Burning It Down

Olivia, Beverly and I found a Bed and Breakfast in Chestnut and set up shop there....The Law Library was where the courthouse and the jail was...All in one building...The County Seat...The next morning...The three of us stopped by there...

We visited the prisoner....Bobby Russin....The young man I helped the police capture...Now accused of Capital Murder...In the shooting death of the town's Mayor, Wilson Tucker...

Olivia asked to see him....She gave her card to the clerk...

"You're a Lawyer huh?" asked the clerk....

"Yes.. and this is my niece...She's also an Attorney...." said Olivia..

The Clerk looked at both of them....

"You guys are from Philly huh?  And you come to see Ol Bobby?? You sure?? He aint got no money...How did you two big city lawyers even hear about him??" he asked.

"Can we see him? We want to represent him." asked Beverly...

"Really? Awww you guys got a loser of a case here...We caught him with the murder weapon on him, still smokin and the jacket he wore when he shot our Mayor...Open and shut case....He's goin to the gas chamber..." said the Clerk..

"Excuse me....Are you a lawyer?" I asked..

"Me?...Uh no..."he said.
"So you aren't prosecuting the case?" I asked...
"Uh nah...No..." he said

"Then you don't know that for sure...Now he has a right to see an Attorney....Can they see him or not?" I asked forcefully.

He got beet red....and marched us down the hallway to a series of cells....He unlocked the cell, handcuffed
Bobby Russin and brought him into a holding cell...Where he sat down...

Bobby looked at me and grimaced...

"YOU!! What the hell are you doin here?  Come to gloat?" he said.

"I deserve that...But I'm here because I don't think you did this...I think you're innocent.." I said.

He frowned and then said sarcastically...

"Oh You do huh? I told you that when you helped them guys arrest me..." he said.

"I do...and I brought my wife and my niece with me...They're Attorneys ,they want to represent you.." I said.

He looked at Olivia and Beverly...

"You two look like money...I haven't got any....I was living off of unemployment and staying in that rooming house at a reduced rate...So you came here for nothing." he said.

"You have at least $100.00?" asked Olivia..

"Yeah." he said.

"Then That is my fee.." said Olivia..

He looked in dis belief....

"You're kidding right?" he said...

"No...She's not...So we got a deal or what?" asked Beverly...

He looked at me...

"Is this a trick or something?  You working for District Attorney...Eval Jennings??" he asked.

"We don't know who that is...We were just passing through here yesterday.. We don't know anybody....We stopped through here to get gas and air for our tires and we walked into a murder.." I said.

"And you decided to play hero huh?" he asked..

"I used to be a cop...It's in my blood.." I said.

"Used to be a cop? What are you now?" he asked..

"I'm a P.I.  I work for them..."I said pointing to Olivia and Beverly...

"Your Wife and her niece?" he asked.

"Yeah...They're pretty good Attorneys....I make way more than I did on the Police force.." I said.

"No doubt..." he said ,smiling for the first time..

"So we got a deal?  Are we your attorneys?" asked Olivia..

He was quiet for a moment...

 ''Why are you doing this for me? What is in this for you?" he asked...

 "Truthfully Bobby? Nothing...My niece and I both have a half dozen potential clients waiting for us in Philadelphia.. Paying Clients....but my husband...doesn't believe you did it.. and I love my husband and I believe in him......He's helped me more than he knows...So if he says you're innocent...I believe you're innocent.." said Olivia..

"First of all...You weren't out of breath when he found you...And second of all...Even the dumbest killer would have tried to hide the murder weapon...and he found your torn coat, but not your pants...You don't strike me as dumb..."said Beverly, smiling..

" I had just woke up....I was at the bar last night...Drinkin with these guys...I don't know who they was..but we were throwin back Tequila until well after midnight, they was payin.......I must have passed out...Next thing I know..I was waking up...and your husband  had a gun on me and I was being arrested for murder Ms. Olivia..." he said.

"Have you eaten or drank anything today?" asked Olivia...

"No.. I just woke up..." he said.

"I'm going to call the Coroner or County Doctor and order a Urinalysis..."said Olivia..

"I'll get on that Auntay..." said Beverly...

"Chances are...You were drugged..." said Olivia...

"Why would someone set you up like this Bobby?" I asked.

He scratched his head...

"Damn if I know...but I'm perfect for it!..." he said.

