Fatal Collections

 PRELUDE :CHINATOWN AT NIGHT-

Eddie Lee's joint...One of the best restaurants in the city....but on top of it...

A Semi Legal Casino where many games are played. And  may players play!

All run by the smooth Eddie Lee, an astute businessman, quasi gangster, who keeps everything legal and quiet...

"I call...That just about taps me out."said one player.. Chris Jenkins... a businessman..."I couldn't get nothin going tonight." said Chris , who called in his marker and forked over 8 large to the house..

"Rough Night tonight huh Chris?" said Eddie Lee.

"Mannnnnn, I couldn't get nothin goin tonight." said Chris... I dropped eight large in here and I owe out my neck to someone else..and with Christmas comin up and me being engaged and all..Uhhh man..but hey you don't want to hear about my troubles." sighed Chris Jenkins..

"Nah, I don't....Have a good night Chris.." said Eddie Lee, smiling and patting him on the back.

Chris stopped by his office a little while later. There was a knock on his door.

'Who could this be, at this time of night.?" He wondered and then he opened the door.. 

"YOU!!!" he said.

"That anyway to greet an old friend Chris?" came the voice of Elon Gentry, A Gambler from Atlantic City , who was interested in brancing out into business.

"You're not an old friend...What do you want?" asked Chris.

''What do you think I want? You know I was in Eddie Lee's joint tonight...I couldn't get your attention..It was packed in there..so I followed you...I see you lost big tonight. 8 large....You still owe me 10 large from two weeks ago...You told me you didn't have it...Yet you threw down 8 Large tonight..I don't like being lied to." said Elon Gentry.

Chris opened a safe and gave him 5Large...

"That's all I got... I'm good for it.. I'll give you the rest next week..."said Chris..

''Don't look at me like that...It's not like I asked you for that pretty little fiance of yours....I'm willing to take a loss here, to cut my losses." said Elon Gentry..

Who pulled out a gun and fired four times, killing a surprised Chris Jenkins instantly...He fell backwards and knocked his waste basket over...

II-

COURTROOM C- 11:30 AM, THE NEXT MORNING!

''Zoey Girl, you've got a winner..Your intern is the truth...She was a shark in those proceedings."laughed Olivia.

"Yes, but you've got to learn to stop arguing with the Judges so much...When the Judges say be silent..just be silent, you'll get a chance to talk again." said Zoey.

"I'm sorry, it's just that that judge was so obviously biased  and I just felt I had to say something, " said Khadijah Barnes, Zoey's intern, who had just  successfully  tried her first case.

"You remind me of me when I was first starting out...but it's no fun being held in contempt and sent to the Cooler for the night..Auntay and I have had that experience..It's best to do as Zoey says and cool it."said Beverly.

"I had to bail both of them out...and defend them when they appealed later on...We won but that didn't make them favorites of that judge.. It's all a moot point now..That Judge later got disbarred in another unrelated matter..He was a known racist and sexist judge."said Nelson..

"You'll be alright...just don't lose your cool." said Josie.

"Yeah, don't lose your cool..Other than that...You did good."said Bresha.

"Coming from you guys, that's a compliment..." said Khadijah Barnes..

"Where are we eating today ladies and gents?" I asked.

"Is Sam Mother's Alright? he's got his Open Hot Roast Beef Special up today?" said Olivia.

"Do you go on his website Olivia...You always know the specials."joked Nelson ,who didn't think Sam had a website..

"She does..and yes, he has a website and is on UBER and DOORDASH...Sam is quite modern."said Beverly.

"His employees keep him modern...Just like Honey Brown keeps Gus up to date at Josie's..."laughed Josie.

''Sam Mothers is fine today."said Bresha.

''Sam's it is.." I said.

We all walked over to Sam Mother's Diner...

We all ordered Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches with String Beans and Mashed Potatos

"Ummm I'm glad you told me about this Liv...I wasn't going to come here...Yvette gave me a building pass so I can eat in their building now.." said Zoey.

