102

PRELUDE- SAN FRANCISCO

 A Squad of FBI Agents knocked on his door...

Philadelphia Police Officer, Ralph Carter came to the door...He took one look at them and sighed..

"What took you soo long?" he said to the agents....

He sighed and put his hands behind his back...He knew the deal...

DAYS BEFORE THIS- PHILADELPHIA PA.

We Sat in our conference room and compared notes..

 "Well tomorrow is our turn to begin our defense...It's been a week and I must say, Gerri is every bit as good as I suspected...If not a tad better than most ADA's we have gone up against.."said Olivia.

 "I'll say...She put up a good argument to suppress everything from Officer Broward's part...but thankfully , we were prepared with the predicates and examples of past such trials.."said Beverly..

 Olivia had trained Beverly and Nelson and even Josie very well...She anticipated Gerri would try to argue for suppression and they had a three day argument away from the jurors over this.. but in the end, Olivia, Beverly, Nelson and Josie prevailed upon the judge with their arguments...The evidence was kept.. I was proud to be part of their team...I was never prouder to be a part of any team as I was this day...The day before we began our defense.

 "She put on a masterful but predictable prosecution." said Nelson..

Indeed Gerri Williams was charming...seductive and convincing...a great orator...a great storyteller as the best attorneys are...She brought in the Police, The Medical Examiner staff that was on the scene and of course the Forensic personell at the scene...She painted a picture of a woman scorned...A woman angry that her marriage was being broken off..So Angry she shot her ex-fiancé in the back of the head with his gun....She was very convincing..

Josie taking a cue from Nelson had the jury at 5 to convict, 4 to acquit and 3 undecided..

Nelson, who had taught her Voir Dire smiled like a proud teacher...

''She's accurate."he said..

Olivia and Beverly were still a duo to be reckoned with...Without bringing up the officer's past history at all, They presented enough questions and showed the jury enough blown up glossies of the battered woman to draw their sympathy and to confuse three  jurors and  have four leaning towards acquittal, which was what they wanted..

Gerri closed not feeling as confident as she normally was.. She had tried 59 cases in New York City, winning every single one..

In Philadelphia so far..She was a perfect 29 -0......She had taken on this case thinking it was a slam dunk and actually feeling a little sorry for Olivia and Beverly...but now, she realized..There was nothing to feel sorry for them  about..She now felt a little fear for the first time and slight irritation at Lt. Tragg.

He was talking too much to the media and hadn't appeared to have done a thorough investigation...

ADA Rockland Cambridge sat in our conference room with us that morning...He never commented on our cases and in all fairness ,never listened in...He was kissing Alfreda most of the time..

"I was in court all last week...I saw some of you guys trial...You did good...but a word of warning..

This Gerri person...She's like a rattlesnake..Never get comfortable....I've seen her lull many Defense Attorneys into a comfort zone and then spring a surprise on them...She's good..Hasn't lost yet...and I heard in New York City, she had a perfect record.."said Rockland..

"Yes...She was 59-0." said Olivia, who had did her research just as thoroughly....

''We are 101-4-1,( 101 acquittals, 4 losses, 1 hung jury)  if anyone is keeping score, but this isn't sport.."said Beverly, repeating her Aunt's line...

"Look once we begin our narrative and present our evidence from this man's past alone..We're certainly going to get an acquittal, I have no doubt.."said Nelson..

"Hopefully they find Ralph Carter by the time we call him."said Josie..

''Yes hopefully" I said.

as we drank our coffees...

 Alfreda sat on Rockland's lap...

He was almost immediately aroused....

 She smiled

and kissed him passionately...

Let the games begin!






II-

Our defense began...

Olivia and Beverly proved to be as good  a storytelling duo and orating duo as Gerri was..

 A Fact not lost on Gerri

or our client..

They portrayed our client as a severly battered woman...

along with Nelson they showed the jury on a 52 inch monitor...copy after copy of Domestic Abuse reports and interviewed Police officer after Police officer who took the reports and sadly admitted that because he had been a fellow officer they buried the complaints..

Gerri argued that they were destroying the reputation of the victim to make their client look less culpable..This argument raged for three days...

Beverly began her argument...Using what I had told us all nearly word for word..

