Jacksonville Island

By K. L. Keith

About the Book
Jacksonville Island is about a couple who meet while solving a crime, and although they are attracted to each other the dark past keeps coming up and affecting their relationship. Jeff is a straight shooter and he prides himself on being overly good, however he meets Alessandra who turns his head. What he doesn't know is that she is actually not Alessandra but is impersonating her twin. As if the crimes and
emotion are not enough, Alessandra is also hiding the fact that she is the crime lord's daughter.

Not a run-of-the-mill romance story, the surrounding characters add entertainment to the story. The Jacksonville Island characters show readers that no matter how hard things get sometimes hard work can be the reward.

About the Author
K. L. Keith has been entertained by reading since middle school, but her true passion is writing. Her other interests include animal rescue.She has a diverse family with two brothers and one sister, a stepdaughter and stepson from different fathers, and a son and daughter of her own. They range from many different backgrounds and ethnic groups, and she loves and is close to them all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Company
• Release date: Apr 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887297071

Book preview

1

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Jacksonville Island

A loud siren rang out over Jacksonville Island disturbing the silence of the early morning as the blue Toyota swung to a stop behind a two door 1978 black sedan. If the Toyota would have gone two more inches, it would have hit the sedan onto the curb in the early morning frost where it had been forced over. There was no frost on the windows, so it had to have happened recently. The two detectives got out of the Toyota and first observed that bullets had shattered the car. The rear window had been riddled with bullets designed to stop the driver. The front window had been shattered and a large hole was on the driver’s side of the car. Someone had used a lot of firepower to ensure the driver had been killed. There were skid marks for half a block, which showed where the confrontation had begun.

From further observation they found the driver was knocked into the back seat with his feet propped up on the front seat. He had been forced back from the point-blank range of the powerful weapon that was used by the assailant. The seats were stained with blood and the stench was nauseating.

The detectives were affected immediately when they neared the car as the strong aroma overtook them. Veteran Jeff Watkins turned to the curb and instantly vomited, as if it was the first time that he had seen a dead body. Jeff had been jumpy by the look of the scene. He brushed his black hair back from his face, then straightened his blue shirt and wiped his sweaty hands on his blue jeans. The scene that was before him visibly shook him. Even though he stood five feet eleven inches tall, his partner still towered over him by almost six inches.

Jeff’s partner was quizzical by his reaction to the body in the car. Mark Zufflese had been on the force for almost ten years and had never seen a detective react to a body the way that Jeff had. He knew that Jeff had been on more violent crime scenes than the one they were at. He had heard that Jeff had been on the force for over six to seven years and that most of those years were spent in the homicide division so most of the bodies should have been routine, since he himself had seen many bloody scenes. He was confused that Jeff was acting like a rookie seeing a body for the first time. Mark shook his head and cleared his senses to further his investigation. He leaned over the body to see what clues he could find around the body. Inside the bloody sedan it looked like the victim was trying to get his gun, but he couldn’t before he was killed. When he pulled back out of the car, the fresh air wiped out the stench that was turning his stomach. He looked down and saw that the blood had stained his own pants from the seat. He opened his suit jacket and pulled out his black pen and notebook. He always wrote down his notes in a black pen, so no one could alter the notes, but if he didn’t have one he waited until he did since he had a photographic memory, so it really didn’t pose a problem to remember. He looked at Jeff again and wondered why he wasn’t doing anything.

After Jeff had done his best to compose himself, he noticed that Mark had been closely watching him, so he walked over to the car to act like he was looking for something. He was noticeably relieved when he didn’t see anything that pointed to the killer, so he could relax a little under Mark’s scrutinizing gaze. He shook his head and snarled, Lefty’s dead? Now who would be stupid enough to kill one of the city’s best safe crackers in the business, that wouldn’t be very profitable or smart. Lefty was pretty well connected, and some powerful people protect him, it wasn’t wise for someone to put a hit on him. Whoever did this better find a good place to hide.

Maybe he tried to rip off the wrong person and got caught. Are you sure this is Lefty? Mark noticed the hint of pride in the statement that Jeff had made. He wished he knew what Jeff was thinking by the way he was looking over the body. Deep down Mark had a feeling that Jeff had been involved in the killing in some way. He acted like the murder scene was expected, he wondered if that came from his being involved or from his experience. He wasn’t sure which one it was, but he was uncomfortable around him, and he couldn’t shake his bad feelings.

Of course, this is Lefty, I’ve arrested the scum enough times to recognize him on sight. I bet someone wanted Lefty to help them crack a safe and he refused them. He isn’t involved with small hoods, he deals with the big boys who can be vengeful at times. It looks like someone is sending the big boys a message or at least trying to send them one through him, Jeff said sarcastically trying to shut him up.

 Well, in any case I’m going to wait until I get a positive ID from records like we’re supposed to. I plan on following procedures.

Go ahead if you want to waste your time.

 You know what the procedures are, Mark snapped and walked over to the trunk that had been pried open. When he looked in it, he saw a diamond laying cockeyed in the middle of an old beat-up tire.

Mark changed the gloves he had been wearing before picking up the diamond. He picked up the diamond and called over to his partner, Jeff, come here, I want you see this. Someone always drives around with diamonds in their cars or something happened.

Jeff was exasperated and bored with being there and he walked impatiently over to Mark. What is it now?

Look at this, do you think it’s real?

I bet it’s a cheap copy, if it was real it wouldn’t have been left behind.

I think the murderer was in such a hurry to get away that he accidentally dropped it and didn’t even realize it.

