Who doesn't love a wedding? Who doesn't love a destination wedding? We had been to a number of weddings this past winter.. Yvette and Gary
Keith and Beatrice
and Sofia and Kahlil
Seemed like last year , from October to Mid -December, we were at a wedding every three weeks.. And the year before last that summer..
Cousin Kayla and Ray St. Jacques tied the knot...
Our friends, Jazzy and Dabnis got married..
Yes, we had been to our share of weddings...
Saxophonist, Mellow Lemon Jelly (Melvin Brooks) who played with me back in my early days in New Orleans and followed me to Philadelphia, two years after I moved here and satin with the house band at Josie's, played with Bone Hampton, Downtown Rob Brown and Reed Nelson and did some recording dates with me...
All my musician friends were at this wedding
When I'm not being an investigator, for my wife, Olivia Bennett-Alexander's law firm...I'm quite a musician, or so I've been told..
I brought them with me..
Olivia, looking just ravishing...
her niece, Beverly, looking equally ravishing..
Josie, looking just as beautiful as ever...
Her boyfriend, Paris...
Even our intern, Bresha made the trip....
along with her boyfriend, Tony Billips..
"Donnie Ray my man, you was on to somethin when you quit the New Orleans Police Department and moved up here to Philly..First I thought you was crazy...Then I saw your wife the last time you came home and I was like, She's gorgeous and she's a lawyer too! Let me move on up to Philly..."laughed Mellow Lemon Jelly, the happy groom.
"Hell you're married to a surgeon, that's even better." I laughed..
''Heyyyyy Donnie Ray..Thank you guys for coming." said Michelle Brooks, Mrs. Michelle Brooks..
"No way I was gonna miss my main man's big day...AND IN MARTHA'S VINEYARD..." I said and we all laughed..
Beverly's husband, Nelson..
There was Champaigne and Good Food..and Good Music, everything the best weddings and receptions have...
"Thing is..I'm married..This is the second time, but this time it's gonna work.." he said.
"Yeah man...I'm real sorry about your first wife...You ever hear from her?" I asked.
"Donnie Ray man, I aint heard from her in seven years man...She ran off with that guy...Vic Bailey and aint nobody heard from him either...Seven Years man...She could have at least had a lawyer send me divorce papers...So I wouldn't be in limbo...Seven Years...I decided to get the ball rollin myself.
Your wife and her niece and Nelson were so nice handling my divorce ...They said I could declare abandonment and have the marriage disolved and they wasted no time getting that taken care of , so I could marry Michelle.. I am so grateful to those three." he said..
"Dance with Me Donnie Ray." cooed Olivia..
and sharing slow ,soft, sultry kisses....
Josie and Paris were dancing
as was Bresha and Tony..
As was the rest of the wedding party...
On a night like tonight...Nothing could go wrong....OR COULD IT?
II-
Tender is the night!
The newlyweds enjoyed a sweet kiss under the moonlight..
Shortly after midnight as the crowd began to disperse...
"Mellow Lemon Jelly, Saxophonist extroidinaire or should I call you Mr. Brooks?" said the woman.
"Mr. Brooks will suffice...And uh what can I do for you?" asked Melvin , who was getting ready to join his new bride in their honeymoon suite..
She pulled out a platinum ankle bracelet with a key attached to it and a heart...
Mellow Lemon Jelly's eyes grew as wide as saucers...
"The The The Slave Key....I gave Helen that Ankle Bracelet with the ages old Slave Key on the night of our wedding nine years ago....How did you get that?" asked Melvin , who looked as if he'd aged nine years in that moment..
"My name is Lena...Lena Horne....Look me up.....Now go enjoy your honeymoon...
"And remember this....The Slave Key..HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she laughed..
ONE WEEK LATER-
"It sounds like it was...Your photos look great..." said Alfreda...
"Is this guy's real name...Mellow Lemon Jelly? Tell me it's not."laughed Alfreda..
"It's not ! It's Melvin Brooks, he's an old friend from New Orleans..He 's moved up here too!" I laughed.
"And Married him a Philly Girl just like you did!"said Alfreda.
"Melvin this is our office manager...
"And my mommy...." added Beverly
Olivia laughed..
''She can't do that...We moved Heaven and Earth to find her to contact her...She had no forwarding address, neither did the man she ran off with, nothing..no movement on bank cards, credit cards nothing..No employment..nothing and no one she knows has seen hide nor hair of her in seven years..Your claim of marital abandonment was legal and proper...Your divorce is good..She had every chance in the world to challenge it..It's too late now..You are legally divorced and legally married to Michelle..." said Olivia.
