Private Practices

FOUR WEEKS LATER-

  In Bayside Heights, The Murder Trial of Attorney and Lobbyist, Daniel Demming began.. The ADA prosecuting the case...A simpleton by the name of Miles Stanley clearly thought he had a slam dunk...He didn't...As a Homicide Detective who would have been on his side in another world..Even I knew that his case was weak and had a lot of holes in it...

For one thing...the husband, Daniel Demming was in a hotel with the now late Wendy Melvin at the time of death and although he did  lovingly make the meals for his wife when he knew she'd be away or he would be late..There was no concrete proof that he had laced the meals with arsenic..

His credit card and debit card showed no purchase....There was no proof of purchase by online or store purchase in the area or in Philadelphia and there were two other people in the house with the late Mrs. Demming..

The now late Wendy Melvin ,who was never questioned and Lisa Woods, who discovered the body of Midge Demming.....

I reported Wendy Melvin's death from a burner phone and her body was discovered the next night...A huge amount of arsenic was discovered in her food and in her stomach...Her death was ruled a Homicide..Since Daniel Demming was in custody at the time of the death , he was absolved of any guilt in this crime.

Olivia and Beverly brought this up and hammered it home for about a week.....ADA Stanley couldn't produce one witness that could say they saw Daniel Demming add Arsenic to his wife's meals.

They argued that the deaths of Midge Demming and Wendy Melvin were simmular and that since it was obvious that Daniel Demming was innocent of one.. Perhaps he was innocent of another and the killer was someone else..

ADA Miles Standish laughed their argument off and said that the two had no proof of that, which we didn't and that it was mere speculation...

When ADA Stanley brought up Daniel Demming's extra -marital affair and the couple's swinging past, two things Olivia and Beverly had decided they weren't going to bring up unless they had to..They were forced to bring up the love nest that Midge Demming secretly owned downtown, paid for by kickbacks from a Privately owned Prison for youthful offenders that she got for sending several youths to the prison...

Troy Lincoln, her lover was brought to the stand...

I had checked his alibi out...He indeed had been at the Loft the entire night of the murder... He was not the killer and he would have had no motive...He'd of been getting rid of his meal ticket..

Since Beverly knew him personally, She interviewed him, going through the beginning of his  relationship with Mrs. Demming up until the last time he heard from Midge Demming..

Olivia sat with Daniel Demming as he heard for the first time the horrifying details of his wife's extra-marital affair that he didn't know existed...She rubbed his hands softly...

II-

Next up was Terrence Decker, a man Olivia once dated ..He was well dressed, tall, handsome and suave...He had a toothy grin and a built in smirk...

A week before ,when he was told he would be called as a material witness in this case, he spoke to Olivia at our office..

''Damn Olivia, you look delicious!" he said , his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.. when he saw her again after all of these years.

"I guess coming from you that is a compliment..."said Olivia smiling..

''What went wrong between us?" he asked.         

"Terrence,let's talk about what you might be asked at trial next week.." said Olivia..

"We had quite a night didn't we?" he said laughing and slapping his thigh..

Olivia had told Beverly and Kayla that the one night she did sleep with him was "About as exciting as watching paint dry..."  

He came before she finished getting undressed she said...So she had to wait until he was ready to go again...

When they did get to going again...He came about 15 minutes in....They waited again and he fell asleep...


She lay there feeling neglected and just cried herself to sleep...

The next morning when they woke up...
He was on top of her kissing her.. and as soon as she returned his kiss ,he came almost immediately...

"You know this has never happened before...I-I must have had too much to drink, I'd appreciate this if uh you didn't mention this to anybody..."he said as he quietly got dressed

She said it was no big thing and promised to never mention it to anybody or again...

Yet he walked around bragging about how he "tore her up in the bed." to some of the male attorneys.. Larry North ,who couldn't stand him, confided to Olivia, what he was going around saying.

 She never dated him again and she told everybody who would listen about his less than stellar bedroom skills or lack there of...

Beverly cracked up...

"And he had the nerve to be calling me, trying to get me to go out with him just weeks later...I might have cut him." she laughed.

He like Troy Lincoln talked about how his relationship with Midge Demming began and how he too lived in the love nest she owned..

"I sure hope he performed better for Midge than he did when he was with you." Beverly whispered....

