Mister C.

 I was in Sam Mother's Diner this morning with my wife, Sepia, her business partner and best friend, Bonita Turner Foxworth , Bonnie and her husband, Ronnie Shay...

We all looked rested and like we'd had a good night.  I know I had a good night and a good early morning.

"Ummmmmmmm looks like there will be some good eating this morning. I'm very hungry." I said, smiling.

"Stop looking so satisfied.. You should be hungry after last night." giggled Sepia.

"Somebody was doin the nasty...Someone was doing the nassssssty."laughed Bonita.

Bonnie and Ronnie looked like Newlyweds...Bonnie laid her head on Ronnie's shoulder and smiled serenely...

Our food came out,. Cheese Grits and Shrimp, Buttermilk Biscuits and Gravy, Eggs to order, Hash Browns, sausage and hot coffee for every one..

We had been here a few minutes when more of our friends walked in..

ADA Karen Page of the Wrongful Conviction/Conviction Integrity Unit and her staff Attorneys, Natalie Charles, her husband, David Charles and Brooke Marks. All very nice people I had worked with before..

With them was our good friends, Innocence Project attorneys, Jessica Sanchez- Burrows and her husband, Charles "Chip" Burrows. Attorney Olivia Bennett-Alexander, her husband and my friend and fellow investigator, Donnie Ray Alexander, her cute and sweet niece, Beverly West-East and her husband, Nelson East, my baby, Josie Boyd and her husband, Paris, now a para-legal who was getting ready to go to law school in the fall., Bresha Billips and her husband, Tony, also an attorney.

"Good Morning, Kevin, Sepia, Bonnie, everybody...We just finished a major wrongfully convicted case.. and I'm treating my staff and the attorneys who helped us to breakfast...Always thankful for help we get from the Innocence Project, and thankful for Olivia , Beverly and their staff and for Paris ,who helped us out immensely and Tony, who helped also.. I know they're glad to work with their wives.." said Karen..

'Everything looks and smells delicious...I'm famished, let's order." said Natalie.

"Yeah" said her husband, David.

"I'm glad Kevin and his people are here." said Brooke.

"More targets if Bozo the cop comes in.."laughed Jessica.

"You talked him up...Here he comes.."said Chip.

"Just ignore him...He's one man, He shouldn't think he has so much power."said Olivia.

"Liv is right and if he gets really bad.. Make a phone call..A few days in the cooler will straighten him out." said Donnie Ray..

"He doesn't bother me enough to make that call." said Beverly.

"Me neither." said Nelson...

"Here comes a waitress, let's put in our orders."said Josie.

"Yeah, them Buttermilk Biscuits they got with the gravy looks good." said Paris.

"Those shrimp and grits look tasty."said Bresha.

"Not as tasty as  you."said her husband, Tony, pinching her butt..

"Ouuuuuuu cut it out." Bresha laughed...

Lt. Tragg walked in...He was livid about Karen Page and the attorneys with them overturning 6
wrongful convictions, four made by his late father and two made by his late uncle.. He was furious seeing me and Bonnie and knowing we were involved in a case he should have been running.. but before he could start with us.. He saw Lt. Danny Ho, who had just walked in..

"Good Morning Lieutenant." said Danny, always polite.

"Good Morning.. I heard you caught your killer....Good Work..Still haven't found those Diamonds yet eh?" he said.

"We caught our killer thanks to a tip Kevin gave us from one of his informants on the street..

He gave us a name and the bar where he hangs out at.. I took a couple of Sissy's guys, 

Duke Baylor, Tyriq Pile and Jimmy Barlow with me and we made the pick up..

"Bonnie found a piece of evidence physically connecting him to the murder and two witnesses, who we have in protective custody who identified him on the night of the murder... Plus with the help of Sissy and her detectives,

we have located both cars used the night of the robbery and murder and we have the murder weapon.

You didn't want any of them involved, including Sissy and her detectives.  In just four days we have made progress, Thanks largely to teamwork.....You need to learn to work with other people..It often helps..." said Danny.

"It helps people like you with little confidence in your abilities..I could've closed this case myself and gotten the diamonds by now." snarled Lt. Tragg.

"I seriously doubt that." said Lt. Danny Ho, who walked to the counter to pick up his to go order.

Jazzy and Kayla came in..They both had  court appointments this morning..

"Oh God, look who's here, Lt. Tragg." said Jazzy.

''Well we knew that was the risk coming in." said Jazzy.

.They knew they were taking a chance coming in here...but were happy to see Karen ,Natalie, David, Brooke,Jessica and Chip and Liv and the crew...in addition to Me , Sepia, Bonnie,Bonita and Ronnie.. They pulled up a table and ordered their food..

