Cold Feet

PROLOUGE :The AQUADOME HOTEL- 25th Floor...

The Office of Andre Davis, Businessman...

"Awwwwwww youse a baller and a shot caller Andre.....You didn't bother to tell me that yall had moved to this building, like you didn't think I'd find out...huh?" laughed  Joey Amin...

"Nobody was trying to hide anything from you Joey....We had plans to move in here a month ago..."said Andre Davis.

"Bullshit....You tried to hide it from me...I went to your old office, the place was locked up the lights were off and there was no notice of where you'd gone...but I get good information from the streets..I found you....For that little stunt ,I ought to up my ante double the 50 large you owe me..but I'm gonna let you slide..I get enough money from my uh other clients...heh heh heh."laughed Joey Amin.

"You mean other people you blackmail..?.Here is the money...take it and go."said Andre Davis,opening up a briefcase filled to the brim with money..

''Don't get smart...I've got a list of the account you skim from, The Southeastern Pennsylvania Construction Workers Pension Fund. .....You're a millionaire...Skimming money from that account and putting that money in the Caymen Islands in an assortment of accounts...You're pretty slick...Slicker than most...And As I long as I have that...I own you....Whenever I need money...you will supply it..Don't forget it!Heh Heh Heh...By the way....when are you gonna get some carpets in here??  These bare floors aint hittin it.HAHAHAHAHAHA!"laughed Amin Joseph laughing..

He didn't hear the young man who walked in behind him...

Never saw the gun with a silencer , that fired five shots into the back of his head and back, killing him instantly.....

"Good Work Chino....I got some guys coming in here to clean his blood and brain matter off the floor and the walls...They'll help you wrap his body up and take it down the back elevator..."said Andre Davis, who walked over to the corpse and savagely kicked it so hard, he cracked a rib....

"I'm just sorry he aint alive to feel it...Rat Bastard....He won't Blackmail anybody else...That's for damn sure... Get him outta here." said Andre Davis..

Chino and four guys wrapped the body up and took it down the back stairs and put it in the trunk of his rental car... They weighted it down and took it out on the Schuylkill River and dropped him right in the middle..

 No one was ever going to hear from Joey Amin, ever again!!!!

TWO WEEKS LATER-

We were all eating breakfast at Sam Mother's Diner...By 'We" I meant me, Kevin Morris, CEO of Morris Communications and Investigations...A Communications Conglomerate and in the sub-basement beneath our building the headquarters of my Privat Detective Agency, where my Operatives and properly vetted Administrative Assistants all worked for me also..

"I haven't been in here in weeks . So glad I came today...The food is good and it smells like good food." I said.

My wife Sepia, a realtor was entertaining her friend from Newark, New Jersey, who had recently moved to Philadelphia and was about to take the Bar soon...She had attended Middleton Law School in Bayside. She had been living in Camden at the time and had just recently moved to Philadelphia. Sepia, a Realtor and Attorney now was looking for a house for her.

''Ashley, I'm so glad to see you after all these years."said Sepia.

Her friend Ashley Nicole Johnson could've passed for her sister if she had one.

"I haven't seen you since I won Ms. Panties....and how long ago was that?" said Ashley.

"You won Ms. Panties too?" asked Bonnie Shay, my good friend and sometimes associate.. Bonnie was an Attorney, former New York Public Defender and Assistant District Attorney, who was now an Insurance Investigator..

"I won it in 2008 and she won it the next year in 2009.." said Sepia.

"We were crazy then....Sepia could win it now...She's still got the body...but she's all married and all and has had a baby.."laughed Ashley Nicole Johnson..

"You could win it again too!  You're not married." I said.

"I'm engaged, I'll be married soon...which is the reason I'm here...Oh here comes our food."said Ashley..

Hot Buttermilk Biscuits with Gravy

Shrimp and Grits

Scrapple

And Hot Coffee..

"Ummmmmm this is some good eating and my daddy would say.."said Bonnie.

"Ouuuuuuu Yess...And Ashley, until you get settled..You can stay with us...We have a spare room.."said Sepia..

"Awwwwwww thanks girrrrl...now you two keep the noise down." giggled Ashley...

She had stayed with us the night before... I wasn't sure if she was joking or if she actually heard Sepia and I making love...

I smiled...My smiled was soon turned to a frown.. Lt. Tragg walked in.. He couldn't just go to the counter and order his food...He had to come over to our table and bother us..

"Morris....here with the wifey eh....This your sister in law?" he asked, inquiring about Ashley...

"No she's a friend of my wife's from North Jersey...." I said.

"Ohhhhh, they could pass for twins...Sisters at best....Where is your daughter?" he asked.

''She's at day care." I said.

"Cute little girl....It's good she takes after your wife and not you..Heh heh heh.." he said snidely...

"That's not very nice... You know, this is the fourth time you've said that and it wasn't funny any of those times." said Sepia..

"That's okay Sepia... Imagine if the baby resembled HIM!" said Ashley looking at Lt. Tragg and smirking..

The entire table erupted in loud laughter...

