Emmett
Murder in Hawaii
Burned
out security lamps and lack of street lights permitted deep shadows from the half-moon
low in the sky to envelope the industrial park.
Two bulbs of three were burned out in the phone booth Second Class
Yeoman Ralph Stagg slipped into. He was dimly lit in it on the perimeter of the
park as Phil Meeks stood on the other side
of the glass.
Ralph
was perturbed, slamming the phone into its cradle as the glass exploded. First the door, then the back followed by the
crack of a muzzle blast. Ralph slammed
open the door extinguishing the single bulb. When he emerged, Phil fell with
his life’s blood flooding from his throat onto the cracks in brown/gray
sidewalk. A rancid odor wafted up as his
bowels relaxed. Ralph ran for the deepest
shadows and made his way back to his car and made his way back to Pearl
Harbor’s Hotel piers, where his ship was tied up.
#
It
had been three months since Sammy had reported aboard the USS Myercord. He and Ralph had become fast friends. “Did
you hear about Phil Meeks?” Sammy asked. “Isn’t he a good friend of yours?”
Ralph
wiped the sweat from his forehead with the cuff of his dungaree sleeve and
donned his ship’s ball cap. "Phil
was. I left that witch Simmons last
week," Ralph said.
“What’s
Crystal Simmons got to do with what happened to Phil?"
“I
think it’s tied in,” Ralph continued. “I called it quits between us, Phil was
with me at the time. I figured she’d throw less of a tizzy if someone was with
me when I told her. I think Crystal
stole half our stash. She threatened
me. She said she'd tell my wife if I
left her. I called our supplier and told
them we were short.”
“What did he say about it?”
“He said to call
him back from the booth in the industrial quarter. I did, and Phil waited outside. The supplier was pissed and told me we would
be held accountable for twenty G’s of the
product. I told him to pound sand. That's when the shot came and killed Phil.” Ralph pulled off his ball cap and wiped his
brow again. "I have to meet with
the supplier tonight to make a payment.
Frankly, I'm nervous. What if it
was him that killed Phil?"
Sammy
nodded. "You need someone to watch
your back. I'll go with you tonight.
It's time you cut me in. Besides,
I told you I have contacts on the Samuel Gompers. A Destroyer Tenders has a lot of need for the
product. I'll bet we can make up your deficient
quick and get you in good with your supplier… oh, what's his name?"
“I’ll
let you know by knock-off.” Turning, Ralph
headed below decks.
Sammy
climbed up to the oh-one (01) level and placed a call.
"Naval
Criminal Investigative Services, how may I direct your call?" The voice asked Sammy.
"Put
me through to Joyce Fellows, please."
He told Joyce to look into a Crystal Simmons and that Phil Meeks was
with Ralph when shot last night. “Put
surveillance on us tonight, Ralph is going to take me to his supplier. Wait until we leave before arresting the man.”
“Got
it. By the way, Sam, Meeks was killed with a .308 rifle,” she said.
In
the meeting with the supplier, terms were renegotiated,
and more rock-cocaine and two keys of Mary Jane delivered. Ralph was elated and downed three Primos, the
sailor’s beer of choice in the early 1970s. Sammy drove. "Sammy, you’re an all right guy. Come on over for dinner. Karen's a great cook. I'd like you to meet her."
After
dinner, Sammy asked Karen if she would sit and visit but she demurred to the
kitchen to clean up. The hardline to her
lips and short, curt one-word responses led Sammy to think she didn’t
appreciate being blindsided by a guest for dinner or something else was going
on between her and Ralph. Sammy didn’t pursue the request.
Ralph
wanted to show off his Colt .357 Python.
In the bedroom closet, Ralph opened up a handgun safe and pulled the chrome-ribbed
revolver from it, handed it to Sammy who affectionately sighted the gun in the
air and gave it back. “Nice.” He noticed a rifle propped up in the corner. "What’s that?" Sammy asked.
Ralph
reached back and pulled the long-gun out. “I used it for hunting Boar in
Arizona.”
Sammy
took it, looked over the weapon, and obliquely smelled the barrel before
handing it back. It was a .308 Browning.
"Nice, too bad there's nothing to hunt with that in Hawaii."
The
next morning, Sammy called Fellows. He
learned the supplier of drugs had been booked.
Crystal was located and offered nothing.
“I found a .308 at Ralphs. Get a warrant.
Seize it to test as the murder weapon of Meeks. Issue a warrant for the arrest of Ralph for intent to
distribute drugs. The drugs are in the trunk of his car, be sure to include
that in the warrant.”
At
two P.M., Sammy got a text. Gun seized, no one home.
Tested. Is the murder weapon. Ralph in
custody - JF.
#
When
Karen opened the door, she looked surprised.
"May I come in?" Sammy asked.
She opened the door. Sammy sat in
a chair, and she planted herself on the couch.
"Karen, I'll get right to the point. Did you know Ralph had a girlfriend by the
name of Tiffany?"
Karen
turned red, “What, I only knew about Crystal.”
His
baiting her with a false name worked. Sammy pressed, "Why would you try
and shoot Ralph when he broke it off with Crystal a week ago."
“I
didn’t know he broke it off.” Karen
sighed deflated. “If I’d known, I
wouldn't have tried to shoot him.”
"Karen
- you killed a man with that shot." Her face dropped in astonishment. Sammy lifted her from the sofa and turned her
gently as he put on the cuffs.
"Karen Staggs, you're under arrest for the wrongful death of Phil
Meeks.
