We Don't Have to Pretend

I couldn't believe that Sissy was actually in my apartment..... I had taken her out on three dates now...Not including drinks at Josies... No..We had had a great meal at an Israeli restaraunt in Northern Liberties....Another great meal at a Pan Asian Bistro in
Olde City and a meal at Mabel Jenkins's Soul food joint and a great jazz concert at Josie's just a few nights ago...

We hadn't so much as kissed yet...Yet I was certain that Detectives Rodriguez, Pile, Barlow and even ADA Keith Wallace was certain that we'd done the nasty a dozen times or more...We hadn't..

For me...Eddie C.  , reformed playa, ex con and now solid citizen that was amazing...In my old life I had been known as "Quick Eddie"...If I didn't have a woman's panties off within 48 hours after meeting her....I didn't fool with her much more... Needless to say..I can count on one hand the number of women I gave up on....Make that half of one hand.

But I was older , different, mellower now....Nobody was watching me...I didn't have a thing to prove....To anyone...We had been taking our time.

Sissy looked good...no...Great....In the back of my mind I'm thinking...She's a cop...Not just any cop, The Lieutenant of Homicide....Who in my old life would have imagined me, actually inviting a cop into my apartment...no matter how fine she was????....Who???
But that was my old life...In my old life, I sold drugs..Best Dope and Coke in the neighborhood...Made a pile of money too...and then I got caught!!! Did a three year bid!

That was it for me.....I decided that I didn't like being locked up...At All!! The thought of going back scared the hell out of me...I sold my connects, went back to school, earned a bachelors degree in public administration....got a job and started attending church and working with the neighborhood outreach....And now .....I've come full circle...Got a cop over my apartment...A cop who knows who I used to be and doesn't seem to care...

II-

Sissy leafed through my photo albums....I smiled as I fixed us both a drink.....

"See anybody you know in there?" I laughed.

"No...but I see you were quite the ladies man." she mused.

I peered at some of the photos...I couldn't even remember half of these women...nameless and faceless now...

"Yeah...I hardly know that guy anymore." I said.

''Really?" she mused.

"And you didn't have guys after you?  I doubt that....I'm lookin at you and I'm guessin your suitors may have out numbered mine." I said.

Sissy busted out laughing....

"Is that a lame compliment?" she said..

''Yeah...but it's the truth...I know I would of been chasing after you." I said.

"I don't think you would have....I've been a cop for a longgg time." she said.

I put my glass down and walked over to her....

"If I had known you then....I would've gone straight." I said ...

"Oh?"she laughed..

"Yes..." I said, staring her straight in the eyes....She looked a bit nervous....This was the first time we'd been somewhere alone like this...I hadn't even been inside her apartment.

"I-I--Okay...I believe you Eddie." she said , smiling weakly...

I pulled her to me then and kissed her, long, slow and softly.....She had soft lips, like butter and I wanted to just engulf them.....

''Wow... you're not wasting any time are you?" she asked.

''Question is...Am I wasting my time?" I asked.

"I don't think so....We have been on three or four dates....I was beginning to wonder if you were gay." she joked.

"You don't really believe that do you?" I asked.

She felt my trousers gently ...Her eyes got as large as saucers...she looked at me and smiled...

"Not at all...whoooooo..." she exclaimed...Then she busted out laughing...and pulled me to her...

She knew how to kiss a man too...All of that passion that had been pent up and supressed for so long seemed to ooze out of her.....

We stood there in my living room kissing like that for a long time....

"Oh my God Eddie....Nothing gay about you.." she exclaimed again...

She opened the buttons of my shirt and pulled the shirt out of my pants...I kissed her neck...She shivered a bit....She unbottoned my trousers and I ran my hands up her dress..

''Ouuuuuuuu.."she moaned as she felt my hands palm her rear end...

"You okay?" I asked...

"Ohhh yes...yes...." she moaned...

She pulled my now erect penis out of my shorts and gently massaged it with her soft hands...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." I moaned...

"You like that?" she said..

''You know I do.."I said.

"I like this....what I'm feeling here." she said... I laughed...

"You do huh?" I said.

"Yes, I do." said Sissy...

I pulled her to me and kissed her passionately again...she returned my passion.....

I unzippered her dress and smiled at how easily it slipped off... She smiled...I continued kissing her....

III-

I don't remember us taking all of our  our clothes off or winding up in the bedroom, but the next thing I know...Sissy and I were in the middle of my bedroom floor....I kissed her from her navel up to her neck, occasionally licking and sucking her breasts....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh Eddie, don't stop...donnnnnnnnn't stopppppp..." she moaned...

Sissy was no slouch either...Kissing my neck, my chest...stopping short of taking me in her mouth.....instead, she smiled politely and just continued to kiss me...I was close to exploding...

"I can't stop..." I exclaimed... It was the truth.....

"Take your time, we've got all night...I'm not going anywhere." she said gently....

"Is this where you uh....want to be?" I asked.

"I wasn't sure at first...but now I am." she said silently....

I ran my hands down her back,  I caressed her rear end and rubbed it...I spread her across my bed and entered her slowly...she was so soft, so warm, so wet...It made my stroking so easy, so smooth.....I couldn't believe that I was actually having sex with this fine woman....The fact that she was a cop no longer mattered...I had been looking for this moment since I first met Sissy...When I brought those two witnesses down to her station house and helped her detectives solve that murder case...

