The Telltale DNA

TWO DAYS LATER-

Alfreda stood guard almost in the front office...

"Hmmm they should be here.." she said.

"What should be here?" asked her boyfriend, ADA Rockland Cambridge...

"Three packages, Liv and Bev

 are waiting for" she said..  She didn't want to tell him exactly what...Due to it being for their present case and being sensitive..

She wiped her lipstick off of his lapel...

but he pulled her to him and kissed her again, slowly and softly...He made her toes curl...

"Calm down horny toad... " she said softly and laughed...

"I know , I should....I've got work to do this morning...I guess I should be going." he said softly..

"Yes...you should.." she said...

Prior to meeting Alfreda, Rockland was always the first of the ADA's in the office and the last to leave.. Now it was the exact opposite unless he was trying a case....

Alfreda had really changed him, his outlook, his over all personality... His colleagues actually liked him now and found him bearable.. And he was now the only ADA who did not refer to Olivia and Beverly as "Auntie and Niecy." He considered them almost family...

Everybody knew he was dating Beverly's mother...

Alfreda looked out the window...Waiting for the mailman...

I had retrieved Samantha Jordaine's recently worn panties and bra and a toothbrush from her apartment shortly after she had been arrested recently....

Beverly and Josie had delivered them with their fresh DNA to an Independent DNA Laboratory we had used on many cases, To the M.E.'s office and to the FBI for testing..

 Dr. Goggins had taken the DNA from the panties and bra and toothbrush that I had gotten from Samantha Jordaine's apartment and had done her investigation...She had positively identified the DNA  of the here to for unidentified person on the murder weapons and in eight different places near the murder scene.  She had mailed her findings to us..

 Dr. Hazel Baylor of the Philadelphia County Medical Examiners office had finished her examination of the same pair of panties and bra and the same toothbrush and had come to the exact same conclusion...99.9 percent match of the unidentified person on all of the murder weapons and in the same eight different places near the murder scene.

FBI/ATF Regional Deputy Special Agent in charge ,Sharon Ferrell-Hopkins had received the analysis from the FBI lab from the same panties and bra and toothpaste...They also came to the same conclusion...The unidentified person now had a name and this person's DNA was on all of the murder weapons and in eight , the same different eight places near the murder scene... Ronnie Dule's DNA was not in these eight places..Only three...

They all had called Alfreda and told her to expect delivery of their findings within the next 24 hours...
This is what she was waiting for..

"I'm guessing whatever you are looking for is pertinent to Olivia and Beverly's case huh? Okay....I'll see you tonight alright?" he asked..He did not intend to pry...

"Of course....See you lover?" she said and smiled sweetly at him and kissed him passionately again before he left...

"There is more from where that came from tonight." she said seductively....

"I certainly hope so.." he said raffishly...

"You are the horniest man alive.." Alfreda laughed...

 Rockland smiled and got in his car....

He had to get himself together before he pulled off...He was so aroused...

We were back in court...We had been for the past two days...

Chris Garcetti was presenting the jury with the same lurid photos of the double murder scene and calling the same Crime Scene Investigators and Forensic Investigators he had called before..Many of them had nothing new to say...

He called some neighbors who lived in the same building...

Olivia, Beverly, Nelson and Jessica weren't surprised..

I knew about them...and I had given all four attorneys the book on all of them, their finances, their employment records and their propensity...

Josie had kept copious notes and  they were able to go hard on them all on cross examination and bring out contradictory statements they all made in the first trial...

Chris Garcetti was going berserk ,accusing the team of all sorts of things from badgering to being argumentive..

Judge Crawford thought he was being a big crybaby and over ruled him time and time again...

Lt. Tragg sat stoically ,shaking his head... He despised ADA Garcetti and if it wasn't for the fact that he had brought this case in...He actually looked like he was rooting for Jessica, Olivia,Beverly and Nelson..

who were winning the jury over with their everyman- every woman common sense questions approach...They weren't talking down to the jury, they were talking to the jury as if they were one of them...An approach that was working.

Chris Garcetti had to admit...His opposition was prepared...They had dissected this case piece by piece...from witnesses to jury pool.

He was furious at Lt. Tragg for not putting together a more thorough investigation..

Busy chasing panties, he scoffed. Tragg was old school and he didn't seem to understand forensic science and DNA and how it factored into investigations ,Garcetti mused...

Olivia and Beverly did,...They seemed to understand everything, he reluctantly mused...

II-

Court recessed and we all went back to the same rooftop bistro we had been in a few days before..

