Monday, June 30, 2014

BOOM!




The explosion was so loud it literally made the neighborhood shake! It woke my baby girl, Kimberly up...She was hollering to the top of her lungs... Sepia ran into her room and rocked her ....

"Kevin, that sounded like an explosion of some sort..You think it was a gas main?" she said ,holding Kimberly,our new baby in her arms and cooing...

"Not a gas main...Something more local.."I said..

I brushed my teeth and then threw on some slacks and a shirt and my shoes and rushed out on the avenue...

I saw Clerow ,Corabeth and their two small children ...Her sisters,Mabel ,Anita,Victoria and Baby Phat, their waitress was standing outside too...

I saw, Chris, Chess, Donald Smooth,Owen Todd and Kool Kat trying desperately to
put the fire out ,but to no avail...They didn't have the kind of equipment to get the job done...

Clerow walked over to me...

"Kev...That was Danny's Diner...mann.."he said.

"Oh wowww...Danny's place...I remember him from the neighborhood..back in West Philly.. When Sean Jackson, Kool Kat, Chris and Chess and I moved into this section of the city..We were so happy when Danny moved out here too and set up shop...It was like being at home again."I said.

"Chris and Chess was trying to get him to set up shop in their shopping center..He had signed a contract too."said Clerow..

"What are you talking about?  He was in there?" I said in horror..

"Yeah man, look..." said Clerow...

The fire department and the police were now here....


I saw them bring a body out...It could only be one person...Danny Felton...I hung my head...

I looked up and saw some familliar figures...

II-
Lt. Sissy Van Buren and Detective James"Jimmy" Barlow were on the scene with scores of police officers...Forensic Investigator, Dr. Hazel Hunter-Baylor was also on the scene looking at the charred remains..
I walked over to where they were....

"Hey Siss, How you doin?" I said.

She smiled when she saw me...

"Kevin!!! That's right..you live around the corner from here..." she said.

"I do...What brings you to a fire?" I asked.

"A homicide!"said Jimmy Barlow...

"Hey Jimmy...Where is the rest of the troops?" I said smiling..

Sissy answered that for me..

"Keith and Carlotta are in Puerto Rico..It's their wedding anniversary...Tyriq and Sirena are in California and Hop and Sharon are in the Bahamas....It's Vacation time...So it's me and Jimmy holding down the fort..I have Angie Belton until they come back and I have Duke..."she said.


"And you have a homicide?" I asked..

"He was shot twice ..in the head and the chest...He was dead before this explosion..."said Dr. Hazel Hunter..
Jimmy examined the charred remains...

"Damn" he said.
"Sissy, I knew this man...He was a friend of mine...So I'll be peeping around..I won't get in you or your detectives way and anything I get..You know you'll be the first to know."I said.

"You have never gotten in the way friend...With most of my detectives gone...I'll need your help..


Just then I heard an unfamilliar voice..It was a woman and she smelled great...She wasn't bad on the eyes either..


She took one look at the body and vomited...

"Aye Mios Dios...Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." she exclaimed and vomited...

Sissy shook her head and sighed and looked at me
"Kevin, this is ADA Rios...She's working with us in ADA Keith Wallace's absence..." she said.

"Lt. Sissy, you didn't tell me the body was going to look like this....arghhhhhhhhhhhh.." she sobbed...

"It's going to be okay Nina...This is Homicide...This is how it looks sometimes.....Jimmy run down the street and get her a bottle of cold water." said Sissy ,passing him a dollar...

"Pleased to make your acquaintence...Mr. Kevin." she said.

I looked at Sissy and smiled weakly.

"Okay folks, release the body....."said Sissy....'Kevin...your ears are to the streets..Any help you can give us will be greatly appreciated." said Sissy.
III-
Kool Kat and I sat in Chess and Chris Thompson's office...Present also was Donald Smooth, Chris and Chess's main man...and Owen Todd, Lockpick Johnson,Peeping Tom and Clerow.. Chris spoke..


"Kev, guys...Danny Felton was a friend to all of us from our days as young boys in West Philly...he looked out for us, gave us a hoagie or a decent sandwich when we were on our way to school as children and always had an encouraging word...Kev, you probably didn't know...but Chess and I had moved our card game to the back room of his deli.....Natividad Diaz could no longer guaruntee our saftey, so we just moved it...We were doing good and we paid Danny to let us have it there...Danny was going to open another deli in our new shopping center that we just opened..Now he's dead..."said Chris...