Jeff wondered why he was still there and was tired of the whole mess. He looked one more time at the diamond and said, I think it’s just a cheap glass imitation. I mean, we don’t know if Lefty lifted a jewelry store or not, you’re just assuming that he did.

 Jeff turned and angrily walked away leaving Mark dumbstruck. Mark thought about the term, ‘lifted,’ that Jeff had used and put it into his field notes. He also put into his notes the fact that Jeff wasn’t acting up to his reputation at all and he was concerned. He began to wonder what Jeff was thinking. He had never worked with him before, but he had heard so much about him. He started to wonder if his reputation had been exaggerated.

Mark put the diamond into a plastic bag, so he could take it to the lab. He went to the Toyota and called for the forensics team to come to the scene and finish the work. He was surprised that Jeff hadn’t done that since he was just standing around doing nothing and even looked bored.

After the photographer and lab boys had arrived Mark and Jeff got into the Toyota and went to the crime lab. Jeff was relieved they were leaving the murder scene he didn’t want anyone to see him. They parked at the side entrance, and they entered the building. They walked into the room, and they saw a large round man looking at a gory, mutilated body, who was instantly interested when he saw the detectives enter the room. The room was divided into sections by plastic partitions that could be removed in case they needed to expand later. The medical examiner was sharing the room with the 7th precinct forensics team until the crime lab at the precinct was finished. Mark hated walking through the room to get to the lab they wanted.

Gray Lindsey was the medical examiner, he had been at the same place for ten years. He was professional when it came to his job, but he was disgusting in many other ways. He was always over on the tech side of the area trying to see what was going on. The body he had on the examining table when the detectives walked in was a gruesome sight, it was worse than the body they had just left. A Doberman pincher had been turned loose on a jogger and the jogger had ended up getting mauled. Curious about what was going on Gray picked up his sandwich and followed Mark and Jeff to the lab to listen. Mark was going to be glad when the lab at the 7th was finished so he wouldn’t have to walk through the medical examiner’s area. He had seen too many things in his office when he walked through. Any time he walked in he would be taking his chances at what he would be seeing and although he’d seen it all before it was not his favorite sight. He noticed as they crossed the room that Jeff had paled at the sight of the dog victim as he passed the body as far away from the table as he could to be sure nothing touched him.

The medical examiner wiped his hands off and with a mouth full of food walked behind them. He asked between his chewing even turned Mark’s stomach, What did you bring him this time?

Mark ignored the medical examiner’s question and handed the lab tech the diamond and waited for his reaction to it. The tech took it out of the bag and looked closely at the diamond. He wasn’t sure if the diamond was real or not, but it was a real close copy. Stan Jacobson had been in the same business for seven years on the island. He didn’t like sharing his space with the man who was responsible for looking over the dead bodies, but he would deal with what he had. Stan didn’t like it when Gray got nosey because somehow, he would end up contaminating his area and he liked to keep it as clean as possible. He could live with the mess, but what he couldn’t stand was to see Gray eat a sloppy, messy sandwich while he looked over a gruesome looking dead body. When he would see him eat the sandwich his stomach would immediately start to churn.

Stan enjoyed his work even though it was tedious work at times. He was going to be happy to move his lab over to the 7th precinct. He looked at the diamond again and then turned to Mark and asked, Where did you get this from?

We found it at the scene of a murder, Mark said and leaned in with interest to what the tech had to say as Jeff was bored by what was occurring. He was indifferent about what the examiner found and maintained his aloof presence. Stan was surprised by Jeff’s change, if he didn’t know what Jeff looked like he would think someone else was acting like him. His eyes looked different to him for some reason.

Then someone has a very strange sense of humor. Someone was murdered over a cheap glass imitation of a diamond. The diamond is full of crystals to make it appear like a diamond. This copy has been made for a special reason. I’ve seen people have copies made, but not like this, these are made that way to use with a few real diamonds to sell to a fence or collector, I’ve never seen someone killed over a glass copy of diamonds, especially over just one, a dozen then I could understand it, if it was a necklace, but not one like this, it honestly doesn’t make sense to me.

How much is it worth? Does it have any street value at all?

It’s worth about five dollars at the nearest discount store. There is a strange characteristic to this copy though. Someone went to a lot of trouble to have it cut to the littlest detail to resemble an uncut diamond, but it has absolutely no street value, except to the person who really needs it.

Are you completely sure about all of this? Mark hated doubting Stan, but he hadn’t known him very long, he had always used the south side precinct lab before he had transferred.

Jeff casually interjected in a bored tone, I don’t think the murderer even knew it was there. This is really a big waste of time.

Stan knew Jeff really well and was surprised by his lack of interest regarding the diamond.

Unless it was a set up to catch someone, Mark angrily contradicted, he was tired of Jeff’s lack of interest.

Jeff started to make his way across the room but angrily said, Don’t be an idiot, I don’t think the diamond is the center of everything. You find a little glass that resembles a diamond and now you’re speculating on what happened, that diamond could have been in there for months.

Stan watched and listened but interrupted before the argument could really get started. Look, I’ll examine it more closely and if I find out anything else, I’ll give you a call. I might find a few fingerprints on the diamond that could tell us something. Everyone that makes these kind of glass copies usually leave a signature of some kind that is hard to find, but once you find it you will know who made the copy and why.

Stan put the glass diamond back in the plastic bag and put it in his cabinet along with all the other evidence that he was going to have to examine. For all the years he had known Jeff always listened to theories on a case. Gray went back to his lunch and watched until he saw the body that had been in the Sedan was rolled in. Stan watched as Mark looked at the body and Jeff continued out of the building without saying goodbye to him or Gray, which was unusual for him. In fact, Stan couldn’t remember the last time that he didn’t walk in or out without joking with them.

