It was almost midnight....A Rare night that I, Assistant District Attorney Keith Wallace
and my beautiful wife, Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace were out enjoying a nice night together....
No Fancy occassion...We just felt like enjoying a nice dinner for two....
We had had a delicious meal...and were topping it off with some wine...
Carlotta laughed...
"Papi are you trying to get me drunk, so that you can take advantage of me?" she joked...
"Can't fool you, you're too good of a detective....Yesssssssss.." I said and laughed....I had been staring at her salaciously all night....I couldn't wait to get her back to our room and ravish her...
Yes, I said room....We were all staying at "Copland" , a hotel complex the government bought and that was our top secret home away from home....When we were investigating a big case... That way there was no leaks and only people with a need to know ,knew our where abouts....
Presently there was a joint FBI/DEA/CID investigation of four major crime syndicates in the area...Four Syndicates who had cut up their share of Philadelphia...They got lucrative shares of Loan sharking, Drugs, Prostitution, Fencing and Gambling in the area....
These four Syndicates had quietly taken over huge chunks of the city over a period....
FBI Deputy Special Agent in charge, Sharon Hopkins had her top FBI agents there for at least two weeks prior to our arrival....
DEA Regional Special Agent in charge, Carol Cantrell had her top and most trusted DEA Agents there too...They occupied the two top floors...
Lt. Sissy Van Buren not only brought in her detectives,
My wife, Carlotta,
Her partners, Detectives Tyriq Pile
and James "Jimmy "Barlow,
Detective Sirena Pile(Tyriq's wife)
and her partner, Antonio Hopkins, (Sharon's husband)
and rounding out the team, Detective Edwin "Duke" Baylor and his partner
Detective Angela Belton-Barlow (Jimmy's wife)
We were all working shifts at "Copland"....In addition, we had brought in our most trusted plain clothes and undercovers from Vice and Narcotics to work on this massive investigation...
For the first time...''Copland"was filled to the capacity...With Federal Agents and Detectives..This way there was no possibility of any leaks.....
But tonight...Carlotta and I were enjoying our night off.. Sissy judiciously tried to give all of her people, CID, Vice and Narcotics nights off...to be with their spouses and significant others and just cut loose...Like I said we had been working around the clock shifts on these four crime syndicates....but tonight...
"Okay papi....I think I've had enough to drink...Take me home!" laughed Carlotta....
"I'd like nothing better babes..." I said...I was so aroused...All I could think about was getting Carlotta back to our room and getting her clothes off...Unfortunately that would have to wait until another time...
A scream was heard and two women pointed outside to the river...
Carlotta screamed herself..
''Ayyye Mios Dios!!!!"she said....
I looked out on the water myself and to my astonishment...there it was....A body....floating in the river...!!!
II-
A crowd of people gathered outside and pointed to the body of a man, about my age ,floating in the river...
City Police were already on the scene as was the Marine police....
I identified myself as Assistant District Attorney, Keith Wallace and Carlotta showed the police her gold shield...
She also called our base of operations and Hazel...Within the coming hour...They all were here...
C.S. I. people snapped photos of the body ,floating in the river.....A cordon of police blocked the public as Carlotta ordered...
She took her heels off and called for the Marine Patrol
to fish the body out of the water..
Dr. Hazel Baylor , Our Forensic Investigator and Coroner, as well as Detective Edwin "Duke" Baylor's wife arrived first with her staff and a M.E.'s van for transport...
''Hey Guys...what a thing to happen on your date night huh?" said Hazel...
"I know...I know..." said Carlotta , who was happy to see her partners, Tyriq Pile and Jimmy Barlow arrive next, With Sirena Pile and Tony Hopkins in the next car...
"Heyy Top..."laughed her partner...Tyriq..."I'm just glad this didn't happen on Sirena and my night last week" he joked...
"Or Angie and mine.." joked her other partner, Jimmy Barlow...
"Hey Haze...will Rico and I have to go out and get him?" asked Jimmy....
"Noooo, some divers from the Marine patrol just went out to fish the body out of the river..."said Hazel....
''Wow...We just came out to get a break from round the clock surveilience.."joked Sirena.
''Wow...A Floater..." said Hop.....
Duke, Angie and Sissy drove up next and walked over to Carlotta and I...
By now the body was lying on the pier.....Duke took a look at it...
"Oh My God....Is Sharon coming?" he asked..
"Duke you know this guy?" asked his partner, Angie Belton-Barlow...
"I know of him, This is Frenchie Robinson...." he said.
"Local hood?" I asked..
