After a night of hanging out with Cousin Kayla and her husband Ray at our house...
On Beverly and Nelson's Floor.
''When we first started this firm, This used to Beverly and My place...Donnie Ray lived upstairs until we got married."said Olivia..
"Yes...I suffered...soooo finally I gave in and asked her to marry me.." I joked..
''Heyyyyyyyyyyyyy I tried to get her up there.."laughed Beverly.
"Liv's an old fashioned girl...I'm just glad you two were hitched by the time I started seeing Bev." laughed Nelson..
We all laughed..
"I love this whole set up...You got a bargain when you guys bought this place...Sometimes I consider it my home away from home.."said Josie , who was spending the night in the extra bedroom with her boyfriend Paris.
"I like it too."joked Paris..
"I know you do....When I first returned to Philly...I spent a week here...I loved it." said Kayla.
"Wish I had known you then.." said her husband, Ray.
We played cards
Listened to cool music.
and drank beer Until midnight..
All three couples had marathon like sex in their perspective rooms after Kayla and Ray left around midnight..
We woke up refreshed and ready to go...
A nice robust breakfast at Olivia and my place, we were ready to go.
II-
We began our days work...
"Let's break into teams... Neicey Poo, you and I and Nelson will go through the actual trial transcipts from top to bottom...We'll examine all of the testimony and look for any discrepancies...We've already found two.." said Olivia as she sipped her coffee..
''Already on it.."said Beverly opening up the huge box and pouring the folders and notes and evidence out on the table..
"Nelson, how come you keep staring at me like that?" she whispered..
'Damn girl, you just look so hot in those leather pants..." he said, his eyes bulging out of their sockets..
"Thank you, but let's try to concentrate on the job at hand okay sweetie.?" she said smiling.
She rewarded him with a soft and slow kiss...
He blushed something crazy....
Olivia smiled...
"You're family Nelson, no need to blush around us" said Olivia... "Josie, I need you to research any laws and predicates concerning this case and try to find some new ones we can use in an appeal if need be.."said Olivia.
"I'm on it Liv." said Josie... "Donnie Ray,check out that autopsy report...Go over it with a fine tooth comb!" said Olivia..
"I'm on it....and might I say, you're looking very good in that dress..."I said..
Olivia laughed...
"Thank you..." she said.
I put her coffee on the table and took her in my arms and kissed her....
"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu....Ummmmmmmmmm.." she cooed..
"I'd uh better get to uh work.." I said softly....
"You don't have to rush.." she said...
And kissed me slower, longer...softer..
We were fortunate... On most cases we had to start from scratch and build a defense...Trial Transcripts and Autopsy reports had to be ordered...Sometimes subpeoned...In this case all of that was done for us...We were already ahead...We even had transcripts from the two appeals that Justin had initiated and unsuccessfully lost.
One thing I knew I would need...The actual stain evidence from the case..
.For that I would need to visit the Police Evidence control locker and risk Lt. Tragg finding out, which we really didn't want..
Olivia sensed my aprehension...so she called Dr. Hazel Baylor at the M.E.'s office herself and requested it...
Dr. Hazel Baylor was all too happy to retrieve it and retest it...
Along with Dr. Goggins and her independent laboratory..
And Deputy FBI /ATF special agent in charge, Sharon Hopkins ,who took the same sample to the FBI lab....
All in all it would take several days to get positive DNA results back..
"Auntay...He lost both appeals before he got the evidence back on the red stains...Why wouldn't he do that first as we are attempting to do?" asked Beverly.
"I don't think he knew about it the first time and he waited too long to get it tested and had to make his second appeal... Still without doing it... He presented enough doubt to get her death sentence commuted to life...but as these records showed..He got bogged down in other cases,like us, like most working attorneys and it got put on the back burner..."said Olivia.
''Well Ladies I've got one piece of bad news for you." I said.. That first witness...The expert witness...