Mark turned and quickly said, Stan, the lab boys will probably have more things from the crime scene for you to look at.

By the looks of the body they just brought in I’ll have a lot of it. Someone made that guy into a human target.

Mark turned to leave, but politely said, I’ll see you later.

Stan called out, Mark, what’s up with Jeff?

I don’t know, he’s been like this all-day long. Of course, this is the first time I’ve ever worked with him, so I really wouldn’t know how Jeff really acts.

Well take it from me, he’s acting really weird. I have never seen him this disinterested in a case before. Usually he wants to stay until I have finished all my tests like running fingerprints, but this time he didn’t even want to look at the diamond. Jeff even jokes with us when he comes in. He always makes a wise crack about Gray’s lunch.

Thank you for telling me about him. I’ll find out about his attitude when I leave.

I guess my point is that Jeff has a twin brother whom I hear is identical and real bad news, but I have never heard Jeff mention him, so I don’t know if that information is really true or not. Just watch yourself, I guess what I’m trying to say is he’s not only acting different, but he looks different to me somehow a little colder.

Okay, I appreciate the information you gave me, I’ll be in touch, Mark said and continued out. Mark couldn’t recall any mention of Jeff’s brother, so he didn’t put much stock in what he heard.

Mark asked Jeff when he reached the car, What is your problem? Why are you acting so casual over this case?

Because I think it’s a stupid case and it’s nothing to get too excited about. One criminal slime shot another one that’s all.

Mark knew something was wrong, but he didn’t know what it was or what to do to prove it. He began to seriously wonder about what Stan had said. Now he wanted to know why someone would want to go to all the trouble to impersonate Jeff Watkins. He drove back to the 7th precinct to make out his report and to see what he could find out about Jeff’s brother.

When Mark returned to the station the captain wanted an update on the case and Mark decided not to turn in Jeff. He wanted to give Jeff the benefit of the doubt, he wondered if he was having personal problems and that could be the reason for his many distractions.

He just didn’t know how to start looking into Jeff’s life. The only person who had most of the answers about Jeff wasn’t around the Island anymore. According to Jeff’s personal file there was no mention of a twin brother, however he did find his former partner’s number and called it. He left a message on the answering machine that answered the phone. Brian Leavitt had been Jeff’s partner since they had made detective almost six years ago. He would know everything he needed to know about Jeff. He looked forward to talking to him, so he could decide what to do next. Mark finished his report and decided to worry about Jeff’s actions later. He tried as hard as he could to concentrate on the report but found himself going back to Jeff’s file. He read about how Brian and Jeff had been ambitious, and they had made detective within a year. They had both made a large number of arrests, which confirmed Mark’s feelings that something was wrong. He searched the file again but couldn’t find any mention of a twin brother anywhere within it and began to seriously wonder if a brother really existed.

Later that night two blocks away from the lab Officer Reynolds stopped a speeder. The driver of the car was surprised when the officer arrested him on a warrant that was two years old. He wanted to discard the diamond, but he figured if he played it cool that he would be alright. He didn’t realize what significance the diamond had.

After they brought him in, they processed him, and they found the plastic bag in his pocket that contained the glass diamond they had been looking for that had been at the lab. When they pulled the bag out and showed it to him, he acted surprised. He quickly said, I don’t know how that got in there. I’ve never seen that before.

Mark walked in and coldly asked him, Do you waive your right to remain silent?

No, not until I see or talk to my lawyer.

Fine, He angrily said. He grabbed the phone and slammed it down in front of him. Here’s your damn phone call and I will talk to you afterward.

The man picked up the receiver and talked for two minutes and then hung up. He leaned back with a smug look on his face.

Mark looked up from his file and asked, Is your name Alvin Rowinski?

If you don’t know I’m not going to tell you.

If you’d just co-operate maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for your case. You certainly won’t help your case by acting like this, but that’s your choice.

Yeah, and maybe it’ll snow in the Sahara. I know all your tricks, you just want me to spill my guts. I’m not going to help you a damn bit, stumble through on your own to find your answers.

Trying to hold his anger in check so Alvin wouldn’t know how mad he really was he said through his clenched teeth, Take him back to the holding cell, I’m through with him.

Mark sighed and looked for Jeff only to find out that he had left for home without checking out. He wanted to ask Jeff some questions, but now it would be fruitless. Mark put in a request for Jeff’s personal records that probed deeper into his life. He wanted to read them to see if he missed something on the elusive brother that people said he had, but others had denied knowing about. After he put in his request he checked out and went home determined to find out what was really going on.

Meanwhile across town Jeff Watkins walked into his apartment. The zebra striped couch was hardly visible next to the zebra striped wallpaper. Gas lamps were hanging everywhere. There was a totem pole in the living room. Jeff, after running into the totem pole barely missed hitting his head on the gas lamp. He pulled off his coat and threw it on the couch.

Jeff looked around and made sure no one had followed him. He wanted to make sure that nosey Mark Zufflese didn’t come after him. He noticed the area was quiet, too quiet for his taste. He was used to the hustle and bustle of the east side.

The east side of the Island was where houses were made into low-income apartments lined with graffiti from the gang that controlled the area. Rats, cockroaches, and any other rodent that lived on garbage filled the area. People that were very much like the creatures that thrived there were just as slimy. Criminals thrived and controlled the dumpiest part of the east side. Visitors were often warned about the area especially at night. Extortion from lost tourists was the favorite game to the people who were in the streets. Jeff looked out of the window, but couldn’t see anything suspicious, but longed to be back on the east side where he really belonged. He still had business to take care of and wanted to return to it before someone else tried to muscle their way in.

