The Professional Witness

STANGA STATE PRISON-  ONE MONTH AGO!

Josie Boyd entered the cold visiting room of Stanga State Prison, where some of the state's most dangerous convicts were housed...

She was here to see an inmate, Dennis Carter...serving three life sentences for a triple murder.

He was a big hulk of a man...dark skinned with a fresh haircut...She found him attractive....The way a lot of girls find bad boys attractive...He found her equally attractive..

He smiled upon seeing her...

''Lawd….Please tell me you're the attorney from the Innocence Project..." he said.

Josie blushed..

''Wellllll yes and no...I am from the Innocence Project and Drexel University....I'm not yet an Attorney...I'm in Law School, but I am a Para-legal and I work for two great attorneys in Philly." she said..

"You aint a lawyer?  Huh?" he asked..

"I go to Drexel University...Drexel University Law School...The Innocence Project picks several cases they want to spotlight and they pick a student to try the case...My Law Professor is an actual attorney and he is going to assist me with your case...I've looked over your case and uh I think we may have a shot at winning you a new trial...The Public defender who represented you didn't tell you of all of your options and didn't present anyone who could have provided you with an alibi...even though you testified that you in fact were somewhere else when the triple murder went down.."said Josie..

"Look I've been in here since 2010...I've probably read as many law books as you have and filed briefs up the wazoo...I've written the Public defenders off ice and every attorney I could think of and you guys are the first to even send somebody up here or to even return my calls..Here is something I remember...The prosecution's chief witness against me....was a prostitute and sometime stripper named April...April Dellums...she testified that she seen me shoot those two people...It was a drug dealer named Scar and a pregnant woman...I was convicted of killing Scar, the pregnant woman and her unborn child...She was eight months pregnant..April Dellums  lied...I was nowhere near that laundromat when those two were killed and what's more..She wasn't either..She was in the car with this dude named Tater, giving him oral sex at the time...I know because Tater was convicted of another crime and he was up here and we talked about it...He has since been released... Check this out...I talked to another inmate who was up here for a stabbing death...He said April testified against him too and again she was lying because HE DIDN'T DO IT!...You find her...You find my way outta here.." he said..

"I'll do the best I can Dennis.." said Josie..

"You got the prettiest eyes Josie..."said Dennis, smiling..

Josie blushed and batted her eyes..

"Thank youuuu." she said..






II-

TODAY!-

We were having breakfast upstairs in Olivia and my domicile..

I'm Donnie Ray Alexander...A one time New Orleans Homicide Detective whose whole life changed one summer night when I met her..

Olivia Bennett- a lonely, recently divorced attorney who was visiting New Orleans from Philadelphia, who was dreaming of starting her own law firm...

Flash forward to the present... I retired from the New Orleans Police Department, Got a P.I. license and came to Philadelphia where I married Olivia and am now the investigator for her and her niece ,Beverly West-East's law firm..

We all live on top of their office in this duplex with Beverly's husband,

Nelson East, also an attorney...….

This morning I had cooked breakfast...

 Shrimp and Grits...

 Hash Browns

and Breakfast sausage...

and cups of coffee for everyone.

Beverly's mother, Alfreda Johnson, who had had her with Olivia's older brother Jimmy and was now our Office manager was also eating breakfast with us this morning...

"Livy girl...Keep him...He can cook and I am uh pretty sure he is taking care of you elsewhere too!"said Alfreda...

"Oh he is...He is.."said Olivia..

They both laughed..

Beverly's phone rang...

"It's Josie.....Heyyy girl...Come on up...We're in Auntay's place having breakfast....There is enough for you..."said Beverly...

Josie, our para-legal walked up and sat down...

I made her a plate of food and poured her some coffee..

"Congratulations are in order." I said..

"You and your professor won a new trial for your client..."said Nelson...

"He was serving three life sentences wasn't he?" asked Olivia..

"Yes... We had so much evidence that he had had an unfair trial that it wasn't funny....His Public Defender never called one alibi witness and he had two...He put him on the stand...something you and Beverly both told me to avoid when trying a murder case among other things.." said Josie..

"What was your client's name?" asked Beverly...

"Dennis Carter... He had no convictions before this, but a couple of arrests for possession and distribution...He was acquitted of all of them." said Josie..

"D.C.???  I know him!!!...I repped him a few times...So did Nelson and so did Auntay...We are the reason he was acquitted on all of those charges.... He certainly deserved to be in jail for some of them.....He was an uh enforcer for the late Manny Spain...I however didn't rep him when he went down for that triple homicide...I warned him after I got him off the last time that he was headed for big trouble if he didn't get out of the game..He didn't listen.I never believed he was capable of  that triple murder...He was a big pussycat...He was no killer." said Beverly...

''Check this out...The woman who was the ADA's chief eyeball witness is a prostitute/stripper named April...April Dellums...She testified in FIVE different murder cases for the same ADA which resulted in five other  convictions...I talked to all five of the other defendents up there convicted of murders...They all said that she was lying and that she didn't see them do anything....They all were prosecuted by the same ADA."said Josie.

