Blind

Blind?

How could you look at me
and not see all the things that I did only
just for you?

How could you just turn away?
Is that the price I must pay?/

Blind?
How could you look at me...
and just throw away all the history between me and you?/

How could you not see that?...
What more can I say?/

Blind...
How could you look at me?..


How could you look at me
and not see all the things that I did only
just for you?/

Blind...

How could you look at me
and throw all of it away ?

Must be Blind!

Good Night Baby...Time To Die.

One thing I did know about Mr. Sonny Byrd was that he loved the ladies....Kool Kat and I rousted several local pimps...including our old friends Rollo Jones  and Marco Gervay...and in no time..we found out who Sonny Byrd was keeping time with...

A sexy young woman named Edna Green....She lived in West Philly...The only thing about rousting folks is that while you're rousting them for information...other folks are rousting them also... We already knew that New York was sending someone down here to Philly to "take care of" Sonny Byrd... It wasn't his fault that his people got arrested or that his warehouse got raided or that his connect in Newark got busted..That was basically due to my investigation...but he didn't know that.....and the people in New York didn't care...as far as they were concerned...He was their point man and he had dropped the ball...

I happened to catch up to Edna Green on afternoon in Victoria's Secret of all places...

I walked up to her and grabbed her arm...

"Ummmm those look nice...Buying those for Sonny ?" I asked..

She jerked her arm loose from me..

'Take yo hands off of me..."she snapped.

"Look...I'm here to help Sonny...There's somebody after him...Somebody that means him harm....If you see him, tell him to either get out of town and do it fast or keep a very low profile..." I said.

''Who are you? A cop?" she sneered..

"No...but I'm trying to save his life." I said.

"Hmmmph." she said.

"And if I were you...I'd distance myself from him for awhile....Bullets don't have names on em." I said.

''Get outta my face." She said.

"Just give him the message." I said.

She instead gave me the finger....I just looked at her and shrugged my shoulders..She was very attractive...I wondered why scumbags like Sonny Byrd always got girls like her....I watched her walk out of the store ,loaded with two shopping bags full of lingerie and to my surprise...Sonny Byrd drove up in a Blue Ford Focus and picked her up...They drove off together before I could do anything.....

That afternoon, I was in Josies having a few drinks with Kool Kat, Owen Todd, Clerow and Lockpick Johnson....

"You mean you had a scope on Sonny Byrd and you missed him?" said Kool Kat...

"Yeah man..he drove right up in a blue Ford Focus and picked baby girl up and they drove off." I said.

"Damn man....a Ford?  That don't seem like the kind of car Sonny Byrd would roll in ." said Owen Todd..

Clerow grinned.....

''That's exactly why he'd be rollin in one....That babe ,Edna Green didn't mind...She hopped right in, with enough panties and bras from Victoria 's Secret to keep ol Sonny inside the rest of the winter." I said.

" Damnnnnn..I know her, she's fine as she wanna be...Sonny is poppin that?" asked Owen Todd.

"When you got juice like Sonny got..you roll with prime beef like that." laughed Clerow...Kool Kat nodded his head in agreement...

"Hey ,Hey good brothers...I couldn't help but over hear you guys...You say Sonny Byrd is keepin time with ole Edna Green eh?  I used to flow with her back when I was usin and slingin." said Cordell Rodgers, the ex marine in Basil Robinson's Young Men's Outreach program.

"Oh yeah?  What are you doin in a bar Cordell, aren't you in recovery?" I asked..

"Uh..yeah...yeah...From Heroin and Coke.....I just grab a cold beer every now and then to let a little load off ,ya know?" he said.

''Hey man ,I aint judging you...I'm just messin with you." I said ..laughing...Kool Kat, Clerow and Owen Todd all laughed...

Cordell's face grew cold and sullen and he walked out of the bar....

Kool Kat nodded to me...

"Bait dropped !"

I nodded...

"Yup...Let's move baby." I said.

II-

About three hours later, Clerow parked the car a block away and he and Owen Todd, Kool Kat and myself walked the block up towards Edna's house.....To our surprise there was a throng of police around and an ambulance and Detectives all over the area....I saw Lt. Sissy Van Buren of Homicide..

"Hey Lieutenant, what's going on?" I asked...

''Caught a double homicide Kev" she said...

"What?" I asked...Had I been too late??? I looked around for a Ford Focus, but there was none....

"We found a woman, identified as Edna Green , shot to death  at close  range and a man, Clark Wooden, also shot in the head with a revolver.....Both were naked...Looks like they were caught doin the nasty by a jealous boyfriend." she surmised...

.

Not what it looked like to me....It was too close and personal to be my suspected killer.My killer used an M-16...This was done with a revolver..and since nobody reported hearing aanything..the killer probably used a silencer...This was the work of a professional killer...A hitman who probably thought he killed Edna and Sonny Byrd....Now my investigation was further complicated. It wouldn't take whoever did this long to find out that they had killed the wrong guy!...Poor Edna...She didn't listen...In the wrong place at definitely the wrong time....Good Night pretty baby!


III-

I ran into Roscoe, Fathead Newton's enforcer and picked his brain for information a day later....

''Yeah Kev...Sonny Byrd was workin for a guy out of New York named Sammy Golden...Big time playa." he told me...