He pulled off a black wig revealing blond hair and laughed in an evil way and danced around the room. After settling down he pulled out a dozen of diamonds.

2

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Imposter is Revealed

The imposter walked into the bedroom, there was a fishnet above the king-size waterbed. The side wall opposite was nothing but a maze of mirrors. The walls were a sea blue, and the floor was covered with a dark blue carpet. The curtains were opened and the little light that filtered in gave everything a blue tinge. The room itself looked like a cave under the sea. All that was missing from the feeling was water and fish. The only thing that was out of place was a chair by the window. He walked over to the chair with a diamond and showed the man with hair as black as night. The man was tied to the chair in nothing, but underwear. He silently watched as the man danced around. After a few minutes, the blond man stopped his erratic dancing and smugly said, I pulled it off and I got paid handsomely for it with these beautiful diamonds.

He put the diamonds in his face and asked, Well Jeff, aren’t you going to say anything? I guess not, you can’t argue with success.

Jeff Watkins couldn’t believe how ruthless his brother could be. When they had graduated from high school Jason went his way and Jeff went his. He never thought Jason would turn out as bad as he did. Jason had never cared about anyone least of all him.

After taunting and laughing at Jeff, Jason strolled out to make his brother dinner. He went to the kitchen, he was so confident that Jeff was secure that he closed the door without locking it. He laughed to himself as he thought of Jeff eating his last dinner, he was about to get his long-awaited revenge. He thought to himself smugly, I know I have something to finish before knocking him off. After tomorrow I will have everything I want. I’ll have the idiot Bruiser where I want him, and goody-two-shoes Jeff will finally be dead like he deserves to be. He deserves to die, but it will take time to make sure he suffers, he can’t suffer enough after what he did to me.

He slammed dishes around making dinner for Jeff, with a rage that was smoldering just below the surface. Jason hated Jeff, he hadn’t ever really liked him. He had been forced to have a relationship with Jeff when they were younger, but now that they were older Jason could let his hatred out freely and couldn’t wait to be able to do just that, but he needed him alive for just a little longer. Jeff had always been good and got everything handed to him while Jason had to fight for everything he wanted. He truly hated his brother and wanted to make him slowly suffer but time was getting shorter.

While Jason made dinner, Jeff got out of the sloppy bonds. He got a pocket recorder and tied himself up again. He waited half an hour until his brother arrived with the food and then started the recorder.

Jeff asked, Jason, why are you wearing my clothes and taking my place at work? What exactly are you up to?

Jeff hoped that his brother would brag as he usually did then he would find out what he wanted to know. Jason debated about saying anything, but he had to show Jeff that he wasn’t stupid. He figured Jeff was going to be killed so what could it hurt. He smiled, and his angry blue eyes faced Jeff’s identical ones. Jeff could be read like a book, he was nervous and that made Jason even more confident. Jeff had to force himself to keep his eyes blank of expression.

He said with pride, Well, you see my partner was going to steal diamonds from Zeke’s Jewelry Store and skip town with all the loot. Well I wasn’t about to let that happen, so I met him halfway to the ferry to get my share of the rocks, but before I could do anything I saw old Bruiser stop Carlson and then kill him and grab the bag leaving a few behind. After Bruiser left, I went to the car and took the ones Bruiser had dropped and left one of the glass copies that I was going to switch the diamonds with. I know Bruiser can’t unload them unless they’re all together, so I’ll have him right where I want him. I came here and tied you up and then I went to the police station, and everybody thought I was you. I acted like you the whole day, nobody was even suspicious about it. You have a boring job, it’s actually pretty stupid and so were all the people I mean no one noticed you were smarter today. I went to the phone in the hall and called in the murder. I left with your partner to the car, boy was he pushy, and he was new and asked me questions as we drove to the car. When he got there, I identified Carlson as me. That’s all there was to it.

Why would you identify the body as yours?

Jason smiled and started to talk slowly, Because, you stupid idiot, everyone will think that you took the diamonds and that you’ve destroyed evidence and interfered with the investigation because you IDed the body as your own twin brother. Oh, the questions that will definitely bring up. If your supervisors don’t fall for it, hopefully Bruiser will, and he’ll try something stupid. Then he’ll fall into my trap nicely, then I’ll have him to control and the diamonds, besides if they believed the ID then who will suspect a dead man of anything.

Lefty after feeding his brother took the dishes to the kitchen and dumped them in the sink full of dirty dishes. He went back to the bedroom and untied his brother. He locked the door from the outside. Through the door he said, Have a good sleep, you’re going to need one.

Jeff heard Lefty walk out laughing so coldly that it sent chills up his back. By the way Lefty was looking when he spoke to him made Jeff wonder just what Lefty would do to him, his eyes were so full of hate that Jeff suspected that his days were numbered. He really didn’t want to believe that Lefty would kill him, but from the way he looked Jeff wasn’t as sure as he had been before. He hoped there was some part of Lefty that he could reach that would bring out some good feelings for him to rid him of some of the rage that he obviously felt.

Jeff went to the bedside phone and started to dial a number, but before he could finish the number Lefty picked up the extension. Good try, Jeff, but this number has been disconnected. Good night, Jeff.

Lefty disconnected the line and then left the receiver off the hook. He heard Lefty laughing in the background. At that point Jeff didn’t know what to expect from Lefty, he had always been unpredictable, and he had always had a violent temper.

