Compromised

A night or two later.... A beautiful blonde sat in a very tony bistro....One of the new spots in town...I made a note that I was going to take Carlotta here one night....Presumably after this case was over..

I sat in a surveilience van a block down the street....

"You guys aren't sleepy are you?" I asked Detectives James "Jimmy" Barlow and Tony Hopkins..

'" Nah, but I'd prefer being back at the spot with Angie..." said Jimmy...

"I know, but this may be the only way we can get actual evidence on our suspect...Bert Caulken."I said.

"You think he'll show up?" asked Hop...

"You can make bank on that." I said..

I didn't know how wrong I was...We had intercepted a call from Bert Caulken's campaign office to Captain Ed Cantrell's office requesting a dinner meeting tonight at this spot...We had to jump on this immediately....

Ed Cantrell drove up in a 2016 White Nissan Z roadster with a Black Drop top..

"I gotta hand it to Cap....The man has Swag..." said Hop..

''Don't he now? Look at that suit, Look at that ride." said Jimmy...

I smiled...

They were right, The man did have style...

II-

Captain Ed Cantrell waited for a moment...He looked around...There was no sign of Bert Caulken or his Attorney, A.J. Miller..

He walked into the Bistro and sat down....

He was instead greeted by a beautiful Blonde..

''Ed Cantrell...Ed Cantrell...How nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you..I'm Jill..Jill Vaird." she said..

"That's funny....I've heard next to nothing about you.....The man's voice that invited me said I was here to meet with Bert Caulken...Where is he?" asked Ed...

"Now come on Eddie...Can I call you Eddie?" said the woman, who was very attractive...

"No, you may not!" said Ed Cantrell..

"You'd rather have drinks with Bert Caulken than me?  Come Onnnnnnnnnnnnnn!" she said,laughing..

Drinks arrived...

"These are mine....I didn't know what you prefer, so I ordered an assortment of micro brews..."she said..

Ed Cantrell allowed himself to smile..

''You have a very seductive smile Captain Cantrell..Why if you weren't married..I'd slip my panties off right here and let you have some...I'm serious.." she said..

''What's your game doll?" Asked Ed..

She pulled out glossies...Photos of young Ed Cantrell as a patrolman , and later on in life as a young Detective..

''You have had quite the career Captain Cantrell...Number one in your class at the Academy....Several comondations as a Patrolman, Made Detective in under five years.....And within two years made Sergeant.....Hmmmm.." she said...

Then she produced two more glossies.. Sissy and Carol Redding..

"Lieutenant Sissy Van Buren....head of the prestigious Criminal Investigation Division...She's on a fast track to wherever she wants to go..I hear...You mentored her...From Patrolman to Detective to Sergeant to Lieutenant.....Some say there was more...That you had a thing for her...Some say you still do.....

Your equally beautiful wife...DEA Regional Special Agent in Charge, Carol Redding Cantrell, Sissy's partner.....You mentored her too...From Patrolman to Detective to Sergeant....And then she left and became a Fed and then you two started knocking boots....You're quite a man......Banging your two protoge's.....

Along the way you mentored and tutored these great detectives.." she said and produced more glossies..

Edwin "Duke " Baylor.....

Tyriq Pile....your prize students...

Angela Belton....

All great detectives....oh yes and Sirena Harris Pile

All your pupils...All great detectives... So great ,that like you they've trained and mentored other detectives like

Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace and

Jimmy Barlow..

He cute!! and Anthony Hopkins...

The Magnificant Seven.....Also the Detectives who are wasting their time investigating a 45 year old murder that is so cold...Cold Case doesn't even want it..." she laughed..

"So That's what this is really about...The Detectives investigating that body found in that abandoned funeral home huh?  Caulken was too chicken shit to come here himself , so he sent you.."snarled Ed Cantrell..

"Now don't be like that....Come on we are having such a good time here, you and me?  So tell me...Does your wife know that you still carry a torch for Sissy Van Buren?" asked the woman..

"WHAT?" he asked..

She pulled out a tablet with emails..Emails sent from him to Sissy, several years before...

'Ouuuuuu this was very steamy stuff Captain..." she said.

"You hacked into my system....I sent those emails years ago, before either of us was married.." he protested..

''You should have cleaned them out Captain...Never leave incriminating stuff like that lying around..and ouu look at this, your bank account.." she said..

"One million dollars! What?" he said..

"Looks like you hacked into the Policemen and Firemen's fund and transferred that money into your private account in the Caymen Islands..." she said.

"I don't have a private account in the Caymen Islands and if I did...I wouldn't be stupid enough to put it in my own name...." said Captain Cantrell..

"Of course you wouldn't....I know that...but the Press wouldn't think so...and your wife might look at you cross eyed if she read these steamy e-mails...You are something..If I was single and Black,you definitely could park your shoes under my bed.."she said.

