Home At Last

A night later, Sepia and I drove up to Josies....It was well after 2:00 am in the morning... Josie's was closed.
Gus called and asked me to come and to enter through the back.....I knew something was important... I didn't want to bring my wife, but she insisted...

I rang the doorbell and Gus opened the door...

"Hey man, I came as soon as you called, what's up?" I asked.

"Hi Gus, you okay?" asked my wife, Sepia

''Aw hey Sepia...I didn't mean to wake you up." said Gus.

"It's okay Gus...I thought you might be in trouble." said Sepia.

"Nah, Nah, I'm fine,I got somebody here who your husband needs to talk to." he said.

We walked inside and sitting in the store room at a small table was a small framed ,brown skinned man that I did not know.

''This is Wally Young...He operates and monitors the video cam in the parking lot....Or rather he used to operate it...He's fired." said Gus.

"Aww Gus come on...it wasn't my fault.." he said.

''Shut up ya chissler...Tell Kevin what your drunk ass told me." said Gus.

"Kevin....It was Lance Fontaine...Not him personally...but his boys...A Tall muscular guy...used to be a boxer, another guy, tall and slim and a short mousey kind of guy with sunglasses on....The night that guy got stabbed in the parking lot....I got the whole thing on tape....They come in here and roughed me up, slapped me around a little and told me to edit out the film....the parts that showed the actual stabbing....and not to say a word to the cops about it...So I did what they said.....By the time the cops came and got my video....It didn't have that part on it....I had to do it...Dude damn near broke my jaw...and the other two stomped me..." he said.

"But you know who killed Flaming Moe right?" I said.

"I sure do....and I kept a copy of the original print...For insurance."he said.

"Insurance? Insurance against what?  You think you got the stones to blackmail Lance Fontaine?" asked Gus.

Gus and I shook our heads...

"Where is the original print?" I asked...

''Aw Kev please....They'll come back and they'll kill me." he said.

"No they won't....I had the pleasure of running into the same three men a night ago.... All three are locked up, they won't be coming back to do anything....Now where is the print?" I asked.

"I'll get it." he said.

"No...We are going to go get it and watch it together...Then you're going to call Lt. Sissy Van Buren of Homicide and deliver it to her...Tell her everything you told me and Gus. Give her this address and tell her to meet me there in a few hours." I said.

"Okay Kev..." he said.

"Gus, give him his job back...Those guys were pretty rough charactors...They would have killed him if he hadn't of complied." I said.

"Well uh okay...If you say so Kev...But only because you said so....Alright Wally,let's get to steppin." barked Gus.

II-

I found myself back in Roxy's......I was beginning to like this bar...It might be a suitable place for me to drink when I wanted to be alone.  I told myself to make a note of that in the future...Nobody knew me here..
The gambler and would be gangster, Lance Fontaine and his little trollop, Lucy Diamond were sitting at a seperate booth drinking...

I walked in, smiled and walked over to their booth and sat down....Lance was stunned...Lucy looked annoyed..

"YOU!" he said.

"You must be the great, great Lance Fontaine...I've heard so much about you...At last we meet." I said with a smile..

"I've heard about you too... None of it anything I like. Thought you would have been thinkin differently about things now.Like life, health." he barked...Lucy smiled.

''And why is that Lance? Because of those three idiots you call muscle that you or miss
lady here sent after me the other night?  Have you bailed them out of jail yet? Has the swelling in their jaws and their faces gone down yet " I said.

By now the talk on the street had gotten back to him about the beat down I had put on two of his goons the night before and that they were all in jail...He bristled at me rubbing it in.

"You got a smart mouth ya know that?....How bout I close it for you personally?" he said.

"If you feelin froggy , jump baby, but I'd strongly advise you not to..." I said , no longer smiling.

"I'm out of here, I detest blood shed." smirked Lucy.

Lucy went to get up, but I grabbed her and pulled her back down forcibly...I could tell that it startled her!

"Sit down!...I'm through playing nice with you." I said.

"Get offa me...Get off of me.."she screamed....

Lance went to reach for his gun....but I grabbed the back of his neck and slammed his head down on to the table hard about three times...giving him a bloody nose and a head ache..

''Ughhhh, "he grunted..."You're a dead man ...you just wait." he moaned as he slumped over in the booth!

I took his gun out of his coat pocket cocked it and aimed it at him.

"You send those three creeps after me the other night and you're the one who's mad.???...I should be mad that you sent such inferior muscle..." I remarked..."Now sit tight...I'm talkin tough now tough guy....Sit tight or I'll gladly lay you out...Feel me playa?." I said no longer smiling or joking.....They both got the message.

I gave him some tissues for his bloody nose....

"Now Lucy...How long had Flaming Moe been blackmailing you?" I said.

"You know huh?" she said...She simmered down considerably after she saw what I did to her so called tough guy boyfriend.

"Yes...I know the whole deal....He was in the laundry room when you plunged that big knife in Bruce Diamond's chest killing him...He saw the whole thing...Only he didn't tell the cops....Reason why was because he knew that Bruce Diamond died,leaving you a couple of million dollars...He started blackmailing you then didn't he?  How else could he have afforded a move to Philadelphia and a down payment on a house?
You tried to run, moved from Patterson to West Orange, to Jersey City , New York City and eventually here ,only to discover that Flaming Moe was here too and the black mailing began again...Which was how he was able to pay all of his debts." I said.

"Yes....I couldn't escape him...Every week, wanting money...more and more to keep my secret.He was draining me." she snarled.

"Only, you were connected now....To Mr. Fontaine here......Which brings me to my next question...Why didn't you let Mr. Fontaine handle your situation? He and his guys would have certainly have handled Mr. Green much cleaner and with less fuss than you did?" I asked.

She held her head down...

"Yeah...I should have....I was so mad that night at Josies....I thought that Trolley Car Jones was going to kill him...but then I saw him pay Trolley Car what he owed him...Paid him with my money..my damn money!! That was all I could take...I pulled out that butcher knife and ...and ...just stabbed the hell out of him." she said.

"SHUT UP LUCY!! IF I know right, this crumb is wearing a wire!" said Lance Fontaine...

