Cement Shoes

"We are sending divers down....We've got a grouping of signals....." said the Captain....

"This is it Siss...We'll find Stratton..." said Detective Sgt. Sam Jones..

"Or we'll find more open cases than we want.." said Sissy with a half smile...

I stood there stoically as several divers dove overboard......

 "This is kind of exciting and kind of creepy."said Carlotta....If she only knew....

 "The Creep factor is definitely high.." said Sharon....

 "Wouldn't it be something if our three missing murder suspects were down there?" said Sirena in jest...She didn't now how prophetic she actually was..

"This is a nice cool wind.." said Angie....

Jimmy,Tyriq and Hop were watching the monitors...

"Crimmy, take a look at this..." said Jimmy....

Jimmy was looking at the ships monitors ,which showed the ocean floor from the diver's body cameras...

A woman, with flowing blond hair was seen...She was wearing a white sundress...Her hands were bound and her feet were in cement...Her lifeless eyes stared ahead at nothing.

"Wow, she almost looks like a mermaid..." said Hop....

"That's no mermaid...That's Dana Smilow...Jack Stratton's girlfriend....We've hit the jackpot Sissy..."exclaimed Sam Jones...

" Look, Ang, come here....There is our guy......Bruce Cutter!!!" exclaimed Duke..

Bruce Cutter's lifeless body was chained to a larger brick of concrete...His lifeless eyes stared forward.....

"Oh My God...We've found him..He was dead all this time..."said Angie...

"Top !!! Get over here...Look...it's our guy...Henry Riggins..!!!"exclaimed Tyriq...

''Aye Mios Dios..."said Carlotta...

Henry Riggins lifeless body was also chained down...there was a bullet wound in his right temple and unlike the others...his eyes were closed...His face bloated....

"Partner....our boy....Bobby Singer...There he is!!!!I don't believe this..." said Sirena...

Bobby Singer looked like he was almost smiling...His lifeless eyes stared straight ahead...A sardonic smile on his face...Defiant even in death...

"This is too damn much..I don't believe it...We've all found our suspects..."said Hop...

"There's more people down here..Look!" said Sharon....

Indeed there were...Close to 40 other bodies...all grouped in one particular area...resting neatly on the bottom of the ocean floor...It was eerie, but almost beautiful in a crazy kind of way...The cold ocean water had preserved them....Their lifeless eyes staring ahead...Some of them...48 men and one woman.

"I'm going to have nightmares for weeks....This is incredible....Sam you're going to have to go through your missing persons files..."said Hazel...

"Not to mention we are going to have to go through our fugitive files.." said Sissy....
But Sam wasn't listening to any of us...He was scanning the monitor ,looking for one person, one person alone...

"Come on Jack...I know you're down here...I know it...Where are you Jack?" he asked..

I knew his obsession...That's how I felt as they pulled body after body out of this very ocean and all I wanted was to find one body...Mickey Lolo....

Jack Stratton's girlfriend, Dana Smilow appeared to be the only woman down here...The rest were all guys......If Jack Stratton was dead, he couldn't be too far from her..or could he??
Finally we heard Sam Scream....

"There he is!!!...I knew you were down here Jack!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! DAMN IT JACK, you son of a bitch...I knew you were down here..." he screamed with glee..

Angie looked at him....

"Sam...take some time off after this is over...You need it!" said Angie..

Sissy,Carlotta,Sirena and Sharon all broke out into laughter...

We watched as more Coast Guard boats and Helicopters began to flood the area.....

"They've got to bring more boats out and more divers...and blow torches...It's close to 50 bodies down there..." said Duke..

"Take me to the radio room...I've got to call my people..."said Hazel...

"Well Junior, Top...our case is really down now.." said Tyriq..

"Wow...what an ending to it?" said Jimmy...

"I never in a million years thought it would end like this." said Carlotta...

"It's not over...We have 50 possibly unsolvable homicides people...I'm glad we had our vacations...We are going to be busy people..."said Sissy, sighing...

"Well Ang...No Hair dresser this week."said Sirena ,sighing...

