." said Donnie Ray..

"Byeeeeeeeeeeeee Kevin.." said Beverly as they left....

"We'll continue our uh conversation tonight after Kimmie goes to sleep." whispered Sepia in my ear..

"Looking forward to it.." I said..

I watched as they all left my office...Sean Jackson and Harry Charles took his photography equipment apart and moved it out...

Jacques "Papa" Papadouris stayed behind...

"Kevin...I need to talk to you..." he said...

That much I figured...

"You know a place we can talk in private?" he asked...

"There's a bar not far from here..."I said..

II-

The Bar in question was The Mermaid Club....Joe Neptune's Joint... For years it had been a dive, but because of the increased clientele.. Joe Neptune had made a bit of a profit and had had a new bar put in...new booths, new tables and a new wooden floor....

The Mermaid Club had gone from being a dive to being a hipster joint...

I didn't usually talk business in here..but few people knew me, Unlike Josie's, where everybody knew me, so I engaged in a confidential conversation...

'What are you havin Kev" asked Joe...

"My usual...A Tall boy...Corona..."I said.

''Whiskey" said Papa...A tall robust Greek man..who dressed well, wore a nice smelling cologne and that snazzy Straw hat..

"Kev,I know that in addition to running, Morris Communications, you are also a Private Investigator..and I need your help and your complete confidentiality.." he said..

''What's going on?" I asked.

He pulled out a photo of a handsome young man about 26 or 27 years old...

''That was my nephew...Cole Hain... He was murdered last summer...It's gone cold...The cops say it was a robbery gone bad..." he said..

"And you don't think so?" I said.

"No I don't..My Nephew was a journalist too and he was investigating  a Super Pac that is headquartered right here in the city.. I think he found out something that he wasn't supposed to find out...and they had him killed.." said Papa..

'Who is they?" I asked.

"That's what I need you to find out...I took his laptop before the police or anyone else could get to it..but I can't break his pass code...But somebody wants that information..They want it badly...The reason I know was because I am still paying the rent on his apartment...It's been broken into three times since he died...Somebody is looking for something...I have his car too...Hidden in my garage..I was waiting to find a good P.I. to look into this...I heard around that you're one of the best..." he said.

"You know...You are sitting on information that might have helped the police solve his murder..."I said.

"I don't trust the cops....I do trust a man I'm paying..."he said.

He passed me an envelope with three thousand dollars in it...

"This is a down payment...There's more from where that came from." he said.

"Well how can I say no?" I said...

''Here's my address...You can pick up that laptop and check out his car at your leisure ." he said and passed me his card..

"I'll be in touch..." I said...

"Thanks Kevin." he said.

He paid for both of our drinks and got up and walked out..

III-

It was still light out when I got home...Sepia and our daughter Kimmie were sitting on the couch...

"Look Kimmie...There goes daddy!" said Sepia..

Josie Boyd, my "Adopted daughter and Office Manager for Olivia ,Beverly and Donnie Ray was sitting with us..She had a bag packed..

"Hi Kevin...Cutie patootie is coming with me...You gonna spend the night with Aunt Josie..." Josie said to her as she giggled..

I smiled and passed Sepia an envelope...

She counted the money....

"You got a case babe...?" she asked...

"Yup...The guy who wrote the story on you guys wants me to look into his nephew's unsolved murder.." I said..

"How long has he been dead?" asked Sepia..

''Since last summer...The Police said there was a string of robberies in the area...They caught practically all of the robbers...but none of the guns they recovered matched the murder weapon in his case and none of the robbers they caught was his killer.. The case has gone cold...He naturally thinks there is more to it...That's what he wants me to find out...He doesn't trust the police.." I said.

Sepia tucked the money away in our wall safe...

''When you gonna let me help you on a case?" she joked.

"You have helped me before...Lots of times.."I said..

"I'm just kidding....."she said and kissed Kimmie and hugged her and spun her around...Kimmie giggled..

"Mommie just loves you!" she said as she handed her and her overnight bag to Josie...

"I'll bring her back tomorrow afternoon...Just call me.." said Josie..

"I will,thanks Jo.."said Sepia..

"Oh, anytime..anytime...See ya Sepia, See ya Kevin." said Josie..

"Bye Josie...Byeee Baby." I said and picked Kimmie up and kissed her and hugged her so tight, she squealed..

As soon as Josie was in her car and probably before she was at the corner of our block...Sepia took me by the hand...

"I thought we might finish our uh conversation..." she whispered...

"In the bedroom.." I said.