He was right....I was!!!

"It's all over mami, you're under arrest. Love you Kevin." came the voice of Detective Carlotta Rodriguez as she handcuffed Lucy Diamond...

"Love you too Chica!" I laughed.

"Damn it...I knew it.I knew it!" said Lance Fontaine....stomping his foot and pounding his fist on the table in anger.

"That goes for you too killer!" came the voice of Detective Tyriq Pile, who handcuffed Lance Fontaine...

"I don't believe this...I'm goin to jail?"he muttered...

" You sure are!Thanks again Kev." he said. "Whole lotta folks will be glad to see this dreck off the streets." he said.

"All in a days work Detectives." I said, smiling...

Lt. Sissy Van Buren and four uniformed policemen entered the bar just then...

"Well Kevin, how many times is this that we've met just as a perp was being taken down?" she laughed.

"I don't know....a hundred maybe?" I laughed.

"It never gets old!" she laughed...

"Nope, never!" I said.

"Thanks again." she said as She ,Carlotta, Tyriq and the officers hauled Lucy Diamond and Lance Fontaine out of the bar as the crowd gawked and looked on...

After they all left, I went back to the bar and ordered myself two beers.... It had been a long two weeks...
My friends would all be returning from Spain tomorrow... I drank two beers and saluted them!

Yep! I think I was gonna like this bar!  Oh don't get me wrong...Josies will always be my main spot...but like I said, When I need to be alone...Roxys will be that place.....Yep! I think I was gonna like this bar

III-

Lucy Diamond was convicted of Second Degree Murder charges and sentenced to 15 years to Life in the death of Flaming Moe Green....The City of Patterson, New Jersey has re-opened the 2007 murder of Bruce Diamond and is seeking to try her for that murder.

Lance Fontaine and his three henchmen were convicted of Obstruction of Justice and assault with intent to kill and conspiracy and sentenced to 15-25 years each....

I took my wife, Sepia out to a nice little restaurant, about a block from Roxys...the new bar I had discovered.

"This is nice...Good Food...." she said.

"How did you like Roxys?" I asked.

"It was okay, but a little dead for my tastes....What's the bartender's name?" she asked.

"I don't know, I don't wanna know." I laughed.

"They didn't have no music." she said.

"It's a quiet little place."I said.

"Well if you like it, okay...but I prefer Josies...Josies is home, We know everybody there, There's music and closeness."she said.

I smiled...She was after all right.

EPILOUGE:

The next night, Sepia and I were right back in Josies...Everybody was there, Chris Thompson, Chess, his wife Rell, Donald Smooth, Kool Kat,Owen Todd,Chelsea, Clerow, Corrie, Sean Jackson, Sheila, Harry Charles, Bernadette,Robert Foxworth,Bonita,Bridget Jones, Conrad Nelson and his wife Jill...Chance Howard, Anita Jenkins, Cole, Blake, Paris...the whole crew.....

And the musicians were back, Downtown Rob Brown, Delores, Reed Nelson, Debbie, Bone Hampton,Ella, Meek Rollins, B-Flat,Honey Brown, Brooke Taylor, Ingrid Rhodes, 88 and Mabel Jenkins...It was good to see everybody!

I looked over at the bar... Gus was entertaining the drinkers...He was telling some story that had them all laughing...

Chazz was playing the piano with his new quartet and Dutch Van Buren was slipping towards the door...He had just finished his set.

I caught up with him...

"Oh uh Dutch....There is the matter of my fee....The murder has been solved." I said.

''How much I owe you Kev?" he asked.

"About a grand." I said.

He peeled off $500.00 dollars and put it in my hands...

"I'll give you the rest next week Kev....I got a baby on the way and all." he said as he slipped out of the door.

I shook my head...My wife, Sepia came and draped her arms around me...

"Now doesn't this feel like home lover?"

I looked at her and smiled...

"Yeah...Home at last!" I said.

(FOR SLC)

Little Ms. Cry Baby

Carlotta and Tyriq were hunting Lucy Graves-Diamond as was I....but I had a slight advantage...I had found her first and had slipped a GPS tracker on her car and on the car of boyfriend, Gambler, Lance Fontaine...

I knew where she would most likely go... Sean Jackson was in Spain...but he had left me one of his incredible cameras with a super lense that could shoot good photos at night and in the day...I had shot several good photos of Lucy and had been tailing her around the city....

By now, I'm sure she knew that not only were the Police inquiring about her, but a certain private investigator also....Which was why she decided to drop out of sight.
Or so she thought!~

She avoided the usual bars like Josies, The Mermaid Club, Ciros ,The Aqua Bar and Mulberry Street....She had no doubt had heard that I was around asking people questions about her....as well as the cops!

Now of days...She was visiting a watering hole called Roxys....They had a nice little crowd...No live music...no DJ...You went here to drink, talk and watch sports or videos.. The crowd was much younger...

For once, She wasn't with Lance Fontaine......So I cozied up next to her and ordered a beer...

"Hello Lucy...It is Lucy isn't it?" I said.

She looked at me with fake dis-interest.....

"Is it?" she said.

"Yeah...It is...You're from North Jersey right?  My wife is from there ....She knows you." I said.

"Yeah? Who is your wife?" she asked.

"Jo-Anne...Jo-Anne Coakley back then...Her friends call her Sepia." I said.

"Oh yeah...I remember her...Was a swimmer and a swim suit model at one time...So, you're here for small talk or you tryin to holla? Can't see the need for either one...She's
a pretty girl....I can't see a man who's married to her being interested in another woman unless either she got fat or you're just a dog." she said.

"Neither one...She's still fine and I most certainly am not a dog...What I am is a private investigator and the man I work for would like to know what happened with Moses "Flaming Moe" Green." I said.

"What happened to him? Somebody plunged a pig sticker in his back...That's what happened. Tell whoever hired you that it would be safer for both you and him to mind your business and leave catching whoever killed him to the cops." she said with a laugh.

"You knew him though right?" I asked.

"I knew a lot of people." she remarked...

"You two have beef?" I asked.

"If we did, we don't now..." she said with a laugh...

"You called "Trolley Car" Jones just before Moe was murdered...A guy you knew definitely had beef with him." I said.

