"andy, if you want to be more comfortable we can finish in bed." this met with approval. i pulled the comfort and top sheet down and climbed in, lying on my back. andy couldn't take his eyes off of me, as he finished undressing. i was usually not so vain, but i enjoyed his quiet lust. his balls were huge, i wondered to myself whether they would shrink to the size of peanuts after he came, i almost laughed out loud. he was pretty without any clothes, andy was ok. he laid on top of me diminishing my b and a half chest to an a, he felt good. he kissed my breasts as i kissed his neck. he pulled me over on my side and his dick slid between my labia.

"god carlee, your are great." i smiled, then put my right leg over his left. the position was comfortable, good even. he kissed me. "i won't last long carlee." he said apologetically.

"it's alright andy, really, and i understand. you were a friend when i really needed one, i appreciate you and if it doesn't last long, it just doesn't last long. no big deal, but we are together at any rate, that's all that matters andy."

"do you know what i was thinking when i came to your house tonight carlee, i mean when i was standing in the yard looking up at you, and you were so deep in thought?"

"no, andy, tell me."

"oh that if i were a glove upon that hand, that i might kiss that cheek." god, how he was getting to me. i moved my leg back, grabbed his short dick and guided it inside of me. he pushed it quickly in, the out, then in. it felt so good, i came in record time. "i have to take it out carlee!"

"that's ok andy." i sympathetically said. he took it out and held it tightly.

"i'm so sorry carlee." hmmm sex isn't suppose to be sorrowful.

"hey andy, can i do something special to you?" i playfully asked.

"anything you want to babe." i manuevered downward in the bed until i reached his upper thighs. i gently kissed my way up, his balls had very little hair, i teased them with my tongue. "oh god, carlee." he gasped. i retracted his foreskin to the point it should have hurt, then took him into my mouth. he tasted like salt and musk and me, a pretty good combination, i sucked and he moaned. i put my hand on my swollen clit and wondered who would cum first. the pace was frantic, and as my orgasm started, i felt him harden, his legs grew stiff, and the first spurt came out. then a second, and a third and a forth. i had to open my mouth to let it escape. i finished as i felt the fifth and the sixth. he was spent, his whole body relaxed. i was sort of proud of myself; this went better than it ever had before. my first was dr. craig, and his was very thick, sickening thick. i did bryan a few times, but sex was never great with him, but with andy, it worked very well, it took.

bang!! bang!! gunshots!!! my god in heaven!!! "what was that?" he asked.

"your guess is as good as mine andy." gulp, i didn't tell him about the phone calls, i was glad i didn't....."oh, andy, you must leave, there might be trouble!" i heard someone running down the stairs, light on their feet. i ran to the window but saw no one. there was a back exit, but i couldn't see it from my apartment. i listened carefully, like dad had always told me, but i heard nothing further.

andy was dressed and said "i can't leave carlee, i don't know what is happening here, but you're scared to death and i can't leave you." i stood at the window, as naked as the day i was born. my heart was pounding as if i had received a shot of adreneline. a knock at the door--

"carlee?"

"just a minute carie! now go andy, there's not a damn thing you can do here, now please go, i'll talk with you later."

"carlee!!"

"just a second carie, please, give me a second!" andy agreed to leave if i promised to call him when this mess was figured out. i promised. i really didn't want carie to see him, but there was no other way. i quickly dressed, then opened the door for andy. carie was practically in tears. andy walked past herand decended the stairs, she hardly noticed him. i listened as he quickly walked down. a little heavier than the foot steps i had heard earlier. i took this into consideration.

"carlee, i believe the shots came from mr. grey's room."

"you know it girl." i quietly said.

"i haven't been in ten minutes, i was making tea and thought i heard someone outside the door, i heard the shots as i opened my door, then went back in to call you. i was so nervous i couldn't dial your number though." she was still that nervous.

"carie, did you hear anyone coming down the stairs after the shots?" i asked.

"no, i didn't. she said. i don't believe i would have heard if there was though." we walked to grey's front door, it was slightly ajar.

"please carie, run up there and see if ms. manasco is at home."

"why carlee?"

"don't ask questions, please do as i ask." i said. as carie negociated the small stairwell to check on ms. manasco, i opened grey's door and walked in. he lay there on the floor beside of his bed. i walked over to him, felt for a radial pulse, then a carotid, both were absent. grey lay on his back, there was a great deal of blood, but the flow had all but stopped. he wore slacks, but no shirt, his feet were bare. carie returned and announced that ms. manasco apparently wasn't at home.