"Why?" I asked.

"The Mayor was a Judge once...He sentenced me to two years in the County Lock up for driving under the influence..I was high.....I did a year and they let me out and I just got my drivers license back...." he said.

"So you might have a grudge against the Mayor?" said Olivia..

"I might...but I didn't....I was working at the factory until about three months ago for the past three years...Then the Factory closed down...cause they moved out and I lost my job and my apartment...I was livin off of unemployment and stayin in that Rooming House...I aint been in no trouble.. You can check.." he said.

''We will.." I said.

 "What about gettin me out of here...huh?  How high is my bail??" he asked.

 "They are holding you without bail...You're a murder suspect..." said Beverly...

"I'll look into getting you bail." said Olivia..

"I sure do appreciate what you two are doing for me.." he said.

"Don't thank us yet...Let's hope we can get you out..." said Olivia.


As we walked out , we saw Odessa Robinson, the woman we had met the day before standing in the hallway..

"So you guys are going to stay a few days huh?" she said.

"Yeah, something about this case smells funny....We decided to take another look.." I said.

"Good for you...When I heard the details...I thought it sounded hincty too.."said Odessa.

"Then we are in agreement.." said Olivia...

"Yeah...A word to the wise. ..Keep to yourselves and trust no one around here...DA Jennings runs this town...The police force, the Public Defenders...They're all under his sway...I don't know if he's dirty, but he holds a lot of sway...Here is my phone number and address if you need any help...I live near the edge of town......You guys got a place to stay?" she asked.

"Yes.. We are staying at the Bed and Breakfast right on the edge of town.."said Beverly..

"Okay...be careful and remember what I told you....Keep your findings and your business to yourselves...If you need anything..call me..I'll be in touch." she said.

"Thank You." I said.

"Just take care of these fine ladies here." she said and smiled.

"Thank you mam!" said Olivia and Beverly in unison.




II-

It's not like we didn't know it was going to be an uphill battle..Two days later we were at a preliminary hearing at the County Seat... Like I said...It wasn't like we didn't expect it to be an uphill battle.

Olivia and Beverly argued vehemently for Bobby Russin to be given bail....but the town's Handsome and Charismatic District Attorney , Eval Jennings fought against it, stating that this man was a murder suspect and a flight risk.

He was a handsome man with jet black hair...And the courthouse was filled with women ,from Teen-agers to middle aged women...All there to see him try this case...He knew it too...And he used his movie star good looks to his advantage...He'd wink or curl his bottom lip , which had the women swooning and gushing...

For the first time , Olivia and Beverly were seen as the bad guys.. Outsiders...Big City Slickers that had come to this small town to undermine the townsfolk and defend a man who had murdered their beloved mayor on the eve of his wedding...

Missing from the hearing was the Mayor's would be widow, Helen Dubois...

She surprisingly had gone to D.C.

Beverly had wisely asked a Doctor from the State Office to perform a urinalysis on Bobby....The results was that someone had laced his alcohol with a ruthie...Meaning he was drugged the night before..

The District Attorney argued that that proved nothing...and that he had more than likely been robbed the night before..

Olivia argued that he hadn't been robbed...And produced his wallet which was filled with cash,  a debit card and a credit card....None of which had been used to pay for the drinks...

Beverly filed a motion to see the film footage from the bar Bobby had been drinking in....They said that the footage from that night had been erased...

The D.A. presented the murder weapon, which did have Bobby's fingerprints on it...and was still smoking when the police officers found it... and his torn jacket and the young woman who ripped it...

Olivia brought up her arrest record, which was quite lengthy and the fact that she was under indictment for prostitution.....

Beverly asked her if she always tussled with suspected shooters and if she really got a good look at the shooter's face...

She tripped the woman up so many times that it almost looked as if she was lying...

Olivia brought up the point that when captured ,he was not out of breath....and that he had no pants on...pants which still haven't been found..and asked , why wouldn't he ditch the murder weapon and the jacket ??

The judge, was intrigued...He found himself smiling...He set bail at 50K.....Still way too high for Bobby to get out...but it was a win....and it did ruffle the feathers of the D.A. , Who didn't expect any type of fight....The Judge , we would later find out didn't care too much for the pretty boy District Attorney who always seemed to win...He had argued that the town needed younger Public defenders....Public defenders ,who did more than just collect a check and allow their clients to go to jail...The Judge at least liked that here were two feisty, young attorneys who were making the Pretty boy District Attorney work for a change..

