Win Win!

Kahlil and I were having the time of our lives in the

Chen Lee trial..

 Kahlil had picked nine of the 12 jurors we wanted....Our friend, Attorney Nelson East

, a master at jury selection would have been proud of us...

I had known Assistant District Attorney Daniel Vanier in Law School...He was an arrogant jerk...but he was very intelligent and a very good speaker..very eloquent...It was part of his charm..

I had heard he had won his first 50 cases....He wasn't about to win this one..

For one thing , he could not produce a single eyewitness to the killing...

Kahlil produced police reports that said the killer was left handed ,judging from the trajectory of the shot and the shot was delivered by a .22 at close range...Chen Lee was right handed.

I produced the Manager of the Chinese Take Out restaurant where Jade's cousin was buying food for Charlie Wang and several patrons who testified that the kid was inside the store ordering food and flirting with a couple of girls when the murder took place...

''We know that Mr. Lee didn't pull the trigger , we are arguing that he set this entire thing up.."said Daniel..

''We are asking for proof.." said Kahlil, who produced some gambling vouchers belonging to Jade's cousin...

"Paid for by Mr. Wang..."said Kahlil..

I produced papers from Community College...

"Mr. Wang paid his last two years of college...His family and Mr. Wang's were from the same village in Mainline China.. The man paid his debt and his schooling and was paying him to drive him, hardly a motive for murder. He'd want to babysit this guy...Not take him out." I said..

"These are his bank statements...No change in the amounts deposited...What did he do.. Set the man up for free?" said Kahlil..

The spectators laughed...as did the jury...

Daniel Vanier did not like being the butt of any joke. .and unlike in Trial Advocacy class..in which he was always prepared. .He was ill prepared for this case...

It wasn't  all his fault..

Lieutenant Tragg had given him nothing as far as real evidence...

Kahlil and I had successfully argued and won having his juvenile arrest record and 4 day incarceration for smoking weed suppressed...The Judge ruled it had nothing to do with this case...

We paraded as charactor witnesses...12 people from his school and 4 people from his former job...They all testified that he had sterling charactoristics...

We even allowed him to take the stand....

Daniel grilled him mercilessly about Charlie Wang and what he did for a living...Selling a package on the street of Heroin..while masquerading as a Seafood importer...

"You knew who and what he really was didn't you?" he asked..

"Everybody knew...I never saw any drugs or guns on him ever...All I did was drive him around.. He never even talked about his business around me.."said Chen..

"There was a Kilo of heroin in the trunk of the car the night of the murder.." said Daniel..

"I didn't know about that..." said Chen..

''How about your cousin? JADE LEE?" he asked..

"My Cousin had nothing to do with this...She's never even met Charlie Wang...I lied because an ICE agent asked me to give him her name specifically..He said If I gave up her name..He'd let me go..But they didn't..." said Chen Lee..

The Jury of 8 Asians, 2 African Americans and 2 Whites were definitely on our side..

Yvette, Bee Bee, Sofia and Jade sat in at our trial and smiled at us...

Daniel, for the first time looked uneasy.....He was losing and losing badly and he knew it and whats more..He knew that they knew it...




II-

Camden.....ICE Agent Shawn Columbsy looked at Gary...

"Why are we here?  And where is the FBI?" he asked..

"They're around...Tony Lo's main man, Ling Lou...a suspect in five murders...that's in addition to Charlie Wang is in here...He meets his go between in here every week..Only that guy won't be here today...We will."said Gary..

"How do you know he won't be here?" asked Shawn..

"Because Camden Police picked him up this morning.."said Gary...

''How do you know that?" asked Shawn..

"It's called police work...Something Lieutenant Tragg used to do a long time ago...You and he both know that that kid is innocent..."said Gary..

"I know...it's just that he's here on visas and he's Jade's cousin...I was trying to get back at her..I was stupid and wrong...."said Shawn...

"You got it bad for her huh?   I had it bad for someone before.. Another cop...Not Ms. Yvette...Anyway my obsession nearly cost me my job....I got busted down from Lieutenant to detective. Upon retirement I'll still get Lieutenant's pay...."said Gary...

"So you understand.."said Shawn..

"I understand..."said Gary...

"How long you been an investigator for the D.A.'s office?" he asked..

"Two Years...It's considerably more pay than I ever made as a detective and a step up some what...Shawn...you'll meet other women..You'll meet someone who'll return your love...Like I did.."said Gary...

"You and Yvette...You two do make a nice couple.."said Shawn...

"Look alive... There's our boy..."said Gary..

Ling Lou was a remorseless killer who had never been convicted , but was a suspect in six contract killings...Everyone on the street knew about him...His reputation preceded him....I had tried unsucessfully to put a tag on him twice when I was a Homicide detective and when I was a Lieutenant there.

He saw me and Shawn coming and he turned and smiled.. He surveyed the room for signs of other policemen..