"This woman, This woman that claims to have seen her..What does she want? And how do you know she's seen your wife?" asked Beverly..
"Ouuuu it's beautiful!" said Josie..
"Gorgeous!" said Bree..
"Sexy!" said Beverly...
"Yupper!" I laughed...
"He's back from his honeymoon already?" asked Josie..
Nelson looked out the window....
"You won't believe this...but he's coming this way.." he said..
"Sure hope there is no trouble with the marriage." said Bresha.
"Heyyyyy man..How are you?" I said..
"Hello Melvin...How's the Newlywed?" asked Olivia.
"You back from your honeymoon?" asked Beverly...
"Hello good people." said Melvin..
"I'm Great...Never been better...We went to the Caymen Islands...Had a blast....I've got pictures..I'll post them on my uh Facebook and Instagram pages tomorrow." said Melvin..
"Alfreda Johnson.." said Olivia..
"Olivia , you keep some beautiful women around you.."said Melvin, looking at Josie and Bresha as well.
"Ummmmph, All you tall dark and southern men have such charm..Livy girl, you was on to somethin." said Alfreda.
''So is everything good man?" asked Nelson.
''Well that's why I'm here...I have some concerns...A woman was at my wedding..She said her name was Lena..Lena Horne, if you can believe that..She said she had proof that my ex-wife was here in Philadelphia and was planning to contest the divorce and my recent nuptials.." said Melvin..
"She had this...The Slave Key!" said Melvin , who produced a photo of it on his former wife's ankle.
"And Cursed!"I said.
''DONNIE RAYYYY!" said Olivia...
"And this Slave Key this woman, Lena Horne showed you is the one you placed on your first wife's ankle? You\re sure of that?" asked Nelson.
"There is something creepy about all this...A woman who hasn't been seen or heard from in seven years, suddenly back..."said Olivia..
''A beautiful Ankle bracelet with a key, a slave key said to be cursed.." said Beverly...
''And A mysterious woman with a phony name that has it in her possession."said Josie.
"I Swear you guys have the best cases.." laughed. Bresha.
"It's Alright Liv...It's a New Orleans Thing...Donnie Ray is a little superstitious...I am not.."said Melvin.
"According to lore, whoever wears the Slave Key is cursed and no good will come to them.. I told him that when he got married the first time.." I said.
"I removed her garter and placed it on her ankle...She loved it..Wore it all the time.." said Melvin..
"Yes...Nobody up here would know about it or it's significance..It's a New Orleans thing..That was her ankle Bracelet, her Slave Key....I've got to know what she wants and where she is...I can't let her break up my new marriage, My new life..I can't."said Melvin..
"I'm telling you, legally you are sound...You can go see her , see what she wants..but don't give her any money, She doesn't have a leg to stand on..Not a leg...Even if your wife is here..alive in Philly..Not one court will overturn your marriage now!..."said Olivia.
"Okay, I feel so much better knowing that.." said Melvin..
After he left I said.
"I'm going to look up Helen Brooks or Helen Bailey...Maybe that's the name she's going by now..Find out where she is...If she is in fact in the city..."I said.
"You don't think she's on the up Donnie Ray?" asked Nelson.
"This woman who approached him? No I don't think she's on the up..She's a grifter, a blackmailer..and so is his first wife possibly."I said.
III-
Nightfall...
Olivia and I sat in our bedroom....
"Donnie Ray...you looked worried, downright afraid..That's the first time since I've known you That I've seen fear or anything resembling fear in your face.."
"That Slave Key thing is true....I don't believe in Black Cats and most superstitions..but the Slave Key....It supposedly came from Africa...A Slavemaster took it from a slave woman and gave it to his wife as a present.. Both of them were killed in a Slave uprising... 1847... It vanished until 1920, New Orleans.. A white man, Rudolph Givens placed it on his newlywed wife's ankle.. She caught him with another woman..and she shot him and the woman to death and then turned the gun on herself.. That Slave Key vanished and next showed up in 1959, A local Jazz Musician and his girlfriend wound up with it...They were killed in a mysterious car accident...Then in 1976, Rudy Pope , a well known singer gave that ankle bracelet to a white woman he was very fond of...She died of Cancer, two years later and Rudy committed suicide.
The next time I saw it was in New Orleans , 9 years ago....Mellow Lemon Jelly had it...Said it he bought it from a Conjure woman...He placed it on his wife, Helen's ankle..He said it was sexy...They moved up here to Philly, the year after you and I got married.. She started stepping out on him with a guy named Victor Bailey, a local gambler, ne'er do well and the next thing you know...they both vanished and up until now haven't been seen or heard from again..." I said.
