The Last Sighting

TUESDAY- First Day of the Mason O. Dixon Murder Trial!

We began our day at Sam Mother's Diner. we had a booth that could accommodate the five of us...

 ''Everybody well rested and ready to go?" asked Olivia, leafing through a few papers and waiting for our food to arrive.

 "I am...You guys certainly look good." I said, smiling sheepishly...Olivia seemed her normal self, focused and ready...

 At home she was still as passionate as ever in bed...

''Donnnie Rayyyyyy, come over here.." she would call.. Dressed in a pink , sheer see through baby doll..

And like a trained seal, I found myself undressing and rushing to our bed..

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmph, Ohhhh Donnie Ray, this is reallll...I'm not dreaming this..Give it to mama...Ouuuuuuu Tell me I'm not dreaming this Donnie Ray..." said Olivia..

"You're not dreaming this baby...At least I'm not.." I moaned..enjoying her immensely....

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmph, Ohhhh Donnie Ray, this is reallll...This is soooo good...ummmmm.." said Olivia..

"YESsssss  baby, yesssss..This is the real thing baby.." I moaned..

"Oh yesss...yes it issssssssssssssssssssss...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she moaned..

Treating me to some of our most passionate and emotional sex ever!

On this morning and most recent mornings...I was a very happy and satisfied man!

 "I'm ready..Donnie Ray.You're blushing...Not an easy feat for a guy with your dark complexion"joked Beverly...

Who hadn't been a slouch in the bedroom herself with her husband of one year now, Nelson..

Though probably not as passionate and emotional as her aunt...They never the less were getting in their share of good lovemaking, I was sure...Nelson always looked as pleased as punch in the morning..and Beverly looked dazed...

 ''I'm as ready as I'll ever be.."said Nelson..Smiling..

"That guy Kevin Wray is going to be so shocked when he finds out I'm part of the legal team."laughed Josie..

"It's not like you lied to him Jo...He never asked you what you did for a living..He just asked for your number."said Beverly..

''If anything, he's going to be mad about that phone number...If he called it." I said..

''What number did you give him Josie?" laughed Olivia.

"The number to the zoo...Remember that case you and Bev had recently, that wrongful termination case?" laughed Josie..

"Oh My God!" laughed Olivia...nearly doubled over in laughter...It was good to see her laughing again..Happy.

"Josie is something else isn't she?" laughed Beverly...

"I've had that done to me a couple of times...I didn't find it funny.."said Nelson, remembering his dating past...

"Awwww booo cheer up...You got the girl of your dreams now though!"said Beverly...

who gave him a sweet kiss on his lips that reminded him of their night and early morning together.

Nelson smiled..

"I do at that.." he said..

"You talk about someone who loved my niece....The first day he laid eyes on her he was gone baby gone as my husband says..."laughed Olivia..

"Did you like him Bev?" asked Josie..

"Ahhhh, He was aightttt!" joked Beverly, who patted her husband on the back and laughed...

We all laughed as our food arrived..

 Pancakes and Sausage for Nelson and I...

 Omelettes for the girls

and coffee for everyone..

Lt. Tragg and ADA Priyati sat a few booths down from us..

 "Look at em...Yucking it up...Any case that has a hint of controversy..Liv and her niece and her whole crew has to jump on it..."scoffed Lt. Tragg..

"If you don't mind...I'm trying to enjoy my breakfast.."said ADA Priyati , who found Lt. Tragg very annoying.

She like Nelson and I was enjoying Pancakes and Turkey Sausage...

Lt. Tragg was sipping on his coffee..

and sulking..




II-

The opening arguments were about to begin...

 Doug Baldwin was on time..He was in a very nice tailored suit...Nice fragrance and not a trace of alcohol...

Something Mason O. Dixon noticed...

"Maybe this is a good sign " he said to Beverly...

"You'll be alright"she said and smiled..

He looked at her sexy body in that black form fitting dress she was wearing..

For a minute he thought to the afternoon, many years ago that they had spent in the bed...

He had wished he had at least called her back..He liked her...She was good people...Too good a girl for him at the time..

Now she was a lawyer...His lawyer, but unapproachable..Married now to another lawyer on his defense team..

Nelson East..What a lucky guy he was..He thought..

He peered at Beverly's aunt, Olivia Bennett-Alexander

She was a sexy woman herself..about his late wife's age...He loved older woman...He had seen photos of Olivia around Beverly's Grandmother's house..It was hard for him to imagine Olivia being her aunt...They were so close in age, Olivia always seemed like Beverly's sexy big sister...

