Upside Down

The next morning, Lt. Sissy Van Buren looked like she was positively glowing...She was the only one who hadn't been on vacation yet...

Carlotta and I had been to Cancun.....Spent a week there....

Tyriq and Sirena and their little ones had been out to California...

Duke and Hazel had been the Bahamas for a week and a half...

And Hop and Sharon had gone to Greece and then to Paris for Vacation..

Only Angie and Jimmy had not yet gone anywhere..

They had even worked a case together...As Husband and wife...Unprecedented at the time...but given that half of the team was out and another half was coming back....It was understandable...

As soon as we were back full strength....All three teams got caught up with three seperate cases...

Sissy addressed the guys...

"I know most of you ,except for Angie and Jimmy have been on vacation...And I'd like to go myself as soon as we have no major cases pending and give Ang and Jimmy some time off...So tell me..What's on your dockets?" she asked..

"Henry Riggins...Low Level seller of Heroin and Opiates...He sells to middle class white kids and college students...He was short changed by his partner and he shot him and killed him...We have two eye witnesses, a murder weapon with his prints and DNA on it and we have video of the deed on the Street Cam and the Business cam across from where he shot him." said Tyriq..

"The only problem is , we can't find him...We've turned this city upside looking for him for three weeks...Ever since Rico and I returned from our vacations and there has been no sign of him...He has three girlfriends...Three known residences and he's not there..."said Carlotta...

"I'm the Primary,,,I got three teams of plain clothes guys watching the girlfriend's homes and all of the places Henry has been known to hang out..."said Jimmy...

"Okay...I'll put a BOLO out on him...Have the State Police on the highway....Have cops in the Bus stations,Train Stations and Airports looking for him..Except for actually capturing him...Your case is down right?" said Sissy.....She then looked at Hop and Sirena..
''What do you two guys have?" she asked.

"His name is Bobby Singer...We want him for the contract killing of a low level drug dealer named Chesmire Rodin...We have three eyewitnesses who place him at the scene of the crime...But Like Lotta, Rico and Jimmy, we can't find this guy...He was last known to be seen about a week ago..."said Sirena..

"We found his apartment....We found a sink filled with dishes and water that was now cold..A bed unmade...Clothes on the floor...A pair of jeans on the bed with close to $1500.00 in cash in the pockets...A sig sauer pistol and a .38 smokeless on the dresser as well as his drivers license...An An AK-47 rifle in the closet..."said Hop....

"I know Bobby Singer.....He's a real bad charactor,......Rico, you and I tried to put a tag on him before for another murder..."said Duke..

"Yeah, a couple of years back...In Robbery Homicide.."said Tyriq..

"I remember...I worked that case with you.."said Carlotta.

"Well here's where it gets cute...That Sig Sauer, with his fingerprints and DNA all over it is our murder weapon for the murder we were looking at him for...

Hazel told me that they got a match on the .38 smokeless for the Elmer Pratt murder of a few years ago.." said Sirena.."That's the one you and Duke were trying to crack..." said Sirena.

"Hey Rico, Top...That was your old case." said Duke..

"So it was..."said Tyriq..

"Aye Caramba...So it is him.."said Carlotta..

"There's more...The AK-47 is a match for that Bank Robbery  stick up...The one where the guard and the teller was killed...It's a match, with his prints and DNA on it"said Sirena..

"But you can't locate him....?" asked Sissy..

"Not a trace...We've turned this city upside down...Talked to his known friends and associates, relatives...been by his last few places of employment and tracked his credit and debit cards and bank account...Nothing...In fact there has been absolutely no activity on any of his cards in about a week and a half.." said Hop...

"We found his car and his drivers license and his phone even....No activity...It's like he's dropped off the face of the Earth.."said Sirena..

"Hmmmm, same thing....BOLO on Bobby Singer...State Police and City Coppers on the Highway, Train Stations, Airports...Bus Stations..He'll turn up..."said Sissy...

"I knew Bobby Singer and Henry Riggins when I was in high school...They were always bad guys,always ran with a fast and bad crew..." said Jimmy...

"So these two knew each other...Any chance they were working together?" I asked..

"I don't think so...Sirena and I profiled both of them...Singer was heavy duty...The guys he runs with wouldn't associate with a small time hood like Henry Riggins...They weren't even in the joint at the same time and after high school ,It appears they went their seperate ways.." said Duke..

"Duke, what about you and Angie...You close your case?" asked Sissy...

"I can answer that for you Siss...No...We are looking for Bruce Cutter...He's accused of killing his estranged wife and her boyfriend..."said Angie..

"Bruce Cutter?? I knew him too...In high school...He was a jock...A bit of an asshole...but certainly not a killer....At least not then..."said Jimmy...

"God Jimmy, you sure knew a lot of ne'er do wells...Did you kill these three guys?" asked Sharon jokingly...

We all busted out laughing...