"Oh Donnie Rayyyyy, I'm surprised at you...A lot of that is co-incidences, but I must admit...I don't want you giving me that.." said Olivia.
"I would never....but what I am going to do is look into Victor Bailey...He had a wife...She's still in the area...I'm going to check his financials...as well as Helen Brooks or Helen Bailey, see if there is any movement on any credit cards, any debit cards, any death certificates filed...any births of any children, any jobs anywhere...Then I'm going to look into this Lena person...Find out who she really is and where she got that Slave Key from..." I said..
"If it will make you feel any better..When Bev ,Nelson, Josie , Bree and I come from court tomorrow, We'll help you."said Olivia.
"Welllllllll I'll tell you what would make me feel a lot better right now.." I said softly...
"Oh I knowwww." said Olivia softly,
We began kissing passionately.....
"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm, ohhhhhhhhhhhhh you feel sooo damn goood , ouuuuuuuuuu!" I maoned.
"So do you...Ouuuuuuuuuu!" she cooed softly...
I slipped her panties down...
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my goddd !!" I moaned..
"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Donnie Rayyyyy, ouuuuuuuuuu you are so damn big...ummmmmmm and hard.." said Olivia softly...
and eventually riding me like a surfer rides the waves....up and down, slowly...driving me to the point of near madness..
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU DONNIE RAY, I'M ABOUT TO CUMMMM!" she bellowed..
and she did...her head turning from side to side....
.both of her legs trembling mightily... and me exploding like a gusher...
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!"
"Ouuuuuuuuuuuu, I'm definitely fixing you pancakes in the morning....WOWWWWW!" said Olivia.
IV-
That same night..While Olivia and I were making love at home.. Mellow Lemon Jelly was at the Condo belonging to "Lena Horne"
He took the elevator up to her floor..He had to know how she got that Slave Key from his first wife and where she was and what if anything she wanted...
He knew this was a cheap attempt at Blackmail somehow..but he had to know..
He knocked on her door...There was no answer..He rang the bell...Again, no answer...The door was open..He walked inside and tripped and fell..
He looked to his side and saw Lena...The woman who had approached him at the wedding.. she was lying on the floor..her lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling..A nice neat bullet hole between her eyes..
He felt her for a pulse..
She was very, very dead...
He had to get out of here..and fast!!!!!
He got up and ran for all he was worth!!!!
It was 12:30 AM.....
3:40 AM-
Crime Scene Investigators and Forensics Specialist were going over the room...dusting and checking for fingerprints....There were lots of them..and DNA...there was a lot of DNA...
They were checking her phone and date books..
Lt. Tragg walked in with six uniformed policemen..
''What do we got here?" he said. He kneeled down put on his latex gloves and observed the body...
"Nice lookin broad...Brunette....I usually go for blondes...Nice rack... Ouuuuuu she took one right between the eyes... ouuuuu and it exited out of the back of her head.." he said,
"She took another shot Lieutenant" said an officer already at the scene.. In the chest...We recovered both shells...40 caliber..." he said.
"Ouuuu Nasty piece of business..She got a name?" he asked.
" Lena Braithwaite...she worked at Harry's Jewelers..Here's her Drivers License and Employee ID..." said Hazel, passing it to him..
"I want a team on everybody in this building....I want the street cams , traffic cams and business cams checked thoroughly...Tomorrow I'm going to her place of work and talk to them...Let me know what's on those phones and her date book..." said Lt. Tragg..
"You guys can move the body...Get those uh Autopsy reports to me ASAP!" he said..
They began removing the body, putting it in a white body bag...strapping it to the gurney...
"Oh...." said Lt. Tragg.
He noticed an ankle bracelet on the floor with a key...He picked it up...
"I'm no expert...but this looks like pure Platinum....Expensive.." he said..
"Bag it and Tag it guys...It's evidence.." he said.
The next morning..
The smell of Pancakes being made wafted out our windows and probably downstairs to Beverly's Domicile..
because true to her word, Olivia fixed me pancakes...Well actually she fixed breakfast for all of us..Pancakes, Hash browns, Sausage, Orange Juice and Hot Coffee..
"Ummmmmmmmmm someone was goood last night." said Alfreda ,looking at me and smiling..
This was the calm before the storm...We had no idea what we were in for soon!
(CONCLUSION NEXT)
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