Thin skinned Lt. Tragg could not take being the butt of the joke.. He angrilly stormed off and headed to the counter.

Sepia howled with laughter and high fived her girlfriend..

"Heyyyyyyyy I hate people who insult you and try to hide it behind a joke...They can dish it out, but they can't take it!" said Ashley...

"Ouuuuuuu Sepia, I like her." said Bonnie...

"Thank you...He's always trying to trigger someone to anger...Most of my friends and associates don't eat here because of him...and usually, even if you ignore him, he stands around and stares at you while you eat."I said.

"Nah, that's harrassment...I don't put up with that....I just graduated from Law School...I'm about to take the Bar..I wouldn't put up with that...Oh and congratulations Sepia..I heard you just graduated from Law School too and passed the bar...Realtor and Attorney , go ahead girl."laughed Ashley...We come a long way from the high rises in Jersey City and Newark huh?" said Ashley..

"Yes indeed!"laughed Sepia.

III-

Later that afternoon at Sepia and I's home..We had just finished dinner...

Sepia was washing the dishes and playing with Kimmy...

'So Kevin..Let me tell you why I'm here...I want to hire you..."said Ashley...'As I told you...I'm to be married soon....My fiance has all but vanished...I haven't seen or heard from him in three weeks...That's not like him...That's not like  him at all..I need you to find him and find out what's up with him...did he get cold feet or what?" asked a now very serious and concerned Ashley Nicole.

"Cold Feet?  Well first off, what is his name...What does he do for a living?" I asked.

"His name is Joseph Amin...He's in Investment Securities...He works for a Company called Abbott Investments...I've called there several times and no one has ever answered...This is a photo of him..

"He was a Newark Area Businessman...When I first met him, He was working for a Group called Divestment Securities.. He always flashed a lot of cash...drove a different car everytime I saw him...I did find it strange that he never talked about any family....He did mention once that he grew up in a Foster home.. but I really don't  know much about his past life."said Ashley Nicole

''And you still got engaged to him?" asked Sepia..."You don't know anything about him.." she added.

"He was good to me.. He wined and dined me for two and a half years...He paid for my law school....All three years of it..He took me on some great trips...England, France, Italy, Spain, Japan...It was kind of a whirlwind romance...And on the night I graduated from law school..He took me to Bottom of the C. here in Philly...We had a Steak and Turf meal that was out of this world...That's when he put the ring on my finger and asked me to marry him...What could I say after all of that?" said Ashley... "I swear, I just Hope he hasn't gotten cold feet." said Ashley, who now looked distraught..

"Do you have a local address for him?" I asked.

"I do...He leases cars from this dealership..." said Ashley...

''Okay, this and a social security number is a start..I'll get on this tomorrow morning...First thing...Don't worry Ashley....and for what it's worth...He'd be a fool to have cold feet about marrying you." I said.

"If anybody can find him...My husband can.." said Sepia.

"I've heard, he's the best P.I. Money can buy.." said Ashley.....

Nightfall came! We put Kimmie Cakes to bed...Ashley went to sleep in the room down the hall from us.

Sepia and I were standing downstairs in our now quiet house..

"Kevin, I don't like this....There is something about this guy I already don't like...I recall her telling me about him before she moved here...He just seems a little shady to me."said Sepia.

"Yeah, I'm getting those vibes too. I know that people who are Investment bankers and into securities  make a good salary...but that kind of money...She said they were all over Europe and he paid her law school tuition completely....He's got some outside income...Possibly illegal outside income." I said.

"Like Drugs/" asked Sepia.

"I would usually think that...but I don't know..could be Loan Sharking, could be Wire Fraud, could be anything..but he doesn't sound on the up to me." I whispered to her..

We kissed slowly for a few minutes in the moonlight..

Our house was quiet and we had dimmed the downstairs lights..

"I think we should retire upstairs to our bedroom and close our door...Remember..We have a guest ,who's down the hallway."said Sepia, smiling..

''I know...Try not to get me too excited " I said and laughed..

"That is totally up to you.."said  Sepia, smiling.

"I'll try hard." I said.

''Okay,I'm gonna hold you to that."said Sepia , smiling..

I smiled at her..

"Let's go upstairs." I said.

" Come on Lover." she said as she walked up the stairs..

I followed her up the stairs...

We stopped at the top of the stairs and kissed passionately....

In the doorway, I slipped her sweater and her blouse off and unzipped her skirt...we continued kissing passionately...

"Close the door baby.." she said silently...

I did and we both got undressed....She tossed her bra and panties to the side..

I couldn't wait..Neither could Sepia...

We both got undressed and continued kissing passionately...Sepia wrapped her legs around my waste and I lifted her up...

I entered her slowly and gently and began to move in and out of her..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...this is sooooooooo gooood..."I moaned..

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" she agreed.. "UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" she moaned..

"Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye....Ayyyyyyyyyyyyye....ouuuuuuuuuu hooooo hooooo hoooooo, ayyyeeeeeeeeee.....ohhhhhhhh my gooodnesss!" she cooed..Her body trembling!