"I don't recall." she said.

"I do recall!I checked your phone records...You did call him about an hour before Moe was stabbed to death and he caught up with Moe in Josie's parking lot." I said.

"Yeah...Cops picked him up...So apparently , Story over!" she said.

" Yes they did...but you and I both know that he didn't kill Moe...He had no reason to..Moe paid him his money...Some of it. Why would he kill him??" I said.

"I don't know...Ask him." she said.

"I did." I said.

"This conversation is over." she said and tossed a few dollars down to pay her bill and got up abruptly....

"Don't follow me and don't ever try to talk to me again. My boyfriend won't like that and believe me, when he doesn't like something...People know it!" she said.

"I'll make  a note of that." I said.

"It would be good if you did." she said.

I smiled and I watched her as she walked out of the bar...A very attractive woman...with a bad attitude...I didn't have to follow her...I knew where she'd more than likely go.

II-

It was starting to get dark...I paid my bill and walked out of the bar...There was no sign of her... My car was parked three blocks away....So I headed towards it... I noticed two men following me.... One was tall, slender....The other one was big, muscular...carried himself like a boxer...I recognized him...He was the same guy who had tried to feel up on Bridget Jones in Josies a few nights before.

I also noticed a car with tinted windows driving along slowly right beside me... Rather than walk towards my car, I turned down a side street about a block before I got to my car..

The two men were still following me and the car with the tinted windows was too..Perhaps I should walk back to a street that was more populated...Perhaps I should have brought Clerow, Owen Todd or Kool Kat with me...but I hadn't...

Like the big man often told me..."One day you'll learn.." The price of being addicted to living dangerously...

The two men got closer to me... The big one..The one who carried himself like a boxer said....

"Nice Evening isn't it ace?"

I turned toward them...

"Yes it is." I said.

"You from around here?" asked the other man.

"No...Not really....Just wanted to try a new bar for a change ." I said.

"Yeah? How did you like it?" asked the big one smiling gingerly at the other man..

"Hey don't I know you from somewhere?" I asked smiling...knowing that he indeed remembered me from a few nights before.

"You might...it's a small world...an even smaller city." he said.

"You didn't tell us how you liked the bar?" asked his friend, laughing slightly.

I knew what was about to happen and I had no desire to continue with the charade...Might as well get it over with..

"Fellas, do you really care about how well I liked that bar?" I asked.

The big one snarled..

"Told you we'd dance again tough guy.You been askin too many questions.My boss aint feelin you at all..After I break your nose and your jaw...I doubt you'll ask any more questions about my boss or his lady friend." he said and lunged toward me...

I ducked his blow and hit him with an upper cut that backed him up....I landed a perfect kick to the solar plexus of the second man and then did a sweep which knocked him down...

Then I faced the big man, the one who carried himself like a boxer...

''Good punch....but I used to box. I can take a punch." he snarled.

"That supposed to mean something to me?" I asked.

"You gotta smart mouth punko...Let's see how good you are with your hands..." he snarled..

He charged at me..I crouched and I landed about 12 good lefts and rights to his face.....I caught him with an uppercut that damn near ripped his head off and then clocked him in his jaw and sent him to the sidewalk....

"You obviously had a short ring career" I sneered...

''I'll show you." he snorted in anger..

He quickly got to his feet and charged me again...throwing haymakers...I dodged them all and ripped his midsection with well placed lefts and rights and then cold cocked him in his jaw, sending him spinning around...I attempted a swift kick to his solar plexus , but he caught my foot , twisted my leg and sent me hurling to the ground...I quickly regained my footing..

He attempted to  put his massive hands around my neck and choke me..I kicked him as hard as I could in his privates and he let me go...I again punished his midsection with 10-12 lefts and rights and then planted more lefts and rights to his face...He fell to the ground gasping for air and in obvious pain......I thought I had time to catch my breath....but he was up again and charging at me...

''Ummmph...you fight pretty good...but like I said...I used to box.." he said.

"You could've fooled me." I said practically laughing in his face....This sent him into a murderous fury!

I clocked him in his jaw twice and then punished his stomach with more lefts and rights...He groaned and grunted like a pig and huffed and puffed.. He had just about had enough...So my left right combonation dropped him for the count...

"I used to box too." I said as I stood over his unconscious body.

The second man rushed me, but I side stepped him and landed some nice lefts and rights to his face...He swung and missed  and swung and missed again...I ducked and punched him in his stomach...He groaned in agony..and my next blow was right on his jaw...His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slumped to the ground and rolled over...Out for the night!!.

"Pretty sure you didn't used to box." I said as he groaned and rolled over.

Just then...before I could catch my breath...The car that had been following me stopped.....A short mousey little man got out...He had on sunglasses and a .38 smokeless...

''Okay laughing boy....this card game is over...you just crapped out." he snarled.

I backed up and was about to pull my gun out when I heard a much welcome voice...

"I'll bet my Glock nine beats your .38 anyday Papi." came the unmistakably beautiful  voice of Detective Carlotta Rodriguez...She had the muzzle of her glock right on his temple.

The man in the sunglasses sighed, dropped his gun and put his hands up without uttering a word!!...I smiled...

"I knew you weren't too far behind me...Glad as ever to see you chica." I said.

Carlotta smiled..

"You fight pretty good...You handled those two leg breakers like nothing at all." she said.

"Ahhh...I did alright." I said.

"You know these are Lance Fontaine's boys?" she said.

"I figured as much....I talked to baby girl about an hour ago and like a little cry baby, she got all offended and probably called Lance and he called up the troops."I said.

"Guess the conversation didn't go too well huh?" laughed Carlotta.

"Not well at all. Little Ms. Cry baby has one hell of an attitude." I said.

She giggled.

A patrol car  and a paddy wagon drove up... Three uniformed officers helped the two unconscious men up off of the pavement , read the trio their rights, handcuffed them and took them away....I stood on the corner talking to Carlotta as the police cars carrying Fontaine's stooges pulled off!

"I knew the minute "Trolley Car "Jones mentioned Lucy Diamond...You'd be on it. I tailed her for days , then I lost her...but I figured you might be on her so I followed you." she said.