Finnally, Sissy kissed me from my neck down to my penis and hungrily took all of me into her mouth....Her soft lips had my eyes rolling in the back of my head....She was full of surprises...she stopped when she saw I was about to come....She gently rubbed my chest....

I spread her across the bed and returned the favor... She writhed excitedly and came furiously.....So fast,it scared me...

She rolled over on top of me and began kissing me....while I allowed her to ride me from the top.....she  moved slowly, surely, softly...I was so close to exploding, I didn't know what to do... Sissy sensed it and looked down at me and smiled and began kissing me slowly... she was still very moist and warm inside..

She moaned softly.....She wasn't as loud as I was acustomed to, but I didn't care....

"Oh my goddd Eddie, you're so hard...ouuuuuuuuuuuu.." she suddenly moaned...

She wasn't lying...and I felt like I was getting harder the longer we stroked... our bed softly moved from side to side ....Those damn springs...I had meant to replace them....They were so loud, I'm certain my neighbor knew what was going on in here...not that I cared at this moment as Sissy and I made sweet love...

I don't how long we we were making love like that...but I enjoyed every minute, every second, every hour....and from the moans and looks of ecstacy on Sissy's face, I could tell that she felt the same....

I came furiously, roughly......I felt Sissy trembling and shaking.......She wound up lying on top of me....breathing deeply at first and then slowly...

"You alright?" I asked.

She smiled sweetly....

"I am fineeee Eddie......That was what I needed...It's been awhile...but I know that I needed that." she said....

"I needed it too." I said.  "I'm glad we got this out of the way." I said as I slipped on my boxers..

"So am I...I wondered how long we were going to play games before we got to this point." she said.

I smiled...

"Really? I was feeling the same way." I said.

"I know..." she said.

"You knew?" I said.

"Eddie...I'm a detective...but what's more...I'm a woman...I know these things..." she said.

"I imagine you do." I chuckled...  "Sissy, nobody is watching us, nobody is judging us...It's just you and me...We no longer have to pretend." I said.

Sissy leaned over and gave me another kiss...This one was wet and juicier than the others...I returned her passion....She eased my boxers down and again,I stepped out of them....

"No we don't... and I don't want to pretend" she said.

She peered  at the bulge that was growing and giggled...

"What's wrong with you?" I asked.   She pointed at my erection....

"Looks like I may have to take care of that for you again." she said...

I peered down...I was surprised myself....Though I don't know why...Sissy was intoxicating...

We gradually got back in the bed and began making love again....unpretentious and uninhibited!!.....

Fun & Dames

"I gotta hand it to you Walter...You find the most exotic bars." I said as me , Walter "Kool Kat" Jones, Owen Todd and Clerow sat in a new bar called "Lux" and quaffed down coronas..

"Come on Kev, Clerow...Owen...You don't come to a joint like this just to drink beer...order some real drinks." laughed Kool Kat....

"You got some real money?" I said.

Kool Kat looked at me and laughed....

"I know you aint complainin about dough Mister Money bags." he said.

We all laughed.... We didn't just happen to be in here....Greasy Jones often came in this bar....We had been shadowing his movemants for the past week and we noticed that he usually ended his day here....

He came in tonight with his girlfriend, Tangi and a man named , William Butler...A low level playa....

They took a booth,  Within minutes they spotted us sitting at the bar....Owen whispered to me...

"They spotted us Kev, it's showtime.."

"Okay guys, sit tight...don't do anything rash." I said.

Greasy and William Butler walked over to where we were sitting...They didn't know Clerow or Owen Todd, but he knew me and from the description he had gotten from his former protoge', Doc Johnson...He recognized Kool Kat...

"This is a little out of your price range aint it Kev?" he said to me...

"No, Not really...." I said with a smile..."How are you sleeping at night?" I added.

"I'm sleepin pretty well thank you." he sneered...Then he looked at Kool Kat...

"You...I beleive you have something of mine." he said.

"Who me? , Not me boss, this is the first time I've ever laid eyes on you." said Kool Kat.

"Ohhhh a smart guy...Billy, teach him some manners and help him improve his memory." he snarled...

Kool Kat spun around so they could see how big he was and how massive....

He grabbed William Butler in his collar...and Owen Todd pulled out his .38 and quietly stuck it in William's Ribs...

"Now Bill...Can I call you Bill?  If I was you, I'd go and sit down , real slow like, you feel me?" said Kool Kat...

Bill said nothing, but he didn't do anything either....

"I gave your boys your stash back....They didn't tell you?" said Kool Kat... "For real..I aint no dealer...I was just playin with them...They must be sellin it and keeping the profit for themselves." he said.

Greasy was in no position to dispute anything....Clerow had a .45 sticking in his ribs....and was smiling that toothy grin of his...

"This was you huh?" he said giving me a hateful stare...

" Yeah, I confess....My guys here was just havin a little fun with your peeps..We gave the stash back...He aint lyin about that." I said.

"You're playin with fire Kevin." said Greasy...

"I don't think so....You're about as hot as a wet noodle right about now..but manipulating and ruining a young woman's life isn't fair play or hot either.and I know you know what I'm talking about if everybody else doesn't..She was innocent, she didn't know enough to hurt you.....What you did to her wasn't right." I said.

"I don't care what you think okay?...It's old business and you can't prove a thing...and none of my people will talk to you. Not ever." he sneered...

I shrugged....

