A Season Of Marriage and Murder

 Reverend Struthers was busy this month....

Ms. Yvette and Gary got married on a warm fall Saturday Afternoon.

The church was packed as you can expect, 

with all of our friends there...

The Partners were even there.

Ms. Olivia was her maid of honor....while, surprise, surprise..

His boss, Assistant District Attorney, Rockland Cambridge was his best man...

It was a huge wedding and an even huger reception.

Ms. Yvette and Gary  went to Cancun for their Honeymoon...

They returned two weeks later....and the week after they returned..

My main man, Attorney Kahlil Ahmed and my buddy,

Attorney Sofia Garcia got married...They had secretly been sleeping together off and on since undergrad in Temple...even Bee Bee, Sofia's best friend didn't know quite how into each other they really were...Neither did I until near graduation ,when Kahlil confessed to me that he really loved Sofia.

I , Attorney Keith Jones was his best man..

And my fiance,Attorney Beatrice "Bee Bee"  Evans  was her maid of honor...

In addition to all of our friends, 

and The Partners as well..

Sofia and Kahlil and Bee Bee's huge families packed the church and the reception hall

and we partied with them all night..

They went to Punta Cana for their honeymoon...

It was pretty lonely in the Apartment Complex we four had called home , since we had graduated from law school and passed the Bar. 

Khalil had turned in his keys and had officially left...So had Sofia and Bee Bee.

We had all bought two new homes on the same street, right next door to each other...A few blocks away...In the week before their marriage...

Sofia and Kahlil had moved all of their things completely into their new home... And Kahlil had stayed with me the last week before the marriage..

Ms. Jade had already moved out and into her new home, a week before...

Most of Bee Bee and my stuff was in our new house with the exception of clothes  and my bed and one Television set.

Bee Bee had moved everything of hers into our new home and was already staying there...I hadn't seen her since the night after  Kahlil and Sofia got married..

I was the last person left in the apartment complex....

.

The week before Bee Bee and I got married.. I finally turned in my keys and the last of my things were picked up and moved to our new home.

by Clerow and Owen Todd.

I said good bye to the apartment complex my friends and I had lived in....We were now homeowners and married...We had a good job at a great law firm....Life was good!

I stayed with my father...Judge Keith Morrison..

at his Townhouse...It was a great week...We bonded in a way we hadn't bonded since I'd been a child..He told me how proud of me he was...

The week after Sofia and Kahlil came home from their honeymoon...

I married Beatrice "Bee Bee "Evans...I had known from the first day I laid eyes on her in the bookstore, second day of law school that we were destined to be together...  Her family knew we were really in love , even when she would bring me to her family events and I would "pretend" to be her date or her boyfriend...My Father, My mother and my aunt knew she was the one...

"I can tell by the way you look at her and she looks at you..Yall might not be together now,playin this little game you're playin, but you're gonna be together in the end." said my mother..

At the time, we were just friends, hadn't so much as shared a kiss...Just two law students...without dates and using each other at family events to shake off the embarrassment of really being alone...When it was apparent we should be together.

Thankfully after law school, we finally got ourselves together and GOT TOGETHER!

Kahlil was my best man...

Sofia was Bee Bee's maid of Honor...Like the other two weddings ,all of our friends were there.

The Partners were even there for us.

.

We all partied well into the night!

We rented a hotel room..

"I missed you soooo much.." I told Bee Bee..

"I missed you too Hot Stuff." she said...

where we consumated our marriage...We hadn't seen each other in two weeks....We gave into all that pent up passion we had been holding in for weeks...We had a lot of bonding and catching up to do....I found out later that 

Kahlil and Sofia had gone to their new home and  done pretty much the same thing on their wedding night....

"They consumated all night long..an d well into the next morning before leaving on a late flight for their honeymoon."

Bee Bee and I went to Las Vegas for our honeymoon....We had a glorious two weeks...Just the two of us...in the honeymoon suite the entire first week...

By the time we returned...It was three weeks before Christmas....

What a whirlwind the past month had been of marriages , honeymoons and the like..

 

 II-

It felt good being back in the office...We felt like we'd been gone a year...instead of just a few weeks..

It was nice , us all being together again..

Ms Yvette looked incredible...She was genuinely glad to see all of us...

"The gang is back together again huh? Woww...It feels like it's been forever...I missed yall!" she said.

"Ohhhh Ms. Yvette it was wonderful..."said Bee Bee in a daze almost...

After the honeymoon we'd had and the marathon sex..I was in a daze myself, almost speechless..

Kahlil understood perfectly....

"Tonight let's all celebrate....You too Ms. Yvette.."said Kahlil...

"Yes Ms. Yvette...Let's go out for a nice lunch."said Sofia..

