Referendum In The Rain

A Rainy Overcast day in the city.

Attorney James Solis sat across the street from us with his telephoto lense, snapping photos from inside our office..

 "I'm gonna miss you today baby." said Olivia..

She kissed me slowly and softly...

Olivia and I began kissing passionately....

''Why don't you come with me?" I said, knowing she couldn't..

"You know I would.. but Richard is coming over and I have to begin my strategy as far as his defense." she said.

"I know.. I'm going to be thinking about you all day." I said in between more kisses.

"Awww I'll be thinking about you too!" she said.

Watching us kiss angered him immensely, It also got him aroused beyond belief...…

He hated Olivia for besting him not once, but three times...and yet he found himself attracted to her...

He stalked her , snapped photos of her whenever he could...She became an obsession with him.. He hadn't thought about her in years until he started seeing her and her niece on Television a lot..
Olivia had married a cop, a former cop from New Orleans,

who had moved here and was now her investigator..

Her niece, Beverly West....He saw that she was now married to Nelson East, Olivia's original sidekick, who had helped her best him...

He had briefly thought about bedding Beverly too......

 He had called her a couple of times ,late at night...but she had never taken his calls seriously.....

He found her and her aunt very attractive and sexy women...if not annoying.. He hated intelligent women...especially ones that bested him...

He saw Josie walking in with her umbrella...She was in law school, she was a Para-Legal.. Olivia and Beverly appeared to be grooming her...She was very attractive as well.. Olivia surrounded herself with attractive women , he mused..

He wondered if she was single...

And who was this attractive older woman?...She didn't look like an Attorney....but she obviously worked for Olivia and Beverly in some capacity...Was she Olivia's mother?? Or Beverly's Mother...

And was that ADA Rockland Cambridge with her?

My god he's kissing her...

He knew Rockland...A brilliant young ADA on the rise, who like himself had had his winning streak snapped by Olivia and Beverly...He had taken it so hard he wound up in Therapy he had heard...

The way he was kissing that woman, he had apparently gotten over it..

He drove off..

And there was Richard Allison, the rapist punk they had gotten released...

He couldn't afford them...

That asshole B.L. Benz and his damned network picked a case at random, this one to hype up his Podcast- WRONGFULLY CONVICTED and picked this case, and these lawyers and shelled out the cash to make it happen..

Last time Ricky had an inept , drunk for an attorney...The man fell asleep three times during the trial...He couldn't pay an investigator or anything.. He was drunk, his suit was wrinkled.. and had food stains on it and he was easy to best...

It was his final case before his second run for District Attorney which he lost resoundingly...despite getting the conviction.

Now Ricky has three very good Attorneys..

and they have gotten an independent Doctor from an independent lab to do DNA tests...

 Plus they had contacted the Deputy Coroner  from Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office to also take a look at something and she had called the FBI...

This didn't bode too well...None of that was done in the first trial. Olivia ,Beverly and Nelson wouldn't be drunk, wouldn't fall asleep in court and they would do their homework...He would have to bring his A- Game!

They have a Para legal helping them with research
And they have a skilled investigator, an ex-Homicide Detective  running down leads..

But he had his good friend, Lieutenant Arthur Tragg a crack detective

to fall back on.....Lt. Tragg had built a solid case against Richard....

He continued to snap photos...

He saw Beverly and Olivia's husband going somewhere..

but where.???.

He had all of the photos he needed for the day...He decided to pull off..






II-

I let Beverly drive...She knew where we were going..

We stopped in Josie's , it was morning, but we both had beers and we talked to Gus, Honey Brown and  the staff

and were able to see old video footage from their archives...and sure enough Richard and his friends were there...This was about a half hour before the attack took place...

When we left, we had video footage and several eyewitnesses who knew him personally and remember him on the night in question...His last night of freedom..

Next was Aqua Bar...More beers!

We talked to the staff who knew him very well...They put us in line with three young women who remembered him and his friends well..we were able to get video footage of Richard....

"This puts him here when the attack occurred...He couldn't have been at Josies and here and there at the same time."said Beverly....

"Right and according to his debit card...He headed for Stoleys….Your joint next.." I said.

Beverly knew the entire staff of Stoleys..and they were too happy to help...More than happy to give us both free brews.....

Like the other two places we had credit card receipts  and eyewitness accounts of Richard being in the establishment that night..

'This and his three friends testimony all jibes...He alibis out.."I said.

"I can't believe Lt. Tragg didn't at least humor the guy and look into his alibi.."said Beverly...

'When you've already pre-determined somebody's guilt, nothing they say really matters..Just imagine how many other people like him, don't have money for a good lawyer so they get stuck with an overworked ,stressed out Public Defender who halfway believes they are guilty, regardless of what they say and who doesn't do the leg work either..His attorney could have done the leg work, even if the police didn't."I said, getting angry just thinking about it.

"That's why Auntay and I became Attorneys....To help people like Richard..People like the folks we grew up in the neighborhood with...Did you ever make a lazy collar D.R.? Put someone in jail just to get a closure?" asked Beverly..

