Because She Said No

Eight Months Ago-

Attorneys, Beverly West and Nelson East had just finished a delicious meal at one of Philadelphia's tony restaurants and were preparing to leave...

"Oh Nelson...This place is fabulous....I've got to tell Auntay and Donnie Ray about it..." she said...

"No Need...Donnie Ray told me about it." he said laughing...

"Donnie Ray?? He's not even from Philly...Only been here a little over two years since he met Auntay and he's giving you restaurant tips?" laughed Beverly...as Nelson waited for the waitress to return his credit card..

"Donnie Ray...I've discovered is a bit of a foodie...."said Nelson...

"Oh he is, is he?" laughed Beverly...

"He's a rennassaince man Bev...Former cop, Musician and lover of good food and fine dining...There is more to the man than meets the eye as your aunt probably knows.."laughed Nelson..

"Yeah...I understand she does...But I didn't know you talked to him that much..."said Beverly...

"Oh yeah....We got really close out in California and just recently in New York.....Yeah Donnie Ray is deep.."said Nelson as he signed his receipt and he and Beverly headed out....

Beverly smiled serenely....

"I guess he is...Your birthday is coming up soon...I have to find a nice place to take you...I guess I'll ask Donnie Ray." she said laughing as they got in the car..

 Nelson drove a few blocks and turned down a side street and parked under a tree....

He peered at Beverly sheepishly...She smiled at him sheepishly....

"Of course ...you uh could give me a down payment on uh my birthday present a little early you know.."he said.

Beverly smiled and then laughed...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so I'm your Birthday present huh?" she said..

"You're my present everyday." he said..

''Awwwwwww,you say the sweetest things..."she said and leaned over and kissed him passionately...

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmph....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." he moaned...

Beverly could see that his trousers were standing out like a circus tent...She softly rubbed his erection and continued deep throat kissing him....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Nelson...We need to take this back to my place..."she moaned...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I know...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh but I'm losing my mind over here...Ohhhhhhh.."he moaned and lifted her top and began unbuckling her bra...

"Wowww, you're really good at this...Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." she moaned as Nelson sucked on her breasts and kissed her breasts, her neck and her cheekbones and finally her lips....She moaned and leaned her head back....They had made love in this same spot just three weeks before, for hours......She was giddy with excitement....

She was getting ready to unzipper his trousers...when she saw police lights in the background...

"Nelson!!! It's a cop!!" she said as they broke their embrace...She hooked her bra and pulled her top down...

Nelson straightened up....zippered his trousers back up...

The policeman, a tall white man with blond hair and blue eyes walked towards them with a flashlight...He had a grin on his face....

He peered at Nelson and Bev....

"Sooooooooooooooo..What's goin on here folks?" he laughed...He knew exactly what had been going on..

"Nothing officer.."said Nelson...Luckily they were fully clothed...

Beverly said nothing...

The policeman chuckled...He eyed Beverly's cleavage and her shapely legs...and smiled sardonically...Beverly felt uncomfortable the way he was staring at her..

"Okay...well just move your uh nothing along alright?" he said...

"Okay Officer...We are leaving."said Nelson as he backed the car out of the alley....

Beverly looked inside the police car....There was a young African-American woman about her and Nelson's age sitting in the backseat in handcuffs....

"Nelson!! There's a girl in the back seat of that police car in handcuffs.."said Beverly...

"Yeah?  So what? She wasn't as lucky as us...She got arrested..We didn't...So let's get the hell out of here.."said Nelson..

Beverly looked the woman in the face...The woman looked afraid...She looked at Beverly too!

"So why would he bring her back here in this back street all alone ,away from the street?"asked Beverly..

"I don't know and right now...I don't want to know.."said Nelson as they sped off..

II-

Later that night..Beverly and Nelson sat in Jake's Hot Dog Joint and enjoyed two of his delicious "Long Dawgs"...Two Foot long Hot dogs with all of the fixins....Mustard,Ketchup, Relish, Sauerkraut ...They washed it down with some cold Papaya Juice.

"Mmmmmm thank you Nelson...This has been a wonderful night.....That restaurant was off the chain...I'm serious...And you took me to Stoleys...Where I haven't been in months for drinks and dancing and now Jakes...For his serious Hot Dogs...Wow...I don't how I'm gonna top this." she said smiling..

"As long as you enjoyed yourself.."laughed Nelson...He was so good natured..

Beverly whispered in his ear-

"Sorry we got interrupted....Don't worry...I'm not even close to being tired....Come on over to my place and we can catch up where we left off."she whispered breathlessly and kissed him softly...

"Let me pay this check and let's get out of here!!!.." said Nelson...

Just then...a young African-American woman stumbled into Jakes... Her dress was torn and there were wet stains on her dress...Her hair was going in several directions and her make up was smeared...But Beverly recognized  her...IT WAS THE YOUNG LADY WHO WAS IN THE BACK OF THE POLICE CAR IN THE ALLEY!!!!

"Nelson look...It's the girl that was in the police car..." said Beverly...