He spied Josie...He didn't know if she was a lawyer like Liv and Bev, but she was a hottie too..he knew he'd enjoy being around these three hot women..

Doug whispered to Olivia..

"Liv ,I haven't had a drop to drink..Not even a beer in two days...I'm completely sober and I haven't seen Kathleen anymore...Is she in here?" he asked.

"Oh yes...She's sitting in the visitor's section, right up front in the empty chair."said Olivia..

Kathleen waved at them both....but now, only Olivia could see and hear her...

"Oh lord!" said Doug, relieved that he could no longer see and hear her and feeling sorry for Olivia, that she was still tormented by her..

''Well Let's get on with it.." said Doug...

III-

Most Attorneys are master storytellers...ADA Soma Priyatti was no different..She weaved a tale of a troubled marriage rife with infidelity on both sides and of a husband, a football player driven to his wits end, who shot and killed her in a rage one night..

Doug Baldwin was a storyteller himself , the kind of guy in a bar , who could hold court with the best of them...He told an opposite story of two people who despite their infidelities, loved each other fiercely and were devoted to one another.. His wife, he argued was killed by an intruder, after he had left the house..

ADA Priyati called during the next three days..Several witnesses..People who had heard the two arguing...

Olivia and Beverly worked their magic, especially with the female witnesses..Asking them if they didn't occassionally argue with their man??...And if so..did the arguments always mean the relationship was over or in trouble??

Nelson did the same thing with the male witnesses...

Score..1 for both sides..

ADA Priyati showed the jury the crime scene photos and called in several forensic specialists and the officers on the scene.

She secretly admired Olivia and Beverly...Still she had a job to do and she intended to do it.

Olivia, Beverly and Doug went hard after every one of them, bringing up small contradictions in their testimony now and what they had originally wrote in the crime scene reports...

This swayed the jurors a bit..

Score 1 for Doug ,Olivia and Beverly...

ADA Privati next presented the ballistics report...

Nelson responded that she was shot from the back...and asked..Why would her husband shoot her from behind? Or rather how could he if he had gone already?  And showed time stamped Street cam photo footage of his car in traffic around the estimated time of the murder.

ADA Priyati exclaimed that you can't see who is driving the car...that anybody could be driving the car...

Olivia asked her..

''Is that what you know for sure ?Or is that what you're wishing?"

Kathleen laughed and jumped up and said- "Booo yaaaaaaaaa go get her Livy" , but of course , no one could hear or see her except Olivia..

Score:1 for both sides.

Mason looked at me..

"Wow!  Your wife and Bev and Bev's husband are destroying her out there...We might just win this yet..

"Oh you aint seen nothin yet..Wait until we begin our defense."I said.

He was watching Josie's every move.. Josie was passing both Beverly

and Olivia

documents and whispering in their ear...

She passed some documents to Nelson also...

Doug was happy...He was surprisingly very focused and

very glad for the help Olivia, Beverly, Nelson and Josie was giving him..

 ADA Soma Priyati rested her case after a contentious four days, certain she had convinced the jury that Mason O.Dixon was guilty of 2nd degree Murder..That he'd killed while in the heat of passion.. That he didn't mean to do it..but had done it just the same..

IV-

MONDAY-Week two of the Mason O.Dixon murder trial...

Beverly was standing in the hallway before trial when Kevin Wray, who was being called as a hostile witness walked over to her..

"Gotdamn baby you sure is fine.."he said ,smiling a toothy grin..

Beverly said nothing..She just looked at him..

"I'm Kevin...Kevin Wray..I play football...I could use a good lawyer.."he said ,practically drooling over Beverly..

"Maybe my HUSBAND could represent you.."said Beverly,pointing to Nelson

 and showing Kevin Wray her wedding band..

Josie passed Beverly some documents and then walked into court with Doug,Olivia,Mason and Myself..

 Doug,Olivia,Mason and Myself..

 Kevin Wray continued to talk to Beverly..

"I aint know baby girl was a lawyer too!" he said..

''She's not quite..She's in Law School, but she's going to be a good lawyer one day.."said Beverly..

"Yeah she sure tricked me up, got my autograph and gave me the number to the zoo."he said..

"Did she?"laughed Beverly..."Well it's been nice talking to you Mr. Wray..But I've got to join the others for trial.."said Beverly..

"I didn't get your name hottie.." he said.

"Oh I didn't give it."said Beverly...