"WOW! The Professional Witness" I said.." Same ADA, Six homicides, Same Eyeball witness, Who gets that lucky?" I asked.

"Nobody!!!...That smells to high heaven like prosecutorial misconduct!.."said Olivia..

''Would you like us to help you out on this Josie?" asked Nelson...

''Well my professor is working with another student on a different case right now and I have to get another attorney to assist me..plus I need to find this prostitute, this April Dellums and another guy, Tater Jackson...Real Name, Rolando Jackson..He can testify that April was with him at the time of the shooting.."said Josie..

''April Dellums and Rolando Jackson...I'll get on it.." I said.

 "Beverly, Nelson  and I will look at what you have so far and assist you...This isn't like your mock trial...You can use all three of us." said Olivia.

 "I'd love to help you Jo.I can be your second chair this time."said Beverly...

"You know we got your back....By the way...Who was the ADA who prosecuted this case?" asked Nelson..

"Her name is Jasmine...Jasmine Jenkins...She's no longer an ADA...She works at a big downtown law firm now.. and she lives in a beautiful condo in town.." said Josie..

"Did you say Jasmin Jenkins?" asked Beverly....

"Jasmin Jenkins??" said Nelson, shaking his head..

''Yes...You Know Her too?" asked Josie.

Olivia laughed and looked at Nelson, who blushed...

''Yesss she knows her....So does Nelson...We all know her...She was once a Public Defender with us before she became an Assistant District Attorney...We used to call her Jazzy." laughed Olivia..

''She was a Public Defender with us....She buddied up to me to get info on Nelson, whether we were dating or not!...I wasn't dating Nelson...but he liked me..and I admit...I was curving him a bit because about three other guys were jocking me around that time.....Next thing I know, She and Nelson are dating..."said Beverly..

''Served your little hot ass right.. Who were these guys?" laughed her mother Alfreda..

"One was Larry North, he cheated on me.....The other guy turned out to be Gay or Bi-sexual at best....and the third guy was married and trying to keep it a secret..."said Beverly...

"Like I said...Served your little hot ass right. Treating my future son in law like that" laughed Alfreda..

"Me and Jasmine...It didn't last long...about six months...if that...She was kinda bourgie..."said Nelson, trying to play it off...

"Longest six months of Niecey Poo's little life! Neicey Poo was mad at her and miserable as hell..because Larry North wasn't giving her any rhythm either around that time..He was dating someone else and all of a sudden, She was hanging out with me a lot more on the weekends...She tried to play it off like she didn't care, but she did..When Jasmine  and Nelson broke up , Beverly was as happy as a clam, although she tried to play it off...She made a bee line to Nelson's door and all of a sudden they were going out again...She was still playing games, keeping him at arms length..but she was happy no one else had him." laughed Olivia..

"Yeah...I was even happier when Jasmine left the Public Defender's Office to be an Assistant District Attorney...We actually became friends again, went to lunch a few times.."said Beverly..

''Why don't you look her up Shortcake? And I'll run down this Rolando Jackson and this April Dellums person.."I said..

"Got'cha."said Beverly...

Josie smiled..

"You guys are the best." she said.

"You're my future associate attorney, of course we got your back." said Olivia, who hugged Josie and kissed her on the cheek..

III-

Hours later I returned...

Alfreda was at the front desk...

"They're all in there...Everybody except Beverly..." she said..

Olivia and Nelson were looking over the police report and Josie's case file..

 "OH heyyy Honey Bunny..."said Olivia.

She planted a soft kiss on my lips...

 "Heyy Donnie Ray."said Nelson...

''Got some news for me?" asked Josie..

''I do, but it's not good news...Rolando "Tater" Jackson was shot to death about five years ago in a bar...…..and that prostitute, April Dellums...died the same year of a drug overdose..."I said..

''Awww man...He was the one person who could place her someplace else other than where she said she was..and her testimony would have been tantamount..."said Nelson..

"I hope Beverly has better luck finding Jasmine Jenkins...I hope she's still alive."said Olivia..

Jasmine Jenkins was still alive and doing good..

Beverly had called her...She still had the same cell phone number and they agreed to meet at Aqua Bar..

Jasmine saw Beverly first and called her over ….

''Oh My God...Beverly West....Beverly West....Oh my god...how long has it been?" she said and hugged Beverly..

"Heyyy girlll...You look like a million bucks...Prada Bag, Red Bottoms...Wowwww!"said Beverly...

"Yeah, I don't have to ask about you.....I see you and your Aunt on the news all the time...Big time defense attorneys , partners in your own law firm...Wowwwww…Look at you, You aren't doing so bad yourself..

.

I heard your Aunt Olivia got married again a few years back..."said Jasmine.

''She did...He's a former Homicide Detective from New Orleans....Donie Ray Alexander...

She met him during Essence Fest...He retired ,moved to Philly and he's our investigator now.."said Beverly..

''Wowww, Nice...Good for Livy!  Wait a minute!!! Uh Oh...Is that a rock I see on your left hand, third finger??  You married Bev?"asked Jasmine...

"Yeah....I married Nelson East...Remember him from the Public Defenders Office? He works with us too..He's an Associate Attorney.."said Beverly...

