Where The Afternoon Finds You

I sat in the tony little urban bistro drinking a cold ice tea and munching on a cuban....It was good , but it didn't hold a candle to the ones I had had in New Orleans...But this was Philly.....We couldn't make a cheese steak or a hoagie as good as they could here either....

I'm Donnie Ray Alexander...Private Investigator...or I should say..Chief Investigator for the law firm of Alexander and West....of which my wife, Attorney Olivia Bennett-Alexander and her niece, Attorney,Beverly West are the partners...I essentially work for them....It's not a bad gig...I make more money than I ever did as a Homicide Detective in New Orleans and I get to sleep with and live with two beautiful women...I aint complaining..

On this afternoon, Olivia was running a bit late....Nothing unusual...She was wrapping up a case in court.. I took three more sips and I heard a knock on the window pane...I looked and there she was, smiling..and waving..

She playfully pretended to be fixing her hair....I laughed..She laughed and then she joined me inside..

"Heyy baby.." she said as she leaned over and kissed me softly...

"How are you?" I asked...

"I'm good."she said..

"Yes you are..."I said looking at her salaciously...

She giggled and said... "Oh hush up freshie...Is that all you think about?" she asked..

"Of course not...I think about a lot of other things...My music... YOU, Open Investigations....YOU!" I said laughing...

"Well thank you...For thinking about me..."she said and we both laughed.....

"I ordered for you already...You like a Monte Cristo don't you?" I asked.

"Yesss...Now that earned you another kiss." she said and leaned over and kissed me again...

"How'd your case go?" I asked..

"I got an acquittal...You know...I haven't lost a case since I met you....I'm on a roll here...You're my good luck charm." she said...

"Good to know..How did your niece's case go?" I asked..

''Jury ruled in the plaintif's favor...She's pretty happy too..She went to lunch with Nelson...They're at Sam Mother's.." said Olivia...

''What else do you have going on today?" I asked..

"I'm finished for today...Why do you ask?" she said ,smiling and eyeing me salaciously..She knew what was on my mind...

But it was not to be just yet.....A well dressed black man with a round moon face, close haircut and a diamond stud earring in his left ear approached our table...Everything about this guy said gangster...

He approached our table...I noticed a huge six foot three guy in a black polo shirt, Black jeans and black skippers standing a few feet away...

"Good Afternoon....You are Attorney, Olivia Bennett-Alexander correct?" he asked...

''Yes...and you are?" asked Olivia..

"I am Barry Smilow... I...or rather an associate of mine is in need of your services...We are willing to pay you handsomely..." he said.

''Who is your associate?" asked Olivia.

"His name is Frank...Frankie Everett....He is currently in city lock up...He's been there for close to two years ,Charged with an ergregious offense of which he is totally innocent." he said.

My wife smiled...

"You sound like you might have been a lawyer yourself Mr. Smilow." she said...Knowing like I knew that this guy was a straight up gangster...

He smiled..

"Maybe ...if I had made better choices in life I might have been an attorney....I uh studied law books extensively when I was briefly incarcerated myself..I became what they term a uh jailhouse lawyer...I won appeals and filed briefs for other inmates and I uh successfully argued my own case and uh impressed a lawyer enough to take my case and win me an early release.."he said with some pride...

"Who is this Frankie Everett?" asked Olivia..

"He's my uncle...I won't lie to you...He is uh somewhat of what you might call a gangster...but he is not a murderer..." He said.

At least not yet! I mused...

"He didn't  kill the man he is accused of killing...Charles Davis." he said.

''Wait a minute...Charles Davis? Are you talking about "BIG TUNA"? I asked..

He looked at me and smiled..

"One and the same...You got an accent...You aint from here are you?" he asked..

"I was born in New Orleans...I live here now."I said.

"You a Fed? , A Cop?" he asked.

"Used to be a Homicide Detective in New Orleans..."I said.

''I thought so...What happened?You look too young to have retired.." he asked.

I pointed to Olivia..

"She is what happened...I met her and came to work for her...."I said..

He looked at Olivia and smiled...Olivia blushed....She was cute when she blushed...

"All the way from the Big Easy to Philly huh? I aint mad at you...playa...She's enough to make me quit my job and move halfway across the country too."he said and smiled..

Olivia blushed again.....

"Okay..Enough...Stop it...Both of you...but thank you...I'll visit your uncle tomorrow...Do you have any contact information?" she asked..

"But of course..."he said...and they exchanged numbers on their smartphones...

"You know this Big Tuna person Donnie Ray?" asked Olivia..

"I knew of him....Never met the man personally, but he ran drugs in Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans and Houston...a real big deal..Connected...The FBI had been trying to put a tag on this man for years...It's a wonder your uncle is still alive considering who he is accused of killing."I said.

"That's the thing...He's scared...This guy doesn't have a beach head up here yet, but people are probably on their way....He needs to be proven innocent in court at least and freed...and the real people need to be identified.." he said.

"I can't promise you anything...but if I do get him off...I can't say for sure that we will know who is guilty or not..." said Olivia..

