Marina

Detectives Barlow, Pile and Rodriguez sat in the monitor room attentively watching the video feed from the Little Norway Bar that we had gotten from them, detailing the night of the murder....

Sissy and I walked in late...

Carlotta lead the discussion...

" So we have our mystery man here sitting at the table with our victim, having a drink...." she said.

"Then what started out as a seemingly friendly conversation appears to get loud..." added Detective Pile...

"Look there...Our Victim...Arkady appears to be getting up." said Detective Barlow..

.

"Yeah, he appears to be going in the back.." said Detective Barlow..

"He's goin to the bathroom." added Detective Pile....

"Yeah,probably to use one of those electronic toilets you was tellin us about...the kind that flush after you move." said Detective Barlow...

All three Detectives burst into raucous laughter....I must admit ...I was laughing myself... Carlotta stopped laughing and brought us all back to the task at hand...

"Okay, wait...slow it down....ease in....Look...Look right there....Our mystery man, look what he's doing...He's putting a powdery substance in Arkady's drink...and he's mixing it up...so it disolves..'' said Carlotta.

"That's the murder right there!!!!...We got him on tape putting something in Arkady's drink!!!" said Detective Pile...

"I wish we had audio...so we could hear what they were saying...If Kevin Morris had sent us one of his "anonymous" packages...we'd have audio, video , the whole works." joked Carlotta...

Sissy smiled wryly....

It was true though... when Kevin had helped us out on a case...We had the best evidence...Clear and concise... This however was good enough...It was a good visual...

Arkady appeared to be ending the conversation after drinking the entire glass of liquor...The mystery man got up and walked out of the bar....

Within minutes...Arkady appeared to be holding his stomach and feeling some discomfort...and then he folded over like a tent , amid the screams of the customers and fell to the floor....Dead!

"If we knew who this guy was...we could close the case.." said Detective Pile...

"I've seen him....I've seen him at the hotel." said Detective Barlow....

"You have?" asked Carlotta...

"Yeah...before I knew who he was...I've seen him there since the murder....He didn't stay long...It was as if he was looking for somebody." said Detective Barlow...

"Jimmie...get back down to that hotel...take some undercovers  with you...If you see him, pick him up...Copy that photograph and post it......We need to get this guy."  said Sissy.

"I'm on it." said Detective Barlow..

"I want to observe this video more...Run it back to the very beginning...when the bar first opened.." said Carlotta..

"Is there something else Chica?" asked Sissy.

"I want to determine a timeline...See when he came into the bar.." added Carlotta.

My baby is, if nothing else...intense....That's what makes her such a great investigator.

II-

I ate my lunch with Lt. Sissy Van Buren and Detective Pile....Detective Carlotta Rodriguez continued to watch the video feed from "Little Norway"...She made a few calls to the FBI and Interpol....While we were eating...Detective Barlow returned..

I looked up at him...Sissy asked him-

"You pick up our mystery man?" she asked.

"No...but after interviewing close to 100 people that were either too afraid to talk to me or just didn't know anything...I found someone who is at least willing to talk." he said.

He had with him, a young woman who looked to be about 28 or 29....

"This is Marina....She's a workin girl." he said.

I stood up...

"Hello Marina...I'm Assistant District Attorney Keith Wallace." I said.

"I am Marina..I am only willing to help you, if you can help me with immigration." she said.

"Immigration?" I asked.

"I have one arrest for prostitution and one for theft....They are threatening to deport me....I just can not go back to Russia...I have nothing there...but I am afraid." she said.

"Afraid of what?" I asked.

''What Nick will do if he finds out I am talking to you." she said.

"He doesn't have to know....I'll get you out of here without anyone knowing or seeing...Sissy can we go to your office ?" I asked.

''Sure...Let's go up the back steps." she said.

Sissy, Detective Barlow, Marina and I all went up the back steps and into Sissy's office and closed the door and closed the blinds...

"Ten years ago...Arkady and his brother ran an ad in Russian paper...they offered us jobs and money in America....Many girls...like myself...We come..We take long ride on ship to America...They tell us that we owe a lot of money for the ship ride and that the only way we can pay the debt we owe is on our backs...and so we live at the hotel...We sleep with men...many men...we pay a large percentage of the take to Arkady and his brother....We get only enough for basics like food and a few clothes...Anytime we leave neighborhood, it's under the watchful eye of Bruno.." she said.

