Empty Vessel

Lt. Tragg was fielding questions from the press..

"So you're certain Vanessa Nelson is guilty Lieutenant?" asked a reporter..

"Come on guys...We caught her covered in the blood of the murder victim, her own brother for christ sakes ..." he said..

"But she made the police call."said another reporter..

"So what?  She's covered in blood, her brother's dead and no one else is anywhere in sight and not one eyewitness saw or heard a thing..She's guilty as hell and as crazy as a loon!" said Lt. Tragg.

"It's not like the killer is going to hang around and wait for you guys to come!" stated another reporter..

"Listen...I'm the detective here.."snarled Lt. Tragg...

"At least that's the rumor.."said another reporter...

Raucous laughter followed...

Lt. Tragg was as red as a beet..

The reporters were eating it up!

"Turn that off" said Olivia..

"He's ruining our case...How can she even begin to have a fair trial and he's on television saying things like that?" asked Beverly...

"I'm surprised the police brass hasn't muzzled him" I said..

"God, at this rate, we might have to ask for a change of venue.." said Nelson...

"You ever do that Liv? Bev?" asked Josie...

"Are you kidding? Not as a Public defender , with their budget? Or lack of one.." said Olivia..

"And our case load? The idea never occurred to us.."said Beverly...

''Ha...You got that right?" laughed Nelson..

"That Lt. Tragg sure likes to hear himself talk..."said Alfreda....

"Yes..He is quite the Television Ham.."said Olivia.

''The reporters brought up better questions than he had answers for.."said Beverly..

''Surprised?"I asked.. ''At least they are thinking..More than I can say for Lt. Tragg."I said.


We had been watching the morning news in our conference room...

We were drinking coffee and eating warm Blueberry Muffins and butter that Alfreda

had bought for us on her way to our Duplex/Office.

''Change of Venue is not even on our radar right now...We haven't met her yet..Let's be about that...Dr. Oakley is waiting." said Olivia as we prepared to walk out..

I whispered to her..

"You like being the boss don't you?"

Olivia blushed...

"I let you be the boss in the bedroom.." she whispered back..

I kissed her softly...

"Ummmmm no complaints from me.." I said..

Olivia blushed something terrible..

"Me neither!" she cooed ...

Alfreda shook her head...

"You two stop that nasty talk and get in that car.." she said and busted out laughing....

We got in the SUV and headed toward Valhalla , the women's prison...

I drove, Olivia sat next to me and Josie sat next to her...

Beverly and Nelson sat in the back..




II-

It wasn't our first time at the prison....

Looking at the young women in orange jump suits marching across the yard was depressing...

We sat in the waiting room and waited..

Dr. Oakley shook our hands..

"Thank you for coming...Thank you for coming...She should be out in a minute...

Vanessa Nelson wasn't at all what I expected...She was an attractive, shapely and busty young woman..

Upon seeing us and Dr. Oakley she burst into tears...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Dr. Oakley...Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuu, you cammmmmmmmmmmmme...I didn't do this...I didn't do this..."she wailed...Tears streaming from her eyes...

Dr. Oakley was surprisingly not moved at all..

"VANESSA KNOCK IT THE HELL OFF!  DO YOU WANT TO WIND UP ON DEATH ROW?" he asked..

And just like that, the tears stopped...Vanessa's face cleared up and she smiled...

"I could never fool you huh doc?" she said..

Olivia, Beverly and Josie were stunned..

She looked at the three of them and smiled..

"Olivia Bennett-Alexander, Beverly West, her niece and I don't know who you are...but if you with them, you must be good.."she said to Josie...

"They're here to help you....Next to me, they're the only people who don't believe you did this...Now straighten up and tell em the truth.."said Dr. Oakland...

Nelson and I remained silent...

She looked at the two of us...

"You two lawyers too?" she asked.. her non-chalant attitude was a turn off...I could see a jury hating her..No way Liv and Bev was going to let her testify...

"I am an Attorney...Nelson East.."said Nelson..

I sat down, I stared her in the eye...

"I'm an investigator...I want you to tell me the truth...What happened?" I said.

"Ummmmm you dress nice and you're kind of sexy...but you sound like a cop..."said Vanessa.

"That's because I used to be a cop.." I said..

Olivia spoke softly...

"Yes..Tell us what happened.." she said...

"You ever go to Aqua Bar?" asked Vanessa.

''All the time.."said Beverly..

"Yes."said Nelson..

"You two are together aren't you? I mean a couple right?" asked Vanessa.

"We've been married a year."said Beverly...

"I can tell...Body language....

Just like Mr.Cop here is married to Olivia.."said Vanessa.

"Body Language ?" asked Olivia..

''That and you're wearing matching wedding bands.."said Vanessa.

This caused Josie to smile..

III-

"My story begins in Aqua Bar.. Friday Night, I was bored , I couldn't find anybody to hang with...As you can guess..I don't have many friends because of the way I am..So I went drinking by myself..

The place was packed...

"I had on a dress I guess you can say was a little revealing...I was getting a lot of attention from the guys..They were buying me mad drinks..and several were asking me to come home with them..I was just ignoring them mostly...I hadn't met one that had interested me..

Anyway...My older brother comes in...I didn't expect to see him there...I try not to go to bars I know he's going to be in...I know he loved me..but sometimes he could be a pain in the ass..He critiqued my dress...He even tried to cover it up...You probably can't relate.."said Vanessa.

''Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yes I can....I have an older brother too!..Her father.."said Olivia ,pointing to Beverly..and he was the same way with me when I was a younger woman...If I wasn't married, he'd still be." laughed Olivia..

