Suicide Alley

Friday Night , after work...I was at Josie's with my friends...

As usual, the joint was jumping...It didn't matter that there was no live entertainment tonight...It was still crowded and music as well as plenty of libations were flowing..

Chris and Chess, Roscoe Wallace and  Donald Smooth were at one table...

Newly married, Walter"Kool Kat" Jones and his wife Chelsea were at another table whispering sweet nothings to each other...

While I, Kevin Morris, entrepreneur...

Owner of Morris Communications by day and Morris Investigations by night or otherwise...Was sitting with my wife, Realtor extroidinaire, Sepia Morris

and her partner,

Bonita Foxworth and her husband,

Attorney Robert Foxworth..

Their other partners and my sometimes partners, Clerow and his wife, Cora beth sat a booth over from us , along with Owen Todd and his wife...

This was like old times...My original partners all hanging out in Josies..

Only thing missing was the musicians...Bone Hampton, Reed Nelson, Downtown Rob Brown and Dutch Van Buren and The Liquid Love Band...all out of town on gigs this week...

even Symphony Sam and the Josie's House Band was not playing tonight...What we had was three very good D.J.'s playing a variety of Old School R& B and Funk and Old School Hip Hop...A very Nice Mix..

Honey Brown, who was once the head waitress, Now the manager came over with drinks..

 "You guys must have had a good week..You're really knocking back the drinks tonight...It's not even wings or crab legs night." she said.,.

"My Attorneys did...every last one of them won in court...Chance Howard, Cole and Nelson East..I

 had an assist from his wife Beverly and her auntie, Olivia with one case...And your adopted daughter, Josie...

She fitted in so well as a para legal...and Liv's Husband, Donnie Ray...Hell of an investigator..Much like yourself, KevinYesss.. Great Week...."said Robert Foxworth..

''Sepia and I sold three houses this week"said Bonita..

"Yes and Clerow and Owen filled up those new Condos and Apartment complexes that just got finished a few months ago...The dough is just rolling in.." said Sepia...

"Well we are just rolling along with the recording studio,the Radio station and the Television station..People love the 24 hour music video streaming and the 24 hour music streaming..."I said..

"Had any juicy cases Kev?" asked Honey Brown..

"Nah, Now of days I handle cases for the lawyers, Gloria Brown and Kayla Bennett

and occassionally, Robert's guys....Soft cases....No street stuff like in the old days...Routine investigations...."I said..

"The kind of cases that bring him home at a decent hour.."said Sepia, smiling and putting her arms around me..

II-

From a distance, I saw Gus talking to a guy I knew...A guy I hadn't seen in a few months...A guy who sometimes worked for me...He did free lance reporting for me..Hell of a writer, but a damn alcoholic and a notorious gambler... Troy Lester

"Hey you guys...Excuse me a minute.." I said and walked over to the counter...

Troy Looked good tonight..Fresh hair cut, Nice smelling fragrance and a beautiful new suit....

He saw me and smiled..

"Heyyyy Kev.." he said..

"Hello Troy..."I said.. He owed me money...

He went in his wallet and peeled off some bills...$1500.00 and placed it in my shirt pocket....

"Bet you thought you was never gonna see that huh?" he said..

"Considering I loaned you that money three months ago, you're right.."I said..

"He paid his bar tab in full tonight, Imagine that?" said Gus...

"Yeah and I paid Chris Thompson the 2large I owed him from his floating crap game...I'm square with everybody.." he said..

"What did you do, hit the number?  Get lucky with the ponies?" I asked..

"Nahh,I don't play the numbers Kev...Or the Horses.." he said..

''Quit Lyin, you serious?" asked Gus..

"Yeah,I'm done with all that...I got somethin new that works out even better...but uh I plan to stop that soon too..It aint too nice, but what is huh?" he laughed...

"Come on Kev, introduce me to your lovely wife.." he said..

I walked him over to our table...

"Sepia, this is Troy Lester, he's a writer, when he's sober, which is rare, but when he is...He is one of the best free lance investigative journalist you ever want to meet." I said..

"Pleased to meet you."said Sepia..

"And these are our friends, Her business partner, They are realtors, Bonita Foxworth.."I said..

"Charmed"said Bonita..

