"Who are we going to see again and why?" asked Beverly..
''His name is Eddie Lee...He owns this beautiful restaurant we are about to go into." I said..
"Oh...and I take it...this is a front?" she asked..
"The restaurant is totally legit.. In fact, it's five star, frequently mentioned as one of the top five Chinese cuisine spots in the city...but...."I said.
"There is always a but.." said Beverly..
"Upstairs is where the real action is...Upstairs, houses a floating crap game attended by the Russian Mob and several Asian Mobsters.....
Everybody knows about this...but Eddie Lee keeps things quiet in Chinatown and the Police mostly turn their backs to him...
He is said to be a loan shark...Because of his reputation...There is little if any violence in this neck of the woods...If people owed..They paid as far as Eddie Lee was concerned... His reputation guaruntees that people pay and nobody bucks the system...
Karl Evans has a nasty gambling habit... He is rumored to be into Eddie Lee for 150 large...of which he has only paid 25K to date...
Several beefy Russians and an Asian man visited him on three occasions last month. We might find our killer amongst them.." I said.
"If this was dangerous...If we had a chance of being killed.. You wouldn't have brought me right?" asked Beverly..
"That is correct...You being with me assures me that there won't be any violence...plus, I've got a 40.caliber on me and a .38 smokeless...I doubt I'll need it." I said.
We walked in and sat down....
Beverly and I ordered our meal...I slipped the waitress a twenty and whispered to her that I would like to talk to the manager...She smiled..
We both ordered a vegetable Lo Men...It was spicy and very good..
"Ouuu Donnie Ray, this is delish." said Beverly...
''Yes it is...I have to admit." I said as both of us hungrily chowed down..
Within minutes ,Eddie Lee walked out...
"Glad you're enjoying your meal, please tell your friends about us." he said.
"Ummmm, he's cute!" whispered Beverly..
''Watch that, married lady.."I joked.
"Nelson's got nothing to worry about...I just made an observation about his looks...I don't date gangsters.." said Beverly ,chuckling..
''Let's see...Lt. Tragg has already been here and you don't look like a cop, You dress too well and plus you tipped my waitress.. Cops never tip...So I take it, you're a P.I.." he said.
"I am....I work for Olivia Bennett-Alexander and Beverly West, Attorneys at law...I'm their investigator."I said..
He smiled and said-" You don't say? I know who she is...This is Mrs. Beverly West-East....I've seen you on Television, with your equally sexy Auntie.." he remarked.
"You're even sexier in person." he said smiling from ear to ear..
Beverly blushed...
"Well, Thank you?" she said...
"Her Sexy Auntie is my wife." I said..
"No Kidding? Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwww! You're one lucky man...You live with both of these beautiful women...Wowwww...Now what can I do for you?" he asked..
I showed him a photo of Karl Evans...
''You know him? Of course you do...He's into you for 150 large..."I said.
''He WAS into me for that much.. He's a degenerate gambler....but, his debt was paid off in full...We are all square." he said..
"His debt was paid off? In Full?" I asked.
''Yupper...About two weeks ago...A Wednesday to be exact...A woman, a blonde came in here with a briefcase...Paid the 125 Large that he owed,plus another 25 large for good measure....He doesn't owe me a penny." said Eddie Lee.
''It was a Blonde? Not a Black woman.?" asked Beverly..
"A Blonde..." said Eddie Lee.
"Thanks "I said..
I paid for both of our meals and left a $50.00 tip..
Eddie Lee smiled..
"Pleasure doing business with you Mr. Donnie Ray.." he said and smiled.
''I didn't tell you my name." I said.
''I knew who you were the minute I saw little cutie here...I watch Hard Bottom, I saw you all on there a few weeks ago....I wish you had brought your wife.....Uh no disrespect....It's just that I'm a big fan." he said and laughed... "Hope you enjoyed your meal..." he said..
I drove back...
"I thought you'd have more questions." said Beverly...
''There was no more to ask...He just told me who killed Joyce Martin." I said,.
II-
While Beverly and I were in Chinatown, Olivia, Nelson and Josie were in court...going through Voir dire..
Olivia began her opening arguments on behalf of Lucy...
who sat quietly, humbly listening...She was scared...scared that she could wind up behind bars for the rest of her life for something she didn't do."
Nelson was doing his thing, playing bait and switch like a Master, getting the jury we wanted... Six Black women, Three White men and a black man and two white women....
ADA Karen Page was good, but she was no match for Nelson when it came to reading and picking sympathetic jurors...His only match was Attorney Yvette Jones.
who was a master at it...She was in court today to support both of her old law school friends, ADA Karen Page and her best friend, Olivia Bennett-Alexander...