"Who are you? Caulken sent you didn't he?" said Cantrell..

"You're the only one who has mentioned his name..." she said..

''So unless I shut this investigation down....Of this girl, who's body was found in the basement of that funeral home...This will be made public right?" said Captain Cantrell..

''See...You're smart as well as sexy.. Shut the investigation down and this all goes away..." she said..

"Until you guys need something else.." said Ed Cantrell..

"Just shut it down...Tell Sissy and her detectives to come in from where ever they are working and concentrate on some drug crew, some crime syndicate, some serial killer..but leave this alone.."she said.

''A girl was murdered...Somebody's daughter, somebody's sister...She was pregnant for god's sake...Her Mother and Father and siblings never saw her again...Never got to meet their niece or nephew...Never got to meet their grandchild..You don't care about that do you?" asked Captain Cantrell..

''Should I? It happened before I was born...I didn't know her..." she said coldly....Then she got up...

She tossed some cash on the table...

"But I have to be going now...Shut this investigation down within the next 24 hours or your whole world is going to be turned upside down...."said Jill, who got up and walked out...

After she was in her car and gone..I walked in with Hop and Jimmy...

 "Did you get it?" asked Captain Cantrell..

 ''Every Blood Sucking ,Blackmailing word." I said.

 ''We had tech guys come in here hours before she arrived and wire the place for sound and video.."said Hop.

''She's going to have a hard time denying this." said Jimmy...

"Bag those drink glasses...Get her DNA and Prints off of there...Find out who she is and pick her ass up...Extortion and Obstruction of Justice..."said Ed Cantrell..

''From a purely legal standpoint...She never mentioned Caulken's name or said he sent her.."I said.

"No, but we got her on Obstruction of Justice and Extortion....If we squeeze hard enough she  may give us Caulken and A.J. Miller...I've been wanting to put a tag on Miller for years.."said Ed Cantrell..

III-

Back at Copland.....Eddie C., Sissy and Angie and Duke  and Tyriq and Sirena were playing a spirited game of Spades...

While Carlotta and Sharon  sat around talking..

"Being in the old hood brought back some swell memories didn't it girlfriend?" said Sharon..

"It sure did...When we were young girls...Long before we became cops....I was so hurt when you graduated Law School and left town...I didn't think I'd ever see you again..." said Carlotta.

"I kept up with you....I would write Tony sometimes when I was home sick and I'd ask about you...He told me you graduated from the academy and was a cop...and that he was thinking of going to the academy too..." she said.. "I had already decided I didn't really want to practice law per se in a courtroom or a boardroom and the next thing I know...I was at Quantico, training to be a federal agent.."she added.

"When I heard that...I was astonished..I was just out of the Academy...I dreamed of us working together to solve a case one day...Look at us now...Me and Tony, Detectives, You with the FBI....and we are working together and living within proximinity of each other..I hope we'll always be close like this.." said Carlotta..

"Me too!  One thing I know...I'm Home..There are no more stops for me...I'm married..and I plan to live here and have my babies right here.."said Sharon..

"Me too!"laughed Carlotta.

Hazel arrived just then....

''Well, Hector took his sister's remains...He had her cremated.." she said..

Everybody was silent...

I walked in with Hop and Jimmy...

"We've got a recording on audio and video of Captain Cantrell being extorted and of Justice being obstructed.."I said..

"You got Caulken?" asked Sissy..

"No..He sent some Woman....She said her name was Jill, Jill Vaird...Probably not her real name..She was smart enough never to mention his name or say who sent her...but she did order Cap to shut that investigation down..."said Jimmy...

"Honey Bunny, Hazel...We need you to get the DNA and prints off of these glasses so we can figure out who she is."said Hop...

 ''And then she is to be arrested....Cantrell's orders...Charged with Extortion and Obstruction of Justice."I said..

"I'm on it.."said Sharon..

''Oh yeah...Sharon....This is a dummy account...Can you hack into it and transfer this money back into the Police and Fireman's fund..?" I said, smiling sheepishly..

"You're asking for a lot.."laughed Sharon...

'''Oh yeah and go into his computer and erase all of his emails....it's a lot.."I said..

"Carlotta , Come get your husband..."laughed Sharon..

"Coming Sharon..." laughed Carlotta..

I whispered in her ear...

"I hope I'm cumming within the next hour.."

 Carlotta blushed..

"It takes you a lot longer than that papi.."she whispered...

 But Sissy thinking about the emails...Quietly looked at me and said "Thank You..."  silently..

It was a hot summer night...We still had no clear evidence against Bert Caulken, but maybe we could make him sweat a little bit...Anything to make that creep uncomfortable was less than he deserved..

(CONCLUSION NEXT)