"Oh really...So Golden was the one who put Johnny Porter on?" I asked.

"Nah...that would have been Johnny's Uncle....Junior Porter and his associate, Tenderlion Smith....You aint gotta worry about them...They both dead....One was found bound and gagged and shot in the back of the head and the other was found face down in a pool of blood on a Brooklyn street and guess who did them both?" he asked me...

"This Sammy Golden's man right?" I said.

''Sammy Golden did it himself..He's a real hands on kinda guy...Where everyone else hires muscle..He does the damn thing his self..." said Roscoe...

''So he's here in Philly?" I asked.

"Yeah....I seen him around..." he said..

"He probably knows by now that he hit the wrong guy in that room with Edna.." I said.

"More than likely...but check this out...Sonny Byrd aint exactly been hidin either..He's been at the strip joints,been in Ciros, The Mermaid Club, all of the joints...Lookin for Sammy...He says he'll kill Sammy if he sees him..." Said Roscoe..

"Oh really? Hey Listen Roscoe....Why don't you put the word out in the streets that Sonny wants a sit down?"  I asked...

" A sitdown?" he said looking puzzled...

"Yeah and I'm gonna put the word around that Sammy can find Sonny at that old warehouse where the bust went down..." I said.

"You don't even know what Sammy looks like." he said.

"I don't have to....There's enough thugs in Ciros and the Mermaid club that will know how to get in touch with him...Just do me that solid." I said.

Roscoe just shook his head.....then he laughed... "Man..you crazy.....I'm glad you're my friend and not my enemy." he said, continuing to laugh.


IV-

Nobody likes a longshot better than a gambler and I was really gambling here...I was depending on the word on the street to bring all of these snakes out into the open... Not to mention that I had purposely had a loud conversation with Owen Todd, Clerow, Marco Gervay, Kool Kat and Cordell Rodgers about the entire matter in Mabel Jenkins's Soul Food joint , a day later.....

The old warehouse was now empty and abandoned....surprisingly enough...Sonny Byrd and a young hood arrived first..They had .45's with silencers on them...They clearly didn't come to talk things over....The warehouse was huge...and very empty..Your voice echoed when you talked.....

The man known as Sammy Golden showed up shortly afterwords... He had a .44 magnum, much like Kool Kat's....and one black leather glove..Other than that..He was dressed in black jeans, Black shoes, A Black turtle neck and a White Trenchcoat...He had on Aviator glasses with clear visors....he looked like something out of a movie...

"You shoulda never have killed my woman Sammy." said Sonny Byrd....

"I thought I was killin you...apparently...even your woman don't think much of you..She had another guy up there with her.." he snapped.

"You LIE!" screamed Sonny Byrd...

''Didn't you read the paper...I dropped two." He said ,laughing mockingly...the skirt and a dude and they was both naked as a jaybird..." he laughed..

"Good night baby, it's time to die." said Sonny Byrd, who cocked his pistol....

'Famous Last words eh Sonny?" laughed Sammy Golden....The ironic thing was..it was to be Sammy Golden's last words...

A red dot appeared on the back of Sammy Golden's head.....Before anybody could do anything...there was a flash of light.......and a shot fired...a bullet entered the back of Sammy Golden's head and exited out of his right eye..He dropped to the ground, dead as could be...The young thug with Sonny was startled..He fired at
the bright flash in the distance ,only to  be hit in the chest and dropped ,just like that..He too was dead!!..Sonny Byrd dropped and rolled...breathing heavily..

"What the hell? Who else is in here? Who?  Whoooooo..?"

At this point...Kool Kat and I leaped out of the corner we had been hiding in...We saw a figure moving...

"Cordell, drop it...Drop the gun.." I yelled...

"Cordell Rodgers turned and was aiming for me as I was moving...I dropped rolled and fired three shots..Kool Kat fired two shots from his .44 magnum  and Cordell stumbled, dropped his M-16 and moaned

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww....I don't believe it...I've been shot,,,,Awwww lawdddd!" he said as
he fell to the ground...

Sonny Byrd leaped up...

''What the hell kind of set up is this?I'm Out!" and ran for all he was worth...Jumped in his car and pulled off....

"Damn niggas done gone crazy..shootin at everybody...just to be shootin.." he mumbled as he drove off!

Kool Kat and I stood over him....

"You...You knew it was me..all the time...didn't you?" he said through heavy breaths....

"I figured it out....I saw your military record....Sniper..Marksman......Tour of duty in Iraq....It wasn't too difficult." I said...

"Uhhhhhhh...I didn't kill much...just some drug dealing scum...Some...Some people need killin...uhhhhhhh.." he said and then he wheezed one last time and then he died....

''Wow!" said Kool Kat....

"Let's get out of here Kools." I said.

"Sonny got away." said Kool Kat...

"Yeah...Who cares?  He'll get got one day." I said.

We both walked to our cars and drove off into the Philadelphia night.

EPILOUGE:

It took the Police at least a day to find the bodies in that warehouse.... 29 year old Cordell Rodgers was found with his M-16... A ballistics check linked him to the murders of Chico Harris, Pony Boy, Grease , Sammy Golden and Eric Pastors...the young thug who had come with Sonny Byrd....The papers described him as a troubled young man....

Sonny Byrd was picked up by the Philadelphia Police sometime later and charged with Drug distribution and conspiracy...He got up to 15 years for his crimes...