"Who's Bruno?" I asked ...

"Bruno Jefferson is their enforcer.He is an American soul man, like you." she said.

"Oh ,you mean muscle?" added Detective Barlow...

"She means he's Black." said Sissy...  I had to smile...I remembered Detective Barlow mentioning a big Black enforcer  the day before....

"Yes.. that too..He collect all the money..he pay the madamn and the girls and he drive Nick around to collect...If we have any trouble..Bruno takes care of it....When I get busted...Bruno bailed me out...then he took me to Nick , who beat me for getting caught....Mr. Nick told me that if I get deported, not to mention his operation or he'll have me killed..I am afraid....He has already had Bruno kill someone." she said.

"Who? Who did Bruno kill...?" asked Sissy..

"A girl named Sirena...She was rebellious...She wasn't really into this..She try to escape...She try to come to you...Police...Nick and Arkady order Bruno to kill Sirena...Sirena is beaten by Nick and then taken away...We never see her again." said Marina..."That was three months ago." she added.

"So you didn't actually see Bruno kill her?" I asked.

"No, but she's dead..Never seen again." said Marina.

Sissy showed her a photo of our mystery man...

"Who is this? Do you know him?" she asked.

"That is Sirena's fiance...He used to be cop back in Russia..He was looking for her ..His name is Leonid..Leonid Putinsky.." she said.

"Do you know where we can find him?" I asked.

"I might know....but you can not tell that I told." she said.

"Don't worry Marina...We won't say a thing." I said.

"This is a photo of Sirena....she was my best friend....She stay in hotel room next to mine...." said Marina.

"Very attractive girl...We'll do all we can to find her murderer." I said.


III-

Carlotta finally entered Sissy's office...She was excited...She didn't even notice Marina....

"Guess what?" she exclaimed...

''What is it chica?"said Sissy.

"I just got off the phone with the FBI....our mystery man's name is Leonid Putinsky and he's ex-KGB...and a former cop from Moscow...Nobody knows how long he's been in the country." she said...

Detectives Barlow, Pile and myself all looked at each other and smiled...

"What?" she said.

"This young lady here just told us all of that Carlotta." said Sissy gently...

"Well there's more..come and look at the monitor." said Carlotta...

She looked so sexy when she was excited like this...

We stared at the monitor...then we watched the timeline.....

"Leonid appeared to have been in the bar close to an hour before Arkady got there and Nick wasn't there...He apparently had been waiting for him...This wasn't just a chance meeting..." She said...

"We got him...We got him for Murder one...." said Sissy...

"This Bruno fellow...The one you said killed his fiance...where can we find him?" I asked.

"Oh that's no problem...I know that...He's probably at the bar..." said Detective Barlow...

"Pick him up too.Suspicion of murder." said Sissy..

"I'm on it Lou." he said.

"Meanwhile we've got to stash Marina somewhere safe..." said Sissy...

"Yeah, but where?" I asked.

"I gotta call in a favor to a friend... You leave her here..I'll take care of it." she said.

III-

I looked at Carlotta...She looked drained...She had really been doing a lot of the logistics in this case...making calls, studying film...and interviewing people with Detectives Pile and Barlow...plus entertaining me a couple of nights on top of that..She looked depleted of all energy....I felt sorry for her.

"I'll bet you're beat." I said...knowing that this was an under statement.....

"I am..I'm hungry." she said..She looked at me and managed a weak smile.

''How bout we get some dinner and I'll drive you home?" I said.

"That would be nice, but I'm really tired." she said.

"I know you are.....Me too...We'll just eat and I'll sit with you until you go to sleep and I'll leave...or, I don't have to stay at all..I'll just drop you off." I said.

"You don't have to leave Keith..Stay with me...I could use the company. Hold me until I drift off...If you like, there is plenty room for you to sleep either on the bed or my sofa  if you like. If you don't mind.." she whispered...

I smiled....Wow...I was certainly entering new territory...

"I don't mind at all. I can crash on your couch." I said.