"You're right...Kools, Owen, Clerow...Let them go... Let's just call it even okay?" I said.  "But I still think you're foul." I said.

"I don't give a damn what you think......You win this time Kevin, but I aint gonna forget this." he said.

"You should forget it....I'm being nice this time...Next time, I won't be so nice."I said.

"Yeah? Youse a tough guy now?" he said.

''Ask your boy George Stephens...Oh that's right...He aint with you no more...And you're too much of a punk to lay hands on him like you do Doc....You've lost both of them....One day they just might tell the whole story." I said.

"I doubt that seriously." he said.

"Oh you do huh?" I said.

"Yeah..I do." he said. "See ya around Kev." he sneered.

"I doubt that." I said.

He and William Butler walked back to their booth...

I smiled...

"The fun is just about to begin guys." I said.

II-

William Butler eventually got up and went to the bar to order himself a drink.... Tangi leaned over and said to Greasy...

"Greasy baby, ever since you told me that you actually offed somebody ,I've been so horny I don't know what to do." she said.

"Yeah? well forget what I told you, you hear?" he snapped..

She rubbed his leg....She ran her hand up his trousers and unzippered them at the table and leaned over and gave him a long sloppy wet kiss...

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmm girl, stop playin with meeee....ughhhhhhhhhhh..." he moaned..

He didn't see Thelma Thompson walk in.....Upon seeing them , she was furious!! Sometime in the wee hours of the morning...A DVD was sent to her apartment...It had full visions of Greasy and Tangi having sex and exchanging pillow talk....To say she was not pleased was an understatement....

She also got an anonymous call just an hour ago telling her where Greasy was and how to find the place and most of all, who he was with!

She bought a drink and poured it on Tangi...Then slapped Greasy so hard that he fell out of his seat...

"You lying cheating bastard....I can't believe that after all I've done for you, you bring this heifer to a class spot like this....While all I'm good for is Josie's and the Mermaid Club..." she spat...

"Who you callin a heifer?? Hoodrat" screamed Tangi....

''You...Heifer?"she screamed... Everyone in this quiet high class bar began to turn around...and stare...

The next thing you know, The three of them were shouting and screaming at each other to the top of their lungs...and pushing and shoving... This was an upscale bar and the bouncers came out in droves, surrounded the trio and ushered them out the door...

Most of the patrons were laughing and slapping their knees... Some were outraged!

"Thelma....I found you in the hood and I'll drop you back there...William..William , come and get her...please...come and get her will you?" screamed Greasy...

"Nah man, you on your own baby...I don't do domestic..." he said...

Kool Kat,Owen Todd, Clerow and I busted out laughing...

Two Police cars just happened to pull up...Lt. Sissy Van Buren  and Detective Carlotta Rodriguez and about six uniformed Philadelphia policemen pulled up...

The trio was still arguing and fussing.... Sissy and two cops pulled the fighting girls apart...

Carlotta put the handcuffs on Greasy Jones....

"You're under arrest papi...for the murder of Clyde Rassums.." she said.

''What? , you're kidding right?" he sneered....

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" said Carlotta...

"I don't believe this...I'm gettin arrested???  I'm Greasy baby...I don't go to jail, I slip through the cracks baby!" he said.

"Save it for the judge , you cheap punk." said Lt. Sissy Van Buren...who looked over at me and shook her head....Carlotta waved and laughed...

I raised my glass and nodded...

William Butler looked at Kool Kat, Owen Todd, Clerow and I and laughed....

"What a loser...I'm so glad I didn't get involved with that guy." he said....

"Hey Billy, how bout I buy you a drink?   On me.....No hard feelings?" I said.

"None at all bruh! We sweet like Cracker Jack baby!" he said...and the five of us sat at the bar and enjoyed another round of  drinks well into the night!

EPILOUGE:

William "Greasy" Jones was convicted of First Degree Murder in the death of Clyde Rassums... as well as attempted murder of Guitarist Brooke Taylor and manslaughter in the death of Lilli Palmer, Brooke's victim that night....He was sentenced to life in prison.

Tangi, Thelma Thompson, Arthur "Doc" Johnson and George Stephens all testified against him and amazingly, none of them was charged with anything...

Brooke Taylor's name was cleared and she was given a full pardon.....

Sepia and I caught her act at Josie's a few weeks later.....

"Kevin...I can't thank you enough for clearing my name and putting that bastard, "Greasy" Jones behind bars..." she said...

"Believe me...After getting to know him....It was my pleasure....I would have done it for free." I laughed as Sepia held my arm....

"Gurllll, you are wearing the hell out of that dress!" exclaimed Brooke.

"Yeah...a little too much, two guys have already tripped and spilled their drinks." laughed my wife.

"Kev, you better watch your wife..." joked Brooke...

"Oh believe me...I am." I laughed...

Brooke paid me handsomely for clearing her name....I kind of hated taking the payment, but I'm no fool...I took it.


"Well handsome, what are you gonna do with all that cash?" asked Sepia...

"Why don't we find us a fine hotel and spend the night?" I said.

"AC?" she asked.

"If that's where you want to go." I said.

"Lead the way lover." she said.

"No, I'll follow you, so I can look at you in that dress." I laughed..

"You are sooo nasty." laughed my wife...

Brooke smiled....I smiled back at her and winked!

For L.