Jeff went and looked out the window and knew he could escape, but he had a plan of his own. He didn’t want Lefty to get wind of it and disappear forever into the criminal area of the east side. Lefty was just too dangerous to be allowed to roam around free, he would hurt some innocent person in his attempt to seek revenge. He knew he could just arrest him now, but who would believe him, it would be his word against Jason’s. He knew how to set Jason up, so he was going to do just that, no matter how much it would hurt him to turn in his own brother.

As he looked out the window he remembered when he and Jason were very close or, so he thought. They got along really well unless it was all an act when they had been forced to do everything together. Through their life he could have sworn that there had been some good times together. He didn’t know when Jason had changed, he had been bad for so long. Their mother had been a domineering woman and never gave them an inch. They did as they were told, but after they graduated Jason turned into a different person. He became cold and violent, he moved out and stayed away from the family unless he could hurt them in some way.

Jeff yawned, he was tired, so he went to bed that way he could put his plan into action the following morning. He was determined to get Lefty off the street before he hurt somebody in his quest to get his revenge. Having Lefty arrested was going to break his heart, but he knew he had to do it. Jason didn’t have a heart, but he did which made it harder to think about doing.

That same night at the precinct Bruiser aka Alvin Rowinski was pacing back and forth in his cell waiting for his lawyer to arrive. His cellmate said, Just wait until it gets out you killed Lefty.

Bruiser had been a problem in the police department for a long time. He was known to contract out if he was involved, they knew someone else was behind it. Bruiser swung around on his cellmate and said, I didn’t kill Lefty, I killed Carlson.

His cellmate laughed and said, That’s not what you’re charged with. You’re charged with killing Lefty. Boy, just wait until it gets out that you killed Lefty, your life won’t be worth shit. Why would you do something as stupid as killing Lefty?

Bruiser walked away from him and really began to get nervous. His lawyer showed up after a few minutes, which to Bruiser seemed liked hours. Bruiser knew that if word got out that he killed one of the most protected safe crackers on the Island that there wouldn’t be a hole deep enough that he could crawl in.

The guard finally took bruiser and his lawyer to a conference room. When they were seated, and alone Bruiser asked, Is it true? Am I being charged with Lefty’s murder?

His lawyer calmly stated the words that Bruiser didn’t want to hear, Yes, that’s what you’re charged with. Did you really kill Jason Watkins aka Lefty?

No, I’ll admit that I may have killed someone, but it definitely wasn’t him, Bruiser said in a frightened voice. It took a lot to scare the big man, but the thought of being blamed for Lefty’s death absolutely terrified him.

Well, unless you’re going to tell me everything then I won’t be able to defend you like you need to be defended. I don’t like surprises and I won’t put up with them. I don’t care whether you’re guilty or not, but I’ll see to it that you get a fair trial. He said bored by Bruiser’s previous outburst.

I went to a bar and talked to a friend of mine and he told me that Carlson was going to steal diamonds from Zeke’s for Lefty. I met Carlson on his way to the ferry. I told him to give me the money he owed me, but he just laughed at me and drove off. I followed him and saw my chance, so I killed him. I took the diamonds, I knew I could either fence them or sell them to Lefty, but I knew I would get my money. How Lefty ended up dead I don’t know I didn’t even see Lefty, I’m innocent of killing him. If I remain charged with that my life won’t be worth dirt. You have to help me, I can’t go to jail for killing him. I’ll be dead before the end of the night; his friends will have me killed as an example for everyone.

Damien Williams the public defender who was sent to represent Bruiser always ended up defending the scum like Bruiser. He was trying to work his way up the ladder, but since his losses were bigger than his wins he kept staying at the bottom of the political ladder. He wanted out of the PD’s office, but he hadn’t been able to get anywhere. He had a bad reputation as a lawyer in court, he had been reprimanded many times for being drunk in the court room. He had been found in contempt of court many times for insulting the judge in his cases. Damien had started playing with the system and he would as long as he could get money for it.

Then I’ll advise you here and now not to say anything to anybody who questions you about the murder, don’t admit to anything until a positive ID of the body is made. Detective Zufflese wants to talk to you about something. I’ll stay here if you want, Damien said bored by the case. He wanted to go home, but he was obligated to stay if Bruiser wanted him to.

No, I can handle the pigs, just work on getting me out of here before the pope ends up dead and they pin it on me, Bruiser said sarcastically.

Damien and Mark passed each other in the doorway. The lawyer tried to intimidate Mark, but it didn’t work when Mark was at least two heads taller than the lawyer. Mark recognized Damien and he really couldn’t stand him, since he usually defended the lowest of the law.

Mark took his seat across from Bruiser and causally said, I want to talk to you about your intent in stealing from the police lab.

What? I didn’t do anything.

We have your prints on the door of the lab and we found this in your possession, he said showing Bruiser the bag with the glass copy. You knew it was there because you knew you had forgotten it at the scene of the murder. Why did you kill Lefty?

Bruiser inwardly panicked, he wanted to get to the bottom of the accusation. He coldly said, You still insist the body is Lefty. Who identified him?

Detective Jeff Watkins, Mark answered and watched Bruiser’s alarmed expression curiously.

Bruiser’s last hope was squashed, and he sullenly said, Well, I guess he’d know his own brother.

Shocked by what he had just heard he remembered the way Jeff had said who the body was. Mark was glad he had come back to work, he couldn’t get the events of the day out of his mind. He was getting more information since he had returned to work than he had all day. Are you sure Jeff and Lefty are brothers?