"Ummm this is the best Hot Roast Beef sandwich bar none."said Khadijah.

"I think so too...Ummmm this is delish."said Olivia.

"Ummmmmmmmm, I've always been partial to the Hot Roast Beef sandwich they serve here..I know Curley's makes a good one...but Sam Mother's tops that...What do you think?" I asked..

"I don't know...I haven't had Curley's. But you're right about this one...It is delish!!" said Olivia.

"Ummmmmm this is good...I can't imagine anybody topping this..ummmmmmm.." said Nelson..as he wiped the gravy off his fingers.

''Don't lick your fingers..." said Beverly passing him a napkin and wiping his mouth and smiling.

Josie smiled as she and her husband Paris, who had joined us..

enjoyed their Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches and listened to me.

"Ummmmmmmmm, yes...Well you should try Curley's and then compare...They're both good.." I said, really enjoying my food.

"Well Curleys has a really good Corn Beef Special." said Bresha.. " I had it once..when I was in there alone, around the time I first started interning for you guys." said Bresha.

"Ouuuu girl, so did I.." said Khadijah...

"Ummmmm, Okay, now, the Corn Beef Special???... The edge goes to Curley's Bar...but I've always been partial to the Hot Roast Beef Sandwich served in here. Sam Mother's " I  said  as  I chowed down.

A sinister looking white man in an expensive suit and very expensive shoes sat at another table.. Everything about him said gangster, made man...connected... He stared at Khadijah and motioned for her to come over to his table.

She had a look of pure dread and we all noticed it..

''Excuse me guys...uh I'll be right back." she said and got up and walked over to him...

"Well my little Chickadee, when do I get my next payment....$1000.00 dollars only goes so far.?" asked Elon Gentry...

"You've cleaned me out....That last payment kept me from making a deposit on my apartment.. I'm living in the spare room of Mrs. Easter , the attorney I'm interning with...I'm not making that kind of money yet...Just barely enough to meet my expenses...You've got to wait, wait until I get a job with a firm...I've got my resume out." explained Khadijah...

"I don't want to hear it." said Elon Gentry... You either get me my money and soon or your Sponser over there and Olivia Bennett-Alexander and her attorneys are going to find out what you used to do for a living before you became a lawyer..They are going to discover how you paid for your college and law school...without owing any student loans... You used to go for what a grand a night huh?  Imagine if they were to find out that you made your living staring at the ceiling huh?" he asked.

"That was a long time ago...I've turned my life around , I'm far from that life now!" said Khadijah..

"Not that far.....Do what you do best darlin...but I want my money by the end of this month...Ya dig?

I know you do...Of course you do..."said Elon..

"You rotten son of a bitch..." said Kahadijah who went to slap him....

He grabbed her hand...."Now Now....We don't want a scene in here do we?" said Elon..

"You're hurting me...let me go.." said Khadijah...

"Get me my money."said Elon.

"You heard the lady! LET HER GO!" I said....

He smiled....but he let her go...He tossed some dollars on the table and stood up, not blinking...

"But of course Mr. Alexander....But of course." he said and laughed and walked  out of the diner.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Nothing....Nothing...Nothing I uh can't handle..." said Khadijah as she returned to our table.

''Who was that guy Khadijah? he had Gangster written all over him." said Beverly.

"He's nobody, just somebody I uh used to know back in Atlantic City..." said Khadijah...

"He seems like a pretty rough customer."said Josie.

"Yeah he did..Why did he grab you like that?" asked Bresha.

"Forget about him..he's nobody....I'm still celebrating my win in court today...My Internship is almost over huh? And I'll be out of your spare room soon huh Ms. Zoey?" said Khadijah..

"You can stay as long as you need to." said Zoey.... "There is no rush." she assured her.

"Hmmmmm something about that guy bothers me."said Olivia.