"And her husband, Attorney Robert Foxworth.." I said..

"Hello Sir."said Robert...

''Kev, you run with some big dogs..." said Troy..

''What's Up Troy?" came the voice of the Big Man, Walter "Kool Kat " Jones..

At the sight of Kool Kat.. Troy Lester smiled uneasily...

"CAT!" he said..

He went in his pocket and doled out $1000.00....

"I didn't forget you.." he said and smiled..

Kool Kat smiled..

"Good to know.." he said and patted him on the back...

"Heard you got married...Is that your wife?" he asked,looking at Chelsea..

who smiled..

"I didn't catch her name.."said Troy..

"I didn't tell you...She didn't either...Quit while you're ahead." said Kool Kat, who returned to his table...

I laughed...

"You got any good stories for my magazine and news service...I could always  use something.."I said.

He looked serious..

"I might Kev, I'm gonna have to talk to you about that..." he said...

His phone rang...He was getting a text...He smiled..

"My ship may be coming in again...Listen Kev...This is my address, but not for long...This is my number...Give me your phone.."He said..

I gave him my phone and he put his number and address in...

Honey Brown was near by...He peeled off a few dollars and gave to her and slapped her on the behind...

''Owwwww, Heyyyyyy that doesn't come with the order!" she shouted to him..

''A Bottle of your best champaigne for Kevin and Walter's table...Keep the change." he said, ignoring her..

"Gotta run...Kevin, Mrs. Sepia ,Freinds, Nice meeting you.." he said...

Robert Foxworth laughed..

"He's quite a charactor Kevin.." he said..

"That he is.." I said.

III-

We drank and yucked it up at Josie's until closing and then we all started for home...

As Sepia and I were driving home...I got a text...It was from Troy Lester...

"KEVIN, PLEASE GET OVER HERE...I THINK I'M IN A BIT OF TROUBLE!"  read the text..

''What is it bae?" asked Sepia..

I showed her the text....

''Maybe I better drop you off at home first..."I said.

"No, not enough time...He might really need your help...I've got my .22 in my purse...I can handle myself.."she said..

I looked at her and smiled...

"You can indeed.." I said..

So I headed to Troy's apartment...

Unlike New York City...Philadelphia does sleep after two... I called Troy to let him know I was here and for him to let us in...I got no answer....I called again, Again No Answer...

Sepia and I went inside and rang his apartment doorbell...

Nothing...

"Let's look out back.."I said..

In hindsight...I'll forever wonder why I said that...

"KEVIN LOOK!!" said Sepia..

In the back driveway of his building lie Troy Lester...

An electrical cord was tied tight around his neck....The cord had hung him snapped his neck...His weight was so great, it had pulled the radiator it was tied to out of the window , smashing into his chest and breaking his entire rib cage...

The fall had broken both of his legs...

The only good thing about this was....He was dead before his body hit the street and before the radiator came smashing into him...

"Oh My God!!" said Sepia..

My wife, was a tough girl from the streets of Newark...This didn't freak her out...

I kneeled down and observed the body...

His breath smells like minty fresh mouthwash....He had been drinking all night, I reasoned..

I looked up and saw that a window was open....

I went to my car and went in the trunk...I put on my latex gloves ...Sepia and I walked up to his floor...She knew not to touch anything...

The door was wide open....His apartment was a mess...It looked as if it had been tossed, like somebody was looking for something...

I checked the shower...It was still hot...and wet, like he had just taken a shower...The suit he had been wearing that night was hanging up in the closet...Outside...Troy had on a different suit...

I peered at his computer which was on....There was a hastily written suicide note..

"I CAN'T GO ON LIVING LIKE THIS, SMILING IN THE PUBLIC EYE,WHILE IN MY LONELY LITTLE APARTMENT,I CRY...GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD!!"

"He killed himself? Just a few hours ago he seemed like the happiest man in the world. He paid everybody off he owed money to."said Sepia..

"That shower is still hot and it's wet...he just took a shower...he has on different clothes and his breath smells like mouthwash....That's more like a guy that was going to meet somebody.."I said.

"A woman!" said Sepia..

''Right!" I said.

There was an address book... Today's date had been torn out....

I had an empty zip drive with me...