Chess passed me an envelope..It had over ten grand in it...

''All of the shopkeepers and vendors in our two shopping center s took up a collection for you...We know that the police are on this...but we also know that your nose is closer to the streets and you can find out stuff from folks that won't talk to cops Kev...We want you to look into this." said Chess..

"Okay man...Danny Felton was a friend of mine too..He knew my dad.." I said.

"Over at Josies...Gus and Honey Brown are just sick over this.." said Donald Smooth...

"Well just for starters...you guys got any ideas who might have done this?" I asked.

"You ever hear of Sonny Boston?" asked Donald Smooth...

"That punk? Yeah, I heard of him...He used to run errands for old man ,Eric Slaughter years ago...Then he did a stretch upstate as a guest of the State of Pennsylvania." said Kool Kat.


"He's a guest no more...He's out and he's got a few soldiers and he's been making noise in the neighborhood..He tried to muscle in on our shopping center and some of our apartment complexes...We showed him a little show of force and he backed down...But he may try to gobble up some of the independents like Sam Mother's diner or Mabel Jenkins spot or even Josies.." said Chess.

"I'm not too worried about Josies's ,Gus, Albert and Eddie will bust a cap in his behind...but I'm worried about Sam Mother's joint and Mabel Jenkins's Soul Food joint." said Chris Thompson.

"Mabel might cut him." laughed Clerow...

We all busted out laughing....Mabel was as fine as wine, but she wasn't the one to try and strong arm...

''Alright guys...I'll start asking around about this Sonny Boston fellow...Where does he lay his head?" I asked.

"He's like my man Chris.."said Chess...."He stays with a couple of girls...None for more than two nights." he continued..

"Hey..I got one steady girl now...you know that...but we stay in an uh undisclosed location, if ya know what I mean and I know ya do."laughed Chris Thompson.

We all laughed again..It was good to be able to laugh a little under such somber circumstances..

III-
Clerow dropped me off at my home...When I walked inside, I saw I had visitors.. Sepia was showing our baby to Bridget Jones, Attorney Olivia Bennett-Alexander, her neice, Beverly West, Josie Boyd, my adopted daughter and their Assistant and my new friend and fellow P.I. Donnie Ray Alexander...

"Your baby is so cute Kevin" said Bridget Jones, a former client of mine who now owned two lingerie stores..



"Kevin, I heard that somebody killed Danny Felton and blew his store up" said Olivia...

"Yes..That's true.."I said.

"He used to watch me after school when I was a little girl"said Bridget..

''You too? He watched me when I was a little girl and he watched Bev too when she was little.He adored my mom.."said Olivia.


"He was a friend of my dad's " said Josie...
"I didn't have the history with him that you guys had...but when I first moved to Philly and first started living with Kevin, before we got married..he'd always help me with my old hooptie when it went on the fritz,He'd give me a ride to school when Kevin was out and to job interviews..He was a great guy..He didn't deserve to go out like this." said my wife,Sepia.

Donnie Ray looked at me...

''I know you are friends with ADA Wallace and his detectives and you are probably on this too...If you need any extra assistance man, just let me know...I'll be glad to help." he said.

"Thanks man..I'll keep you in mind.." I said.

I hadn't even begun my investigation yet....but with a death that effected this many people in my life...I owed it to them to get to the bottom of this and make whoever was responsible pay and pay dearly.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

Friday, June 27, 2014

If She Breaks Your Heart


It wasn't very often, if ever that a client wished to meet with us at night...but Lucy Luckette was no ordinary lady....I knew where she lived all along as well as her number...but after several unanswered calls and several attempts to catch her at home...My wife,Olivia in lawyer mode called her,explained who she was and who she represented and asked for a meeting...

"We can meet in private at a place of your choice...Or I can have you served with a summons and we can meet in court." she said... It was rare that I saw my wife in a bad mood or anything closely related to being mad....But having seen her in court...I knew that she didn't suffer fools lightly..
It took Lucy Luckette no time at all to contact us and agree to a meeting AT NIGHT at her apartment!


Bev and I rode with Olivia to her apartment...

"Wow! What's up with this chick?  A meeting at Night? " said Bev as we turned the corner and drove into her apartment complex's garage..

"I don't know...but from the looks of this place..She aint hurtin for money."I said..

"I don't think it's money she wants...Donnie Ray...I think it's ...a little respect.." said my wife,Olivia softly..

