Gifts From The Kasbah by Robert F. Clifton (smart ebook reader txt) 📕

“I see that you're still a hardheaded bastard. Tell you what, let's play it by ear and see how it goes”.

“I can do that. Thanks Herb. Goodby “.

At ten forty five in the morning of the next day Captain Wallace sat in the small area next to the interrogation room of the Nautilus Beach Police Department. There was no two way mirror where he could observe O'Neil and the questioning of Eddie Sloan, but since a listening device had been installed he would be able to hear the conversation. Wallace turned on the receiver then sat back and waited for O'Neil to begin. There was a movement of chairs as people sat down, then a voice.

“Well Eddie, here you are again. This is becoming a habit with you.

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If it isn't larceny where you steal something to hock, then it's an assault and battery where you go off half cocked and punch somebody out. If not that, then it's you using the shit. Now, we got you carrying number slips and horse bets”, said O'Neil.

“You're making a mistake. That stuff is not mine. I found all of it in the boardwalk comfort station. In fact, I was going to turn it over to the first cop I saw”, said Sloan.

“What boardwalk comfort station? What street?”

“Maryland Ave”.

“Bullshit!... That one has been closed for over a year. Kids busted the urinals and toilets”, said O'Neil.

“Well, maybe it was the one near Kentucky”.

“Yeah, yeah, roll up your sleeve”.

“For what?”, asked Sloan.

“I want to see your tattoos. For what? You know damn well for what. I want to see when was the last time you shot up”.

“Not me Bill...I don't use the stuff, honest”.

“Roll up your sleeve”.

There was a moment of silence. Wallace could visualize Eddie The Dip unbuttoning his shirt sleeve and rolling it up exposing his bare arm. When he did then Bill O'Neil would look for fresh needle marks which would indicate that Sloan had used a hypodermic needle probably injecting heroin into his system.

“Don't use the stuff huh? What the hell is that?”, asked O'Neil.

“That's from when I gave blood”, said Sloan.

“Oh good. It's nice to know that you are a concerned citizen and do your part helping the blood drive. Now, let's stop the bullshit and move on to another topic. What can you tell me about the Kerr girls murder?”

“Nothing. I don't know her and I only read about her death in the newspaper.”

“How about any of her friends, say a girl friend?”

“Nope. I told you I don't know anything about the Kerr girl'.

“Have you ever heard the name, Emma Prescott?”, asked O'Neil.

Again there was a moment of silence. Then, O'Neil spoke again.

“Have you ever heard the name, Emma Prescott?”

“No”

“Let's try this one. Phillip Spencer ?”

“Don't know him'.

“Alright Eddie. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to put your ass in a cell all by yourself. No bail, no telephone calls, no visitors, no lawyer and

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certainly no doctor. Guess what you'll do Eddie. You're going to go through withdrawals. You're going to have muscle aches, your eyes will water and the sweats will come followed by stomach cramps. Then the diarrhea will come at you fast and often. You're going to shit your pants Eddie, but that won't bother you because by that time you'll be sick to your stomach, so sick that all you will do is vomit. OK Eddie, I see that we're not getting anywhere in our conversation. I'll have you moved to the jail now”.

“I have the right to bail and an attorney and you know it'.

“Yeah I know it. But, the law doesn't say how soon you are to get it. Hell, I'm betting your case won't go to court in say, two or three days. Same with the telephone call, visitors and lawyer. OK. Guys take him away”.

“Wait a minute!. I just remembered a couple of those names”, said Eddie.

“Which names?”

“Spencer. Yeah Phillip Spencer”.

“What about him?”

“He's a bouncer at an Arab restaurant”.

“What's the name of this restaurant?”

“The Kasbah?”

“I've never heard of it”.

“It's back in the woods in Greenfield”

“Never heard of Greenfield either. Let's stay with Phillip Spencer”.

“What do you want to know?”

“Is he on the shit?”

“He uses hash oil”.

“Hash oil? That's pretty potent stuff. Where's he getting it from?”

“I don't know, but I know he uses it, because he tried to sell me some. He's selling it at a hundred a gram”/

“Then he's a pusher, a dealer?”

“Nothing big. He's small time. He wants to people to think that he's important. I think he has a few customers, but he's smart. They don't come to him in person. They call or send for the stuff and he delivers.”

“And, he's dealing out of the Kasbah?”, asked O'Neil

“Yeah'.

“What about the Prescott girl?”

“She is supposed to be Spencer's girl friend, but I've never seen them together.'

“How about Elizabeth Kerr”?

81. “At the time it was reported that she had been murdered I learned that she had been a frequent visitor to the Kasbah. She traveled with two girlfriends, Emma Prescott and a girl named Gloria Esposito. The Kerr girl and Esposito were using the shit”.

“How bad were they hooked?”

“As far as I know, not too bad. I heard that the Prescott girl introduced both of them to heroin. Esposito was a pretty good belly dancer. I saw her perform one time”.

“How about the Kerr girl? Did she dance?”

“I don't know”.

“What can you tell us about the owners?”

“Owners of what?”

“The Kasbah”.

“ Only that they're a couple of A-rabs”.