"Glad you did" I said kissing her forehead....

"I'd say it was time for us to compare notes." said Carlotta...

"It certainly is...Let's go to Jake's ...I'm Hungry." I said.

"You read my mind Kevin." she said with that sweet smile of hers.

III-

Carlotta and I enjoyed one of Jake's Fabulous hot dogs and a coke.

"We cut Vincent "Trolley Car" Jones loose yesterday." she said.

"Oh Yeah?  I didn't think it was him." I said.

''He passed a polygraph...Willingly gave us DNA and fingerprints....None of which we found at the scene."she said.

''What about the video cams?" I asked.

"They've got Green talking and exchanging money with Jones and they have what looks like a heated argument with Lucy....but nothing else." she said.

"That's odd...A butcher knife in the back is a personal crime...A crime where someone would have to get up close and plunge it in...Seems like whoever did this would have been caught on tape." I said.

"It's baffling to me too...Jimmy, Tyriq and I have looked at tape from Josies and from the parking lot...The guys who operate the parking lot are enlarging and re-editing the footage...We are waiting for them to get us another print...We may get our killer eventually from that." She said.

"You know of course that Lucy Diamond was Lucy Graves from ..." I said before Carlotta cut me off..

"Yeah from West Orange , who married a gangster named Bruce Diamond out of Jersey City..." she said.

I smiled...

''Damn girl, You are sharp.." I said laughing.

Carlotta smiled like an innocent school girl.

"I did my homework that's all...just like you obviously did." she laughed.

"Bruce Diamond was murdered, she was a suspect, but then ,the charges were dropped for lack of evidence." said Carlotta , who pulled some photos out of her pocket book and spread them across the table we were sitting at.

"Hope this doesn't take you away from your food." she said.

It was a death scene photo of Bruce Diamond with a huge butcher knife protruding from his chest, lying in a pool of blood in what looked like a wash room.

"Oh my God..." I said.

"Look familiar?" she said.

"Yeah... just like the knife found in Flaming Moe Green's back." I said.

"And guess what else is interesting?" said Carlotta.

"What?" I said.

"Flaming Moe was also a tenant of that same apartment complex at the same time our girl was living there." said Carlotta.

''He was??  That explains everything!!" I said.

"Like what?"

"Think about it Carlotta...This guy owes everybody and his grandmother money...Then all of a sudden...He's flush and paying all his debts.....But he's barely working....Now how could that be?" I asked.

"Or why would that be?" laughed Carlotta..

We both looked at each other and smiled sheepishly...

"Tell those photo lab guys to hurry up and get those prints back." I said.

Carlotta laughed...

(CONCLUSION NEXT)

Better Dance Partners

I continued my investigation of "Flaming Moe'' by finding out about the man....His real name was Moses S. Green.....He was born and raised in Charleston ,South Carolina...
Had come up north and settled in Newark, New Jersey after he graduated from High School...

Talented....He played the Vibes, The Piano and the Drums quite well and he was skilled at arranging  music also....Had once attended the Julliard school of music in New York City...He didn't graduate...

Moe Green began playing sessions in New York ,Philadelphia and Los Angelas, while living in Jersey City, West Orange and Patterson, New Jersey....It was said that his hands were so fast that it was a wonder his instruments didn't catch on fire...Thus the name...Flaming Moe. He was married for three years to a young Harlem woman and divorced.  The woman in question had remarried. We spoke on the phone, briefly, but she hadn't seen or heard from him in seven years...Wasn't much she could tell me.

He and Charlie "Dutch" Van Buren met and began playing in several Jazz and Funk and R &B bands in the New York City, North Jersey area..a decade ago and developed a friendship...a friendship that continued once Dutch returned to Philadelphia....

I interviewed every one I knew who was in Josie's that night...No one had a bad thing to say about Flaming Moe...Nobody saw anything either....

I went to Chinatown where he lived and Little Norway ,where he previously lived and talked to everybody he knew...Also talked to his family and close friends.....

Detectives Carlotta Rodriguez and Tyriq Pile had interviewed and talked to practically everybody I had talked to, at least a day before me... They were both good investigators...easily my equal... They were my friends too and I certainly didn't want to get in the way or hinder their murder investigation.

II-

I read in the paper a few days later, that Detectives Carlotta Rodriguez and Tyriq Pile arrested Vinnie "Trolley Car" Jones for the murder of Moses"Flaming Moe" Green...

This was based on videotape from Josies and a Crime Stoppers Video cam that showed
Flaming Moe and Vincent "Trolley Car" Jones talking in the parking lot of Josies that night.  I had seen it, but it didn't show him actually killing Moe...

Of course, everybody in the bar and the neighborhood knew that Flaming Moe had owed Trolley Car Jones 5G's and had been ducking him for weeks...They also knew that Trolley Car wasn't too happy about it and had said he'd "kill Moe" when he caught up with him...

It wasn't much...but it was enough.....I suppose... There was also a young woman in that parking lot on the video too....A nice looking young woman...A woman I had never seen before... She had been seen talking to Moe right before Vincent "Trolley Car" Jones showed up...

I asked Gus about her...

"Aww she's nobody....Her name is Lucy...Lucy Diamond...She's not from around here...Her and Flaming Moe knew each other in Patterson and Newark...Funny how everybody winds up here in Philly aint it?" he said.

"Yeah..sure is...You know where she lives?" I asked.

Gus wrote down an address on a piece of paper. He never ceased to amaze me..The things and people he knew!

"You might want to try there..but be careful....She dates a  guy named Lance Fontaine...he's a gambler and rumored to be a juice man.Tread lightly kid, he's a real nasty piece of business." said Gus.

"Yeah ,So I've heard. I saw him last night at Mabel's place...and that goon that was trying to feel up Bridget Jones the other day here in the bar is one of his boys. "I said.

''Just be easy Kev and watch your back...If he's mixed up in this, there is bound to be some serious trouble." said Gus.

"Yeah...Seems to be a habit of mine...Dancin with guys who are serious trouble." I said.

"Then you need to find some better dance partners." said Gus who looked at me and winked...

I laughed and he laughed too.