Lt. Tragg bypassed his usual targets, the Attorneys and zeroed in on me.

"So you got a tip from an informant of yours on the street eh?  Like a real detective, you've got informants?" he sneered..

"Yeah I do. Not bad for someone "playing at being a detective " as you say. I don't know if you knew or not, but I was a U.S. Marine..and while I was in the Marines, I was an NCIS investigator...That's Federal.. I'm probably a better investigator than you'll ever be..After I got out I got a P.I. License.. These detectives trust me and so do the Feds...That's proof of my worth...I'm rather tired of your constant put downs...At least I don't time and time again  arrest the wrong person." I said, deadly serious.. I joked with him sometimes, but today, I wasn't about it...

''And Bonnie, she was a Public Defender in New York and an Assistant District Attorney in New York who worked closely with the NYPD, before coming to Philly and getting her P.I. License.. From what I've seen..She's a better investigator than you'll ever be.." I added. "So stop putting people down because you're jealous...It's not a good look..The Attorneys and the  Cops have worked with her and trust her services and experience..If they didn't, they wouldn't bother. I NOTICE THEY NEVER ASK FOR YOUR HELP!!!" I said.

Sepia rubbed my back and hugged me.

Everybody got quiet, they could sense the tenseness in the room.

Usually talking to him was like talking to a brick wall...but he heard the words I was saying today and he could sense my anger and frustration with him...

"HAH! I'M REAL POLICE DAMNIT!! YOU AREN'T! AND NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU PLAY AT IT....YOU NEVER WILL BE!!! MY RECORD SPEAKS FOR ITSELF!" he snarled.

"YOU'RE RIGHT!!! IT DOES!" I said.

This was met by loud laughter from everybody at our table and the surrounding tables, especially the attorneys...

He was thin skinned and couldn't stand being laughed at and verbally challenged at the same time.. The loud laughter really got under his skin... He was as red as a beet and livid....He turned and walked out of the diner amidst cheers and claps...

"Poor Artie" said Sam Mother...He knows how to bring it out in people." he said, shaking his head.

II-

THE OFFICE OF ELWOOD BARNES- CHIEF ATTORNEY, CYCLOPS INSURANCE.

Elwood Barnes made a great salary....Very close to what he used to make when he was a chief litigator for several major corporations and had a big house out in the suburbs....He was a millionaire at one time, had a fleet of cars and a pretty little wife named Olivia..

who was also an Attorney....

That was a long time ago... He and Olivia were divorced....She was remarried now and had her own law practice and probably had more money than he did... but he was remarried too, for the third time...

He again had a sexy little wife, who was also an attorney and was the father of a baby girl....He had learned his lesson...No more chasing women...He was finally content with just one...and he was happier for it.. Still he was always looking for ways to make more money...

He was surprised when Victor Calabrese, the Vice- Executive Officer of the company's Dubai Office paid him a visit..

"Mr. Calabrese...How nice to see you...What can I do for you?" asked Elwood.

"It's what I can do for you Mr. Barnes... I've had you checked out and I see you were once a chief litigator for several of this city's largest most influential corporations before coming here and you ran a major operation for an auto company, now defunct in New York....You're just the type of point man I could use...in Dubai..." said Victor Calabrese.

"Dubai sir?" said Elwood..

"How would you like to go with me back to Dubai....I could get you a new house...a new car or cars and an office that would make this office pale by comparison...and you'd be my personal attorney as well as do what you're doing here for the company... I'd triple your present salary...It's a once in a lifetime offer my boy." he said..

"Oh My God!!! Yes!" said Elwood.

"I do need you to uh do me a small favor.." said Victor Calabrese...

"Anything...you name it!" said Elwood..

"You have an employee working for you...Bonnie Shay..

I understand she used to be a Public Defender in New York City and later on an Assistant District Attorney and now she's an insurance investigator... Terminate her employment immediately." he said.

"WHAT? WHY?  She and her husband are two of my most dependable employees....What did they do?" asked Elwood in shock..

Ronald Shay had covered for him more times than he wished to think of...and he considered he and Bonnie not just his employees, but his friends..His close friends..

"Terminate them both and tell them that the orders came from the top, that it's out of your hands." said Victor Calabrese.. 'HAve them both gone by Friday or my offer is off the table...It's up to you...Think about your future...Dubai, triple your salary, a big house, cars...a job for your wife.. Your daughter with the best child care...Think about it." he said.