 We had Hot Open faced Roast Beef Sandwiches and Mashed Potatoes..

 Cole Slaw..

and some cold beers.....

After an early day in court with only coffee and bagels for breakfast...We were very hungry...We chowed down!

"Something's not right...It's been two days and Garcetti hasn't called his star witness, Samantha Jordaine."said Nelson..

"I know...I'm confused about that too.."I said.

''She's still in custody isn't she?" asked Jessica..

"Yes...As far as I know.."said Beverly...

"He's holding her...Waiting until he's ready to close, then he springs her as the show stopper."said Olivia..

"But we are calling her as our hostile witness right?" asked Josie..

''Well yes..when we begin our defense..Just waiting for that DNA evidence to get in...We'll need it before next week."said Nelson.

"We'll have it...Oh look, there is my phone."said Olivia.. "It's you mom Beverly." she said smiling.

"Livy girl...The mail came in today!!!...You got a package from Goggins DNA Laboratories Inc, One from The City of Philadelphia M.E.'s office and one from the FBI Laboratory in Quantico...I suppose that's all you wanted right?" asked Alfreda..

"That's all I need...Lock em in the safe....Thank you Freda.."said Olivia..  She turned to us...

"The DNA results are back....Now we'll see who the unidentified person is....If I'm correct...a certain hostile witness is going to have a lot of explaining to do.."said Olivia..

 "Oh Joy...I can't wait...We already have enough on her as it is...With the sixty calls to the police on her..the argument with one of the victims the day before.."said Beverly..

 "Not to mention that both victims were going to evict her..."I said..

 "We 've got more than enough to establish reasonable doubt..."said Nelson..

 "And that's all we have to do.."said Jessica.. She was in awe with the teamwork and professionalism displayed by us all and Yvette's crew as well , who she had just finished working with...

How nice it was to have such a brain trust...She was honored to have us all as friends...She had learned so much..

"Hey guys let's uh stop talking about this."said Josie ,who pointed to ADA Chris Garcetti , who had just walked in..

He saw us and walked over to our table..

He seemed to have lost his arrogance, his swagger from the last case...

"Hello, who is the lead attorney here? is it you Liv?" he asked.

"No...My team is assisting Ms. Sanchez...I'm Co-Chair..."said Olivia..

"What is it that you want?" asked Jessica.

"I'm offering you a deal, The Death Penalty is off the table..So is Life..I'm pleading this down to Manslaughter...25- 50 years, parole in 15.." he said..

 Jessica laughed hardy...

"Counselor...You didn't tell me that you doubled as a comedian."laughed Jessica.

 So did Olivia..

 Beverly did too!

 As did Nelson...

Even Josie laughed...

"I'm no attorney , but I think that means no." I said..

"Alright...Man two- 10-15 years, Parole in 5...That's my final offer..." he said.

"No!  Our client is totally innocent! No deal." said Jessica..

Now we saw the anger...The hairs on his neck rose...

"Okay, suit yourself..I'm gonna nail the son of a bitch to the wall." he snarled..but it was more bark than bite.. He didn't look like he believed that.  He walked away...

"The only reason he's making a deal like that is because  he knows he doesn't have enough.. He knows he's failing.." I said.

"You're right Donnie Ray."said Olivia.

"You know, they've got her in custody....I wonder if they took her DNA...and they know what we may know...?" asked Beverly...

"That's highly possible..but they have no idea that we already took her DNA.."said Nelson..

"But if they do have her DNA information , they do have to make that information available to us in discovery...don't they?" asked Jessica.

"They do , which is why they haven't called her as yet.." said Josie..

Our drinks arrived and we quaffed them down....

III-

At home, we looked at the DNA evidence..

 'This is what we were looking for...and three different labs prove our point, The City, The Federal Government and a totally independent lab...This is Samantha Jordain's DNA on the murder weapons, all of them and in eight different areas surrounding the murder scene.."said Olivia.

 "And Ronnie's is only on one of the murder weapons, the one he picked up and foolishly discarded.. and his clothes, which we know is transfer DNA..He handled the dead body of one of the women..His DNA is not on the other women..He never touched her at all."said Jessica.

 "She did live there...but she was supposedly with her boyfriend that night and he says she never left the room." said Beverly..

 "No , he says he was asleep, dead to the world and he can't be sure if she left or not.."said Nelson..

 ''She certainly had motive...And her DNA is everywhere it shouldn't be.."said Josie..

"We need more."I said..  I'm going to do some digging..See if she talked to anybody whose testimony never made it to trial and check out the original case files some more ." I said.