Carlotta was too tired for a smart alec quip or comeback...She just smiled...She held my hand and rubbed it softly, I kissed her forehead softly......In the background, I saw Sissy looking at us and smiling a matronly smile.

We held hands and walked outside towards the Philadelphia night.

(To Be Continued...)

Life (& Sex) in Little Norway

I stood at Penns Landing drinking a tumbler of coffee.....For once I was alone....Sissy, Carlotta and Detective Pile were all working on the case...The murder of a toilet and plumbing supplies salesman who it had now been revealed was a pimp....

 

 

 

This seemingly unassuming man alledgedly was running a prostitution ring of young ladies imported to Philly from Russia and Eastern Europe...

A few days had passed and I was waiting for a report from Detective James "Jimmy" Barlow...a very good investigator who didn't get enough credit... Jimmy was a young guy who had walked a beat in Fishtown and Port Richmond before making detective..Then, he and Detective Carlotta Rodriguez had rode around in a squad car before being detailed to C.I.D.

 

 He worked Auto Theft, Then Robbery, then Narcotics and then finally Special Victims unit with Detective Carlotta Rodriguez...Now he was splitting his time with Homicide and Major Crimes....

He had just been added to our unit. Detective Edwin 'Duke" Baylor was on loan to Special Investigations, so we needed an extra detective..Jimmy had come highly recomended to us. Duke would be back eventually, but until he returned...Jimmy would fit in just nicely...My plan was to keep Jimmy even when Duke did return to the unit!

He was a hip hop loving white boy who could throw Black slang around with the best home boy and who had amassed a number of street informants and a large clearence list of cases...When Sissy said that she needed some good detectives..I gave her ,Carlotta Rodriguez, Tyriq Pile and Jimmy Barlow...

He walked up to me as I watched the water...He was gregarious and wired as usual....Today,I was not...Carlotta and I had hung one on at Josie's the night before and had then been up all night, making love...If not for this case...I would have taken the day off..

"Hey Mr. Porterhouse." he said, laughing...

"What did you call me?" I asked.

"That's your middle name isn't it?" he laughed...

"ADA Wallace is how I prefer to be addressed Detective." I said.

We both looked at each other and burst out laughing....

"Well listen...I got the skinny on our dead guy's operation and it's sweet...you'll love it.." he said.

''So tell me." I said.

II-

" Detectives Pile and Rodriguez did some digging and discovered that the bar,"Little Norway" was actually owned by our dead guy..Arkady Notchios...He bought it about ten years ago...His younger brother, Nikolai or "Nick" as they call him on the street manages it....Anyway...I took some plains clothesmen and some of my snitches into the joint and learned the set up...

See, the client comes in and talks to the barmaid , who points him to a backroom...My guess is that this is where money is exchanged and a girl is picked....They have a book of photographs and you pick from the book...The money is paid upfront and the client goes to the bar,orders a drink and waits until he is told to go outside... He goes outside and he's picked up in a car....The car takes him down the street to a hotel...The hotel is where all the babes are...and the client goes in and is serviced by the girl of his choice." said Detective Barlow.

"You observed this?" I asked.

"Hey we got photos of the entire deal."  he added... "So get this....This hotel is also owned by Arkady Notchios...." he added.

"I'm betting that he never goes near the place, right?" I asked.

"Well, it's uh too late to ever know...His brother Nick stops by there with a big black guy...His name is Bruno somethin or other...The madamn gives him a big envelope and he pulls off... From what I heard on the street...Nick met with his brother...usually at his brother's downtown condo...and gave him his cut..."said Detective Barlow...

"But his brother was at Little Norway a few nights ago?" I asked.

"He came there sometimes, but not often..." said Barlow...

"I wonder if the brother had him hit?" I asked.

"Carlotta and Tyriq are hunting for him now as I speak.." said Barlow...

"'Hmmm, I think I'll pay Sissy a visit..." I said.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"That was great work...Stay on the Bar and the hotel....I'm going to go and see if Sissy and the gang have found the brother." I said.-"Oh and Jimmy?" I said in parting.

"Yeah?"he replied..

"Next time you meet with me, you bring me coffee...Especially this early in the damn morning...Coffee, two creams, four sugars..."I said.