Jive Talk

Greasy Jones's other woman's name was Tangi....Tangi Jefferson....She lived alone in an apartment,I found out that he was paying for...He had met her at the Aqua Bar...That expensive joint that I only sometimes frequented with Kool Kat...

Tangi worked in center city for of all things...a prestigious law firm...she was an administrative assistant...While she was at work... Lockpick Johnson gained entrance to her apartment....Peeping Tom ,Sean Jackson and I went inside and of course as was now becoming routine...wired her place for sound and video..

Owen Todd stood outside as a lookout and Clerow was parked around the corner......I had trained my guys so well at this, that we were in and out in record time...Peeping Tom, Sean Jackson and Lockpick Johnson exited and returned to the van...

I got in the car with Clerow and Owen Todd and we went our seperate ways....Now all we had to do was wait for Greasy Jones to visit her again...

II-

On the other side of town....Kool Kat, posing as a customer was explaining to Arthur "Doc" Johnson that he couldn't pay him the full amount he owed him for the "weight" he had bought....Naturally, Doc bought George around to extract that payment...and for the second time in as many days...George got a beating....
Kool Kat then took more weight off of both of them and vanished into the night...

Naturally, Greasy wasn't pleased.....

He slapped the crap out of Doc and verbally upbraided George for getting two butt kickings in one week...

"What is wrong with you guys?  Now you done went and got my stuff ripped off....You're making me look weak....You know what?   I am sick and damn tired of carrying you two losers....I can walk right out here in these streets and find two guys just like you two...only tougher and smarter.....Get lost...you're done." he screamed  in front of a crowd of people at Joe Neptune's joint...The Mermaid Club...

Both of them sat at the bar looking like two dejected children....  Kool Kat of course was there and he and Owen Todd and Marco Gervay sat down next to them... Kool Kat passed Doc his weight....

"Here you go man.....I was just havin a little fun...and here's your money...I didn't realize you work for such a jerk." he said with fake empathy....

"Man...I'm tired of him, tired of him slappin me around.." said Doc.

"Yeah man, youse a grown ass man, what you takin that from here for?" added Owen Todd...

"And I'm...I'm tired of him talkin to me like I'm a child..." added George...

"Mannn, big as you is, I'd kick his ass.." added Marco Gervay....

"I bet you could too." said Owen Todd..

"Man, what you should do, is sell that weight yourself....and don't give him none.." said Kool Kat...

Doc was thoughtful for a moment....

"You guys take all of the risks....and what does he do? Nothin...but run around with Thelma..." said Owen.

"Not just Thelma....he got another babe in North Philly...she work downtown, real classy broad too, not a hood rat like Thelma....Name is Tangi." added George.....

What they couldn't know was that Owen and Kool Kat were wearing wires and all of this was being recorded digitally and clearly~!

III-

We had to listen to the bed squeaking and a lot of heavy breathing and sighing and grunting and groaning in Tangi's apartment before Greasy Jones started talking...

"Ouuuuu Greasy, you really put it to me tonight....ouuuuuuuu..." she moaned...

"Yeah, I needed to release some pressure." he sighed..

"What's the matter? You stressed about somethin?" she asked...

"Those two jerks , Doc and George....I did everything for them two busters....and they lose my stash...They got robbed and beat up by some buster in West Philly today....Now I gotta hire somebody to find him and kill him to keep my name ringing out on them corners.." he said.

"You don't want to off nobody?" she said.

"I sure do...It aint like I aint never done it before...." he said.

"For real?? Ouuu, you makin me moist..." she cooed....

The sound of kissing, the bed squeaking again , more grunting and groaning....

"Yeah...some years ago...Me, Doc and George robbed this big time playa...He dead now....Doc had this friend, Clyde somethin or other....Talkative cat...He liked this girl, a Guitar playa...you might of heard of her...Anyway..dude ran his mouth too much...So did Clyde...I knew I could slap the hell out of Doc and he wouldn't talk...but this dude Clyde....I wasn't so sure of....So I visited him one night....Gave him a hot shot...
Cocaine and Heroin...high grade....made it look like and accident....He died peacefully..hahahahahahahahaha." laughed Greasy.

"Oh My God...You killed someone?" laughed Tangi...

"That's right...I wasn't going to jail.....Check this out...I bought this drug...It's like LSD,only it's worse...Off of this Russian guy up in Northeast Philly....I slipped it in this female guitar players drink...I figured...It would make her loopy as hell.....She already drank like a damn fish and bought weed off of me...I figured she'd kill herself in a car accident...Guess what happened?? The loopy broad got in a crash and killed someone else..
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...Hey, whatsamatta with you?" he asked.

"Wow...you did that?" she asked..

"I couldn't chance goin to jail or gettin whacked if this playa heard somebody runnin their yap about me robbin him....I took a great deal of jack from this guy....How you think I can afford this apartment you in...and my condo and my car and the car I bought you?" he said...

"Wow...." she said.

"That's why I'm a balla....and that's why they call me Greasy...Cops don't know my name.....I slip right through the cracks." he sneered...

"Ohhhhh Greasy....Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.." she moaned...

He began licking her breasts and kissing her neck and her chin and her ears....She began kissing him passionately and massaging his now , fully erect penis and for the third time....The bed was squeaking and slamming against the wall, there were sounds of grunts.....groans, moans...and lovemaking...

Sean Jackson, Peeping Tom, Lockpick Johnson and Clerow looked at me....

"We got him boss." said Clerow...

Peeping Tom smiled and high fived me...