"Garcetti and Tragg must know about this DNA.. They must know...They have to know about the Psych evaluation on this girl...That has to be the reason he hasn't called her.."said Olivia..

At that moment at Mulberry Street... ADA Karen Page and her good friend and ours, Yvette Jones are having a girls night out at Mulberry Street, the tony Bistro and supper club..

 ''I'm glad you could come out Yvette...I would have invited Livy, but she and her team are in the middle of this trial."said Karen...

"I saw them in court a few days ago...They're doing good.."said Yvette..

"I've seen them a few days ago myself , they are doing good...I'm impressed at how well prepared they are.. Nothing surprises them...Liv's husband

is a very good investigator...

and her para-legal is razor sharp,

Doesn't let her and Beverly miss anything.." said Karen..

"And Beverly's husband is pretty sharp too!!...Very good at reading Juries.." said Karen..

Yvette agreed...

"Yes they are!!!Here come our drinks!" she said.

Several colorful Martini's arrived.

''Where are your kids tonight?" asked Karen  as she sipped her drink...

"They've been working hard...So I gave em a few days off..

Keith and Bee Bee went to Atlantic City for the night...

Sofia and Kahlil drove down to Maryland...

and my man is working late...." said Yvette..... So, I'm free for the night... 

"I don't know where Jade is." said Yvette..

"Wowww...and Liv and company are busy....Aren't you glad you have a friend like me?" joked Karen..

"I certainly am...I didn't feel like staying home tonight..And I felt even less like drinking alone. Even though it is a Wednesday..I was overjoyed when you called me."said Yvette.

"Me neither. B.L. is working and I didn't want to go out alone." laughed Karen Page.

"Heads up Magic dust...You've got company.." laughed Yvette..

Lt. Tragg walked over to where they were sitting..He invited himself to their table..

''Ladies...You both look incredible tonight..Can I buy you girls a drink?" he said..Ogling Yvette's breasts and also ogling Karen completely...

 Yvette pointed to the drinks

they already had..

Lt. Tragg laughed...

"Ohhh, excuse me...Can't see the forrest for the trees." he said and laughed uneasily.

"Arthur, what are you doing here?" asked an exasperated Karen Page...Seemed he was popping up everywhere she was lately..

"I love the food here and the music...I hear some hot singer is here tonight.." he laughed..

"Hey where is your shadow, B.S....

I mean B.L.?" he laughed, speaking of his former friend ,the Host of HARD BOTTOM!, who was
Karen's current boyfriend.

"He's doing his show...but you know that, he's covering the trial you're involved with..."said Karen..

''Yeah he had Auntie and Niecy (Olivia and Beverly) and their husbands and their girl Friday

and that Spanish attorney on there tonight...I suspect he taped that earlier...Since they're all huddled up at Liv's place." said Lt. Tragg.. still stung that he was not invited to the show, considering he was the lead detective who had brought the case in...

"You following them Lieutenant?" aske Yvette.

"I got a guy watching their house...You know, to make sure they're safe." he joked.. He didn't.

"Hey Yvette, where is your significant other tonight?"asked Lt. Tragg..

"Mr. Lockwood" he asked , laughing..He was hoping Gary was coming soon ,Taking Yvette away ,so he could be with Karen Page alone..

"You mean you don't know?  I'm surprised ." said Yvette , laughing...but telling him nothing.

Chris Garcetti walked up...

"Lieutenant Tragg!! Goofing off again!!!...I told you to find me some new evidence..YOU did not do that.Instead you're here chatting up the ladies." he said.

"You know ...I'm getting really sick of you Junior...Your Old man brought this case home with what I gave him...I can't help it if you're being outdone by Aunty and Niecy in the retrial.." he snarled.

"Gary Lockwood

, an Investigator for my office actually found my missing witness Samantha Jordaine two days ago...I put him on it!!..I knew you'd never find her...You couldn't find a suspect if they surrendered. "he said..

 Yvette didn't mean to, but she laughed... Gary had said the same thing about Lt. Tragg himself to her in private many times..

Karen Page tried to hold in a laugh, but she too found herself laughing..

Lt. Tragg was livid..

"HOW BOUT IF MY FIST FINDS YOUR LIPS?" he snarled loudly...

"Any time flat foot, any timmmmme!" said Chris evenly!

"Guys!!!, Guys!!!...I was having drinks with my girlfriend here...PLEASE , BOTH OF YOU, TAKE THIS TO ANOTHER TABLE!"said Karen..

