The Westies

Sepia and I

and her partner, Bonita Turner -Foxworth stood on the corner,looking at some new developments...Five brand new lofts....

"They are Gorgeous Sepia and nearly ready for sale..."said Bonita...

They really were beautiful I thought as I gazed at the newest units ,which stood in a space that had been an empty field filled with trash,used condoms and crack pipes years ago...Today you wouldn't have a clue of what used to be...

A whole block of brand spanking new apartment units and lofts and condos and new stores lined this huge area..

"I can't wait...I have three people on my waiting list ,who were interested in a loft....Young people.." said Sepia...

"Wow...I remember when these were old burned out buildings and this whole neighborhood was infested by drug dealers and crack heads....Now look at it." I said.

I'm Sepia's husband...She's a realtor...I own a Communications Conglomerate by day and I moonlight as a Private Investigator by night sometimes....by day too. I'm Kevin Morris.

The five brand new lofts were built by The Birch  Construction company that immediately signed a deal with Sepia and Bonita's company..The Unity Group to sell them.. Clerow and Owen Todd had actually brought them to Sepia and Bonita...They weren't here today...

The Company that we signed with ,Birch Construction and Rehab, built these properties and rehabbed a lot of old burnt out warehouses...Unfortunately, they went out of business right after we closed the deal." said Sepia.

"Really?  They were having a cash flow problem huh?" I asked....

"No...the guy told me that a wealthy developer,Dillon Grant  was trying to put the squeeze on his business..He really wanted this land and everything west of here..but he wouldn't sell." said Bonita.

"It's nothing west of here but old burned out buildings and fields." I said.

"Not true Husband of mine...It's newly developed land just like this block." said Sepia...

as we looked at the new lofts...

"Come on Kevin, let's take a walk." said Bonita.


II-

We walked a few blocks over.....What was once a burned out warehouse where years ago, I had a showdown with a real nasty piece of business named Lockjohn, was now a beautiful condo.....

Down the street from it was yet another beautiful building...New Apartments, lofts, condos and shops.....

 "Chris and Chess are renting the shops in these buildings, but guess who is handling the renting?" asked Bonita in a sing songy voice..

''Weeeee are......We had to hire 90 new employees recently to handle all of this extra work and Clerow and Owen opened up another Storage center....."said Sepia..

"Wow you guys are doing boffo business.." I said..

A few blocks down they showed me another new development...

 We walked inside a few...

I was astounded at the changes...

 "This is the Westies Kev, and me and your wife got all of this..We are renting to low income families..This Dillon Grant wanted to buy this land and develop it...but he was looking to Gentrify it, price everybody  that lived here out of the land, as he's done in other places...Our guy wouldn't sell to him, he sold to us and he vanished shortly after the sale.."said Bonita..

"Vanished...You guys weren't dealing with a Gaylord Birch were you?" I asked.

"Yes, he contracted with us for all of these properties...then he vanished...He was murdered unfortunately....They found his body in a drainage ditch two months ago...He seemed like a nice man."said Sepia..

"Yeah, Kayla Bennett

 is defending the young man named Tyrone Lee, accused of his murder...

I'm currently investigating that case for her...Small World." I said..

I looked around... "You girls have done wonders with the up keep of these properties too......I like what I see." I said..

"And we have hired several craftsmen...Plumbers, Electricians,Carpenters...To keep things up..."said Sepia..

"You know a good exterminator Kevin???...We had an influx of rodents a few weeks ago...They just came out of nowhere...We don't want that before we rent our first unit./"said Bonita.

I was proud of my girls... I looked at my watch...

" No I don't know one, but I'll look into it for you..Hey ladies...I gotta be in court....I'll see you both later.." I said.

I pulled Sepia to me...

She giggled..

"What do you want?"

"What do I always want?" I said, kissing her passionately...

"Me!" she said.

"That's my girl." I said.

III-

I was in court with Kayla Bennett, Olivia's cousin..

She was representing a man named Tyrone Lee ,accused of murdering the head of a construction company....Gaylord Birch, the same man who ha developed the  units, Sepia and Bonita were now trying to rent..A man who also had his hands in the developing business and who had sold off some of his new Condos, Lofts ,Apartments and homes his company had rehabbed to a minority Real Estate company...

The young man was accused of the man's murder and robbery...He swore that he had nothing to do with it..

I had been doing some investigation work for Kayla.. I actually believed him...

Today they were picking the jury.....

The Assistant District Attorney, a Man named Ron Harper seemed more interested in Kayla than his case..

"Lawwwwwwwd today if she aint a fine chocolate drop.." he mused to himself..

Kayla was winning the game of picking the jurors....He was barely paying attention...

she like her cousins, my good friends,

Attorneys ,Olivia Bennett-Alexander and Beverly West was stunningly beautiful...

Lt. Tragg, the arresting officer was livid that I and Attorney and fellow investigator,

Bonnie Shay had been quietly questioning all of the people he originally questioned..We had asked for and gotten an Autopsy report as well as the Arrest report and the crime scene report...which he had shabbily done...a far cry from work ,Sissy and her detectives or Danny Ho and his detectives wrote...

He had did everything but threaten to arrest me again for interference in his case...

Kayla told him that Bonnie and I were acting as her investigators and that as counsel for the accused , she had a right to whatever our investigation turned up..

