Sun In Her Sky

Of Course I wanted to be in court to hear the Judges ruling in Olivia and Beverly's latest case...

But I couldn't...because FBI Deputy Special Agent in charge Sharon Hopkins had some information very pertinent to that other matter we were dealing with...My wife's stalker...Who had tried to up the ante by attempting unsuccessfully to kidnap Beverly, my wife's niece just a few nights before.. So I had to go to the federal building to talk to Sharon..

She greeted me with a weak smile when I walked in and passed me a tumbler of hot coffee....

"Heyy Donnie Ray...Sit down." she said.

''You said that you know who my wife's stalker is." I said.

''I sure do..watch the screen to your left Donnie Ray." she said.

I looked to my left and saw on the 60 inch monitor a photo of the woman who had hacked my wife's credit and debit card accounts, closed her bank account, sent us ominous photos of ourselves, tried to bug her car and lastly tried to kidnap Beverly....The last thing didn't turn out too well for her..Beverly had escaped ,put a beat down on her that she must still be feeling and  in the ensuing action, the woman wound up crashing her SUV, losing her pistol and her smartphone.....

"That Donnie Ray is Wilma Hamilton...That's her real name...She's the same age as Olivia and I, born in Arlington,Virginia...Her daddy was one of the first Black Rear Admirals in this area in the U.S. Navy...She graduated with honors from Georgetown, then entered Naval Officers Training School, where she graduated near the top of her class and then she got her J.D. shortly afterwords...She did a tour in the Navy and then was recruited by the CIA." said Sharon...

''Explains a lot...You have confirmation on that?" I asked.

''Of course or I wouldn't be telling you....Her fingerprints and DNA were all over that SUV that crashed the other night as well as her phone and they all led me to all of her various aliases....I called my friend in Washington and called in a favor and I got the real story on who she is...She's Wilma Hamilton aka Wilma Vanderbuilt, Yvette Smalls, Thelma Lathan, Penelope Swope and Ciara Lyons. 
She was born Wilma Lyons...Hamilton is her married name."said Sharon...

'"Soooo, she's married ?" I said.

''Was married...She and her husband ,who is also CIA, divorced about 11 years ago...She didn't take it very well, began behaving very erractically and was subsequently washed out of the agency...She's been in a government mental institution for the past 10 years...A month ago...She simply walked away and hasn't been seen since...I gather, this is when Livy's problems began..."said Sharon...

"Yeah but why? Livy swears she has never seen this woman before in her life and considering her activities ,I can't see where their paths crossed.."I said.

''As my friend, Detective Sirena Pile would say- "This is where it gets cute..I couldn't figure it out either until I found out who her husband was....Then it all made sense to me."said Sharon...

"Okay...Who is her husband?" I asked..

"Livy is my girl and I hate to be telling her business....but uh...Yall married..I know you two must talk at some time...Did Livy ever mention a Reginald Hamilton to you?" asked Sharon.

"Yeah,Yeah...She told me all about him...I even seen the guy before , once last year."I said.

"You did?" she said....."Well then you know...He and Livy were pretty hot and heavy when we were in Law School...I mean...you might say he was the first man she ever loved....She was about Reggie, the way she is...the way she is about you now....Reggie put the sun in her sky you might say....I met him a few times...but there was always something a little funny about him...

Something cloak and dagger....He never talked much about himself, his past, his home life..his relatives...He never really liked being around Olivia's family...Didn't want to be with them much....Never, ever wanted to be in any photos and ....Livy had never been to his place...Not ever!! She told me that she called him or texted him and he got in contact with her...Celeste Tate and I both thought this was weird.....He never drove the same car twice on a date...At first,we didn't notice it..but eventually we all did start noticing it....Malinda ,Beverly,Celeste and even Olivia's mom noticed it and brought it to her attention....but she was in love, crazy in love and young and she didn't want to hear it..

Olivia told me that whenever they spent time alone together, it was in hotels or motels...And when she went to where he told her he lived..She found a white couple living there and they had no idea who he was...

  Livy checked his school records and there was no record of him.....She even hired a Private Investigator to look into him...Nothing turned up...The name he was using and social security number he gave Liv was phony...It belonged to a man who had been dead for twenty years...His credit cards, debit cards, drivers license...all fake, all phony...." said Sharon...

''She told me all of that when he showed up suddenly last year wanting a favor..." I said.