She was sitting next to Josie
"You're taking all of this in aren't you?" she said.
''Sure am, On the Job training.." she said.
"That's right..The Best!" she said..
Judge Keith Morrison walked over to the three attorneys..
''So you three know each other." he said.
''We were all in law school together... I was in the apartment across the street from Yvette and Olivia..
''First year, we didn't like her...We thought she was stuck up." admitted Olivia.
"Then second year we had a couple of classes together and got to know each other and became good friends...By Third and final year we were like sisters.." said Yvette..
''Olivia, you've probably met my son , he's one of Yvette's protoge's." said Judge Morrison..
''Keith? Keith Jones
is your son?" asked Olivia.
''Sure is..."said Judge Morrison.
."Yesssss I know him...I've worked with him several times.. He's a fine lawyer."said Olivia..
''I went up against him in court..."said ADA Karen Page..
"Small World isn't it?"said Yvette.
Lt. Tragg observed the four of them talking, The Judge, Karen Page and Olivia and Yvette...He didn't like that all of them was so chummy...
III-
Trial Began a few days later...
The Press was out in full force...The case of the dead woman in the car in the river had taken on a life of it's own....
Olivia, Beverly and I walked in with Lucy, flanked by Nelson and Josie..
ADA Karen Page and Lt. Tragg walked in...
"I'm impressed by the investigation you put together....This is really thorough..."she said with a smile.
"I left no stone unturned baby ." he said and smiled at her raffishly...
The trial was not without it's surprises..
Ray Connor ,who had been subpeoned as a "Hostile Witness" came with his Attorney..
Greg Garland, a savy Philadelphia Attorney...
"Oh My God, That's your old flame, Greg Garland...I saw him a few months ago."said Olivia..
''Yeah...I saw him too..I represented him in a case.."said Yvette. What is he doing here and repping Ray Connor?" said Yvette..
ADA Karen Page saw him too and remembered him from college..
He was the first Black man she'd ever slept with....He broke the legs off of her bed one of the two nights they had spent together...She didn't know he and Yvette had been an item in Law School...
Karen and Greg had had a class together and after class had had drinks and had gone back to her apartment..One thing led to another and they wound up in bed...He had rocked her world totally...
He still looked good, she mused...
Karen's opening argument was that Lucy was a courier who got curious of her cargo and removed the money, when challenged by the other courier, Lucy Martin, who was supposed to pick the money up, a fight ensued and she bashed Lucy's head in with a tire iron ,killing her and deposited her and the car into the river...Then went into hiding..
Olivia, Beverly and Nelson argued that their client did not kill Lucy Martin, That the two women never really met and only saw each other once and that until her boss called her inquiring about the money, she was not aware of what she was carrying..
Karen called the police at the scene, Auto Theft detectives, CSI people and Forensic experts...
On Cross examination..
Olivia, Beverly and Nelson questioned them, asked them if they found fingerprints, DNA or anything that implicated their client, Lucy Luckenbill..
Sadly they all had to admit that there wasn't a scrap of evidence pointing to Lucy...
Lt. Tragg was called on the stand...He was forced to admit that he had little to no physical evidence, except for video of Lucy putting the briefcase in the car... There is no video at all of Lucy and Joyce Martin ever coming in contact with each other..
Beverly actually showed a video of Lucy getting on the subway and Joyce in the parking lot looking through the briefcase and getting in the car.
ADA Karen Page had Credit card receipts of Lucy's showing she ate at a restaurant and bought three very pricey dresses that same afternoon.
Olivia countered that the purchases had been made on credit cards...
''Some one that suddenly had 200K didn't use any cash at all? That sounds suspect, don't you think?" she asked.
ADA Karen Page called Ray Connor to the stand..
His Attorney, Greg Garland observed the entire thing...
ADA Page asked him how long had Lucy been in his employ...
He answered that she had been in his employ for a year and that she was a very thorough and conscientious worker.
She asked why he hadn't promoted her , a woman with her talents..and if maybe her lowly status made her want to take revenge..
Greg Garland, Olivia, Beverly and Nelson objected...asking for relevance and saying the question was speculative..
Judge Morrison struck it from the record..
Lt. Tragg looked sick to his stomach...
Josie and I looked at each other and laughed..
She grilled him mercilously about why he sent money through a courier to Philadelphia when he could have wired it..?
Greg Garland objected...
"Your honor...Mr. Connor is not on trial...Ms. Luckenbill is.." he said.
"True, but I'd like him to answer the question."said Judge Morrison.
