One Dead Fish

We stood in the Medical Examiners Office listening to Monique and staring at the bluish bodies of Jay Anthony Phillips, Attorney, Arthur Skip Williams ,Investment banker and Dr. Micheal Baldlin, Surgeon...Three young virile men, in the best of health and at the top of their careers...

All dead!

''All this time...I thought it was in their food..Then I thought they had been injected by a needle...They were killed by fish venom..."said Monique..

"So they weren't murdered?" asked Detective Kylie White...

"Oh they were murdered...They were all three exposed to the venom of the Argentinian Blue Fish...called 'El Morte...The Death....The venom was on the damp Birthday card that Jay got....Then look here...on Skip's ankle...he got bit while swimming...There is the bite mark...You'd miss it unless you were looking for it...right above his left ankle..and on Micheal Badlin...On this wet towel....The towel was drenched in semen...but it also had the venom on it...Whoever he was sleeping with wiped his uh...penis off after sex...and the venom entered him that way..." said Monique..

 ''Yeeeeow!" said Lt. Cotton..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" I said...

Monica laughed....

"Goofballs....Go On Sis.."said Monica...

"The Argentinian Blue Fish ,known as El Morte...The Death is a warm water fish found in South American waters......Only problem is...That fish doesn't swim in these waters...It can only be found in South American waters...Warm Waters...Not these cooler Northern waters...So if that fish was swimming near Ocean Port...Somebody brought that fish here and put it there....My guess is..whoever killed these three..

This fish is deadly,Any contact with that venom, by human or fish and it's instant death...The venom attacks the central nervous system...It short circuits the heart and the lungs....You choke to death within minutes...Ohhh it's nasty....When they mate with each other...The male dies shortly after impregnating the female...She squirts upon climaxing." said Monique...

''Oh God Have Mercy..."said Lt. Cotton...

"Geez" I said..

Monica ,Monique and Kylie busted out laughing....

II-

''There is a simple defense...Buttermilk...If you ingest at least a gallon of Buttermilk...The Buttermilk destroys the toxins and at best you'll have a case of belching..."said Monique...

''So we know how...Problem is who and how would we even prove it?" asked Lt. Cotton..

"I can help with that..."I said..  "Her name is Denise Lawton...Girlfriend of Skip Williams...The one person we didn't interview. I did some digging....She was born Denise Smith and she attended college with all three.men....Her major was Marine Biology, she had a Doctorate in Marine Biology...Back when she was Denise Smith...She was a little chunky and wore thick horn rimmed glasses..."I said and showed everybody a photo of her...

"This is what Denise Lawton looks like now"..I said showing them a photo of her taken recently...

"My My My....I barely recognize her...She lost weight and it looks like she exercized and well, my goodness..She really transformed herself..."said Lt. Cotton.

''She lost 75 pounds to be exact and she had a little plastic surgery done and some breast implants..." said Monica..

"I found a police report from several years ago....Apparently during a drunken party....Phillips,Williams and Badlin and another guy...raped her...gang raped her....she filed a police report three weeks after the fact and all four guys were picked up.....Phillips father, A Judge with a lot of political pull worked out a plea deal...He couldn't have a rape charge on his boy...That would have ruined all of their budding careers..."I said.

"Charges were dropped on three of them ,The fourth guy, a friend of theirs took a lesser plea and was given a suspended sentence and in a seperate deal...Denise Smith was given a small amount of money  and agreed never to bring it up again." said Monica.

"There were years of therapy...and she joined a gym....she lost 78 pounds....got herself in shape and got breast implants...and replaced the glasses with contact lenses....." I said.

"It's a wonder they didn't remember her.....I suppose they'd been through so many women...she was just a nameless and faceless conquest..."said Kylie.

"Exactly...I started dating Jay around that time...I was living in New York....And little did I know...He and my sister were dating here in Philly..." said Monique..

''And that dirty bastard wanted to share me with Skip..." said Monica...

''There is more...Denise Smith got married to a guy named Lawton...Dr. Dennis Lawton....She got pregnant, but she miscarried....The marriage went sour after five years....I do know they both saw a sexual suragate and a marriage counselor for awhile...Then they amicably separated...and then divorced..."I said..

"Where is he?" asked Lieutenant Cotton..

"He's in Los Angelas...I talked to him by phone...He said he hasn't talked to Denise in over a year..." said Monica..

"All this time...All this time...She seethed inside about being gang raped by those three....She waited ...She waited patiently until she had the opportunity and the means and she executed them....By the way....You said there was a fourth guy....What ever happened to him?" asked Lieutenant Cotton...