"Ling Lou...No Hello, No How ya doin?" I said and sat on one side of him...Shawn sat on the other..

"You with the Camden P.D. now Lockwood?" he asked..

"Nope...I'm still in Philly....I'm with the D.A.'s office now...So heyyy I hear you've been pretty busy...Like two or three weeks ago...You and the manager of a certain Chines Take out joint near the docks made 7 calls to each other during the hour and after the last call..Charlie Wang wound up with a bullet in his head and That Manage wound up with 100K in his bank account, wired from your account within two days...How nice..." I said.

Ling Lou smiled..

"Nice story, but it's just a story.."he said.

"Oh it's a story the manager coroberated with a little persuasion...you know, a rubber hose and all, a phone book...laughed Gary...He was into Tony Lo for 100 K...Tony was going to take his business,Then he came up with a plan...He knew that Wang ate at his joint and came by almost nightly for take out before he turned in....He called you when Wang was there and you took Wang out for Tony Lo...Tony had you pay him the exact amount he owed and his debt was clear and Tony's number one competitor who was costing him considerably more money was gone...How about that?" said Gary...

Ling Lou looked shocked...

"And you've been in this country illegally for what now, twenty years?  A suspect in 6 murders? My My My..."said Shawn...

Ling looked at Shawn...

"Who the hell are you?" he asked..

Shawn showed him his badge..

"Immigration!" he said...

Ling Lou knocked over the table and took off..

"Let's get him..."said Gary...

The Chase was on...

"I thought you said the FBI was coming for back up." said Shawn..

"They're here...Get down!"said Gary, who knocked Shawn down...

Ling Lou fired three shots from his .22

People dodged and screamed as Ling Lou ran as fast as he could through the Aquarium...

We were in hot pursuit......

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!! FBI....YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!" said Sharon Hopkins, Deputy Special Agent In Charge of the Philadelphia FBI...

Ling Lou turned...

Several FBI agents , guns drawn ran up and grabbed him....

Sharon, who had been briefed by me gave the handcuffs to Shawn Columbsy..

"I believe this is your collar "she said and smiled..

"Thank You...."said Shawn as he put the Handcuffs on him..

"Mr. Lou...You better start talking about Tony Lo or it's curtains for you..I hear Mainline China is nice this time of year."said Shawn...

III-

Ling Lou pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the death of Charlie Wang....He also said he was hired by Tony Lo....

Ling Lou got 25 years ...He is being held in Segregation for his own safety. Tony Lo got 99 years for Conspiracy to commit murder..

"In Light of this new evidence the people move to drop all charges against Mr. Chen Lee.. You're free to go..."said Daniel Vanier , who glared angrily at Lt. Tragg..

He blamed him for his near loss in court.. Lt. Tragg on the other hand was livid....

"The Damn Feds...They meddled in my case..." he snorted...Speaking of the FBI and Immigration Agents take down of Tony Lo, the mastermind behind the murder.

"Good thing they did...You obviously would have never gotten to the bottom of this case." snarled an angry ADA Vanier.

Ms. Yvette didn't want to laugh, but she couldn't help herself...She laughed out loud...

Danny Vanier turned and smiled at her seductively....

"Anybody ever tell you you've got a sexy laugh?  I'd like to tell you more over drinks..." he said..

"Boy Bye...I'd make you cry.."  said Yvette, dismissively walking away...

Now it was Sofia's turn to laugh out loud!

 "Whooo Hoooo YouGuys are the greatest!" said Chen..

 ''Stay out of trouble kid...Next time I'll charge.."I joked..

 "Oh don't pay him any mind...He's kidding." said Bee Bee..

 "I don't think he is.." joked Kahlil.

 "Stop teasing him and kiss me.."said Sofia..

who kissed him so softly and slowly that even I got aroused watching the two of them...

 Daniel Vanier held his head down and walked quietly past us...He hadn't actually lost to us...but he felt beaten just the same..

 Jade hugged her cousin...

"I'm just so glad this is over...We are going to work on getting you your citizenship.."she said.

"That would be great."said Chen...

Lt. Tragg walked pass the  reporters , who were snapping photos...For once..He declined to make a comment..

"Got the wrong guy again eh Artie?" asked one...

Lt. Tragg ignored him and kept walking....He was livid!

Shawn and His Attorney, Bud Styles walked in the courtroom...

''Ms. Jones...A word?" said Bud..

''Yes." said Yvette.

"It seems that Lieutenant Tragg caused this entire series of events that led to Mr. Lee's unfortunate arrest and the incarceration of Ms. Lee...My client here practically solved the case...he helped bring down the real killer of Mr. Wang and the actual conspirators.. So look ,no harm, no foul...Nobody is going to jail.. Not Ms. Jade and certainly not her cousin...He is a very good Immigration agent...No need for him to lose his job behind this.." he said.