He smiled..."I'll try and remember that ADA Wallace." he said with a smirk...I laughed myself!

III-

I arrived at Homicide , about an hour later...Sissy Van Buren, stunningly beautiful as always was standing ,looking at the two way mirror that was what we called the"
 tank.."-The police interrogation room..

She smiled when she saw me.... I smiled when I saw her...If it wasn't for the fact that she had been married to my good friend and law school partner Robert Foxworth at one time..I could have easily have seen myself putting my bid in for her...but, I was involved with her equally beautiful detective...Carlotta Rodriguez ,who was in the interrogation room with the suspect...Nikolai  "Nick"Notchios.

God, she looked so good...Even when she was being a hard nosed detective...

Nick Notchios was a handsome man...He bore little resemblance to his older brother...He had been picked up early in the morning....He was unflappable...cool as a cucumber...

"So Nick...Do you know why you're here?" asked Carlotta.

"You want to know about my brother." he replied....

"That's right....He was poisoned you know." she said.

He feigned surprise....

"Noooooooooooooo..?" he said...then began laughing maniacally...He wasn't exactly greiving.

"You wouldn't know who or why  now would you ?" she asked.

He shrugged...

"As you Americans say...beats me." he said.

"Can I speak plainly Nick?" she asked.

He smiled wryly and then said-

"You know, you're a very beautiful woman......After this unpleasentness is over, could I take you to dinner?"

"I'm flattered Nick, but I don't think so...Look.." she said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"I have a boyfriend." she said.

"So? He is not a husband.He would not have to know...I certainly would not tell, heh heh...heh." he said.

I was getting angry...Sissy looked at me and laughed a little..

''You are sooo sprung Keith." she said and laughed again..

''I am not!" I protested.

"Look at you, you can't stand to see another man flirt with Carlotta, even a scumbag like him, who she wouldn't even consider....." laughed Sissy.

I waved her off and continued to listen to the interrogation-

"Look Nick...We know that you and your brother run women...and that the bar and his plumbing and toilet business are just fronts....and we don't care about that..We are just trying to solve a murder.....Did you guys have enemies?" Carlotta asked.

"Enemies? I prefer to say we have competition....but no one who would resort to violence...Like Micheal Jackson, the King of Pop say- We are lovers ,not fighters.." he laughed.

Carlotta laughed...

"You look so sweet when you smile." he said.

Carlotta blushed.

"So you don't know of anyone who would want to kill your brother?" she asked.

"No...and unless you plan to charge me with something....I am going to get up and leave here...I have business to attend to...legitimate business of course..." he said.

"Of course. You're free to go...but don't plan on taking any long trips out of town." she said.

"Of course not....Not until you agree to go out to dinner with me...heh,heh ,heh." he laughed...

"Goodbye Nick." laughed Carlotta...

He got up and walked out....I glared at him as he walked past me...Sissy laughed and pulled Carlotta to her...

"What are you doing to him Chica?? You got him sprung!!!" she asked..

"He'll be alright. I can handle him." she said.

"I'm talking about ADA Wallace." laughed Sissy...Carlotta put her hand over her mouth!

"Ohhh him? What can I say...he loves me." laughed Carlotta... Both women laughed that conspiratorial laugh that women laugh...and walked down the hall..

Me ? ,I blushed...Was I that obvious?? I guess I was...

IV-

Later on, I sat outside the Little Norway bar alone...I followed a couple of men to the hotel, which was just blocks away... It was a warm night and the windows of some of the rooms were open...

From the streets I could hear bed springs squeaking loudly, headboards slamming against the wall..and wails of alcohol feuled lust and ecstacy

''Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..."

"Ohhh baby, give it to meeeeee....ummmmmmph..."

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....ouuuuuuuuuu, more, more... ohhhhhh..."

"Sock it to me baby...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh gooooddddddd it's soooo goood...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

"Morrre...Morreee....morrre...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.."

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...I love you soooooooooooooo much...ouuuuuuuuuuuu.."

They were doing a brisk business tonight....The parking lot was full....

Detective Barlow tapped on my window...

"Slumming tonight ADA Wallace?" he said with a laugh...

"Nahh...just checking out the action..."I laughed.

"Yeah, that joint is jumpin tonight..." he laughed...

