Here Today, Murdered Tomorrow

The entire office was walled off with crime scene tape...There had been a murder....The victim was 70 year old Investment Banker and Realtor, Phillip Harris...Suspected of insider trading and money laundering....

The people in his office suite were stunned...No one had heard a thing.....And no one had seen anyone go into his office that night...

I stood stunned ,looking at his dead body, sprawled over his desk... I'm Assistant District Attorney ,Keith Wallace...I prosecute homicides...and major crimes...

 Detectives Edwin "Duke " Baylor ..

"Wow...Somebody didn't want him talking to us..."said Duke..

And Tyriq Pile looked at the body....

"Yeah but who? Who even knew we were on to him?"  he asked...

Detective Sirena Pile said what we could all see..

"One shot to the forehead...probably killed him instantly and one to the chest ,right over the heart to make sure.." she said..

My wife, Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace pointed to the murder weapon..

"That is probably the murder weapon on the floor...but how could someone walk in here with a gun..There are metal detectors downstairs and outside this suite.? " she asked..

"They wouldn't....That gun was already in here." said Detective James "Jimmy"Barlow...

Detective Tony Hopkins used a pencil to lift the gun....

"It smells like bleach....We may not find any prints or DNA on this gun...." he said somberly...

He passed it to a uniformed officer to bag and tag...

CSI people were snapping photos and going over the office for prints and DNA...

Coroner and Forensic Investigator...Dr. Hazel Baylor looked at Sissy...

"Can I release the body?" she asked.

"Yes....Go ahead..." said Lt. Sissy Van Buren...

"Boss Lady...Somebody used a device to knock the hallway cameras off....To block their signal for 30 minutes..."said Carlotta...

''And for 30 minutes...There was no guard on duty at the desk.. The other guard went off shift and his relief was late..." said Tyriq...

''Yeah, but we did catch this person on the Lobby camera...

but it's and hour before our murder could have taken place...Look who it is.."said Jimmy...

"What? Martin Decker? That's impossible..." I said..

"I was with Martin Decker...from 6:00 pm until midnight...That has to be wrong..."said Carlotta...

"Or he has a double.." said Detective Angie Belton....

"Hazel says he's been dead for seven to eight hours which means he died around 11:30 or quarter to 12:00 last night.."said Sissy..

"That's impossible...I was with him..."said Carlotta...

"I know you were Chica, but who is THAT?" she asked, eyeing the monitor...

II-

48 HOURS BEFORE.... Martin Decker gets in a cab... The Cab Driver is listening to the radio..

"Hey is that Jay -Z, Reasonable Doubt?" he asked..

"Yeah....You know that?" asked the young cabbie..

"Classic Hip Hop...I was in college when that came out..."said Martin Decker..

"That's what's up..." said the cabbie..

Some time later...Martin Decker sat in a quiet bar....Some cool jazz was playing...He said to the bar tender..

"Now that's music man.... Is that Coltrane?" he asked..

"Yeah man...You know it..."said the bartender...

"I love Jazz...Shame all you hear on the radio is Hip Hop." he said.

"I know right?" said the Bartender...

"I'm here...what do you want Decker...you said it was important.."I said..

"Thank you for coming ADA Wallace...I have some information for you on some Insider trading and money laundering..." said Martin Decker..

''Who? Who is doing this?" I asked..

He opened a briefcase and showed me..documents that showed sales of purchases of three apartment complexes....

''He sold Three Apartment complexes...So What?" I said.

"Look at the dates of purchase  and then look at the dates of sale...ADA Wallace...you don't flip a property that fast unless you're laundering money and he's laundering a lot of money for someone you and your people might be interested in...A certain Detroit underworld figure named Samuel Woolery...known on the streets as
BIG UNCLE!" he said.

Now he had my attention....

"He's laundering money for Big Uncle? You can prove this?" I said.

''Ohh yeah...these properties are only the tip of the ice berg...I've got more..Documents that prove he and Big Uncle are involved in a lucrative Insider Trading deal...making millions between them....Look Big Uncle gets a cut of all of the gambling, prostitution...fencing, stick ups, and drug money to be made in Detroit , but he's not on the streets anymore..He lives outside Detroit in a gated community...He's on the boards of several businesses...He gives to area charities..He appears to be legit...He's taken his enterprises up a notch...I've got the goods that could make a great case.." said Martin Decker...

"You should be talking to the feds...Big Uncle has committed no crimes here in Philly..."I said. "I couldn't prosecute him..."I continued..

