A Killing Investment

 Bee Bee and Sofia's Apartment-

"MURDER??? WHAT IS GOING ON WITH YOU BRITT?" asked Bee Bee.

''We heard you took a leave of absence from the D.A.'s office...and you broke up with Lonzo, moved out of your apartment."said Sofia.

"All of that is true, except Lonzo...we aren't broken up....but I had to keep our continued relationship a secret until I was finished my mission." said Brittany.

"Your Mission?  You working for the CIA Britt?" asked Kahlil...

I laughed....Then I asked softly..

''What is going on Britt?" I asked...

"A year ago my cousin...Ashley, A stock broker and a trader herself in stocks got very fortunate...She made a killing on a very lucrative investment...When I say killing....I mean that overnight, she was suddenly a millionaire...And she made a few other investments and increased her good fortune..

She partied hardy , bought herself a condo and a nice new car...Unfortunately...she caught the eye of a man then known as John Connally..

He was tall, Handsome..Had a sexy southern drawl and was flashing a lot of cash around...He didn't even remember that he had met me before..My cousin fell head over heels in love with this guy...but something about him was smooth, too smooth...

I had Gary Lockwood, Investigator for the D.A.'s Office check him out and apparently I was right...Everything about him was phony... The Investment firm he claimed to be the partner in never heard of him...The car he said was his was leased...The fancy loft he claimed was his was sublet to a guy named "Mickey Short" aka Mark Long, a known confidence man...

And There was no John Connally either...That was a phony name and the social security number he used was of a long deceased baby girl...

John Connally was Johnny "Country Boy" Casik, a known confidence man, who had fleeced several young and older women of a sizable amount of cash...A suspect in Wilmington, Deleware, Atlantic City and Philadelphia..

Before I could confront my cousin with what he had done...He had already asked her to marry him and had given her a phony story about him owing a dangerous gangster a lot of money for back gambling debts...Had shown her receipts from Gamblers anonymous, swearing he had stopped gambling and telling her his money was all tied up right now...

My cousin gave him a check for 500 large and then another check for 500 large to cover a business shortfall...One night after they had made love, When he was getting ready to go, another woman shows up screaming her head off about her being his "wife" and sobbing and crying...

My cousin beat a quick retreat out of the phony loft....

I told her what had happened and that she had been played...I apologized for getting the information back to her so late...

She had given him one million dollars...And when the police went to the loft..It was empty...Bleached down...Looked like no one had ever lived there...

The car had been returned...By a woman!!And There was no sign of John Connally RKA Johnny "Country Boy" Casik...

My cousin was so distraught... Beyond consoling...She took her life last summer..

She dove off the Ben Franklin Bridge to her death...." I was beyond hurt, beyond furious..I swore I'd get him and I saw my chance...

I spotted him in Stoley's a few times...He didn't remember me and I told him I was a wealthy trust fund baby named Millicent Hunter...I created a phony social security number..and a whole new identity...Just like he did.. I leased fancy cars...Used an old law school chum of mine to sublet a fancy loft and flashed a lot of cash...

One of my police buddies let me use drug money seized as evidence for my scam...I took a leave of absence from the D.A.'s office and have been deep undercover for months , gathering evidence on this creep...

I regretfully, even slept with him a few times..

I had to make it seem real..

I had to sell him...

I made it too real...Do you know this clown actually fell in love with me???.. He gave this engagement ring to me the day before he died.." she said.

showing off her engagement ring..

"Ouuuuuu Aye Mios Dios.." said Sofia..

"Ouuuuu girl...You really put it on him." laughed Bee Bee..

"He thought he was going to marry me and be a kept man...He was going to retire from the con-,man business...but not of course before he ran that "I owe this gangster some money or he'll kill me routine.."on me..  I wrote him a check for 150 large... I guess he was going to pay his accomplices off one last time..but something went wrong... The girl came in screaming that she was his fiance and all and she hit him in the head with her pocket book..He fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes...I thought it was all an act and I left...

Now I find out, he's dead and the cause of death was poisoning...I didn't have anything to do with that..I got the hell out of there.

That was two days ago...I've been laying low...Lonzo said I should talk to you guys...You know me and you're the best attorneys I know...I may need your help."said Brittany.

"Britt, you haven't done anything wrong...Why are you in danger of being indicted for murder..or why do you think you might be?" asked Kahlil..

"I was the last one with him...We've been seen together...I'm on tape...There is a camera in his parking lot and one in the hallway of his building and one outside.. His little accomplice only hit him with a pocketbook...The poison was already in his system and I don't know how it got there...It won't take the police long to figure out that "Millicent Hunter" and I are one and the same.. I took a leave of absence from the D.A.'s office...I was scamming him because...He caused my cousin's suicide..In a matter of time, The police will be looking for me."said Brittany.