"I know...I know...just do what you can...He and I will be very grateful..."said Barry Smilow,who passed Olivia an envelope....  "That's a down payment...just for talking to us..."he said and he and the other man walked out of the bistro...''We'll be in touch.."he said.

Uncles and Nephews...Aunts and Neices...They sure had a close bond up North...I mused.

"You sure you want to take this case Livy?  These are gangsters..."I said.

''When I was a Public Defender, what kinds of clients do you think  I repped...? " she asked...

I nodded...

I smiled...Despite my wife becoming a somewhat high level attorney...her roots were humble and she hailed from West Philly...Beneath all of her sophistication...Olivia was a round the way girl....From time to time I saw hints of it in her...It was sexy...

II-

Back at our house and in our bedroom...I couldn't wait to get to our room and close the door....

I immediately threw Olivia against the wall and began kissing her passionately.....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...You couldn't wait could you?" she said smiling...

"No...I couldn't..." I said trying to devour her lips and breathing heavily...

Olivia was breathing heavily too....and doing a good job of devouring my lips...

She returned my passion and soon,I was kissing her neck, her earlobes, her cheeks and her sweet and soft lips....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..oh my god Donnie Ray..." she moaned...as she fell against the wall...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." I moaned...

She helped me take my shirt off...I kicked my shoes off and I unzippered her cute little sundress....

"Ohhhhhh My Godd..."I moaned...

She unzippered my trousers...and I slipped her sundress off...

We continued kissing passionately and moaning and within minutes... we were on the bed....continuing to kiss each other passionately...

"Get on that bed!" she commanded...

Her soft hands massaged my growing erection....

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ,you feel soo good baby..Myyyy goodness."she cooed..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh,so do you..."I sighed...

I laid Olivia across the bed and I spread her legs....I slipped her panties down and then off..I entered her very slowly this time....She was good and wet and warm like an oven....I'm staring into her beautiful brown eyes and looking at that gorgeous dark and baby soft skin...We were face to face...She leaned up and kissed me...and I begin thrusting inside her ...Slowly at first and then just a little faster..I wanted this to last....I unhooked her bra and slid it off....We continued kissing and stroking...

Three hours seemed to evaporate like nothing...It always did once we got started....

Olivia moaned and put her arms around my neck and drew me closer to her..She wrapped her legs around my waste and we began to move in a slow, yet deliberate rhythm for quite some time...

I could feel a soft breeze blow across my back from the open window...

"Ohhhhhhhh Donnie Ray...Ohhhh Donnie Ray.....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh this is soooooo gooood..."she moaned as we continued to make love....I don't know how long we lie there on the bed like that before she turned me over and positioned herself on top of me and began going up and down , up and down.....Her hair partially blocking her face....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Livy..." I moaned...as she held on tightly and began moving faster and harder..

I pulled her to me and began kissing her passionately.....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Donnie Ray...this is beyond goood...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she cooed..

"Yessss...arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...it is..." I moaned as we continued....

It was another hour of sweet lovemaking before I came so hard that once again I was frightened it could be this good...

Olivia climaxed too and turned her head from side to side...Tears just flowing from her eyes...and sweat running down both of our bodies...She slapped me in the face...She was really feeling good...

"Ohh my goodness Donnie Ray....I'm sorry...ohhhh my god ,you feel so good...ouuuuuuuuu, you are just showing offf,ohhhh my goddd!"she said...

I smiled from ear to ear...Like I said...Not a bad gig at all...We both continued to hold each other as we caught our breath.....

She looked at me and laughed and shook her head..

"What?" I asked..

"Nothing...Just laughing at you....Looking so content."she said.

"I am content."I said.

She leaned over and kissed me...

"Good to know......I'm content too." she said and kissed me softly...

III-

Some hours later...Olivia and I found ourselves walking back to the same Bistro , where we saw her niece, Beverly and her boyfriend, Nelson dining...

"Auntay...Donnie Ray!!!....Did you guys happen to meet a guy named Barry Smilow at sometime today?" she asked..

"Yes...How did you know?" asked Olivia...

Beverly produced an envelope...Like Ours..It was stuffed with cash....

"He told me that he met with you and you guys agreed to take his uncle's case...he said you might need help and he asked me if I would help you...Like he has to ask that."said Beverly...

"Frankie Everett is a gangster guys...He's one of my Uncle's former associates..."said Nelson...

''Well he didn't mention your uncle....but we gathered that he's a connected guy and he's accused of killing a real big fish...BIG TUNA...the king of the south." I said.

Nelson's uncle was Arthur "Fathead" Newton...the former Crime Kingpin of West and Southwest Philadelphia..Fathead had "retired "from the game and moved to France...and from what I heard from law enforcement...There was little to nothing of his one time empire left...Most were dead or incarcerated...

"Nelson...You Bev and I have defended these types before...We'll be alright..."said Olivia...

''Awwww my baby is worried about me." said Beverly who gave him a soft and sensual kiss."

