The Case

It was raining like crazy.......Our trial started in another day.....The four of us had been studying hard....In My apartment...preparing for this trial...

Bee Bee and I were kissing in the living room....

"You'd uh better shower and get dressed.....Sofia and Khalil will be down in a few minutes...I said in between kisses...

Bee Bee had brought her clothes and her night clothes up to my room....

"I could if you'd stop kissing me.." said Bee Bee in between kisses....

"Okay." I said and gently eased out of our embrace...

Bee Bee took her clothes and toiletries and headed towards my shower.... Sofia and Khalil arrived while she was in the bathroom getting dressed..

"Hey ,is Bee Bee here? Why did I ask? I know she's here.."laughed Sofia...

"Well while we wait...Let's take stock of what we know.." said Khalil...

"Hot Rod Harry....Real name Harold Henderson, born and raised in Washington D.C., attended D.C. public schools, BA. in Journalism from Georgetown, Worked at local D.C. and Virginia Television and Radio Stations , moved to Philadelphia PA. where he's been a top Sportscaster since 2010... Married Mary Elizabeth Carter, An Interior designer and former Ms. Panties, Former Ms. Philadelphia and runner up in the Ms. Pennsylvania Beauty pageant...."I said...

"It was said that they had an open marriage..." said Khalil...

"
On August 31, 2016, Hot Rod Harry's estranged wife, Mary Elizabeth Carter, was shot twice in the face in the parking lot of an office tower in downtown Philadelphia. Police initially announced their belief that the murder was a result of a botched robbery.

Hot Rod Harry voluntarily met with Robbery-Homicide Detectives and initially denied any connection to the murder of his estranged wife, saying he was in ^{Camden , New Jersey covering a River sharks Baseball game} On September 7, he voluntarily turned himself in to the police. He was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the killing of his wife, who filed for a contentious divorce after she discovered he was not legally divorced from his first wife, when they wed. On the night of September 11, 2016,  posted a $250,000 bond and was released from jail.

Lead Investigator, Lt. Arthur Tragg believed that Hot Rod Harry himself committed the crime by staking out the  office tower where Mary Elizabeth Carter regularly saw a counselor, allegedly donning a false beard and mustache and shooting her twice in the face with a .38 caliber pistol.

Surveillance video around the scene of the crime recorded a figure matching the description of a suspicious person seen leaving the scene on a bicycle. The surveillance video showed a 15-minute sequence of images of a man fitting the description of the disguised Hot Rod Harry pacing back and forth in the parking lot. The suspicious person was described as a scruffy-looking white male with a beard and a ruddy complexion and was reportedly seen loading a bicycle into a white Taurus matching the description of a vehicle seen leaving the crime scene; a white Taurus was later found outside Hot Rod Harry's residence."said Sofia.

Bee Bee was dressed and out of the bathroom by then..

"The car did not belong to Hot Rod Harry... It was stolen and when police found it..It had been bleached down..." she said, smiling..

"The figure on that tape with the scruffy beard and  ruddy complexion is shorter and heavier than Hot Rod Harry, who by the way says he wasn't in town...He was in Camden at the time.."I said.

"They'll say Harry hired somebody to do the deed." said Khalil...

''And leave the murder car at his residence!  Yeah, that would be real smart." said Sofia..

"We checked his bank account, credit cards, debit cards....There were no out of the ordinary withdrawals of any kind....That's not his car and thanks to your file....His alibi checks out..."said Bee Bee, who kissed me..

She had butter soft lips....Much like Yvette Jones....

''Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm That's my good luck charm." she said...

The mysterious file had photos...Time stamped photos of Hot Rod Harry in Camden at the Baseball game ,just as he said he was...and during the time of the shooting..Making it impossible for him to physically have killed Mrs. Henderson..

''What we are fighting against is however a key piece of evidence...a sheet of paper with notes and a diagram found in Hot Rod Harry's office during the execution of a search warrant several days after the crime. This was characterized as a checklist or to-do list for the murder and its aftermath, and contained written notes about a gun and its disposal, a bike and a disguise. Nobody has found a bike or the disguise and Harry says that that is not his handwriting and he did not purchase a bike or any disguise..." said Bee Bee...

Khalil and I hadn't found any purchases of a bike or disguise in his financials , and we went back six months...We did the leg work too..Checking as many Bike shops and Costume shops as we could and showing his picture as though we were cops and no one remembered seeing him...

Sofia and Bee Bee did the same thing in Camden.....They came up blank also....

"I think somebody is trying to frame Harry for whatever. reason." I said.

"We should have hired an investigator...We are just going to have to go with what we have...It'll be up to Rockland to prove it was some kind of conspiracy...I think we have enough to prove that our client is innocent." said Bee Bee.




II-

 And at Yvette's apartment..

She and Investigator Gary Lockwood were kissing passionately...

"Gary Honey, I have to go to work...And you'd better get going too before you're late....." she said..

"I know...I just can't let you go baby.."he said ...

 he said in between more kisses....

"I knowwwwwwww...but you have to....You were late yesterday...I don't want you to be late today..." cooed Yvette...

"I've been doing some digging...I think your kids client, Hot Rod Harry is being framed....." he said.

"Framed?" asked Yvette..

