Healthy Suspicions

Attorney Eric Barnes sat in court with his client ,Mark Dawkins, on trial for murder...A murder he swears he did not commit...

"Man Eric, when they told me I had a Public Defender, I just knew I was doomed...but I was wrong, Man you really been all in on this case...and you brought in some heavy hitters and major hotties...Wow..Olivia Bennett-Alexander and that damn fine ass niece of hers...Beverly

They are both whole snacks..." he said...

"They're both married too boss man....To the Investigator who has been investigating this case and finding all the discrepancies in the witness statements and so called eyewitness accounts..

That would be Donnie Ray, Olivia's husband...and the other,

Nelson East is the other attorney working with us on this case, Nelson East, Beverly's husband.."said Eric..

"Yeah, them is two lucky dudes...They locked all that lusciousness down..I don't blame em...but that girl who is in law school who is helpin out aint married... Josie is her name..

She floats my boat.." said Mark Dawkins...

"Pump your breaks youngin...Josie is mine.."said Eric Barnes....

"Yeahhhh righttt...I heard her tell you she got a man..." said Mark Dawkins, laughing...

"Yeah she has said that...I suppose I should respect that.." said Eric Barnes...

"Yo Eric...Olivia and Beverly are heavy hitters, they don't come cheap.. How did you get them to help out on this case..?" he asked.

"I went to the Innocence Project and did a song and a dance and practically begged for their services..The Innocence Project took your case, contacted them and footed their bill because they believe Lt. Tragg, The Detective who arrested you..

has a track record of arresting minority and women suspects on trumped up charges...Like in the recent Willie Childs case and that girl who was a registered sociopath, but turned out to be innocent..They've called for his dismissal several times, but the PPD won't do it..."said Eric Barnes..

"You did your research well to know that Olivia and Beverly worked for the Innocence Project a number of times..."said  Mark Dawkins..

"That's all part of being a lawyer youngin...doin the research...The part that doesn't get seen on TV...Liv and Bev and Nelson do all of the grunt work, the unglamorous stuff...That's why they don't get surprised ...That's why they've been able to surprise ole ADA Ron Harper.."

said Eric Barnes..

"I heard he's never lost a case..." said Mark Dawkins...

"He's gonna lose this one...Look alive..Here come the girls and Donnie Ray and Nelson.."said Eric.

II-

ADA Ron Harper had rested his case a few days before...Today was the beginning of our defense...and it was a vigorous defense..

I had vetted everyone of our defense witnesses thoroughly...We had 8 initially..I had to strike 3 because they made questionable statements that couldn't be verified...and had some things in their past that wouldn't have played well with a jury..

Olivia said to Eric..

"You ready to present your opening argument?"

"Yes mam...just like we worked it out in the mock trial at your house.."said Eric...

 He and defendant Mark Dawkins had been to our office where we brought and coached all of our defense witnesses...

Nelson had pretended to be Ron Harper and we held a mock trial at our home/office...

We prepared Eric, Mark and our witnesses for every trick Ron Harper might use...It took up our entire weekend after ADA Ron Harper closed his case last Friday..

 Beverly, Josie and Olivia also helped ,grilling them all as if they were actually in court.  They did this so nobody would be surprised once the defense began...They were no nonsense...We wanted everybody to see how serious this was..

They were so intense that I a seasoned Homicide Detective felt a little sorry for them..

Olivia knew Ron Harper well and had seen him in action in other trials...back when he had briefly been a public defender...She knew his style...

So did Beverly, who had actually been second chair with him once when she was a young public defender.. He spent a lot of that time asking her questions about her Aunt Olivia..

Was she seeing anybody? Had she and Elwood formally divorced yet?? What did she think of his chances? She tired of his questions about her aunt and him....She wanted to tell him so bad that her aunt wasn't interested in him regardless of her present marital or dating status...but she didn't.. After the trial, she got as far away from him as possible..

I remember how he used to stare daggers at me when I first started dating Olivia...in the early days of the practice...After it was announced that we had gotten married,

He shot me an evil stare every time he saw me...He clearly wasn't a member of my fan club...

Meanwhile Josie had gotten the attention of our client ,Mark Dawkins

who was conversing freely with her every chance he got...

Much to Eric Barnes chagrin!....

After his opening statement...

 The fun began....

 Olivia, Beverly and Nelson paraded  a series of witnesses who refuted every single witness who had been testifying the past few weeks...

ADA Ron Harper went hard on cross examination, but couldn't dent or refute a single witness....

They brought out CSI personel and people from the Medical Examiner's office and an independent DNA specialist who all refuted the prosecutions claims...

Try as he might...Ron Harper had no answer for them...

This went on for close to a week and a half..

Josie and I

Passed the four of them documents that they pored over and 

And Eric kept up his vigourous defense...Emboldened by Liv, Bev and Nelson..

who kept the pressure on...