"Brittany, you're a lawyer...You're an ADA...You know the police have nothing...Nothing you can't explain....Still , I understand where you're coming from..."I said.

''Well if you think it warrants representation..We'll represent you, but I think you'll be alright..Only a fool would charge someone of your standing with murder."said Bee Bee.

"Now settle down...Help us kill this bottle of wine."said Sofia..

pulling out another glass..

Brittany smiled..

"Thanks guys...I need a drink.." she said.

 

  II-

And In The Interogation Room at Central Booking, known as the Fishbowl...Lt. Tragg is holding court with Rennie Horton and Mark Long...Two of the now deceased Johnny "Country Boy" Casik's accomplices..

"You know....I normally would turn you two rats over to the Bunco Squad...But this is murder..Now spill it!" said Lt. Tragg..

"Look Lieutenant...You know us...we aren't killers...We had no plans to kill anybody...We was runnin a scam ,like we always have..Honest...I pulled my tough loan shark routine with an empty gun...just for this broad to see....Then I left...I was laughing when I left.. Johnny put on his act...The cryin and all and she wrote him a big check...That was the con...We was all gonna do a powder...Honest..."said Mark Long, Johnny "Country Boy" Casik's right hand man..

Lt. Tragg laughed...

"You guys finally met your match...We took that check for 150 large that this uh Millicent Hunter wrote your boy....It bounced like a basketball...First off...The bank it's drawn on is non-existent...Second of all this Millicent Hunter, or whoever she is, sold all of you a bill of goods...She don't exist...Social security number is phony...The real Millicent Hunter died in 1963...when she was FIVE!!! She didn't go to Vassar or any other area college like she told your boy and that loft she told him she lived in is empty...bleached down,like nobody ever lived there.. We can't find the car you said she drove..and there is no record of her working or going to school anywhere in the tri-state area..

You guys....You were clowning her and she was clowning you.....Now who is she..You got a photo?" asked Lt. Tragg..

"She was real funny about having her picture taken...She didn't like it...She always stood away from the camera.."said Rennie..

"Hmmm I can see why she would..."laughed Lt. Tragg...tickled pink that two con men had been conned..

"Are you going to let us go?" asked Rennie.

"Yeah you can go....but don't leave town...I'm going to look into this deeper..Maybe I can find this Millicent Hunter broad..Hahahahahahahaha."he laughed as he opened the door and allowed  the two con men to leave..

A day later at work, we told Ms. Yvette and Jade about our afternoon..

"That's quite some story...She out conned one of the area's biggest con men...but like you said..She left after his accomplice popped him in the head with the pocketbook..and he fell down...I'm certain this was all an act on his part..He had his money and this was his way out...These two probably ran this act everytime."said Yvette.

"No Act....The Cyanide was already tearing his insides out...He died as soon as he hit the floor...I talked to a friend over at the M.E.'s office as soon as I heard he was dead....The Cyanide was in the Champaigne..and he drank a lot of it!"said Jade.

"They were having Champaigne to celebrate the engagement..But how could you put Cyanide in the Champaigne?  It was fresh bottle from out of the fridge."I said.

"If they were both drinking Champaigne, How come Brittany didn't collapse and die?" asked Sofia.

"Maybe Britt didn't drink any." said  Bee Bee.

"But you don't know do you?" asked Yvette..

"No we don't...In fact she only said he pulled a bottle out..She didn't mention drinking."said Kahlil..

"That's a question you would want to be asking her the next time you see her." said Yvette.

Gary Lockwood, Investigator for the District Attorney's Office walked itnto the office...We told him about Bridget...He sighed.

"She asked me to investigate this guy her cousin was going out with a few months back...I found out almost immediately that he was Johnny "Country Boy" Casik, a known con man...I told her because of the fact that these women willingly give him money and this then almost no trace of it or him afterwords it's been almost impossible to put a tag on him...Bunco Squad had been looking at him for two years..

It was just hard to get anything on him...He was a slick as canned grease...but I gave her all my info..I told her we'd be watching...By the time she got to her cousin, she'd already been fleeced and was distraught...Not just about willingly handing over so much money, but being duped...She was in love with him and thought he lied to her and really had a wife...She didn't realize that the whole thing was an illusion...All part of the con..I told Brittany to bring her in and I'd explain it to her..but unfortunately Brittany got to her too late..

She jumped off the Walt Whitman bridge to her death last summer...and of course, Johnny "Country Boy" Casik and his two accomplices, Rennie Horton and Mark Long vanished without a trace..