"You want me to drop the suit?" asked Yvette... She looked at Jade..."It's up to you Jade..What do you want?" asked Yvette..

"Drop the suit.." said Jade, sighing...

"Jade ,I love you....but you have my word...You won't hear another peep out of me or see me...I guess I'll just have to love you from afar.."said Shawn Columbsy.

"Shawn...I'm sorry too.. for teasing you...Maybe in a different time...a different world, if we were different people, we could have at least been friends.." said Ms. Jade.

"Yeah, maybe...." said Shawn Columbsy,  who turned and walked away with his attorney...

"I can't believe I'm saying this...But I kind of feel sorry for him." said Bee Bee..

''Yeah, me too!" I said.

Kahlil and Sofia were still

 in the corning kissing passionately...

"Might have to get some hot water to throw on them.."said Ms. Yvette,laughing..

"I think they're kind of lucky..To be in love, to have each other!" said Chen..

"I think you're right.." said Jade...




EPILOUGE-

Gary and Ms. Yvette wound up going to a very tony after hours club in Cherry Hill, New Jersey...

"Gary, even though Shawn Columbsy and The FBI ,under the direction of my good friend, Sharon Ferrell-Hopkins took down Tony Lo and Ling Lou....I know that you were the puppeteer pulling the strings....That had you written all over it."said Yvette ,laughing...

''Vette Vette...you give me more credit than I deserve..."laughed Gary...

'The FBI wasn't looking at Tony Lo or  Ling Lou seriously until you came along with all of your information....I saw copies of it....Nina Rios is my friend too you know.." said Yvette.. "And Shawn Columbsy is only a tad better than Lt. Tragg in investigating things...I KNOW IT WASN'T HIS IDEA.. although he's getting credit for the take down...This was you and you brought him along so that if he caught the real killers...it would automatically free Jade's cousin and redeem him...Maybe save his ass and ICE from a law suit, which it did.."said Yvette...

Gary smiled sheepishly, but said nothing...

"You felt sorry for him, didn't you? asked Yvette...

"Yeah...."said Gary, who was quiet for a moment...then he began to speak...I was him once...I was Lieutenant of Internal Affairs...I was on the fast track to being Captain....I was obsessed with someone..."said Gary...

"Angie Belton?" asked Yvette..

She knew about his one time obsession for the pretty Detective, who once worked under him in Internal Affairs...Every now and then he spoke of her.

"Yeah....I almost got hit with a sexual harassment suit, which would have gotten me fired.. I got busted down to detective and sent over to Robbery-Homicide.. where I first got my Lieutenant's bars...I admit I was an asshole...I would've been buried there except.. Keith Wallace told me about this job, being an Investigator for the District Attorney's Office...He got me an interview and got me transferred...It was redemption....Plus when I retire...I still get paid as a Lieutenant." said Gary...

"You love hard...I remember you chasing me for years..."said Yvette...

"After Angie...I met you and I just had to have you...I'm glad I didn't make the same mistakes with you.." said Gary...

"Admit it...you just wanted to get me in bed at first....You didn't fall in love with me until later.." said Yvette..

" Yvette,I loved you from afar, even when you were dating my future boss, Rockland Cambridge...When yall broke up...I waited at least six months before putting my bid in..."said Gary..

"Oh is that what it was?  You were lucky.....You caught me on a night I was a little tipsy and vulnerable.." laughed Yvette.

''Whether or not..It was a win win...just like today.."said Gary.

"Today was a win win...but you know what? I have no doubt in my mind that Keith and Kahlil

would have gotten an acquittal whether you guys had caught Tony Lo and Ling Lou or not...

and Bee Bee, Sofia and I were on our way to winning a landmark settlement against ICE..." said Yvette..

They were quiet for awhile...

Gary stared at Yvette.....she blushed...

''Gary stop looking at me like that..."she said..

He pulled her to him and held her in his arms...

they kissed passionately for a long while...Gary didn't want to let her go.....

"I love you Yvette Denise Jones.." he said in between kisses..

"I love you too.." she whispered between even more kisses..."More than you even know." she said..

Yvette eased out of his embrace and sipped on her Citris Martini..

"Mmmmm this is delish!" she said...

She smiled at Gary....

Gary smiled at Yvette...He sipped his Mango Martini..

''So is this.." he said..

They both were a little tipsy...

"Wanna get out of here? Head back across the bridge?" asked Yvette..

"At this hour?  I don't feel like driving and you don't either...I got us a room....The Hotel is down the street from here.." said Gary..

Yvette smiled sweetly at Gary....She really didn't feel like driving....She was drunk and tired...

"You think of everything...I do love you...." she said..

Gary tossed some dollars on the counter...took Yvette by the hand...

"Come on Vette Vette...Let's get out of here." he said and hugged her...

and both quietly walked out of the after hours spot..

kissing passionately in the moonlight..