Sepia and I sat in Chinese Bob's late one night and enjoyed some nice hot steamy but delicious chinese food...Bob Lee was nowhere around, but his wife Susie was .  A tall handsome young Asian man walked in and began talking to her...We couldn't hear what was being said at first...but then the air was punctuated with a loud slap!

"Low Mein, I never want to see your ass again." said Susie Lee.

"Baby please...Please let me explain...I had nothing to do with any photos of your husband being sent to you..That man in Chinatown , he told you wrong....He lied.." he said.

"Getttt outt...You lie....My husband is a good man and when he comes in tonight ,guess what? I'm going to make love to him for a very long time..I'm going to leave the window open so your lying ass can hear us.." she screamed...

"Please...Please...just give me a chance..Baby please...I want to love you...I can love you better than Bob Lee.." he said.

Just then Chinese Bob walked into the restaraunt...

"Low Mein you lousy dog...get out!" he screamed..

"Bob Lee!!! How are you doing?   I was just leaving." he said as he ran out....

Susie Lee walked over to our table....Sepia and I were the only customers....

"Kevin...Sepia...I hate to ask you this, but can I give you to go boxes?" she asked...

"Oh sure girl...Kevin ,Look at the time!!" said my wife Sepia as we hurriedly got up, paid our bill, got our to go containers and left the store...

The drama...Sometimes it seems like I can't escape it!



(FOR SLC)

Fish In The Net

I sat in Dunkin Donuts by myself enjoying a hot steaming tumbler of coffee when Attorney Chance Howard, Robert Foxworth's young protoge walked in with two dossiers...He ordered a large coffee and joined me at the booth I was sitting in...It was early morning...Just before people would be starting on their way to work..

''What'cha got Chance?" I asked.

"This is the background checks you wanted on Anthony Carter and Cordell Rodgers." he said.

"Good, Good." I said as I drank my coffee and read them...

"Kev..I don't understand....Aren't you workin for Anthony Carter?" he asked.

"I was...He's paid me for my uh "services"... I just wanted to know who I had been dealing with, that's all." I said.

Chance Howard smiled..."That's called bein cautious right?" he laughed..

I looked up and smiled at him..."Yeah, you might say that...I call it staying alive ." I said.

We both smiled... My Android went off.... It was Clerow!  He and Owen Todd had found the car dealership that Sonny Byrd used as a front and had led Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson to it...They had broken in and wired the place for video and sound...
In addition to Man-Man's car...We could listen in to what happened there and what happened there was very interesting....

At least five major -major area players came by to set up arrangements for drug purchases...The conversations were with Man-Man...None were with Sonny Byrd himself...and from what we had gleaned...a Major shipment was due sometime this week...

"What's good Clerow?" I asked...

"We found the warehouse boss....Me, Owen and Sean Jackson was there and we got photos..good photos you can use." He said.

"Any activity?" I asked...

"One truck came in...but no sign of any of the guys we saw on the other videos and tapes..." he said.

"No sign of Sonny Byrd?" I asked.

"Nah..Just Man-Man." he said.

"Good Work...Stay on it." I said.

"Got'cha..."He said and hung up.

''Wow..Looks like you got somethin cookin." said Chance Howard.

"Well a little somethin somethin...Won't help me find my killer though." I said.

"Well ...I'll be goin...I got to catch up some sleep..I'm off today." he said...

"Okay Chance..Thanks for the legwork bruh." I said.

"Anytime..Hope that helps you Kev." he said as he got up and walked out...

I continued to pore over the dosiers on both Anthony Carter and Cordell Rodgers...

II-

A few hours later ,I was on my way to Peeping Tom's house in Northeast Philadelphia..He said he had something good for me to hear and see....I knew what that meant...We had finally caught Sonny Byrd himself on tape!!!

It was better than even I could hope...Here he was on video at his Used car Lot with Man-Man and four of the five playas who were buying heroin and coke from him...

"Okay boys...the shipment is coming in tomorrow..You know where to pick it up at...Best Heroin and Coke this area has ever seen.....I'm importin it from a guy named ..and get this.."Bahama Joe" in Newark,New Jersey and he's gettin it from overseas off a boat....Now it's been stepped on a little..So your guys are going to have to cut it and mix it with quinine or whatever you're usin...but I got it for ya baby." he said.

"Hey Sonny...Man, people been o.din left and right on that junk." said one guy..

"And? " said Sonny...

"Well, I can't sell it if I aint got no customers." he said...The whole room broke out in laughter...

"Them hop heads will tell their friends it's the ultimate blast...They too stupid to know that they dyin from it....They'll always figure that they won't be the one..." said Sonny Byrd...

They all laughed again....

"Okay Sonny..We'll be there tomorrow..What time?"

"We want the drop to be at noon...Broad daylight....Nobody will be expecting that." he said.

Peeping Tom looked at me and laughed....

"My friend...I think you got him...You got him and a few fish in this net." he laughed.

"Yeah..He doesn't realize it...but I'm probably saving his life...I think I know who my killer is." I said.

"It aint him and his henchmen?" asked Peeping Tom...

"No...it was never him....but it's all about him though." I said.