Maybe a decade ago, Elwood would have fired both Bonnie and Ronnie without a second thought..but he wasn't that guy anymore..Bonnie and Ronnie Shay were his friends...he couldn't do it...but then he thought about Dubai and more money and the new life he could live and never have to see Bonnie and Ronnie again...They were both good attorneys and young...He was certain they'd find other work..Any firm would be lucky to have either one of them or both, he weighed in...

That night at his home, he presented his predicament to his wife, 

"I mean he's offering me everything I've ever wanted and in a new country, Dubai...I may never get an offer like that again...but I just can't fire Bonnie or Ronnie..I owe them too much wayy too much and he didn't give me a reason why they should be fired, he just wanted them fired, told me to tell em the orders came from the top.That's a shabby way to treat anybody...and I just can't do it...but I keep thinking of our future.." he said.

"You can't do that....Bonnie and Ronnie are my friends too! They saved your company...If not for them and Kevin..

There wouldn't be a Cyclops Insurance Company , and you'd of been disbarred, possibly incarcerated...They've been good friends to you...This guy comes in from Dubai...Couldn't possibly know them and suddenly wants them fired...You gotta ask yourself why?" said Alex.

"Dubai... He came in from Dubai a week ago...Right after Kevin and Bonnie helped the police track down the guy who stole millions of dollars of Jewelry we had insured from Dubai..They arrested the thief...He's in custody, and then our own guy from Dubai...re stole that Jewelry and was murdered that night...The Jewelry is still missing, but they found one of the cars used in the murder..IT WAS ONE OF OUR CARS!!!!and it was taken off of our lot..The Police caught the gunman....but still no jewelry and he used a pass key that could have only of come from someone inside this insurance company."said Elwood.

"He must have something to do with it...That's why he wants them both fired.. Bonnie and Kevin are getting too close...What are you gonna do?   I don't care about Dubai....I'm happy right here in Philly with you and the baby." said Alex.

"Shit!  I'm happy too!  I'm going to talk to Bonnie tomorrow...I'm not firing either one of them...I can't.I won't." said Elwood.

''Elwood, you've become a good man." said Alex.

"Well I think that deserves a reward..." laughed Elwood wryly....

"That's one thing that never changes about you."laughed Alex...

Soon they began kissing passionately...

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM" he moaned..

"OH MY GOD ELWOOD, YOU ARE SOOO DAMN BIG AND HARD!! OUUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed.

"AWWWWWWWWWWW ALEX I AM LOSING MY DAMN MIND!" he said..

"YOU ALWAYS LOSE YOUR MIND WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO GET IN MY PANTIES" she said..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU, OH MY DAMNNNN!" he said as he slipped her panties down...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ELWOOD!" she cried out..

Soon they were in bed, making sweet love...

He spread her legs apart and entered her....she gasped...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!"

He groaned...

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM..UMMMPH!"

. The bed squeaked and was very loud....The headboard slammed against the wall and Elwood was louder than any man she'd ever been with...
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, oUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...Alex ,...I DO LOVE YOU!!" he moaned..

"I know you do!!!!!....I love you tooo, ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"she cooed..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed out in passion!

"Elwood!! Please...The people inext door can hear us...It's not that good..." she said, embarrassed at the noise he was making...bad enough the bed was squeaking so loud and the headboard was about to fall off....

"Who you tellin ,it's not that good..??Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmph!  OH LORD!!!!!" he cried out..

She giggled....

 "Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Elwoood....Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..." she cooed.

"I've never felt this good in MY LIFE!!! OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed.....

"Liar...you say that every time we make love.."laughed Alex..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh lawwwwwwwwwwwwd IT WAS TRUEEEEE!" screamed Elwood..

"Elwood please...hush up all that noise,.." she laughed...but happy that they were making love.

NINE  TO  TEN HOURS of sweet lovemaking  passed by slowly...

Elwood came so hard, he thought he was going to go blind...

It wasn't just him, Alex came hard too..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu myyy goodness...WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ELWOOD...I LOVE YOU!!!

" she wailed..

"I LOVE YOU TOO!!!!!" he heard himself yelling....

 Alex came and came hard....her body shaking, sweat and tears running down the side of her face......She fell asleep in Elwood's arms...still slightly stroking his penis...Elwood came again while she was doing this..She was feeling things she'd never felt before.

The Next Day Elwood  had 

Me, Bonnie and Ronnie in his office.

Unknown to Victor Calabrese , he had tape recorded their entire conversation...As an Attorney, he had learned never to trust the big wigs...They had a way of making offers and suddenly getting amnesia..So for years , whenever he had a meeting with the higher ups...He made it a habit to record it.. He replayed the conversation...