“Eddie, Eddie, now you're insulting my intelligence. You're using the shit and you can buy it here on the street, but we find you in a place called Greenfield. This is the place where you just told us that drugs are going down. Yet, you don't know anything about the owners”.

“I swear . I don't know anything about them”.

“Then who are you buying the horse from?”

“Spencer”.

“So Spencer's dealing both horse and grass?”

“Yeah”.

“OK. That's all I want to know for now”.

“Then I can go?”

“You can go right to your cell”.

“Hey I co-operated. I told you what you wanted to know”.

“And here's what I'm willing to do Eddie. I'll let you get bail, contact your lawyer and for good measure I won't call your probation officer and tell him that you're still using. However, we caught you with gambling receipts. See you in court Eddie”.

After Eddie Sloan was taken down to the city jail Wallace left the anteroom and entered the interrogation room. “Nice job Bill”, he said.

“Did he give you anything worth while?”, asked O'Neil

“Oh Yeah. Actually he blew the whistle on the Spencer kid and gave me another reason to talk to the Prescott girl again”.

“Unfortunately I couldn't squeeze anything out of him about the owners of the place”.

It doesn't matter. Immigration agents are coming down from Philly

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tomorrow to see what I have in the Kerr case. While they're picking my brain I’ll be picking theirs. I should know something about the owners of the Kasbah”.

“What about the State Police?”, asked O'Neil.

“What about them? They'll be notified, but only after I wrap things up”. Wallace responded.

“OK. Drugs in Cape May County are not my problem.”

“Or Mine, but those involved in pushing the shit right now are suspects in a couple of homicides”.

Wallace walked back to his office. When he got there he went to the filing cabinet and took out the Kerr case folder. Carrying to his desk he put it down then took a seat and opened the folder. Moving sheet after sheet of paper he stopped when he found the report he was looking for. The report he had submitted in reference to the Emma Prescott interview. He read and re-read the report going over the questions he had asked and the answers Emma Prescott gave. He reached for a pencil and after the word Spain he made a question mark. After the question presented to Miss Prescott on Elizabeth Kerr's use of heroin he wrote the word,.

After the question about her knowledge of a woman named Gloria, he again wrote the word, lie. And, after the question about her knowledge of flower petals, he wrote “lie”. He reached for the phone, dialed a number and when Stiles answered, said, “Frank, send Tom in here”.

When Mckenna entered the office Wallace said, “I want you to go out to the local airport. Check all the flights from here to New York or Philadelphia airports. I want to know if an Emma Prescott flew from here to Spain, returning during the month of December last year”.

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Chapter Eleven

Frank Stiles entered Captain Wallace's office. With him was a man attired in a dark blue suit, white shirt and a light blue necktie."Captain, this is George Fillmore, from Immigration", said Frank.

Wallace got up out of his chair, walked to the man and offered his hand. "Bob Wallace, nice to meet you. have a seat. I’ve been expecting you'.

Fillmore sat down then opened the brief case he had carried. "It is my understanding that you want information on Amina and Jabar el Himidi", he said.

"Correct, and the deal is I give you information of their involvement in a double homicide", Wallace responded.

"Fine, what can you tell me about the homicides"?

"As the little boy said to the little girl, you show me yours and I'll show you mine", Wallace replied.

"I see, you're laying your cards out on the table", said Fillmore.

"Could be. what do you have?"

" The Himidi's were born near Tangiers, Morocco. Jabar actually was born and raised in the Rif Mountains. His father was a Berber farmer. Most Berber farmers grow marijuana. It's not legal in Morocco but the government turns a blind eye since it aids the economy. Jabar became a farmer, but his expertise was and is in the production of hashish. He is very skilled in the saving of the buds and the creation of the hashish cakes or bricks. It is said that his hash was of the best in that area. Amina was born and raised just outside the city of Tangiers. Her family were Berber farmers, but instead of marijuana they grew flowers, in particular, roses. When she was ten years old she sold fresh and dry flowers in the market place outside of the Kasbah in Tangiers. We think their marriage in nineteen forty two was arranged.

In nineteen forty two the United States Army invaded Morocco in "Operation Brushwood". They captured Port Lyautey and Casablanca'. During the American occupation Jabar grew flowers along side Amina's family instead of marijuana. we understand he is very adapt to growing roses with very large buds and blooms. In nineteen forty seven they emigrated to the United States, landing in New York. They stayed with distant relatives of Jabar's for about five to six months.

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Somehow, they acquired jobs with a Miami based flower farm. Both started out working in the fields, however, Amina's expertise with dry flowers got her out of the fields and a promotion. About a year later Jabar became a foreman and oversaw the growing operation. When South America raised its prices on flower exports he was sent to Mexico to see what could be purchased and the quality. When he came back from Mexico his company had a real nice contract with three Mexican flower farms. Our information is that he began making several trips a year to Mexico. On business of course. We think that somewhere along the way he made contact with the Mexican drug cartel.

He and his wife left Miami and came here to Southern New Jersey. He purchased land in Cape May County where he built and operates the Kasbah restaurant and gift shop. We figure he made his money smuggling marijuana and heroin into the United States. the question is how does he do it?"

"I can see why he went from growing marijuana to roses during the occupation but why roses?", Wallace asked.

"Many European companies as well as North African countries buy rose petals for scenting their soaps