Tropic Of Ivy

PRELUDE - A Friday Night...THE IVY GREEN APARTMENTS

A typical party in this new apartment complex....Lots of thirsty people had just finished a long work week and they were meeting at these spacious new apartments for a party...

Lots of beer being served...Lots of laughter....

And in some rooms...Lots of another kind of partying...was going on....

"Ummmmm you sure you're ready for this?" said a young lady...

"Take it off baby..I been ready..."came a male voice..

"Ouuuuu look at you...I suppose you are...ummmmmmmmmm"cooed the young lady...

Hot smouldering kisses could be heard in another room...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..I wish they all would clear out.."said another young lady...

"Who cares?  That door is locked..."said a man...

While in another room, a man and a woman were nearly undressed and already on the bed, kissing passionately...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, ohhh my god you feel so goood.."moaned the man..

"Ummmmmmm so do you baby..ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu."cooed the young lady....

While in still another room, another couple was already in the throes of passion, making sweet love..

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu I love you sooo much..."said a woman..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I love you too baby...I've been wanting to love you all day...ohhhhh..."said the man.

"You are soooo nasty...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." laughed the woman...

The bed was squeaking loudly and the headboard was slamming against the wall...The sounds of their loud lovemaking was drowned out by the music playing and loud noise of the crowd outside in the living room of this three bedroom suite...

So nobody noticed  someone slip in slowly with a pistol...A pistol that had a silencer on it....

The man and the woman in the first room were shot, the woman in the back and the back of the head, the man in the chest...and once in the head..

The man and woman in the second room who were kissing were shot..The woman in the back of the head and the man in the head....right between the eyes....

The couple who were already making hot sweaty love were shot...The man in the back twice and in the head and the woman in the chest and in the head...

Nobody heard the shots and no one saw the assailant silently slip past the crowds and walk away, dropping the pistol and home made silencer into a nearby trash can and slipping undetected into the night..

Within an hour, Loud screams could be heard.....The bodies of six people, three males and three females would be found, dead, shot to death......

It had been an eerily quiet night that had turned into a bloody horrible multiple execution!!!!

C.S.I. and Forensic investigators were snapping photos of the six deceased people and the bloody scene...

Uniformed policemen at the scene were already questioning witnesses..Many who were too drunk or high to give a clear description of what happened...

Forensic Investigator and Deputy Coroner, Dr. Hazel Baylor was investigating all of the dead bodies when she saw a familiar figure..

Gary Lockwood, An investigator for the District Attorney's Office and a one time Homicide Detective himself..

"Damn Hazel, you got a sloppy one tonight..Where is your Husband and Rico and Sissy and the guys?" he asked.

"They're working a big task force case with the FBI-ATF and DEA again...I wish they were working this case...What are you doing here?" asked Hazel..

''The District Attorney's Violent Crimes Task Force asked me to look into this..before the case detective gets here..Just routine.."said Gary..

"Oh My God!! Who is the case detective?" asked Hazel...

Gary sighed and nodded his head towards the door..

Lieutenant Arthur Tragg walked in with six uniformed policemen..

"Okay, everybody back...everybody back...." he bellowed..

''Ohhhh hell."sighed Hazel..

Gary laughed...

"I feel your pain doll." he said.

"This case will never get solved.."Hazel sighed..

"Hope springs eternal babes." laughed Gary...

"What have we got Hazel?" asked Lt. Tragg...

"Six victims.....Three males,All three , African Americans ,Three females, Two African American , one Caucasion all shot to death...Multiple times...Apparently while uh making love..."said Hazel...

Lieutenant Tragg looked at the blood and the beer and all of the people standing around...He asked an officer..

"Geeez!  Anyone see what happened? Or Say Anything?"

"They're all drunk or high out of their minds...apparently this was a party...and these three couples slipped off into the rooms and somebody, who was here slipped in and shot all three couples.."said the officer..

''Take em all in..Get em coffee, get em sobered up...I need to know everybody who was invited to this party..Everybody...."he said.

"We are dusting for prints and DNA.."said Hazel..

"That's probably everybody in this room and then some..."said Lt. Tragg... "The dead people...Did they live in this apartment?" asked Lt. Tragg...

"Two of the dead guys did...Everybody else was a party guest...The three girls lived downstairs.."said Gary...

"Lockwood, what are you doing here?" asked Lt. Tragg..

"The D.A. sent me...The Violent Crimes Task Force.." said Gary..

"Ohhh yeah, yeah...I heard of them...but they must know...This is MY investigation...I call the shots."said Lt. Tragg..

"That goes without saying Art."said Gary, trying hard not to laugh...

Hazel Baylor sighed..

"Can I release the bodies Lieutenant?" she asked..