"No" I said.. I never wanted to be that type of cop...I'd seen too many like Lt. Tragg, who just want closure at any cost....I always prided myself on being as thorough as possible...Could I have made a mistake or two? I'm human...Yeah, but my casework was never raggedy like Lt. Tragg's and others we have gone up against.." I said with conviction.

Beverly hugged me and kissed me on the cheek..

"That's why Auntay and me love you so much..." she said..

I loved the both of them too and was glad to be part of the work they were doing.

Our last stop was Police headquarters....Special Victims Unit...

Bev and I talked to the Lieutenant there..

"We liked Micheal Morrison for all of the rapes...We got him on four...We tried to tell Lieutenant Tragg that he had the wrong man, but you know him, he wouldn't listen...He went to the press and announced that the "Lovers Lane Rapist had been captured." said the SVU Lieutenant..

"But you guys arrested Micheal Morrison for the other rapes."said Beverly..

"We did but it was after the fact. His DNA wasn't a match to Lt. Tragg's case...then Morrison committed suicide before we could bring him to trial..I still thought Lt. Tragg had the wrong guy..Allison had no sexual assault in his history. We couldn't get Tragg to listen."said another SVU Detective..

"Well we know beyond a shadow of a doubt Allison wasn't at the scene...We are just waiting for the DNA results to come back." I said.

''Well Good luck with that." he said.

''Come on Shortcake...We're done...Let's go home."I said.

She tossed me the keys..

"You drive back...I'm tired.." she said..

"You got a buzz." I said.

She smiled..

"Yeah, that too!" she laughed.  I hugged her...She was an Attorney, an Ivy league educated Attorney, but she was from the hood and as tough as they came...She would have made a great partner, back when I was a Homicide Detective.

"My little Shortcake..."I said...

She smiled and leaned her head into my chest as I drove us back...

III-

As Beverly and I headed back...Olivia and Nelson went over the particulars of the case and the defense they planned for James..

While they were doing that, Alfreda came to the conference room..

"Liv...Monica Seale is here.." she said.

"That's right...I forgot about them....Send them in..."said Olivia...

But it was just Monica..

"It's just me Liv....For some reason...He has his own Attorney...Like he doesn't trust me or something."said Monica, who seemed a bit disturbed and a twinge , hurt....

''Where's Drew?" asked Olivia, ignoring what Monica said. Drew was still late.

"He'll be here..." said Monica..

"This is Richard Allison.."said Olivia..

"I follow the news, I know who he is...Saw you on Hard Bottom and you no doubt know who I am."said Monica.

"Oh Yeah...The Skirt with the Dirt.."said Richard.

''Well I used to be...I'm trying to expand my thinking now."said Monica.

Kayla arrived with Drew Hunter..

 "Hi Aunt Alfreda.." said Kayla and kissed Alfreda..

"Hey baby...Aint you supposed to be getting ready to get married?" asked Alfreda.

''Soon Aunt Alfreda..This is absolutely the last negotiation before I get married." said Kayla.

"Howdy Ms. Johnson.."said Drew.

''How do you do? You can just go in...Your wife, I mean ex-wife is already there." said Alfreda.

Josie came in from Law school just then...

''Hey everybody.." she said...

"Hail ,Hail the gang is all here.."Joked Alfreda..

We had hosted more...But we did appear to have a packed conference room...Beverly and I, Dr. Goggins and Dr. Hazel Baylor all arrived too..

 "We are back..."said Beverly..

 "Looks like you were telling the truth...Your alibi holds up." I said to Richard...

 ''We've got good news for you Richard, my lab tested the DNA sample you gave against the semen in Wilma Mason's panties and the saliva on her bra straps...It is not a match...I'm 99 percent certain.. She was attacked by someone else."said Dr. Goggins..

"I tested it and came to the same conclusion.. and I sent it to the FBI lab and they said the same thing.. They are 100 percent sure that whoever raped that woman, is still out here.. but it wasn't Richard Allison." said Hazel..

"I've been screaming that for three years."said Richard...

"Well Now we can prove it..."said Nelson, smiling..

 "You can go home Richard....We are done for the day..."said Olivia..

 "Us too."said Beverly...

 "It's raining so bad out there...but I'm starving.."I said..

"Me too!" said Josie...

ADA Rockland Cambridge walked in...He was dripping wet....

"I hope you guys are hungry because I brought seven large Pizzas and some Cokes" he said..

"Oh Right on." said Nelson.. who helped him with the Pizza Boxes and the Cokes...They spread the boxes out on the table and opened them...

 Alfreda kissed him passionately...

"That was so nice of you...I was getting ready to call out for food."said Alfreda..

''Ummm… well you can pay me instead and you KNOW WHAT I MEAN." he moaned...

"You are sooo silly...Yes, I KNOW what you mean" said Alfreda.

"Heyyy  Kayla.." said Beverly hugging and kissing her cousin...

"Heyyyy Boo Boo..we just got our things situated in our new place...We are across the street and a block down from here."said Kayla..