The D.A. tried to keep his composure...But it was obvious that he was perturbed, when he approached Olivia and Beverly at the end of the days proceedings..

"I know who you two are....You're from Philly.....You've been on CNN and MSNBC a few times...Betty "No Mercy "Kersey, Steven Graves...and recently Joanie Makely in San Francisco...I know who you two are...No way this loser can afford you two....Why are you taking this case?" he asked.

''Why are you worried about that counselor?  We are taking this case, because we think he's being railroaded.." said Olivia..Olivia was getting a kick out of the fact that she and Beverly had him so steamed up and worried.

"He's White Trash...Not your usual Black Lives Matter activist or victim or cause celebre or some Woman being wronged...What do you care? Go back to Philly represent the family of some mope killed by the police...Didn't you two just finish with a case like that recently?" he asked.

"Question is...What do you care why we are defending him?" asked Beverly...She was equally getting a kick out of the fact that he was bewildered by them...She picked up that he usually won and that he more or less bullied the two Public defenders working for the town...

"I want to tell you...I'm flattered that you're such a big fan of our work....I'd return the compliment...but before today...I never heard of you....Have you Bev?" asked Olivia..

"No...Can't say that I have Auntay..." said Beverly, Shrugging...

I stood to the side ,watching all of this and laughing quietly....As a former Homicide Detective I had been in court many times and had never seen a Defense Attorney humiliate a District Attorney the way these two were humiliating Eval Jennings.

"We have two very capable Public Defenders right here in town..." he said, ignoring them...

"One is 68 years old and about to retire and the other one is 72 and should have retired years ago...I checked...and they've lost or settled most of their cases...You don't lose often counselor...In fact...You never lose, do you?...."asked Olivia..

"Come on Eval...Don't you relish a challenge?" joked Beverly...

"Go Home...This is a loser case....It's beneath you....Go back to Philly...Don't waste your time on this." he said.

"We don't think it's a waste of time. But you're wasting your time trying to discourage us from taking this case." said Beverly, smiling sweetly....

"BAHHHHHHHHHHH!" he said and stomped his foot and stormed out...

Olivia smiled...

"So handsome and yet such an asshole...Ohhhh this is going to be fun."she said.

 "My thoughts exactly Auntay." said Beverly....

"Just be careful you two...He is the law and the power in this town...And he's still wildly popular." I cautioned.


III-

That afternoon....Olivia, Beverly and I went to the rooming house....To our surprise...It was completely empty...Every room...

"This is odd..but not surprising....I did a property search....This place went into receivership a month ago...and the owner is deceased....Now how can that be that Bobby and several others were staying here?" I asked aloud..

"Ouuu, this really stinks to high hell...I couldn't find any tenents on the ledger ,except Bobby."said Olivia...

"That's because there were none...All of these names are phony...Dead people, Babies.. Donnie Ray and I checked em out Auntay...This was a set up, a scam....Our friend Pakistani Sam would be proud. Look Donnie Ray....This back door to the hallway....Whoever you chased up here...Could have stopped by Bobby's room dropped the jacket and the gun off and dashed down the steps...before you got here..."she said.

"And didn't have enough time to change pants with the phony copper ,who was running with me...Who dropped out of sight, once I entered the building...See ,I was not supposed to be in the equation..."I said.

Olivia and Beverly snapped photos of the entire place...with their Iphones...

I looked at the room...

"I wonder if we called the state police in...if they'd find fingerprints and other DNA evidence in here?" I asked.

"You could...but you really think they'd get involved in a small town matter..? Eval Jennings is very popular and well respected.. He'd convince them all to move along.." asked Olivia..

"You got a point babes." I said.

"What's that smell? Something smells like it's burning..."said Beverly...

I looked out into the hallway...

"It's us? We are on fire!!! Let's get out of here...OUT THAT BACK DOOR NOW!!!" I barked..

The three of us dashed out the back door and down the steps...and across the street!

The rooming house was on fire....

 "Someone really has something to hide here." said Olivia as we watched the rooming house burn so hot, we could feel the heat from across the street.

 "If I had doubts about this being a set up before...I definitely don't have them now..." I said.

Beverly looked at Olivia and I and said... "Small town...Big secrets."


(DEFINITELY TO BE CONTINUED)