"Officer Broward was no walk in the park...Anthony John Broward Jr. was the product of an abusive home... I have 25 complaints from his mother ,filed against his father, Anthony Broward Sr. His mother committed suicide when he was 15...His father and an aunt finished raising him...He graduated from high school, got an associates degree from Community College and did a stint in the Marine corps...He had one write up... He sexually assaulted a female trainee...Charges were dismissed...He finished his tour with the Marines and enrolled in the Police Academy where he was an honor graduate... As a patrolman, he had several comondations and exemplary write ups...He was advised by several to take the Detectives test, which he had signed up for at the time of his death.... But there is a dark side to him too. " she said..

Olivia piggy backed...

"As you've seen and heard ''He broke an earlier girlfriend's jaw...He paid all of her hospital bills and settled out of court with the young lady and her lawyer and the matter was dropped.."said Olivia..

Josie brought the ex-girlfriend and her attorney  in and had her testify....

Gerri argued that this was slander...destroying the victim's name to make their client look sympathetic...

The Judge said... "Considering the facts of this case , which you yourself brought up last week counselor that she was a bitter and battered woman...I'll allow this.." he said..

Nelson continued..

"I want to re-iterate...You have already seen the reports and heard from the police officers. .I've got 25...25 Domestic Dispute complaints from Tammie Ellis filed against Officer Broward, who she was living with at the time..I interviewed the officers who took the calls.....They filed the cases, but didn't do much else...as a result...no action was taken against him... Worse...She entered the hospital with a split lip...blackened eyes...swollen cheek bone.. I've got 30 hospital reports on her...and I interviewed the nurses and doctors who treated her...They all knew she was being beaten by her boyfriend/fiancé..but she refused to take action." he said..

"I OBJECT!" said Gerri, now losing her cool and her "nice" demeanor..She was clearly frustrated...This case was falling apart around her...

The Jury now leaned toward 10 to acquit and 2 undecided right now!

but my argument was that...our client didn't do this at all.

III-

 Olivia now argued during the fifth day of the defense that while our client, a badly beaten woman was justified in retaliating against her abusive boyfriend, there was the possibility that she didn't kill him at all..

The Jury gasped..

 Beverly called Lt. Tragg to the stand..

He had made the arrest and he wasn't going to let Beverly trick him.....

She showed the jury, Officer Broward's Glock, the murder weapon...She said he was killed with one shot in the back of the head..

She showed the jury time stamped photos of our client wandering out of the house at 2:03 am, two minutes after the murder in a sheer night gown that exposed her panties and bra...

She showed the jury photos of our client at the time of her arrest at 3;30 am..

"What condition was she in ,when you and your men found her?" asked Beverly..

''She was talking crazy, talking out of her head..."said Lt. Tragg.

"Her nose was bleeding and she had a split lip and one of her eyes was closed...The other one black was it not..showing she had taken a beating.Correct?" asked Beverly..

"Well, well yes.." he admitted.

Nelson showed him the gun....

"This is Officer Broward's service revolver correct?" he asked,,

"Yes the murder weapon..."said Lt. Tragg..

''Where was it when you found it?"asked Nelson..

"On the living room table.." said Lt. Tragg..

"According to your report there was no fingerprints or DNA on it...It smelled like bleach correct.?" asked Olivia..

"Yes."said Lt. Tragg.

"Time of death was 1;58- 2:00 am....The time stamped street cam photo captures our client wandering aimlessly at 2:03am... Did she have time to shoot him, was she in the frame of mind to clean that weapon and put it on the table nice and neat like that?" asked Josie..

 "OBJECTION, SPECULATION!" said Gerri.

"Move on Counselors.."

''So who called first the M.E.'s office ? , Then Homicide?? The average person calls 911, they don't know those numbers specifically and my client , who had a concussion was not in the right state of mind, and nor was she in the house at the time both calls came through..

2;17 am for the M.E.'s office and 2:20 am for Homicide.. Not to mention, we have this photo of a third person actually leaving the building at 2:28 am...."said Olivia..

"OBJECTION, that last photo was not part of discovery, move to suppress."said Gerri...

''Sustained..Disregard that lost photo..Mrs. Alexander, you know better than that."said the Judge, smiling slyly...

"I am sorry your honor..My apologies."said my wife, smiling so devilishly, I got slightly aroused..

The jury had already seen the photo...The damage was done!

Lt. Tragg knew he'd been snookered... He hadn't been humiliated...They hadn't made him look particularly bad...but they had slicked the jury with their questions... Now, even he could feel the case collapsing around him..A case that seemed so open and shut..