''And if he's like that with his grown sister...You can imagine how he was with me, his daughter..We can relate."said Beverly,laughing and suddenly feeling a kinship with her..

"Anyway..My brother came in with his best friend Squee.. Squee was telling him to lighten up, but he kept saying that I was dressed like a whore..My dress was kind of short...It came a little above my thigh and my cleavage was exposed , but I was out trying to have a good time.." said Vanessa.

"Not trying to sound square...but uh being dressed like that could eventually attract the wrong type of attention, don't you think?" I said..

"I can handle myself..We argued so much that I decided to just leave...His friend Squee calmed everybody down and asked me to have a drink with him...I did..We downed a bottle..My brother left me alone then..

After I drank with Squee..I felt kind of woozy...Squee called an Uber and that's all I remember..I don't remember arriving at my loft...I don't remember going in or getting undressed...I don't remember anything..

It seemed like I was asleep for awhile...When I woke up,I was covered in blood and my brother was lying on the floor with a pair of sheers sticking out of his neck...

I remember standing there , watching them take my brother's body out of my loft....I was still covered with his blood...and I wanted to cry,I wanted to feel the loss and I couldn't..I couldn't feel a thing...It just wasn't in me..." she said.

"You did feel fear though , you did feel dread."said Dr. Oakley..

"Yes..I felt that I was going to be accused of this and sent to jail for the rest of my life, which I have been and yet I have no memory whatsoever of anything after I left..Aqua Bar..and that's the truth...That's the truth ." she said..

Olivia, and I and Josie just stared at her..How non-chalant she was..How empty  and devoid of emotion she appeared to be...It was a bit oft putting..

and yet Beverly stared at her as if she understood her...as if she believed her...

Vanessa spoke again..

"Look regardless of what you think of me...I wouldn't have killed my brother...he took care of me...He paid my rent when I was short and my utilities...

He was a pain in the ass, but I know he loved me...He was probably the only person in the world who did..I'm just sorry...Sorry I couldn't love him back..." she said.

She was so non-chalant when she told the story, the way she told the story that I found it hard to believe her..but I realized...She was a sociopath...No empathy for others...no feelings for anybody else except herself...That act she put on when we came in proved it...

"Do you usually drink until you black out?" asked Olivia.

"No..that was a first...And the thing is..I remember getting in the Uber and nothing else..I don't remember putting my key in the door, going up the steps..nothing.." said Vanessa.

''So you could have done this, and you don't remember"said Nelson ,trying to guage her..

 "No...I wouldn't hurt my brother.." she said..

"I believe you."said Beverly...

"How can you possibly?  I know you're looking for something, some conviction..Something you see in all of your other clients...and you just don't see it in me and you won't...I'm an empty vessel...I know it...I don't like being like this,.Not being able to feel any emotions..Faking ...but this is who I am.."she said..

"Ms. Nelson...It's time.."said the matron...

She waved..

"Thanks for coming..I hope you take my case..get me out of here.."she said as she was walked back..

"What do you make of her?" asked Josie..

"She's hard to read....She was right..She is an empty vessel...I kept looking into her eyes for a soul , for something..and it just wasn't there...She told that story as if she were writing fiction..."said Olivia..

''And that's what a jury will see Liv..No way we can let her testify.."said Nelson..

''And yet her story ,as crazy as it sounds , rings true.."said Beverly..

"I got drunk in the bar..I passed out and I wake up covered in my brother's blood and his corpse is lying on the floor beside me..and I can't remember a thing! Not very believable. If I were still a Homicide Detective....On face value...I wouldn't believe this story." I said.

"I told you...She's a sociopath...but here's what I do know..She's not violent...She talks a good game, but she wouldn't hurt a fly...Is she manipulative?Hell Yes.. Is she dishonest?? She has been a time or two..Is she a killer? Absolutely not! Will you take the case?" asked Dr. Oakley...

"Yes...Just got to tailor a defense.."said Olivia...

''We want jurors who are unconventional...Like my Beverly here.."said Nelson..

Beverly hugged her husband.

.Then she kissed him softly..

"I need to check Uber ,See who was driving that night and find out who Squee is..That can't be his real name.."I said..

"We need crime scene photos ,an autopsy report and camera footage from Aqua Bar and outside Aqua Bar and from the street."said Olivia...

I looked at her...

"You alright baby?" I asked.

"Yeah..but this is going to be a tough one..."said Olivia..

"I'm like you Auntay..Intrigued...This is such a different client...We are really going to have to use our imagination on this one.."said Beverly..

"Yeah and prayer...Fervent prayer."said Nelson...

 Olivia's mood brightened...She cracked up..

 So Did Beverly..."That's my hubby!" she said..

 "But he's right." I said.

Josie laughed too..

Dr. Oakley saw us...

"I'll help you in whatever way I can..."he said..

We got in the car and headed home...We had to begin to strategize how we were going to represent this girl..This very empty young lady...

IV-

The cameras were popping and reporters were once again questioning Lt. Tragg..

"Have you heard that Celebrated Defense Attorneys ,Olivia Bennett-Alexander and Beverly West have taken on the defense of Vanessa Nelson?"

asked a reporter...

''Yes..Yess. Yess...I've heard...Those two jump on any case that looks the least bit controversial..but they aren't miracle workers...We found the girl covered in her brothers blood, with sheers from her own loft protruding from his neck...We got her cold..She's guilty...She's going to jail..And Olivia and Beverly can't do anything with that.."said Lt. Tragg..

Reporters snapped photos and continued the interview...

"Lord, that man sure loves to hear himself talk!"said Alfreda as she turned the monitor off!

(TO BE CONTINUED)