God Only Knows

The day began with an anonymous call....Always anonymous...This was after all Philadelphia....

We were led to a church in Northeast Philadelphia...where to our horror, we found the
body of Nikolai Notchios...better known as "Nick", lying on the sidewalk in front of the church with a huge hole in his head and a pool of dried blood beside him and running into the street....

He had been shot in the face with a .38 smokeless....It left a huge hole...His eyes were wide open...He looked stunned...He apparently never saw it coming...

"Wow...Our boy isn't playing is he?" I said to no one in particular......

Detective Barlow, Detective Pile and several uniform and plain clothes policemen surrounded the scene and examined the area...

"We canvassed the neighborhood...Nobody saw or heard anything." said Detective
Barlow...

"Of course not." I said...

Sissy's car drove up....She and Carlotta got out of the car and walked over to us...

"Is that Nick?" she asked.

"Yup" I said.

"Guess that destroys our whole case huh?" asked Detective Pile...

"One aspect of it...Call Vice and Licensce and Inspections....I want that bar shut down and that hotel raided." said Sissy...She wasn't playing...

I pulled her to the side...

"What about Leonid?" I asked.

"We are still hunting him....Marina is with Serena...where-ever Kevin has them holed up...Bruno is in a Federal Facility in New Jersey.....I don't want any chance for any slip ups..." said Sissy...

I walked over to Carlotta....She was sipping a tumbler of coffee....

"No coffee for me?" I asked playfully...

"No, but I can give you some sugar!" she laughed playfully...

"Ummmm, I think I like that better." I laughed...

"I hate to break up such a tender moment kids...but there's a killer loose on my streets and he's already killed twice...I need to get him before he kills again." she said, and then smiled.

"We are on it Boss lady." said Carlotta.

II-

Led by Detectives Barlow and Pile, The Philadelphia Police Vice division and Licensce and Inspections raided the Hotel....Close to 50 young Russian or East European girls were arrested..as well as the Madamn and 12 employees.....

The Little Norway Bar was also raided and all seven of it's employees were arrested.
Several perspective "johns " were also taken into custody....One of them was Black Millionaire socialite ,Rollie Rollerson...

I just happened to be there with Sissy ,when he was brought out of the "Little Norway" Bar...

"Sissy...this is all a mistake..I-I-I-I was just in here having a friendly glass of wine with a business associate of mines...I wasn't..I wasn't in here looking for a woman...I HAD NO IDEA that this was a hooker bar." he said.

Sissy looked at him with more disdain and white hot hatred than I'd ever seen....

"What Rollie? Josie's is no longer any good for you??..You got to move further uptown and drink with the Russians?" she remarked...

"Sissy, I hang out all over the city, you know that!  I'm telling you, I was just having a drink." he said.

She ignored him, she looked at an officer...

"Cut him loose." she said.

"Thank you Sissy, thank you." he said.

"That's the last favor you'll be getting from me." she said.

''Sissy...you sure look good...I been thinkin about you...I can't think about nothin else..
Lawd Jesus you look good.I been dreamin about you..God Only knows I have..Can I call you?" he asked.

Sissy walked away...

"Sissy please...PLEASE!!!!WE CAN MAKE IT BABY..PLEASE,Just let me explain!" he begged as she walked off.

I laughed and shook my head...

III-

At Sissy's office, I met with her and Detective Carlotta Rodriguez....

"We got the Hotel and the Bar and both of it's owners are dead...That's most of our case right there....Our believed to be shooter is Leonid Putinsky....We got anything on his whereabouts?" I asked.

"Marina gave us an address of a hotel where he might be staying...We went there yesterday...We showed the manager a photo of him....Naturally, he didn't register under his real name...He apparently checked out a day before.." said Carlotta.

"So if he thinks his fiance is dead..He probably is on his way out of here....Thinking his work is done." I said.

"But if we put it out there that she's alive....He won't leave...I'm going to call Detective Barlow...Tell him to put it out amongst his street informants that Sirena is not only alive, but that she's staying with a Black man in West Philly." said Carlotta.

"What? But that's not true... We don't know where Kevin has her holed up and Bruno is not even in the city." I said.

Sissy smiled broadly....

Carlotta continued..."You know that and I know that, but Leonid doesn't...and dimes to doughnuts ....he'll show up loaded for bear." she said.

"That's why I love my chica....She's always right on the money." said Sissy..who hugged Carlotta..."Love this girl." she said...Carlotta beamed with pride and stuck her tongue out at me playfully!

"I learned a few tricks from hanging out with our favorite private detective, Kevin Morris." said Carlotta.

"That sounds like him too." said Sissy.

We all burst out into laughter.....I just hoped her gamble worked.

IV-

Sirena stood on the corner of the street....I stood with her...

