The Last Drop

An Average Monday Afternoon at our Law Office, which we also call home..

We weren't there...Our Office manager and her boyfriend, our one time adversary, Assistant District Attorney, Rockland Cambridge were in the kitchen, kissing like two horny teenagers..

''Rockland honey, stoppppppppppppp, you're going to make me spill this hot chocolate...Liv just called me, she and Bev and Donnie Ray are on their way from court...They should be here in aminute now...Don't you have some work to do?" asked Alfreda in between hot, slow and soulful kisses...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….no..I've got no upcoming court cases or I wouldn't be here...Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…" moaned Rockland..

continuing to kiss Alfreda...

''Well cool it lover boy....Save some of that energy for tonight...I'm spending the night with you remember?" said Alfreda..

''Ummmmmm how can I forget...Ohhhhh lord!" he moaned as Alfreda slipped out of his embrace...

"Go over there and sit down..." she chided him...She secretly giggled....She couldn't believe she had this much younger man so enthralled with her...He couldn't keep his hands off of her...

Olivia, Beverly and I entered just as he was sitting down at our conference table..

 ''Heyyyy, we are back....Hey Rockland.." said a smiling Olivia..

 "Heyyy Ma...Hi Rockland.."said a cheerful Beverly...

"Hello Ms. Jay.....Hey there Rockland." I said.

"Hello! From the looks on your faces...I take it you guys won your case.."said ADA Rockland Cambridge , who had lost to us about three times and only bested us once...He was relieved that he hadn't had to face us in court again...Especially since he was dating Beverly's mother, Alfreda Johnson, who was now our office manager..

 "We sure did...Not Guilty on all counts..."said a happy Olivia..

 "Where's my hubby?  He had a serious litigation downtown...Him and Calvin Hunt...I hope they were successful....It's weird...Robert Foxworth and associates hiring Nelson as a"Consulting Attorney." said Beverly...

"I know right? All these years we hired him and paid them as a consulting attorney...It's nice to be getting those consulting fees from Robert."laughed Olivia..

''What'cha got there Alfreda?" I asked.

"I ordered some Mocha Latte's for everybody...I knew you'd be coming in soon.." she said..

Josie Boyd, our Para-Legal, who couldn't be with us today because she was in class at Drexel Law School had just come in...When she had class...She always stopped in afterwords...If we weren't in or in court, she just went home..but today, we were here...

"Hi guys, Hi Ms. Alfreda, Hi Rockland." she said..

"Hi Josie."said Rockland...who in spite of himself, was growing to like all of us...

"Here baby...I bought some Mocha Latte's for you guys.."said Alfreda

Who passed all of us tumblers of Mocha Latte's...

Nelson walked in just then...He was checking his messages on his phone...He was in a good mood..
He hugged Alfreda and kissed her on the cheek...

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm Hello Ms. Jay. Hey Rockland!" he said..

"Ummmm aren't we in a good mood today!" laughed Alfreda..

 Nelson next grabbed Beverly...

"Ummmmmm how's my honey bun?" he asked her...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuu stop goofball before you make me spill this hot latte." Beverly giggled..

Then cooed..."Your honey bun is just fineee…" she said.

He kissed her passionately.....She put her cup down and returned his passion...

"Now he's really in a good mood..."said Olivia... "They settled in your favor huh?" added Olivia..

''Did they? We got more than we originally asked for...The client is very, very pleased with the both of us.."said Nelson...

"As pleased as I am right now?" whispered Beverly , who was hugging him.....

"You hand him a business card?" I joked..

"I sure did."said Nelson laughing...

"Ummmmm, my baby is good for love and business." cooed Beverly....

in between more kisses...

''I knew acquiring you was a good business move Nelson...You're bringing us more clients and taking a lot of the load of Beverly and me." said Olivia.

"Here...Let my daughter go just a minute and try one of these Mocha Latte's..Then you can kiss her all you want!"said Alfreda, smiling.. She had never seen her daughter so deliriously happy.. She Loved Nelson for making Beverly feel that way.

Nelson and Beverly dreamily came up for air....They were still staring in each other's eyes as if in a trance...

Alfreda Passed him a tumbler.

"Well, they haven't really seen much of each other....With us going to court and him going to that office downtown..." said Olivia, laughing....