"Never fails girl.." said Angie, sighing...

''Awwww come on girls..We haven't hung out with each other all summer."said Sharon...

I smiled...I knew we were going to "Copland" ,our off site base of operations....We now had 49 open homicides...and like Sissy said...some might never be solved...

II-

 The Media was all over this...

In all, we pulled 49 bodies out of the water...We identified six of them, Bobby Singer, Henry Riggins, Bruce Cutter, all wanted for murder, Reputed Drug kingpin, Jack Stratton and his girlfriend, Dana Smilow...the only woman amongst the bodies...and a Pimp named Diamond Jack ,missing for close to a year.

Bodies were being stacked on top of each other...five to a truck... As cameras snapped photos and reporters attempted to ask us questions...

Sissy and I refused to answer any questions...We wouldn't tell how we found out about the bodies , We didn't tell who they were...and we certainly didn't tell or really know just who was behind this...

Hazel had no comment either....but she said to me..

''Doc Gibbons is going to have a fit....All these bodies...I've called in some people from surrounding counties to help out with the autopsies..." she said..

"Don't worry Hazel....I'll make sure there is a hot platter waiting for you tonight and some coffee when you get in."said Hop...

"Awwwwwwwwwwwww you are sooo sweet Hop..Sharon...I want you to take care of him extra good tonight and you know what I mean..." said Hazel with tongue in cheek..

"Always girlfriend.." said Sharon,laughing...

"You're going with Hazel?" asked Angie..

"I'm gonna pack our stuff...Can I give it to you and Jimmy to put in our rooms?" asked Duke..

''Sure Honey...I'm your partner after all."said Angie with a smile..

"Love ya baby!" said Duke, who kissed her on the cheek....

"I guess our kids can stay with their grandparents a little longer...I know they'll love that."joked Sirena..

"How about that?" said Tyriq...

Carlotta's phone rang again...

''Oh Who is this...?" asked Carlotta.

''Carlotta....What color are your panties?" came a voice..

"Johnny....Is this you?" asked Carlotta..

''Yes...I just had to hear your voice today..." he said.

"Lose this number...You don't need to call me about information  concerning our missing suspects.."she said.

"I guess those cases are just going cold case huh?" he said.

"Don't you watch the news?  We found all three of them and then some..."said Carlotta...

"YOU DID? HOW??" he exclaimed..

"We are good detectives that's how...I've got to go...Don't call me again...and don't ever ask a woman a question like that ,unless you are already sleeping with her.." said Carlotta , who hung up...

She looked at Jimmy....

"What's up?" asked Jimmy..

"Your friend Johnny...Did he have any girlfriends in High School?" asked Carlotta..

Jimmy smiled..

"Has he been calling you?  I'll tell him to knock it off...But to answer your question...No...He didn't have a girlfriend until after we graduated and he managed to mess that up...Had the nerve to cheat on her...and he got caught...Here's the kicker....both of those girls live together now.."said Jimmy,laughing..

"It's a good thing you became a cop....The people you socialized with before leave much to be desired.."said Carlotta...

Jimmy just laughed and hugged his good friend, Carlotta ,who had been like a sister to him since they were in the police academy.....She had made Detective first and had badgered him until he took the test and passed in the next round...She knew he'd be a good detective and he has been...

"I'm the primary on this...Me and Duke..."said Sissy..."Release the bodies..." she said..

"Okay...you heard her...let's get em out of here.." said Hazel...

I sighed...

"The fun is just beginning..."I said.

"Well, it's your case now Siss...My case is closed...Both of em have been found..."said Detective Sgt. Jones..

"Thank You Sam....for 49 open murders..."said Sissy sarcastically....Then she laughed..."It's what we do...We are Murder police first and foremost.." she said.

''Come on..let's get home, get packed and get started.."I said.

III-

Like I said...We had positively identified 6 of the 49 bodies...There were 43 others to identify....

But this case wasn't as difficult as it at first looked..

Hazel and her staff, aided by her husband,

Detective Edwin "Duke" Baylor positively identified all 43 of the bodies within the next 48 hours...They worked around the clock.