His name was Samuel Whitlock...and he was no expert....He was a lab assistant who lied about being a Doctor and lied about being a genetics expert...When he testified in the original trial..Nobody questioned his credentials..They took his word that the stains were the blood of the defendents late husband, who they claim was murdered inside the house...Unfortunately you won't get to question him, because he's dead....He's been dead for about five years now.."I said.
"We don't need to question him." said Beverly
"We can use the facts you gave us in the argument.." said Olivia.
"Her husband was found on the side of the road...Dead of three gunshot wounds..We need to talk to Sol Rosenburg, who testified he heard two gunshots from inside the house...Why didn't he hear the third shot? He never talked about that.."said Nelson..
"That's a good idea Nelson...He is still alive." I said.
"Liv, Beverly, Nelson...Here is some predicates he did use..He was on the money right here and here is something from "Supreme Court Vs. Benson" that we can use in our argument..."said Josie..
"This is great...Good pull Josie!" said Beverly...
''Shame we got to wait for three days or more to get that information back on those red stains."said Nelson.
''Well we've got all we need here...Anybody up for a road trip to Chester?" said Olivia, smiling..
III-
Day Two of our investigation and reopening of the case found us on the road to the Pennsylvania Correctional Institution at Chester...
Where Ex-Lawyer, Justin Berkowitz was housed, serving a 10-15 year sentence for the attempted murder of Rockland Cambridge.
We arrived at one of the state's newest prisons and asked for and got
a private visiting room...
Disbarred and disgraced Attorney, now inmate, Justin Berkowitz walked into the room..He was told he had visitors who were attorneys...He couldn't imagine who or why until he saw us... He looked a combonation of surprised and disappointed...
He sat down..
"Didn't expect to see you guys...What are you doing here?" he asked.
"We are here because we are re-opening your father's last case...Della Raffman...We went to your loft before they emptied it and cleaned it out and we found a box...The box you kept the trial transcripts, the autopsy reports and the the two appeals transcripts in.....You kept very good notes and we went over everything with a fine tooth comb... We are building a new case.."said Olivia..
''We are writing an appeal, but we hopefully can skip the appellate court route..We went to our friend Assistant District Attorney Karen Page ..She heads the Wrongful Conviction Unit of the D.A.'s office which wasn't in existence when you were trying to get her out..She and her unit have successfully overturned about 75 wrongful convictions...She has agreed to a hearing with a Judge in a week or so and if all things are successful...Her conviction can be voided and she can be set free..Thus fulfilling your dad's last wish.Winning his final case for him."said Beverly.
Justin was quiet for awhile, Then he spoke..
"I tried...I took this case to two appellate courts and I lost...They didn't even want to entertain my evidence.." he said.
"Well we have a very compelling argument... Those stains that were found in the house, ruled to be bloodstains...were never tested...The police used luminol throughout the house...They never found a drop of blood...All they found was a floorboard with two stains..Two Red Stains and they said that that was blood...It was never tested and the guy that Lt. Tragg listened to unfortunately was a quack..He wasn't even a Doctor as it turned out..He was a lab assistant , who lied and claimed to be an expert , but as I found out, he was no expert in anything.."I said.
''We got the floorboard from Police evidence control and we have three labs looking at it.. The Medical Examiner's Office..An Independent DNA Lab and The FBI LAB in Quantico...It's going to take three days to get back the evidence...But this could be a key factor in overturning her conviction, which was made on this." said Nelson.
"Not to mention, we found this.."Supreme Court Vs. Benson", which we plan to introduce into our argument." said Josie.
He smiled for the first time..