Bruiser started laughing and said in a sarcastic tone, Yes, I’m sure. You can’t miss it they’re identical twins except Lefty had blond hair. If you can’t tell they’re twins, then you’re as blind as a bat.

Thank you, guard, I’m through, Mark said and left the room. When he reached his desk, he looked over the pictures. What do I do now? He thought, How do I go about proving Jeff is not really Jeff Watkins, this clown could be wrong, but if he’s not then why is he so nervous about being charged with killing a scum like Lefty?

Mark took all his paperwork out and Jeff’s file home to study it. He also got the file on Jason Watkins to find a way to prove someone had been impersonating Jeff and end his game before he did any more harm, and someone got hurt due to his incompetence. Mark took a back pen and colored in Lefty’s blond hair. He put it next to Jeff’s ID picture and was stunned at what he saw. Jeff and Lefty were exactly alike, but now what could he do to prove what he thought. He was still waiting for Jeff’s former partner to return his call. Now that he knew about Lefty, he had to get all the information he could about the Watkins’ brothers, so he would know what to do next.

The next morning Lefty progressed with his plan. He just had to be Jeff for a few more hours then he would wreak his revenge on Jeff.

He saw Mark walking over to him and immediately started to act like he was Jeff, he drooped his shoulders and put a stupid look on his face. He asked, So how were you last night partner?

Mark looked at him trying to see if he could tell which brother he was talking to. He couldn’t see anything different about the man he was with. He simply said, We’re going to go cruising and see if we can find out information on the stiff we found yesterday. I’m still waiting for a positive ID on the body. I have a list of associates that we need to check on anyway.

Lefty was nervous about going out to cruise. He didn’t want to do any more work than he had to. He asked, Shouldn’t we do our paperwork? I think we could finish the paperwork today since I’ve already IDed the body.

We don’t have anything to add to the report, we’re better off cruising, and they went cruising due to Mark’s insistence. Mark knew he had to find a way to approach whomever was beside him, was it Jeff or Lefty. He hoped it was a quiet day, but unfortunately dispatch broke the silence. Mark hated that even detectives had to do street work as the call came across the radio, Island 5, 2-11 in progress at the National Bank on 2413 8th Boulevard. It’s on the corner of 8th and 3rd. Unit 7 is backing you up, see the watch commander on the scene.

Island 5 responding. Mark thought, I hope this imposter doesn’t put us all in danger. I wonder if this clown will know what to do or will he openly expose himself. I’ll just have to keep my eye on him, so he doesn’t put someone else in danger.

When they arrived, the crook decided to make a break for it. He ran from the building trying to get away in the confusion. To put on a good show Lefty pulled out his gun and yelled, Police, freeze! Lefty didn’t know what he was doing, but he had seen arrests done on TV enough and from being arrested enough times to feel that he knew what he was doing. The only problem was that when he pulled out the gun, he had put it in his left hand. He hoped nobody noticed and quickly put it into his other hand and hoped his cover hadn’t been blown. That was really the only true difference between him and Jeff that could be easily noticed. His hair was actually black, but he always bleached it so that he wouldn’t be confused with Jeff when he was conducting business in the east side area. Jeff made it difficult for him by being a cop, because when he would make a deal other people would think he was either Jeff or that he was really working for him.

Somebody did notice Lefty’s mistake and marked it down in his field notes with his black pen. After reading through the files he noticed a lot of differences about his partner’s actions and put them into his notes to try to prove Jeff was really Lefty. When Mark looked at Jeff, he saw what Stan meant about his eyes, they were cold and empty like he was just pure hate and evil inside an empty shell.

They had the perps in custody and headed back to the precinct. As they pulled up into the parking lot Lefty noticed that a familiar beat-up Limo was sitting in the impound lot. When they went into the station Lefty was ecstatic that his plan was working out the way he had planned it to.

Mark found a message from Jeff’s former partner Brian on his desk. He quickly called him back at the precinct on Shore. Mark didn’t have time for pleasantries, he just said, I’m Detective Zufflese and I need to know was Jeff Watkins a good partner?

Brian’s suspicions were alerted immediately, he didn’t know who Mark was, so he hesitantly said, Sure, but he’s hard to keep up with, and he’s professional all the time. Why is something wrong?

Yes, he’s acting like the job is an inconvenience for him. He comes in when he wants and leaves when he wants and doesn’t tell anyone.

That is strange, he’s usually the exact opposite.

Mark went to the point of the reason for his call, Can you tell me anything about his brother?

Brian had been a good friend of Jeff’s and didn’t like talking about him with a complete stranger. When Mark mentioned Lefty, he imagined that Jeff might be in some sort of trouble. He remembered all the times that Lefty had tried to harm Jeff or disrupt his life in some way. Although he wanted to help, he didn’t want to talk about Jeff without talking to him first. Well Lefty is Jeff’s brother and he’s nothing but trouble. There really shouldn’t be any secret about that, Lefty enjoys rubbing Jeff’s nose in it. Most of the time he’s open about what he does, he likes to take credit for things. It’s a matter of pride for him and a way to hurt Jeff all at the same time.

Do you think Lefty could get away with impersonating Jeff?

 He could, but why would he want to? He dyed his hair, so he wouldn’t be confused as being Jeff.

Mark was confused by that when Lefty was going out of his way to be mistaken as Jeff. He also felt that Brian was hiding something. He decided to do a little investigation on his own, so he quickly hung up and went back to his investigation after he thanked Brian for his help and hung up.