"Don't worry Sirena....We've got you wired really good...We've got two sharp shooters and a plain clothes detective  stationed across the street. Lt. Van Buren and Detective Rodriguez are already already in the store,posing as customers....I'm going inside the store...When he shows up...Talk to him...Stall him...We are right here...We won't let anything happen to you,I give you my word." I said.

"I hope you are right." she said...

"It's going to be alright." I said.

I then went into the store and pretended I was buying something...

There was a parking lot across the street....It didn't take long for a tall dark figure to show up...He was lanky, about six feet even...and had a neatly shaved face...with no trace of hair...He wore a tan jacket and a black tam cap...

"Sirena...Sirena?? Is that you??? Oh My God...I have found you!!" he exclaimed...

"Leonid?? Leonid??" she exclaimed...

"Yes , it is me...I thought that Arkady had had you killed...I can't tell you how happy I was when I found out that you were in fact still alive..." he said...Tears were runing down his cheeks...

"Nick told me everything....You gave me to them..How could you?? For two years, two years I was forced to sleep with strange men for pay, I was taken to this strange land and held like a slave.." she spat...

"They made me do it...They made me...but I quit the police...I searched for you..I never stopped searching...When I met with Arkady and he told me that he had had you killed,I lost it...I poisoned him.....I was even angrier at his brother Nick...I shot him dead...I couldn't even talk to him." he said.

"You are too late...I can never forget what you did....I no go back." she said.

"What do you mean, you're not going back?" he exclaimed...

"I am in love with another...I am having his baby..." she said.

"What? You can't be serious " said Arkady....

"I am two months pregnant." she said. She was just starting to show....Leonid was astounded.

"Sirena, how could you? We were to be married!!" he said, in tears...

"You sold me into prostitution Arkady....WHO DOES THAT TO SOMEONE THEY SAY THEY LOVE?" she screamed...

"I had to do it...They had information on me that if made public would have gotten me thrown into prison...I had to do it..."he exclaimed...

"Arkady rape me on first night...Then his brother rape me, then they bring me here on ship and make me sleep with other men, strange men....and keep me a prisoner for two years...For two years ,I hear nothing from you..Man I meet here show me kindness, I have his baby!" she said..

"I'm so sorry...So Sorry Sirena....That's why I killed them both, that's why I quit police force and come to America....PLEASE!!!!WE CAN MAKE IT BABY..PLEASE,Just let me explain!" he said.

Sissy looked at Carlotta....

''Damn, all of these no good men say the same thing...I think they read from the same playbook." she said.

"Okayyyyy?" said Carlotta who high fived her... I just laughed....

"I can't live without you...I WON'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU." he screamed and he went for a pistol...

I yelled -"GUN"!!!  ,The two sharpshooters took aim and the plain clothes detective drew his weapon and prepared to move in....

To our horror, Leonid produced a pistol...stuck it in his mouth and pulled the trigger!!!

Carlotta ,Sissy and I and the two sharpshooters, we had ran out into the street...I grabbed  Sirena and covered her eyes...

"Oh My God....Oh My God..." exclaimed Carlotta...

The plain clothes detective went to his car and called an ambulance...A crowd of people descended on to the street corner...

Sissy looked shaken...she stared down at Leonid's fallen body...

"Cover This up." she said...

I just looked at her and shook my head...This indeed closed the case. Not how we expected!

I grabbed Sissy...

"Sissy, you alright?" I asked... She looked at me and smiled...

"I'm going to be alright I suppose.....Go see about your girl...I'll tend to Sirena." she said.

Carlotta was weeping a bit...I had never seen her weep...A tough as nails Homicide Detective who had seen it all!! I was a bit surprised...

I hesitated at first...then I put my arm around her...

"It's okay Carlotta..." I said.

"No it's not...It'll never be okay...The day I get used to seeing this  crap is the day I'm gonna turn in my badge and do something else." she said in her thick spanish accent....and she held me tight...tighter than she ever had..

I looked over my shoulder....Sissy was walking Sirena over to a squad car..

"Keith?" said Carlotta..

"Yeah?" I said..

"Take me somewhere tonight...somewhere quiet...Let's get some coffee...and not talk about this case."she said.

"Sure...I know a place...I go there when I want to be alone...I'm sure it's open now.." I said.

"Then take me there." she said. "You're my man now...You have to take care of me." she said.

''Sure....That's what I'm here for." I said. I sure felt good hearing her say that!

She rubbed my hands softly again... Sissy came over to where we were standing...

"You two, take off....I'll write this up and clean it up.." she said.

We hesitated....

"Well, what are you waiting for? Merry Christmas." she said and kind of smiled... I smiled back...

Carlotta and I walked toward her car...I hadn't come in mine...

"Can I drive?" I asked...

She smiled, said nothing and softly placed her keys in my hands...New territory for her.