"I know what you mean Liv..."said Nelson..

"Yeah, me too!" said Paris.

II-

In a downtown office-

"His name is Christopher Jenkins, He's an area businessman, a real estate guy...He owns several west side properties and a few in Montgomery County...." said a uniformed policeman... 

''Well Cause of death is obvious ....Four Gunshot wounds to the chest at close range..."said Dr. Hazel Baylor, Deputy Coroner...

"Looks like he was robbed too.. His safe is open and empty...."said Dr. Marcy Martin, Deputy Coroner

Lt. Tragg and four uniformed officers walked in and took a look at the corpse....

His blood was splashed on the wall...

"What have we got here?" he asked.

"His name is Christopher Jenkins, a local businessman,  real estate guy...He owns several west side properties and a few in Montgomery County...."said a CSI guy...

"He was shot four times in the chest with a .44 caliber.. Here are the recovered shells." said Hazel passing them to him in a plastic bag....

"It looks like he was robbed...His safe is open and it's empty..." said Dr. Marcy Martin..

"We dusted the safe for prints...Only his are on them....This safe wasn't beat...he opened it." said one of the CSI men..

"So maybe he knew his killer....There is no sign of breaking and entering... He let his killer in and the killer pulled a gun on him, forced him to open that safe and then shot him and took the swag."said Lt. Tragg...."How long has he been dead???..It looks like rigor is setting in."said Lt. Tragg.

"Looks like he died around midnight...so I'll say he's been dead about 12 hours....."said Dr. Hazel Baylor.

''What was he doing up here at midnight?"asked Lt. Tragg...

No one said a word... After all as he would tell you...He was the detective....

"Can we wrap him up now?" asked Marcy.

"If you guys have dusted for prints and gotten your DNA samples, yeah....Let's get him out of here."said Lt. Tragg.

They wrapped him up and moved him out of the room as other people on the floor watched..

"Guys, interview everybody on this floor, this building if necessary, I want to know everything about this guy....Search all of the dumpsters...Maybe we'll get lucky and find a murder weapon...Search the sewers too..Our doer might have discarded the gun in the sewer." said Lt. Tragg.

 

"You know Hazel...He actually sounds like a detective." whispered Marcy...

"Hope Springs Eternal." said Hazel as both women snickered.

That afternoon at home...

That afternoon, I came in... Olivia was dressed for bed and on her laptop....

"Hey baby...I was doing a little digging into Khadijah's male friend...he's A gambler, big time gambler from Atlantic City...His name is Elon Gentry, he's also a juice man...Loan shark...He's trying to get into the Real Estate Business...He's looking for a launderer.." I said. He did five years in New Jersey State Prison for  Bunco and Three years in Federal Prison , Allenwood for Income Tax and Wire fraud.. He's quite a player." I said.  'Question is what would our girl Khadijah be doing with him?" I asked.

"I may have the answer for you...I looked her up..

KHADIJAH MARIE BARNES

born in Atlantic City , New Jersey.

An only child, raised by a single mother..

Graduated from Atlantic City High School.. Atlantic City, New Jersey.

One arrest as juvenile, soliciting....Charges dropped.

Associates Degree- Atlantic City County Community College- Pre Law, Administration of Justice,

Trial Advocacy...

B.A.  -Montclair State University - Pre Law, Administration of Justice, Trial Advocacy, History

Arrest for soliciting- Charges dismissed.

Employed as Para-legal at Chestnut and Hodges, Attorneys at Law.

J.D.- Rutgers University School of Law

Fluent in Spanish & French

Passed the Bar in New Jersey/Pennsylvania/New York,/Deleware

Moved to Camden, New Jersey

Interned for Judge Emmanuel Stevens

Moved to Philadelphia, PA.

Interning for Attorney Zoey Easter.