''Olivia and Beverly are damn magicians." he snarled to himself as he left the stand..

Gerri shook her head..

''What a bonehead..." she mused...He really dropped the ball on this..That damn Olivia..I know what she and Beverly did on this...She pulled this one out of her hat.." she mused and smiled to herself..





IV-

The Jury was deliberating...

"You guys did a great job...I'm certain you guys got an acquittal..." I said..

''I still wish Officer Carter was here..I didn't want to risk putting Tammie on the stand in her state of mind...She's very fragile.."said Olivia..

"If we lose...Nelson and I already have an appeal planned...and I'm certain Gerri might be willing to take the death penalty off the table.."said Beverly...

''We don't want to think like that." said Nelson..

"We had the majority of the Jury in our pocket...I don't think we lost anybody.."said Josie..

Alfreda , Miles Ellis , Karla Williams and Tammie sat on the side awaiting a verdict..It had been an hour and a half..

 "Don't worry, Olivia and Beverly and Nelson and Josie put on a masterful defense...You got this baby girl.."said Alfreda..

 "They did and Donnie Ray was fantastic with everything he was able to dig up...They never got surprised ,not once.."said Miles..

 "No..They did an incredible job...So Did the Prosecutor I must say...but I give Olivia and her team the slight edge."said Karla..

Tammie looked a little relieved...Still she was facing a possible death sentence or at best, life no parole..Neither option looked good for her..

 Lt. Tragg addressed the Press saying that he was certain the jury would return a guilty verdict...

''She's guilty as hell...I don't care what he did to her...She killed a cop and she deserves a needle"he declared.

The Press ate it up..

ADA Gerri Williams had done her very best, but she had been surprised and she had lost major points to Olivia and Beverly..If she won this case...If she pulled it out...This would be her greatest victory and she would give Olivia and Beverly all the credit they deserved as being great attorneys...She was impressed...No other opponent she had ever faced in court had ever taken her to the limit like this..If they lost and wanted to make an offer, she was certainly open to it..

The Verdict was in...

Everybody was back in court...

"Pass me the verdict bailiff."said the Judge...He looked at it, smiled and shook his head..

"Read it." he said.

"WE THE JURY FIND THE DEFENDENT, TAMMIE ELLIS, NOT GUILTY ON COUNT ONE,
MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE, NOT GUILTY ON COUNT TWO, USE OF AN INSTRUMENT OF CRIME!" they said..

"Ms. Williams, would you like the Jury polled?" asked the Judge softly..

''No, I accept the Jury's decision.."said Geraldine.... After 88 cases, she had finally lost one...She sat in her chair, exhausted....

Olivia and Beverly high fived and hugged each other...

"That Makes 102 Auntay!" said a Jubilant Beverly...

 Josie hugged

a smiling Nelson...

I smiled as Tammie thanked and hugged the five of us..

"Thank you for saving my life..."she said in tears...''And thank you Miles and Karla for all your help."she said.

 "You're welcome...Take care of yourself."said Miles..

"Yes..Take care of yourself.."said Karla.

 "Good Luck baby girl."said Alfreda , hugging Tammie and crying..

"Thank you Alfreda...Thank you so much." said Tammie in tears...

The Media cheered us and snapped our photos as we left the courthouse..

We didn't gloat or say anything disparaging..and we quickly left...

So did ADA Gerri Williams , who couldn't look at Lt. Tragg, he had done a piss poor investigation, had left more holes in the case than Swiss Cheese and Olivia, Beverly, Nelson, Josie and I had tore open those holes even larger..

And the press was letting him have it..

''Hey Artie..Why don't you write a book.."Wrongfully Arrested..?" said one..

Followed by raucous laughter..

"Keep it Up Lou..Keep it Up...You're cruising for a bruising..."said Lt. Tragg...

"Hey, you ever consider a career as a rapper?...You'd be much better at that than you are as a detective.."shouted another reporter..

Once again, it was met with raucous laughter....

"THAT DID IT!" shouted Lt. Tragg , who charged into the reporters, swinging his fists...

Soon another all out battle was going on in the courtroom., Uniformed Officers were trying to pull reporters off of Lt. Tragg..

We all wound up at Sam Mother's Dinner...

Olivia and I,

Beverly and Nelson


and Josie and Paris.

celebrating our victory with

Cheeseburgers and Onion Rings...

