A Cold War

The opening arguments for the Cleotis Jefferson murder trial began that Friday Morning....

The Prosecutor , ADA Margaret Barnes looked across the room at us... she then looked at Lieutenant Tragg...

''They look pretty loose and confident.."she said..

"How are they supposed to look? Terrified?" said Lt. Tragg...

"Considering my reputation and pedigree yes!" she said..

''You're really full of yourself kid...You're the new kid on the block...Olivia Bennett-Alexander and her niece, Beverly West have devoured some pretty heavy hitters...They aren't intimidated by you....But here is where you make your bones...You're young, smart and fearless....The perfect type of person to catch them off guard and hand them a long needed defeat...End their winning streak.."said Lt. Tragg...

"That's what I plan to do." she said..

The Judge was our good friend and cross dresser...Judge Turner S. Freeman...He smiled and waved at Olivia and Beverly...

"Oh My God Auntay...Judge Turner Freeman...I hope he doesn't get too friendly with us and cause himself to be recused from the trial.." said Beverly...

"I was thinking the same thing.."said Olivia...

Nelson and Cleotis walked in and sat down....

Cleotis's sister...The person who hired us in the first place sat down front in the spectator section and waved at us..

She had put a lot on the line to get her brother out of this jam...I hope he appreciated his big sister...

I scanned the entire area.....then I took my seat ,behind Olivia, Beverly, Nelson and Josie..

and got ready for the party to start..

II-

She was good....ADA Margaret Barnes was very articulate , with just a touch of drama..Like Olivia and Beverly she was pleasing to the eye...

Her opening statement was one of the better ones...and the witnesses she brought out were the same forensic witnesses that are brought out in all of these trials...

Crime Scene Investigators, Photographers.. Police who were on the scene...They gave their dull ,boring scientific facts....

For their part, Olivia cross examined only one..

She asked this person was there any physical evidence of Cleotis Jefferson at the scene...

He answered yes... He said the semen in her panties tested positive for his and that his fingerprints were all over the apartment..

Olivia simply said they would be ,because that was his girlfriend and he had had sex with her that night...

She then sat down...

Lieutenant Tragg was called...

He expected Beverly to cross examine him...They had had many testy encounters...Instead ,it was Nelson..

Nelson asked him had he explored the option that there might have been another killer...

He balked at that suggestion and said no...That Mr. Jefferson was a career criminal and that this had him written all over it...

The Black jurors took umbrage to that, which was what Nelson wanted..

Beverly asked him if he was aware that Cleotis Jefferson had gotten his GED and completed 3 years of college credits while incarcerated and last Spring had gotten his Bachelors Degree at Lasalle..

Naturally Lt. Tragg wasn't aware of that...

She asked him if he was aware that Cleotis hadn't been in any kind of trouble in 3 years...

He wasn't aware...

She smiled sweetly and said..

"No more questions..."

Monday and Tuesday..

More of the same...ADA Barnes was slowly building her case against him.......

Olivia, Beverly and Nelson, without being argumentive was slowly and subtlely taking her case apart , bit by bit,piece by piece...

They already had the six Black Jurors and one Latino juror swayed toward their side and they hadn't begun their defense...

Their simple well planned line of questioning and cross examination was swaying several jurors...

III-

ADA Barnes sensed she was losing her edge...She knew what they were doing...So far she hadn't lodged one objection...She couldn't...They made sure everything was relevant and within the paramenters of the law..  ADA Barnes had never face an adversary like Olivia and her team...She felt over whelmed..

Wednesday , after trial adjourned , She told her fears to Lt. Tragg...

"Arthur...I'm losing....Those three are as slick as canned oil...I'm losing.." she said.

"You're not losing...They got nothing...nothing...They're grabbing at straws...That's why they aren't being overly dramatic..." he said...

''We've got no physical evidence of murder...Like they said..That was his girlfriend..He was supposed to be there..I'm the one with nothing.." she said.

"You've got two eye witnesses that place him at the scene of the murder and with the gun in his hand...Tomorrow you hit em with the big guns...and you've got em...You got em cold...I'm telling you baby..You got this.." said Lt. Tragg..

''Are you sure Arthur?" she asked..

"Baby...it's open and shut..." he said... "Come here and give me a kiss..." he said..

He pulled her to him and kissed her...At first softly and then passionately.....He had been trying to put the moves on her for awhile and so far she had resisted him, but as the trial drew closer and closer, she began to feel butterflies in her stomach...Facing Olivia and Beverly was major...She had a spotless record so far, she didn't want a blemish...She found herself confiding in Lt. Tragg more and more and warming to him! Big Mistake on her part.