''When he broke up with Livy suddenly...It devestated her and that story he told about being in the CIA made all of us laugh...None of us believed that story....If I tell you this...You can't ever repeat this Donnie Ray." said Sharon...

"I may already know it..but go on.."I said.

"Liv only told me this, because it was a time in her life when she was devestated emotionally and she needed someone to talk to......Beverly's mother stabbed to death some man she was living with who was abusive...Liv came over and discovered the body....This was a year or two later...Reggie and some white guy ,probably a CIA agent showed up and got rid of the body....and Livy put Alfreda in a mental facility....Where she is today...I'm the only one she ever told....She didn't even tell her first husband...Elwood."said Sharon..

''But she told me...She told me the entire story." I said.

Sharon paused...Then she smiled..

''She really loves you Donnie Ray...She told you her deepest secrets...Don't disappoint my girl..Next to Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace and maybe Sirena Pile...Olivia Bennett-Alexander is one of my closest friends.."said Sharon...

"I love her more than I've ever loved any woman Sharon...I would never hurt her."I said. We were both quiet for a few minutes then Sharon showed me some records...

''That's a marriage license Donnie Ray....The State of Virginia....Reginald Hamilton and Wilma Lyons were married at least two years before he met Olivia and he was married the entire time he was sleeping with and dating Olivia..She didn't know it...but she was sleeping with a married man,this woman's husband..." said Sharon...

"She told Beverly in the car the other night that Olivia took something from her a long time ago and that she had to pay....Do you think she knew?" I asked..

"The wife always knows Donnie Ray." said Sharon...

''So this isn't over...Not by a long shot..."I said.

''No...it isn't...I've placed her on the FBI's Most Wanted List...Kidnapping, Hacking, Attempted Murder....We are hunting her..Watch your back...She could target you or Olivia.." said Sharon.

I called Olivia...She hadn't gone to court yet....I told her everything Sharon had just told me and I shot photos of the marriage license to her smartphone...

''Wow...He lied to me...About everything!"..She said deadpanned..

"Baby, you alright?" I asked..

"No...but I will be...I have a trial to attend to...I'll talk to you when I get back...and Donnie Ray...Thank you...thank you for never making me cry...I love you so much...So much I can't even explain it...You're the sun in my sky." she said and hung up...

"How did she take it?" asked Sharon...

"I don't know...but she said she loved me and that I was the sun in her sky."I said.

''That's a good thing Donnie Ray....You're a good guy...She loves you...She trusts you....Now go...Take care of my girl."said Sharon.


II-

 I drove back to the courthouse where Beverly met me outside...

''Hey D.R. You're just in time...We are about to go back and hear the Judge's ruling.." said Beverly...

"Where is your Aunt?" I asked..

''She's with Oren Zada in the courtroom."said Beverly.

I looked around and I followed Beverly back into the courtroom....

Olivia was with Oren Zada....She smiled when she saw me...

"ALL RISE!" said the Bailiff...

The Judge walked in and said-

"You can be seated...I have heard all of the pertinent arguments...and I have come to this conclusion...There most certainly was prosecutorial misconduct in this case...So much that it would  be unjust to hold this man on these charges any longer...There for...I am dropping all charges against this man and I demand that he be released from custody immediately..."he said.

Beverly hugged Oren...

"Did you hear that Oren? You're free." she said..

Oren Zada burst into tears...

Olivia burst into tears and hugged him....

''It's over Oren.."she said.

"Thank you....Thank You soo much Ms Olivia..Ms.Beverly....Mr. Donnie Ray.."he said.

One man wasn't pleased...Evell Younger, the former ADA, now in private practice...He walked over to us and he looked at me..

"You used to be a cop didn't you, before you became a P.I.?" he asked me..

"Yes I did...I was a Homicide Detective."I said..

He smirked...

"You know the drill..You know the deal...This worthless piece of slime sold drugs...And if he was innocent of killing Cold Face, he probably was guilty of a lot of other things...I did the people of this city a favor getting him off the street...You've probably done the same thing yourself many times...Now look at you...A fancy ass P.I.  married to and workin for some Lawyer...actin like you're so much better than who you are...Your hands aren't clean Mr. Alexander.." he snarled..

"Maybe not totally clean Mr. Younger...but certainly cleaner than yours."I said.

"Ahhhhhhh..." he spat and walked away...

"Definitely not a member of your fan club Donnie Ray." laughed Beverly...

"That's okay....I'm your biggest fan baby." said Olivia..