"Indeed." I said.

III-

I figured now was as good a time as any to visit C.I.D., before they transferred "Trolley Car" Jones to the city jail.

Most Private Investigators would have been told to take a hike if they went over to homicide wanting to talk to one of their suspects...but Sissy and now her detectives, Carlotta, Tyriq, Jimmy and Duke usually always gave me a sort of carte blanche...

When I arrived at C.I.D. Tyriq was standing outside of the interrogation room which they had nicknamed the fishbowl watching Carlotta conduct the interview..

"Hey Kev...We had a feeling you'd show up eventually." said  Detective Tyriq Pile.

"Yeah...I got a client who asked me to look into this...but believe me, I don't want to step on you and Carlotta's toes...Do you mind if I just watch?" I asked.

"Kev? Come on...It's you babe...you know we don't mind." said Tyriq.

"Where is the Boss Lady?" I asked...

"She'll be here soon..." he said.

Carlotta passed Trolley Car Jones a tumbler of hot coffee.. He was grateful.....

"Thank You so much." he said...Not your typical bad ass killer at all.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Well, as you can imagine...I've been better." he said.

She smiled so sweetly that if I was a suspect I would have told her anything she wanted to know and then some.

"Did you kill Moses Green?" she asked softly...

"Detective Rodriguez..I swear I did not....He owed me money....and he had been ducking me and I was mad,mad as hell, I admit that...I probably said some things that I shouldn't have about killing him...but that was just talk just Talk...I don't have a violent bone in my body..." he said.

"So you caught up with him?" she said.

"Yeah...This babe named Lucy , Lucy Diamond that he runs with...She told me where I could find him." he said.

"His girlfriend?" she asked.

"Nah...not hardly....They knew each other from North Jersey...That's where he's from....They had had a falling out  recently." he said.

"Lovers Spat?" she asked.

"Nah...Not even close...She hated his guts..." he said.

"You know why?" asked Carlotta.

"Probably owed her some money like he owed me... He ducked people....Then he'd get flush and start paying everybody he knew...Then start borrowing money all over again. He had three or four large on him when I came up on him in that parking lot...Don't know how he got so flush...all of a sudden..He was missing gigs...Dutch Van Buren and Chazz was mad at him for showin up late and they had docked his pay." said Trolley Car Jones..

"You got any idea where his good fortune came from?" asked Carlotta..

"Couldn't tell you...I was just glad he had my money." said Trolley Car Jones..

Lucy Diamond!! This was the second time I heard this name! Definitely had to check her out.

"So that's why you were in the parking lot?" said Carlotta.

"Yes...but we didn't argue....In fact, he gave me three g's....You found three thousand dollars on me when you guys arrested me..That was from him...Why would I kill him?
I  just wanted my money....He said he was gonna pay me the rest next week." said Jones.

"Now you're out  two grand?" said Carlotta.

"Exactly." he said.

"You see anybody else in that parking lot that night?" she asked.

"Not while I was there." he said.

"What happened to this Lucy person?" asked Carlotta.

"She pointed him out to me and then I don't know what happened to her, she kind of just left." he said.

Carlotta got up and left the interview room...

"Heyyy Kevin...Tyriq said that you'd be around eventually...You want to ask him some
questions?" she said.

"Nope...You asked him all the questions I would have asked him." I said.

"You like him for this?" asked Tyriq.

"No...I don't. He doesn't seem the type." I said.

"I don't think so either..I'm going to cut him loose...but put Duke Baylor on him." said Carlotta.

"Good idea...Always a pleasure seeing you people." I said...

Carlotta and Tyriq smiled wryly at me...

"I know you weren't going to come up here and not say hello to your sister?" came the unmistakable voice of Lt. Sissy Van Buren...

I smiled...She hugged me warmly....

"Hi Kevin,You gonna help us with this murder?" she asked.

"Of Course....But right now...I got nothing...but you know your phone will ring when or if I do." I said.

I smiled and bid them all good day.

III-

Lucy! Lucy Diamond...Her name had come up a little too much...I was going to have to pay her a visit...

Carlotta was too good a detective to let that name slide...I knew she'd be on my trail soon to talk to Lucy...And I knew that she knew I was going to pay Lucy a visit...
I had to get to her first....

It wasn't hard...I had an address...It checked out....I sat outside and watched her house...It was a rental property...She'd only been in Philadelphia about six months...
I saw the gambler, Lance Fontaine go in and out, saw them leave together...
Despite his reputation...I wasn't worried about him....But why walk into a problem if I didn't have to? Like Sissy used to tell me..."Try and duck a few punches." No.. I would wait until she was alone to approach her.

If Carlotta got to her first...so be it...There was no competition...but I did have a need to question her.

IV-

Sepia and I lie across our bed a few hours later just talking for a change....

"How's your case going?" she asked..

I kind of got the feeling  a long time ago that Sepia lived vicariously through my adventures...

"Eliminated one suspect....got to talk to another suspect tomorrow..Her name is Lucy...Lucy Diamonds.." I said.

Upon hearing that name...Sepia sat up!

"Lucy Diamond?? Is she from North Jersey by any chance?" she said.

"Yeah...You know her?" I asked.

"All my life...She's not one of my friends...She lived in West Orange for a time...She and I attended middle school and high school for a minute.." she said.

"Small world isn't it? She knew Moses Green, my deceased musician."I said.

"I don't know him...but Lucy Diamond was Lucy Graves....When I knew her....She married a guy named Bruce Diamond....a playa out of Jersey City..." said Sepia..

"No kidding?" I said ,now sitting up myself...

"So she's married and running around with a local player here named Lance Fontaine." I said.

"Bruce Diamond is dead...He was stabbed to death in Patterson, the year before I met you...Lucy was accused of it at first, but they dropped the charges... Lack of evidence...They arrested some other guy for it...But he went to trial and beat the rap.." said Sepia.

"What happened to Lucy?" I asked.

"She moved to New York City for a season, then somehow wound up in Patterson again and Jersey City... I haven't seen her in like six or seven years." said Sepia.

"Hmmmm...now all of a sudden she's here in Philly." I said.

"Make sure your wedding band is showing when you go to see her." said Sepia..