We were soon on our bed...Making sweet, sweet love....The bed springs squeaking out of control, the headboard rattling and slamming softly against the wall..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm husband!" she cooed..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ....awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!" I moaned..

"SHHHHHHHHHHH, We don't want to wake Ashley up or the baby." warned Sepia.

EIGHT TO NINE SENSUOUS HOURS OF SWEET LOVEMAKING just drifting by,,

and kissing like it was nobody's business until we both climaxed.....

Sepia crawled on top of me and quietly dozed off.....

IV-

Later on the next day I was at my offices...

I had put my operatives on this guy...Now I was in the sub-basement at my actual investigative office awaiting their report.

"Kevin ,this Social Security number is a phony...It's actually registered to a person who has been dead for six years..."said one of my operatives...

"Yeah and that Office he supposedly worked at  Abbott Securities...Your wife's friend said she 's called there several times and no one has answered...Well there is a reason for that, It's an empty office building..The building is scheduled for demolition and the building's owners say no company by that name was ever in the building or at that number.." said another one of my operatives..

"There is a group in Newark called Divestment Securities, but a call there revealed that no one there has ever heard of a Joseph Amin..."said Peeping Tom....

"Those trips your wife's friend took to Europe, were all financed by phony or stolen credit cards...that have since been flagged."said another of my operatives...

"Here's where it all gets cute... Lockpick Johnson and I paid a visit to his one known residence.. It looks like no one has been there for a month...We got some glasses that had his fingerprints on them and we got DNA from other things there too!  His prints come up in the system as belonging to a "Arthur Anderson" of New York...He grew up in Foster Care...He was arrested at 19 for passing bad checks...

He did five years in a Federal Prison for Wire Fraud, Identity Theft, Fraud and other related crimes..He cut a deal with the Feds and testified against his partners. Which is why he had to leave the New York City , North Jersey Area."said Another Operative.

"So his real name is not Joseph Amin, but Arthur Anderson and so far everything about him is phony..."I said.

"Not his bank account....Check it out..."said another of my operatives..

"My God....He's got 1.5 million dollars in his bank account , under the name, Joseph Amin..."I said.

"And look the money comes in increments of 50K at a time from like 10 different accounts that transfer money into his account on a near bi-weekly basis..."said Peeping Tom..

"But this guy isn't working, doesn't appear to have a job...Drives around in expensive leased cars...Where is this money coming from?" I asked.

"My guess is, He's blackmailing people.."said one operative..

"We studied all 10 of these men...All of them appear to have been skimming money from the accounts at their companies..."said an operative, showing me the lists of accounts..."

"Okay." I said..."But how did he get this information?" I asked.

At Cyclops Insurance Company....

"Bonnie Girl....I need your help...My Husband has vanished..Could you look into this for me?"said an I.T. Specialist named Gail McCombs...

"Gail, I'm an insurance investigator...That sounds like you need a Private Investigator...That's something personal....I can't be involved in that."said Bonnie.

"Please help me...I haven't heard from him in Three weeks...We've only been marred a little over two months...I don't know who I can turn to...I have money."she said..She sounded desperate...

A DAY LATER- 

Bonnie Shay  and her friend, Gail McCombs came to meet me in my office.

"Hi Bonnie...What's going on?" I asked.

"My friend here, a co-worker  says that her Husband has been missing for three weeks..I've met this guy...He's been at our office a lot...She is willing to pay you to locate him."said Bonnie.

"Have all of these men gotten cold feet?...You won't believe this, but I'm trying to locate my wife's friend, Ashley's fiance... He went missing three weeks ago too."I laughed...

"I just got married about three months ago...We've been together as a couple about a year...He's from New York...His name is Arthur...Arthur Anderson...He was a New York Area Businessman...When I first met him, He was working for a Group called Divestment Securities.. He always flashed a lot of cash...drove a different car everytime I saw him...I did find it strange that he never talked about any family....He did mention once that he grew up in a Foster home.. but I really don't  know much about his past life. He moved here to Philadelphia and said he was working for a company called Abbott Investments...I've called there numerous times and all I've gotten was a ringing phone..Not even a voicemail..He was good to me.. He wined and dined me for two and a half years...He paid for my MBA from Wharton..All three years of it..He took me on some great trips...Punta Canta, Jamaica, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Los Angelas....It was kind of a whirlwind romance...And on the night I graduated from Wharton, a year ago ,..He took me to Bottom of the C. here in Philly...We had a Steak and Turf meal that was out of this world...That's when he put the ring on my finger and asked me to marry him...What could I say after all of that?" said Gail,.. We had a destination wedding in Miami....He was gone a lot on business..but we had a very happy marriage...I can't imagine what went wrong."said Gail..

"Arthur Anderson eh?   You got a picture of him?" I asked.

"Just one...He uh never reallly liked getting his picture taken for some reason." she said.

She pulled out a glossy of her husband, Arthur Anderson....

I could have fainted.....

Her husband, Arthur Anderson and Ashley's Fiance, Joey Amin was one and the same man.....!!!

(TO BE CONTINUED)