''She has two arrests for prostitution.. In both cases, the charges were dismissed...Lack of evidence.. I'm guessing nobody was willing to come forward and these must have been big wigs." I said.

"That would explain how she went to Community College, , relatively inexpensive, and Montclair State University and Rutgers Law School and has no student loans to pay back...If she was a pro...she was a high priced one..She's a very pretty girl...She's a nice girl...I don't condone what she did...but I imagine she did what she felt she had to do to get where she is today...She is an attorney...I guess sometimes good grades aren't enough." sighed Olivia.

"I'm guessing our friend knew her from back in the day and he's blackmailing her..." I said..

Olivia closed her laptop up...

"Ummmmmmmmm enough talk about her...I want to spend the rest of the night staring into your eyes..."whispered Olivia..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuu, I like  that idea." I said..

"Ummmmmmmmmmmm I really like that." I said..

"I know you dooooooo, ummmmmm I like it too....My goodness...you are sooo big, soooo hard...Ouuuuuuuw" moaned Olivia.. "Slip my panties to the side." she begged me..

"Nahhhhhhh, I'm taking em off baby!" I whispered to her.

I slipped her panties down and off...

"It takes you no time to get your clothes off, does it?" she asked me, laughing..

"Has it ever?" I said.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU DONNIE RAY!! LOOK AT YOUUUU! OUUUUUUUUUUU!" she said.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, look at you.." I said..

I lifted her up and entered her slowly...She was so soft, so wet, smelled so good... I just loved the hell out of Olivia.and she loved me too!

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuu Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Ohhhhhhhhhhh my godddddd Donnie Ray." she cooed./

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW LAWWWWD! I was waiting all day.." I said.

"So was I...So was I..." she said.

I took her in our bathroom and placed her on the sink...

I spread her legs wide open and entered her again...She kissed me so slowly and so softly, I nearly came...

We made it to the bedroom...

where Olivia drowned me with soft ,slow kisses and moved up and down on me, driving me mad...

Finally, we made it to the bed...

and I mounted her....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuu Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Ohhhhhhhhhhh my godddddd Donnie Ray." she cooed.

"Baby girl, baby girl, baby girrrrrrrrrl.."I moaned.

For the next EIGHT TO NINE HOURS...We made sweet ,sweet love...

We finished up with Olivia lying comfortably on my chest...breathing heavily....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu you are something else Mr. Alexander." she said.

"So are you Mrs. Alexander." I said as I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

III-

Early Morning... I looked out the window.. I saw all of our friends and neighbors, Jasmine and Dabnis Coley, Cousin Kayla and Ray, Jessica and Chip, Yvette , Keith, Bee Bee, Sofia,Kahlil, Jade, Virginia, Tony, Paris, Rockland and today, even Jetty taking their daily sojourn two blocks away to the commuter train...

The Commuter Train 

The Commuter train that would transport all of them to the building near Penns Landing where all but Paris and Rockland worked.. Jetty now worked in that building too.. The Legal Ethics Board had moved there... So the three days a week he worked.. He was there.

Meanwhile at our place...We were having breakfast for our staff as usual..

"I'm glad you guys are all here this morning...It was kind of lonely with you all in court everyday,." said Alfreda.

We had Pancakes, Waffles, Eggs to Order, Hash Brown, Sausages

"It's good to eat a nice home cooked breakfast." I said.

" Come on gang, dig in..there are no guests here, we are all family.."said Olivia. as everyone filed in the kitchen and helped themselves to  Pancakes, Waffles, Eggs to Order, Hash Brown, Sausages.

"Smells good ." said Beverly..

"Yesssssss." said Nelson..

"How'd you sleep last night?" Josie asked Bresha..

"Never better... It was nice, having a little extra sleep this morning." said Bresha.

"I'm worried about Khadijah... She's done a great job of turning her life around...She has a real good chance of making something out of herself.. I don't care about her past.." said Olivia.