Nelson recognized her too..

"Yeah ...That is her..."he said..

Beverly walked over to her...

She whispered...

"Excuse me...Didn't we see you a few hours ago in the police car?" she asked..

The girl looked at her, then Nelson....She recognized them too...

"Yeah" she laughed uneasily...

"That was me...That was you guys in the car ,gettin your freak on huh?...Sorry uh that we kind of spoiled that." she said.

"That's okay...What happened to you?" asked Beverly.....

"Nothin...It was...It was a misunderstanding...that's all." she said.

"I'm a lawyer,so is my boyfriend....You look like you were assaulted....Your dress is torn...your makeup smeared and your hair is everywhere."said Beverly looking at her hard...

"Look..it's cool okay...That cop caught me with a nickel bag of oooo wee...(marijuana) ..I had just lit up when he rolled up on me..He had me cold for possession...I aint never been to jail...I didn't want this to be my first time either...I work for the school board...I was scared...He drove me up into that alley and I thought he was gonna kill me....Instead..he took my weed and said he'd drop all of the charges and let me go if I uh...If I let him have me...At first I said no....but he forced himself on me...ripped my panties off and pulled my dress up and uh had his way with me..." she said.

"He raped you!!! You want us to take you to the hospital? "asked Beverly...

"He used a condom...He already had it on...I'm okay....Anyway..He let me go and he gave me carfare to get home..." she said..

"You want to go after him?" asked Beverly....

"No! I don't want to bring any attention to what happened...I'm just glad I didn't go to jail tonight...No..I don't want to make any waves..."she said.

"You get a name?" asked Nelson...

"Officer Garrison...That's all I know...I don't want any trouble.."she said.

"Okay....Let me pay for your hot dog and your punch"said Beverly, who pulled a few dollars out of her purse..

"Thank you...The name is Sherry...Sherry Warner...I work for the School Board." she said.

"I'm Beverly West...I'm an Attorney...This is my card...If you change your mind or that cop gives you any more trouble..You call me...Okay?" she said..

Sherry Warner took the card...

"Okay..Thank you Beverly."she said..

As they drove home...Nelson looked over at Beverly....

"I'm surprised at you...You didn't push her to go after that dirty cop.." he said.

"I'm a victim of rape Nelson...I know that you have to give victims time to decide when they want to act."said Beverly...

Nelson put his arms around Beverly and hugged her...

"I forgot...I'm sorry baby."he said..

Beverly nuzzled her head into Nelson's shoulder..

"It's okay!" she said.

III-

TODAY-

As usual..I sat in the back of the courtroom watching my wife and her beautiful niece argue a case...They had just won an acquittal in a murder case....The defendent and his family were jumping up and down hugging each other and high fiving...They all hugged and kissed my wife Olivia and her niece Beverly...and thanked them profusely....

These two, who the newspapers were calling the Dynamic Duo had done it again...They made their way through the crowd to where I, Donnie Ray Alexander was standing...

I used to be a cop in New Orleans ,Louisiana...A Homicide Detective until I met Attorney ,Olivia Bennett, who was vacationing from Philadelphia...I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and eventually...I left the force..Got my P.I.'s license and moved to Philly....To work for her law firm..We got married...I work for her and her niece...Beverly West as an investigator...That's the short story...

"How's my handsome baby?" asked Olivia as she kissed me softly...

"I'm great...Another one down huh?" I said smiling..

"Yeah...I couldn't have done it without you.."she said and kissed me again..  I pulled her to me and kissed her some more...

"Ummmmmm...ouuuuu you're frisky today." she said...

"You guys want to go to Jake's for lunch? Uh after you finish sucking face?" asked Beverly...

"Not a bad idea...How bout you Livy?" I asked..

"I'm out voted here...Jake's it is..."she said smiling..

"You wanted to go somewhere else Auntay?" asked Beverly...

''No...I didn't have any place in mind...Jake's it is.." said Olivia..

Just then a young woman walked over to us...

"You're Olivia Bennett-Alexander aren't you?" she asked..

"Yes,I am...How can I help you?" asked Olivia..

"I'm Wilma...Wilma Barksdale...I just fired my public defender....."she said.

"I'm sorry to hear that...Why?" asked Olivia..

"He wants me to plead guilty to a lesser charge of possession of a controlled substance and if I do the arresting officer will drop the Assault of a Police officer charges.." she said..

"Uhh let's not talk about this in court...We are going to Jake's..Wanna follow us there?" asked Olivia..

"Sure..Sure.."she said.

I looked at Beverly...

"Your Auntay is a magnet for hard luck cases isn't she?" I joked..

"Isn't she though?" laughed Beverly...

IV-

Olivia ,Beverly ,Wilma and I sat in Jakes and ordered Hot Dogs...

"Auntay, regardless of what kind of Hot Dog you get...You gotta try the Papaya Juice.."said Beverly...

"If you say so.."laughed Olivia, who was in a very good mood this afternoon...

"It is good...I've had it before." said Wilma.