"my god, is he dead carlee?"

"very." i answered. i saw an entrance wound approximately 30 milimeters from his sternum, and another in the fourth intercostal space at mid clavicular level. either could have killed him, both probably penetrated his heart. i asked carie to help me lift him a bit where i could see the exit wounds. grey was heavy, but we managed; the exit wounds were over twice the size as the entrance, indicating that the gun was much larger than say a 22 calibre. 22s were popular hand guns, but even at this close of a range the slug would either not have exited, or the wound would have been similar to that of the entrance. some of the "midnight specials" were a little souped up, and if "dum dums" were used, more damage incurred. i suspected something larger though, ms. manasco's gun might have left this pattern. i asked carie to look for the bullets as i looked around for shell casings.

"here carlee!" sure enough, one was on the other side of the bed, and the other was in it.

"please don't touch anything carie, and we have to call the police, in fact, go over to my apartment and dial 911 and tell the dispatcher what has happened."

"i don't know what has happened carlee." i knew that carie was as upset as i was, she looked as mild as hazel when she slowly walked into my apartment. i knew i had some serious thinking to do, but it would have to wait until after the police arrived. looking around the room, i couldn't see anything suspiciously out of line, although i had never been in grey's apartment before. they slugs were large, as i expected, 38, 44 or 45 i suspected.

"oh god, will this night ever end" i thought out loud. the police arrived in less than twenty minutes, unusual for a big city. there were four, a police captain who introduced himself as burkhart, a sgt. brownd, and a forensic pathologist named david carson- and his pretty assistant, lissell.

"we're homocide." captain burkhart said. "now that we've introduced ourselves, you all do the same, so we can all be friends." he briefly smiled.

"i'm carlee mccord and this is my friend carie stevens." i nervously answered. lissell and sgt. brownd entered grey's room. she was strikingly attractive, long, straight red hair hanging down from her cap, she was tall and slender and filled out her black uniform well.

"which one of you called the dispatcher?" burkhart asked.

"i did sir." carie answered. it had been slighly less than 20 minutes from the time of the gunfire until we called. captain burkhart slipped a notebook out of his uniform pocket and began asking us questions. at first the basic stuff, name, rank and serial number, then they got a little more personal. lissell appeared at the door.

"what do we have stacy?" the captain asked.

"a leonard grey, 42 year old cauc with two 44s in his heart.

"they are 45s lissel." dr. carson corrected her. he had one of the slugs in his gloved hand. everyone was looking at him. "no forensic wizardry, the tail end of the slugs fit perfectly in the 45 hole in this device." dr. carson smiled. burkhart was still taking notes, he looked like a notetaker. i suppose that was his main job. sgt. brownd asked to use my phone, he called the coroner and the paramedics.

"do either of you know while anyone would want to kill leonard?" he asked. carie and myself shook our heads. the captain had already asked, and noted, our lengths of stay at the apartment building, so he questioned carie mainly. lissell stacy smiled at me, i smiled back.

"cute outfit." she said. i had forgotten what i was wearing.

the coroner arrive before the paramedics. "anything?" he asked capt. burkhart.

"not yet angelo." he answered. the coroner walked into grey's room. he wasn't there five minutes, he came out and told them they could release the body to the morgue.

"routine, ladies and gentlemen, shot twice at close range, we'll looked closer tomorrow." angelo looked like the man who introduced ms. manasco at the strand, he was wearing a suit though. he was leaving as the paramedics were wheeling a guerney, floppily, up the steps. "take him to the twelth street facility john. name's leonard grey, homocide, that's all we know at this time." john nodded.

captain burkhart said "now, don't you girls go anywhere far away this week, we'll have some more questions as the week progresses." they left and the guerney with grey's body was close behind. carie hugged me tightly and started to cry.

"carlee, this is just awful, i can't stay the night by myself, i just can't."

"it's alright carie, just go downstairs and i'll call you after i do a few things, ok?"