"Oh the party is just beginning." I said.

IV-

That night ,I sat in Josies with my wife,Sepia and Brooke Taylor....

"Brooke" I said as the three of us sat in a booth and enjoyed our drinks,listening to Downtown Rob Brown and his quintet play a set..

"I have proof of your innocence...Enough proof to send these clowns to jail and clear your name." I said.

"You do?" she said.

"Yes I do...I'm going to talk to the cops tomorrow...Hopefully, they'll pick these clowns up before they kill each other." I laughed.

"What do you mean?" she asked...

"Watch and learn Brooke, watch and learn....The best is yet to come." I said.

Conclusion Next......

The Other Guy

Brooke Taylor sat in Josies laughing and talking with a young man who I did not know and had not seen before... She saw me sitting alone in a booth and excused herself and came over and sat with me...

"Thank God I saw you....That clown was watching my cleavage more than he was listening to what I was saying." she said.

"But the drinks were flowing." I said with a wink and a bit of tongue in cheek...

She laughed...

"Yeah, he bought me about three drinks." she said.

"I thought you stopped?" I said.

"Oh they were light...sweet lady drinks...No hard stuff.." she said.

"Well anyway...I did some digging...I looked through all four of these peoples bank accounts, going back 10-15 years...It made for some interesting reading...All of them are now independently wealthy....They've got fat accounts and nice portfolios...which made me wonder why they're still hanging around here..." I said.

"They don't want to bring attention to themselves." she said.

"Would be my guess....I did some further research and discovered that in the weeks before your accident , Donny Miller was robbed.. Somebody broke into his home and hit his safe...They got over one million in cash..Way over one million and enough jewelry to finance a small country....Donny Miller was never quite the same...He reported it to the police, but they never found the dough or the culprits....He had his own goons and informants on the street looking, but they never found a thing!Greasy Jones ,in addition to dealing dope and coke, fancied himself as somewhat of a boxman and heist guy...." I said.

"You know...I used to get high with his stash...Me and his girlfriend, Thelma...Thelma was dating Donny Miller on the sly...I mean she had his nose wide open...It was our secret...." she said.

"Did you ever think that maybe, Greasy Jones fished her inside of Donny Miller's spot so he could set him up?" I asked.

''What? No..I never thought about that."she said.

"Donny Miller, one of the most major,major playas at that time was nothing more than a mark...She set him up and Greasy, Doc and Georgie probably broke in his spot and robbed him.."I said.

"Did I tell you that I had a fella?" she said.

''A fella?" I asked.

"Yeah....his name was Clyde...Clyde Rassmus..."she said.

"Who was he or is he?" I asked

II-

"Clyde was the best lover I ever had....Even better than Robert Foxworth and that takes some doing." she said...

"He was the other guy who ran with us...He was Doc's boy...Talkative guy...He liked me..Used to bring me a bouquet of roses everytime I performed....He would order my favorite liquor and have it ready for me after a set...

At first I thought it was just a crush...but gradually he began to try to move me away from the others...I liked being around Clyde, I liked having someone who knew how everything works for me. I lovde knowing that Clyde knew what to do in the bedroom. Yes, there are still quiet moments when I wistfully drift back to the sex-for-recreation days. I do  miss them. I miss him.  I am glad that I had them.

When Clyde touched me it was with the skill of a seasoned carpenter,a cat who knew how to put in work. There was such discovery... tongues, fingers, toys. I got maximum satisfaction. It was satisfaction on all levels. This makes our sexual pairing deep, rich and oh so damnnnn good." she mused wistfully..

"But I'm boring you with all of this I know..." she added.

She was, but I let her go on...

"He told me that Greasy and Doc and George were planning to rob somebody... I didn't take him seriously at first..He wouldn't tell me who...but that it was going to be big..and he swore me to secrecy....I didn't tell a soul...I was so busy drinking, and smoking weed and dabbling with a little coke back then that I probably forgot all about that..." she said.

"Go on." I said.

"About a week before my accident...They started acting funny....All of em...Doc started flashing a lot of cash...buying girls drinks and bragging about how much more he had where that came from... One night, Greasy came in with Thelma and saw him carrying on and gave him a good thrashing in front of everyone..Clyde attempted to jump in and George put him down...Hard...Beat him pretty badly..."

"I heard him tell all of them not to be spending any money on any big ticket items...to bank that dough and to keep their mouths shut or else...I remember that now... I asked him what thay was about and he gave me a bag of weed and told me not to worry about it....Greasy just changed Kev, he got paranoid and he would snap at the least little thing." she said.

"He had good reason to be paranoid...If Donny Miller had even suspected that they had robbed him...They'd all be in the bottom of the Deleware River right about now..." I said.

Donny Miller and his entire crew got popped within the next few years and all got pretty long stretches in the state pen....Donny Miller died a few years ago...So these people were home free I reasoned.

"What happened to Clyde?" I asked.

"One week after my conviction, I heard they found him in his apartment, dead from an overdose....Heroin and Cocaine...Which was funny....He never did drugs...Not when I was around..." she said.

"More than likely, Greasy wanted him shut up...He feared that Clyde or his own girlfriend might have told you too much and he set you up to die in automobile accident, only you lived and went to jail in a drug fueled haze..."I reasoned.

"It sounds good Kevin....but you can't prove any of that." she said.

"Don't worry...I'm going to do some more digging." I said.

"Thank you baby." she said.

