LaToya: Episode XIV – A Chilling Discovery

 

 

It was a cold morning, but I was able to wake up on time and it was exactly 6 o’clock as I drove Medgar’s blue Chevrolet Impala Sedan up to the two cars parked near the stretch of water, known as Inner Harbor. It was a pretty spot, with the still water reflecting the images of a few historic ships of Baltimore moored on the side of the harbor.

I got out of the car and joined Bruce who was leaning against a tree, smoking a cigarette.

“I love to come here only in the evenings or during the weekends, to eat and have fun,” he said. “Coming here this early is not my thing, and I bet you hated getting up at this time in the morning, right or wrong?”

“Right,” I replied. “But it’s worth it. I never know this place could be as quiet as it is now.” I looked over to where Captain Donald, two police officers, and a guy who was putting on a frogman’s outfit were standing.

“I would leave them alone if I were you,” Bruce said. “The Captain is never at his best in the mornings, and he went to bed late last night – at about three o’clock.”

I learned on my car, nursing a miniature Kodak camera I had brought along.

“Thanks for the tip,” I said. “I will wait until they come back.”

We watched Captain Donald, the two cops and the frogman embark in a small rowing boat.  They rowed out to the middle of the water, then the frogman lowered himself into the water and disappeared.

“I’m sure it’s freezing down there,” Bruce said., huddling further into his overcoat. “I’m glad I didn’t tell Captain Donald what I did when I was in the army. He’s got a photographic memory. Christian thought he would get a promotion if he told the Captain what a hero he had been when he was in the navy, but all he’s getting is a cold bath. Ughhh!”

Reaching down, I dipped my fingers into the water.

“Oh, it’s not that bad,” I said. “It’s probably only  about 10 degrees below freezing.”

Bruce laughed heartlessly.

“I hope he enjoys it then.”

Bruce and I sat side by side, smoking and watching the little boat for about thirty minutes, and then suddenly Christian’s head appeared above the surface. He swarmed up to the boat where Captain Donald and the two police officers hauled him in. He and Captain Donald talked for a moment or so, then the two police officers began to row towards the shore.

“I think they found something,” I said, getting to my feet.

“It seems so,” Bruce said, joining me. “Captain Donald would have send him down again if he hadn’t.”

We walked along the waterfront promenade - the paved walkway that hugs nearly seven miles of the waterline  of the Inner Harbor from Fort McHenry to the Canton Waterfront Park – and waited for the boat to reach shore.

“There is a barrel down there,” Captain Donald said, his hard face excited. “I have no doubt in my mind that it’s full of cement.”

I took a photograph of Christian who was trying to stop his teeth from chattering. I have already taking some photographs of that part of Inner Harbor.

“Are you guys going to get the barrel up right away?” I asked.

“We’ll get it later tonight,” Captain Donald said. “I don’t want everyone in Baltimore City here. Keep your mouths shut about this. I think LaToya’s down there, but I don’t want any publicity until we know for certain.”

With that said, he got in his car and drove off.

“I told you he is very sour this morning, didn’t I?” Bruce said, grinning. He looked over to Christian. “What’s up, homeboy? Like your swim?”

Christian grimaced.

“Fuck you, Bruce,” he said.

I drove Bruce back to the city.

“Even if we bring Ms. LaToya up,” I said, as we drove along, “we still have to find her killer. That’ll be a very challenging work. Okay, Dajon did the actual job, but I am beginning to think that someone paid him to do it. I mean, everything we have so far is pointing in that direction, don’t they?”

“Yes,” Bruce said. “Dajon had no reason to kill her as far as we know. You know the good news though? It’s not my cup of tea – it’s Captain Donald’s job to figure that out. Tell you the truth? I wouldn’t want the Captain’s job right now. We have to find out more about LaToya. We need to know if anyone had a reason for getting rid of her. She doesn’t sound like the type of girl that causes trouble – at least from what we knew so far. But then, one never know. You never know with women they say.”

“I didn’t know you have a literary side,” I said, smiling. “If you can talk like that, you can be a good writer.”

I pulled up outside the Baltimore City Police headquarters.

“I will see you tonight?” I asked.

“I will be there at nine o’clock,” Bruce said, getting out of the car. “I hope you won’t mind coming by that time too. It will be a tough job to get that barrel up and we might need your help. See you then.”

I decided to go back to the hotel and get some sleep since I had nothing better to do. Besides, the night ahead is going to be a long one. I told myself that I am learning a lot from this LaToya investigation. I also promise myself that I must document everything about this investigation and use it as the final thesis I will write before graduating from Morgan State University. I am very sure that if I use it as my thesis, I will graduate with special honors.

I slept until three in the afternoon. I woke up with a start because I was having series of dreams in my sleep. In one of my dreams, I was being chased down an alley by  Dajon Price and he had the Thompson submachine gun pointing at my back. I was thinking about it as I drove down to the Baltimore City Police headquarters.

I found Bruce in his rabbit-hole of an office – some type of cubicle with a table, a chair and some files. He was going through LaToya’s dossier. Besides him is an ash-tray that is crammed with cigarette butts, which is the evidence that he had been working on it most of the morning.

“Did you find anything useful?” I said, sitting down.

“No,” he replied. “Not a thing. And I hope we don’t find LaToya too. Now, don’t get me wrong. I said that because it will be a very tough job to complete the investigation if we do find her. I have been through everything in her dossier and there’s no link I can see that makes sense as to why Dajon was hired to kill her.”

“Don’t you think he killed Breonna Adams and Lamar Hooke as well?”

Bruce nodded.

“That might be possible,” he said. “But then, we’ve got no evidence to prove that he did.”

“I can understand Lamar getting iced,” I said. “He had something to do with LaToya’s kidnapping; Devon Weaver too, but I can’t see why Breonna Adams died.”

“Breonna Adams’s death was an accident, according to the coroner,” Bruce said patiently.

“I doubt it,” I said. “She inquired about LaToya Young, then she went home and broke her neck. Something doesn’t sound right. I hope you guys are working on her case?”

“Well, there’s no better way of saying this: we haven’t anything to work on. Captain Donald is putting her on hold until we can hook her into the case if we ever can,” he replied.

“What about the other seven girls who went to Hollywood, California? Are they local girls ? I mean,  are they all from Baltimore?”

“One of them is.” Bruce flicked over the pages of the dossier. “Her name is Anaya Walker. She lives at 39, S. Monroe Street.”

“Have you checked her out yet?”

“No, I haven’t,” he said.  “We have more important leads to cover. We will get to her later.”

“I think Breonna Adams may be important. I have some time to spare, and I will go and talk to this Walker girl. Any objection?”

“Nope,” Bruce said, grinning. “But don’t quote me. You go and see her if you want to. I have to take care of all the junks in this dossier. Old man Captain Donald is still sour tempered. He will be mad at me if he knew I was spending all my time talking to you.”

I  got to my feet.

“Tell him he has my sympathy for his troubles,” I said. “And I’ll let you know pronto if I turn up anything.”

“You are adorable,” Bruce said sarcastically and settled down once more to brood over LaToya’s dossier.

 

END OF EPISODE 14

P.S. Stay tuned for Episode 15, which  will be published here next Sunday.