III-

The next day....A truck drove up to the warehouse and acting on an anonymous tip that was given to them...The DEA and the Philadelphia Police Drug Enforcement Unit moved in and seized enough Heroin and Coke to juice up a quarter of the city....They arrested 25 people on the scene and later on in the day, All five of the major players and several of their associates were picked up too...

Man -Man was arrested also ,along with three other men...but the man himself,Sonny Byrd was nowhere to be found!!!!!

This was both good and bad...With The arrests and the raids....The bad dope was off the streets..but Sonny Byrd, who I had no love for and who was now in the wind was still out there..a target for the killer I was trying to take down...

We got one last call from the Used Car lot...

''Hello"

''Yeah Hello you lousy son of a bitch..What's goin on down there in Philly?" asked the angry caller...

"Hey man..I'm tryin to find out myself..." said Sonny Byrd...

"Man..it's bad enough all of those folks got popped by the feds...but somebody was runnin their big mouths and The FBI in Newark popped Bahama Joe in Newark! He was our latest connect...." said the voice.

"Hey none of my people was talkin..maybe it was somebody in your house."

"The man was in his drawers ..in his boxers and the Feds rolled up on him and arrested him...Got his whole stash...Now we got people up here short...First that bum Johnny Porter..Now you...We gone have to come to Philly and straighten this out!"

"Well come on wit it then....Don't talk about it...be about it..I aint afraid of you guys." said Sonny Byrd..

"Okay Big Shot...I'll be seein ya."

"Wait..Wait! I didn't mean that.heyyyyy...sayyyyyy."

Click!"
Peeping Tom, Lockpick Johnson,Owen Todd, Sean Jackson, Clerow,Kool Kat and I sat around the table at his house laughing our heads off.

I suddenly stopped laughing...

"What's the matter Kev?" asked Kool Kat.

"Man this makes matters worse." I said.

"How come?" he asked.

"They sending a hitman to take Sonny Byrd out....Which will complicate things...." I said.

"How so?" asked Clerow...

''Sonny might go to ground....He was hard enough to find as it was...and I need him either off the street or on to lead me to my killer..Now we gotta deal with two gunmen."I said.

"It might work itself out." said Kool Kat..

"It might or it could be an even bigger mess." I said.

"We still gonna bait the trap?" asked Sean Jackson...

"Sure am...and we gotta do it fast..." I added.

(Conclusion Next....)

Talking Too Much

Two nights later, My wife, Sepia and I and Attorney Robert Foxworth and his wife, Bonita were enjoying a delicious meal in a new Japanese Bistro.....

"Kevin...How did you hear of this place?  The food is excellent." said my wife's business partner and the wife of Attorney Robert Foxworth...

''Yes lover..this is very good food." said my wife, Sepia...

"Chinese Bob told me about it." I said as I continued eating my food... From the corner of my eye, I saw Robert Foxworth laughing....

"Chinese Bob?  The guy that owns the neighborhood Chinese take out?  Why would he suggest an upscale Japanese restaurant like this?" asked my wife Sepia...

"Uh, he kind of owed me a favor....I did a little bit of investigating for him and in addition to paying me..He gave me a tip on a great place to eat...He kind of knows the owner...and he made a call.....Our meal is on the house tonight, provided we take some flyers back to some of our friends ,business associates and clients." I said.

''Oh wow, really..That was so nice of him." said Bonita.

"That was so nice...Remind me to get some of those flyers before we leave...We know a few people that would love this place..don't we Bonita?" said my wife,Sepia.

''Sure do Sepia." she said.

As we continued to eat, I looked up and Anthony Carter and the young ex-Marine , ex offender...Cordell was with him...They say us and walked over to our table...

"Good evening Mr. Morris." said Anthony Carter.

"How are you Mr. Carter?" I asked.

"I don't mean to be disturbing your meal?" he said.

"Oh nonsense....This is my wife, Sepia...and this is my friend, Attorney Robert Foxworth and his wife, Bonita. Guys..this is my client, Mr. Anthony Carter...." I said.

They all exchanged pleasentries....

"Oh and you're uh...Cordell.....Cordell Rodgers right?" I said...

"Yes..We met a few days ago at the church..." he said.

Anthony Carter passed me an envelope filled with large bills...(fifty's and twenties)

"I believe this is payment for your ahh services.....and your dinners are on me if you like." he said.

"Mister Carter, Mister Carter...I don't know if I should take your money like this....I haven't done anything." I said.

He bent down and whispered in my ear...

"How careful you are Mr. Morris....I read the papers...That scum bag drug dealer, Chico Harris and the two scumbags he was working for all bit the dust...My My My you are effective." he said.

"That wasn't me....I had nothing to do with their deaths...I don't operate like that." I protested....

He smiled...He could not be convinced otherwise...

"Very well Mr. Morris...just take the money..." he said with a wink...

"Oh and Mr. Carter...the meal has already been taken care of." I said.

"Another Happy Customer?" He asked ,again with a knowing wink...

"Uh yeah...you might uh say that." I said.

"Hahahahaha...Oh well...enjoy!   It was good meeting you folks." he said and he and Cordell walked away.

"Kevin...What was that about?" asked Sepia...

"Nothing...The man is just mistaken, is all." I said.

"Hey...if I'm gonna get paid like that..let him be mistaken all he wants." laughed Robert Foxworth...

The four of us laughed and enjoyed the rest of the night.