"Huh?" I said.

"She's very flirtatious...Good at stealing other women's men...I don't want to have to cut nobody." said Sepia...

"Aww Sepia....I don't believe anybody could steal anybody from you...."I said and gently slapped her behind...

"All this good lovin you got?" I joked.....

"Ohhh shut up Kevin.." she giggled...

I rolled her over and began kissing her....

She slipped my pajama bottoms down...

''Oh my God....Kevin." she said...rubbing her soft hands along my now huge erection...

I smiled gingerly and kissed her up her neck, her chin and finally her nice full lips...

"Ummmmmmm" she moaned as I slowly entered her...

"You always know the right thing to say to get some." she moaned as we began to make sweet love that night.

IV-

The next morning I drove by Lucy's house again....I saw her getting in a car with Lance Fontaine....

I saw Carlotta and Tyriq across the street in an unmarked car watching her property also....

Good old Carlotta, I knew that she'd be on to Lucy....

I followed Lucy and Lance a few blocks... They parked and walked into a jewelry store...While they were inside...I slipped a GPS tracking device on the car..I believed it was Lance Fontaine's car... I pulled off...

I drove back to Lucy's house... Carlotta and Tyriq had left.... I had the make and model of Lucy's car...I looked around and slipped a GPS tracking device on her car... This way I could follow her and or Mr. Lance Fontaine without them knowing it.

I asked around about Lance Fontaine...He was indeed a bad apple...A high stakes gambler and a loan shark... He had major juice on the streets and generally had a lot of people afraid of him  and shooken up...This was the type of guy who walked in a barber shop and guys got up and let him have their place! Just the type of guy I enjoy taking down a peg!

Maybe our paths wouldn't have to cross?  Who was I fooling? He and I were on a collision course in this case...His name was coming up too much also.

Gus was right...I did need to find better dance partners.

(To Be Continued.....)

My Money Is On You

I hung around until the police came...A man had been murdered in the parking lot...This was indeed strange...This hadn't happened at Josies in years...Between my investigations and the security that Chris and Chess and Donald Smooth kept around this neighborhood and the police presence...It was pretty safe and pretty quiet around here...This was a rarity!

Detective Carlotta Rodriguez and Detective Tyriq Pile drove up....

They had another person with them...A Black woman who I had never seen before....

''Hey Kevin.."said Detective Pile...

"Hola Kevin" said Carlotta....

"Tyriq, Carlotta.." I said.

"Kevin...This is Dr. Hazel Hunter...The newest member of our team.." said Carlotta..."She's a forensic investigator." she said.

''So you're the legendary Kevin Morris, I hear so much talk about." she said. "Sissy and all of the detectives on her squad always talk about you." she continued..

"Well,None of it's true." I joked... Tyriq and Carlotta laughed...

"What do you know about this?" asked Tyriq Pile..

"Nothing...I was inside drinking...and we heard a scream from outside...I think the woman over there talking to one of your uniforms saw the whole thing....He's a musician...Was a musician...They called him "Flaming Moe" I said.  "He played the vibes.."I continued..

"Well we didn't need to bring you out here Dr. Hunter...It's quite obvious how he died...Somebody plunged a butcher knife into him." said Detective Tyriq Pile...

"Let me view the body...I still might be able to tell you some things that don't seem apparent." she said...

Carlotta said to me...."I always get the difficult cases...Just once I'd like a suicide."

We both laughed...

"I wish I could help you on this one Chica...but I didn't see or hear a thing...Don't even know the man." I said.

"When has that ever stopped you?" she joked.

''Come on now...I got a straight job." I joked. "See ya later guys." I said as I walked back inside.

Gus, Dutch and Chazz were the only ones in the bar now...It was well after two...

"Man....Moe didn't deserve to die like that....Who would want to kill him?" asked Dutch...

"He owed Vinnie "Trolley Car" Jones some money..and I heard that Trolley Car was pretty pissed at him."
said Chazz.

"Yeah Trolley Car was around here a couple of times looking for him." said Dutch.

"Yeah,I seen him the other day." said Gus.

''Which explains why your boy was arriving late, he was ducking him." I said.

"I told that fine Puerto Rican Detective you know where she could find Trolley Car Jones." said Chazz.

"You don't know if Trolley Car Jones killed him...You didn't witness it." I said.

"Besides...You can't even see." said Dutch...

If only he knew what I knew, I mused.

"Man ,he did it...Kev...He did it if anybody did it."said Chazz...

"Yeah ,well I hope you're right. You could be puttin the spotlight on an innocent man." I said.

Dutch motioned for me to talk to him in private....I excused myself and walked outside with him.....

''Kevin....I want you to find out who done this...Here's a grand..." he said and peeled me off one thousand dollars.

"Dutch heyyy wait!..." I said..

"I would give you more, but I gotta pay some bills and help Selma out...You know, we got a baby on the way." he said.

I took the money....

"There will be more when you find out who done this..another grand." he said.

"What was his real name?" I asked.

"Moe Green...Moses Green..I met him in Patterson, New Jersey, We played some gigs there and in North Jersey and in New York City...When he moved here, he stayed with me for a hot minue...Good guy, Good Friend...Real cool people and a great musician...I'm sorry you never heard him play.He didn't desrve this...Knifed in the back." said  Dutch...

"Okay , but your daughter has two of her best detectives on this and a forensic investigator.." I said.

"Maybe...but you found me twice ,when nobody else could...You caught Chang Lee and his gang when nobody knew where they was and my daughter told me how many times you've cracked cases that even they couldn't crack....My money is on you Kevin." he said.

That was obvious....I had one thousand dollars of his money in my pockets.

II-

Sepia was still awake when I finally got home that night.....She put her arms around me as I took my shirt and undershirt off...

"How was it tonight?" she said..

"Interesting." I said with a half smile..

I pulled out one thousand dollars and tossed it on the bed...

"What's that?" she said.

''Lunch money for you." I said.

"You got yourself a case huh?" she asked.

"You know I can't go out without getting mixed up into something." I said.

"You're gonna have to stop hanging out at Josies." she joked..

"Yeah, you're right.....A man got murdered tonight." I said.