"You have an employee working for you...Bonnie Shay..I understand she used to be a Public Defender in New York City and later on an Assistant District Attorney and now she's an insurance investigator... Terminate her employment immediately."came the voice of Victor Calabrese..

"WHAT? WHY?  She and her husband are two of my most dependable employees....What did they do?" asked Elwood in shock..

"Terminate them both and tell them that the orders came from the top, that it's out of your hands." said Victor Calabrese.. 'HAve them both gone by Friday or my offer is off the table...It's up to you...Think about your future...Dubai, triple your salary, a big house, cars...a job for your wife.. Your daughter with the best child care...Think about it." said. Victor Calabrese.

(CLICK!)

"This investigation into those diamonds has got him uptight...Ever since he came in from Dubai, he has stayed in his office upstairs, talking to only a few people.. And now this...Whatever you're doing keep doing it.. I wouldn't dream of firing you or your husband.." said Elwood.

"Good Looking out...He's our guy...He's the string puller...." I said.

"THAT VOICE! That's the voice on the other end of that call that Tommy Russell made from prison..He stole the jewels...He had Lew Acer murdered...He's dirty.." said Bonnie.

"We are going to turn the tables on him...What time does he leave today?" I asked.

"I don't know...but I can let you know." said Elwood.

III-

Victor Calabrese left for the day at 5:00..

.I don't know where he went..but he left in an UBER..

Elwood was one of the few people who knew the security codes and some of the safe combonations...

He got me and my operatives in easy....We wired the place for sound and video....

and we opened the Wall safe, where we found...

The diamonds!!!!! The Missing Diamonds....

"Ohhhhhhhh will you look at this!" said Bonnie

She snapped photos of the diamonds with her phone and dated them......

"Good Work Bonnie, Good damn work....I could never get rid of you...You're the best insurance investigator I have and a damn good Attorney too!" said Elwood..

"Not to mention she 's got a body to die for." I whispered to Elwood.

"OH NO DOUBT!" he said, laughing along with me..

''We are replacing the real diamonds with this costume jewelry... Mister C. may or may not know the difference, but whoever his contact is , will know... I'm betting the conversation that will come out of this office tomorrow will be very interesting." I said.

Bonnie looked at the real diamonds....

"Wowwww maybe they are a girl's best friend." she remarked, smiling.

IV-

We had a celebration at C.I. D. Headquarters....

"Kevin, you are a godsend... We got the diamonds back and got the original thief and the murderer in custody....." said Danny Ho.

"Kevin has been riding with me since I put on Lieutenant's bars...We've cracked so many cases together.."said Sissy, smiling and hugging me..

"Awwwww shucks, weren't nothin mam!" I said, imitating a cowboy.....

This brought laughter from Bonnie and everybody in the office.. Tyriq,his wife Sirena, Carlotta,Hop, Jimmy, his wife, Angie and of course, Duke.

Champaigne was ordered and popped...

Our good friend, Sharon Hopkins, Deputy SAC of the FBI/ATF joined us...

"So all that's left is to pick him up right?" she said.

"He has no clue we are on to him just yet....We have his office bugged and we replaced the real diamonds with costume jewelry....We know that he has a flight out of here to Dubai on Friday Morning..So I'm guessing, he has found a buyer..We need to find that buyer...All I know is he is from out of New York and he's connected...We want Calabrese and his buyer...." I said,.

"One thing about Kevin, he knows how to stay a step ahead of the bad guys...." said Sissy laughing...

"He does doesn't he?" laughed Danny Ho.

But while we were celebrating , a sinister meet was going on in Mister C's office..

"You come highly reccomended...You work clean and efficient..I hear you were once a sniper in the military. 29 kills...Good...There is an associate of mine, Thomas Russell... they call him four fingers on the street. He has fired the attorney I hired for him and has gotten himself another attorney to bond him out.. He gets out later today....When he leaves the jailhouse...I want him taken out... He knows my name and too much about my action..... and as an added bonus.. I want these three people taken out also..

There were photos of Bonnie, Me and her husband, Ronnie.

"One is an Insurance Investigator for this company and the other is a Private Investigator who has been working with her...They've been nosing around my operation and they know too damn much, they may be talking to the cops... I want them gone...The other is an Attorney, the husband of the lady...No telling what she's told him about the case. I had at first wanted them fired...but I think it's better if they were dead." said Mr. Calabrese.

"Not a problem Mister C.  They are as good as gone!" said the man sitting in his office.

(CONCLUSION NEXT)