Clean Slate

Olivia, Beverly, Nelson, Zoey and I stepped on the Houseboat.....

''Doesn't look like either one of them is here.."said Zoey

''Place smells like bleach.."said Beverly..

My cop sense told me that something happened on this boat...Somebody got shot or worse killed and somebody cleaned up behind them..

"There's a tumbler of coffee here...It's still steaming...So Someone was just here and they didn't leave too long ago."said Olivia.

"Somebody was drinking Crystal too..The good stuff...This glass is half full.."said Nelson..

''Don't anybody touch anything..."I said.

''Look, a 45 inch Flat screen...Bose surround sound speakers.....Crystal...This guy Dakota Jones really knows how to live.."said Beverly...

"I'll say...silk sheets on the bed....Bev,Liv,Maybe we are in the wrong line of work."joked Nelson...

"Ya Think?" joked Olivia..

''This was Ethan's boat originally...He had to give it to Dakota.."said Zoey...

''He was selling for Dakota wasn't he?" I said. I knew the signs..

"The only thing worse than marrying a lawyer ,is marrying a cop Zoey." said Olivia, who laughed and hugged me..

"You used to be a cop?" asked Zoey...

''Homicide Detective in New Orleans." I said.

''This is the guy you told me about...That you met In New Orleans Livy..."said Zoey..

"Yeah..Same guy...Kept calling me...and the next thing I knew..He moved up here and was coming to me for a job...Only he wanted more than a job...He wanted me...."said Olivia laughing...

"Don't let her fool you Zoey...She was just as much in love with him as he was with her...If you mentioned his name, She just lit up like a Christmas Tree..." said Beverly, hugging me...Plus..."I love him too!" she added..

''What a Lucky man you are Mr. Donnie Ray...You have two beautiful women that love you!To answer your question...Yes...Ethan was selling heroin for Dakota and pills amongst his friends and collegues..but Ethan became so dependent...He began snorting up more than he could unload...Dakota took this boat as payment the first time...The second time ,he took me..

 "Damn..He was on the come up...He was considering a run for States Attorney...He was backed by the Republican Party , had a lot of high rollers as friends...and just like that...He's unemployed and disgraced...Nearly Lost his license to practice law."said Nelson..

''Maybe we can win an acquittal for our client without his testimony..we've got DNA evidence, We've got the testimony of the Tisdale Brothers and Milton Merlins...and we've already created reasonable doubt..Maybe we can do this without causing anymore damage to his career.."said Olivia.

"Do you think he'll get clean Zoey?" asked Beverly.

''He might...I hope he does..but I'm done with him...I hope he gets clean for himself...I'm choosing to move on..Salvage what is left of my once blooming career."said Zoey.

"You're a fine lawyer Zoey...I know you will...And Bev,Donnie Ray and I will do anything we can do to help you."said Olivia..

"Thank You Olivia...Thank You Beverly, Donnie Ray and Nelson." she said.

''Let's go get some Brunch..I know a great place near here..."I said.

Olivia smiled..

"Zoey,My husband knows more places to eat in Philly than Bev and I do.." she laughed..

"And we were born and raised here." laughed Beverly...

''He's good to have around for so many reasons "Laughed Zoey.

"That's my man..Donnie Ray.."laughed Nelson as we all exited the Boat....

Little did we know...Neither the Boat's present owner or it's former owner would ever return to that boat.

II-

So..Monday, we were back in court again....

 Olivia and Beverly were making their grandstand Play...

She called Rooftop, Treetop and PineTop Tisdale to the stand...They testified about their trial and how it was discovered that former ADA lied and withheld evidence from the defense..and how evidence that would have exonerated them sooner was withheld from the defense ,along with several witnesses they provided who would have backed up their alibi..

Of course the Prosecutor objected , saying relevance to which Olivia replied that that this showed a pattern in cases that ADA Proud prosecuted at the time...

The Prosecutor argued that former ADA Proud was not on trial here..Ronald Howard was...

I was in court that day...I turned to Ronald Howard and said..

"She's going to town for you..."

He smiled..

"She has been since day one...Mr. Alexander...You got a smart little wifey there...She's a cutey pie too." he said with a smile..

"I know it.."I said..

"Your Niece aint so bad either.." he said.

I smiled. He was right on both counts!

Beverly briefly interviewed their witnesses....

The Prosecutor argued that they both were trying two different cases...The Judge agreed...

Beverly then introduced DNA evidence from the crime scenes and interviewed a Doctor from the lab who stated that this was not Ronald Howard's DNA or Blood Type from the crime scene...It didn't match the blood on the murder weapon or the semen found in both girls...Evidence that was not presented to the defense in the first trial..

This was major...

The Judge called a side bar...

"We are going to look at this evidence further...I'm calling for a recess." he said.

Out in the hallway..we saw Zoey...

''Livy, you and Bev are incredible...I would hate having to go up against you two in a trial or at a negotiating table...I told you ,you are a superstar.." said Zoey..

''Thank You girl..How was your first day back at work?" asked Olivia.

''Well...I went from my office in the corner with a window view to a cubicle with all of the other associates..Guess that will teach me huh?" she laughed..

''One day at a time baby..One day at a time ...You'll be alright." I said.

"I think we are going to be alright too Auntay...I overheard the Judge swearing out a warrant for the arrest of Jeremiah Jones, for suspicion of two homicides and rape...I wonder if his brother has another ADA in his pocket?" joked Beverly...