"I've located that guy's hotel...I'm going to pay him a visit... I'm going to impress upon him to cease and desist.." I said.

"Donnie Ray, maybe you shouldn't...After all.. Khadijah is not our concern.." said Olivia.

"Liv, I used to be a cop... I've dealt with his kind before.." I said.

AT THE PHILADELPHIA  STOCK EXCHANGE-

Elon Gentry walks into one of the offices...

He looks around...He smiles ,spotting a familliar face.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??" asked an astonished young Black woman...

"Is that anyway for you to greet an old friend?" he laughed.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT? I'LL DARE YOU COME TO MY PLACE OF BUSINESS!" said Christine Barrett, now known as Angel Peterson...

''So you are Angel Peterson now huh?  And you've got yourself a sweet gig working at the Philadelphia Securities Exchange... huh?  Wow!  Wonder what your employers would think if they knew..Like I know that your real name is Christine Barrett and that there is a warrant for your arrest in Atlantic City on embezzlement charges..Hmmmmmmmm, How much did you make off with, 50K, I believe... I want 25K....by next Friday...Here is my card...I'm staying in this hotel..Got it?   if you're a minute late.. I'll be calling the District Attorney in A.C. and The State Police.. They'd love to know where you are..Heh Heh heh!!!!"

"You Bastard, I'll bring you the money in a few hours....and after that...I don't want to see or hear from you ever again.." said Christine Barrett AKA Angel Peterson.

IV-

Beverly and I pulled up in front of the Doubletree Hotel...

I instructed her to drive over to a side street..

"You should let me come with you....As an Attorney, I could serve as an intimidation factor." said Beverly.

"Come on Shortcake.. You're street smart , you know a guy like this could care less about an attorney..I might have to employ some uh quasi -legal methods to get my point across, which you shouldn't be privy to..." I said.

" That's why Auntay had me tag along with you,,She feared you might resort to something like that." smiled Beverly..

"You're not going to stay in this car are you?" I asked, smiling.

"Nope!" said Beverly...

Realizing it was a battle I couldn't win, I relented..

''Okay, but stay behind me." I said.

As we got out of the car we saw...

Khadijah Barnes entering the hotel..

We slipped in the back and took the service elevator to the floor Elon Gentry was on..

Someone knocked on the door...

''Welllllll you got here faster than I expected."laughed Elon Gentry. His mouth opened wide..

"Wait a minute...You don't want to do that...Wait a minute..Hold up now!" he said. His last words on Eartn.

The gun fired not once but twice.. The first shot went right between his eyes., breaking the base of his nose and exiting out of the back of his head, killing him instantly...

The second shot hit him center mast in the chest...

At Any rate..He was dead by the time he hit the ground...He fell over backward...

Khadijah gasped.. She heard the shots.. She peered into Elon's room.. She saw his lifeless body lying face up with a huge hole in his head..His lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling..in a pool of blood!!!

"OH MY GOD!" she gasped and ran towards the backstairs..

Beverly and I saw him lying on the floor in a pool of blood..

"OH MY GOD!! HE'S BEEN SHOT!" exclaimed Beverly..

''Come on Beverly, let's get out of here." I said and we exited back into the service elevator...

We exited the back of the building...Away from the street cameras... I was glad I had Beverly park in the back alley..

Beverly was one of the best women drivers I had ever seen... She backed that SUV out of that alley and hit every back road and side street until we got out of Center City..

I the hard as nails former Homicide Cop was actually shaken and grateful that Beverly was driving.. That was a close call.

We arrived home safely...

Olivia was up waiting for us when we returned.

"I was so worried about both of you. Well , did you guys see him? "asked Olivia.

''Well uh yeah...we uh saw him..but uh somebody else saw him first." I said  shrugging.

''Somebody else? Come Again." asked a puzzled Olivia.

"They killed him Liv.. He's dead" I said.

"Yup!" said Beverly.

(TO BE CONTINUED)