I didn't hear from Brittany about the matter...Then I hear she's taken a leave from absence from the D.A.'s office and dropped off the grid... I had no idea she was posing as a rich heiress and setting him up...I wonder what her end game was...I hope it wasn't murder..."said Gary..

''We know Britt." said Kahlil.

''We attended Law School with her...All three years."said Sofia.

"Yeah, she's no killer...."I said.

''When it comes to the law, her job...She's as straight as an arrow." said Bee Bee.

"I appreciate how you guys feel about her...but grief and anger can change a person....Her cousin lost one million dollars to this man and had her heart broken...Was so distraught she took her own life...Brittany takes a leave of absence from the District Attorney's office and creates a whole new identity for herself and sets this guy up for a month, when she could have opened an investigation and had the cops do it...This was personal for her...Now the guy is dead!!! And he was definitely murdered..I hope she didn't take it that far..I really do...I like Brittany.."said Gary...

''Well let's get lunch..Sam Mother's today?" asked Ms. Jade.

"Good Idea." I said.

''Yeah come on..."said Bee Bee.

"Besides...Nobody even knows Brittany was even involved in this."said Kahlil..

"At least not yet.."said Sofia as we all headed for the elevator..

"We'll meet you over there.."said Gary.

as we left..

"Did you want to see me about something?" asked Yvette..

"Yes"said Gary, who took her by the hand into her office and closed and locked the door..

He threw her up against the wall and began kissing her passionately......

"Ohhhhh god....I've been daydreaming abut you all morning.." he said as he kissed her slowly and softly..

"That's all you wanted was to kiss me?  I was coming over tonight.." laughed Yvette..

"I couldn't wait.."said Gary..

"Ouuuuuuuuu... I seee..Ummmmmmmm you are such a horn dog!" laughed Yvette..as she continued to kiss Gary passionately..

"And frankly, you're turning me into one....Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she cooed

as they continued kissing passionately and slowly......

III-

And at the tony loft that Brittany and Lonzo shared...

The sounds of lovemaking could be heard,...

"OHHH GOD!!! OHHHHHHHH MY GODDDD!  OUUUUUUUUUUUUU, OUUUUUUUUUUUU

LONZO....OUUUUUUUUWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE BABYYYYYYYYYY OHHHHHHHHHHHHH

MY GOOODNESsSS." moaned Brittany as her lover pounded her in the bed doggie style..

He was soo glad to have her back in the loft for good now...

THE PAST EIGHT TO NINE HOURS they had been making love intensely....

"OHHHHHHHH BRITTANY, I HAVE MISSED YOU SOOOOO MUCH!  OUUUUUUUUUUUU!"moaned cool Lonzo with his deep baritone voice that often made Brittany so horny, just hearing it!

"I'VE MISSED YOU TOOO BABYYYYYYYY, UMMMMMMMMMMMMPH!"she moaned as she rode him like a surfer rides the waves and smothered him with wet kisses..

"OUUUUUWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE....OUUUUUUUWEEEEEEEEEEEE....OHHHHHHHH
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed to the top of her lungs..

The bed was squeaking something terrible....The headboard was slamming so hard against the plaster that peices of it was falling off the wall..

Brittany was in tears, her head was turning from side to side..

ANOTHER FOUR TO FIVE HOURS PASSED BY SLOWLY!

Brittany's legs were shaking , she was having her third and fourth intense orgasm...and crying like a baby...

"OUUU LONZO I LOVE YOU....I LOVVVVVVE YOUUUUUU!" she cried..

"I love you too Britt." he whispered as he came hard! His whole body trembled!

She sat up in the bed and stared at him, She couldn't believe that he was so huge, so hard and had the stamina of a horse....

She was thouroughly satisfied in a way she hadn't been in awhile...She was happy...She had a tingly feeling all over...She just felt warm all over..

"Whewwww, if we had some champaigne...we could really celebrate..."said Lonzo , trying to catch his breath...

"I don't need champaigne...I just need you."said Brittany, smiling..

As they kissed passionately...

The doorbell rang and there was a banging on the door..A LOUD BANGING!

"POLICE!!! OPEN UP!" came the unmistakable voice of Lt. Tragg...

"WHO THE HELL IS THIS?" asked Lonzo, who got up and angrilly stormed to the door..

"OPEN UP!!! WE'VE GOT A WARRANT FOR YOUR LITTLE GIRLFRIEND'S ARREST!" said Lt. Tragg pushing past Lonzo and barging into the bedroom

with an armed tactical squad...

Brittany was sitting up in her lace baby doll with matching lace bikini panties...looking like a pin up...