"It would be a shame if he did...but the important thing is..We are this close to getting our client off..I think the Jury is with us...We've created more than enough reasonable doubt about his innocence..."said Olivia.

"Oh I'm certain you have this in the bag girlfriend."said Zoey.

"The Baillif just signaled for us to come back in.."said Beverly..

III-

When we entered the courtroom, The Jury was gone...The Judge called for Olivia, Beverly and The ADA to stand before him...

"In looking at this evidence..It is quite evident that there was a wrong done here..Prosecutorial misconduct on the part of Former ADA Ethan Proud and strong evidence that points to another man..Jeremiah Jones...
A warrant has been issued for his arrest as I speak.."said the Judge..

"And as for your client..The People are dropping all charges against him..There is no need for a jury verdict...I have ordered him released from custody immediately....He's free to go." said the Judge,who banged his gavel...

 ''We did it again baby?" said Olivia ,hugging her niece and kissing her on the cheek.

''We did it Auntayyyy!" squealed Beverly..

"I'm sorry we didn't get to put Merlins on the stand...I really wanted to take him apart." said Olivia.

"Yeah ,me too...but we did it!!! We did it Auntay....Didn't need Merlins or Ethan Proud."said Beverly high fiving her aunt..

''We did ,didn't we?" said Olivia, hugging her niece and the two of them spinning each other around..

Upon seeing their reaction, Ronald Howard jumped for joy...

"THEY DID IT!!! I'M A FREE MAN....WOWWWWWWWW!  Free for the first time in a year...OH THANK YOU...THANK YOU..THANK YOU....I THOUGHT I WAS BURIED...TWO LIFE SENTENCES MAN...TWO LIFE SENTENCES...Whoooooooooooooooo! THANK YOU ,THANK YOU ,THANK YOU OLIVIA...THANK YOU BEVERLY!" he screamed...

His Fiance was there with his one year old son and his mother and her mother and father...They were all jubilant...They hugged and kissed Olivia and Beverly...

I stood in the back of the courtroom and smiled...Our Office manager, Josie Boyd and Attorney Nelson East walked in...

''Liv and Bev won another one eh?" said Josie.

"Wow,I didn't think the case was going to the jury until at least tomorrow.."said Nelson..

''It didn't go to the jury...The Judge dropped all charges and the State Police Arrested Jeremiah Jones, possibly the real killer."I said.

Olivia walked over and gave me a nice soft ,sweet kiss...

 "I couldn't have done it without you baby..." she said..

''Old Dakota Jones is probably having a fit right now...I don't know if he can save his little brother this time.."said Beverly..

"I hope he doesn't hurt Ethan...He didn't testify...." said Zoey...

''Speaking of which...Nobody has seen or heard a peep out of Dakota Jones since Friday...I'm hearing..That was three days ago..You think he left town?" asked Nelson...

"Not the way that boat looked..It looked like he had just left..To go to the store or somethin..I stopped by that boat yesterday..Nothing was moved...Everything looked the same..His clothes are still on the boat..It didn't look like he'd gone far." I said.

"Who cares about him? His brother's problems are his and his alone now...Let's go out and celebrate...Stoleys anyone.?"said Olivia..

''Ooou, Now you're talking Auntay..Come on Zoey,join us..."said Beverly...

"Why not? I'm back .....I'm clean..Why Not..?" she said.

"And All you're drinking is cold water tonight..No Alcohol."said Josie..

"What Fun is that?" said Zoey..."Kidding" she said.

We all busted out laughing...

End of a long case....

EPILOUGE-

Sometime later that day in an apartment just a few blocks away from where we lived...The body of former ADA Ethan Proud was discovered ...He had been dead for a few hours...The cause of death , an overdose of Heroin...

He had an airline ticket for Kentucky..He had signed himself into a rehabilitation program there that was to begin next week...

Unfortunately...he never made it!

Jeremaih Jones was tried and convicted of two counts of First Degree Murder and Rape in the deaths of Shonda Wells and Danisha Powell and sentenced to two life sentences without parole..He was surprised that his brother never answered any of his calls..nor did he ever show up for the trial...

No one to date has seen or heard from Dakota Jones!

That night after the trial we hung one on at Stoley's night club...

The place was packed...I smiled and looked at my wife, Olivia..

"You know something, if this place wasn't so packed..I'd-" I said before she put her index finger on my lip..

''You'd dance with me and wait until we got home...So we could really get into something..."she said and kissed me passionately for a few minutes....

 ."Ummm that is if I can wait." she said and laughed..

 "I know baby...." I moaned as we kissed a little bit longer...

''Let's both get a drink and cool off." I said.

"Good Idea." she said..

''Sorry to hear about Ethan ,Zoey...but now you have a clean slate...Even that creep Dakota Jones appears to have left town..."said Beverly...

"Somebody was probably after Dakota Jones...That boat is still sitting there, same way he left it. That seems so strange...but I'm not going to worry about it..Like you said Bev..I've got a clean slate..." said Zoey..

"Here here"said Nelson, who brought bottles of cold water for Beverly and Zoey and Josie..

''A Toast to Zoey and Clean Slates."said Josie...

"Let Donnie Ray and me get in on that" said Olivia, who had her own bottle of water and who tossed me one..

''Yes...To clean slates!" I said.