This wasn't exactly true...

Bonnie was the Attorney and Insurance Investigator for Cyclops Insurance.. Her company had the victim, Gaylord Birch's company and those properties insured...She was also representing my wife, Sepia and Bonita's company too.

 Since they were the realtors who were charged with renting and selling.

She had told me of her suspicions that this mysterious Dillon Grant who had been pestering Birch to sell those properties to his company and who after Birch's disapearence began pestering my wife, Bonita, Clerow and Owen Todd to sell to him..had something to do with Birch's abduction and murder..She felt that Kayla's client was just a fall guy...

I thought so too...Since...I was already working with Kayla on his defense..I decided to look at another angle also...

 Kayla didn't have the best of clients..

Tyrone Lee had a past conviciton for Burglary and Grand larceny, for which he did seven years in the State Prison...and had only recently been released from a three year sentence for Robbery and simple assault..

He did Light construction work for Gaylord Birch...and had been recently let go by Birch for coming to work late repeatedly...

A Two time loser like this..It was easy to believe he might have killed Birch...But he denied it...

He was grilled for 24 hours straight with no sleep by Lt. Tragg and his detectives trying to get a confession and he had collapsed ,but had not given one..

He was charged anyway and locked up...

Kayla unsuccessfully argued that he be released on bail..

But ADA Ron Harper won that battle...He was denied bail because of his past record and taken back to the county lock up..

Lt. Tragg smiled..

"Good work counselor...I see you are having better luck with her than you have had with her Aunt and her cousin." he said.

"Her Aunt and her cousin? Do I know them?" asked ADA Ron Harper..

"Olivia Bennett-Alexander and Beverly West.....

''Auntie and Niecey, that's what we cops call em..

Didn't you pick up on the name..Bennett?  Kayla Bennett? She's Olivia's niece or cousin or somethin or other...but she's related.." said Lt. Tragg.

''Well What'choo say.."said ADA Harper...

The thought of Olivia gave him an erection and now peering at one of her relatives, another attractive woman got him even hotter..

"Tell me, is she married?" he asked..

"I don't think so....but what do you care? She's opposing counsel..Keep your main brain on this trial counselor..."cautioned Lt. Tragg...

But ADA Harper could care less about any trial...His eyes and his mind was on Kayla Bennett.

IV-

After court cleared out...

Bonnie , Kayla and I stood in the back talking...

"Trial starts in two weeks...I'm going to look further into Dillon Grant...I just have this feeling he's involved in this somehow and that your client was set up.."said Bonnie..

"I'm going to check into Tyrone Lee...I need the book on him..I know he's an ex-con...but I need to talk to his family members, his friends and former co-workers...I'm going to do a work up of where he was and where Mr. Birch was right up to the moment, Birch was last seen and everything that happened afterwords..Bonnie,I'll make copies of the police reports and autopsy reports for you."I said.

"Thanks ,and I'll share with you what I get on Grant." she said.

"Thanks guys...I've got my work cut out for me..This is my last case before I get married." said Kayla.

"That's right...Congratulations are in order."I said, hugging her..

My Wife ,Sepia had just got a new property ready for her and her Fiance, Ray to live in once they got married..

"Well we plan to send you off with a victory..."I said..Hoping I could once again deliver.. Since I'd been her principle investigator, she hadn't lost a case...

ADA Ron Harper walked over to us...

"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything.." he said..

"No, we were all leaving...You need a ride to your car Bon-Bon?" I asked..

"Thank you kindly...You alright Kayla?" asked Bonnie...

"Yes,I'm across the street in the parking lot..I'll see you guys."said Kayla..

''Ms. Bennett,Why don't you and I go out for some drinks? discuss the particulars of the case." said ADA Ron Harper.

"I don't think that would be a good idea..We are opposing counsel...If you want to know anything.. Check out discovery."said Kayla with a smile..

"God ,you sound just like your aunt." laughed ADA Ron Harper.

"My Aunt?  You don't know my aunt."said Kayla..

"Sure Do...worked with her and your cousin as a public defender for years before I left to be an ADA."he chuckled...

"OLIVIA??? She's not my aunt..."Kayla chuckled..

She's my first cousin....My Father and Her Father were brothers....

''So that makes Beverly

 your uh cousin too?" said Ron Harper..

"My second cousin...I'm a day older than her...Beverly's father, Jimmy West,

 Olivia's older brother is also my first cousin." said Kayla Bennett.

''And all three of you are attorneys.. Any more attorneys in your family?" he asked.

"I think three of us is enough, don't you?" she said and smiled..

"More than enough...Heh Heh heh! Now about you and I having that drink?" he asked..

"Counselor, Are you flirting with me?" asked Kayla..

"I most certainly am...I find you extremely attractive...I-I-I couldn't take my eyes off of you all morning."laughed ADA Ron Harper..

"I'm flattered....but I never mix business with pleasure..Bye Now!" said Kayla, who walked out of the door and across the street to the parking lot where her car was...

She thought to herself...."Maybe I should have mentioned that I'm Engaged!"

ADA Harper just stared at her..

"Damn...Three women in one family, all sexy as hell and all attorneys...go figure," he mused,.,

I couldn't concern myself with that....I was in the middle of a conspiracy that would take me further than angels feared to tread...but that's what I'd always been doing.

(TO BE CONTINUED)