Her phone rang just then...It was a blocked number and a text....

"I NEED TO SEE YOU BABY DOLL IN OUR PLACE,SOON...LIKE IN ONE HALF AN HOUR!
PLEASE COME ALONE!" it read..

''Your stalker? "asked Beverly.

"No...This is someone else...I have to go..."said Olivia..

I knew who it was...So Did Olivia..."Baby Doll " was his pet name for her...

"No way are you going alone..."I said....."I'll follow...discreetly...."I said smiling..

"I can't argue with you Donnie Ray....Okay."said Olivia...She got in her car and pulled off..

"Don't just stand there Shortcake...Let's get to my car." I said..She smiled..Happy that I was including her this time.

III-

 Olivia went to her favorite place...The park...The park she told me about  last year-

"Donnie Ray...This is my special place." she said.

''Your special place?"I asked.

"Yes...I've always loved this playground..I'd come here to think and dream...Came here with Bev to have those girl to girl talks that maybe she should have had with her mother, but that she had to have with me because back then, her mom and her dad just weren't in the right place.....Came here with Malinda to talk about some boy that one of us was liking...Came here by myself to pray and be thankful before graduations, deaths, new job opportunities....and I came here to be alone after you proposed to me.." she said.

"I get it.." I said.

She took my hand in hers and said- "I want this to be our special place..."she said.

I smiled...

"Thank you Livy...for inviting me into your life....for giving me a new life...in a new city.."I said.

"Thank You Donnie Ray, for making me a new woman..." she said.

I whispered in her ear...

"I like the old woman and the new woman equally..." and kissed her cheek...She rubbed my hand softly..Then turned and kissed me passionately on the park bench....We kissed like two teenagers the rest of that afternoon...Oblivious of the tiny raindrops that began to fall...

 Today, right after her case was over...Olivia sat in that park...There were no children playing today...The park was empty....And then she heard his husky voice..

"Hello Olivia...My God, you get sexier every time I see you..You are sayin a taste in that tight black skirt doll baby!" said the man known as Reggie Hamilton...

He was tall,  brown skinned....Still very handsome and still dressed impeccably...He had on a fresh cologne she had never smelled before.. and his goatee was gone now...

"Cut the crap Reggie...Why are you here?" asked Olivia...Even though by now..She knew.

"As you know...I look out for you from time to time and I see you have a little problem...A problem I intend to help you with..." he said.

''You mean your WIFE?  The one you were married to at least two years before you met me? Oh she's no problem...She only hacked into my credit and debit cards and closed all of my accounts...She's only terrorized me for weeks and kidnapped my niece at gunpoint..Oh she's been no problem at all" said Olivia sarcastically...

It wasn't many times a man like Reggie Hamilton was surprised...but now was one of them...

"HOW DID YOU FIND THAT OUT?? HOW DID YOU KNOW??" he asked..

"My husband is a better investigator than anybody has ever given him credit for." she said.

"Nobody is that good, Except me of course." he snorted...

"But I know all of this..I know her name is Wilma Lyons Hamilton and I even know what she looks like....What I didn't know until today was that the man I first loved ,lied to me about everything...Our entire relationship was a lie..You were married the whole time...."said Olivia..

He was as red as a beet...

"Uh..Uh..Yes...I was....but I didn't lie about everything...I did love you Olivia.. I -I swear...We,Wilma and I  were here on CIA business...We were both deep undercover..My cover was that I was a law student at Penn...I met you in the meanwhile and girl...The first time you kissed me,That day right here in this park...I swear...I thought you had hung the moon...I was head over heels in love with you..I had to have you...I couldn't live and not have you...I didn't lie about that...You were some of the best loving I ever had..After we made sweet love for hours that Saturday in your dorm room, remember that? I would have left my wife for you...You were all I could think about...You had really put something on me...That's the truth Livy...It broke my heart when the mission was over and I had to break up with you...I swear....I-I went through something...I started drinking...I cried like a baby...I never meant for any of this to happen..I swear it Livy...I thought Wilma was safely locked away...We divorced a few years ago...She was unstable......I never meant for any of this to happen..I swear it Livy.."he said.

"You lied to me Reggie...You were married the whole time." said Olivia.

"Baby, after Wilma and I divorced...I came back here...I came back here for you...but you were getting married to that Elwood Barnes...He was a cheater, a liar...I was soo glad when you finally divorced him...but by then I was away on another mission.....By the time I was back in Philly...You were married again...But I have still looked after you over the years....I'm so sorry baby...I  never meant for any of this to happen..I swear it Livy..I never stopped loving you..." he said.