We were buzzed in..We took the elevator to her floor...and waited for Lucy to let us in...

Her apartment was gorgeous...I didn't know the church paid this well, I thought to myself..


Ms. Luckette was a pleasent enough woman...Brown skinned, tall, with well developed features....She wore a nice pin stripped business suit and glasses...I could see why any man would be attracted to her...

She greeted us with a smile...

"Mrs. Alexander, so glad to finally meet you...I've met your niece. Sorry I was so hard to get in contact with...I was out looking for jobs.." she said.

"Well, I'm glad we could finally meet...You know my niece and partner in my firm, Ms. Beverly West and this is my husband, Mr. Donnie Ray Alexander...our firm's investigator." said Olivia introducing us..
"Wow! Your niece looks like she could be your sister..."said Lucy..

"We get that all the time..."said Beverly laughing..."We are nine years apart in age..." she continued..

"Wow....I like that you're a family business..." said Lucy.....She paused..then sighed.. "Now that we've gotten all of that out of the way...I know why you're here...If you represent Cecil....You want me to kill the youtube link and the link to that naked picture of his immediately right?" she said.
"Yes...I was hoping we could talk to you and appeal to you to do that without us going to court...Believe me...as women, Ms. West and I know how you feel, we know that you worked and loved this man for six years...Promises were at least implied...and that he was wrong to treat you the way he did...but..." said Olivia..
"You still want me to kill those links?" she said.

"Essentially yes...We have no desire to take you to court...."said Olivia...

"Okay...Done...I'll kill it....I'll do it while you're here..." she said.

"Oh yes and that sex video..."said Olivia...

"Oh he told you about that huh?" she laughed sheepishly..

"Uh yes...we saw it."said Olivia...

"Don't worry, you have my word I won't put that on youtube or send it to anyone."she said.

Olivia passed her a contract....

''We need that in writing....and this is a confidentiallity agreement...Saying that you won't discuss this relationship with any media outlets." she added.

Lucy smiled and looked at me...

"He must be paying you a lot...you're good...You got it covered..."she said.

"That's my job."said Olivia.

I must say...I was shocked that she agreed so fast...I halfway expected a huge fight...There had to be something more to this..
"You're going to kill those links just like that?" said Beverly, who was also incredulous and surprised..
"Yes...."she said and she picked up her laptop and performed the task right in our faces....

Now nobody could go to youtube and pull this up and when the ladies from the church went to pull this up on their phones there would no longer be the photo of their young pastor ,nude!!!

"Look...I was angry at Cecil and hurt....I was with him for six years....I kept his secrets....Engaged in all kinds of sex with him...threesomes what have you...He said he loved me...and would always protect me...but he met that woman, Coretta Williams..and he just kicked me to the curb...I was let go from my job....and because that's a church...I couldn't get unemployment....I had to live off of my severence....I wanted him to hurt,like he hurt me...But...That doesn't put food on my table or pay my rent....I have a job now...I'm the Office Administrative Assistant at this law firm...I work for a very nice guy..An Attorney...And he appears to be interested in me...To make it better,I'm making more money than I was at the church." she said.

And from what I had found out...She was making pretty good money there...

"I'm happy everything worked out well for you." said Olivia...Who rose and embraced Lucy...

"Good luck to you girl...I hope you find....peace!" she said.

"I'm gettin there....Living well is the best revenge..."she said.

"I heard that...Good luck girlfriend."said Beverly....

I hadn't said two words...I merely smiled and nodded my head..

"Well ladies...our job here is done..Let's go home" I said and we left.

II-

Later that night ,Olivia and I sat in our bedroom talking...I was sitting on the side of the bed in just my boxers and a wife beater...Olivia was wearing only a tank top and panties...

"This case was wrapped up pretty tidy....She killed the link and the good Reverend Dr. Copeland didn't have to pay her any money....She was a pretty good sport about this...Usually these type of cases aren't wrapped up this easy." I said.

"The damage has already been done Donnie Ray.He wasted his time and money...This was a done deal when he walked into our office and asked for our help"said Olivia..

"Yeah I know...Those women have already seen the photos." I said.

"Not just them...You don't think they've showed that photo to others???..You don't think their husbands and the deacons and the board members aren't already aware of it???...His fiance may even have seen it by now...Oh he's not out of the woods yet....The reason Lucy Luckette folded so quickly was because she already got what she wanted...Revenge !I knew it all the time...And there is nothing we can do about how his church chooses to handle him."she said.