II-

We had all finished our coffee and were just sitting around,laughing and talking when the doorbell rang..

"A Lawyer's work is never done...Let me get that."said Alfreda..

"Noooo sit down Ms. Jay...I'll get it.." said Josie..

A Young Black woman dressed in a scarf and sunglasses entered our office...

"Olivia Bennett-Alexander?? Beverly West?" she asked..

 "Yes...That would be us.."said Olivia..

"I'm Beverly and that's my aunt..."said Beverly...

"Hi I'm Kim …..Kim Luckenbill…...I need your help....The help of an attorney...It concerns my cousin,Her name is Lucy...Lucy Luckenbill..She's gone missing and I'm afraid she could be in deep trouble..Trouble in which she may need an attorney..."said the woman...

''Isn't that something you should take to the police?..We are just attorneys..."I said.  "I'm not..I'm an investigator, but these uh other people around me are...

My wife, Olivia, her niece Beverly, her husband, Nelson and soon to be an attorney, Josie.." I said..

"That's why she told me to come to you guys....That was two days ago.....I haven't seen or heard from her since then..."said the woman...

''What do you want us to do?" asked Olivia.

"I can pay you....I fear she's in trouble and that's why she's vanished....In case she shows up...Here is a retainer.." she said and gave us $1000.00 in cash.. That's a start...I've heard you have a payment plan...You can write me, I mean her up and start it.."said the woman...

"You say your cousin vanished...Two days ago..and you haven't reported this to the police???...What kind of trouble is she in in which she would need an attorney?" asked Beverly...

"I think you better tell us everything.." said Olivia..

"Well my cousin Lucy....She's into Finance...High Finance..I don't know where she works...All I know is her boss's name is Ray...Ray something or other..In New York City..

He and another man...She never gave me his name..

Give her a briefcase every month and they put her on a train from New York to Philadelphia..

When she gets to Philadelphia...

She puts the briefcase on the backseat of a rental car...

That is already waiting for her in the parking lot and that she already has a key for...

She doesn't hang around....She gets herself something to eat and his contact here in Philadelphia has a courier to pick up the briefcase from the car...

She's only seen the contact's courier once...She's a black woman like herself...She delivers the briefcase to whoever

he's doing business with here in Philadelphia.. Her name is Joyce Martin, but none of us know that yet!

By then she's back on the train to New York..." said Kim Luckenbill...

"That's it?  She takes a train from New York to Philadelphia ,leaves a briefcase on the backseat of a rental car  and leaves the keys in the Glove compartment???...I take it she doesn't lock this car...And she gets back on the train and goes back to New York right?  She never calls you or stops to see you?" I asked.

''She has called and sometimes she and I have met and had dinner and then she's gone back to New York...but this time was different...She called me....I agreed to meet her ,only she wasn't there...And that's not like her...She called me on my cell phone from this number."  said Kim, who wrote the number down...Told me she was in big trouble...She said the suitcase she delivered didn't have it's contents and that her boss, this Ray person called her, very angry....She felt as if she was being set up..Which is why I came to you guys." said Kim.

In old city...Someone was very angry...

after opening up a briefcase and instead of finding 200 K, they find old newspapers!!!!

'' And you didn't touch the case or open it Joyce?" said the well dressed man.

"How long have I been picking up these briefcases for you? No I didn't open it...."said the black woman courier...I just picked up the briefcase and came right here..No stops." she said.

"I think you're lying....You're a half hour later than you usually are.." said a white woman ,who was also in the room..Her name was Yasmen Edwards, She was his secretary/personal assistant.

"And I think you need to mind your business Yasmen. By the way...What were you doing at the train station?  I saw you after the girl made the drop."said the Black woman courier..

"  Karl was my BUSINESS First Joyce. And for your information...I was just getting back into town...I was coming from New York also." said Yasmen...

"Both of you, Dummy up....Let me call New York..."said the man..

Who got on his phone..

"Hello...Yeah What's up Karl....you get the money?" said Ray..

"No, I didn't...I got a briefcase full of newspapers....What's the idea pal?" said Karl...

"What?"  I sent you 200 Large...Just like I have been doing for the past seven or eight months."said Ray..

"Look My courier and my secretary are here and all we have is newspapers...." said Karl..