"I'm really worried." said Nelson...

Beverly kissed him again, this time a little longer...

"I'm really ,really worried." said Nelson..

"Ohh stop it!!!...You just want me to keep kissing you." said Beverly, laughing....

Olivia busted out laughing...

"I was wondering when you were going to catch on..." she said.

I smiled and looked at Nelson, who smiled sheepishly....

"You guys care to join us?" asked Nelson...

''Donnie Ray and I were here at lunch..."said Olivia.."But the food was kind of good...We can eat again.." she said..

"Pull up some seats guys."said Beverly....

Olivia, Bev and I had been in some pretty mundane , run of the mill cases lately...Union disputes, Sexual Harrassment...Contract negotiations...et al..This one got our adrenilen flowing..We didn't admit it or say anything to each other...but we were looking forward to an exciting case like this..

IV-

We met with ADA Keith Wallace the next day to discuss the case....It was weird for a defense attorney to meet with the Assistant District Attorney....but he and Olivia had history...They had faced each other at least seven times in court with him winning four and losing three of their meetings....To hear the two of them talk...Their meetings were like Ali-Frazier....Sixers Vs Celtics...

Olivia and Keith Wallace had a certain respect for each other and over the years they became the best of friends...She had even done him a few favors over the years....Including getting his friend, former ADA Soloman Foster, his law license restored and proffering his parole from prison...and getting a serial killer to confess to all of his crimes in exchange for a life no parole sentence to be served in the honor prison, Stanga...

So when she got this case...Which she hadn't decided yet if she was going to try...She went straight to Keith Wallace...

"First off Olivia...I should tell you....This happened two years ago...It's just now coming to trial...and I am not prosecuting it....Neither is Nina..but I will tell you what I know...The Case Detective who made the arrest was a guy named Dominick  Evans...He wasn't a very good detective and he is surprisingly enough...in prison himself for a double homicide...One of the people he is convicted of murdering is the very ADA who made the case..Unrelated to this case though.It was about something Else."he said.

"Oh My God!!!.." said Olivia..

"When Big Tuna got killed....There was three people's fingerprints found in his hotel room...All three admitted to being there and all three alibied each other... We knew that Frankie Everett was building an operation of his own and didn't want Manny Spain and outsiders encroaching on his turf...We didn't know if Spain brought Big Tuna up here of if someone else did.We didn't have much against him except...the testimony of a guy named Noah Byrd ,who claimed he saw Everett  enter the hotel room...Everett always said that he was there because he was called to a meeting with Big Tuna and that when he got there...Big Tuna was already dead...We never found a weapon or anything else...He was arrested and held solely on Byrd's testimony...Find him...Look into his story...Talk to those other three people..."said Keith Wallace...

"You don't think Everett did this do you?" I asked..

"Off the record! No I never did...and I thought very little of Dominick Evan's police work...My wife used to say that he couldn't find a suspect if the suspect surrendered to him...But Frankie Everett is no choir boy....He was a major narcotics dealer at one time...had quite a few corners in West Philly...right after Fathead Newton quit the game...I was glad to see him go down...but no...I don't like him for this murder...This was way above his pay grade..."said Keith Wallace...

"Thank you Keith....I owe you." said Olivia..

"Nahh,I owe you...You've done me two favors..." he said..

"But who's counting right?" said Olivia...

"Right?" He said...and we all laughed...

As we left..We were met by Beverly...

"Hey Auntay....I got something to tell you..."said Beverly...

"Hey baby...Make it quick...we got four people we have to interview...starting off with Noah Byrd...the one person whose testimony put our client in prison.."said Olivia..

"Yeah...that's what I came to tell you....Make that three people we have to see...Mr. Byrd was found shot to death in his apartment in Camden this afternoon...." she said...

"How did you know about him?  ADA Keith Wallace just told us about him."I asked smiling...

"I read the case files...I figured I should bone up on the case while you two were meeting with ADA Wallace." she said.

Olivia smiled and hugged her niece...

"You just might turn out to be a great attorney after all" she said and kissed her forehead...

I hugged Beverly....

"My little shortcake is always on top of things."I said....Beverly beemed with pride.

But this case was already turning into more than what it appeared to be......My detective's instincts told me that this was going to be a bumpy ride..

I heard the sound of a saxophone playing in the distance....I walked outside...and to my delight..I saw Dutch Van Buren giving a free outdoor concert......

 He sounded good..He had a small group with him....People were diggin it...They were smiling and snapping their fingers to the beat...

Olivia and Beverly joined me..

"That's Sissy 's father isn't it?" said Olivia.

"Sure is...I never imagined that she is bi-racial...I always thought of her as just Black."I said.

"She is Black...She just has a little vanilla in her bloodline."said Beverly with a smile,thinking about Sissy,who was standing nearby, watching her father play...She saw us and she waved..We waved back!

And this is where the afternoon found us...Out on the hot afternoon streets listening to a free jazz concert, while all hell was about to break loose.. But that was in the future...This was now and it was
good..

(TO BE CONTINUED)