EPILOUGE:

Marina testified against the 19 operatives of Arkady and Nick's gang and most of them received up to 10 years in prison with the option to deport after their sentences are served...

36 of the young ladies taken into custody made arrangements to return to Russia and Eastern Europe...Many had not been to their homeland in close to a decade...Now their nightmare was over...

Marina and 14 of the women surprisingly chose to stay in the United States and work on getting their citizenship...They felt that they had little or nothing to return to...

Richard "Bruno" Jefferson and Sirena got married... They had a traditional church wedding.....aS TRADITIONAL AS THEY COULD HAVE IT!

Eddie C. ,Kevin Morris, Clerow, Detective Pile and Detective Barlow served as groomsmen... While yours truly was his best man....

Sissy, Kevin's wife,Sepia, Clerow's wife, Corabeth and Detective Pile's wife, whose name was also Sirena...Detective Sirena Harris-Pile of Special Investigations were bridesmaids and Carlotta was the maid of honor...

Deacons Larry Weatherford and Basil Robinson and Marina were the witnesses.. Pastor Struthers married them in his church...

They chose to stay in Philadelphia....while Marina works on getting her citizenship....

Funny thing about love,Love was something...Here was a stone cold gangster, Bruno Jefferson,responsible for God only knows how much mayhem and here he was reduced to mush by the woman he had fallen in love with.... There was something to say for that... Here he was reformed and somewhat redeemed... There was something to say for that too.

Carlotta saw me as I stood outside the church and watched the happy couple drive off... She had a tumbler of coffee..

"Hey where did you get that from?" I asked...

"Rollie Rollerson!" she said.

"Rollie Rollerson? He was at the wedding?" I asked.

"Yeah...Bruno invited him...He said the two got very close...and that Rollie was one of his most frequent customers.." she laughed...

"He bought you coffee to uh butter you up I suppose?" I said with a smile..

"Yeah..He got me to promise him not to reveal any of that to Sissy..Told Bruno to keep his mouth shut about it too." she said and laughed...

"He should have brought me some coffee."I joked...

"Why,  he knows the effect I kind of have on you..and uh he just figured if I was persuasive, that maybe you wouldn't say anything. " she laughed...

''Depends on what you call being persuasive" I said slyly...

"Oh, I think I can think of lots of fun things tonight.." she said and winked... Lawd jesus this woman was sexy...

"Well.....then mums the word..." I laughed... and Carlotta and I stood on the curb just laughing and talking for a long while...

Sirena

The Private investigator, Kevin Morris sat in his Lexus with his close friend, Clerow.... Sissy and Marina and her friend, Eddie C. Walked over to their car.... Carlotta and I stood at a distance drinking coffee...

Kevin Was a guy I respected a lot...I can't tell you how many cases...Big cases he helped us crack...They usually had something to do with a case he was working on...but it didn't matter , he helped us many times..He was one of the best investigators I had ever seen....

Sissy often told me she wished she had a whole team of investigators like Kevin....Which was why I brought her Carlotta Rodriguez, Jimmy Barlow and Tyriq Pile..They were good, smart, tough investigators..

"Kevin, I can't thank you enough for doing me this solid." said Sissy...

"Don't mention it Sissy...I'm only too glad to help...I have a friend...He's uh not exactly on your side of the law and he has a place where he goes to hide...Nobody and I mean nobody will find her there..she'll be safe and when you are ready for her...Just give me a call." he said.

"Thank you Kevin...Thank you so much....This is my friend, Edward Clark..." she said.

Both Kevin and Eddie C. smiled sheepishly.

"What?" asked Sissy...

"Who doesn't know the great Eddie C.?" said Kevin, laughing...

"So you two know each other?" she said.

"Everybody knows Kevin Morris...He helps people..."laughed Eddie C.

"We go to the same church Sissy." said Kevin...

"Oh." she said.

"That guy you told me about...Bruno...His name is Bruno Jefferson....he's high priced muscle...runs with the Russians...Lives in the hood." said Kevin.

"Oh really? I've got two of my detectives staked out in Little Norway." she said.

"He hasn't been up there lately...Him and some white chick been in Josies." said Eddie C.

"You know him too?" she asked.

"I know of him...I can point him out.:" said Eddie C.

"Why do I have Detectives???...All I need is you two." she joked.

Marina got in the car with Kevin and Clerow......

"Marina...you'll be safe with them...they're my friends....Here is my number...If you need anything..just call or text me." said Sissy.

"Thank you again Lieutenant." she said.

Kevin waved goodbye and he and Clerow drove off with Marina.

"I can point Bruno out to you..He'll be at Josies, tonight." said Eddie C.

"And we'll be there waiting." said Carlotta.

I smiled. The die had been cast.