''So..What now?" I asked.

"Nothing....We got paid.....End of story." she said.

"You know...you really are sexy when you're in lawyer mode and being all serious." I said.

She smiled...

"Am I?" she said staring at me with those big beautiful eyes of hers...

"Yeah...you are." I said..

I laid down next to her....I ran my hands across her backside...She looked at me and smiled...

"Hmmmmm, speaking of being handled..."she said...

I smiled..I pulled her towards me and kissed her, sloppily....

"All this talk about nudity got you turned on huh?" she asked in between kisses..

"No...but you talking about  it has.." I said laughing...

"I don't really have to do much to turn you on but breathe and have a pulse do I?" she asked me,laughing..

"No..Really you don't." I said....she smiled and patted my hand...

I rolled over on top of her and kissed her...

I gently and slowly slipped her panties down around her ankles and she wiggled her feet and kicked them off.. She pulled my boxers down and off and I just stared at her and kissed her again...She giggled...

Olivia pushed me over...

Olivia straddled me as I sat in the center of our bed and lowered herself on top of me...She was incredibly wet...I liked that...

"I'm in boss mode now...Does that turn you on?" she asked and then answered her own question..."Of course it does." she said and then giggled again..

I grabbed her hips and began grinding into her with all I had...She began moving up and down and moaning...which made me even more excited....

"Ummm....mama likes...mama likes...ouuuuuuuuu..." she moaned...

I entered her slowly , but deliberately...It wasn't long before I was laying flat on my back and Olivia was on top ,riding me for all I was worth...

''Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh MISTER ALEXANDER.....ohhhh my godddddddddddd....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.." she moaned...

I was moaning myself... Olivia began licking my neck and sucking on it,which made me begin moving deeper and deeper into her warm and wet lusciousness....For a lawyer, who at first glance appeared to be so prim and proper in public, Olivia was a wild lover...She kept moving up and down and then from side to side...The bed was rocking and slamming against the wall...The best thing was ...The bed wasn't squeaking and no one could hear us...She blew softly into my ear, which got me even more excited...

"You like that?  You like that baby?" she cooed...

"Yesssss...Yessssss." I moaned....

Finally ,I was sitting upright and Olivia was going up and down....moaning with delight as I continued to ram into her as hard and deliberate as I could...This went on for about a good hour and a half....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH DONNIE RAY,DON'T STOP...Pleasseeeeeeeeee don't stop, give it to me, give it to me ..ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." she screamed....

I slowly turned her over on her back and began to enter her missionary style...She kissed my neck, my chest and finally my lips as we began to make slow and steady passionate love for the next three hours or so....Olivia began to whisper in my ear...

"I love you sooo much.."she said.

"You do?" I asked.

"You know I do Donnie Ray. You know I do...Ohhhhhhhhhhhh my goddddd..." she said...her head turning from side to side...sweat running down both of our faces...heavy breathing permeating the room...

Something about her saying that always seemed to get me very excited..

I was so excited then that I shot off like a gusher !!!

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH...I love you tooooo." I shouted with joy....

Olivia began to gyrate and shake....and sweat began to run down her face....She was climaxing too!

She smiled warmly at me and gave me a big juicy kiss....

I was still hard and still down for another round after a few minutes...I began to move inside of her again...She looked at me with pure surprise...

''Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..Mister Alexanderrrrrrrrrrrrrr...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..Oh good lord...you are a machine...ohhhhh" she moaned, as I continued thrusting inside of her...

The bed was rocking and slamming against the wall and I was going faster...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my goodness..ouuuuuuuuuu." she moaned...

Within the next  two hours...I had one of the most fierce orgasms I'd ever had in my life...and from the way Olivia was shaking and breathing...she did too!...

We held each other and went to sleep in each others arms..

III-

Three weeks later...Olivia took me to South Philadelphia and an area called the Italian Market...a series of blocks where people were selling every kind of cut of meat, produce,fruit,vegatables et al imaginable...A regular open air market... The streets were peppered with people....Italians, Blacks, Puerto Ricans, Koreans,Japanese,  Dominicans, West Africans,Jamaicans...Irish...all buying and dining at the many outdoor restaraunts and bistros...This reminded me of my native New Orleans...