"alright, but don't be too long." she said. whiteboard, whiteboard. my dad had taught to write down all the pertinent data in matters such as this. i retrieved a spiral notebook from a suitcase and started by writing the names of all the suspects that i felt were possible. i put leroy's name up first, then ms. manasco, then carie, then bob. these were the only four that i could think of who might have done it. i was sure it was leroy, but i had to be more general in my thinking. of course, it could have been someone that i didn't know at all, i'm sure that if i disliked grey, there were plenty of others. the only other clues i had were; no, i had to be more analytic, first those who could possibly done it. there was ms. manasco, she had a big gun, maybe a 45, and she had hit grey already. leroy had told me that he was going to do it. carie and i were the only ones in the building, carie wasn't the type for violence, but she was a possibility any way, just because she was here. bob knew i was upset today, i didn't know him very well, but he might possibly have done it, remote, but possible. hmmm. my whiteboard wasn't coming along well. the footsteps that i heard on the staircase after the shots sounded not of a heavy person, and not running fast. this could mean either a light weighted man or a medium weighted woman. leroy was light weighted, bob was heavy, carie was light, as was ms. manasco. god, this was getting nowhere. i listened for my phone to ring anytime to hear leroy admitting his guilt.

oh, one other clue, the runner didn't go out the front door. i needed to check to rear exit. i slipped down the stairs and headed for the back of the building; i saw the exit door, checked the carpet for latent prints, well, foot prints anyway. i saw none--the door was locked from the inside and even the dead bolt was secure. boy, some kind of fantastic detective work, dad would be proud of me. hey, maybe the perp was still in the building. yeah, he didn't go out the front door, nor the back, so, he must still be in the building. as i approached the stairwell i saw the door to the downstairs shower was slightly ajar. i had visions of leroy jumping out at me when i opened it, putting his large hands over my mouth and threatening me with my life if i uttered a word.

i heard a noise from within........i pushed the door open slowly, it creaked........i couldn't see a thing-- my eyes were shut. i'm going to call my daddy. carie was on her phone, probably telling mr. carp about our experience. i went inside and changed the sheets on my bed. "carlee, you need a drink." i said to myself, and i was damned right. i though of andy while i was mixing a drink so strong that it might put me in a coma. he was so sweet, and i was glad that he didn't get involved in the mess tonight, i knew i was suppose to call him, but i couldn't just yet. i sipped my drink and looked over my whiteboard, some whiteboard. dad had coined that word for the army back in the 70's, and it caught on in the 80's and 90's to the rest of the world. he was the first criminalist in this country, and the army was proud of him, so was i. his power of logical deduction was so keen that i'll bet with my whiteboard and a couple of questions, he could discern the killer in five minutes. i couldn't call him though, for one thing, he wasn't at home plus the fact that i couldn't upset him with this. i took another drink and was beginning to relax, the phone rang.........

"leroy?" i answered.

"no, andy. carlee, are you alright?"

"oh, andy, i suppose so, the night has been colorful though. the gunshots we heard killed the man in the room next to me, and i'm having a hard time coming down."

"carlee, i'm coming over."

"no, not tonight andy, i will tell you everything later, please trust me." i begged.

"alright then, but stop by the store tomorrow."

"thanks andy, and i will." god, what a night, i'd better call carie, i knew she was as upset as i was. "carie, please come on up." i said into the receiver.

"on my way." she responded. i paid close attention to her footsteps on the way up, not heavy, not light, just right. i should erase her from my whiteboard.

"who did it carlee?" carie had on a shorty night gown, and was simply breathtaking in her nevourness.

"lay down angel, and i'll tell you a story." carie jumped right in bed, and i lay beside her. i gently rubbed her back, she seemed very contented. "a long time ago, in the land of nod, there dwelt a shy and wonderful girl named hazel; she was a country girl, with country ways, a violet by a mossy stone, i fell in love with her, the first girl that i ever considered making love to. i had been dating a boy named lawrence for over six months, but, when i met her, nothing else seemed to matter, i loved her very much." carie started to cry, i kissed her. "please don't cry babe." i asked.

"i can't help it carlee." i held her tight. "this was when you were in college?"

"yes, way back then. we met in a boarding house, one of those places on campus where you paid a fee for a week's meals, and ate three meals a day, seven days a week. my dad arranged this my freshman year, he was afraid i'd starve to death." carie was calming down. i pinched her butt, slightly. she laughed. "hazel was very small, and very quiet. she had short dark hair, and beautiful green eyes, like you carie."

carie cuddled me, her touch was ever so soft, she looked directly into my eyes. "please go on."