''Alright look...We are coming to Philly tonight...You'll get your money...I promise.." said Ray..

"Don't Promise, deliver"said Karl...

".We've got a small problem...I think my little courier has sticky fingers...We are going to have to find her and alleviate that problem..Or it may be coming from our partners end...Whatever, we are going to get to the bottom of it."said Ray...

"I'm already on it.."said the man.

"This is a fantastic story Ms. Luckenbill….I mean, I can have my husband look into it...And if you like we will represent your cousin provided she ever shows up...but we need more to go on baby.."said Olivia.

"You really should take this up with the police.."said Beverly..

"I'm afraid to just yet....I just need to know that if my cousin does show up...She'll have legal representation ."said Kim Luckenbill….

"How did you know about us?" asked Nelson..

"You and my cousin have a mutual friend, in New York City... ADA Regina Cole..

said Kim...

 "Yesss...She's our friend...We worked a case with her before she got married.."said Olivia.

"She's married to Detective Ray Cole now and they have a baby....That baby is probably walking and talking by now.."laughed Beverly..

"He's Lieutenant Ray Coles now....Uh, I mean...That's what my cousin told me...She speaks fondly of them both and she told my cousin if I ,I mean she was ever in Philly to look you guys up."said Kim...

"I'll look into this and we'll get back with you Ms. Luckenbill.."I said.

"Oh Thank you so much...My cousin isn't a thief and she certainly wouldn't have stolen from her boss...She loves her job...Though she was suspicious as to what was in the briefcase... Her boss and his associate never told her..They just told her to deliver it...She suspected it could be anything from drugs to money, but she never knew."said Kim...

"You got a number and an address?" asked Beverly..

"Uh you can reach me at this number... I'll get in contact with you....And thank you so much." said the young woman who exited our abode..

She got in an uber that was waiting and took off..

"She had an uber waiting that whole time she was in , no car.."said Nelson..

"That story she told and not leaving us a forwarding address...Only a number...All sounds so suspect.."said Beverly...

"It sounds very suspect  Shortcake.."I said..

"Not to be all up in your business and all...but that story sounds contrived at best..."said Rockland..

"Rockland, I'm a hundred percent in total agreement with you."said Olivia.





III-

I was gone for a few hours , but I returned with information....

"I did a little digging, I found out some very interesting things." I said..

"Bev and I made a call to New York and we found out some interesting things too.."said Olivia..

"You Go first."said Beverly...

''Well I looked up the missing Lucy Luckenbill...Turns out she does exist...She's African-American and the same age as you and I Liv...She was born in New York City....Grew up in Queens..Attended New York Public Schools...Her mother was a school teacher and her father worked in a bank...Middle class upbringing...

She attended Howard Univeristy , pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Got her B.A. in Business Administration.... She then attended You girl's Alma Mater- University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business...Where she got her MBA in Finance...

She returned to New York City for awhile and taught Business Education at St. Johns, your Alma Mater, Nelson...before getting a cushy job with a Hedge Fund Manager earlier this year , This Hedge Fund Manager 's name is Ray Connors..That's the Ray she was talking about..

In case you don't know..A hedge fund is an investment fund that pools capital from accredited investors or institutional investors and invests in a variety of assets, often with complicated portfolio-construction and risk management techniques. It is administered by a professional investment management firm, and often structured as a limited partnership, limited liability company, or similar vehicle. 

Hedge funds are generally distinct from mutual funds and regarded as alternative investments, as their use of leverage is not capped by regulators, and distinct from private equity funds, as the majority of hedge funds invest in relatively liquid assets. However, funds which operate similarly to hedge funds but are regulated similarly to mutual funds are available and known as liquid alternative investments." I said.

"She is a Financial Planner and Advisor, but since working for Ray Connor, all she'se ever been is no more than a courier and gofer." I said.

"Ouu my baby is smarrrrrttt."laughed Olivia, who already knew what a Hedge Fund Manager was..

''Being a detective you learn all kinds of things.....Like finding a woman's g-spot..." I whispered in Olivia's ear...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu stop being baddddd." Olivia giggled in my ear...