"Donnie Ray, my mom and dad used to bring me and Bev here when I was a little girl..I thought it was so magical...My father bought great cuts of meat here and all of his vegatables and fruit...I used to take Bev over to the playground over there...She was so cute....Just a toddler...I was 11 or 12..I used to tell everybody that she was my baby!" gushed Olivia...

"Know somethin? I think I like Philly....It's grown on me.."I said.

Olivia smiled at me...

Just then...We saw two people...both who we knew!
It was Lucy Luckette for sure...The man was also someone I had seen before...I couldn't put my finger on it...but Olivia did..

"Oh My God...That's Soloman Foster! " she said...It was then that I remembered...He was her former client..A one time Assistant District Attorney who had done two years in the State Pennitentary for giving sensitive information to a Drug Kingpin...Olivia had successfully gotten his law license back...and once released...He had resumed his practice...

He saw us and called to us...Well at least to Olivia..

"Olivia!!! Heyy baby..How are you doing?" he said as We both walked over to him...

"Mr. Foster."said Olivia...

"Awww come on now...it's Soloman...We on a first name basis now." he said.

"Hello Mrs. Alexander." said Lucy....

"You guys know each other?" he said...

"We've uh met." said Olivia..."This is Philly, the largest small town in America." Olivia said diplomatically...

"Heyy man." he finally said to me and shook my hand.

"We work at the same Law firm...Soloman and I have uh been kickin it for a minute" she said, giddy as a teenager..

"Ohhhh really?, Soloman was once one of my clients...It is indeed a small world." said Olivia..

"This woman saved my life...Lucy knows about me being in prison and what I used to be...I told her everything and how it's a miracle I'm even practicing law now...and I told her it was you who got my law license back and helped me get my parole..I can never repay you for what you did for me Livy!" he said, surprisingly contrite.
"Awww, I'm just happy you're happy and you have a girlfriend!!!  I'm so happy for you both!" she said.

"Maybe we'll run into you guys at Mulberry street tomorrow night...Reed Nelson is performing.." he said.
"Oh yeah?...Donnie Ray we've got to go there, you'll love it...It's a rooftop club...They have live entertainment and good food..It's only open during the summer months...We have to go."said an excited Olivia...

"Sounds Good..Sounds like something I'd like."I said.

"You'll Love it New Orleans..."said Soloman Foster...."Well, always nice running into you Livy." said Soloman as he and Lucy Luckette walked off arm and arm..
Olivia looked at me and smiled...
"I didn't get a chance to tell you,because we were busy with that other court case and then you were helping Beverly with her case...but The Board of Elders kicked Reverend Cecil Copeland out of the church..."she said.
"They saw the video?" I asked.

"Yes...She apparently sent it to them before we got to her and had her kill the links.Not only that...Their wives saw the video...and they didn't take too kindly to that...They unanimously voted him out of the church...He had to give up his house too...The church owned it...They owned that Lexus that he was driving too..He lost it all.." she said.
"You think his fiance saw it?" I asked...
"If she didn't...She's the only woman in that church who didn't see it.."laughed Olivia...

"So by the time we met with her and got her to kill the links ,the damage had been done. she knew she had already put everything into motion."I said.

"Exactly!...She didn't want money...She wanted to ruin him...She must have really liked him..."said Olivia.

''She had money Livy..She worked there for seven years and she got a nice hefty severence...How else was she living in that condo?"I said.

"How about that?  Now she has a new job...and a new man...a Lawyer...She at least landed on her feet." she mused.

The story was in the newspaper and on Television and all over social media...Rev. Dr. Cecil Copeland had gone from being one of the city's up and coming civic leaders to being the laughing stock and subject of many women's fantasies...

Though Lucy Luckette had taken down the links....TMZ already had a copy and people ,mostly women were marveling at the Pastor's length and technique....as well as laughing at his predicament.

IV-

Mulberry Street was everything Olivia had said it was and more... There was nothing in New Orleans to compare to this... 17 stories above the ground, People partied, listened to cool music and ate some pretty good food...

Olivia and I, Josie ,Bev and Nelson sat at a table together...Josie seemed a little distant,like something was bothering her...
We were enjoying the cool sounds of Reed Nelson and his quintet and the second act...Another local band from the area..

"Didn't I tell you this was the bomb Donnie Ray?" asked my wife, Olivia...

"You didn't lie babes...I love this place...and the food!!! Lawd have mercy..." I said.