"I'll be damned...This is damn good...It's still a long shot..but this could blow the entire case wide open..I wish I had had this when I did my second appeal...I always meant to look up the board with the red stains...I-I mean she told my dad that she didn't kill her husband and didn't have a gun, didn't own a gun...His body was found about a mile away on the side of the road with three gunshot wounds..in a pool of blood.. Lieutenant , then Sgt. Tragg and his dimwitted partner,Detective Dominic Evans, who I understand is now in prison for murder himself kept saying he was murdered in their home which fit into their theory of a time frame..My dad always said that that was bullshit.. Plus when they found the body, rigor had set in...You never could be sure of when the exact time of death was..He hammered that home, but Rockland disavowed that entire argument... By the way...WHY ARE YOU GUYS DOING THIS? YOU HAVE A FALLING OUT WITH THAT POMPOUS SON OF A BITCH?" he asked.
"This has nothing to do with Rockland...He's not even in town.."said Olivia.
"You need to let go of your bitterness...You were a brilliant Attorney...This hatred , this thing you have for Rockland, who was only doing his job...has cost you your law license..and 10-15 years of your life...Was it worth it Justin?? Trying to kill him?" said Beverly..
"He didn't kill your father man..All he did was win a case...That was his job....Your father chose to take his life...Your father put that gun to his head...I know it hurts man...I know it...But you need to hear this...You need to accept this.." said Nelson..
"He's right Justin." said Olivia.
"Yeah." said Beverly silently...
''We don't take these cases personally..Win some, lose some, appeal and move on.."said Josie.
Olivia, Beverly and Nelson had taught her well!
"We are going to right a wrong...We are going to free this woman...Your father would have wanted that...What he wouldn't have wanted, was the son he was so proud of to be disbarred and sitting in State Prison." said Beverly.
He sighed..
"You're right....I've been consumed by hatred and a desire for revenge all these years..and look what it's gotten me...I didn't have a girlfriend...might have gotten married ,like you..started a family...I missed out on all of that." he sighed..
''Well, at least you'll get out one day...You didn't go too far..It's not too late.."said Olivia..
"Definitely not too late." said Nelson.
"Bev, how is your cousin Kayla? and your friend Jasmine?? You all were so tight in law school,
You ever hear from them?" he asked.
"Sure do..They both live across the street from us, with their husbands..We see them all the time..Kayla and her husband was over our house a few days ago." said Beverly..
"All you guys married huh? " said Justin..
"Yeah...and you're still a young man...You still have a shot at some kind of life....Like Beverly said, let go of the bitterness. Also, the chief prosecution witness may have perjured himself."I said.
''Rosenburg" yeah...Pop and me always thought he was lying..She had a restraining order out against him, yet on the day her husband went missing, he was still outside her house and still claimed her heard two shots...He never heard the third shot.. Her husband was shot three times..No gun was ever found."said Justin, who had an incredible memory of the facts of this case.
"You're right and we intend to ask him that when we see him tomorrow.. He's still very much alive." said Nelson..
"Anything I can do to be of help just let me know...And guys...Thank you...Thanks for visiting me..Tell Kayla and Jasmine I said Hi." said Justin.
"Thank You Justin for talking to us and filling in some blanks."said Olivia.
"I'll be sure to tell them both." said Beverly...
"Goodbye Justin, Be well." I said.
"Stay up man!" said Nelson..
"Be well Justin" said Josie.
We headed back to Philadelphia.
IV-
A night later We were all at a very popular Seafood bar..
"This job brings us to some of the nicest places Donnie Ray.."said Olivia..
''It sure does... Damn, you were wearing that skirt the night I met you...You knew what you were doing.."I said.."It was so sheer I could damn near see your panties...And you sat right up front, making sure I saw you."I laughed..
"You keep saying that...You couldn't see anything...You wanted to, but you couldn't..I admit I did sit up front on purpose and this was a brand new dress...but it wasn't that revealing.."laughed Olivia.
I scanned the restaurant.... The man we were looking for, Sol Rosenburg ate here frequently.