"Of course..."she said and led me up the stairs....

No sooner were we in the bedroom than we were kissing passionately...

"Ummmmmmmmm you've been hinting around to this all day...so, here I am.." she whispered...

"Yesssssssssssssss here you are..."I said..

I slipped her white knit sundress off ,I unbuckled her bra and gingerly slipped her panties off and
We were once again in the middle of the floor kissing like kissing was going out of style....."Why are you so damn sexy?" I asked her...Thinking about the very first time I met her and all of the dreams I had about her before we actually got together...When I was reading her blog and marveling at her photos...

" Why do you always ask me that? How am I supposed to know?" asked Sepia...

 "I don't knowwwwwwwwwww.." I moaned.

Soon we were on the bed and I was entering her slowly, gently...

She smiled serenely and wrapped her legs around my waste as I began to move in and out of her...

She was so soft, so wet....and smelled so good...I couldn't stand it...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu baby...yesssssssssssssssssss....yes.......OH MY GOD KEVIN......Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.."she moaned softly as we made sweet love.......

  FIVE TO SIX HOURS seemingly evaporated and I was no where near close to stopping....

By now our bed was squeaking and the headboard was slamming against the walls...Sepia was moaning like a cat in heat and I was moaning myself...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..OH MY GOD KEVIN...Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, you are just showing off in this bed...OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!   " she moaned..


ANOTHER TWO HOURS slipped by and I watched her get the most peaceful, serene look on her face I ever saw...Then she  burst into tears....Kissing me so softly that I just came like a river....

 Sepia smiled at me...I sat up, trying to catch my breath...I took a swig of cold water....she took the bottle from me and sat it down on the table..

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Kevin...Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...
"I am not through with you yet daddy." she said...

She eased herself down on my still hard and engorged penis..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu good lawd Kevin, you are so hard and sooooo big...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she moaned...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Sepia, you are driving me crazy!" I moaned....

"It's not that good Kevin...is it?" she said, smiling...

"Damn sure is!" I said...

She laughed...

She began to slowly move up and down and gyrate and smile at me...I was losing my mind..

"You like this daddy?" she asked me..

"You know I do baby!" I said..

Another THREE or so hours went by...We both were enjoying ourselves immensely....Again and again..I watched her get the most peaceful, serene look on her face I ever saw...Then burst into tears....Kissing me so softly that I just came like a river....She was shaking and kissing my chest and my shoulder...I continued to cum and cum hard!!!

 I was totally drained, but Sepia's sweet kisses begged to differ..

She began fondling me softy....

"Ummmmm daddy....ummmm look at youuuuuuu" she moaned..

"Ouuu girl..."I moaned... 

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,ohhhhhh my goodness...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"she moaned..

She said as she watched my face....and smiled....Before I knew what was happening, we were back in bed...making sweet love for the third time tonight...I couldn't get enough of her...

We had been going at it pretty hard tonight....When we both finally came......I looked at the clock...It was nearly three in the morning....

We had been in the bed since about quarter to six....

IV-

The next morning, Sepia cooked two plates of pancakes for us and a hot steamy tumbler of coffee for us both...

''Wow...How long you been up girl?" I asked as I sat down to eat..

"Longer than you...After what you put on me last night...I owed you  pancakes in the morning.." laughed Sepia..

We both were hungry after the night we had had...

With our busy schedules , We rarely have the time for a whole night of sweet lovemaking like we had the night before..A quickie is usually all we are good for..

"That was a nice uh conversation wasn't it lover?" she said and smiled..

''Yes...We should uh, have more uh conversations like that..." I said ,laughing..

Just then,our doorbell rang...

''Who could that be?"  I asked as I got up and answered the door..

It was Jacques "Papa" Papadouris...He had a Laptop computer in his arms....

"Good Morning " he said...He saw Sepia sitting at the table..

"Hello Mrs. Morris.." he said and sat down.....

"What brings you here?" I asked..

"It's worse than I thought...Somebody broke into my house yesterday.....THey tossed the place...but they didn't find this..My Nephew's laptop and they didn't take any money or any other valuables...It's this they want...I told you his murder wasn't just a random shooting.." he said.

"Were you followed here?" I asked.

"I took three cabs and I got out of the last one ,three blocks from here and vanished down a driveway and circled back around the block before I got here..If I was..I lost anyone that was on my trial.."he said.

I looked at Sepia..

"This is more serious than I thought."I said.

"You know what you always say...No such thing as easy money." she said.


(TO BE CONTINUED)