The Mark Dawkins case had replaced the Willie Childs case as the premiere trial of the year...The Press was eating it up.....

Our good friends,Yvette Jones, Bee Bee Evans,Keith Jones,Kahlil Ahmed and Sofia Garcia

,even came to court to see us one day...

Lt. Tragg grumbled...

"The Press has turned ME into the focus of this entire case...ME...I'm the hero, I'm the one who made the arrest.." he protested...

"Yeah Hero. They're eating me alive in there...Your damn eye witnesses as it turned out didn't see a damn thing and those other people you brought forth are all professional liars...You've given me next to no forensic evidence...I'm the damn goat, not you?" said Ron Harper , who was frustrated..

 "Look, I gave you what they gave me...I'm going back over the crime scene..I'm all over it.Relax..You got this..Olivia and Beverly are grasping at straws.."said Lt. Tragg.

Outside of court ,Olivia, Beverly ,Nelson and Young Eric were bombarded with questions..

''How does it feel being so young and taking on such a controversial case and such a storied prosecutor?" asked one reporter..

"My age has nothing to do with my knowledge of the law and of this case...I feel we have just as much of chance as anyone."said Eric..

"Olivia...Is it true that you and ADA Ron Harper were once an item?" asked a female reporter..

"Not true at all...We worked in the Public Defenders Office briefly many years ago, that's it!...."said Olivia..

"Congratulations on your recent nuptials Bev, how does it feel working with your hubby?" asked another reporter..

"It feels normal...We've been working together for years.." said Beverly..

 "You guys look like you got it in the bag...You think you'll get an acquittal?" asked a reporter..

Nelson smiled , but said "No comment" politely and walked away...

I looked at Josie and said-

"Now I know how Marlon, Jackie and Tito felt.."

Josie cracked up....

ADA Harper got asked harsher questions...

"Hey counselor..That Young Attorney , Eric Barnes , backed by Olivia and Beverly and their team appears to be getting the better of you in there.."said one reporter..

"Nonsense...I've got everything under control.." he said and brushed them off..

Which left Lt. Tragg...

"Hey Tragg is it true you once arrested the Gang who couldn't shoot straight?" asked a wise cracking reporter.

This was met with raucous laughter...

Almost on que, Lt. Tragg charged the wise cracking reporter..

"WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" he screamed...Before anyone could get in between them...Lt Tragg tackled the reporter and several of them fell on the press table scuffling, causing the table to collapse...

ADA Ron Harper shook his head in disbelief...

''Jeeeesus..This is a damn circus.." he exclaimed...

"Oh My God!" exclaimed Olivia..

"Come On let's get out of here.."I said and took Liv by the arm and ushered her through the crowd..

 "Good Idea."said Nelson

who took Beverly's hand and hustled her out behind me and Olivia..

 Eric took Josie by the hand and also led her out.. Her soft hands made him feel something..Something he had never felt before..

Josie was kind of impressed with how gentlemanly he was with her..She thought it was kind of cute..she just giggled.





III-

Far from the madness of our courtroom...At a downtown law firm...Elwood was inquiring about Alexandria.

"Come on...You can tell me..I'm her boyfriend, you know me...We had a little spat, that's all..These things happen...It was a mis-understanding.."pleaded Elwood to the Attorney..

"Look we are not at liberty to give anyone our Attorney's home addresses...You know that Elwood.."she said..

"But she lives with me...I'm just trying to find her and bring her home.." he said..

"Nice Try...She USED to live with you. I can't tell you where she is staying.." said the Blonde Attorney...

"Well is she in today?" asked Elwood....

"Sorry ,she's out with a client..."she said..

"And where would they be meeting?" asked Elwood..

"Good bye Elwood.,..Don't make me call security." said the woman...

Elwood then said..

"When you see her tell her to call me...We need to talk...I miss her.."he said and walked out...

After he was gone..

Alexandria walked out...

"Thanks girl...Now I gotta find a way to get out of here...I know he's looking for my car...I'm not ready to see him just yet.. He needs to get used to me being gone.." said Alexandria..

"You didn't come in your car today...That cutie patootie Assistant District Attorney you've been seeing

 brought you to work, remember?" said the Blonde...

"Yeah, but he's not taking me home.."said Alexandria..

"I'll take you home... Just duck down in the back seat.." she said and giggled.

"Ouuuuu girlll, I owe you.."laughed Alexandria..

IV-

That afternoon after trial was over for the day , we all met in a tony coffee shop downtown to drink coffee and talk..

"Liv, Bev, Nelson, Donnie Ray...Having us over your office and grilling us relentlessly like you did sure came in handy...That guy Ron Harper was sweating bullets...He couldn't put a dent in one of our witnesses...That was sheer brilliance..He hasn't been having the best time this week.."said Attorney Eric Barnes...

''We are swaying the jury too...It's 11 to acquit and one undecided..."said Nelson

as hot steaming cups of coffee arrived..