"No , he's from out of Detroit....Back in the day he did business with Fathead Newton, The Diaz Brothers and Lin Chou...The former heads of major Crime Syndicates...They're all gone now...He sold a package to the El Rukin Gang...They're gone too....and he did business with the late Manny Spain...also gone...This guy is a heavyweight...He's the number two man of Big Uncle..."said Sissy...
"Big Uncle? Sharon put him away a few years ago....He's in prison." said Carlotta...
"He's out and we heard some chatter on the line that he was looking to make some in roads here in Philly."said Duke...
Tyriq put on his Latex gloves and went through his pockets...pulled out his wallet.....
"There's over three grand in his wallet...three credit cards, debit card....Drivers License...Franklin Robinson......This is Frenchie...and if somebody took him out...They got some pretty big stones...You don't mess with Big Uncle or his people..." he said..
"I hear Big Uncle has an army of soldiers and an unlimited war chest.."
''Those are stories...He does have a lot of hitters...but it's not unlimited....but probably more than these local yokels around here.."said Sirena.
Jimmy and Sirena opened up his suit jacket.....
Hazel observed...
"Three gunshot wounds to the chest...." she said...
"I'm guessing he was killed somewhere else and dropped here.." I said.
"I'm calling Sharon..."said Sissy...
''What was he doing here Boss Lady?" asked Carlotta.
"He wasn't on vacation, that's for sure...If he was here..It was strictly business..The very kind of business we are investigating..." said Sissy..
Angie whistled...
''Siss, we got company.." she said.
Sissy took one look and sighed..
"Oh Hell, not tonight!" she said..
Lieutenant Tragg and three uniformed officers went past the uniformed police and over to the crime scene...
''What have you got here Sissy?"he said.
Sissy didn't say a word she glared at him...
"I asked you a question Lieutenant!" he bellowed.....
Sissy sighed...
"We have a murder victim found floating in the river....He's identified as Franklin Robinson...Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace was first on the scene..."said Sissy, exasperated..
"Judging by how she's dressed...She wasn't on duty....There for, I'll take over from here.." he said.
"No you won't...This is my case...She's the Primary..."said Sissy...
"Must we go through this Sissy?" asked Lt. Tragg...
''We are not going through this tonight Lt. Tragg..." came the voice of Deputy FBI Special Agent in charge, Sharon Hopkins....who arrived with seven FBI agents...
''Sissy and her team are part of a joint FBI/DEA/Philadelphia Police task force..The murder victim "Frank "Frenchie'' Robinson is a suspect in our broader investigation of four crime syndicates...They're assigned to me and Carol Cantrell of The DEA....Call your Deputy of Operations...He'll tell you.." she said...
"I'll do just that.." he said and dialed the Deputy of Operations..
Sharon then looked at the body...
"Yeah that's French Robinson...Big Uncle's main man.....Somebody killed him and dropped him in the river for everybody to see and to send Big Uncle a message all the way in Detroit.." said Sharon...
"Yeah, but who?" I asked...."Who did this?/" I asked..
Sissy looked at his left hand....THE THUMB WAS MISSING!
"Oh My God!!!" said Angie...
''Aye Mios Dios!"said Carlotta.
Duke looked at Sissy...
"We know who...Don't we Duke? Rico?"
"Oh yeahhhh! That's a certain man's calling card that we are currently looking at" said Tyriq...
"Can I release the body?" asked Hazel...
"Yes...Release the body....Let's get all of these people out of here.." said Sissy...
As the body was released...
Lieutenant Tragg looked on...
"HEYY, WHAT ARE YOU DOIN?" he bellowed..
"My Investigation, my call...We are releasing the body!"said Sissy calmly...
The Deputy of Operations answered....
''What is it Arthur? And please don't be bugging me about Sissy Van Buren's case...She and her detectives are working jointly with the FBI and DEA on a major case...Leave her alone...Whatever she's uncovered is her case...Not yours...Now that's an order...I've got Three ADA's screaming for your head....You've screwed up three cases....Get it together Art....Get it together....Leave Detectives that actually close cases..alone.Now go to bed !"said the Deputy of Operations...
Lt. Tragg stomped his foot in anger...
By now ,Sissy and her detectives were gone as was Hazel and the body..
III-
Hours later....Detectives Tyriq Pile and Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace appeared at the door of a pawn shop, the defacto headquarters of Jake "Greazy Thumbs" Gaskins...The reputed head of one of the crime syndicates that was being investigated by our task force..
"Jake!!! Police!!!....Open Up!! WE HAVE A WARRANT!!!" said Tyriq....
There was no answer...