"Not me...I'm a cop.."laughed Jimmy....."I can't believe all three of our suspects are guys I used to know..They're Fishtown guys." he said..

"You don't think they are working together?" asked Angie..

"Nooooooooo they didn't even like each other...They ran in different circles..Bruce Cutter ran Track, lettered in Football and Basketball..Was an average student, but like I said...A bit of an asshole...But he didn't use or sell drugs to my knowledge." said Jimmy..."He wasn't like Henry and Bobby, whose main goal in life was to be the next Tony Soprano....Bobby was closer to that than Henry..."said Jimmy...

"Yeah, well Bruce has been married twice since you last saw him...Has several domestic violence complaints and has been in rehab twice for drug abuse..." said Duke..

"Duke and I talked to his parents, his high school friends..some people he knew in college and his sponser....We turned this city upside down the past three weeks and no sign of him has shown up...I found his apartment yesterday ...The super let me in...I found cash on the bed...a drivers license..., even a key fob....I located his car...Car hasn't been driven..It has a flat tire..."said Angie..

"No activity on his phone, his laptop, his tablet or any of his credit or debit cards..... No one that knows him has seen or heard from him in three weeks..It's as if he just dropped off the face of the Earth." said Duke..

"Three guys , Three seemingly unrelated cases...And all three guys just vanished into thin air...What's up with that?" I asked...

"Except for the fact that all three of your suspects know our Jimmy here and went to the same high school, nothing.."said Sissy ,playfully giving Jimmy the side eye...

"Aww come on guys...You know I'm from Fishtown.." said Jimmy...

"Pig Town...Get it straight.." said Carlotta...

 "Yeah...Big difference.." joked Hop..

"Absolutely."said Sharon..."Several blocks and Trolley tracks...

"Okay....A few blocks..." laughed Jimmy...

My wife Carlotta, Hop and Sharon all grew up in "Fishtown" ,now called "Northern Liberties" thanks to an influx of Hipsters, Lofts, Condos, refurbished Apartments and clubs...Jimmy, grew up in Port Richmond...sometimes called "Pigtown", because it was all farmland years ago before developers began building houses and laying trolley tracks...Long before any of us had been born...

Philadelphia has such a rich neighborhood heritage...



II-

A few hours later Carlotta met with us again in the conference room....

"Guys you won't believe this...I cross referenced everything we know about our suspects and I found something out..Something chilling..." said Carlotta..

"What?" asked Sissy.

"The last thing charged on their Debit or credit card was a meal at Mickey's Pizzeria....The place we ate at yesterday..." said Carlotta...

 "Really?" asked Sirena..

"WHAT? HOW DID WE MISS THAT??" asked Hop..

"We all missed it..We weren't looking..." said Carlotta...

"Same day?" asked Duke..

"No and not together...Henry Riggins was there three weeks ago...We know that...We've seen footage..He walked out of there and was never seen or heard from again....Bobby Singer was in there just six nights ago.."said Carlotta...

"I hacked into the store footage and feed...There he is...You recognize that guy he's talking to?" asked Sharon.

"That's Johnny Boy...John Toilet...(pronounced Tolay) He's the Assistant Manager....I know him...Went to High school with him...Good guy!" laughed Jimmy...

"Anything you haven't told me ,that I should know about you..??" joked his wife, Angie..

"Too late now babes...We're married.." said Jimmy...

We all busted out laughing..

"He bought a large Pizza....He appears to be having words with your boy and then he leaves...That's the last known sighting of him..and the last transaction on his card..."said Tyriq...

"If I know right ,he was probably razzing Johnny Boy....See in high school we used to call Johnny Boy , "Shitter" because his name is spelled T O I L E T....but it's french...it's pronounced To -Lay!" said Jimmy..

"Wait a minute!!!This guy's name is JOHN...JOHN TOILET.???..Tell me you don't see the irony here.?" said Duke..

 "Oh My Goodness John Toilet...That's his name??" laughed Sissy..

 "Oh My God!" laughed Hazel...

 "Nah Jimmy...You've got to be kidding.." said Hop..

 "Jimmy please...Are you making this up?" guffawed Angie..

"WOWWWWWWWWW!   I'd legally change my name if I was him.."I said,laughing..

"It's Toe- Lay...Not Toilet...Poor kid had to put up with that ,all his life...I always called him Johnny Boy....but guys called him "Shitter" mostly...Especially that dumb Jock Bruce Cutter...."laughed Jimmy...

"Speaking of him...There he is on the monitor...This was two weeks ago...He was there with his estranged wife...That was the night before she was shot to death...by him....That was his last transaction and the last time he was known to be seen in public..."said Carlotta..

Sharon shut the monitors off...

"I'm checking the street and traffic cams and business cams in that area for all three dates..See where these guys went.."said Sharon.

"Let's check their phones...See if they called anybody in common or met with someone.."said Duke.

"I think we need to have a talk with Mr. Toilet...I mean To Lay..." said Sissy...

We all busted out laughing...