I copied all of the files off of his computer and slipped the zip drive in my pocket...

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

Once in the street, I called The Police and the Medical Examiner's Office...I was hoping Sissy and or her detectives would show up...

No such luck tonight..

Lt. Tragg showed up...

"Morris , what are you doing here?" he asked..

"He texted me" I said and showed him the text message..

"KEVIN, PLEASE GET OVER HERE...I THINK I'M IN A BIT OF TROUBLE!"  read the text..

"I got here and this is how I found him, so I called you.."I said..wishing I hadn't.

"You know this guy huh?" asked Lt. Tragg..

"His name is Troy Lester...He worked for me from time to time, Investigative Journalist...He was drinking with me just hours ago at Josie's...He seemed in good spirits.Paid me and a couple of people the money he owed us,Laughing and buying folks drinks.." I said..

"So he was showing a lot of cash...Somebody could have seen him and followed him here.. Let me go up to his apartment.."said Lt. Tragg...

Several policemen were on the scene...Snapping photos, dusting for prints, DNA, forensic evidence..

Dr. Hazel Baylor arrived on the scene...She was one person I was glad to see...

She observed the body....

"He smells like Minty Fresh mouthwash..."she observed...

She checked his neck...

His neck was snapped....by this electrical cord tied around it...but there are signs that his neck had a good working over before hand.."she said..

She kept looking..

"Ouuu, both legs broken, ribs smashed...This radiator...but he was dead before his body hit the ground.."she said..

"Hazel come upstairs with me to his apartment.."I said..

Hazel, certainly no fool smiled at me..

"You've been up there already...You just didn't want Tragg to know right?" she said..

"You obviously know my husband..."laughed Sepia..

We both went up to the room where Lt. Tragg was looking around..

"Looks like this guy was a sloppy housekeeper.."said Lt. Tragg...

"This place was tossed.."I said. "Obviously somebody else was here, looking for something.."I said.

"I'm the real detective here...And what are you doing at my crime scene? Besides...This is a suicide..I found a hastily typed suicide on his computer." said Lt. Tragg..

''They're with me.."said Hazel quietly.. Who observed..

"This shower is still hot and wet....He had just taken a shower..and his breath smelled like Minty Fresh Mouthwash.."said Hazel...

"He'd been drinkin all night." said Tragg...

"Look, those clothes he has on out there in the street weren't the clothes he was wearing at Josies."I said.

"I can attest to that.."said Sepia..

''So what? He comes home, takes a shower, changes his clothes and cleans himself up.."said Lt. Tragg....

''And then commits suicide??Come on Lt. Tragg, that doesn't play..He was waiting for a woman...and then somebody else showed up...You saw his text, Get over here ,I think I'm in a bit of trouble...That was just thirty minutes before I arrived...I came here straight from Josies.."I said.

"Look, we try to duck a few punches around here...We got a suicide note, he tied the cord around the radiator and jumped...He hung himself...but his weight pulled the radiator out of the window and smashed him...That's it.."said Lt. Tragg..

'When I get him to the morgue we'll know for sure...We are not going to call it anything until MY INVESTIGATION is finished.."Hazel said to Lt. Tragg..

"I'M THE DETECTIVE HERE!" said Lt. Tragg...

"That's the rumor.." I said..

A couple of uniformed officers snickered...

Sepia and Hazel smiled..

Lt. Tragg stared icily at me..

"You get in my way in this..and I'll pull your P.I. License...Try me Morris.." he said..\

"I hope you have a good F.O.P. lawyer....I know several...I work for them and am friends with them...Take your pick...But you try to pull my license without just cause and I'll sue you personally and the Philadelphia Police Department...TRY ME!!"I said..

He stomped his foot...

"You heard what I said...Just stay out of my way...Dr. Baylor...I want your findings on this ASAP!" he said and stormed off.

Hazel shook her head..

''Sissy and the guys just cracked a triple murder,and two doubles..And they're involved in a major investigation now..So I have to deal with that asshole.." she said..

"You poor thing.."said Sepia..

"This wasn't a suicide, this was a murder and I aim to find out who did this...Damn Lt. Tragg!"I said..

 as Troy Lester's body was carted off..

(TO BE CONTINUED)