He was a Hack lawyer...He hadn't passed the bar at the time of the Raffman trial...but he had since passed the bar...Had a small office in town where he practiced law with just a female Para-Legal.. He had been a sort of Go for for a sitting Judge for close to 10 years, running errands, passing out court summons for people and doing the equivilant of P.I. work , before the attorney became a judge..The Judge finally told him he should try law school... He did.. He worked during the day and attended Temple Law School at night, and graduated in three years while still working for the judge.. He passed the bar and had been practicing law ever since...This was long after Della Raffman, his married obsession had gone to jail for the murder of her husband.. He had never looked back. Today he had a successful practice and a downtown office..
"Nelsonnnnnn, calm down...we'll be going home soon...I want to pick out something to be cooked so we can eat.." said Beverly, giggling..Nelson couldn't keep his hands off of her today, hugging her, squeezing her and kissing her neck every chance he got.
''We'll eat.." said Nelson, who had his arms around Beverly ,squeezing her tightly..
and kissing her every other minute...She loved the attention and the affection she was getting from
Nelson.
Here you picked what you wanted and they cooked it for you..
Josie had already made her plate and was setting down..
Sol Rosenburg sat at a table with a young woman , young enough to be his grand-daughter..
''Enjoying your food Jenny?" he asked.
"Oh Yes..it's delish.." she said.. As they both ate and drank wine..
His hand snaked under the table and under her skirt...He rubbed her legs and crept up her skirt to her panties...which he rubbed softly...
"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu....Okay, cut it out Mr. Rosenburg, you're being naughty again.." she said and removed his hand..
''Apparently not naughty enough...Have some more wine "he said..
"I'm already tipsy Mr. Rosenburg..." she giggled as she guzzled down more wine..
His hand once again snaked up her skirt and tugged on the waistband of her panties..
"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..Stop it! What are you trying to do?" she asked him, jumping suddenly and removing his hands..
"I'm not that drunk.." she said..and laughed uneasily...
He leaned over and gave her a kiss in the lips that lasted longer than she may have wanted..
"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm sweet baby.." he moaned..
''Mr.Rosenberg...Chill out...You're a little handsy tonight..." she said..
"Okay...Calmmmm down!!!...Behave yourself!!!This is maybe going a little farther and faster than I'd like..." she said.
"But not as fast as I WOULD LIKE!" he said lustfully...
''Sorry to interupt your meal Mr. Rosenburg..Allow me to Introduce myself.. I am a Private Investigator..My name is Donnie Ray Alexander..I am employed and married to that lady over there..
She's an Attorney too, like you...Her name is Olivia Bennett-Alexander.." I said.,
Olivia smiled sweetly and waved..
''And I'm supposed to care because of what?" he said...Furious that I had interrupted him while he was in the middle of groping this young girl..
''Allow me to excuse myself...I'm going to the ladies room, you two keep talking."said the woman, who got up, straightened out her skirt and headed to the ladies room.
''What the hell do you want?" he snarled..
"You testified in a case years ago...The Della Raffman case...before you passed the bar...It seems as if you may have made some conflicting statements and we are reopening her case..We need you to come down to the Wrongful Conviction Unit at this address on this card next week and clear up this matter." I said.
He ripped my card up...
"Fat chance of that happening...That was years ago and I prefer to leave it that way...I thought they executed her!" he snarled.
Olivia was standing at the table now..
"No they didn't execute her..Her death sentence has been commuted to life."said Olivia.
"How Nice for her...Like I said...Fat chance of me testifying in her behalf.." he snarled again..He was clearly annoyed by the three of us.
Beverly walked up and placed a subpeona in his hand..
"Chance...Don't worry...The same address is on this court summons... We'll see you in court.." she said smiling sweetly,
then returning to her table with her husband, Nelson.
"Enjoy your meal sir...I won't bother you anymore.." I said..
"Is that a promise?" he said sarcastically, Furious at having to answer a court summons and having to dig up old dirt again.. He stared at our table, where we were chowing down..
Olivia and I
Beverly and Nelson..
and Josie..
While he was fixated on us...His dinner date used the time to quietly slip out of the restaurant and hail an Uber.
"Donnie Ray,check out that autopsy report...Go over it with a fine tooth comb!" said Olivia..
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