How she wished Sissy, Carlotta, Rico,Jimmy,Sirena,Hop,her husband, Duke and Angie were on this case...

Anybody but Lt. Tragg!

"Yes, Yes..and get me the full report back ASAP!"said Lieutenant Tragg...

A young uniformed officer came inside...He had a pistol and a homemade silencer in a plastic bag...

"Found this in a plastic Bag Lieutenant"he said.

Lt. Tragg smiled..

"This might be the murder weapon..." he passed it to Hazel..

"See if this is a ballistics match, find out the owner..I might wrap this case up fast.." he said.

Hazel took the plastic bag...She said nothing to Lt. Tragg...

"Okay guys...let's get em out of here.." she said..

As one body after another

was pulled from the Apartment complex.

II-

Three weeks later...

 I was in court representing a client, Kyle Jennings, I'm Keith Jones, Attorney...

 an old childhood friend accused of six murders, He had been a Marketing Major in College and had his own independent Consulting Business now. He was on trial for six murders...The murders in those apartments...The IVY GREEN APARTMENTS...The gun they found that night was legally registered to him...He knew 5 of the 6 people murdered but he swears that he didn't kill them and was nowhere near the apartment building that night...

His Mother , A school teacher who once taught both of us in High School and was close to retiring took out a loan and was steered to our law firm...

She was delighted to see me, Keith Jones, one of her former students was now an Attorney...She personally asked for me to defend him...How could I say no?

My partner, Kahlil Ahmed was acting as second chair on this case... Today was a preliminary hearing..We were picking jurors...

"Man, we really stepped in it with this one partner...Everybody is talking about this case...The IVY GREEN MURDERS...This is bigger than Willie Childs or Mason O.Dixon."said Kahlil referencing two major cases heralded in the press lately...

"Yeah, I know...I sure wish we had some more help on this.." I said..

III-

 Our supervisor, Ms. Yvette, Attorney Yvette Jones was representing a young Mayor's Aide named Justin Fairlane

who had been accused of forcing a young woman named Christine "Tina" Tyson to have oral sex with him in his apartment last summer...

We wondered why she had waited almost a year before saying anything...

She gave two misleading statements to the court...She said that they had been in a relationship...Then she denied it...She said it started off as consensual kissing and then it went south and turned into her giving him unwanted oral sex....

My girlfriend, Attorney Beatrice "Bee Bee" Evans was acting as second chair on the case...She didn't honestly know whether to believe the girl or our client...Justin Fairlane

Who she had caught ogling her breasts more than once...Who had casually rubbed her legs and who had whispered to her during brake..

''Ahhh Ms. Evans...Attorney Evans...Are you uh seeing anyone socially?"

"You should be concentrating on your case...On these charges against you...They're pretty serious."said Bee Bee..

"I am...I've also been concentrating on you...So I take your response as a no..You aren't presently involved with anyone..heh heh heh?" he said..

''I didn't say that...I just didn't answer your question..but just so you know and to avoid any more distractions...I am seeing someone seriously and he's practicing a few courtrooms down from here.."said Bee Bee..

"Ahhh another lawyer...I figured someone like you would be with another lawyer...Is he white?" asked Justin..

"No..He's actually darker than you.."said Bee Bee..who then casually moved his hand from her knee..

According to him...He had met Ms. Tyson socially a few times before...At fund raisers and political town hall meetings when the present Mayor was running for re-election...They talked and they flirted and he did show an interest...An Interest she reciprocated...on more than one occassion..

They had shared a consensual kiss or two on several occassions , but never more... According to him ,Last year at a pool party...She and him slipped away into one of the changing rooms and began kissing passionately...She pulled his trunks down and she began initiating oral sex...It had not been forced...She was clad in only a Bikini.....

He said the episode lasted for close to an hour, She had asked him not to cum in he face..but he couldn't control himself...

He used a wet towel to clean her face off, but she was very upset by the entire thing...He called her some days after to apologize, but she blocked his number afterwords...

This had happened last July...He hadn't seen or spoken to her since..

Her story was somewhat simular except that she claimed he had forced her to have oral sex against her will...Since there was no witnesses..It came down to a he said/she said type of case...

Both Ms. Yvette and Bee Bee found him attractive and possessing excellent manners...But he did seem flirtatious and seductive...

IV-

Sofia Garcia, our other attorney was still working with our friend, Luna Pena

Helping her get her visa's straight and getting her started on the road to U.S. Citizenship...

Ms. Jade Lee, our investigator, was working heavy duty on both my case and on Ms. Yvette and Bee Bee's case...

It was good that all of us were out of the office and in court...After that nasty business a few weeks ago with the partners....

Both of our cases were in the process of picking jurors...