Lt. Tragg walked in...His suit was torn...His left eye was blackened...His hair, usually all in place was frayed...

Sam Mother placed a tray of Onion rings and a Cheeseburger on the counter..

''This will make you feel better Artie...Want a Milk shake?" asked Sam Mother.

"I didn't order yet..." said Lt, Tragg..

Sam Mother couldn't hide his laughter..

"It's been paid for.." said Sam Mother..

"Huh? Paid For by who?" asked Lt. Tragg..

" Olivia Bennett-Alexander and Beverly West...They said to uh ENJOY YOUR LUNCH!" he said and cracked up laughing...

Lt. Tragg turned...

Olivia, Beverly and I and Nelson and Josie all smiled and waved at him...

EPILOUGE-

Officer Ralph Carter was brought back to Philadelphia..

On our Urging, Attorney Jessica Sanchez represented him...He was a good guy and we didn't want to see him fare badly...


He said that he had come over to the house with Tammie

To Help her pack her things...He sat in the car until he heard her screams...He said he ran inside the house just in time to see his former partner, beating her...  She picked up his service revolver and was going to shoot him, but he wrestled it from her and the gun with it's hair trigger , fired, the shot hitting Broward in the back of the head and killing him instantly...The entire thing had been an accident he said.

Ballistics Experts bared him out... Amazingly She won an acquittal for him!!!.... She was a good lawyer!

Lt. Tragg was livid...He wanted the officer kicked off the force and locked up!


Instead, Officer  Carter was put on paid suspension for a month and then desk duty after he returned to work.

He said that he was the one who had called Homicide and the M.E.'s office and had cleaned off the gun after Tammie ran out into the street half dressed...He ran after her, but held off when he saw her being captured..He was unaware that she had amnesia and didn't remember him being there..He said he felt bad that she had to endure a murder trial... He is back in the active rotation.

He and Tammie Ellis now live together.

We all met at Curly's Bar...A Bar we had been hanging out a lot in lately a few days later..

ADA Karen Page was there..

''Well hail hail the conquering heroes.." she said...

"Thanks for nailing that interview with Tammie Ellis and Officer Ralph Carter..What a trial....You guys sure you don't want to be on the show?" asked B.L.

 "Thank You....but no thanks...We got enough publicity just being her Attorneys." said Olivia.

"I agree with my wife.." I said, holding her in my lap with my arms around her waist..

 ''We are fine.."said Beverly..

''Yeah,pretty much."said Nelson.

Josie and Paris said nothing...They quietly sat together...

 Mango Martini's

Citris Martinis

and beers were passed around..

Surprisingly Lt. Tragg wasn't in here tonight...He had taken a real drubbing from the press and was keeping a low profile lately...

"Liv have you seen or heard from Gerri since the case ended?" asked Karen..

"No...I wanted to talk to her...She was really good..She kept us on our toes..She didn't take it as bad as Chris Garcetti does, you know, throwing his jacket in the air,kicking the table..throwing a hissy fit..She merely sat down in her chair, kind of exhausted.."said Olivia.

"I wanted to see her...I hope she's alright?" said Karen..

And in the Marriot Suite of U.S. Attorney Tony Richardson,

Gerri Williams

was doing quite well...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, Oh my godddddddd Ouuuuuuuuuu,
ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmTony, YESSSSSS...YESSSSSS...Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS..."she cooed....as his massive bed squeaked loudly and his headboard rattled...

She had gone to visit him again, knowing they would wind up in bed...Tony Richardson was the biggest horndog alive and divorced or not...He'd jump at the chance to get her back in bed..

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, OHHHHHHHH GERRI....OH MY GOD!!! YOU ARE sOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOD.....PUT IT ONNNN ME!"
he wailed... his eyes going into the back of his head, his toes curling...

"Tony...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu you feel sooooo damn good baby...OUUUUU
OUUUUUUU." she moaned.

"OHHHHHHHH...AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW,UMMMMMMMMMMMMPH!" he moaned...

She couldn't believe the noise his massive bed was making and how much his headboard was rattling...

She was having one intense orgasm after another...Just what she needed.....

EIGHT TO NINE HOURS of lovemaking blissfully passed by...

He was her ex-husband for a reason, she knew...and he was a no good cheater still, but for this afternoon, after suffering a humiliating defeat in court...He was just what she needed...