II-

The next night, Kool Kat and I were in the Mermaid Club having drinks....

"I invited you here for a reason Kev." said Kool Kat..

"I figured as much...What's up?" I asked...

"See that fella over there?  Know him?" he asked...

"Yeah...That's "Man-Man" Wordell....What about him?" I asked.

"That's Sonny Byrd's driver and bodyguard...You might want to talk to him...Give him a heads up." said Kool
Kat.

"Got'cha...Hey Joe...Send Man-Man a double of whatever he's drinkin." I said.

Man-Man was a cold blooded killer.....He had just gotten out of the prison a year ago after serving 10 years for man-slaughter...This was the least of his crimes...He was a suspect in close to ten contract killings in the tri state area before that...A real nasty piece of business...as Gus would have said..Now he was rumored to be Kingpin,Sonny Byrd's driver/bodyguard and otherwise enforcer on the streets....

Unlike other Kingpins...Sonny Byrd wholesaled his product..He sold dope and coke to several other drug trafficking organizations and dealers....but had no one really on the streets selling for him...He kept a low profile and was rarely seen on the streets...He operated out of a Used Car lot......He was rarely there..He spent his time in Atlantic City , New York City ,taking his order from whoever his bosses were and here in Philly with some woman...He had no return or forwarding address that was known...

Joe Neptune sent him a drink and I walked over and sat down next to him....

"Usually when somebody sends me a drink...It's a pretty babe...You oughta know that I don't roll like this." he said.

"I don't have anytime for jokes Man Man...It appears that your boss may have a problem." I said.

"Yeah?  Really? Who aint got problems?" said Man-Man....

"I don't know if you noticed, but he's got at least three vacancies suddenly opened in the past few weeks." I said.

"That punk Chico Harris wasn't actually workin for us...That was Pony Boy's problem...We figured that Pony Boy aced him and somebody came back on em..." said Man-Man...

"I don't think so....Chico was small time..He didn't have that kind of juice......Plus, Pony Boy and Grease would have had no reason to ice him...He was out the game...He didn't know anything..He couldn't hurt them." I said.

"You're never out this game....anyway, you should talk what you know..." he said....

"Okay...well I know this...Nobody around here has the juice to go up against Sonny Byrd, so whoever is knocking off your employees..will probably be coming for your boss next...A word of caution....Tell your boss to stay out of town for a few...Oh and that bad strain of H. that he's sellin ...He needs to do something about that...Just a word of caution." I said and got up....

Man-Man looked tense.....He looked like he wanted to string me up...but he did nothing...He continued drinking...

I went back over to Kool Kat.....

"You deliver the message?" said the big man..

"As clear as I could.." I said.

"Okay Kev..Then we watch and we wait...."said Kool Kat....

"Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson already put a GPS unit under his SUV and they bugged his car....Clerow just texted me...They're gone now..." I said.

"Okay...then my job here is done..I'm bouncin..you need a ride home Kev?" he asked..

"Nah..I'm gonna hang around." I said...Kool Kat looked surprised...We both looked over at the bar....Man-Man was gone!!

''He's Gone!" said Kool Kat.

"Yeah , he tried to play tough...but I think we spooked him." I said.

Kool Kat laughed....

"Yeah probably.....Ok Kev..I'm out..Be easy babe!" he said.

"Always" I replied as I continued to finish my drink.

III-

After I finished my drink and payed for it , I walked out into the near empty parking lot...It was a quarter to two...I headed towards my car when I felt a stinging pain in my head!!!! Man-Man had hid in wait for me and had punched me in the head with one of those hamhocks of a fist of his..I was momentarily stunned and then he grabbed me, socked me in my stomach...which knocked the wind out of me...

"You talk too much Kevin...In case you don't know..I aint never liked you...not even when we was in grade school ..ya punk.." he said as he walloped me again and I landed up against my car....I socked him in his jaw so hard that he spun around....

''My turn playa!"  I said as I delivered another blow to his mouth that I'm sure made him see stars..He staggered and threw some more haymakers at me , both that missed...He grabbed my arm and spun me around and missed with another blow meant for my head...

Then I socked him with my other hand in the other side of his jaw which knocked him down....He got up and charged me throwing haymakers.....I stepped inside and delivered a vicious uppercut that backed him up, then I kneed him in his groin....He let out an ungodly yell and I socked him in his jaw again, sending him to the parking lot pavement.....Blood was pouring from his nose and his mouth and he was out of breath...

He looked like he was going in his coat for a gun!!! All of a sudden I heard the click of another gun and saw the barrel of a familiar .44 magnum on the back of his head....It was Kool Kat!!!!

"I figured this guy might be hangin around and might try to jump you, so I doubled back....Looks like you handled things pretty well Kev." said Kool Kat...

"Yall don't know who you messin with." he said as he spat blood out of his mouth...

"We don't? Cause I thought you could fight better than that." spat Kool Kat..."On your feet nigga..NOW!" the big man barked...Man-Man got up off of the ground and put his hands in the air...

"What you guys want?" he wimpered..

"Just tell your boss that there is a killer out there and to watch himself." I said.

''What you care?" he said.

"You know what?  I really don't care..Just tell him to stay in AC or New York or where ever the hell he stays at now of days." I said.

''He's already here in Philly." said Man -Man...

