For Three Revolutions

Some hours later we all sat around our table in Monica and my duplex and enjoyed a nice hot dinner..

Shrimps, Sausages, onions and peppers and potatoes...

By "We" I meant, Detective Carlos Wallace of the Luna City Police Department,

 "Oh My God, Monica, this food is delicious...Didn't know you were such a great cook." said Carlos as he chowed down.."

"I'm full of surprises." said Monica...

"That she is.." I chimed in.."

Monica smiled at me wryly...

Our boss, Lieutenant Frankie Cotton Jr.. and my sister in law were also our guests...

''All this time I've been living here and I finally get invited to dinner.." he joked..

"Oh Frankie Hush, we've eaten up here many times." said his wife, my sister in law, Monique...

"Take out doesn't count....Your sister actually cooked.." laughed Lt. Cotton...

"Mo-Mo...you put your foot in this food...It is delicious.." said Detective Kylie White, also our first time guest..

"Thank you everybody.."said Monica ,who pulled out a bottle of wine and poured everybody a glass...

We were all full, but not too full to enjoy the wine...




II-

"So Detective Wallace, what are you doing here?" asked Lt. Cotton

''A year ago,Coins were stolen from the U.S. Mint on the Moon...Coins worth 9- 10 million dollars...The department was short a few detectives so they put me on the case....It took me a year, but I figured out it was an inside job, Masterminded by this man.." he said and showed us a photo of a young dashing young man...

"He's cute."said Kylie..

"He is attractive" said Monique..

"His name was Basil...Basil Wrath...A well known thief...He cracked safes, stole securities...the works, high line stuff...but he couldn't get close to that swag without help...Help from an inside source....Enter this young lady..."said Carlos, who showed us a glossy of an attractive and shapely young woman...

''Let me guess...She worked inside the mint..."I said.

"Not only worked inside, was the Chief Security officer...And almost immediately an Inspector with the Treasury Department began working with me..."said Carl..

"Let me guess..Inspector Rod Druss...U.S. Treasury Department? Former Philadelphia Police Detective" asked Monica..

Describing our visitor...

''How did you know? Oh that's right...You did that mind reading thing..."said Carl..

"You mean you knew about Monica and I'm just learning??" asked Kylie..

''Hey I just learned since I've been married to Monique and I knew Monica longer than all of you...Trained her ,raised her from a pup..Never had an inkling..."laughed Lt. Cotton.

"Carlos knew about me being a mutant the first day he met me...Nate and I's very first case...Nate and I weren't a couple yet...Hadn't even kissed yet..I guess Carlos is just a better Detective than all of yall"said Monica ,smiling..

"Did Nate know? That you were a mutant?"asked Lt. Cotton.

"Yeah, I told him our first day working together...I figured if we were going to be partners ,he should know.."said Monica..

"That means she liked him...She never told anybody about her powers the first day meeting them...She never trusted them enough, Partner, Boyfriend, Girlfriend...Nobody!!! She didn't reveal that until much later...My sister liked you before you even realized it Nate." said Monique,laughing...

"I did not!!!!...Not right away.."said Monica, blushing like crazy.... "So go on..you were saying about Druss.." said Monica, changing the subject..

 Monique smiled...She wasn't fooled...She knew her sister better than anyone..

 Lieutenant Cotton looked at me and smiled..He now remembered that Monica hand picked me out of a file of about 20 detectives for an interview for Homicide...and that she had talked about a Detective in Special Victims Unit who smiled at her and gave her coins for the vending machine...That was me..I had seen her several times and gave her coins so she could get something from the vending machine..It was my way of making small conversation with her...It all made sense now..

I blushed like crazy...I wished I had known...I'd of played it a lot cooler than I did...

 Kylie playfully punched me on the shoulder...

"You had her at hello Nate." she laughed.."I always knew it." she said..

 "Okay, stop making Mo-Mo Blush....I was crazy about her the first time I laid eyes on her and I didn't try to hide it...She was better at hiding her feelings.."I said.."Continue Carlos."  I said..

Monica sent me a telepathic message...

"I LOVE YOU!"

I smiled at her...

 Carlos continued..."Rod Druss was a pain in the ass...He tried to hijack my investigation and it seemed like when he was around...The closer I got to Wrath and his accomplice, Her name was Susan, Susan Que..by the way...The farther away they and the case got from me...He just caused a lot of problems when he was around...Then Avril Davis got involved..He was an Insurance Investigator...He used to be on the job, but he got himself in trouble, did a stint in Magnetic Prison...Got out and got a P.I.'s license and went to work for an insurance company...The company that had those coins insured..  Believe it not...He and I worked well together..He was a hell of an investigator..." said Carl..

''So you three were working together?" I asked.

"More like us two...He didn't trust Rod Druss, Didn't like him much and the feeling was mutual..But I got closer to the investigation with Davis than Druss...So we kept Druss out of the loop...He didn't too much like that.." said Carlos.

"Druss is here...In Philly..."I said.

Carl sighed...

''Damn it..He'll just make things worse.." said Carlos.

"When is the last time you saw Avril Davis?" asked Monica..

''A week ago...He told me that he had located the coins through a source...He said he had the information on two zip drives...He had mailed them both here..."said Carlos..

"Why here?" asked Lt. Cotton...

"He had spent some time here...He had a safe deposit box here...."said Carl...