Doug began his defense the exact same way he began his opening statement a week before..

 He told an opposite story of two people who despite their infidelities, loved each other fiercely and were devoted to one another.. His wife, he argued was killed by an intruder, after he had left the house..

He presented a photo of the lock on the back door of the condo...It had been jimmied.. He called two police officers ,who were on the scene to testify to that much.

 Olivia called a handwriting expert up to the stand...

Beverly ,with Josie's help used several 50 inch monitors to show the jury the Hand written letters sent to Mason telling him his wife had been seeing two men...They then showed the jury the mash notes ,also unsigned asking Kathleen to come to his place....

Last but not least the jury saw a signed autograph from Kevin Wray...Mason's team-mate...

Three handwriting experts testified that these letters were all written by the same hand..Kevin Wray..

Kevin Wray stared at Olivia, her niece Beverly and the hot girl, Josie, who he reasoned was an under study for them...

He eased down in his seat...He knew they were setting him up for an embarrassing interrogation.

ADA Priyati protested ,asking for relevance...

"I'm getting to that your honor.."said Olivia..

Nelson called the two football players in question...Who testified under oath that they had not had any sexual or other relations with Mason's wife.. They glared hard at Kevin Wray, who was sitting in the visitor's section..

''So one man was planting seeds of mistrust in a marriage and at the same time trying to make time with the wife.."said Beverly...

Kevin Wray eyed Beverly...She was hot...Even if she was burying him...

Olivia called a very scared Kevin Wray to the stand...He had to admit that he had written all of the letters ,but swore he didn't kill Kathleen..

Mason was seeing red...He wanted to kill Kevin... Kevin Wray couldn't even look Mason's way...He had smiled in his face in more than one occassion while secretly planting seeds of mistrust in an already unsteady marriage..

"I swear, whatever else I done...I didn't kill her...I swear.."said Kevin Wray....

Olivia smiled..

"I know you didn't..No more questions your honor." she said..

Kevin Wray was relieved to be done...He was sweating bullets.

It was Doug's turn...Olivia, Beverly and Nelson had gotten him here..

I walked in with Gunther Howard, a former tight end who had recently been cut from the team...I tracked him down and Josie

had served him a subpoena to testify in court.

Doug called him to the stand...

"Gunther..did you know Kathleen Dixon?" asked Doug gently, like a friend..

"Yeah, I knew her.."he said.

'How well did you know her?" he asked.

''Pretty well." he said.

"It's safe to say you knew her in the biblical sense..You two spent a night together didn't you? remember you're under oath." he said.

"Yeah...we did.."

"It's safe to say you were obsessed with her....You stole a pair of her panties..didn't you?  "he asked.

The Jurors, Male and female gasped...Some of the male jurors smiled...

I had uncovered a pair of  panties when I searched his house.. I don't know how she knew..but

Olivia had told me they were Kathleen's... Mason confirmed that they were hers..but even he didn't know how Olivia knew that..

Gunther was shocked...He started shaking..

"Y-Y-Yes..Yes.."he said..

Doug pulled out a letter..

"You wrote a letter to her begging her to see you again...Threatening to kill yourself if she wouldn't see you."he said..

"Y-Y-Yes..Yes.." said Gunther...

 ''We found a latent fingerprint on that back door of that condo...Nine will get you ten that's your fingerprint..You jimmied that lock , you came in that condo...after Mason had angrily stormed out after reading one of Kevin's letters to him..You fired two shots..You killed Mrs. Dixon didn't you?" asked Doug.

"AH CAME THERE TO KILL HIM..MASON...AH DIDN'T MEAN TO SHOOT HER!!! I SWEAR..I LOVED HER!  I SWEAR!  I SWEARRRRRRR!" Gunther screamed out..

"Son...don't say anything else..get yourself a lawyer.."said Doug..

Judge Fox smiled..

''Well in light of these new circumstances.."

"The people move to drop all charges against Mason O.Dixon.....Marshals...Arrest Mr. Harris.." she said finishing his sentence..

''Son of a bitch!!!...I had my guys dust for prints...There were no prints on that lock."screamed Lt. Tragg.

"Probably not Lieutenant...but he didn't know that..."I said and patted him on the back...

 "My god, I just can't get a break...I can't get a break...The moment I saw your wife...I knew it..I knew it.." he mumbled as the press mulled around..

They had heard the shocking development in the case...

"No Questions today boys.."said Lt. Tragg, trying to rush out..

"Might as well not...YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE NO ANSWERS!" shouted a reporter..