"His name is Darin Dellinger...He's  Sui Chef....Never got in any more trouble after that incident...Operates a very toni sushi restaurant.....Nate and I are going to see him now and warn him..."said Monica.

''What about this Denise Lawton, where is she?"

"Mo Mo and I went to three of her known residences...She had cleared out of them...We have a BOLO out for her though.." I said..

Monique came out with several bottles of Buttermilk...

"I want all of you to drink these bottles of Buttermilk.....I've already had my staff down several glasses, in case we come into contact with that fish..." she said..

We did...and then ,

Mo Mo and I were headed to s Sushi restaurant to find A Sui Chef!

III-

Monica and I found the Sushi Bar that Chef Darin Dellinger worked at but we were too late....He was found in the back of the kitchen,lying on his back, his lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling...His skin already turning blue....

"Oh My God!! He's dead partner....Just like the other three...."said Monica..

"But how?  "I asked.

"Some girl come in...Nice looking, Big Hooters...Chef and girl sat down and ate...after they ate...Girl leave...Chef ask for her phone number....They talked for awhile...Chef looked shocked...she laughed and left..Chef walked back to kitchen...I not see him until you two come asking for him.." said the assistant Sui Chef..

"She look like this?" I asked , showing him a recent photo of Denise Lawton....

''That is her.That is the girl..Just before she leave...She mention something about catching a boat..." he said..

"Look!  The hot towels customers use to clean their hands before and after a meal....This one smells like sea water."said Monica, who bagged it and tagged it...

I sighed...

"Call your sister" I said..

A crowd gathered as the body of Darin Dellinger was brought out...

Monique shook her head...

''And that makes four...Game set match....She got all four of the guys who raped her.." She said.

''We gotta get her off the streets."said Lt. Cotton.

''I know where she's going...She doesn't know we are on to her...She's headed back to Ocean Port and then who knows where?" I said.

Lieutenant Cotton got on his phone..

"Kylie...Get the tactical squad....and get me a chopper...Meet me at Ocean Port..."he said.

"Come on partner...Let's go..."said Monica.

"Right behind you babes.."I said.






IV-

Monica and I took off , heading for Ocean Port...

While meanwhile...Denise Lawton was taking her last swim...and boarding a Sail Boat that was leaving as we headed her way...

As she pulled off, she noticed a police presence headed her way...

The Tactical squad, armed and prepared ran down the pier....

Lieutenant Cotton and Detective Kylie White got in the Police Copter...

They had a police sharpshooter with them....

And Monica and I flew above her in our flying car...

At this point...Denise must have realized that the jig was up....and that her boat couldn't out run us...

I brought my flying car down on the side of the ship and Monica and I boarded the ship...

"Denise....We know everything...I'm sorry about what those three jerks did to you...I am...but I have to bring you in...You've murdered four people..."said Monica...

I had my glock aimed at her....

"We don't want to hurt you...Please just give up....There's nowhere for you to go.."I said..

She dipped her hands in the aquarium...She had the Blue Fish in a seperate bag filled with warm water...She took it out...

"Back Up you two...I don't want to hurt you...My quarrel is not with you guys....I got my revenge...Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..." she moaned....

The Fish had bitten her...She dropped it on the floor...She backed up...She grabbed her chest...Her breathing was rapid..Then she peeled over the side of the boat and into the water...

Monica looked at me..

"It's over partner!  She's gone!" was all Monica would say...

''She got her revenge.. and she took her own life...This was just so senseless...So meaningless.."I said,shaking my head..

"Ever seen a murder that made sense partner?" asked Monica...

I suppose she was right.

EPILOUGE-

The Body of Denise Lawton, killer of four men was pulled from the ocean waters...Thus closing one of our strangest cases...

" Well, That closes this case...and clears four murders...I'm Happy.."said Lt. Cotton..

 "I hate to say it, but those four jerks deserved what they got..." said Kylie..

 "Perhaps....but I just keep thinking this all could have been worked out somehow without anybody dying?" I said.

''And how is that bae? They were so arrogant...They would have never apologized....They gang raped that poor girl,..They traumatized her and ruined her...This ended the only way it could have.."said Monica, who I felt still held some bitterness towards Jay at least....

Monique had bagged and tagged the Blue fish ,which was now dead.....

"Come on ,let's get out of here..."she said..

They all began to walk away , except Monica..

She looked at me...

"We just closed a case husband...Well?" she asked..

I took her in my arms and kissed her passionately...

"Ummmmmmmmmm that's more like it..." she said...

"Mo Mo?" I asked in between buttery soft kisses...

"Yes" she whispered..

"Wanna go and get some seafood for dinner?" I asked..

"Okay, Now you're just being mean.." she said....

As we both laughed...