"That might be because of the uh new chef"said Beverly pointing  to the corner..

Nelson and Josie both cringed...




"Oh Hell.."they said in unison...

In the month since we'd last seen him...We hadn't gotten any complaints from Ralph Scallion about seeing Ginger Jones/Corrine Rogers, his stalker...It was almost like she'd dropped out of sight.. Here she was working here...

"If she's working here..She's making good money...Possibly better money than she was making at Bottom of the C. The girl may be batshit crazy...but she can cook and she apparently knows how to handle her business." said Beverly.

Olivia went to the bar to get some drinks...When she came back she pointed to a guy who was busy hustling hot food out to the hungry patrons ...A tall,heavy set Black man...Looked to be about Beverly's age...

 ''See that guy Donnie Ray?" she said.

"Yeah, what about him?" I asked.

"I repped him once when I was a public defender .His name is Charles Haddox...His nickname is ''Seabiscuit.."..He's a peeping tom....Or he was..." she said.

"He still is..." I said...I had arrested guys like him when I was a cop...They never stopped..They were pathological..

"Glad to see he has an honest job." she said.
I walked around during the set....Just in time to see Chef Ginger Jones walking towards the kitchen..
Charles "Seabiscuit" Haddox approached her...

"Uh Ginger...Can I talk to you?" he said.

She turned...

"I'm busy Sea Biscuit, what is it?" she asked..

"Uh...I've been watchin you for a long time...a long time..and I aint seen a girl with a body as fine as yours in years...I think you're beautiful and I'd uh like to take you out on a little light weight date some time you know when we aint workin...We could get a little somethin to eat, maybe feed the ducks in the park..go to a movie or somethin."he said.

She smiled ...

"You got it all planned out huh?  You was standin outside my apartment last night with binoculars....I saw you."she said.

"You did?" he said.

"You've been kind of stalkin me..."she said almost blushing...."I've never had a guy stalk me before..I'm usually the one doing the stalking."she said.

"I'm sorry..." he said..."I just really,really like you.. And I can't believe someone as pretty as you has to stalk guys...."he said.

"Awww..Thank youuuu ...Well how come you just waited til now to tell me?" she said.

"I kinda thought you was out of my league.."he said.

"Nah..You're kind of cute...I been kinda lookin at you too.." she said.

"You have?" he said.

"I was outside your place lookin at You the other night...And I must say...You have quite a nice package." she said.

"Would you like to see it  uh up front?" he asked..

She looked around and I watched as the two of them disappeared into the back foyer...They were kissing passionately...She looked like she had her hands down his pants....I turned away...I had seen enough!

I shook my head....Unbelievable..Two stalkers, two nut cases had found each other... Well for some, there can still be happy endings.

"Hey guys" came the voice of Soloman Foster...He had invited us to this event after all...He was with Lucy Luckette..For some reason, I  had a strong dislike for this woman now..She appeared to be conniving and manipulating...



"Hey Man." I said...Olivia smiled... "Hey Soloman,how are you?" she said.

"Oh just kickin it." he said.



Josie walked up and smiled...

"Hello Soloman." she said..

He looked stunned...almost frightened...but he managed a weak smile...

"Uhh Hello."he said...

Lucy looked at them both and frowned a bit..

"You know Mr. Foster?" asked my wife Olivia..looking at Josie..

"We've met."said Josie...

Being a former Homicide Detective, I could read people well...Just by the way she said that and the way she looked at him and the way he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was right now told me that they didn't just meet..They had had something...

"Uhh Hi ...Uh Ms. Boyd isn't it?" he said...

"Yeah."said Josie...She was staring daggers at him and Lucy...

"Well uh, look...We are uh gonna walk on over here and uh get down on some of these
party favors...on that uh tray...Hope you guys are uh enjoying yourselves.." said Soloman nervously and he and Lucy walked off..

Olivia could read people too...When they walked off She gently touched Josie on the arm...
"You and Soloman?" she asked...

"We had a night together Ms. Olivia...You all were in Texas...I was lonely.." she said starting to tear up..

Olivia put her arms around Josie..

"You're a grown woman...You don't have to explain anything to me...I won't judge you and I perfectly understand..He's quite the charmer...I could have told you about him...
There's a few female detectives and attorneys from the public defender's office and the D.A.'s office who have fallen under the spell of Mr. Foster...They're a lot older than you baby..."said Olivia..