After Brian hung up the phone, he started to remember a threat Lefty had made about impersonating Jeff. He had smugly said that he could kill somebody looking like Jeff and nobody would be able to tell them apart. A cold chill went up his spine at the realization that Mark was calling to tell him just what he had feared. He decided he couldn’t sit still and wait so he called and made a reservation to take the ferry to the Island to see Jeff for himself and then he would know the truth for himself.

Meanwhile Jeff pulled up into the precinct parking lot and saw Lefty’s car in the lot. He decided to go in the back way to keep from bumping into Lefty accidentally. He went into the elevator headed to the captain’s office.

The 7th precinct was the largest precinct on the Island in the center of the city. The precinct was just on the outskirts of the east side of the Island.

When the elevator got to the third floor Jeff walked down the corridor to the squad room and over to the captain’s office. He was relieved that nobody had noticed his arrival since Lefty was sitting on the other side of the squad room at his desk.

The captain’s secretary, Ms. Louise Jaster, was sitting at her desk typing. She was a good-looking woman with flaming red hair cascading down onto her shoulders. She had been working for Captain Munroe for seven years. Louise had been divorced recently and she was the topic of conversations about being the most eligible woman at work to ask out. The men all thought they could get to her while she was still vulnerable. Louise actually enjoyed the attention she was getting from the officers even though she wasn’t interested in any of them. She thought a lot of them were cute, but she was afraid of being hurt and she thought she would be or she would end up as a notch on someone’s belt. She knew that most of the men gossiped daily about their new conquests and she refused to be one of them. Most of the women officers were shallow and enjoyed the attention the men gave them. The other women were trying to outdo the men to be noticed.

Jeff sat on the corner of Louise’s desk, Hey Louise, how about a date? Bring some excitement into my dull evening.

Louise thought Jeff was good looking, but she couldn’t bring herself to go out with him. She looked up at Jeff with her shining emerald green eyes and smiled beautifully. She knew Jeff was one of the officers that went out with different women. She said, Jeff, have a seat and when the captain is ready to see you, I’ll let you know.

Jeff sat down in the chair and picked up a magazine. He mumbled loud enough for Louise to hear as he thumbed through the magazine, If the captain is going to make me wait like this the least, he could do is have some good old-fashioned playboy magazines out here.

Louise laughed, Why would he do that? By the time you got through them you wouldn’t want to work.

Yeah, but at least I’d have a smile on my face when I went in and I’d be in a great mood.

Louise shook her head and went back to typing. A few minutes later two people walked out of the office looking like he had been yelling at them the entire time they had been in the office.

Louise said, Watkins, you can go in now.

Jeff walked into the office and without a word he put the tape recorder on the captain’s desk. Captain Steven Munroe was an old man, who was very happy with his job and knew that in a few years he would be facing mandatory retirement if he lasted that long. Jeff turned on the recorder, he said, Captain, I would like you to listen to this.

While Captain Munroe listened to the recorder, he turned his chair around to look out the large picture window behind his desk. He always seemed to feel a relaxing calmness go through him as he looked out the window. When the tape stopped, he turned his chair back around to face Jeff.

He asked, Where was that taped from?

The bedroom in my apartment where he was keeping me captive. I got him to brag about himself, he loves to do that. He always feels confident when he thinks nobody is on to him and then he’ll give himself away, he always thinks he’s untouchable.

Who is the other person? Captain Munroe asked suspiciously.

My twin brother Jason. He calls himself Lefty, and I can tell you he is bad news. I don’t know what he has planned, but it has to be something awful and it’ll probably happen soon. He has an evil mind and whatever he does will end up costing lives and a lot of them will be innocent people. Believe me we’ll know what he does when he does it, but I would like to try to prevent it before it actually happens.

What do you want to do about this? There’s no way to prove he’s responsible for it even with the taped confession. A good defense attorney could rip this tape apart.

Let me put on the disguise that Duncan uses for his undercover assignments, so I won’t be recognized, and I’ll act like I’m him while he’s on vacation. I’ll arrest Jeff Watkins for stealing the diamonds. In fact, the only way to get Alvin to confess is to have him watch my arrest and to accuse him of killing Jason, known as Lefty. Bruiser is absolutely terrified of being accused of killing Lefty he should talk soon.

Munroe shook his head and said, Okay, it’s worth a try. Jeff, you’re one of my best officers how did your brother manage to get the best of you? This doesn’t say much for your defenses, usually nobody gets the best of you.

He was waiting at the house with a shot gun in his lap and when I walked in the door, he had the drop on me. I mean, he knew what I know, that no matter what he does that I would never shoot my own brother.

Well, let’s get on with this, go ahead and change before I change my mind about this scheme. Munroe had a feeling this plan was going to blow up in their faces. He thought, Won’t Lefty recognize Jeff, disguise or not, they are identical twins after all, besides even if Lefty is slime, he is far from being stupid. I know that Lefty is a cruel criminal, but he is intelligent, or he wouldn’t have survived as long as he has. It takes a lot of intelligence to live on the streets he’ll probably see right through this.

After ten minutes Jeff walked up to Louise’s desk in his disguise. She was puzzled by what was happening but knew better than to question it. At first, she was surprised when she saw Lefty and she could have sworn that Jeff had walked in Munroe’s office wearing a strange outfit. She quickly buzzed the captain and tried to keep her eyes averted from looking at them, so no one would see her confusion.

Yes Ms. Jaster?

An officer has Alvin Rowinski and Detective Watkins out here requesting to see you.

Okay, send them in.