''Arthur....we shouldn't be kissing like this...in the lobby of the courthouse.." she said softly...

"Then come to my house where we can have all the privacy we need.." he said..

"Ummmmmmmmmm you naughty boy..." she said softly...."Ummmmmmmmmmmm..."she moaned in between soft kisses...

"Ohhhhhh Arthur..." she said..

''Ohhhhhhhhh Margaret!" he moaned..

They drove to his house...

He had her skirt off and his hands down her panties within minutes....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Arthurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...you're freshhhhh!" she moaned...

"ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..I'm a badd boyyyyy,didn't you know that girrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl?" he moaned..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...I know it now....I like badd boyyysssssssssssssss!" she said....

They fell onto his bed and she slipped the rest of his clothes off and hers...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmph..." he moaned..

''Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Arthurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr......ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" she cooed...

Soon his bed was rocking like crazy....His headboard was slamming hard against the walls....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..."she moaned....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sweet babyyy.." he moaned..

SIX TO SEVEN HOURS of hot sweaty lovemaking continued....

The bed was squeaking even louder and the headboard was about to fall off...

''Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm...Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" he moaned loudly...

''Arthur please...You have neighbors...." she implored...

''So what?" he said..

"I don't want everyone to know I'm over here.." she said...

"Oh....Oh...Oh...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I'm about to blow wwww my loaaaaaaaaaaad!" he yelled..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..ARTHURRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!! Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.....OH MY goddddddddddd!!!" she screamed...

He came so hard.....his body was shaking.....So was hers.....sweat and tears ran down her face...and her head was turning from side to side for a few minutes...

They continued to kiss each other passionately....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez!" he moaned....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh Arthur....Oh My god...that was amazing!" she said...her legs still shaking...

IV-

All along we had been patiently waiting for her to spring her two eye witnesses...Her big guns..Her show stoppers...

Today she called Alex Glover....

Alex was sober now and he looked at Cleotis ,sitting there..

He didn't know him, didn't have anything against him.....He really felt bad he had lied...but what floored him was when he saw Marrisa and Cheryl...the two girls he had tried to pick up at Aqua Bar...They were really
Olivia Bennett-Alexander and Beverly West...

Cleotis's attorneys...He had said a lot of things to them that night...Damning things....

"Mr. Glover on the night of November 16th 2017....You were standing outside the apartment complex where Ms. Halsley was brutally murdered....You told the police you saw Mr. Jefferson running from the building , a little after six with a .38 didn't you?" asked ADA Barnes..

"Ugh...I'm not..I'm not sure...I was drinking that night...I might have seen him, I might not of.." he said.

Exasperated...ADA Barnes said..

"Let me remind you...You are under oath...Now did you see him or not?" she asked..

"Yeah...Yeah...I saw him with a gun runnin out of the apartment complex...I think he tossed it down the sewer." he said..

She smiled..

''Would you like to cross examine him Mrs. Alexander." she said with a superior attitude.

Olivia smiled..

"I sure would..." she said and walked over to him....

She sure smelled good, he thought and she looked great too..

"Mr. Glover have we met before?" she asked.

"Yeah...You told me your name was Marissa.." he said.

"It is..it's my middle name..Olivia Marissa Bennett is my birth name...You told me a different story that night in Aqua Bar didn't you?" she asked.

"I don't recall...I was drinking.." he said..

Beverly played an ipad mini video recording of the night...

"We thought you might have problems remembering so..Let me refresh your memory." said Beverly...

"You guys know Cleotis?"

"Yeah, you might say we shared him one night.."said Beverly as Cheryl....

"I don't even know the guy....and I lied to the cops....Lawd have mercy....She made me do it..."he said.

"Who made you do what sugar?" asked Olivia/Marrissa..

"Heather...Heather Wilson....I was all caught up in her and all she talked about was him....She told me if I told the cops I saw him with a gun....She'd give me some....I did....I lied...now he in jail....and I aint heard a peep out of her...My boys told me she seein some other joker.." he said and cried like a baby...

''Don't cry...It's alright...." cooed Marrisa

(Click!)

 "That is you isn't it Alex?" asked Olivia.

"Y-Yes.." he said.

"So did you lie to us or lie to the police?" she asked...

"The-The cops..." he said and began balling....

ADA Barnes was furious.....Still she had no choice but to call her other eye witness..Fred Rackley...

He was better..and he was angry that Beverly had tricked him....