"You guys live near Ms. Yvette."said Beverly..

''We are four doors down from her."said Kayla.

Coffee was poured and slices of Pizza was doled out to all of our guests..

And then of course to us...

A good time was had by all...

After we chowed down...

Hazel, Dr. Goggins and Richard left...

That left Olivia and Nelson representing Monica Seale

And Kayla representing Drew...

The negotiations weren't hardly as intense as last time , with Kayla nearly in tears going up against Olivia and Nelson...This time everyone was on one accord and an equitable contract that was satisfactory to both parties was drawn...

Drew Hunter was once again Monica Seale's producer...not of her radio talk show, but of her TV talk show..

She still refused to marry him and he is still not living with her...

They still however are screwing each other's brains out every night of the week and twice a day on weekends..

Go figure..

 "That was so nice, what you did for us today.."said Alfreda

in between wet,sloppy kisses.

 "Ummmmm so uh do I get a reward?"asked Rockland slyly...

"Don't you always get a reward?" asked Alfreda, giggling like a teenaged girl..

Alfreda and Rockland were in the kitchen, kissing like two horny teenagers...

Soon Everyone was gone and it was just the five of us...

 "What a day, this is why I practice law.."said Olivia, who hadn't left the house today...

 ''Nice to have your own practice and a staff huh?" I said, holding her in my lap.."

 "It is...It was just me and Auntay and Josie for the longest time..Then you came Donnie Ray and now my honey bunny is in the mix "she said, hugging Nelson..

 "Yeah...the three amigos are back together again."laughed Nelson..

"You've always been here..with us.." said Josie..

It was still raining hard outside..

"Bev, Nelson...Can I stay the night?" asked Josie..

"Of course" said Beverly, who loved company...

Nelson smiled..

He loved being in the same domicile with two sexy women...

 "Let's all head upstairs wifey." I said.

"Good Idea." said Olivia.

IV-

Curly's bar was nearly empty...It was pouring down rain still..

Attorney James Solis was talking to Lt. Tragg...

"Look I've gone over your notes...Are you sure this is a solid case..?" he asked.

"Jimmy look ,the guy is guilty...He used to date the broad...He was angry she was with somebody else...That was his motive for raping her and beating up the fiance...You got this...Olivia and Beverly should have stayed out of this.."said Lt. Tragg..

"Olivia's husband and her Niece visited Josie's, Aqua Bar and Stoley's today...They talked to a number of people and they paid Special Victims Unit a visit." said James Solis.

''SVU, why did they go there?"asked Lt. Tragg..

"You tell me...plus they went to an independent service to compare his fresh DNA against the original DNA  from the case...They went by the Medical Examiners Office and they made several calls to the FBI...Artie ,I don't want any surprises.."said James Solis.

"There won't be any...Trust me...I'm a Detective..a pretty damn good one...I been doin this for years.."said Lt. Tragg who suddenly saw B.L. Benz having a drink..

''Excuse me a minute."he said..

B.L. looked up... He was sitting with the same Blonde, Lt. Tragg had been buying drinks for the night before..

''Hey Artie, how's it going?" he said.

"Hey Artie." said the Blonde..

"Don't Hey Artie me...you rat." said Lt. Tragg. Ignoring the girl..

''What are you talkin about?" said B.L.

"I had a little talk with Olivia and Beverly

yesterday in Sam Mother's joint.

  They said you came to them with this case...not the other way around...You dropped this case in their laps..Your network is paying their legal fees and your network put up Allison's bail money.."said Lt. Tragg..

"They may be ambulance chasing lawyers...but they're not of the habit of lying...I believe what they told me." he added..

"That's right..They told you the truth..and I'm thinking of making the same deal with Yvette Jones and those young attorneys she works with...

My ratings have gone through the ceiling with Olivia and Beverly and Yvette and her crew could take them just as high....Olivia and Beverly are so charismatic...

people love em..and their husbands too and that cute little law student who is uh like an understudy..."said B. L. Benz..

Before he knew it, Lt. Tragg decked him with one punch and poured his drink in his face..

"ARTIE!!" screamed Curly the Bartender, who saw the whole thing....

"HEYYYY WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" screamed the blonde....

"You little weasel...I MADE YOU...I MADE YOU!!!WITHOUT ME THERE IS NO HARD BOTTOM!" screamed Lt. Tragg..

"You made a big mistake hittin me Artie...We are done.!!!..You'll never be on Hard Bottom again, Ever...And I'll let you in on a secret....My bosses hate your guts...They didn't want you on anymore anyway...Especially after that fiasco with Richard Graves and the time you goaded that serial killer into killing that cabbie.. We took a lot of heat for that...You're done Artie.." said B.L. who dropped some dollars on the counter and left with the blonde..

Curly looked at Lt. Tragg..

"Artie...Leave...Don't come in here for a few days..I mean it!  You're out of control.." he said solemnly...

Lt. Tragg stormed out into the rain..

 (CONCLUSION NEXT)