All of them were underworld figures..Drug Dealers, Drug addicts, Stick up Men, Fences...Pimps, Box men, et al..With the exception of Stratton, none of them were major figures and there weren't any major warrants on any of them...All of them had vanished or gone missing within the past 12 months...

The rest of us were hunkered down off site at the government owned apartment complex called "Copland" by us...

Sissy told us if we wanted to go home one night or a couple of nights we could...but that we worked exclusively from here..on this case..

Nobody chose to go home...It was easier after working around the clock to go upstairs to our rooms and go to sleep, shower and come back down stairs...It was safer too! No driving late at night, exhausted.

Carlotta,Jimmy and Tyriq spent a few days looking into the lives and final moments of 14 of the victims...Questioning criminal associates , friends and family of the dead felons..checking their credit and debit cards and bank accounts and known residences...

Sirena and Hop took on another 14 of the dead....doing pretty much the same thing for the next few days....Questioning criminal associates , friends and family of the dead felons..checking their credit and debit cards and bank accounts and known residences...

Angie and Duke took the final 14 guys...along with Sissy...

Duke was spending the rest of his time with Hazel at the M.E.'s office...

He would bring Hazel back to our site at near midnight...She'd be exhausted...

Hop and Sharon always had her dinner ready for her and some coffee..

Eddie C. was waiting up for all of us some nights with hot platters he ordered from Sam Mothers and kept warm by utilizing the mobile food truck in the back of the apartment complex.

 when we were there going over facts and strategizing...

"Here is the good news...We are looking for one killer...All 49 of our victims were shot in the head with the same gun and judging from the groove marks..I'd say the killer used a silencer.."said Hazel.

"Our killer is short about five foot four, five foot five...The shots are from someone shooting from upward,like he was looking up at them..except for the woman...The killer was looking her square in the face...The woman was about Top's height..What are you Top...Five Five?/ Five Four?"asked Duke..

"Five Four and a quarter.."sad Carlotta.

''And a quarter, remember that Duke." joked Sharon.

We all laughed...

"Sirena and I found out something interesting today too."said Hop..

"The cement used to encase their feet comes from Ace Freehly and son cement company...They're located not too far from Penns Landing..."said Sirena..

''We ought to talk to them.."said Sissy..

"After they told us that....Rico and I did some digging too...."said Carlotta..

"Yeah, Old Ace Frehley was a known underworld figure for years...That cement business was just a front, he used to launder dirty money...His dirty money from gambling and loan sharking...He's around 78 or 79 years old, retired now...His grandson runs the business..His son was killed in a gangland shooting several years ago."said Tyriq...

"I know him...That's Johnny Boy's cousin..."said Jimmy...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh god, here we go again...It's John Toilet's cousin.." said Angie...

We all laughed...

''Wait...Time to Flush the toilet....Oh My God...That's what Sam Jones said his C.I. told him was the code word..The code word people used when somebody had to get whacked..."Time to Flush the toilet..." I said.

"Oh My God...You think the guy in the Pizza Shop...Jimmy's boy, John Toilet is our assasain? Nah ,him?"said Duke..

"Come on counselor...He's a punk....He's no killer.." said Jimmy...

"Well find out what kind of car he owns...We picked up a 2017 Nissan Z leaving the scene of two of the disapearences on the Traffic cam...It was too grainy to get a plate.."said Angie,giving her husband the side eye...

We all busted out laughing as Eddie C. broke up the monotony...

"We got Hot wings folks with my and Duke's special sauce.."he said..

"I'm down with that....break out the beer my man ." said Duke..

Jimmy pulled Angie to him...

"You know...I don't just know low lifes.."he said to her...

''Seems like it to me.."joked Angie..

''Well I know this real sexy chocolate sister, who is as sweet as a cupcake, who just drives me crazy...Everyday I wake up and can't believe that I was so fortunate as to be married to her..She's pretty nice..."said Jimmy...

"Awwww...stop....you're going to make me cry..."said Angie...

They both began to kiss passionately.....

With any luck...We might wrap this thing up at that....

(CONCLUSION NEXT)