"Noooooooooooooooo..I Know that...I'm talking about Phillip Harris..you could get him!" said Martin Decker..

"Why? Why are you telling me all this?" I asked.

''Because Phillip Harris has something I want...Something I've wanted for a long time that he has kept from me...and I mean to have it." said Martin Decker.

''And what is that?" I asked.

"It's personal...Meet me tomorrow night at Northeast Airport..My helicopter is there..It'll take you to my condo outside of Camden, I'll turn over files to you that will prove my case..." he said.

"I can't meet you tomorrow...I have an important meeting with the District Attorney and The Mayor."I said.

''Well send someone..that foxy Lieutenant Sissy Van Buren.." he said, smiling..

III-

"I can't....I have a Comstat meeting tomorrow night and it's going to be good."said Sissy...

"You're kidding me right? You hate those meetings.." I said.

"I'm chairing it...The Deputy Of Operations is going to be there and we are going to be reviewing Lieutenant Traggs latest series of mis-steps..

"The losing a suspect and allowing the suspect to take his gun, his suit jacket and his pants...The sleeping with a crime victim during the trial, sleeping with an ADA during a trial..Arresting the wrong suspect, a celebrated author last year...Oh just a littany of things...He's finally going to get a taste of his own medicine..He's raked other lieutenants over the coals for years...I'm going to enjoy this.."said Sissy..

"Hmmm, there is only one other person I can ask.." I said.

"Okayyyyyyyyyyyyyy...but you owe me big time for this.."said my wife, Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace..

"Just get the files he has and come on back..It shouldn't take that long..."I said.

"Okay, but that's time you might have had ...With all of this..." she said..

Now I felt bad...but either way...If I had gone, it would be time I wouldn't have with Carlotta in bed...

 I pulled Carlotta to me and kissed her passionately for a few minutes....

"You know I hate to miss out on all this good stuff..."I said..

"Too bad papi... You've got me running this errand..." she said and smiled seductively...."Byeeeeeeee" she said,laughing...

 I smiled and watched her as she walked away....God she was smoking hot ,I thought to  myself..Nearly five years of marriage and I was still enamored with her....

IV-

 Carlotta met Martin Decker in a small bar near Northeast Airport....

Upon seeing her , he perked up and was all smiles..

"MY MY MY.....You don't look like ADA Wallace.." he joked..

"I'm his wife...Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace..." she said...

"My My Myyy....you are beautiful if you don't mind me saying so...ADA Wallace is a very lucky man, myyyyyyy gooodnesss..." he said...practically salivatng over Carlotta..

"You said you had some files for him?" asked Carlotta...

"Yes....I don't have them on me...They're at my condo in South Jersey..." he said..

"Your condo in South Jersey?" said Carlotta..

"Yes...We are going by Helicopter...My pilot should be here soon...I'll give you the files and bring you back..." he said..

"Why so cloak and dagger?" asked Carlotta.

"I love your thick accent....and you smell soooooo good.." he said..

"You didn't answer my question.." said Carlotta.

"This is of such a sensitive nature that I could be killed...This is no joke here.." he said.

"Oh...I did not realize..." said Carlotta...

"Let's have some drinks....while we wait for my man.." he said..."

''Oh Okay..." said Carlotta..

He ordered her a Citris Martini...

"Taste this...Tell me how you like it.." he said.

"Mmmmmm this is delicious.."said Carlotta ..."Ayeee Mios Dios, mmmmm I love this.." she said and smiled..She had two more....

 V-

 NOW!

The body of Phillip Harris was wheeled out of his office...

 ''Amazing that one day after Top gave you those files from Martin Decker....This guy turns up dead..."said Tyriq..

''Looks like Big Uncle got the news and cleaned up.."said Duke..

 ''I don't buy it...It doesn't play.." I said.

''I checked his next of kin...His wife , Marla Harris..She's in London and has been there for at least two weeks.."said Jimmy...

"She make any calls?" asked Sissy..

 ''A few...To him...Nobody else.."said Carlotta...

"This guy had no known connections to the underworld ...but we'll know better once we start following the money trail.."said Sirena..

"That gun isn't going to tell us anything..Neither will this visitor log...Several pages have been torn out.."said Hop..

''Somebody didn't want us to know who was here...Let's get back to headquarters and get on this.."said Sissy.

I was baffled...What had started out as a Money Laundering and Insider trading case that might involve an underworld suspect had now turned into a murder case....


(TO BE CONTINUED)