''Forget it Reggie...That was a long time ago....?" said Olivia..

"Yes...It was....After this is all over...How about you and me go somewhere ,Have a couple of drinks,huh?" he said.

She didn't answer...but she looked at him like he was crazy....

"I'm not with the agency any more...I'm out!" he said.

"Doesn't matter to me whether you are or aren't...I'm married...And unlike you,I honor my marriage vows." she said.

He pulled an envelope out of his suit jacket and passed it to Olivia.

"Look....Take this....Give this to the FBI....That's all they need...They'll find her and neutralize her..This is why I called you...When I found out what she was doing....I had to help you."he said.

"Thank You Reggie."said Olivia..who placed the envelope in her pocketbook. He pulled Olivia to him and held her softly....

"You know...I did you a big favor a long time ago."he said looking at her salaciously...and speaking in that seductive tone that used to melt her like butter...

"AND I DID YOU A FAVOR TOO!!!...THAT MAKES US EVEN" she said icily cutting him off..and easing out of his embrace.

"I'm so sorry Olivia...I never meant to hurt you.I swear...I'm still in love with you." he said.

"Thank you for this Reggie..and Reggie..I never want to see you again...I have a husband...A good man who looks after me now.." she said and walked away...

''So that's it huh?" he bellowed angrilly.

Olivia turned and looked at Reggie one last time..

"You were right about my first husband...he was a liar and a cheater....But this man..this man I'm married to now...He quit his job for me...he moved halfway across the country to find me when he had no assurance that I was even going to be on the market...Now that's love....I don't know that I would have done that for anybody...but he did that for me...You Reggie...I would have forgiven you anything at the time if you had told me the truth...You didn't give up your job for me...you didn't give up a damn thing for me...You did what you wanted to do...You had your cake and ate it too.....I'd rather be with a man who I know beyond a shadow of a doubt loves me...Who has never lied to me and who has never made me cry....He's better than I deserve......but he's better than you...Goodbye Reggie....Lose my number...I never want to see you again."said Olivia .

Reggie Hamilton sat on the park bench and cried like a baby...

Beverly looked at her Aunt as she got in the car...

"Auntay..let's go get some drinks." she said.She could sense that Olivia was upset....

Olivia smiled for the first time..

"Sounds like a great idea baby"

She looked at me and pulled me to her and gave me the softest, sweetest kiss ever...

"You sweet sweet mannnn." she said.

''Wow! " was all I could say....We kissed passionately for like five minutes...For once Beverly didn't interrupt us with any smart alecky commentary...She allowed us to have our moment...When we came up for air....She smiled...

''Let's go get some drinks guys...I think , we all could use some" Beverly she said.

Olivia and I both kissed her on one side of her cheeks.... Beverly took the wheel and we pulled off...

We didn't hear a grown man sobbing loudly!!!!...We were long gone...

EPILOUGE:

 The FBI picked up Wilma Hamilton ...She was stunned that they found her...She was packing and getting ready to leave town at the time they arrested her..She was charged with Kidnapping,Attempted Murder and hacking .She was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to Life.

She's in the Women's Federal Correctional Center in Kentucky.

Reggie Hamilton has once again vanished into the sidelines....I'm sure Olivia will hear from him again...

Evell Younger, former ADA was not indicted and faced no criminal charges ,but he was censored for his bad behavior....He is still in Private Practice...

The three of us had a kind of celebratory drink at the Brewery....

"Gee, what a day...We close a case and we get rid of our stalker...I'm drained..What about you guys?"asked Beverly...

"Shortcake, you speak for all of us."I said..."Well at least me.."I said.

Olivia leaned her head on my shoulders and hugged me tight...

"I'm happy..I'm with my two favorite people in the whole world..." she said and blew softly in my ear..

"Ouuu, does that mean tonight you uh might show me uh how much you uh appreciate me?" I joked..

"It sure does...that could start as soon as we get home.." she whispered in my ear and then kissed me softly...She looked at me and then winked..

"That's good to know.."I said smiling salaciously..

Our beers arrived and Olivia gave the waiter our company card....

Beverly and I looked kind of startled..

The waiter came back with the check and Olivia tipped him and signed it, then looked at the two of us..

''What? You know you two need to stop that." she said and the three of us busted out laughing...