Olivia giggled-" Explains why Midge put him out of that "Love Nest" after a year and a half and kept Troy for three years.." she said and they both giggled silently...

ADA Miles Stanley could see that the case was getting away from him...He objected vigourously claiming that we were villifying the murder victim and forgetting that she indeed was the victim..

Olivia said and rightly so that he had been the one who had brought sordid details about Mrs. Demming up...The Judge, a female...Agreed...

Sitting in the back of the courtroom and taking all of this in was Olivia and Beverly's young cousin, Kayla Bennett..

In a few days , she was going to be representing plaintiffs in a class action suit against the Private Prison for youthful offenders that Judge Midge Demming had sent so many of them to...With Judge Demming now deceased...She would no longer be able to testify...But from what Bonnie Shay and I had uncovered and given to her and what she had heard at this very trial..She had more than enough ammunition in her trial, which was set to begin in a few days...

Attorney Lisa Woods was supposed to testify for the Prosecution ironically enough today...but she was a no show...

ADA Miles Stanley was furious...His case was falling apart around his ankles...The jury of six men, six women seemed genuinely up in the air about this case.. There was no clear cut proof that the man had poisoned his wife...

I found three handwriting experts....One from the FBI..  Another from the Philadelphia Police Department and a freelancer who all testified that the signature on the insurance papers were not Daniel Demming's..

He swore that he had not taken out an insurance policy on his wife.. This was proof of it...

Olivia presented people from the Insurance company who stated that they never spoke to either Midge or Daniel Demming, that the entire exchange had been done on line and the papers had been mailed in..

She had destroyed the main motive and most of the jury believed that he genuinely did not know about the Judge's extra-marital affair of tony love nest and two boy toys...

Beverly produced the housekeeper who told her that the late Wendy Melvin was concerned about an odor the food was giving off during that last week and that she was suspicious of intern Lisa Wood..

She next interviewed the case detective...She asked him why he didn't question either Melvin or Wood..He said that there was no evidence that either of them had done this..

Beverly then asked him ,what real evidence was there that their client had committed this murder..

ADA Miles Standish Objected...He said Beverly was badgering the witness...But the Judge allowed it...

The detective said -"The spouse is always the first suspect"

I smiled...That is  exactly what I would have said...but Bev was right, he still should have questioned everybody in that house...

In her final statement ,Olivia told the jury that this was a rush to judgement...She said that she had no idea who killed Midge Demming or why...but that there was no real proof that Daniel Demming had killed his wife..

ADA Miles Standish, who at the beginning of the trial was in all of the papers describing this case as a
"Country Lawyer against two slick big city lawyers...and describing himself as David against Goliath was now looking as if he had indeed lost the case...He actually went for Jury nullification ,which in this case looked a little foolish.....

I could look at the jury and tell they were looking at him like.."WHAT?"

The case went to the jury...

III-

We stood in the lobby at the end of the day...

Olivia stood in the hallway...Beverly walked up to her...

"I think we got this Auntay...We didn't have a lot to work with...but we had enough...I think we got this." she said.

Olivia hugged her niece and kissed her forehead...

"You are always so hopeful and positive...I'm glad you're with me." she said.

"Always Auntay." said Beverly...

Just then Terrence  Decker walked up to them...

"Great job...Great Job...I was watching you two work...So you guys are in private practice together now huh?" he said smiling..

"Yes Terrence." said Beverly....

"Hmmm..I'd like a little private practice with the both of you heh-heh heh." he joked..

"Terrence I'm married...and besides....I don't think you could handle either one of us." said Olivia as I walked up..."This is my husband...our investigator, Donnie Ray Alexander..." she said..

I didn't say a word, but he broke out into a coughing fit and then played it off like he was laughing.. Clearly what Olivia had said to him had brought back unpleasent memories.....and embarrassment....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh..Well Hello...You're a lucky man there...Lucky man..." he said, shaking my hand...

"You alright man?" I asked...

"Yes...Yes...Uh something got in my uh throat!" he said..

I gave him the serious side eye and arched my eyebrow.

I noticed Olivia laughing in the background...

He turned his attention to Beverly...

"Sooooooooooooo what have you been up to Luscious?" he asked.. He clearly wanted no more to do with Olivia.

''Save it...I got a man.." said Beverly....Nelson just happened to be in the courtroom and walked up..

Nelson kissed Beverly in the lips...