"I know better Ms. Olivia...I know better!!!!..He came around the office, supposedly looking for you , with his sweet talk and took me out, spent a lot of money on me, treated me real nice, made me feel special and then he came back to my place...and....well you can imagine... We spent the night and most of the morning together...He said he was going to call me..That he was thinking about me....That was a month ago...He never called me...He never answered my calls...After awhile, I just stopped calling...He just wanted to sleep with me.....He made me feel so cheap..so easy...and I was."she said.

"Don't worry baby...We all make mistakes in judgement... Older more savy women than you have been taken in by him...Next time, find a guy that will work hard to get you  and that will prove to you that he loves you..A guy that will make you feel like you're his world..." she said.

''A guy like D.R." she said smiling at me..

"Yeah, a guy like D.R.or Nelson." said Olivia, smiling at me...

From a distance, we heard a glass break and then we saw Lucy Luckette pour a glass of wine on Soloman Foster's head...

"You dirty dog...What do you think I am ....a fool! Who was that girl? What was going on between you two...???Who was that girl?" she screamed..
"Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, You must be crazy...you just poured that drink on my suit...This suit cost more than you make in a week woman... She works at Olivia's office..She was just saying hello." he snapped..

"Just hello? Just hello? JUST HELLO?? I saw the way she looked at you...You screwed her didn't you? DIDN'T YOU??? DIDN'T YOU????" she screamed and stomped her foot in anger...

"Woman, you're drawn!  Like seriously drawn!" he said.

By now people were staring at them....I was standing behind Olivia laughing my head off...Olivia seemed a little concerned..
"You are such a dog...Ever since we been here, you've done nothing but ogle other women.." she screamed..

"You-You're crazy..I aint ogled no other woman..."he said.

Nelson seeing the whole thing, took his drink and moved as far from them as he could...

"I saw you just now looking at  Mrs. Alexander's niece's butt and smiling...I saw you...Ouuuuu,you are a trip...Just a grinnin...Ouuuuuuuuu!"she screamed...

''So what? I looked...I didn't say nothin to her or do anything.. "he snapped.

Beverly was oblivious to all of this...

Beverly spun around and walked as far away from the argument they were having as possible...

"Whoa..What happened?" she asked..

"Freshie..I told you about swinging that big butt of yours around when you dance...Now you got that man in trouble.."joked Olivia..
"I didn't get nobody in trouble..He's with his woman, he shouldn't be staring at me.."said Beverly...

Nelson who was a bit tipsy looked at Beverly's rear end and smiled...

"Damn sure glad I can look at it without getting in trouble." he said..

Beverly looked at him, he was drunk.. She smiled and gave him a wet kiss on the lips...

"Yes baby, you can look at it as much as you want, without getting in trouble.." she said...then shook her head..

"That's what I'm talkin about" said Nelson...




Josie laughed for the first time....

"You two are too much." she said, shaking her head.

I rubbed her arms...
"Glad you got a good laugh....You'll find somebody..Somebody better for you,Don't fret over guys like him.."I said...

''I'm okay D.R.   I won't let that happen to me again."said Josie...
''He's a dog, don't even fret over him girlfriend. His loss." said Beverly.


And from a distance ,another glass was broken...

"You disgust me...You're just a player....Humpin and sweatin and growling on me all night ,keepin me up on work nights...and then when we go out, you checkin out every hot young thing in the club...just a grinnin...Ohhhh I hate you..Don't buy me no coffee, don't send me no flowers and don't be callin me up late at night askin me what I have on..We are done..you damn sex maniac.." she screamed and threw another drink on him''

"Awww woman you crazy...You crazy...I hope you got car fare..Cause you ridin home by yourself..I see why that preacher dumped you...You're straight crazy." he screamed and stomped his foot and stormed out..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuu, you jerk!" she screamed...and threw another glass at his head...



Well for some, there can still be happy endings....and for others?  Wellllll!

EPILOUGE:

 I laughed and walked over to where Olivia was talking to two people..

One was a short petite ,pretty woman ,much like Olivia and the other was an older gentleman..but very refined..

"Oh...Hey,I want you guys to meet my husband...Donnie Ray...This is Mr. Dallas Houston...An Attorney I used to work with at my old law firm " She said...She was staring me straight in the eye with a hint of a smile on her face and this is his girlfriend...Coretta Williams." She said.

"Coretta Williams?? Isn't that Pastor Copeland's fiance....??" I stopped in mid sentence...but she'd heard me..