"Yeah.. They have street cam footage of a scruffy-looking white male with a beard and a ruddy complexion leaving the scene of the murder...on a bike , that he rides blocks away ,where his car is parked...A White Ford Taurus...Turns out the car was stolen and when police found it...It was bleached down..No DNA, No prints...No Bike, No fake beard...And the man is much shorter and heavier than Hot Rod Harry...Now I'm sure your young charges know this...and they have proof that Harry was in Camden when the murder took place..But there is a letter..a letter found in Harry's office that is practically a to do list of the murder in every sequence of events...Now naturally Harry says he never saw that letter and it's not his handwriting...The car was convieniently parked in his drive way and the note was out in the open where the police could find it...It doesn't jibe...Somebody is being too good to the police..I smell frame." said Gary..

"Oh My God!" said Yvette, now concerned..

"Bee Bee and your guys are smart....They've already hired a handwriting expert....I like them, they're smart kids..." laughed Gary...

"Did you tell Lt. Tragg?" asked Yvette...

"I tried to talk to him twice...One time, he was getting ready for his press briefing....The second time he was running his COMSTAT meeting..." said Gary..

"You've got to tell Rockland..." said Yvette.

"I am..." he said.

"Gary?  Thank You...Thank You for looking out for my young charges..." said Yvette..

"Doesn't that thanks come with a reward?" he said smiling salaciously at Yvette..

"Oh My God!!!...Don't you ever get enough?" she asked,laughing..

They continued kissing passionately...

"Of you? No!" he said.....

III-

Assistant District Attorney Rockland Cambridge sat in his office and listened to his investigator, Gary Lockwood..

''So I went over the case again like you asked me..They have street cam footage of a scruffy-looking white male with a beard and a ruddy complexion leaving the scene of the murder...on a bike , that he rides blocks away ,where his car is parked...A White Ford Taurus...Turns out the car was stolen and when police found it...It was bleached down..No DNA, No prints...No Bike, No fake beard...And the man is much shorter and heavier than Hot Rod Harry...

I have proof that Hot Rod Harry was in Camden covering the Riversharks game just like he said he was...Lt.Tragg overlooked all of this..I found witnesses who will swear they saw him..."said Gary.

 ''What about the letter?" asked Rockland

"Harry says he never saw that letter and it's not his handwriting...The car was conveniently parked in his drive way and the note was out in the open where the police could find it...It doesn't jibe...Somebody is being too good to the police..I smell frame." said Gary..

"Hmmm...Where have you been?, you have a woman's fragrance on your clothes...It smells familiar...And lipstick on your collar.."said Rockland , who was uncharacteristically smiling..."You burn candles on both ends don't you?" he laughed..

"Welll ahhhh what can I say?" laughed Gary...Glad Rockland didn't remember Yvette's fragrance or sense the style of lipstick that was on his jacket collar... Or mention he had the same suit on he'd worn to work yesterday....He'd left her apartment so late this morning, he didn't have time to change clothes and take another shower....This made two days straight...He'd worn only two suits this week...He wondered if anyone else noticed?
At any rate...He felt very self conscious!

"Good work...Go Home, clean yourself up." said Rockland...Who kept wondering where he remembered that fragrance from....

"Sure thing.."said Gary...He had bit the bullet that time...He wondered how Rockland would react when the day came that he discovered that Yvette was seeing him....He sighed.. He'd cross that bridge when he got to it.

IV-

Bee Bee stood outside in the rain, waiting for a sandwich on one of the vending trucks...I walked up to her..

"How is my Bee Bee?" I asked , smiling...

"I should have hired an investigator...All of the company investigators were busy....Working with the other attorneys...I feel like I let you all down.." she said as her food arrived..

I peeled off a few dollars..

"I got this.." I said..  "Look , we don't have to solve the crime...Just get our client off...You've got a plenty..we got a handwriting expert...Film footage and real proof that he was nowhere around when the murder occurred." I said.

"He had her insured for 100K, did you know that?" said Bee Bee.

''Sure did...She had him insured for 300K...He was worth more dead to her than she was dead to him...I'm just saying and anyway...He never tried to collect on the insurance...Not at all..."I said.

''What about his first wife?" asked Bee Bee.

''She's certainly worth looking into..." I said.

"Me and Khalil will look into it." I said.

"You always look out for me.." she said..

"You've always looked out for me....Bee Bee..This was bound to happen...Me and You..We were bound to be together!" I said.

"Really?..I thought you had a thing for Ms. Yvette for a minute..." said Bee Bee..

"I had a lightweight crush on her for a minute....but you....you're the one..I had a thing for...You!"I said...

''Awwwwwwwwwww..."she said.

We kissed passionately...

Oblivious to the rain......

Just then , Khalil walked up to us...

"Hey, just got this....At my desk...." he said and showed us another file..

"I just said , what about his first wife..."I said.

"They were still legally married...."said Bee Bee...."Where did you get this?" she asked.

"It was on my desk...at work..." said Khalil..

''We need to check her out." I said.

"I'm already on it.."said Sofia..

I turned to Bee Bee..

"Feel Better now?"

She said nothing...She kissed me softly..

"What do you think? What do you think...?" she said.

(CONCLUSION NEXT)