She was furious and they both could see it..

"Come on Guys...We were having a private conversation." said Yvette, trying to smooth things over.

Both men reluctantly walked away..

 "Gary Lockwood took a DNA swab from her mouth. Turns out her DNA is on all of the murder weapons and it's on eight different areas of the crime scene, while Dules is only on three..Her DNA is everywhere it shouldn't be...AND Why didn't you tell me she's been arrested 60 times? Or did you even know that?" asked an exasperated  Chris Garcetti.

"I interviewed her...She's a wackadoo, but she didn't do it..Dule is our guy..."said Lt. Tragg..

"Look if I call her as a witness, Olivia, Beverly, Nelson and that Jessica Sanchez will be all over that telltale DNA ...and I'll have to admit it into discovery anyway..This seriously puts my case in jeopardy...Instead of wasting your time trying to get into Karen Page's panties..You should have been investigating this further...I shouldn't have had to hear this from Gary Lockwood!" said Chris Garcetti.

"Then suppress it...All that matters is that they don't have it...and they couldn't...How would they have gotten her DNA, since they didn't find her??... Gary Lockwood did.. You got nothin to worry about..Don't call her.."said Lt. Tragg..

"That's why I haven't called her...I'm praying they don't have this information or this case is sunk...They wouldn't accept a plea deal I proffered them this afternoon.."he said.

"WHATTTT???Of course they wouldn't...You offering them a deal right now is a sign of weakness to them...You're tellin them you don't have a  strong case ...Your old man would've never have offered them a deal.." said Lt. Tragg..

"My Old Man is  not in court with them...I AM !!! I need you to do your job Lieutenant!"screamed Chris Garcetti..

"I've done my job!!....NOW YOU DO YOURS!!!"screamed an angry Lt. Tragg..

Lieutenant Tragg looked for Yvette and Karen Page...

They both were gone!!! Their drink glasses empty, their money on the table!

He was livid..This creep, Chris Garcetti had ruined his time with the ladies. He exited immediately!!!

U.S. Attorney Tony Richardson was also there that night...Sitting at a table alone by himself ,looking at the city...His groin still smarted from the knee that bitch had laid into him the night before... He was definitely done with her...She had ruined an expensive suit and kneed him in the groin..He definitely got the message...

He looked across the floor and saw his former protégé, U.S. Attorney Karla Williams...

She looked incredible in a form fitting Yellow Dress...Normally he would have done his magic and have talked her into coming up to his suite for a night cap and of been between the sheets again with her sexy body....but unfortunately...Tonight she was with this new boyfriend of hers...

Assistant District Attorney, Miles Ellis of the Philadelphia D.A.'s office...

He was surprised at Karla for being so basic...

Surely She could have at least pulled a Judge or another federal attorney or a corporate attorney with her good looks.. He had no idea her hair was that long...He knew about her sexy body....He had seen it...He had been inside her...Two times...but alas..There was not going to be a third time..

He watched as they laughed and talked and sipped Citris Martini's....Oblivious to his even being there..

Oh how he wanted Karla tonight. Badly!!!!

She was looking good in that yellow dress ,he mused.

IV-

Nightfall had come...We were all upstairs in Olivia and I's domicile..

 Nelson

 had ordered Pizza and

Olivia cracked open a nice port of wine..

"That's more than big enough for us..."said Olivia..

"Auntay, you think Chris Garcetti will close tomorrow or soon?" asked Beverly..

"He has to....I think we've seen every card he has left to play." said Olivia.

"He's boring the Jury...I know he's boring me and he doesn't seem to have convinced them of anything.." I said..

 Nelson ,who was good at reading juries said..

"I've been polling the jury and right now...it's 10 to acquit and 2 undecided...but no one looks like they would convict if the trial ended today."

 "That's how it looked to me..." said Josie.

"He must see that...That's why he offered us a deal...It was a way for him to save face...We've shot more holes in the original case than swiss cheese."said Jessica.

"And we haven't begun our defense yet....Wait til we get Samantha Jordaine on the stand and present the jury with her mental health record, her temper and her DNA ,everywhere it shouldn't be..We are going to have a classic case of reasonable doubt."said Olivia, practically gushing..

"In the meanwhile there are some other witnesses, witnesses who never testified in the first trial who we need to talk to...I'm going to find them."I said.

Jessica went in her purse...She pulled out her rosary....St. Jude, Patron of Lost causes....She smiled.

"St. Jude, My Tia and Mrs. Gloria Stussen are looking out for me." she said.


(CONCLUSION NEXT)