When they walked in Captain Munroe dismissed the officer. He leaned back in his chair and said sternly, Alvin, you have killed Jason Watkins and yet you won’t talk. We have you with your hand in the cookie jar, as the old saying goes. If you talk now it’ll be easier for you, but I guess it’s your ass. Watkins, you’re officially under arrest, Detective Duncan here found this in your apartment, and we were right in suspecting you were involved. I don’t tolerate behavior like this in my precinct. I knew you were hiding something you didn’t want Mark to investigate the murder further. I have to talk to the brass but I’m sure they’ll agree with my decision to let you go and then bring you up on charges. Take these men downstairs to be processed.

Jeff walked out with both men and took them downstairs to the basement to be processed. Bruiser had been thinking hard about what was going on and finally said, I want to talk to you about something.

 Jeff took Lefty to the cell hoping he didn’t recognize him and then took Bruiser to an interrogation room. He was exasperated and impatiently asked, Alvin, what is your problem?

I didn’t kill Lefty, I killed Carlson. If it gets out that I’m being arrested for killing Lefty, I’ll be killed. Bruiser rang his hands nervously hoping nobody found out he was squealing, but he was desperate to save his own ass.

Well, I think that’s your problem isn’t it? Jeff stood up to show that he was through talking.

Wait, you have to help me. I’ll do anything you say, but I didn’t kill Lefty. Bruiser was utterly terrified by what could happen to him by morning once the word hit the street that Lefty was dead and that he was the one responsible.

Okay, take it easy, I’m Jeff Watkins and that was Lefty who was put into custody. I need your help in rounding up the slime he works with. If you help me then I’ll help you. Jeff was reluctant about asking Bruiser for help, but he needed someone who knew Lefty. He knew he couldn’t trust Bruiser, but at the moment he didn’t have a choice and he would do anything to get Lefty off the street.

Sure, I’ll help, he said and thought, and I’ll have this cop where I want him. Then the boys will know that I’m not as dumb as they think I am. Bruiser was relieved to find out that he wouldn’t be charged with killing Lefty.

Let’s go, Jeff walked Bruiser to a cell and opened it. Lefty was already waiting for him. When Jeff was gone Lefty turned on Bruiser.

He angrily asked, Well, what did you tell them?

Nothing, Lefty, besides it’s none of your damn business.

Okay, Bruiser, don’t get so upset. Lefty went on planning his revenge since his original plan was screwed up. Lefty knew Bruiser had turned chicken like he always did when the pressure was on. He just wondered how he figured out his true identity when no one else had. He figured out that Jeff was around somewhere, but he hadn’t looked for him, so he didn’t know if he really was or not.

3

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Revenge

Lefty had been released the night before and had decided to stay with his friend Karen since his real girlfriend Stacy was out of town. As he pulled up to a stop Karen ran out to greet him and a woman walked out behind her. Her name was Alessandra Aratucci and she had just come from New Mexico looking for a job. Alessandra had long black hair, dark brown eyes, and her complexion was dark enough to be considered Mexican when she was really Italian. She was attractive, but in a simple way. Her figure matched her attractiveness, but her personality had hard points of old coldness. Her past had been hard on her, but over the years she had learned a lot, which made her stronger each time something happened. She had been nervous about returning to the Island. Too many people could still recognize her and that worried her. She hated Lefty on sight and was glad she was on her way somewhere else. She knew Lefty was going to be nothing but trouble for Karen and had called her when she found out about him being around. She said what she could but knew deep down it wasn’t any of her business who Karen went out with or had stay with her.

Lefty smiled at Alessandra when he recognized her, but realized it wasn’t Adriana. He asked sarcastically, How do you like it in our city compared to the little old Mexican desert?

It’s about the same, they both have the same amount of ass holes in both, she answered his sarcastic question bitterly hoping he would get the point and leave.

Are you calling me an ass hole?

You said it I didn’t.

Why can’t you be more like your sister?

Because my sister is nothing but cheap trash if she has vermin like you as her friend. I mean, look at where she is now, in prison, she didn’t get too far did she?

That’s an awful cheap shot against your own sister, Lefty said as she walked away.

The truth hurts, Alessandra said as she drove out of the driveway. She hoped Lefty wouldn’t figure out just who she really was.

Lefty turned to Karen and asked, Karen, can I stay here? The cops are following me because they think I had something to do with my idiot brother’s disappearance. Besides baby, you’re supposed to help me if we’re going to be seeing each other.

What about Stacy? Will she go along with this? Yes, I know about little Stacy, she asked suspiciously.

I’m not seeing Stacy and even if I was, I wouldn’t have come to you for help I’d have gone to her. He said trying to convince her to let him stay with her, she had been right if Stacy had been in town, he wouldn’t have even thought of going to Karen’s.

Karen was a young woman of twenty-five. She had always helped criminals hide when cops were looking for them since her father had been killed by a cop who had always shot first and asked questions later. She had always believed that he had been wrongfully killed. She had hated cops until Adriana Aratucci became her friend and she had found out that her father had been killed because he had killed a cop and was holding people hostage. She was a snitch when she needed to be, but at times she would help criminals. It was a dangerous way to live, but she couldn’t dedicate herself to one side or the other. Karen looked at Lefty and hoped the rules that she was about to tell him would run him off for good. She said, "I guess so, but only under the following rules:

1. You cannot listen in on my conversations I have on the phone or in person. What I talk about is my business not yours and I will have my privacy.

2. You do not bring around your criminal friends to hide or just hang out at. This is my home not yours.

3. You cannot stash stolen goods anywhere in the house. I won’t be responsible for it.

4. You must not boast or brag about anything.    

5. You cannot walk around in your underwear because I’m not interested and I frankly don’t want to see it.

6. You have to do your share of the