She sighed...She dreaded this inevitable day...

Lt. Tragg's eyes nearly popped out of his head...He slowly got an erection staring at Brittany.....and he was as red as a beet...

"Ughhhhh, Ughhhhhhh you'd better come uh ouuuuuuuuuuuu with me...I uh have a warrant for your arrest....Murderrrr oneeee....." he said softly..

Brittany was slightly amused by the fact that he was so aroused and turned on by the sight of her in a baby doll and panties and no bra on...She  knew how turned on Lt. Tragg had been by her when they worked a court case awhile ago...She thought he was an insufferable, sexist idiot...He had actually come up here with a bottle of champaigne once thinking they were going to spend an afternoon together..She smiled at the thought of that...

"Well Lieutenant....If you'd allow me to get dressed...I'll come with you..." she whispered seductively, knowing it was turning him on...

"Yessssssssssssssssss!" he said softly... "YOU GUYS GET OUT OF HERE..WAIT IN THE HALLWAY....SHE'S GOTTA GET DRESSED!" he bellowed to the policemen, all of whom had been checking her body out!

Her boyfriend , Attorney Lonzo Calderone Williams stood by angrily glaring at Lt. Tragg ,who he hated with a passion...He wanted to punch his face into a unrecognizable pulp..but he didn't do anything....He reached instead for his phone..

He was calling us.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHO ARE YOU CALLING??" snarled Lt. Tragg.

"If you must know...Legal representation.." he said.

Lt. Tragg and probably all of those white cops hated the fact that this Black man was sleeping with this pretty blonde ,blue eyed white girl, now accused of first degree murder..

"You're a hot shot lawyer aren't you?" said Lt. Tragg..who despised him and was jealous of his credentials.

"I'm a corporate lawyer...Not a criminal defense attorney." said Lonzo softly....hoping it gnawed at Lt. Tragg..

We were all in Bee Bee and Sofia's apartment..preparing to go to work....

when my phone rang...It was Lonzo Calderone Williams

"Yo! What's up Lonzo?" I said.

"Keith, they got Britt!!...The Cops are here , And they're getting ready to take her down man." said Lonzo.

"Okay...We'll be down...Let me call Ms. Yvette." I said.

"The Cops got Britt?" asked Bee Bee.

"Yeah, they're taking her down now." I said.

"I'm just getting out of the shower...Let me put on some clothes...We can go and get her."said Sofia. Who was in her night shirt and wiping her hair...

"I'll call Ms. Jade." said Kahlil..

Across town at their tony loft... Lt. Tragg walked ADA Brittany Hughes out of her loft , escorted by the police.

"I really hate to be doing this Brittany...uh.....I'll ride in the back with you."said Lt. Tragg softly..

"You haven't lost your flair for the dramatic I see Lieutenant." Brittany said sarcastically...

She didn't think her arrest needed this many armed cops..

or a huge press presence, probably called by Lt. Tragg himself to document her being arrested.

It made her despise him even more.

IV-

Most murder suspects brought into the dreaded "Fishbowl" or Interrogation room didn't get this type of treatment.. In fact ,Coffee and a cigarette or a Candy bar and a can of Soda was doing good for most suspects.

Lt. Tragg had sprung for a hot breakfast from a local diner without even asking her..

New York Strip Steak,,

A Cheddar Omelette

Hash Browns

Orange Juice

Hot Coffee...

She was hungry, having been literally taken out of her bed...after a night of wild and sensuous lovemaking..

Brittany devoured the food in front of her...She might as well, she reasoned. She knew all of this was because murder charge or not...The man had the hots for her..

After she finished eating and her plates , knives forks and cups were all cleared away, Lt. Tragg came in and sat down across from her..

"Brittany, I know about your cousin committing suicide after being conned by this jerk...I know you took it hard and quit the D.A.'s office....and I now know you've been playin this clown for a few months..You're the mysterious Millicent Hunter....We got you on video tape in the parking lot of his loft...and we got you in the hallway and leaving right after Country Boy died...I know you killed him...and I understand...Can't say I blame you...He was a lousy excuse for a human being... We found Cyanide in the Champaigne and traces of it in his empty glass and the second glass, your glass was full, you never touched it...You knew didn't you?" he said quietly..

"You do know I'm still an attorney right? And that I'm too smart to talk to you don't you?  Thank you for the breakfast...My representation will be here soon." she said softly and smiled..

What an imbecile, she thought..

"Your Boyfriend? He can't get you out of this...Maybe your daddy ." said Lt. Tragg...

"Or Maybe we can!" said Ms. Yvette.

"Hey Britt, we got here as soon as we could." I said.