"And you say that I talk too much?" I said.   Kool Kat broke into laughter....He kept him covered while I got in my car and started it up...He got in his ride and we both drove off...Leaving Man-Man standing in the empty lot...bloody and alone.

(Definitely to Be Continued....)

One Happy Ending...

The Police did come and just as I said...They determined that the shooter was on the bank's rooftop and he used an M-16 rifle...They found the casing....I didn't move it..but they found no fingerprints.... No shoe prints, no tire treads, no DNA...Nothing!  I wasn't surprised....The hitter was a pro...But then again..I had to ask myself..Would a pro have left behind a spent shell casing?  Maybe..

"It don't figure Kev." said Kool Kat and hour later....

"What doesn't fit?  Pony Boy found out that Chico was talkin to me and he had him shut down." I said.

''Come on...We talkin bout Pony Boy here....He aint exactly no major playa Kev...He's strictly small potatoes...He aint got the juice to hire no professional hitter...He's just a street punk..One step removed from bein a tout." said Kool Kat..  "Besides..how would he know Chico was talkin to us? And what could Chico really tell us...Chances are..He just dealt with Pony Boy or Grease...Cats like him don't meet the big man..." he continued.

"You're right Big man...but he was going to tell me who was runnin the show..just before he got killed.." I said.

''Aww man, I could tell you who runnin the show..Sonny Byrd man...Pony Boy and Grease move dope and Coke for Sonny Byrd." said Kool Kat.

"What? You mean to tell me that I've been squeezing this guy for information for two weeks and you knew who was runnin the show all along?" I asked ,exasperated.

"You never asked me Kev." said Kool Kat.

I just shook my head...

''Kev..Everybody on the street know that Sonny Byrd took over Johnny Porter's operation shortly after he went to jail...He's just been real quiet about it...He's a local cat, but I hear when his lips move, it's New York talkin...you know what I mean?" said Kool Kat.

"Well where can I find this Sonny Byrd charactor?" I asked.

"That I don't know.....He's in Atlantic City a lot and New York...When he  comes to Philly he stays with a number of young ladies...Again..I don't know who, but I can roust of few guys I know and find out for ya." said Kool Kat.

"Still..Why was Chico Harris killed?" I asked.

"It couldn't be for what you think....Had to be somethin else..." said Kool Kat...

Just Then, Basil Robinson and a young man came walking toward us....

"Hey Kev...Hey Kool Kat....This here is Cordell....Cordell Rodgers....He's one of the young men in our outreach program...This is Kevin Morris...a private investigator and his associate..Walter Jones...we all call Walter -"Kool Kat." said Basil.

"Hey Kev, Hey Kool Kat." he said.   He was a tall, athletic, good looking guy.....

"You don't look like you were a playa." I remarked.

"I wasn't...I was a user....I'm a former Marine...Fought over in Iraq....I came home and had Post Traumatic Stress ...I started doing a little coke at first and then a little "H"....Then Basil here found me and brought me to this out reach program..Straightened me out...Now I'm gettin my life together...." He said.

"Always good to hear young brother." I said.

"I see that worthless peice of trash  Chico Harris got got." he said...

"You knew him?" asked Kool Kat...

"Yeah...he used to sell me my stash.....Then unbeknownst to me, he got my girl hooked." said Cordell..

"Your girl?" I asked.

"Yeah...Andrea Carter.....I met her here...She was a recovering addict too...We was gonna get married, but she was weak....I tried to save her....but......she was just weak.....and that creep sold her a bag...about a week ago and she o.d ed..." he said, now almost in tears...

"Did you know that he had give up his connect and he was tryin to get out of the game?" asked Kool Kat.

"Yeah...That's what I heard....still aint lose no sleep over him though." said Cordell.... Basil winced...I patted him on the shoulder....

"I certainly understand brother." I said.

''Hey Look, we are going to  get some lunch, you guys care to join us?" asked Basil..

"Nah....I gotta roust some of my people ,find out where Pony Boy and Grease are." said Kool Kat....

"Yeah....they were supplying Chico Harris.....We need to talk to them..." I said.

"Okay guys ,well good luck...I know you'll get to the bottom of this if anybody will Kev." said Basil as he and the young man walked off.

"Alright...I'm tired.....I'm going home." I said.

"Okay Kev..Be easy man. I'll see what I can stir up on the streets" said Kool Kat.

II-

A day later......I was at Peeping Tom's house...Working on my other case....Finding out who set up "Chinese"
Bob Lee.


Clerow ,Lockpick Johnson and I studied the photos and grinned a little bit....

"Never imagined Chinese Bob to be a playa...Seem like he's always in that restaraunt slavin away." said Clerow.

"What do you think of these photos doc?" I said to my friend, Peeping Tom, an ex CIA operative who I used for wiretapping and other covert operations from time to time..along with his associate Lockpick Johnson..Who could break into almost anyplace...Thus his nickname.

"It's definitely a photoshop job....That's not Chinese Bob's body...Look at it...I've seen Chinese Bob...He wished he had biceps like that young stud..." Laughed Peeping Tom....They photo shopped his head onto the photo...This was amateur hour at it's best. I'm surprised this fooled his wife." he said.

"So..All I have to do..Is find the guy that did this work huh?"I said.