 "Man, When you guys actually got me bail, I was amazed.."said Kyle.

We presented a powerful argument that he was a thriving businessman and a productive citizen with no prior arrests and that he wouldn't present a flight risk...We paraded several of his clients and members of his mother's church as character witnesses..It worked... He got a reasonable bail and was released to his mother's custody.

"Damn Keith, I'm so thankful you took my case...I didn't do this man....This is crazy.." said Kyle...

"Proving you didn't do it is gonna be even crazier.." I said and then turned to Kahlil...

"Home Slice..We need a certain type of juror...Young, can be Black or white, the type that parties...that understands the culture..with an open mind..Professional.."I said..

"Gee Boss...Can you narrow it down just a little...just a little?" joked Kahlil...

Kahlil went to work...Remembering what Nelson East and Ms. Yvette had taught him...He pretended to really like a juror..knowing Miles Ellis

would reject said juror...

Kahlil began asking just the right questions wound up getting 7 jurors..4 Black, 2 females, 2 males, 3 White, 2 males ,1 female...All around our age, all sports lovers and all partiers..all people who "understood the culture."

I nodded and smiled at him...

"My man.."I said as we high fived each other..

Miles Ellis got 5 white jurors...4 were women, the motherly type and one was an older man...Not exactly what we wanted...but we could work with it...

Lt. Tragg whispered to Miles..

"Thank God, Olivia Bennett-Alexander and her niece, Beverly West aren't involved in this case..." he said..

''Do you know who those two guys are?" asked Miles Ellis.. "They work for Yvette Jones...They're her two protoge's.."he said..

"But it's not Yvette either...Those two guys...They're as green as they come..We got this counselor.."said Lt. Tragg.

 "This is gonna be a rough ride, you ready home slice?" I asked Khalil.

"I'm ready homie.." said Kahlil.

Sofia walked into the courtroom just as it was ending for the day...

''Hi Guys...."she said..

"Heyy Babe" said Kahlil,

 kissing her softly....

"I'm done with Luna for awhile...You guys need any help on this case?" said Sofia..

''As much as possible..You see who we are up against...Miles Ellis.." I said pointing to him

and Lt. Tragg , who was the arresting officer...

"Their entire case is made off of the gun , found in a nearby trash can....

It's a ballistics match...and it's legally registered to our client...but he said he hadn't seen the gun in two weeks prior to the murder and he definitely has never owned a silencer..."I said..

"Ouu you got your work cut out for you...We better put Jade on this." said Sofia..

"Let's go to Sam Mother's get some dinner ,then go back to our place, chill and look over what we have so far.."said Kahlil..

"That's a good idea. Kyle, This is Ms. Sofia Garcia...Another Attorney and a friend of ours...She's going to be assisting us on this case." I said..

 "Pleased to meet you."said Sofia.

He smiled..

"Pleased to meet you also.." he said...and he gave dap to Kahlil, who he had seen kiss her in the lips..

"Nicccce man..." he said.

Kahlil smiled.

V-

Next door to us...

Ms. Yvette and Bee Bee sat with their client, Mayor's Aide  Justin Fairlane accused of sexual assault...Forcing a young woman named Christine Tyson to have oral sex with him in his apartment a year before..

The young woman, Christine Tyson was being represented by an Attorney named Alexandria Miller..

''Ms. Yvette...Where have we seen that woman's attorney before?" asked Bee Bee...

Yvette laughed..

"Ohhhhhh wowwwww!  In Josies that night a few weeks ago...That's Miles Ellis's girlfriend.., The one Olivia's ex-husband used to live with..."laughed Yvette..

"The one he and Miles were fighting over.."said Bee Bee..

''Wasn't much of a fight ,but yes...Oh My goodness...This is too funny." laughed Yvette...

"I just peeked in the courtroom down the Hall...Miles is prosecuting the case that Keith and Kahlil are trying."said Ms. Jade..

"Oh My God..We Have to talk.."laughed Yvette.
*******************************************************************************

 Later that afternoon, we all wound up in Sam Mother's Diner for dinner.

 "What A day we had in court...We are facing Miles Ellis.." I said..

 "Yeah, We heard...Guess what? we are facing his girlfriend....The one Miles and Olivia's ex-husband were fighting over in Josies." said Bee Bee..

 ''Fight? That wasn't much of a fight.." laughed Kahlil..

"I'm going to be helping them with their case." said Sofia..

 Our meals arrived

 Just then..

along with steaming tumblers of coffee as we laughed and talked about our cases...

 Ms. Yvette and Jade walked in...

''What's good babies?" she said.

"This is going to be an interesting week for all of us.."said Jade , who handed me a file..

''Finish your food, eat first..."she said..


TO BE CONTINUED