"Yeah I seen him, that dude right there!!!...Come runnin like a bat out of hell out of the apartment at 7:30..That's him Cleotis Jefferson!" he said..

Nelson cross examined him...

"Mr. Rackley...You don't know Cleotis Jefferson at all do you?  You two didn't grow up in the same neighborhood, don't have any friends in common except Heather Wilson and don't even drink at the same bar..Isn't that true.?" asked Nelson..

"I knew him through her.." he said.

"No....No you didn't.....She told you about him...You never met him...and you said as much to my associate Attorney here , who you were trying to pick up...right?" asked Nelson...

"Uh..Uhhhh ....I-I-I don't recall..." he said.

"I object your honor...Argumenative, Leading the witness.." said ADA Barnes..

Judge Freeman gave her a side eye...

"Alright, which one is it Ms. Barnes?" he asked..

''Withdrawn.." she said and plopped down like a spoiled school girl..

Nelson smiled.....

Beverly walked up....

"That's not trueeeeeeeeeeeeee Freddie..." she said and played an  ipad mini recording of their entire encounter...

He stared at her....Hard to believe she was an Attorney.... She was so sexy he thought.....

Beverly had placed a Micro-camera with a very powerful microphone near them in the bar that  night...She got a good video and perfect sound...

"Damnnnnnnnnnn girl....you sexy as hellllllllllllllllllll.." he said..

She giggled..

"Thank you.." she said..

"Why don't we uh...get out of here and uh go back to my place... You know...For some quiet uh conversation?" he said..

"I don't think conversation is what you want?" she joked..

"Naw...It aint..." he laughed... He had an erection in his pants that was threatening to bust his zipper open... Beverly noticed it and smiled..

"You know...I used to come here with my ex-boyfriend...Cleotis Johnson....Do you know him?" she asked and ran her index finger across his lips..

"Wouldn't know him if I tripped over him in the street...I seen enough photos of him though....but I aint never meet him in person..." he said.

 She smiled..

"He's in jail now...for murder....I don't think he did it.." said Beverly...

"He probably didn't....I think he got set up..." said the drunken Fred Rackley..

''What makes you think that?" asked Beverly...

"Cause.......Cause I helped...set him up...."he said..."Look I don't want to talk about him...I want to talk about me and you...my place..in bed.." he said..

The Jury gasped upon hearing this..

 "No more questions.."said Nelson, smirking as he sat down.

 ADA Barnes had no choice but to argue for jury nullification....Pointing out that Jefferson was a two time convicted felon and that there was no one else who could have reasonably done this...

She knew that she had lost the Black Jurors and the Latino Juror and that now even the white jurors were lost....Her two eyewitnesses were unreliable at best and liars at worse....

"That's an amateur move...If she was more experienced...she'd know better." Olivia whispered to Beverly.

 "Well I'm glad she isn't more experienced.." said Beverly, smiling.

Olivia and Beverly began their defense the very next day...They talked about how Cleotis Jefferson improved his life by getting his education...

They presented charactor witnesses from his job and they produced photos of him and Brenda kissing passionately that night in two different bars and of him going to her home and leaving and not coming back...

They showed his text message and then the alleged text message from a blocked number...They asked why would he send a text from a blocked number to his girlfriend ,who he had just spent hours with?

They produced several witnesses who say that in the days leading up to the murder they'd seen his ex- Heather Wilson hanging around the apartment complex and asking people where Brenda Halsley lived...

The jury had already heard two eye witnesses testify that she honey trapped them into giving false testimony.

"Look at them ,they're like a well oiled machine, the way those two work.."she said..

"Having been around them for four years...I'd say you're right...They are a formidable team..."I said.

The next day,They called one person and one person only...

Hostile witness, Heather Wilson....

It was obvious by her surly manner, that she didn't want to be here...


Being questioned by Beverly wasn't exactly making her happy either.

 "Heather , You and Cleotis were together for two years right?" she asked..

"Yes.."she replied..

"And when he left you for Brenda..You hated that didn't you?" she asked...

"I was very upset..I cried every night for about a month...." she said..

"And you stalked her didn't you?" asked Beverly...

"I did not!!!" she said..

"You used the promise of sexual favors to get two men to testify falsely did you not?" asked Beverly..

''I did not...They lyin.." she said.

Olivia produced photos I had obtained of her car outside of and in back of Brenda's building on several dates..