"Lonzo called us."said Bee Bee.

''Are you okay?" asked Sofia.

"We read the charging document." said Kahlil..

"We didn't have time to get you any food, but we did bring coffee.."said Ms. Jade , 

who brought a thermos and seven cups..

"Ohhh that's okay....The good Lieutenant bought me a nice breakfast...Steak and Eggs, Hash Browns, Orange Juice and Coffee...but I'll have a cup of coffee with you guys."said Brittany.

This caused us all to stare at Lt. Tragg....We knew that the average murder suspect was doing good if they got a cup of coffee and a cigarette or a candy bar and a can of soda...but a fancy breakfast like that!

WOWWW! Can someone spell White Priveledge and or the power of the panties?  We all knew Lt. Tragg long had the hots for Brittany.

Lt. Tragg was embarrassed...He didn't want us to know he had sprung for a big breakfast like that for Brittany...He was as red as a beet...He quietly slipped out of the room and closed the door.

"Like I said Britt...We read the charging document...It doesn't look good..." said Kahlil..

"I know..Lt. Tragg laid out the case against me...but I swear I didn't kill him...That was never my end game..I had a wire in my bra...I was recording everything...I wrote him a fake check that I knew was going to bounce...I was going to turn everything I had on him to the Bunco squad and have him prosecuted....My end game wasn't murder....You guys know me..We were in law school together..Maybe I was a little snotty white bitch back then...but I was never a killer or violent."pleaded Brittany.

"We know that Britt, that's why we are here..."said Bee Bee.

"We really shouldn't talk about your case in here..but that Champaigne is the key to their case...The bottle was loaded with Cyanide....There were traces in his glass....Your glass was full and it was laced with Cyanide."said Sofia.

"I didn't even know he had Champaigne ,until he pulled it out of the Fridge...He took a big swig...He offered me the bottle..I never drink behind people...I don't drink behind Lonzo and he's my boyfriend.."said Brittany.

"So he got a glass and poured you a cup." I said.

"Right....He poured two glasses...He guzzled his glass down and before I could pick up my glass, that girl named Rennie came in, crying and accusing him of being a cheater and striking him with the pocketbook...He collapsed like a sack of potatoes...I didn't know if this was an act or they were really getting into it...At this point I left..."said Brittany.

"You know, had you of drank your glass of Champaigne, you would have died too...If someone did spike that bottle of Champaigne..You both could have died.....What if the real killer planned to kill YOU BOTH?" mused Yvette.

"That is a thought...That is something to look into." said Jade.

"Okay...enough talk in here...Let's try to get her arraigned and Bail set..."said Yvette...

Just then a tall, well dressed man walked into the Fishbowl...

"DADDY!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" asked Brittany..

''Did you think I wasn't going to come.???..My baby in trouble?  Lonzo called me after your arrest this morning..He told me who your attorneys were and that you'd gone to law school with all of them and that their supervisor was the room mate of Olivia Bennett-Alexander...I remember that Olivia and Beverly defended Lonzo so well when he was in trouble, so I went by their office to visit them.

They gave you guys a glowing reccomendation...They said they have worked cases with all of you and that you are excellent attorneys... So, I will pay Brittany's legal fees and any bail that is set.." he said.

"Oh excuse my manners..I am James Hughes ,Attorney at law of Hughes and Douglas Law Firm." he said.

Brittany's father was a youthful and fit looking man...He looked like he could pass for her younger brother..

Lonzo arrived shortly afterwords...

"I got here as soon as I could Britt, you alright?" asked Lonzo..

"I'm fine....Since you're here daddy ,let me introduce you to my defense team..

"Attorney Keith Jones"

"Attorney Beatrice Evans"

''Attorney Sofia Garcia"

and 

"Attorney Kahlil Ahmed.."

"We all graduated from Penn Law together..." said Brittany.

"They're all my uh former students..I lectured them while I was teaching at Penn Law."said Lonzo with a smile.

"This is Ms. Yvette Jones, 

''Sr. Associate Attorney, MCCLUSKEY/COZEN/ CONNOR AND PRATT, and their supervisor...

and Ms. Jade Lee.

Their investigator..." said Brittany...

"OUTSTANDING.....You're in good hands.."said James Hughes.

''Well, her arraignment is in one hour...Let's get her out of here."said Ms. Yvette.

Lt. Tragg watched the entire scene...Furious that Brittany was involved with Lonzo, Furious that we were defending her and furious that her father, a man his age, seemed to be alright with all of it.

"Hold On Britt, We are going to get you out of this."said Lonzo...

Brittany held  Lonzo tightly and laid her head gently on his chest.....

(TO BE CONTINUED)