The four of us sat at a table together and enjoyed our Hot Dogs and Papaya Juice..

"So Ms. Barksdale...Tell us your story...You know my wife Olivia....and this is her niece,Beverly..She's also an Attorney and I'm an investigator for their firm..."I explained...

She smiled..

"Nice...You got your niece and your husband working for you.."she said looking at Olivia..

"Yes...It works well for me...for us."said Olivia.

"Okay Look...I'm an Architect..I work at a firm in Center City....I uh like to get high sometimes to take the edge off after a hard day....I bought a bag ..a five dollar bag of ouuu weee and I was in the parking lot of my condo...I should've gone into my place..but I lit up a spliff in my car...I admit that...But this officer showed up Johnny on the spot and busted me...He had me cold...So I figured..I can't get much time for the little bit I've got...Just a minor possession bust...He tells me that he'll drop the charge and let me go...If I..uh..If I'm "nice to him.."  He starts feeling my legs , feeling my breasts and trying to run his hands up my skirt...I told him no..To get off of me...I'd take the arrest...He jumped on top of me and tried to force himself on me...I fought him off...He tore my skirt and my blouse and ripped my panties off...I kicked him out of my car and tried to run...but he slammed me on the car and handcuffed me..Charged me with assaulting him...." said Wilma.

"Do you have any photos?" asked Olivia..

"Yeah...I got photos of the side of my face after it happened...My girlfriend took em...I have the ripped panties and bra and skirt...And the clown shot off in my car...Maybe you guys can get a DNA sample..It's been a week...It's dried up now.." she said..

Beverly's eyes got as wide as saucers....

"Ms. Barksdale....Did you get the officer's name?" asked Beverly...

"Yeah...Officer Garrison...That's all I know...I saw his badge....I didn't get the number...He's Blond...Tall..About six foot two or three,Blue eyes and a lopsided grin..."she said..

"That's him..."said Beverly...

"Shortcake...You know this cop?" I asked..

"Nelson and I had a run in with him last summer....and we met another woman with a similar story to yours...Only She didn't want to press charges..."said Beverly...

"Bev...you never mentioned this to me..About you and Nelson having a run in with a cop!"said Olivia...

"He just told us to move along...We were uh parked on a side street...He had a young woman handcuffed and sitting in the backseat of his car...We ran into her later that night...Her dress was wrinkled and wet...and her hair was in disaray and her make up was smeared...She said that he had assaulted her in the backseat of his squad car...I gave her my card Auntay...She didn't want to press charges...After he had sex with her...He dropped the charges and let her go..It was six months ago...I'll tell you the whole story when we get back.."said Beverly..

Wilma Barksdale looked at us...

"So you'll take my case?" she asked..

"Yes...We'll take it.. He's done this before...Bev, get me that other girl's name and address if you have it." said Olivia..

"I need your address and your girlfriend's name...She's a potential witness and all of the evidence you collected... But I have to ask you...Why didn't you call the police..File a complaint?" I asked..

She looked at me like I was crazy...

"Are you kidding? Someone like me...File a complaint against a white Philadelphia Police Officer? After they stopped laughing they'd of just swept it under the rug...But I don't want to just let this go and plead out....If they want to try me for possession ..fine...I'm guilty...I'll take my lumps...but that guy tried to rape me..and he shouldn't get away with that....And from what your niece says...He's done this before." she said.

I looked at her and thought about the black residents of New Orleans and how much they mistrusted the New Orleans Police Department...of which I was a part of...I happened to know that were a lot of good ,great police officers on the New Orleans Police Department....Just like I personally knew a lot of good cops and detectives here in Philadelphia...but it was the bad apples...the dirty ones that sullied the entire department...I perfectly understood how she felt..

She thanked Olivia ,Bev and me for taking her case...and for buying her lunch...She gave us her business card and her personal phone number as well as her address and left....

I looked at Olivia...

"You gonna take this?" I asked.

"Yeah...He shouldn't get away with this....and she shouldn't be villified just because she said no..I suspect he's been doing this for a long time and with people like her.."said Olivia..

"People already guilty of one thing...buying marijuana, smoking it in the car...A traffic stop, what have you..."said Bev..

"The type of women who juries won't believe when they accuse him of something outlandish like trying to barter sexual favors for dropped charges.." said Olivia..

"It's going to be difficult to prove Liv....It's his word against hers...Ripped panties and bra don't really prove anything unless someone saw him do it..And her girlfriend has photos of her bruises after the fact,after the officer was gone.."I said..

"Come on Donnie Ray!"said Beverly...

"Shortcake...I believe her...but if I'm saying these things...A Prosecutor will be saying them and a jury will be asking the same questions and thinking the same thing."I said..

"He's right baby...This won't be easy....But I'm up to the challenge..You with me girlfriend?" asked Olivia...

"I'm with you until the wheels fall off the cart Auntay!" said Beverly hugging her aunt...

"Then it's unanimous..Let's go get this guy.." I said.

(TO BE CONTINUED-)