"That's your car isn't it?" asked Olivia..."And this is your gun permit!!!....A .38 smokeless...And I'm going to give this to the police....and I'm betting it will be a ballistics match for this murder!!!  You don't have to say anything more...Get yourself some legal counsel.." said Olivia..

Heather burst into tears.....

And just like that...The trial had reached it's non climatic end!

ADA Barnes was flabbergasted...

The jury took just 18 minutes to come back with a verdict of NOT GUILTY on all counts!!!

'

''Damn it, you guys are good....You nailed it in two days..." screamed Cleotis Jefferson,leaping in the air..

 "Thank your sister....she believed in you and she contacted us.."said Olivia..

Juanita grabbed Olivia,Beverly and me and squeezed us..

"Thank you guys...Thank you all so much she said...Then she walked over to Nelson and Josie and hugged them..

''And thank you guys too!"she said...

"I don't know what to say...damnnnnnnnnnnnnn..it sure feels good to come from out of a murder rap!" said Cleotis..

"Keep your nose clean...That's thanks enough.." I said..

ADA Barnes stared daggers at Lt. Tragg...

"TWO EYE WITNESSES, TWO GOTDAMN EYEWITNESSES......WHY DIDN'T YOU CHECK THEM OUT? HOW COME YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE GUN PERMIT??WHY DIDN'T YOU WORK THE JEALOUS GIRLFRIEND ANGLE?? YOU BLUNDERING IDIOT!!! AND TO THINK...I SLEPT WITH YOU!" she bellowed....

Lt. Tragg was as red as a beet.

"Look you're just a little upset....because you lost the case....Go home, get some rest....I'll call you later." he said quietly.

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu lose my number....You're not getting anymore of this." she practically screamed...

"Lower your voice please counselor.."said Lt. Tragg, very embarrassed....

"Ouuu I could just scream....What was I thinking? Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" she bellowed, stomped her foot and stormed out of the courthouse.....

Many people heard her outburst, including media people...Who burst into gales of laughter....

"My God...How does he get all of these women to sleep with him? The witness...That detective....HER??" exclaimed Beverly...

"He's just lucky I guess."I said, laughing...

 Olivia laughed too....

"Okay you guys...Let's get out of here.."said Olivia..trying to contain herself....

Judge Turner S. Freeman walked up just then...

"Ohh Olivia, Beverly....Nice going in there today....I must say your trials are usually more dramatic...This was very low key...I enjoyed it...You were all very good....I'll see you at Bridget's...." he said..and walked away...Just before he left he whispered to Olivia..

"I'm wearing the Purple String Bikini panties you picked out!...Very, Very Relaxing...Did your husband like the peach bikini panties you purchased that day?" he asked..

Olivia looked a little uncomfortable having this conversation with him winced and said...

"Yes, he loved them.."

I certainly had....I nearly ripped them off of her that night..

"You're an attractive woman Mrs. Alexander...I'm certain he did...I started to buy that pair for myself.."said Judge Freemon..

Beverly, ever the jokester whispered to him...

''Ever think of trying a thong?"

''Nooooooooooooo Noooooooooooooo...I need a little more room...Coverage, if you will." he said..

"Ohhhh God Have Mercy!" said an exasperated Olivia...shaking her head...

Both Olivia and Beverly looked at each other...It was all they could do, to hold back their laughter....

Nelson shook his head...

"Panties!!..A man that wears panties..." he said...

"Nelson my boy....This is indeed a strange town..." I said..


EPILOUGE-

Fred Rackley and Alex Glover were convicted of perjury and sentenced to two months in County Jail...Neither of them did more than two weeks...They got a suspended sentence and were released soon afterwords...

Heather Wilson was convicted of 2nd degree Murder and sentenced to 15-25 years....

Tonight we were having a quiet dinner with Lem and Zoey...

"Wow, you guys just wrapped up a case today huh, aren't you exhausted?" asked Zoey...

"I am...After we eat..I'm going home and have my hubby rub my feet...."said Olivia...

She rested her head on my shoulder...

Beverly smiled serenely and leaned her head on Nelson's shoulder..

 Lem smiled...

''Wow! Your last case as a single man Nels....Mine too!..The one I had today..."said Lem...

"It's Beverly and Nelson's last case as single people..They are officially on leave...I don't care if another case does come up...I'll get somebody else to be second chair..." said Olivia..

"Wow, two weeks for you guys huh?  I'm so excited.." said Zoey...

"And two months for you two...."said Olivia...

I sat back and smiled...

I personally hoped nothing came up in the next two weeks...I was exhausted...but I was happy..I hoped we all always stayed this happy!