''We found one Zip Drive with him in his apartment...Rod

Druss wanted it...We didn't give it to him...we told him all we found was a medicine bottle with his prints on it.."I said..

"He didn't believe us.."said Monica.

"I had it locked in my safe at my job...but I thought it would be safer with me when I came home.."said Lt.Cotton, who passed it to him...

Monica passed him our Laptop..

''You can watch it on here.." she said..

"Thanks.."said Carl...

"That's Avril....His hunch was right...The thieves buried those coins at the bottom of the Moon River...and not in Luna City, like we thought..." said Carl...

"So what about Basil and his associate Susan...You think he had evidence on them?" asked Kylie..

"Uhhh doesn't matter...I was building a case on both of them....but unfortunately they've been judged by a higher court.." said Carlos..

"Meaning they're in custody?" I asked..

"Meaning they're both dead!  Am I right Carlos?" asked Monica..

He sighed..

"Yeah,unfortunately...Avril and I found them both in a Luna City apartment complex...They had been shot to death...but not before they'd been tortured and beaten, every finger broken...burned with hot cigarettes..and then finally shot to death with a .25 caliber at close range.." said Carl...

''We took two .25 caliber shells out of Avril's head..." said Monique.

"Which tells me someone else is involved in this..I don't know who...but he's killed everybody that knows where those coins are...and they were all shot with a .25 caliber..."said Carlos.."Luckily, I have an informant..Her name is Mary...Mary Rosen...She works at the Mint...She got suspicious ,of Susan Que early on and she took photos of her..Photos of her taking photos of parts of the mint and photos with the thief we knew as Basil Wrath......Avril used her as a conduit...That's how I knew where he was staying and where his safe deposit box is here...I've called her several times since I've been here...She hasn't returned my calls.." said Carlos.

''And now you know.."said Lt. Cotton...

"But the killer doesn't know that.." said Carl.

"Do you know where Avril's Safe Deposit box is?" I asked..

"I do...It's not in his name...Thanks to Mary Rosen..I know where to find it."said Carl..

"No time is better than the present to get up on that Safe deposit box...Let's check it out..."said Monica..

''Where are you staying?"I asked..

"I just got in about an hour before I ran into you guys...I haven't signed into a hotel yet...I had taken a cab to Avril's apartment...When I saw the crime scene tape...I knew he was dead."said Carlos..

"You can stay with us...We have an extra room.."said Monica..

"You sure?"I don't want to put you out..." he said..

''Nonsense...You're our friend.." I said.

"Sugar Baby and I will wash your dishes and clean up..."said Lt. Cotton...

"Thanks Brother in law.." said Monica, laughing.

III-

The four of us, Monica, Kylie, Carl and I raced across the city...

to the bank where the safe deposit box belonging to Avril Davis was....

When we got there we found to our surprise..

"You're the second group of people to come by here tonight...You say you're police..."said the Manager..

"I'm detective Nate Nellis...Homicide.."I said and produced my badge..

"I'm Detective Monica Nellis, Homicide.."said Monica..\

"I'm Detective Kylie White, Homicide."said Kylie..

"And I'm Detective Carlos Wallace, Luna City Police..."said Carl...

"Ohhh my...The Other fellow was from the Federal Government...A Treasury Agent.....I'm afraid he's opened the Safe Deposit box and taken it's contents...A Zip Drive..." said the Manager..

''Well there goes our case." I said.

"Not really...He only has half of what he's looking for..Not the other half.."said Monica..

"That's right...He wants to crack this case and take all of the credit for himself...And I've got a good mind to just let him do it..." said Carl..

''But you hate him....and you don't want him to one up you right?  You'd like our help huh? Men and their egos.."laughed Monica..

"You and that mind reading thing...Nate how do you stand it?" laughed Carl...

"I fill my mind with X rated thoughts..."I joked..

Monica hugged me...

"He loves me.." she said simply...

IV-

The Next Morning....Lieutenant Cotton was livid...

''Somebody waltzed in here and beat my safe....Can you believe that? Who breaks into a Lieutenant of Homicide's office?? Huh??" he said..

I imagine, whoever ,waltzed in here in between shifts..Around 4:00 am...The night shift detectives all left an hour early...There was maybe two or three uniforms on duty....They may have been out of the office, who knows...and this person jimmied the lock to the door and beat the safe...

Monica whispered to us...

"You know it was the fed...He never believed we didn't possess that zip drive...He went in your safe looking for it.."she said..

"I'm glad I had the presence of mind to remove it.." said Lt. Cotton..

"Lieutenant...I could sure use Nate and Monica and possibly Kylie's help on this case...Could you spare them for a few days?" asked Carl..

"You mean on the moon?  "asked Lt. Cotton... He looked around the squad room..

"I have other detectives...but these three are my very best...." he said, then sighed..

"But Inspector Druss is too overbearing...He wants to crack this case and take all of the credit...Like another fed I know.....Go ahead...I'll write the paperwork up...They're on Temporary loan to you..For three revolutions tops.."said Lt. Cotton.

 "Ohhhhhhhhh YAYYYY! We get to go to the moon!" said Monica..

"Yessssssss, ooou girl and I just bought some new outfits..."said Kylie..

"What about Wally?" asked Monica..

''He's out in Vegas, For that Police Convention....I need a vacation too!"said Kylie..

I just smiled..

Within hours...The four of us were on the shuttle ,headed towards the space port...

(TO BE CONTINUED)