I was in Josie's...I was playing a set...my first set of the new year..I had put together a new group of guys and we had rehearsed a little bit...We sounded pretty good..The crowd seemed to think so...
After my set was over...I sat at the bar and chewed the fat with the owner and head bartender, Gus..
He had a cold beer waiting for me and a cold bottle of water....
"Nice set tonight...Donnie Ray...I see you got some new guys."said Gus..
''Yeah..they're from Camden..The guitarist,the bass player and the drummer....The Keyboardist is a Philly guy.." I said..
Just then...someone tossed a few bucks on the bar counter...
" He drinks on me tonight." came the voice of my wife's client, Tony Luke...
He smelled like he had already been drinking.....That and that strong cologne he was wearing was almost nauseating...
Gus agreed and he moved down the counter,away from us...
"Thank You.." I said...
"You're a man of many talents Mr. Alexander...An accomplished musician??? I heard you were a Homicide Detective in New Orleans at one time..." he said.
"I was...I took an early retirement after I met Olivia and moved here and became her investigator...That's the short version.."I said smiling..
"Scotch and water..." he said to one of the bar maids.. "Olivia....Olivia would make me retire from anything...Her damn niece too...Lawd have mercy....I hope you don't mind me saying it..but your wife is a sexy woman and so is her niece...
I would kill to be in your situation...Married to her...living with the niece..."he said laughing...
I had heard this so much, that it no longer fazed me one way or the other...
"By the way...Where is the little lady and her sexy assistant counsel?
They have really been doing a bang up job in court...Old Belle Gaddes sure was surprised to wind up facing two of her prize students.."he laughed..
"I understand that you're one of her prize students too.."I said.
"Yeah...that was about five or six years before your wife came along... Belle Gaddes is a brilliant legal mind...And as you can see, she's still got a body made for sin...You should have seen her back then...Whooooooo she was a brick shit house...lawd!!" he said.
"I suspected as much...She's still a stunning woman..."I said..
"I always came to her lectures...I sat right up front....I was enraptured with her...I tried to date her outside of class...She blew me off.....I wasn't used to that....I mean ,look at me...Women's panties literally melt when I come around.." he said.
He certainly wasn't the modest type...I continued to listen to him....
"Man,I wanted her in the worst way...So bad..I could taste it....Even after I graduated and got my JD...I came back to the school looking for her, begging her to go out with me...I told her it was okay now that I wasn't her student...but she politely declined....AND now..I know why...She was a Lesbian.....Go figure.. what a waste...a woman with a body like that...She's supposedly married to a woman young enough to be her daughter...Disgusting!" he said...
Maybe I've been a cop too long...but his conversation bothered me...I know he was drunk...but my mother always said that a "Drunk tongue tells many truths.."
II-
The next day...I went to the medical examiner's office..I looked up my wife's friend, Dr. Hazel Hunter-Baylor..
"Donnie Ray...what brings you here? How is Olivia?" she asked..
"She's fine Hazel....I'm here because I need a favor and I uh would like this inquiry kept in the strictest confidence..."I said.
''Sure ...What do you want?" she asked..
"You have DNA here from a recent case...The "Luke" case that my wife and Beverly are trying...
"Yes..I have that..." she said..
"There is a cold case....one that took place before you were working here...It goes back a few years...It was never solved...I was wondering if you could compare the DNA from that case and tell me if you find a match...If so...Could you call me?" I asked..
"Uh Okay..."she said..
"Thanks Hazel...Your first four drinks are on me in Josies...Next time I see you.."I said.
"Okay Donnie Ray..." she said.
III-
Belle Gaddes looked around....She didn't crack a smile..
"Hmmm Impressive...."she said..
Her client, Allison Hyde smiled..
''Very nice..." she said.
"You guys can come in and have a seat."said Olivia.
"Yes right this way." said Beverly as the two women sat in the conference room...
I sat quietly ,next to Olivia..
Tony Luke sat across from Allison Hyde...He couldn't look her in the eye..
Allison looked at Belle Gaddes ...
"Olivia...You and Beverly are quite the formidable attorneys...I was proud of you both...You held it down in court and you didn't allow me to intimidate you...So when you called this meeting at your practice..obviously to settle I was a bit surprised..I expected you to fight it out.."said Belle Gaddes.
"Oh I'm not here to settle...but I am here to end this..." said Olivia..
"End this? How do you propose to do that?" said Belle Gaddes... " I've got video from the bistro taken that night that clearly shows your client entering the restroom UNINVITED, without my client's knowing." she said..
"We know that...We are not arguing that...He did enter the women's restroom without an invitation and was very presumptuous on his part...He so much as told us that."said Beverly...
"So then what is your point...This is open and shut.."said Belle Gaddes..
"No it's not.."said Olivia...
"What do you mean?" asked Belle Gaddes..
"From the beginning...of this whole thing..I kept going over both of your stories and not how different the stories were ,but HOW alike the two stories are.. Ms. Hyde...You said that he came into the restroom,unannounced and uninvited...Even he said that...and you have video evidence to prove that...But up to a point...You could have walked out at anytime ....yet you didn't....Then there are your panties...You made a police statement that said "He ripped my panties off!" and yet they aren't ripped...They're in perfect condition..all things considered...His fingerprints, his sweat, They aren't on the panties....No semen either...Which brings me to the conclusion...that you took your panties off willingly.."said Olivia... "Further more ..at one point you said..."Put that away, referring to his penis, which he had whipped out...Again, you could have ran , while he was vulnerable and exposed...but you didn't..He said-"You have to make it go down..." and you replied.."How am I supposed to do that when I'm the reason it's like it is..."Not the kind of conversation you have with a man who is about to assault you sexually...And in both his story and yours..You admitted to softly stroking him while he was erect...Ms. Hyde...you two had sex...consensually...and everything was fine until your mother's friend walked in on you two and caught you in the act... He cut and ran...Treated you like you were a hooker didn't he? You thought he was a nice guy....but he wasn't....He left you there to face all of that embarrassment and he never called you again...Nothing...Acted like you never existed...No woman wants to be treated like that...Especially after she has given a man her most priceless possession...Her sex."said Olivia..