III-

I followed Greasy Jones around town during the day....Mostly in rental cars with shaded windows, so I couldn't be seen.... Sean Jackson rode with me and photographed him....

He started his mornings at Sam Mother's Diner....eating breakfast with Thelma....Then he'd drop her off at the mall and go over to Mabel Jenkins's Soul Food joint where he'd hold court...Doc would bring him a fat envelope full of money...Apparently he was still in the lucrative drug business...just wasn't selling as openly as he used to...His clients were upscale white suburbanites with lots of cash to spend and little time to spend in the hood.. I took notes of this...

I also took note of how he frequently verbally upbraided both Doc and George in public, calling them stupid... He would slap Doc for the slightest infraction....He was no fool, he didn't lay hands on George...

Owen Todd and Clerow took turns following Him...They led Sean and I to his other woman's den...

Hmmmm...

"Boss, you thinkin about callin Lockpick and Tom on this?" asked Clerow...

"Yeah...to bug the girlfriend's house.....and then I want you and Owen to put a bug in Greasy's ear about Doc....I'm going to try and get a bug on wherever Doc lays his head..."I said.

"What you got up your sleeve Kev?" asked Owen...

"I'm going to kick the dust of this old crime up and turn these four people against each other." I said.

"And in doing that ,they gone spill the beans on theyselves right?" asked Clerow...

"Exactly." I said.

"Kevin,.you are diabolical." laughed Sean Jackson...

"Yeah...I know." I said.


To Be Continued......

Easy Greasy

Thanks to me being good friends with Lt. Sissy Van Buren of Philadelphia Homicide...I was able to view to now more than 12 year old crime scene photos of the automobile crash that ended the life of  29 year old Lillie Palmer and forever altered the life of Jazz Guitarist and Singer, Brooke Taylor...We sat in her office, drinking coffee and looking over the files.

Brooke Walked away from the accident without a scratch.....but Lillie Palmer was killed and pronounced dead on the scene...And yet when I read the actual tox reports....There was no marijauna or cocaine in her blood...only alcohol and though she was legally over the limit...not drunk enough to have been this impaired....

There was an unknown drug found in her system...a psychedelic holucinegen..called Ketalean...

"Hmmm...this was never brought out at trial." I mused...

"No..it wasn't...I'm looking at the transcripts here... Two witnesses said that they saw Brooke at Josies drinking....One woman, Thelma Lewis said that she saw Brooke drink three beers...." said Sissy.

"Yeah and this guy, John Taylor said he saw her drink three beers and that that was it..."I said.

"Yeah....look at this testimony here from Billy "Greasy" Jones...He says that he sold her some weed and that he smoked a blunt with her before she entered the bar." said Sissy.

"That's a lie...No cocaine or marijuana was found in her system...only the alcohol and the mystery drug..So he perjured himself under oath....And he was supposed to be a friend." I said.

"With friends like him...who needs enemies?" laughed Sissy.

"Yeah how about that....And look...the testimony of his girlfriend here, Thelma Thompson...she also said that
she saw Brooke drink three beers, and that she ,get this was" as high as a kite..probably from smoking weed." I said.

"Her friends sold her down the river." said Sissy...

''Sure did..and what about this drug...Ketalean? "I asked.

"It's like LSD.....Very hard to come by....You'd almost have to buy it off the black market....It works like a ruthie....it disolves in a drink...It impairs you within minutes..." said Sissy...

''So theoretically, somebody could have dropped that in her beer and by the time she left Josies...She could have been as high as a kite."I said.

"Yeah...but you have no proof...No witness to that." said Sissy..

"I know...but it's a start." I said.

"Who was her trial lawyer?" I asked.

"A guy named Jack Hickcock...I can give you his address..." she said.

"Who prosecuted it?" I asked.

"You've run out of luck there Kev." she said.

"Why? He's no longer an ADA?" I asked.

"Yeah, you might say that....He's dead...Been dead for several years....Cancer!" she said.

"Oh...." I said.

"I'll get you the transcripts...I'm sure ADA Wallace won't mind you seeing them...or at least me seeing them!" she said with a wink.

I smiled....

"Thanks Sissy..." I said.

"Don't mention it Kev. Really, don't mention it at all."she said and winked...

We both burst out laughing!

II-

I figured , the next person I should talk to should be the man of the hour himself...Billy "Greasy" Jones...a nickname he got because he was so slippery , he had managed to allude the police all these years.. It was said that this guy not only sold weed and coke at one time, but was also a heist man and a boxman (safe cracker ) as well...Yet ,he had avoided prison all these years.


He didn't appear to work anywhere, yet he always dressed to the nines and had a black 2013 BMW parked in front of where-ever he chose to hang his hat...Today , he was by himself in a small storefront bakery buying pastries and sampling the coffee...

I walked up to him...

"Billy right? Billy Jones?" I said.

He looked at me side eyed...

"Do I know you?" he asked.

"Maybe, maybe not...but I know you...You the man I hear, best dope and coke in the area." I said with a smile.

"I aint into that no more...Not me...That was years ago...You a cop?" he asked.

"No...but I got a friend...a friend you used to know....Brooke Taylor, guitarist....I saw you and your lady in Josies the other night....You caught her show." I said.

"Yeah...She was good." he laughed.

"Yeah, she's come a long way since she did a bid a few years back." I said.

"Yeah, that was a shame...She was high and got behind the wheel...Killed that poor girl...She's lucky she wasn't killed.." he said.