"Shouldn't be hard..I know a sleazy guy in Chinatown that probably does this kind of work....Here's an address." said Tom.

"Tom...I owe you." I said.

"Don't mention it Kev..He gives Professionals like me a bad name." laughed Tom and Lockpick as Clerow and I left.

Clerow and I walked into the little  photo shop in Chinatown....We had Susan Lee with us..She was a pretty little thing..Chinese Bob was lucky to have a pretty wife like her...The proprieter...A short little guy with a pot belly came out...

''Hello...What can I do for you today?" he said.

I showed him the glossies....

"That your work?" I asked..

His eyes got wide...and he immediately made a run for the back door , only to back back in real slow....Our new friend, Owen Todd had a .38 smokeless pointed right at his nose...There was no one in the store..So Clerow put up the "CLOSED" sign.

I smiled....

"Now I'll ask you again...This your work?" I asked.

"Yeah...Yeah...This guy gave me some photos and he told me to photo shop this guy's head on to the man's body and mail it to this address...He paid me." said the shop owner.

"That's my home, that's my address " said Susan Lee.

"Who paid you?" I asked.

" Some guy ...I don't have to tell you his name,I know my rights...I want a lawyer." he said.

Clerow smiled and cocked his pistol..So did Owen Todd....

"Come again?" I said.

"It was a guy named Low..Low Mein..." he said.

"See how easy that was?" I said.

Susan Lee looked down at the ground....

"I know this Low Mein, He's been after me for years..Always sayin he would love me better than my husband..always talking against my husband...He tried to set my husband up...I've been a fool......I must find my husband and make this right....Thank you Kevin....If you see Low Mein...Tell him I never want to see his ass again!" she said.

Clerow looked at me and smiled...

"Looks like you cracked another one boss." he said.

''Yeah..Wish they all were this easy." I said.

III-

A little while later, I was in a completely different part of town with Kool Kat, sitting outside of a storefront..

"You wanna tell me what I'm doing here Big Man?" I asked.

"I got a scope on your boys, Pony Boy and Grease...." he said.

"I thought we were looking for the big fish, Sonny Byrd?" I asked.

''Well, best way to get to him is to get to them." He said....

"Yeah...That makes sense." I said..

Just then, a volley of shots rang out....first three, then a series in succession..

''What the hell?" said Kool Kat... He cocked his .44 magnum...I cocked my  .38 smokeless and we stormed

the small storefront and ran up the stairs...

There were screams and several people were in the hallway....We saw an open door....Kool Kat and I stood on opposite sides and then like two cops we stormed inside the room..Only to find...Pony Boy lying on his back in a pool of blood, a revolver still in his hands and Grease lying over by an open window...lying in a pool of blood facedown....Both of them , very, very dead! It was mid December...and the window was wide open!

I asked some of the bystanders if they saw anybody leave from the room....Of course..Nobody saw anything!!

"Kev...Our killer escaped from the window." said Kool Kat and pointed to the open window-

I looked out of the window down into the alley....Nothing...Once again...Our killer had done his dirty work and vanished into seemingly thin air....


"Got any theories on this Big Man?" I asked.

"I'm stumped Kev....You think somebody is trying to move on Sonny Byrd's turf?" he asked.

"I thought you were stumped?" I asked...

Kool Kat shrugged his shoulders....

IV-

At the apartment on top of Chinese Bob's chinese restaraunt, the bed was squeaking loudly ...the headboard was slamming against the wall........


"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BOB... ME so sorry, me ever doubted you...OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..."

''Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh Susie...Doubt me some more...I love it when we have make up sex..ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

"Me so hornyyyy, me love you sooooo much...and  so longggggggggggggggggggg........OHHHHHHH."


I smiled as I walked by...listening to the sounds of them making up....At least there had been one happy ending today...but as for my other case...It was getting murkier and murkier...

(To Be Continued.....)

Death In The Afternoon

"I'm tellin  ya Kev...I'm feelin mighty bad man...real bad....it wasn't supposed to happen this way...Nobody was supposed to die.." came the voice over the phone... It was the voice of Chico Harris, a low level drug dealer and informant who I had been leaning on...My client's daughter, a beautiful but lost young lady named
Andrea Carter had been found dead in her apartment recently...Dead of an overdose of bad heroin that had been floating around the neighborhood...My Client had asked me to look into her death....

We knew it was an overdose.....but he wanted to know who was responsible....My Client was the young lady's father, Anthony Carter......He was grief stricken...It was his only child and now she was gone....I didn't want him to be out here in the streets dealing with these local playas....Their answer to any opposition is to put a bullet in somebody's head....I was going to find out who sold her the dope and take them off the street..Legally! Which meant alive!

This is where Chico comes in....It only took me one day and a few questions of a few folks to find out that Chico was the man who was selling all of the good dope and coke in the neighborhood.....Only problem was...Chico had had a change of heart...He started going to Basil Robinson and Pastor Struther's Young Man's Outreach and had apparently turned a new leaf...He had given up his drug dealing career ,just as Basil and Chris Thompson had done before him....Problem was...Unlike them...He had sold one last bag to Andrea Carter, a one time promising model...and she was dead.....Just like three other people in the past month...

Somebody was selling a deadly batch of Heroin that was indeed a killer...That's what I needed to find out!

''Chico... get ahold of yourself man....Tell me what happened." I said.