"What's Up babes?" he said..

Terrence smiled.. He knew Nelson from back in the day....

"Nelson!! Nelson East.....I heard you were working at Foxworth and Associates now...You snagged Beverly huh? Respect Bruh!!"he said and gave Nelson dap...

Just then Kayla walked up...Terrence's eyes nearly fell out of his head...

"Cousin Liv, Cousin Bev, you two were great.!!!..I'm certain you guys won your case...I certainly got more than enough information for my case in a few days...

Terrence smiled his toothy grin...

"And who is this? Did I hear you say Cousin Liv? Cousin Bev?  And it sounds like you're an Attorney also." he said.

Kayla smiled..

"I am an Attorney...Olivia and Beverly are my cousins..." she said..

"Lawd..a whole family of fine women who are attorneys...I'm Attorney Terrence Decker...I'm in corporate law.. but I knew your cousins years ago..."he laughed.. "My card.."

Kayla shrugged and looked at Olivia and Beverly...She took his card and put it in her purse..

"Let's get out of here...I need a drink.." I said.

Olivia kissed me softly..

"Ummmmmmmmm, That sounds good baby.." she said..

Terrence winced at seeing Olivia kiss me so sensually.

"Is there a bar in this town? I need one now.. I don't feel like driving to Philly."said Beverly...

"I think I know of a place.."said Nelson...

"Lead the way Nelson.."said Kayla..

As we left ,Terrence said to Kayla...

"I don't believe I got your name Little Sexy."he laughed..

"Because I didn't give it to you."said Kayla as we left Terrence standing there...

"Love you girl." laughed Beverly..hugging her cousin.

IV-

We found a nice bar in one of the hotels near the edge of town...

"Ouuu I like this place...We  have got to come back here one night Nelson....Did you bring some other girl here before me?" asked Beverly jokingly...

"Babe, We've been together longer than this bar has been in this lobby....I found it last year when Chance Howard and I tried a case out here." said Nelson..

"You two HAVE been together a long time Nelson." joked Olivia...

"She's the end of the road for me...I aint goin nowhere..."said Nelson...

"Awwwwwwwwwwwww.. Me neither boo." said Beverly kissing him...

 "I love you Beverly." said Nelson..

"I love you too baby." she said...

"Awwwww, That's so sweet." said Kayla, smiling..

"Something  bothering you babe?" said Olivia to me..

as our drinks arrived..

 I smiled..

"You've done just enough to save Demming...I think you'll get him off...But don't you wonder...If he didn't kill his wife..Then who did?   I know you guys are all attorneys and it's not your job to solve the case...but I'm curious...I've been curious.." I said.

"About what D.R.?" asked Beverly..

"Like how come Lisa Woods didn't show up at all? And how come we can't find the former director of that prison...Mark Macklin." I said. "I've called him three or four times and been by his  former job and nobody has seen or heard from him in months!....Midge Demming wrote a letter of recomendation for him to get that job in the first place...I would have loved to have talked to him about his relationship with her...When she found out about him beating and torturing some of the kids.. She was also the one who called and reccomended that he be fired...Which he was.." I continued.

"Lisa Woods would have been a hostile witness...She was a prosecution witness, not our problem...."said Olivia.

"Okay Kayla, then going to your case...You said there was one girl you really wanted to interview who was really messed up when she left that program.." I said.

"Yeah, her name was Lynn Woods or Linda Woods...something or other...I couldn't find her..."said Kayla..

"Did you say Lynn Woods?" asked Olivia..

"Yes..Why?" asked Kayla..

"Lisa Woods had an older sister with that same name...She died about six months ago, didn't she Bev?"
asked Olivia..

"Yeah..Lisa got real emotional, when we asked her about a photo of the two of them in her apartment..She wouldn't talk about her."said Beverly...

Nelson looked at me..

"What you thinkin Donnie Ray?"he asked...

"I don't know...Somethin is just bothering me about Lisa ,It has since day one...I need to look into that sister of hers...Macklin too! It's probably nothing though..."I said.  I didn't want to be a Debbie Downer...

"This is a cool place....but it needs some music huh?" I said as I quaffed down my drink..

 "You aint never lied about that D.R." said Beverly...

"Well at least the drinks are cheap." said Kayla..

Olivia ,Nelson and I busted out laughing...

(CONCLUSION NEXT)