"well, she got to where she sat next to me at the boarding house, she told me that she was getting tired of ham. i agreed, mom (as she liked to be called) served ham at least twice a day. seven days a week. if one didn't know better, you would think that the price of ham was much cheaper than other meats. hazel's parents were from a small town outside of louisville, she was one of seven others, and the youngest. she worked at the library after classes, her pay went directly to the office of the dean of students, to pay for classes.

"she (like me) was one of the few who studied shakespeare-the uncool- and one night we skipped mom's amazing ham dinner and went out to a pizza parlor and showed everyone what our teeth were really for. we made a habit of eating out; hazel would pay some of the time, but not often, her funds were short. she took a second job at a cafe that a bunch of us hung out at, she was a good waitress, but i became uncomfortable hanging out there."

"did you love hazel, carlee?"

"i don't think so carie, she was an academic pursuit maybe, i liked her, enjoyed her company, thought she was cute, but she was as chaste as ice, i'm sure she hadn't ever been with anyone, male or female. one night, after pizza, we were walking to her rooming house, she lived less than a half a block from me, she invited me into the corridor, her landlady wouldn't allow visitors into their rooms. there...she said the strangest thing - 'carlee, would you hold me, if just for a moment?' i put my arms around her, as she requested, and she responded with a tight hug. there we stood, like two lovers at twilight, as if nothing else in this world mattered. she cried, and her tears were soft, she was so gentle. she placed her hands under my top and rubbed my bare back. hazel was no expert when she kissed me, but it was moving, another human being needing the touch of another human being so very much. she cried harder. 'it's alright hazel, it's alright.' i whispered. she kissed me again, then turned and ran up the stairs, no good nights, no looking back."

carie cried, as i rubbed her back. "i'll stop talking if you'de like carie."

"no, please, go on, i have to know everything, it matters to me carlee." i didn't mind telling carie, but, it was sometimes hard for me to talk about it. i desperately needed a cigarette, my clothes suddenly became uncomfortable. i stripped to my waist and went to the kitchen area to make a drink, i barely knew what i was doing. carie sensed this and got out of bed and looked deeply into my eyes.

"was it horrible love?"

"yes, it went awry, and turned out horrible." 60,000 thoughts were again running through my brain. the drink eased me a little, but not much.

"i'm not wishing to push you carlee, i just want you to tell me so the we together can make some sense out of tonight." she stroked my hair. i knew carie was being honest, and i knew that i needed all the friends i could get now. i sat in the mayflower chair, inhaled deeply, it made me cough.

"i knew that hazel had to work at the white tray the next evening, which was rapidly becoming a problem for me. somebody saw us carie, somebody mean and vicious."

"you and hazel?" she asked.

"yes, and it was all over campus the next day. carlee and hazel, lovers. oh, i wasn't concerned for myself, but i knew what the talk would do to hazel. after a day of curious looks, i was glad to see the school day end. i walked to the library to see if she was alright, but was told that she called in sick. i skipped dinner at mom's and headed for the tray. mr. winslow was manning the register, i asked him where hazel was. 'sick, god dammit, why in the hell do you think i'm here after ten hours!' my friend lt. gambrel was playing the pin ball machine. i walked over to him. 'hi eddie, are you winning?' i asked. 'what the fuck do you care!' i wasn't ready for that, and i didn't need it. eddie was making a scene, everyone heard him. i made my way to a booth, i knew i was blushing. people looked at me. that was cruel of eddie i asked mr. winslow to fix me a vanilla shake, and started crying, i couldn't help it. everyone stared, everyone knew, poor hazel, poor me. eddie tilted the pin ball machine with rage, i was sucking down the milk shake when eddie came to the table. 'what the hell are you crying for?' i didn't say anything. 'is this the reason that you never would go out with me bitch, queer for girls!' he slapped me. my left ear burned, as if he had poured gasoline on it and lit it up. the straw was still in my mouth, and i cried even harder. in some ways i imagined that i needed this humilation, then i thought of hazel, i didn't, i had done nothing but answer another human being's request. but i was defeated, i couldn't fight this. eddie slapped me again, i turned the other cheek. i remembered a poem from high school, but i couldn't think of the title. 'police brutality!!' someone shouted. 'pig, mother-fucker! leave her alone!!' 'up yours buddy!!' eddie responded. 'this is between me and carlee!'"