"In Josies...??? She asked.

"Yeah in the parking lot.. He was a friend of  Sissy's father....he gave me a grand as a down payment to find out who did it." I said..

"Isn't that the police's job?" she asked.

"It is..Carlotta and Tyriq are on it... They might crack it before I get started and I'll have to give him his money back." I laughed...

"My money is on you Kevin." she said.

"Your money is on the bed." I laughed....and turned Sepia towards me and gave her a long slow kiss...

"Mmmmm, Money makes me horny lover..."she cooed..

'' And All this time I thought it was my technique." I laughed...

"That too." she said between kisses...

I eased her shorts off....She stepped out of them and kissed me  some more....

I layed her across the bed and eased out of my trousers....

I entered her slowly, gently, Sepia began to tremble a bit....and slowly I glided into her moist center and we began to make love slowly above the covers...

"Ouuuuuuuu...I like this....Nice and slow...Nice and slowwwww." she said...

We made slow sweet love like that for hours...

When we finally climaxed and were spent, we lie across the bed, sweaty and exhausted...Sepia was still awake...

"So Lover, where do you begin?" she said...

"With the man himself... but not tonight....tomorrow."I said.

Sepia straddled me and gave me a long sloppy kiss..

"That goes without saying lover." she said.

III-

The next day, after I left work....Yes, I did put in a full day at my job. I asked around about Mr. Moses "Flaming Moe" Green....Mostly amongst musicians who knew him...I got at least two addresses for him...both in other sections of the city...I stopped by a few watering holes he was known to frequent...The Aqua Bar, Ciros, The Mermaid Club and even Mulberry Street....No one there had anything bad to say about him and most of the people I talked to told me what I already knew....That he owed people money..... Most of the people he owed money to said that in the last week of his life...He had paid them back in full!! Hmmm, suddenly flush...I wondered where his good fortune came from all of a sudden?  That might lead me to whoever killed him!

Then of course there was the matter of one Vincent "Trolley Car" Jones... He wasn't a playa or a gangster, just a neighborhood guy..

 I knew that it wouldn't be long before Carlotta and Tyriq were on his trail....I asked around about him too!  No one had seen or heard from him since the murder! He'd turn up sooner or later!

I stopped in Josies...

Gus was there as usual, tending bar....As soon as he saw me ,he pushed a bottle of Corona over to me...

''So what's new kid?" he said.

"Ahhh, this Flaming Moe thing?" I said.

"You mixed up in this too??...Carlotta and her partner came in here today talking to a few people." he said.

"I figured....Dutch is paying me to look into it." I said.

"Yeah, Flaming Moe was his friend." he said.

Just then I heard a commotion on the other side of the bar...

"Take your hands off of me." came the voice of my former client and friend, Bridget Jones... She was sitting with a tall muscular guy...I'd seen him around before...He carried himself like a boxer...Dressed like a hood.

"Aww come on baby...I've bought you two drinks." he snarled...

"That doesn't give you the right to fondle me and touch me places I didn't give you permission to touch." she said.

"I say it gives me permission to do whateva I want, considerin that those wasn't no cheap drinks." he said.

"Take your hands off of me." she said again..

"Awww come on baby..be nice to me." he said again.

I walked over to where they were sitting...

"I think you'd better get up and bid the lady good day sir." I said.

''Oh yeah? That's what you think huh?" he said and cracked his knuckles.

''Yeah, that's what I think." I said staring straight into his eyes... He wasn't used to not being able to intimidate people...I could tell. Who did he think he was...Kool Kat? I mused.

"How bout you mind your business ace before I belt you one?" he said.

I pulled out my .38 smokeless and jammed the muzzle into the crotch of his pants...

"Ughhhh!" he sighed....and then looked at me with pure fear...

"Feel that ace? That's a .38 smokeless, it leaves a big hole...If I pull this trigger and you somehow manage to survive, I am one hundred percent certain you'll be singing soprano the rest of your life, Feel me playa?" I said. "Now get up, and get to steppin." I continued...

"You do realize that I work for Mr. Lance Fontaine." he said.

"Is that supposed to mean something to me? Now I'm not going to ask you again...Get up and get to steppin." I said...

A crowd of people were watching....He got up straightened his clothes and said...

"Okay pal....You and me...We'll dance again...." he said.

"I look forward to it...Tell your boss ,I look forward to meeting him too!" I said.

He stomped his foot in frustration and walked briskly out of the bar.

Bridget looked at me and smiled and gently stroked my arm...

"Oh thank you so much Kevin...He was such a lout.He sent a drink to me, then a second one and then he came over and started talking...A lot of foolishness, then he started with the hands...all touchy feely...Oh My God...Last time I accept a drink from a stranger." she said.

"You gotta meet a better class of guy." I said.

"Who you tellin?" she laughed....

"You will....A pretty girl like you...It'll happen sooner than you know." I said.

"That's what everybody keeps sayin." she said.

I smiled and winked at her and quietly left...

Gus smiled and just shook his head.

"My money is always on you kid." he laughed.


IV-

The next night, sometime around midnight, Sepia and I enjoyed a delicious soul food meal at Mabel Jenkins Soul food joint with Harry Charles, his wife Bernadette, Robert Foxworth and his wife, Bonita and Clerow and his wife, Corabeth....

''So  Kev... I called your job today..I wanted to have lunch and they told me that you weren't in....So I figured...You'd gotten yourself mixed up in a case or somethin..." said Robert Foxworth.

"Yeah, isn't it funny how those things just seem to happen so much?" I joked.

Clerow, Corabeth,Harry, Bernadette,Sepia and Bonita all laughed while munching on their food.

"That was some set at Josies tonight..." said  Clerow...

"Yeah ,I haven't seen Sissy's father in years...Thought he was dead...He still sounds good on that sax." said Robert.

As they talked...I noticed a well dressed Black man walking in...He definitely had the look of a playa..
.
He sat by himself...Ordered some coffee and stared at me funny...Then he turned away...

His name was Lance Fontaine...a gambler...a gangster..He was rumored to be a juice man (loan shark)..I had heard of him vaguely. So he was the boss of that lout who had tried to feel up Bridget the night before.The way he stared at me seemed foreboding...a warning of things to come.