"I invoke my fifth amendment right against self incrimination " he said..
ADA Page smiled..
"No More questions ." she said..
She grilled Karl Evans the same way and he too took the fifth several times.. She asked him right out if he killed Joyce Martin...This was one time he didn't take the fifth...
"I did not!!!!!..She was my Attorney and my friend." he said.
"Were you sleeping with her?" she asked.
''Yes." he admitted... Then said quietly.."All the more reason why I didn't kill her." he said quietly..
"Isn't it true you owed a Chinatown gangster 200K in gambling debts?" she asked.
"I did, but somebody paid my marker...I don't know who.and it was 125 K, not 200" he said.
"Somebody paid your marker? Righttttttttttttt?" she said.
She didn't realize it...but she had won our case for us....The Jury was starting to believe that one or both of these guys might have killed Joyce Martin...but I knew...It was neither of them!
IV-
Olivia argued eloquently that her client not only didn't kill Joyce Martin, but in the time frame of the murder..She was nowhere near her...She showed the video of her in the parking lot of the train station and of her getting on the subway , then of Joyce Martin leafing through the briefcase and getting in the car...
Beverly showed Credit Card receipts, Debit Card receipts and time stamped video from the restaurant and stores Lucy had been in that afternoon..She called several people who had waited on her and remembered seeing Lucy that night..
Nelson had the Autopsy report and called CSI people and Forensic people who gave the time of death as accurate as possible..Then he showed receipts, Time stamped receipts that proved Lucy was halfway across the city at the time.
ADA Page was sharp, She got the CSI and Forensic people to admit that time of death wasn't an exact science especially since Joyce Martin's body been in the water a number of hours..She had done her homework.
Josie passed Olivia some notes..
I smiled..I knew what was coming..
Olivia called Yasmen Edwards to the stand..
''Ms. Edwards, you are Mr. Evans, Administrative Assistant and Personal Assistant as well correct and you have been for five years right?" asked Olivia.
"Yes, that's right." she said.
She definitely didn't want to be here.. You could see it in her entire demeanor..
"You were in New York that day too weren't you? The day the briefcase was delivered." Olivia asked..
"Yes.." she said..
"Here is a copy of your train ticket and your credit card receipt...You were on the train that left New York an hour before Lucy's train correct?" asked Olivia..
"Yes..If the ticket says so.."she answered.
Beverly showed footage..
"We would have never thought to look at footage taken before Lucy got here...but there you are, in the parking lot, drinking coffee....Lucy doesn't know you....She's never seen you before..So when she put the briefcase in the car...and got on the subway...She never saw you switching briefcases did she..? You had the real one...When Joyce Martin arrived...You had already taken the money hadn't you?" asked Beverly...
"I-I..I don't know what you're talking about." she said..
Nelson pointed to Eddie Lee.
''Let me remind you....You're under oath.See that man over there...That's Eddie Lee..He will testify that you gave him a bag with 150 large in cash , a day later.. and I have bank receipts...Yours...You deposited 200Large in your account and took 150 large out the next day, the day Joyce Martin died.. She must have been on to you...She must have caught you...You took that tire iron and bashed her skull in and pushed that car into the river, didn't you?" asked Nelson..
"I-I-I-I'm not going to answer that....Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hellll...Yes.... I was protecting you Karl...I saw those goons, The Three Russians and the Asian guy....I knew who they were..They would have killed you...So I paid your marker off....Joyce was a newsy bitch, She followed me to Chinatown..She figured out that I had taken the money...I couldn't have her tell you..So I bashed her damn head in...I hated her...I was trying to help you Karl..Those guys weren't going to wait for your big deal to go through..They were either going to kill you or break you up the next time they came around asking for that money that you owed....I did it to protect you....I always looked out for you...All Joyce ever did was take a check and screw you!" she said..
Karl Evans was stunned..
''I knew it...I knew the theft came from his end."said Ray..
''Quiet, let's get out of here." said Greg Garland as they both got up and left..
The Mysterious Man in the Dark suit and white Shirt, followed them..
"In Lieu of this new information...The People move to drop all charges against Ms. Luckenbill."said ADA Page.
''So moved.. You're free to go Ms. Luckenbill." said Judge Morrison.
"Oh Thank You...Thank You.."said Lucy in tears..Hugging Olivia, Beverly ,Me and Nelson..
''We told you we were going to get you off." said Olivia.
"Yeah..Did you have any doubt?" asked Beverly..
"You're free and clear." said Nelson..
"You can go back to New York with a clear conscience...You didn't steal anything and you didn't kill anyone Lucy." I said.
On your last night in Philly, you've got to come and party with us." said Josie.