"Yeah, she's lucky...Heard you used to be her connect...You used to sell her the good stuff...You sell her something that night?" I asked.

''You know, you ask too many questions.." he said.

"I'm just talkin...You said in court that you sold her some weed that night and that the two of you smoked a bundle...Now I'm a street guy too and I know that it takes awhile for weed to get out of your system...And her tox reports came back with only the alochol from the three beers she drank...So you lied." I said.

"Thought you said you wasn't no cop?" he asked, now visibly worried.

"I'm not....I'm a private investigator.....Just lookin up a few things you know....Because I got this funny feelin that maybe she wasn't as high as the papers and she thought she was when she left out of Josies that night...Like maybe someone or somebody put something in her drink? Something she didn't know about!" I said.

"I wouldn't know." he said.

"No?" I asked.

"No...Now Mr. Whoever your name is." he said.

"I didn't say." I said.

"I don't care...This conversation is over." he said.  He paid for his pastries and walked out...

"Tell Ms. Thelma ,I said hello." I said with a smile.

He grimaced...

I laughed.

III-

Having been a private investigator as long as I had....You kind of know when you're being followed...A Black sedan had been following my 2012 Lexus for close to three blocks now...The windows were naturally shaded so I could not see the driver.

I decided to take my tail on a ride...I drove around for close to two hours until I got tired and finally stopped at one of Chris and Chess's newest condos...It had just opened...I got out my car , walked in and got on the elevator...I went up to the third floor and got off....I waited a few minutes , then I walked down the hall....
Like clockwork...a tall, muscular man got off the elevator...He was wearing shades and was wearing brass knuckles...

"Kinda dark to be wearing sunglasses dont'cha think?" I said.

"You gotta smart mouth and you've been askin questions you shouldn't ought to be askin.." he said as he walked toward me...

"Do I know you?" I asked.

"No, but after I knock out all of your teeth, you're gonna wish you hadn't seen me." he said.

"Hey fella, how bout...I not ask any more questions and we just call it even?" I said.

He shook his head...

"Too late fella." he said.

Oh well, I tried...I didn't give him a chance to hit me...I hit him first, right square in his jaw...and then lit his chest up with lefts and rights...He swung at me and missed and I punished his midsection with more lefts and rights...

He grimaced in pain as I caught him with an uppercut that sent him flying backwards..He charged at me again,swinging his big hands and especially that one with the brass knuckles...I couldn't allow him to land one punch or it would be lights out...I dodged and ducked and began punishing his face with lefts and rights , right crosses, left jabs and what not...Clearly...He did not expect that he would be in for a fight like this...

A few people came into the hallway just in time to see him getting the crap beat out of him...and began laughing and cheering and tossing dollars on the carpets.....

He swung and I grabbed his arm...the one with the brass knuckles and twisted it...He was in excrutiating pain
and I took his fat head and slammed it against the wall until he stopped moving and fell to the ground...bloody, battered and unconscious...The crowd cheered...I smiled and bowed...I took the brass knuckles off of him and a knife and two guns, a .22 and a .38...The unconscious goon was George Stephens.

I looked down at him....and shook my head.....I had struck a nerve with Greasy I see.

IV-

I drove to Brooke Taylor's new house....My wife Sepia was there with her and I was coming to pick her up.
I also figured that by now, Greasy had dispatched his other goon, Doc Johnson to slap Brook around...I was right.. Doc was getting out of his car just as I pulled up...As he walked up the steps,I walked up behind him..

''Ehhh, what's up Doc?" I said.

"He spun around...Who are you?" He said.

"I'm visiting Ms. Brooke Taylor."I said.

He pulled his .45 out...

"Visiting hours are tomorrow...get outta here." he said.

Just then, we both heard the click of another gun....

It was Sepia and she had my spare .38 smokeless aimed at his temple...

"You wasn't planning to harm my hubby was you?  Of course not...because if you were, I'd have to ventilate you and you wouldn't want little ole me to do that, would you?" she asked.

He dropped his gun and put his hands up...I took that gun and his other gun and a knife off of him....Then I showed him some brass knuckles...

"Recognize em?  I took em off of your friend George , about an hour ago...He won't be needing them." I laughed and then I gut punched  him in his stomach...

''Ughhhhhhhhhhhh!"he groaned and collapsed like a tent into the street....

I picked him up by his collar while Sepia still held a gun on him...

"Tell your boy Greasy that I've got my eyes on him..." I said and shoved him back into his car..He pulled off in a huff of smoke....

I looked at Sepia and smiled...

''Damn girl..something about you and a gun is making me hella excited right about now...."

My wife smiled....

"And I thought it was the dress."

By now Brooke was on the steps...She had heard our conversation and she was laughing....

"Brooke...looks like you were on to something....Our boys are rattled...and I'm about to turn the heat up full blast on them." I laughed.

TO BE CONTINUED!

Moment Of Clarity

Another Friday night and Josie's Bar was packed as usual...Sepia and I sat in a booth drinking and listening to the smooth sounds of Guitarist and Vocalist Brooke Taylor... a sexy woman who once dated my good friend, Attorney, Robert Foxworth... She actually lived two places now...She had a house here in Philadelphia (that she had just purchased from my wife, Sepia and her business partner, Bonita Foxworth, who ironically was now the wife of Attorney Robert Foxworth and who , lucky for all involved knew nothing about Bonita and Robert's past... )and a house in Oakland ,California.... She spent half of the year in Cali and the other half here...Sepia told me that she knew Brooke Taylor, vaguely from when Brooke lived in Jersey City, New Jersey where she was originally from. Sepia was from West Orange, but she and her girlfriends often traveled to Newark, Patterson and Jersey City to party as well as the big apple, New York City.