"Kev...I sold it to her about three weeks ago....right before I quit and gave up my connect.....She was my last customer...I swear....Man..I just gave my life to the Lord....I was tryin to do good and now this..." bawled Chico into my phone...

"Look man...Where did you get the dope from?  Who is your connect?" I asked.

"A guy named Pony Boy....I was sellin for him...You know him?" asked Chico...

"Yeah...I know Pony Boy....He lives in a Condo.......Runs with a cat named "Grease"....." I said.

"Yeah, that's the guy..but listen Kev...He aint the boss...He's just the guy you see on the street." said Chico..

"Who is the boss?" I asked.

"Look Kev...Meet me at the Church...Twelve Noon..I'll lay it all out for ya....I don't want to talk on the phone any longer...I'll tell you in person...I'm supposed to be talking to Pastor Sruthers and Deacon Weatherford." he said.

"Okay Chico...I'll meet you in front of the church at 12:00 noon..." I said.

"Bet..I'll see you then Kev." he said and hung up....

I put my Android away and peered over at Kool Kat , who was sitting across from me...

"What did I tell you Kev...Pony Boy lives in that Condo and he wholesales his product...He has his dealers sell quietly and he keeps a low profile....He only leaves to bank his take and pay his dealers...Grease is his driver , bodyguard and number two...He's a pretty rough charactor...You may need my services to take them two on." said the big man...

"Okay..Well hang loose...I got a meet with Chico Harris at the church..." I said.

"Just hit my cell Kev..I'll be close." said Kool Kat as he tossed a couple of dollars on the table and left the restaurant.

II-

I drove over to the block where I and most of the people I know attended church.....As I walked down the street toward Pastor John Struther's church....the air was punctuated with a loud and angry argument.....It was between "Chinese Bob" Lee and his young wife, Susan Lee...

"I tell you...It wasn't me...It wasn't me in those photos....I was never with that woman.." he screamed...

"You lie...I see you...I see you looking at big booty girl all the time...You think I don't, but I do.." she screamed...

"I no look at Big Booty girl...I look at your booty and I must say, it is looking great today Susie..." he said.

''Shut up..I am tired of your lies.. Get out...Get out....Take all of your things.." she screamed..

"But Susie...Where am I to go..?" he yelled...

"Go stay with Big Booty girl." she screamed....and then ran back into the store crying....

Just as I was walking by he ran up to me...

"Mister Kevin...Mister Kevin, you must help..." he said.

"I'd love to help you Chinese Bob...But I am really in a rush...I've got to mee with someone at the church..It's very important.." I said.

"I have been set up..Someone sent phony photos of me and big booty girl...I don't even know her...I was set up..I need your help to prove to my wife that I have not been with Big Booty girl." he said.

"I tell you what Chinese Bob...Stop by my house tonight..Leave the photos with my wife..I'll look into it." I said.

"Thank you Mister Kevin...I can pay you." he said.

I smiled and kept walking briskly toward the Church...

III-

As I approached the Church, Deacon Basil Robinson and Deacon Larry Weatherford greeted me...They both smiled gingerly...

''Brother Kev" said Basil

"What's goin on young man?" said Deacon Weatherford..

"Was Chico Harris here?" I asked.

"Yeah..He's talking to Pastor now...He should be out in a minute...That kid is sure tormented...He's gonna take a lot of work." Said Basil Robinson...

Just as he said that the doors of the church opened and Chico walked out...Pastor Struthers was right behind him....

He saw me and he smiled...

"Hey Kev...You sure don't operate on C.P. Time" he said.

"In my business, I can't afford to." I said.

Just then...A lone  shot rang out!!!...... Basil, Larry Weatherford and I dropped to the ground immediately.....It was too late for Chico Harris...the shot had gone straight through his heart....He fell backwards dead into Pastor Struthers arms....

''OH MY GOD." said Pastor Struthers...

"He's been shot!!!" said Larry Weatherford...

Basil and I rushed over to where the body was.....I felt for a pulse...but it was too late...I instinctively knew that he was dead....

"Basil...call the police...." I said somberly.....

A crowd of people gathered on the street.... I studied the possibly trajectory of the bullet....It could have come from the rooftops of two buildings across the street.....

One was a bank , which was highly unlikely and the other was a recently abandoned building...I pulled my .38 smokeless out and ran across the street and over to the abandoned building....but to my surprise...All of the doors were locked!!!!!

The Bank???  I went inside and questioned the tellers and a few officials....They led me to the top floor, which they weren't using....There were open exits and a rooftop entrance....We climbed to the top and I found one spent casing.....It was from an M-16!  Having been in the military..I recognized it....The gunman had shot from here... I knew the police were on their way and would be all over the place, So I left...

'Thousands of people come and go in this bank everyday..." said the Bank's President..

"Yeah, but who comes in this bank and gets that far upstairs?" I asked.

"They wouldn't have to come inside to get to that roof..They could go down the back alley and climb up those stairs.." said a guard...

He was right....The gunman could have had access to any roof behind there.....and have slipped away undetected which apparently..He did.....Incredible.......Somebody didn't want Chico Harris talking to me or anyone.....Didn't take much to figure that it was Pony Boy and Grease on orders from whom ever was pulling their strings....This case had really gotten deep!


(To Be Continued....)