Allison broke down into tears in front of them all...
"YES...It's true...It was consensual....I really liked him..I really really liked him and then he just ran off...didn't say goodbye or nothing and wouldn't take my calls...He just treated me like I was trash.."she sobbed...
Belle Gaddes comforted her.....
"It's alright baby...It's alright..."she said..
Olivia looked at Tony Luke...
"You owe this woman an apology!!" she said softly...
"Apology?? She lied on me...That could have cost me my license, my career!!! I could have gone to jail.." he said..
"Apologize to her..."said Beverly sternly...
He looked at Beverly and then he looked at Allison...
"I am terribly sorry Allison.....You have to understand...I'm a high profile attorney and I was in the middle of a big case and I couldn't be caught in the middle of something like that..."he said.
"Then why did you come in the restroom?? I didn't ask you to....And you certainly didn't have to whip it out..not then...You could have taken me to your place or a hotel.." she said.
"You're right.......I was wrong....I hope you can uh find it in your heart to forgive me.." he said holding his hands down..
"She's not the only one you owe an apology to.." I said staring daggers at him...
"What are you talking about?" he said..
"Years ago...a young,pretty Law professor was raped in the parking lot after a lecture..I believe that was you Ms. Gaddes...They took DNA...but they had no sujspect...the case remained cold until that DNA from your rape and the DNA from Ms. Hyde was compared...It was a match!! So while you are innocent of sexually assaulting Ms. Hyde...You're guilty of sexually assaulting Ms. Belle Gaddes...so many years ago....You were even wearing the same cologne now that you wore back then...It was on the clothing that Ms. Belle Gaddes wore then.."said Olivia..
''Wow! " he said.."You do realize you are my attorney."he said snidely...
"Oh yes and under attorney client priviledge..I can't divulge anything I just told you....Not only that...The statute of limitations has run out on any criminal or civil charges for that case...You're free and clear....But you owe Belle Gaddes an apology too!" said Olivia..
He smiled...
"You Olivia , are a sound legal mind...one of the best...That's why I hired you to represent me.." he said.
''Apologize.."said Olivia, laughing slightly...
"I apologize.."he said.
"Apology , not accepted you bastard!!! You're a very lucky man....You beat one case and the statute of limitations protects you from any liability in my case...I just hope you can sleep at night....You disgust me.." she snapped...
She had every right to be mad...
Beverly, Olivia, Josie and Allison stared daggers at him...He stood up....
"Olivia...as usual, a stellar job..your check will be in the mail....Thank you again...Good day ladies."he said as he left...
Belle Gaddes looked at Olivia..
"Mrs. Alexander...Ms West...Great job....You made me proud...Thank you for clearing up that mystery and bringing me closure.."
"If I had known what he did to you...I would have never of taken his case..."said Olivia..
"Nonsense...That's your job...You did your job, you gave your client a decent defense and cleared his name..That's what you're supposed to do...But you bought me closure...Which you didn't have to do...which makes you a good attorney and an even better person...Thank you baby...Thank you Ms. West.." she said and kissed them both..
Beverly blushed like a school girl...
She looked at me...
I smiled..
"Olivia...Your husband is a keeper! He's your secret weapon!" she said and walked out...
Allison grabbed her purse..
"I'm sorry about this..."she said.
"That's okay....He hurt you...He treated you badly...It was the only way you had to get some semblance of justice..I totally understand...and once I began to understand...I knew the story...Take care of yourself young lady.."said Olivia..
"Thank you...for showing me who he really is..." said Allison..
"I think you figured that out yourself .." I said smiling..
"Yeah..I kind of did..."she said and she left...
I looked at my girls..
Olivia,Beverly and Josie...
"Olivia...If I may suggest...Why don't you close the office....Let's celebrate...The end of two difficult cases..."I said.
Olivia gave me a long ,soft sensual kiss..
"Good idea...let's lock up...The first round is on me..."said Olivia..
"That's what's up Auntay..."said Beverly...
"Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"said Josie...
EPILOUGE-
Tony Luke was free and clear and is still practicing law...but the label of rapist was put on him like a scarlett letter...Which slowed him down immensely with his womanizing...Amongst his female peers he suddenly became a pariah..Women avoided him like he was the plague...A fitting punishment.
We all went to the Brewery....Olivia sat on my lap...Kissing me softly all night..
Beverly and Nelson quaffed down Micro-Brews and giggled like two teenagers most of the night..
Our new friends ,Bonnie and Ronald Shay kissed quietly in the corner ...
Josie and Paris quaffed down micro brews just like Beverly and Nelson..
II-
I looked at Olivia and smiled..
"So..Mrs. Alexander...Can I have you to myself now?" I asked.
"The office is closed and I've turned my phone off...That means the answer is yes.." she said and wink.....
"I uh don't suppose we could uh disappear for a few minutes in one of those restrooms back there could we?" I whispered in her ear...
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