"Hopefully we get enough evidence to put that pimp, Nick in the slam for a long time." I said.

"Him? I don't like him for this murder...I think it's someone else...Unconnected. I think he knows more than what he's tellin...You know how these gangsters are..They gonna work it out themselves." said Detective Barlow.

"Yeah.... maybe, but he is a smarmy charactor." I added.

"No doubt..but that sounds kind of personal ADA.." said Detective Barlow...

"You're a good Detective Jimmy." I said.

He smiled and passed me a tumbler of coffee...

"Two creams, four sugars right?" he said with a smirk...

"Yeah...." I laughed....

(To Be Continued...)

Death In Little Norway

"Little Norway" was a bar in the section of Philadelphia peopled by Russians and Eastern Europeans...Not a part of the city that I traveled in as a youth or even now...
But I found myself standing in the bar with Lt. Sissy Van Buren, Detective Carlotta Rodriguez and Detective  Tyriq Pile.....

Me? I'm Assistant District Attorney, Keith Porterhouse Wallace, my jurisdiction, Homicide, Special Victims Unit and Major Crimes..

The reason I was here  was, This had a potential to be a major case , a very semi-important man, Arkady Notchios was lying facedown on the bar room floor....Dead as a doorknob....

Arkady was a leading manufacturer and salesmen of toilets and plumbing fixtures... His business had begun close to ten years before and had bloomed over the past decade.  He was a millionaire many times over... He sold toilets to a lot of the hotels and motels in the city and plumbing fixtures to the top craftsmen...

So what was he doing in a bust out joint like "Little Norway", I reasoned???

"What you got Chica?" asked Lt. Sissy Van Buren to Detective Carlotta Rodriguez ,who had turned the body over and was looking at him....

"He's been poisoned....Look at how his skin has changed color to an almost bluish hue.....I've seen this before....Another case I had a couple of years ago..." she said.

"You're absolutely right" said the Coroner, Doc Gibbons....

"This is poison...I won't bore you or confuse you by trying to pronounce it...but it was primarily used by Eastern Europeans...It's rare here, been banned for nearly two decades..." he continued...

"You'll know for sure after a full autoposy right?" I asked , smiling....Doc Gibbons looked at me like I was crazy....

"But of course Mr. Wallace." he said....Sissy and Carlotta smiled...

I had to laugh myself...But I wanted to be sure....

"Okay...Doc, you ready to release the body?" I asked.

''I should be asking either you or Sissy that, shouldn't I?" he quipped.

Again, I laughed...He was right..

"Release the body....You uniforms over there...Block the door, let the M.E. folks move the body." she said.

Just then Detective Tyriq Pile walked in...

"What'cha got?" asked Sissy...

"Plenty Lou....Apparently his younger brother owns this place...His name is Nikolai...They were supposed to meet here tonight...But the brother never arrived and we can't locate him......We interviewed a number of patrons... He met with another man who was here...They had a few drinks and the other man got up and left... Minutes after he left, our boy keeled over dead." he said.

"I sure hope this place has video cameras." I said...

"Keith...it's not that much of a bust out joint...It has flat screen TV's all over the place and cable " said Carlotta..

I smiled at the sound of her voice....

"Get the tape from tonight..." I said softly...

Sissy and Detective Pile and Doc Gibbons gave me a side eye....I ignored them...I guess they knew their work...

II-

They loaded his body into the M.E.'s van and it pulled off...Detective Pile shook his head...

"Damn man, that's a cryin shame... I bought two toilets for my place from him just last month....They were the electronic kind that flushed when you moved.." he explained..

We all looked at him...

"What?" he said.

"Too much information." said Sissy with a smile...Carlotta laughed too...I just smiled and shook my head.

Sissy got in her car and pulled off, So Did Detective Pile and most of the undercovers...
The crowd was disapating...Carlotta and I were still standing outside of the bar...

I pulled her to me and began kissing her passionately....She eased out of our embrace..

''What was that for?" she asked..

"I just needed that...Haven't seen you in a few days." I exclaimed..

"Keith ,we got to watch the PDA....We are in broad daylight." she said.

''Who knows us in this part of town?" I asked.

"You never know who is watching or talking....I don't want to wind up in the gossip column Mr. ADA." she said.