(TO BE CONTINUED...)

Medium Blue

''Damn Kev...remember when you and I used to go on these assignments?" said my friend, Sean Jackson as we stood in the airport with a number of my friends and associates...

"Yeah man...If I didn't have so much to catch up on...I'd be going on this assignment." I said.

"You mean if you wasn't the BOSS MAN now!" he laughed.

"Yeah...I guess you're right." I said.

My new company, Morris Communications was making money ,hand over foot now of days...and I had to do administrative work now...

So when this tour to Spain opened up, which we were financing...I wanted to go, but realized I just couldn't..

I looked at the crowd...It was a lot of my friends... Reed Nelson, Downtown Rob Brown, Bone Hampton, Ella, Brooke Taylor, Ingrid Rhodes and their perspective bands...Producer Meek Rollins and a crew of engineers and mixers were going to record the entire concert...Also going was "88" and his new wife, Mabel Jenkins...B-Flat was going and his wife, Honey Brown was in tow....

Reed's wife, Debbie and Rob Brown's girlfriend, Debbie's younger sister Delores was also going...They were writers who worked for me...They were covering the event... SPAIN JAZZ FEST 2013...in Barcelona...

I was excited for all of them...They were going to be gone for two weeks...Sean Jackson's wife, Sheila...my number two person at Morris Communications was to join them at the end of the week...My gift to her.. Sean, my ace was going to be photographing the entire event and in charge of a video crew that was going to film it.

"So Kev , what are you gonna do while we are all gone?" asked Meek Rollins...

''Work hard at keeping my company afloat." I said.

"What? No cases...No kingpins to take down?" joked Honey Brown...

''Nah...things are quiet....I'm going to just work at the office...Magazines and Newspapers have to be published...Websites have to be maintained and our radio station is still running." I joked.

"Wow...Josies is going to be dead...All of the main acts are going to be in Spain." said Downtown Rob Brown.

''Well, Symphony Sam and his orchestra will still be the house band...and they have a D.J." I said.

"Yeah, you right." said Bone Hampton.....

"Still they'll need some opening acts...and please,please don't bring back that wack ass comedian they had in there last year." joked Reed Nelson...

"I know right." I laughed..."Unfunniest man I ever heard in my life " I said as we all shared a laugh...

Mabel's sisters, Anita and her boyfriend, Chance Howard, Victoria and her husband, Deacon Larry Weatherford and Corabeth and Clerow were also there to see everybody off...

The Deacon said a prayer and then we all waved as they got on the plane and took off for Spain...

"I know you sure wish you was on that tour with em boss, don't you?" said Clerow...

"Yeah kind of...but I gotta run my company....My number two is going to be joining em in a week." I said hugging Sheila, Sean's wife...

"Oh Kevin...You'll do just fine." she said.

II-

A week went by....Josies wasn't exactly dead... Symphony Sam and his musicians kept the joint rockin...He had many fine musicians in his employ and his nephew, a D.J. filled in.... but I could sense that he was needing a break... It occurred to me that I knew two musicians...who could use some steady work....

One was a  Saxophonist named Charles "Dutch' Van Buren...who just happened to be the father of my good friend, Lt. Sissy Van Buren.....The other was a Blind Piano player who really wasn't blind..named Chaz Gillison...I got Gus to hire both of them!  They got together a Bass player, a Guitarist, A Drummer and borrowed a couple of horn players from Symphony Sam and put together a nice little group...

"I can't thank you enough Kevin...I was just tellin Selma that I need some extra bread...With the baby comin and all." said Dutch...

''Yeah, thanks Kev...I was meanin to ask Gus if I could gig here....This is perfect with all of his headliners out of town." said Chazz.

"Don't mention it..." I said

''Kev, does my uh..Does Sissy come down here?" asked Dutch.

''Every now and then...She works hard Dutch...." I said.

"Yeah, I read about her in the paper every now and then...I heard she caught that boy that killed some girl and came all over the floor outside of the girl's apartment....What a mess." said Dutch.

I laughed...Sissy told me that the case made her want to take a shower...It did sound kind of disgusting I mused.

III-

Josies wasn't exactly empty....Chris Thompson, Chess, Donald Smooth, Owen Todd and Kool Kat were there ,laughing it up and joking in their seperate booths...and even though Honey Brown was gone, Gus, Eddie and Albert were still holding things down in her absence...

''Hey Gus..what ya know good?" I said.

"Livin is good Junior...You keepin your nose clean?" he asked...

"Always" I laughed.

"Liar" he laughed as he slid me a beer...

Just then Dutch Van Buren walked up to the bar....

"Hey Gus...Did you see that Vibes player I hired for tonight?" he asked.

"Who? Flaming Moe?" said Gus.

''Yeah, he missed our last set...Bad enough he was late." said Dutch...

"Nah...Wasn't he late last night?" asked Gus..

"Yeah...He didn't get here until our last set." said Dutch.

"Hey, he aint on that stuff is he?"asked Gus.

"Nah man, he's clean...He's from out of Patterson ,New Jersey..." said Dutch.

"And that's supposed to mean something to me?" asked Gus.

''He's good people..just has a problem with his watch...but when he plays them bones man...He's on time." said Dutch.

"Musicians!" said Gus... I smiled and finished my brew...

The night drug on......Josies was still crowded, but most of the people I knew had cleared out....

''Shouldn't you be heading home to your missus?" asked Gus..

"Yeah...I guess you're right...She didn't feel like comin out tonight." I said.

Suddenly a blood curdling scream was heard from the parking lot...

Gus, and a crowd of people ran out into the parking lot...

Out in the parking lot, lying face down was a man with a huge butcher knife protruding from his back!

Chazz walked over to the man felt him then looked up...

I walked over to where he lay....

"You know him?" I asked...

"Yeah...That's Flaming Moe." said Chazz..

Dutch ran over to where the crowd was....

"Oh my God...Somebody killed him..." he said.

Gus and I stood there...

"Yeah...now he's really late!" I said....Gus cracked up and slapped my shoulder!

(DEFINITELY TO BE CONTINUED!!!)