She was doing quite well for herself...Selling CD's...Touring and even had a little radio show that I was carrying on my new sattelite radio station that was up and running and becoming quite successful now.. I was happy for her... She had just come off of a lucrative European tour....

''She plays so good ,don't you agree lover?" said my wife..

"Good is not the word...She plays great...She makes that guitar sound like a piano almost." I said just gushing..

"Shame about her earlier troubles..." said Sepia...

She was referencing the fact that Brooke had spent some time in prison for vehicular homicide...She had left Josies drunk and high to hear her tell it one night and had got in her car and pulled off at a high speed..Within minutes...she was in an accident that took the life of another woman who had been behind the wheel of another car...She was sentenced to eight years....She was paroled after four years.....

II-

After Brooke's set, Sepia waved to her and she walked over to our booth and sat down...I clapped my hands...

"Great set, Great Set....You were wonderful." I said.

"I should be thanking you Kevin, for putting my radio show on your station...and re-introducing me to your wife, who I hadn't seen in close to 15 years.." said Brooke.

Sepia laughed...

"Sepia, You and Kevin are invited to see me in Atlantic City this coming February....Free of charge...I'm playing four nights at the Borgata.." she said.

"That's around our wedding anniversary." said Sepia.

"Good ,then consider that an early anniversary present." she said.

"Thank you Brooke.." I said...

"Now Kevin...I need a favor." she asked.

"You just ask doll." I said.

"I hear you're also some kind of private investigator in your spare time, when you aren't running your company and being the next great media mogul." she laughed.

"Yeah...I moonlight as a P.I.... I'm licensed." I said.

"Good...And that's why I come to you....You're wife told me you might be able to help me." she said.

"Somebody shaking you down?" I asked.

"No, nothing like that....As you know...I spent some time in the women's penitentary for Vehicular Homicide."she said.

I hung my head...I was never going to bring that up...She had more than made up for her past...I wasn't going to judge her.

"Well, I have felt so sorry for that night....I can't tell you how many times I wrote that woman's family...The woman that I killed...Apologizing to them for what I done..and I take responsibility for that...I did used to drink and get high with the best of them....but Kevin...I'm telling you....That night...that night...now that I think of it...I wasn't that drunk...I think someone tampered with my drink!" she said.

"WHAT?" I asked.

"It's been years I know...but I had a moment of clarity while I was locked up and then a few nights ago...I saw one of the guys I had been drinking with and it come to me...I think I was set up...Set up to have an accident to keep me from talking." she said.

"Talking about what?" I asked.

"I'm not quite sure...but I think three guys and a woman I used to hang out with were involved in some kind of heist...They were talking about it around me...I was never sure....but I think that they thought I had heard too much and they wanted to make sure I never talked." she said.

"So you think they doctored your drink?" I asked.

''Yes...and my car."she said.

"You want me to look into it?" I asked.

"Yes Kevin...I'll pay you...If there is nothing there...then that will be the end of it..If it is...then maybe I can clear some of my conscience.."she said.

Sepia looked at me...

"Kevin, you can at least look into her claims." she said.

I thought about it hard...

"Everybody does whatever it is they do until they hit rock bottom..Whatever is rock bottom for one person might not be rock bottom for another, but until they hit their personal rock bottom..No amount of therapy is going to help them." said Brooke Taylor.

"You're right." I said somberly ,feeling more sorry for Brooke and whatever demons she had.

"My rock bottom was when I killed that woman......I was so drunk and so high that I didn't even remember them using the jaws of life to get me out the car....I don't remember nothing...I sat in that courtroom in a daze and when the judge gave me eight years....I didn't wince...I wanted to die. I survived...and slowly..very slowly, I began to realize that my addictions is what brought me to that point, that sinking feeling....I didn't go to therapy or one session in the joint. And while I'm responsible for what I did...I don't remember drinking that much...I swear they did something to my drink...I'm having all of these flashbacks." said Brooke.

"Have you been to therapy since you got out?" I asked.

"Actually ,I have...That's when I began to have these moments of clarity..." She said.

"Okay...I'll look into your claims....If I find something, then you pay me...If I don't...we call it even, how about that?" I asked.

"That's perfect." she said.

"Yayyyyy." said my wife..

"Where do I start?" I asked.

Brooke pointed to a man and a woman sitting at the bar...

"With those two right there... Billy "Greasy" Jones and his girlfriend, Thelma Thompson.. They were the ring leaders of the little group I hung with...He used to deal cocaine and weed right in here until Gus discovered it and threw him out...but that was years ago...I don't know what he's into now."she said.

"He was your connect?" I asked.

"Yes...Not just me...any musician who came through here that wanted to get high..He was the man to see..He was real slick about it and he had two partners...Arthur "Doc" Johnson and George Stephens...George was the muscle....Doc was the guy who actually supplied the dope after Greasy gave the okay." she said.

"Okayyyyyyyyyyyy...I'll tie a tin can around his foot and see where it leads." I said.

I wondered just what kind of ride I was about to enter.

(To Be Continued...)