"Yeah girl, you're right." I said.

She frowned a bit...

"Don't be sad....I'm stoppin by your place tonight okay?" she said.

"Okay." I said...Then she grabbed me and kissed me long and hard..

"Hey what did you just say?" I exclaimed...

"Do you really listen to what I say?" She joked and then winked at me...

III-

The next day I sat in my office...I was leafing over some case files...Actually ,I was daydreaming about my night with  Detective Carlotta Rodriguez when Detective Pile came in my office...

She had definitely made her presence known the night before...but I really should have been concentrating on the murder case at large...Maybe she was right and I should cool it...She was becoming bad for my concentration...But I didn't care at this point.

He brought us both a tumbler of coffee....

''What's on your mind?" I asked.

"I did some background research on our boy from last night." he said between gulps of coffee..

''Yeah and?" I asked.

"It appears this guy did more than just sell toilets and plumbing fixtures." he said.

"Oh really..what else did he sell?" I asked.

"Women." said Detective Pile..

''Women?" I asked.

"Yeah...It appears our boy and his brother are reputed to be major traffickers in Eastern European and Russian prostitutes....The ring was run out of that bar...I got it from one of my friends in the FBI."said Detective Pile...

My little murder case had now become something larger than even I had first suspected!

(To Be Continued..)

Come On And Get The Love (2012)

/ I know that you work in the
building next door to me..
and I know that nobody drinks
that much coffee..
You stop by here and manage
to engage me in conversation...
I'm beginning to realize that
this isn't just my imagination../

/ I think I'm turning you on
as much as you're turning
me on..
I'm not seeing anyone
and if you're about being real close to someone
then what could possibly be wrong?/

/ Time is short
and life is too..
so what are we gonna do?
You're feelin me..
and I'm feeling the same way
that I know you do...
I've made my feelings known
so the next move is all on you.../

/Come On And Get the Love...
it's been waitin on ya..
Come On And Get the Love../

/Everytime you come in the coffee
shop..
lookin so good..
smellin so good..
you make my heart stop...
I don't know you that well...
but I find myself hugging you,
and kissing you goodbye on the cheek...
and walking around with that smell
of you, that's been lingering in my mind
for a week.
Right now, it's the only way to keep a part
of you close to me...
use your intuition...
can't you see?/

/Girl, I hope I'm turning you on
in the same way that you're
turning me on...
I'm really not seeing anyone
and if you presently would
like to be with someone
then what is wrong?/

/You're a girl
and I'm a guy....
Why don't we meet somewhere
after work..
and at least give this a try?/

/Come On And Get The Love
it's been waitin on ya..
Come On And get The Love...
you said that you been needin it..
Come On And Get The Love......./

/Open your eyes
girl can't you see
that you can get the love
you thought you had in all those other guys
right here in me.../

/Come On and Get the Love..../

(Originally published September 5,2008 without illustrations)

Why You Mad?

It's been quite a while...
since I called you on the phone...
I've wondered if you've even noticed...
on the nights when you're alone...
I hear you're alone a lot...
heard your last two men left you for another...
I'm not gloating...
I'm just telling you what I heard.../

Be careful with your ego...
you know it could rival
any man's...
I stopped texting and e-mailing you...
I started making other plans...
After all girl, you're all that...
never called me ,unless you were in
need...
Why you mad?
I'm just looking out for me?
Don't be mad...
I've found a way to finally be free.../

Saw you the other day...
I must say I was surprised...
You no longer walk around
with that swagger and confidence in your eyes...
Perhaps life has beaten you down a bit...
The way it beat me down when I was with you...
I'm not laughing...
I've just being brutally honest.../

I wonder do you think of me
when you stand alone staring out the window?
Of how you were so unfair..
and how you treated me so cold...
Truth is, I rarely think of you girl,
unless I run into you on the street...
Why you mad?
I'm just looking out for me...
Don't be mad..
I've found a new way to be free../

Of course I could go on
about how well I'm doing now...
I met someone new...
a woman who treats me better than you...
but that would just be petty...
that would just be me
throwin salt on your wounds..
Why you mad?
you should be happy for me....
Don't be mad...
I've found a new way to be free../