"You and Nelson?? Married?? WOWWWW!  I'm not surprised..He's always loved you.. I wasn't sure about you...but I guess you loved him too!" said Jasmine..

"I did...I was good at hiding it for years."said Beverly..

''No you weren 't?" said Jasmine..

BOTH WOMEN CRACKED UP LAUGHING!

The place was packed and it wasn't Salsa night..

Both women got a seat at the bar and ordered drinks..

"Wow, it has been years....What made you look me up all of a sudden?" asked Jasmine..

"Do you remember Dennis Carter?  A Drug dealer...He was an enforcer for Manny Spain?" asked Beverly..

"You repped Manny Spain and Dennis Carter when we were Public defenders...Boyyy aren't you glad we are both out of there? We represented the dregs of the Earth back then...."said Jasmine..."Yeah, I remember him...I put that bastard away for three life sentences for killing that drug dealer guy, Scar who I could have cared less about and that pregnant girl...She was eight months pregnant...That son of a bitch...I tried to get him the death penalty.." snarled Jasmine...''What about him?" she asked.

"Well we have a Para-Legal, Josie Boyd,  who works for us, who is also a second year law student...She and her law professor took on his case with the Innocence Project and they won him a new trial."said Beverly...

''WHAT???? I'LL BE DAMNED!!!!....Some folks don't know how to leave well enough alone! Remember when you and I and your cousin Kayla were in law school and we did those mock trials with the Innocence project and the ACLU??  I had a real cute guy who was the assisting attorney on my case...We lost the case, but me and that guy made crazy love afterwords…"laughed Jasmine..

"How is your cousin Kayla doing anyway?" asked Jasmine..

''She got married a few weeks ago to a lawyer she met coming home from Atlanta..She lives a few blocks from us and works at a law firm downtown...I'm surprised you haven't run into her." said Beverly...

''I am too! Everybody's married...Everybody except me...I'm seeing this handsome Black guy at my firm and this married U.S. Attorney who lives in D.C.  and this white guy, an Attorney who lives in Cherry Hill who works for my firm on a consulting basis...I'm not really serious about any of em...I remember your Aunt Olivia used to say...

"You gotta kiss a lot of frogs before you find your Prince Charming.."laughed Jasmine.

"Yeah, she still says that." laughed Beverly..

''So this para -legal who works for you, She caught this bum's case and actually won a new trial for him? Wow...She's going to lose you know...There was a lot of evidence against him...Several people saw the two arguing hours before...and the deceased drug dealer, Scar pulled a gun on him, took his gun, his money and some bags off of him in front of everybody, totally embarrassing him and I had an eyeball witness to the shooting. It was a good case..." said Jasmine..

"Yeah Jazzy about this eyeball witness, April Dellums..She was a prostitute with 29 arrests on her record and yet they all were dismissed by you....She testified in six murder cases, all tried by you...all convictions...I mean come on Jazzy...That looks a little snarky even to the most naïve laymen.."said Beverly as diplomatically as possible..

''What are you trying to say Bev? She was a hooker yes...She was on the street..You're on the street you tend to see everything , you tend to know all of the playas...Anyway...She's dead!!!...She overdosed a few years back...Stupid little hoe was a junky as well... I'm sorry your little para-legal has caught this case....Losing it is not going to hurt her...but my eyeball witness is my eyeball witness...and I made a good case...and regardless of whether she was honest or not..She's dead and she said whatever she said and the jury bought it and I made a good case.. Case closed.." said Jasmine..

"It's like that Jazzy?" said Beverly ..

''It's like that Beverly....Besides...I'm not a Public Defender or an ADA anymore....I'm in corporate law now...A world away from that...I hardly ever see the inside of a courtroom.. I know you and your auntie and your hubby are still criminal defense attorneys ,but I'm far from that now...I could care less.. Tell your little par-legal good luck...NOT! A HA HAHahahahahaa."laughed Jasmine..

IV-

Night time came...

There was a knock on our door...

Olivia came to the door.. It was Beverly...

"Heyyy baby...you just getting in?" she asked..

''Yes Auntay...I just checked in downstairs...Nelson is sound asleep.. "sighed Beverly, who had hoped he'd be up...

"Trust me...He'll wake up once he knows you're there.." laughed Olivia..

''Especially if you're not wearing any clothes." I joked..

''Donnie Ray!" said Olivia, laughing and playfully swatting at me..

''Whatever!  Auntay, Donnie Ray...We have got to take this case...We've got to assist Josie!" she said in all seriousness!

"You talked to Jasmine Jenkins?" I asked..

''I did! She's not the person I used to know.. Then again...Maybe she is, just worse...She's so shallow and bogus now it's not funny...She didn't say in so many words...But I think she knew and didn't care that that prostitute might have been lying...She used her in all six of those cases just to pad her win column...This guy just might be innocent after all..."said Beverly..

''One witness, The same ADA, six different cases.. That does sound snarky! Of course we'll assist Josie....."said Olivia..

"Good!  Good Night Auntay, Donnie Ray!" said Beverly, hugging and kissing both of us.."

''Good Night Baby!" said Olivia..

(TO BE CONTINUED)