''Anyway...Lucy has no next of kin...She is an only child and both her mother and father are deceased...but here is what else is funny...I can't find any record of a KIM LUCKENBILL anywhere...Not New York City or here in Philadelphia.. No Birth certificate, No School records of any kind, No Employment records, No social security number, no bank statements or credit card records, no medical files , no criminal files...a big fat zero..."I said..

"Funny you should say that." said Beverly...

"I called New York and talked to our friend, Regina Cole..

"She knows Lucy Luckenbill quite well...The D.A.'s office has been trying to get her to be a co-operating witness against Ray Connor

for about a year now... She said He's somewhat of an influence peddler...He passes a lot of cash, a lot of allegedly dirty cash, Laundered Drug money and what have you to different people, political candidates, lobbys and what have you..He's sort of an Influence peddler.. a facilitator...He put's people together...They haven't been able to get anything solid on him...."said Olivia..

"So this Lucy person is bringing a briefcase to Philly and leaving it in the backseat of a rental car, which is picked up by a courier..That's either drugs....or money.."said Beverly...

"It's too small to be drugs....I think it's money...A Payoff of some type.."said Nelson..

"I think so too...and I think we've been sold a bill of goods...That woman who came in here was feeling us out...She was trying to get information, Legal information...I don't think she's Kim Luckenbill...She's either working for Ray Connor's Philadelphia contact or SHE IS LUCY LUCKENBILL." I said..

My phone rang... It was a Detective friend of mine from Auto Theft.
I had stopped by there while looking for Lucy Luckenbill…

Kim Luckenbill had given me the make and model of the rental car she had dropped the briefcase in before she left...

"Donnie Ray, we got something....We found a rental car like the one you described...at Penns Landing, submerged underwater..

"You need to get down here right now.." he said..

I looked at Nelson and the Girls..

 "Uh Oh...He's got that look in his eye."said Nelson..

 "What is it baby?" asked Olivia.

 "Yeah Batman, what's up?  You sounded like that was an invite for the entire Justice League."said Beverly...

Josie laughed..

"You guys feel like a trip to Penns Landing this afternoon..?" I asked.

IV-

We arrived at Penns Landing... They were pulling the car out of the water.. Water was pouring out of the windows...

To our surprise, CSI people and guys from the Forensics lab were snapping pictures and looking inside the car...

"There's a body in that car?" said Beverly...

"It's a woman!"said Josie..

Dr. Hazel Baylor , Deputy Chief Coroner and Forensic Investigator  was on the scene...

"Hey Livy, Bev, guys...What are you doing here?" she asked.

 ''We have a client that says her cousin is missing..."said Olivia..

"This is the rental car linked to her.."said Beverly...

"I've turned this city upside down all day looking for her.."I said..

"Well unfortunately, you may have found her..."said Hazel...

"Was there a briefcase in the car?" asked Nelson...

"Yes, I was wondering that too, Was there a briefcase in the car?" asked a white man who showed up
out of nowhere..

"There was.....It's over there...It was empty.."said Hazel....

The body was on a stretcher...It was a young Black woman...

"Can you identify the body?" asked Hazel..

"Yes...That's LUCY LUCKENBILL!" the man said.. He then headed for his car..

''Excuse me...I didn't get your name.." I said..

"You a cop?" asked the white man..\

"No I'm an investigator for my wife and her niece...

Olivia Bennett-Alexander

and Beverly West -East ,They are attorneys." I said..

"Attorneys, what is their stake in all this?" he asked.

"Uh I'd rather not say." I said..

"And I'd rather not give my name." he said and got in his car and pulled off.

"I got his license number Donnie Ray..."said Nelson...

"Good Job...Let's take a look at this body.." I said.

 "I don't know who this is.."said Olivia.

 "But I'm going to go out on a limb and say that that's not Lucy Luckenbill…."said Beverly...

 "Well it's not the woman who came in our office today claiming to be her." I said.

 "Who is this?" asked Josie..

 "Who knows?" said Nelson.

They were getting ready to take the body to the Medical Examiner's truck when we saw the lights from a police car...

Three Uniforms got out , followed by a well dressed man and a familiar voice..

"Okay, back it up...back it up...What have we got here..?" asked Lt. Tragg..

Hazel Sighed..

"Ohhhhhh god Not Him!"

"I hear ya."said Josie..

(TO BE CONTINUED)