Carlotta instructed one of the uniforms they brought along to knock the door in...They did...and with Jimmy Barlow..
They entered Jake's pawn shop...
Three of Jake's goons were tossed up against the wall and searched...
The man himself..walked calmly down his steps...
"Hey, what is this all about?" he asked..
''We have a warrant for your arrest." said Carlotta.
He smiled at her...
"All you had to do was ask Carlotta...I'd of come for you.." he said , smiling...
Tyriq handcuffed him...
"You're coming with us...Suspicion of murder..." he said..
"You're making a mistake Rico...I've killed no one." he said.
"Not today, right Jake?" laughed Jimmy...
He looked at Jimmy and he busted out laughing....
IV-
We took him to headquarters to be interrogated..
Jake "Greasy Thumb" Gaskins owned a Pawn shop...He had a small office on the top of it...Everyone on the street knew that this was where he handled his business...He took over West, SouthWest Philly, Manyunk and Roxborough...He got a cut from the gambling, prostitution, loan sharking and a nice package (Heroin, Coke ,Opiods and meth) that was sold in those areas...The shot callers who put down scores also paid him tribute.. Unknown to him...We had wiretaps and plain clothes guys and undercovers from Vice, Narcotics, The DEA and FBI watching his entire operation...
He sat quietly in the Fishbowl until, Sissy, Duke, Angie and I walked in to greet him...He smiled at Sissy and Angie...
He didn't look so happy to see Duke and I...
"Jake...I'm Assistant District Attorney Keith Wallace and this is Detective Edwin"Duke" Baylor.." I said..
"I know Duke.." he said and frowned..
"This is Lt. Sissy Van Buren and Detective Angie Belton-Barlow.." I continued..
He smiled again...
"Those two I'd like to get to know.." he said..looking at hem both leeringly....
Angie showed him photos of French Robinson floating in the bay and his hand with the thumb missing..
"Ever seen him before?" she asked..
Jake smiled..
"Yeah...He's looked better." he said..
"That's your calling card Jake...People who cross you catch a bullet and their thumb is cut off....Am I right?" said Sissy...
"I don't know what you're talking about.." he said..
"I'm talking about murder....Now you know and I know that French Robinson is Big Uncle's main man in Detroit...Now either you killed him or one of your partners ,who you've sliced up this city's crime and vice killed him...but either way you're crazy...Big Uncle has a lot of muscle.."I said.
He smiled..
"Look...I didn't kill this guy....I had no reason to...I didn't even know he was in town...I'll take a lie detector test...And besides...I'm not afraid of Big Uncle...I got muscle too...I'm known in these streets.." he said..
"Let me explain something to you.."said Sissy...
"No let me explain something to you....Either you charge me with something or you let me go....I'm through talking..." he said..
"You can go...I'm not going to do you any favors...But if I was you Jake...I'd watch my back....Big Uncle doesn't care about your lawyers or your muscle.."said Sissy..
"You can go!' said Duke, giving him a baleful glare...
He smiled..
"Nice try guys...." he said and got up and walked out....
Sissy called Sirena and Hop into the Fishbowl...
"You call Boss Lady?" asked Sirena...
"Check the Alibi's of Jake "Greasy Thumb" Gaskins,"Baby" Dave Gillis, Don Dada and Frank White...as soon as Hazel gives you a time of death...starting tomorrow..." she said..
"We are on it Boss Lady.." said Hop...
"It's been a long night. Let's go home.." said Sissy..
We all arrived at "Copland"...It had been an eventful night...
Sissy's husband, Eddie C. The only civilian who knew of our headquarters was waiting for us with cold beers....
"My man!" said Duke, high fiving him...
"Just what I needed to top of my night.."said Tyriq...
"You said it.."said Jimmy, grabbing a beer and passing one to Sissy....
Who passed me a beer and said to me...
"Keith, we've been watching these four guys and their organizations for awhile now.....We bust up a brothel here, we take some low level drug crews down..we bust up a fencing operation, a few stick up crews here and there...but we never get at the heads of the snake..I have this strange feeling that we might just get a shot at taking all four of these guys and their organizations down.."said Sissy..
"That would be major..."I said
Sharon and Hop were kissing passionately in the corner...
"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm,ohhhh Tony..." she moaned in between kisses...
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh Sharon,I'm ready to take your clothes off." he moaned...
"'Don't say it....I'm ready to take them off.."she cooed.
Oblivious to us...
Carlotta, Sirena, Hazel and Angie were talking quietly in a corner....
I was wondering if maybe Sissy was right...if at last we had a chance to take down four major crime syndicates....
The coming days would prove whether we were right or not...
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