The room erupted in guffaws of laughter..

"WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YOUUUU!" screamed Lt. Tragg as he went after the wise cracking reporter...

Several people got in between them as they both tussled and fell to the ground..

Josie laughed..

"This is getting to be a regular event after these trials.." she said..

 I shook my head and then laughed..

"Yeah ,it is.." I said.

 "We did it baby...We won!" said Olivia to her niece, Beverly...

 "We sure did Auntay!" said Beverly

Olivia and Beverly high fived each other and hugged each other..

They both hugged Josie

 and Nelson too!

 Doug shook my hand..

"You're a hell of an investigator..You must have been quite a Detective when you were on the force.." he said.

''Depends on who you ask.."I laughed.

"Liv,Bev,Nelson, Josie..I couldn't have won this case without you..Thank you..Maybe we'll work together again sometime.." he said..

"Hopefully under different circumstances.."laughed Olivia..

 "Now for some well deserved rest.."said Beverly..

 "Yes..."said Josie..

"Two cases in a row..I'm going to take some time off myself..I haven't worked this hard since I was a Public Defender"said Nelson,laughing..

"The Office is closed for the next two weeks.."declared Olivia..

Mason said to Beverly..

"Thanks for helping me beat this murder rap..I don't know if I would have beat it without the help of you and your Aunt and your crew.."

"You're welcome...And don't get in any trouble..Don't beat up Kevin Wray.."laughed Beverly..

"That skunk!!...He won't be anywhere around the team any time soon..They gettin ready to cut him anyway.."said Mason, who smiled at Beverly...

"You still look good Beverly...You a lawyer now and you got a husband..You're a lucky woman and he's a lucky man...Maybe I'll get lucky one day and find me another wife."said Mason..

"You will. Be easy Mason.."said Beverly, who walked over to Nelson

Nelson put his arm around her..They walked out of the courthouse together...

Mason watched them walk away and thought how lucky Nelson was to have a girl like Beverly..

Olivia stood alone on the courthouse steps...A light rain began to come down... She felt a coolness and a calmness she hadn't felt in weeks..

Olivia saw Kathleen..

"Thanks Olivia..Thanks for saving my husband's life..Good news for you...You won't be seeing me anymore...My work is done...I see a light..

It's very warm...I'm being drawn to it..Good bye Livy...Until we meet again on the other side...."said Kathleen..

"Goodbye Kathleen!!...If you see my mom and dad...Tell em I said Hi and that I'm fine..and happy."said Olivia..

"I'll look them up...I'll tell them.....byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"said Kathleen and she was gone..

 Into a warm inviting light.....

''Liv??? What are you doing standing out here by yourself..?" I asked.

She was on the courthouse steps...A light rain was coming down...

Olivia turned around..

"I was waiting for you.."she said and smiled..

She kissed me passionately...Whether that was true or not...I didn't really care...I was just enjoying the feel of her incredibly soft kiss...

EPILOUGE-

 Gunther Harris was sentenced to 10-15 years for Manslaughter....

Doug Baldwin put himself in AA...and took a sabbattical...He is clean and sober and the only thing he drinks is water..

He is a lot more bearable to work around and is a better attorney for it..

Olivia was as good as her word..She closed the office for the next two weeks..We took on no new cases...We just sat around the house,mostly eating cereal

Watching Television, listening to music and of course

Making sweet ,sweet love..

Well into the afternoon and  night..

 It was nice seeing Olivia back to her old self again...Not afraid, not seeing things..Not talking crazy or knowing things she shouldn't be knowing..

It was nice being alone with her...

Beverly, Nelson, Josie and even Alfreda joined us on some mornings...

 Alfreda was still manning the phones and the front during the day...But the five of us were not available..It was as if we were on vacation or out of town..

It would be a long time before Olivia would tell me about actually seeing Kathleen...It was a bizarre story and hard to believe, but Olivia wasn't one to be lying...If she thought she saw Kathleen's ghost I believe that's what she saw..So much of the information she gave us concerning the case was things she would have had no way of knowing...So in a strange way...Her story actually made sense.

I told her that my daddy often told me and my sister that he saw our late mother...I had never believed him..But he would describe these experiences to a t..and would be sweating and emotional just like Olivia had been after one of these supposed sightings...Now I thought..Maybe he was telling the truth..

She told me that Doug could see Kathleen too!

I said..

"Oh he was just drunk.."

She cracked up laughing...

FOR Michelle Abrams-Ross (1959-2019) RIP