"I'll go...He's kind of sweet on me...He might tell me something more.."said Carlotta..

"Ms. Good Good...You be slayin guys Mrs. Wallace.." joked Angie..

"Not me...You Mrs. Barlow..You're the sex symbol.."joke Carlotta.

III-

I walked Carlotta to her car....before she got in...I pulled her to me...We were partially blocked by a partition....

"Ouuu papi you're so forceful..." she joked..

I kissed her passionately...and ran my hands up her skirt...rubbing her legs and squeezing her behind a bit...

"Ummmmmmmmmmm...this pizza guy is sweet on you huh?/Should I be concerned...??" I asked..

She unzipped my trousers and softly massaged my throbbing penis...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..ummmmmmmmmm.." I moaned...

"I don't think so...he can't match this..." she said as she stroked me softly...

"Ouuuu papi, you are so big and so hard...." she cooed..

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmph.." was the only sound that would come out of my mouth...He hands were so soft...

"Oh my goddddddddd Carlotta...you're driving me crazy,..."I moaned..

We kissed a little longer until we heard a car coming into the parking lot...I removed my hands and zipped my trousers up...Carlotta straightened her dress....

"Keep it hard for me papi....I'll be back.." she said and smiled as she got in her car and pulled off...

I stood there, totally destroyed...

When John Toilet saw Carlotta coming back through the door of his Pizzeria, he nearly dropped his trays...

"Carlotta...WOWWW!" he said...His eyes nearly popping out of his head and his trousers standing out like a tent...

Carlotta attempted to ignore his erection as much as she could...

''Oh uh John...I uh came to see you.." she said and smiled.. "Can I Can I uh sit down?"she asked..

"Of course you can...You want a slice of Pizza?? It's on the house.." he said and got her two hot slices out of the oven and a Coke..

"I can't keep on letting you pay for my food like this.."said Carlotta..

"It's nothing.....So uh...What did you want to talk to me about?" he asked..

Carlotta pulled out two photos..  One was Bruce Cutter and the other was Bobby Singer...

John Laughed..

"You know these two assholes?...I'm sorry for cursing..."he said..

"Yes...They're both wanted for murder...Bobby Singer for about four murders..One recent and three past,plus a Bank Robbery..." said Carlotta..

John looked astounded...

"I knew him in High School...I seen him around...I heard he was a big deal...was connected, they say,but I didn't know he was into anything that heavy,,,Yeah ,he was in here about a week ago....A Thursday night..He bought a Pizza and a Coke and some Mozzerella Sticks.." I haven't seen him since then.."said John..

"Nobody has...I was wondering if he told you where he might be going or anything..." asked Carlotta..

"We weren't friends....I never liked the guy to tell you the truth...He came in here with his expensive clothes on and his flashy car and he started puttin me down...I know I aint much, but I make an honest living...I aint a stick up kid or killer for hire.."said John...

"So you know what he does for a living?" asked Carlotta,..

"Yeah, I hear things...He was just like Henry Riggins the guy you were lookin for the other night...Wanna be gangsters,though from the charges you got on Bobby...he might have been the real thing.."said John..

Carlotta smiled..

"Yes...My associates want him off the street bad...Just like I want Henry...Any chance these two might be working together?" asked Carlotta..

''Are you kidding? Those two despised each other..Bobby felt he was above low life Henry...Nah they didn't run in the same circles..I seriously doubt that...But uh I aint seen either of them, since they been in here.."said John...

"Well how about this guy...Bruce Cutter?/" asked Carlotta..

''What's he done..?"asked John..

"He's wanted for killing his estranged wife and her boyfriend..."said Carlotta..

"He was in here about a month ago...Laughing at me, putting me down...He ordered some Lasagna...He and some broad ate it here and then they left...Haven't seen him since then.." he said.  "Aint that nothin...The last place all three of these jamolks was seen was in my joint huh?" he laughed..

"Yeah...my partners and I badly want them all off the streets.."said Carlotta..

"Yeah, from what you told me ,I can see why...Look ,why don't you give me a number where I can reach you...If I see one of them...I can call you..?" he asked..

"Okay...this is my cell...You see them or hear anything...You call me okay John?" said Carlotta.

"Sure thing doll and uh eh uhhh Carlotta?" he said whispering to her..

"Yes..?" she asked..

"Any chance....you and me can uh like meet on the low low...Go out for some drinks one night...uhhh maybe slip over my apartment for a few hours...I gotta tell you...I know you're married...but I haven't been able to get you off my mind since last night when you were here with Jimmy." he said..

"I don't think so....My husband wouldn't appreciate that at all.." she said..

"He a cop too?" asked John...Who was actually a year older than Carlotta...

"No, he's an Assistant District Attorney.." she said..

"WOWWWWW!  Only the best for you..huh?" he said.

"Goodbye John...Thank you again for the Pizza and the Coke." she said as she got up and left...

(TO BE CONTINUED)