"I'm no longer involved with that perverted loser, Cecil Copeland....He's a disgrace...I was so lucky to meet Dallas here." she said.

That was pretty fast I thought to myself.

Olivia was doing her best not to bust out laughing... And if it couldn't get any worse...The defrocked Reverend Dr.Cecil Copeland was here!! On the dancefloor...He looked over and saw us conversing with
Coretta and Dallas Houston....He angrilly stormed over to us...leaving the girl he was dancing with stranded...

"Heyyy Dr. Copeland..How are you?" said my wife, smiling..

''Don't how are you to me?  What did I pay you for?" he snarled...

"Heyy, watch your tone pal...We did all we could?" I said.

"Dr. Copeland...I brokered a deal like you asked me to...She killed the link..She took all of the photos down off of youtube,social media and the internet and she agreed in writing not to discuss your relationship...or publish that sex tape.That's what you paid me to do and I did it..."explained Olivia..

"The Elders of my church already saw it...They saw the whole mess...She sent that sex video to them two weeks ago..They didn't say anything...They saw it before I knew it existed...The Deacons watched it 12 times...I've been put out of my church, I've been put out of my home...I'm ruined....You didn't get to her in time..."he said, visibly shaking..

"It was already too late when you came to us." said Olivia..

"She wouldn't return our calls...We went to her house numerous times before she agreed to meet with us."said Beverly, who had come over when she saw Reverend Copeland talking to us...She was so very protective of her beloved AUNTAY.....I smiled...I thought it was so cute, the devotion those two had for each other... They were the only family each other had...

"Damn it...It doesn't matter if she's taken them down now...Everyone has seen this mess...I'm ruined..And my Coretta has left me for this..this charlatan, who claims to be her lawyer .You were just waiting to move in weren't you?"he said baring his teeth to Dallas Houston..

''Heyyy man...I think you'd better step away."he said.

"Have you been screwing her?   I bet that's what it is isn't it?" snarled Cecil Copeland..

"Cecil, don't make more of a fool of yourself than you already have.." said Coretta...''Come on Dallas,let's go over there and get away from him...He's obviously intoxicated..."she said and they walked away....Cecil Copeland stomped his foot-

"Intoxicated???I'm not drunk..." he said.

"Well then you're a damned fool...I told you when we got together that I'm not about any foolishness and what do you do??  You take photos of yourself nude, fully erect! and send them around to all of the women in the church...That was bad enough, then you in a video in the kitchen with that woman's mouth all over you and that other woman kissing you and none of you got a stitch of clothing on...I was the laughing stock of the church....Women looking at me and smiling sheepishly..I was never so humiliated..The men on the Deacon Board were shocked and appalled...They watched that sex tape 12 times before they made a ruling to put you out.The Usher Board watched it seven times..." she said.

"I didn't do that...My former mistress did that...That video is two years old...I didn't even know I was being filmed..I got my lawyers to get her to take the links down...They're gone...It's over...She can't even talk about me and her.." he said.

"Good...So get your lawyers to get you a new girlfriend..because I'm done with you.
, Come on Dallas..."she said as they walked away arm and arm.

"He's not the man for you.!!...He's not the man for you!!!....I am...And you know it!! You know that!  "snarled Cecil.

I surveyed the room....In the corner...Ginger Jones or Corrine, her real name and Charles ''Sea Biscuit" Haddox were kissing like it was going out of style....Moaning too...Though the sounds of their moaning was muffled....And in the corner, the sounds of Reverend Dr. Cecil Copeland weeping and stomping his foot in anger were also muffled...

I put my arms around Olivia and Beverly and held them tight...Kissing them both on the forehead...
 ''Everybody can't have a happy ending...But me? I always have the happiest ending of all...I got you two." I said.

"Awww" said Olivia ,who kissed me softly...

"And we got you"said Beverly ,who kissed me on the cheek and returned to where Nelson and Josie were downing drink after drink and laughing...and joined them!

''Josie...Help me drag Nelson to my car...He's zooted...I'm gonna take him to my place...You're welcome to stay the night too if you want." said Beverly..

"Thanks Bev...I need someone to talk to."she said.

"Loverboy here will be no good to me..He'll be asleep most of the night."said Bev,trying to hold Nelson up...

Olivia passed me a drink...She raised her glass

"To endings." was all she would say....


"Yeah. To endings." I said and we toasted each other...