"Oh Most definitely..."said Lucy...
Lt. Tragg had been close, but had still missed the actual killer..and yet he had got closer to the truth than usual in these investigations..
ADA Karen Page saw a familiar face.
"Hey Babe....the case is over.." she said.
"I saw., We covered the entire trial.." said B.L. Benz...the Host of HARD BOTTOM, the reality crime show..
They kissed passionately...
Yvette Jones was shocked..
"Karen and B.L.? Since when??.." she said..
"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" said a livid Lt. Tragg, stomping his foot..
"You were sweet on Karen Page, Lieutenant? WOWWW!I didn't know that!" laughed Olivia..
"A lot you didn't know ..Tell me counselor...What does she see in that ass clown?" he snarled..
"I don't know, You'd have to ask her!...You know what they say ,Different strokes for different folks."said Olivia.
"Yeah, I've heard that somewhere."said an enraged Lt. Tragg.
"Well if they aren't too serious...you could buy her some flowers...She loves Gladiolas."laughed Olivia.
"I did that...a few weeks ago and she's still with that damn ass clown...Bought her favorite perfume too...Chanel-Chance..." grumbled Lt. Tragg..
"Wow! You found that out? You are a great detective Lieutenant! I had forgotten about the perfume." laughed Olivia, who was bemused by the whole idea of Lt. Tragg and ADA Karen Page.
"I thought that was your boy, your friend.." I said..
"NOT THE HELL ANYMORE!" he said..and stormed out of the courthouse..
"What got into him?" asked Nelson..
Josie pointed to B.L. and Karen
"That's what got into him!" said Josie,.
"Let's go back to your place....I've got a nice port and we can order some pizza."said B.L.
"Ummmmmm sounds nice.."said ADA Karen Page.
They were still kissing passionately...
''I must admit....I never pictured those two together...but then again, I don't picture Lt. Tragg with anybody.."said Beverly..
''Love your niece to death."laughed Yvette.
''So do I Vettie..So Do I."laughed Olivia.
EPILOUGE-
What better place to take Lucy on her last night in Philly but to Josie's...Where she could meet some more of our friends..
The place was packed as usual on a Thursday Night...
Olivia and I, Beverly and Nelson and Josie and Paris all had a booth...
Lucy Luckenbill sat with us...
Pizza and hot wings
Beers
and colorful drinks arrived at our table....
We were joined by Yvette Jones and her crew, Keith Jones, Bee Bee Evans, Kahlil Ahmed and Sofia Garcia.
who we introduced Lucy to and who took the booths on the side of ours...
Yvette's Boyfriend, Gary soon joined us
As did her investigator ,Jade..
and her boyfriend, Lt. Danny Ho.
"I'll never forget how well I was treated here, How hospitable you all were...and most of all that you got me out of a murder rap...I'm turning in my resignation when I return to New York...I've got some money saved up...I'll be alright for awhile...Then I'm going to start my own firm...You showed me that there is nothing like having your own." said Lucy.
We heard a ruckus...We looked and
Rockland Cambridge was in the middle of the floor doing the Cabbage patch and then the Ki Ki dance.. A group of women were screaming.. "Go Rockland..Go Rockland..Go Rockland..Ut Ut Ut ut...ut....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."
Rockland was tearing the floor up...People were laughing, whistling and clapping...
Alfreda saw us and walked over to our table..
"I don't know what I'm going to do with that man." she said and laughed..
''Well Ma, you could join him." said Beverly, who grabbed Nelson
and went on the dance floor....They were line dancing now...Doing the Electric Slide , The Wobble and an assortment of others...
Josie and Paris
Bee Bee and Keith Jones
and Sofia and Kahlil joined them...
''Freda, join your man....Don't leave him out there alone." said Olivia..
Alfreda, who was quite a dancer herself began twerking on Rockland..
The crowd erupted in more cheers and Rockland smiled from ear to ear.....
He was clearly the hit of the night..
"GO ROCKLAND, GO ROCKLAND, GO ROCKLAND..UT UT UT UT UT UT..OHHHHHHHH!"they screamed....
''All the years I've known that guy and I've never seen this side of him.."said Danny Ho..
"Me neither and I work for him..."laughed Gary..
"He's Happy.....and I'm happy for him" laughed Yvette..
''You guys are so cool...You make me think of moving to Philly....Any nice places in this area, near you?" asked Lucy...
"I'll email you my realtor's information...Her name is Sepia Morris.."said Olivia.
"You'd be amongst friends...We all live around here...Come on down." I said..
Yvette's Boyfriend, Gary soon joined us
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