II-

Detective Pile, was already in Josies....He was setting at the bar quaffing down a Corona ,while Reed Nelson and his quintet played a set...The music was good...I came in with Carlotta, dressed in what for her was civilian clothes...This woman made me hot even in her police department issue blues...

We sat in a booth and ordered drinks.....Eddie C. and Sissy sat in a booth across the room from us...It all looked very normal...Kevin and Eddie C. had told us that this Bruno Jefferson was a rough charactor and that if challenged ,he would throw down....


Right now he was wanted for suspicion of murder....a murder we couldn't even prove had happened....We were hoping to rattle his cage and get more information on Nick and possibly bring the assasain, Leonid out into the open...

As usual, the bar was packed...Mostly African-Americans....So when this white woman showed up in the crowd and sat at a booth by herself she stood out!  Not that white women never came in Josies...They did, but not this woman...She seemed extremely out of place...

She wasn't sitting there long before a big , six foot four, heavily muscled Black man with a gold ear ring in his left ear came to her table...She kissed him passionately and rubbed his back...
Eddie C. looked at us and tipped his hat...

It was Bruno Jefferson....but who was this white woman he was with???  And then it hit me... I nudged Carlotta...

"That's Sirena!" I exclaimed.

''Sirena? The murdered girl!!! " said Carlotta.

"Yup." I added

"She looks pretty healthy to me." she said.

"So if she's alive....What is this about? Arkady was murdered because Leonid thought that he had had his fiance killed."I said.

"At any rate..I'm not going to lose this opportunity...Stay here Keith." she said and she signaled Detective Pile to follow her lead.

They both descended on the the table.. Bruno was startled.... Carlotta flashed her badge

"Bruno...please don't make me pull my gun out of my pocketbook." she said.

Detective Pile walked up behind them....

"Let's all walk out of here nice and easy....you too little lady...We just want to go downtown and ask you a few questions.." he said.

With that Bruno, who was no fool, got up quietly , as did Sirena...and the four of them walked out of Josies without anyone knowing...

Sissy leaned over and kissed Eddie C. long and hard in the lips ,which was an eye opener for me....They really were a couple now, it seemed...

She waved and she followed me out of the bar.

III-

Bruno and Serena sat in the "tank" with Carlotta,Sissy,Myself and Detective Pile...

"Yall don't even understand...As you can see,I aint kill nobody." said Bruno Jefferson.

"But there's a guy on the street who thinks you did and he has already killed one of your bosses." I said.

"Yeah, I heard... I don't work for them no more." said Bruno...

"That is Leonid...He is my ex-fiance..." said Serena.

"Apparently he still has love for you." said Sissy..

"He has guilt....He is the one who sold me to Arkady and Nick." she said!!

"WHAT???" said Carlotta.

"In Russia..He was KGB man....and then later on a Detective,like you...He try to put Arkady and Nick in prison...but they had something on him..Proof that he had embezzled a huge amount of money....It would have ruined him..Soon Leonid was giving them information on cases against people who worked for them and imminent arrests. Just being in their pocket wasn't enough....They wanted something more...They wanted me...He gave them me..This was their way of totally breaking him and paying him back for all of the years he had dogged them and tried to build a case against them.  Finally they leave Russia..they come here and they bring me along...
I have suffered for two years because of Leonid...Now ,he is no longer cop...He is here to get me back, but I no go back...I am in love with American Soul Man, Bruno...I no want to go back...I am having Bruno's baby." she said.

"You're kidding?" I said. Sissy smiled a bit, so did Carlotta.

"Nah man..She is two months pregnant...We in love." said Bruno...

"Oh you're in love?" asked Detective Pile..

"At first ,it was just sex...She hit me off a little somethin,somethin...but eventually we fell in love...We tryin to get her citizenship papers...and then we gettin married." he said.

Love was something...Here was a stone cold gangster, responsible for God only knows
how much mayhem and here he was reduced to mush by the woman he had fallen in love with....  There was something to say for that...

"Nick thinks you killed her...If he finds out you didn't and that you are in effect shacking up with his money maker, he'll have you killed." Said Sissy.

"I know..I know..We was making plans to leave Philly..Maybe go to New York,Nick can't reach everywhere." said Bruno...

"Man, forget Nick...Leonid will kill you both." I said.

"I didn't think about him...What can we do?" asked Bruno.

"Pray Bruno...Pray that we get to Leonid ...and Pray we can make a case against Nick." said Carlotta...

A Tall order!  A Tall order indeed I thought.

Bruno and Sirena embraced... I looked at them...In love and in big trouble...but isn't everyone that is in love in trouble at some point?? I looked longingly at Carlotta...I didn't know if I loved her...I hadn't said those words to her yet...and she only jokingly said it...We weren't at their point yet...and hopefully when we got to their point...we wouldn't be as desperate.

(Conclusion Next)

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...)