"Auntay used to grill me like that before my first trials to get me prepared....She brought me to tears one time."remembered Beverly...

 ''And look at you today...You bring ADA's to tears."joked Olivia, kissing her niece on the cheek..

"Liv, you've been like a...Like a sexy step-mom, auntie to me..."said Eric...

"Oh Myyyy!...I'm usually Sexy Auntie..Now Sexy Step Mom....WOW!!!  I don't think I'm quite old enough to be your mom..."laughed Olivia..

''And Bev you're like a sexy Big Sister.."said Eric..

"That's slightly better.I do like the sexy part..."laughed Beverly...

Josie had a peculiar look on her face and she nudged me..

"Remind me to ask you something later." she whispered..

I smiled...

"Okay!" I said.

Eric stood up...

"I hate to drink coffee and run, but I've got to be somewhere...I'll see you guys in court tomorrow." he said and paid his tab and left...

He leaned over and kissed Josie on the cheek...

"See you later!" he said softly to her..

She was shocked and blushed a bit...

Josie looked at us...

"He keeps telling on himself...He's not who he pretends to be.." she said..

"What do you mean baby? I think he's a nice young man.. He certainly thinks the world of you!" said Olivia..smiling at Josie sheepishly...

"When he called you Sexy Step-mom...That was a slip..but a telling one.."said Josie..

"What are you talking about Jo?" asked Beverly, who was now bemused....

"He seemingly just showed up on our doorstep out of nowhere didn't he? He graduated from Harvard Law..He told me...And He's working at the Public Defenders Office?.."said Josie.

"Liv and Bev graduated from University Of Penn and they started out at The Public Defenders Office.."I said..

"I can't tell you how many times I asked myself...What are you doing here?" joked Beverly...

"Me too!  Even Elwood in a rare moment of actually caring about me beyond getting me in the bed asked me why was I, an Ivy League graduate working as a public defender?.. "laughed Olivia..

"You guys are from Philly,it was a first job,that's different....Eric was born and raised in Boston...He graduated from Harvard, He moved to New York City and worked for Barrington,Steele and Hawsley LLC.  He told me that."said Josie..

"Barrington ,Steele and Hawsley LLC!! WOW!  Those are heavy hitters...He was making big bucks I'm sure...I sent them a resume shortly after I passed the bar in New York...Never heard from them."said Nelson...

"Right, so he would leave a job like that.. A prestigious job like that...Move to Philadelphia where he has no ties at all and take a considerable pay cut to work as a Public Defender???...It just doesn't play..."said Josie..

"Unless something happened..."I said.

"Liv, Elwood is from Boston originally....You met him when you were just starting out...He's a little older than you right?" asked Josie..

Olivia smiled...

"I don't know where you're going with this baby...but yeah, Elwood is a year younger than my older brother...That makes him 11 years older than me... He was established at a great firm when I met him..Had been practicing a few years..."said Olivia..

"Eric is two years younger than Bev ,Nelson and me...Which means he would have been in the 9th or 10th grade around the time you and Elwood hooked up..." said Josie..

"Bum Ass never said anything about having any children or having been married before did he Auntay?" asked Beverly..

"No he didn't...I was his first wife, I'm certain of that....He never mentioned having any kids...You think Eric could be his son?" asked Olivia...

"I do!!!....When we saw Elwood fall out in the bar the other night...And I told him that that was your ex-husband...He seemed to know that....His whole mood changed...Prior to that...We were talking and I had to keep his hands from feeling my legs and trying to run them up my skirt...That happened and it was like a switch went off...He got real dark and kept saying.."I'm never gonna be like him.." almost like it was personal...Then he got up and left..."said Josie..

"It is something to look into...What if Elwood doesn't know he has a son?  He did look at the boy pretty funny and ask who he was the other day..."I said..

"I don't see any resemblance....That's a good thing.."said Beverly laughing..

"He could take after his mother....You make some good points Josie, Now that you mention it.."said Olivia.  "He appears to be a very nice young man...If he is Elwood's love child..I won't hold that against him."said Olivia..

"Maybe he came here to find his birth father...And what better way than to get close to his ex-wife...and people who know him.?" said Nelson..

"He does seem to be a fan of all things Olivia and Beverly.."I said..

"I'm just saying...He has revealed more of himself to me than he probably is aware of.."said Josie..

 "That's because he wants you!" joked Olivia..

 "Let's say it Auntay!"laughed Beverly....

Olivia and Beverly said in unison...

"The Power of the Pan-tays." and laughed...

Nelson laughed and hugged Josie..

''Dont Mind them Josie... "he said..

"It hasn't even gotten close to that...but I'm sure he's interested in going there...but that's not gonna happen." said Josie..

"I'll look into him closer Josie.."I said..

as a second round of coffees came to our table.

(TO BE CONTINUED)