However I had to keep Lois out of it. She would never testify, so I had to lie my ass off. Now telling a successful lie is like building a house. First you have to have a plan. One that considers most of the things that will come up in construction, then you need a good foundation.

I came to that conclusion while walking the next morning. I made my plan and an hour after my walk, I started to lay the foundation. "Edith I'm so sorry about Charlie. We will miss him." I said that to the grieving widow in the small and super clean living room of Charlie's home.

"Thank you John. You were Charlie's best and maybe only true friend." Edith obviously had been crying and was on the verge of starting again. She sure as hell didn't need to know about Lois.

"Edith I need a favor. I have a lead that I want to pass on to the officers investigating Charlie's murder, but I can't give up the source. I need you to tell the officers, should they ask, that Charlie left the house Sunday around ten to get a bite to eat. I'll take care of the rest. Would you do that for me?"

"Like I said Abba, you were Charlie's friend and I'm a cops wife. I'll tell the lie and swear to it on a dozen bibles. I do not have a problem framing a guilty man, as long as the right man is the one you convict of this."

"I will make damn sure it is the right one, that I promise."

"Then Charlie went out on Sunday night for a bite to eat. Where I don't know."

"Exactly," I replied. "He got home before midnight."

"How did you know?" she asked with a conspirators smile.

After I left Charlie's small frame house, I went to see Francis. "Francis," I said through the front door.

"Well come in John the kids are at school."

"I can't, I have a chore to do. I just needed to ask if you remember Charlie talking to me at the Waffle and Egg Sunday night." I looked at her hard.

"I heard about poor Charlie, you bet your ass I remember. I can't say what time he left, but you and I left when the night cook came, so it must have been around eleven."

"Yes that's how I remember it to. I'll give you a call," I said as I walked away.

I stopped for a late breakfast/ early lunch before I went to the police station. Once there I passed the detective division office and went straight to the office of the Chief of D's. "Hello Amy, how come you get younger and I get older every time I come in."

"Because you are a terrible liar," she said with a smile. "He is in a meeting."

"Buzz him anyway. Tell him I have a lead on Charlie's murder, and if he doesn't come out I'm just gonna go shoot the bastard." I said it as I grinned.

"Captain you might want to come out and see John Abba. He says he has a lead on Charlie's murder." She listened a minute then added. "Captain, if Abba thought it was worth coming in for, I would take it seriously." Everybody knew Amy was the brains in that office.

The door opened and the head of the personnel office walked out. "Come on in John," he suggested.

"No thanks," I replied. I took a page from an old notepad and handed it to him. "I ran into Charlie Sunday night at the Waffle and Egg on main. He told me he was talking to these too Mooches. He asked if I had ever heard of them or if they were connected. I told him, and I'm telling you, I never heard the names.They were the last hard guys Charlie had words with as far as I know. I would take a look at them.

"Why not take this to Louise or Brett?"

"So you teamed Brett up with the FNG. That has to be a match made in hell. You pass the information along it will sound better coming from you."

"Thanks Abba, I'll let you know how it turns out."

"Good, because I don't want this to just get lost for any reason."

"What does that mean?"

"It means if these guys are connected and you flip them, they better not get a walk on Charlie. If they do I'm gonna have a press conference on the steps of city hall."

"You ain't a cop no more."

"No but I still have some newswhore friends."