"I can't see why not... Jade should be coming in soon...We should all go together...It's pretty slow around here." said Ms. Yvette.

Within an hour , we all were at a tony new restaurant....

''I have to admit...Donnie Ray Alexander told me about this restaurant..."laughed  Ms. Yvette, who had been joined by her HUSBAND, Gary Lockwood..

"For a guy who is not from Philly, he knows more about the great eating spots and bars than any of us native born Philadelphians." laughed Gary, hugging his new wife...

''So Ms. Yvette, will you be known as "Mrs. Lockwood now instead of Ms. Jones?" asked Khalil.

"Professionally...I'll still be Yvette Jones until people get used to my married status...but eventually I'll be Mrs. Yvette Lockwood...Of course, I'll always be Mrs. Lockwood." she said and gave Gary, a soft sweet kiss..

while we all smiled..

"I'm going to be Mrs. Beatrice Jones.." said Bee Bee, looking at me and smiling...

''All these Jones's " I said as we all laughed..

''I will be Mrs. Sofia Garcia-Ahmed.."said Sofia...

Kahlil smiled and leaned over and kissed her softly..

for a few minutes...

"A Toast to my friends..."said Jade , who had brought a bottle of champaigne to the table..

She pulled the cork off

We all filled our glasses and toasted ...To US!

As our meals were served to us....

This was a beautiful moment...One of several....but it was the calm before the storm...We were all newly married and in our new homes...

We were back from our honeymoons and back to work..The work of being Attorneys at a major law firm, McCluskey/Cozen/Connor and Pratt  and there was a storm brewing as we enjoyed our meal , a storm that would lead to our next case..

 

 III-

Crime Scene Investigators and Forensic Investigators were going over the car.....

The window of a 2020 Suburban was practically shattered...Destroyed by two gun shots...

Deputy Coroner and Forensic Investigator, Dr. Hazel Baylor was observing the scene..

"Gunshot wounds huh?" she asked..

"Yeah Doc, two .38 slugs to the dome.....One to the chest and another in his side...It happened quick..Nobody heard a thing...So the killer probably used a silencer.." said one of her assistants..

"You know who he is?" asked Hazel.

"His name is Edward Tarnick, An Accountant, Bookeeper.. He was 49." said another man..

Two Police Cars drove up from opposite directions..

Lt. Tragg got out of one of the cars and came running up on the scene...

Hazel sighed... A case like this was tailormade for the Criminal Investigation Division of which her husband was a member...but they were working on other pending cases...She would have rather anyone, even a rookie detective be assigned to this case than Lt. Tragg, who she dispised and who she thought was an incompetant boob!...

''What have we got?" he said..

"Two .38 slugs to the dome Lieutenant.....One to the chest and another in his side...It happened quick..Nobody heard a thing...So the killer probably used a silencer..He's been dead about 12 hours..rigor is setting in" said one of the policemen at the scene.

. "You know who he is?" asked Lt. Tragg.

 "His name is Edward Tarnick, An Accountant, Bookeeper.. He was 49." said another policeman.

Lt. Tragg looked at the body, which was still in the car..

Lt. Tragg shook his head..

"Get him out of there." ordered Lt. Tragg...

"I want  a team of guys...However many you need...I want a 15 block radious going both ways, Talk to as many people as you can, Scan these Street Cams, ATM CAMS and  Traffic cams...something might turn up...Any prints or DNA on the car?" asked Lt. Tragg.

"Not so far, but we are still looking...I've called for a tow truck...We are going to give it a complete look for Prints and DNA.." said Hazel.

"Good , Get a report to me as soon as possible." said Lt. Tragg.

who watched as the body was removed....

Attorney Patricia Reynolds , who had once been a Judge , was a recent hire of McCluskey/Cozen/Connor and Pratt..She stood in the crowd of on lookers with the partners,

William McCluskey, who was shocked when he saw the body coming out of the suburban..

"That's Ed Tarnick!!!" he said..

"Oh My God...He was just in the cafeteria...I had a coffee with him." said Mike Pratt..

"He was a witness in the Biggs Case wasn't he?" asked Samuel Cozen...

''Yes , he was...How fortunate for you." said Robert Connor to Associate Attorney Leonard Biggs..

who also worked for our firm...He was defending a businessman in a class action suit..The dead man was his  attorney's star witness against the businessman and now he was dead... Attorney Biggs just laughed , but said nothing..

Attorney Patricia Reynolds didn't like Leonard Biggs, in fact she was afraid of him and she stared at him suspiciously as the body was put into the wagon...

A Black man in a green t-shirt and a Pork Pie hat walked up behind her and squeezed her butt..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuu!" she squeeled ....

It was Mike Green, the bartender at the local bar....

"Mikey!!!! What are you doing here?" she asked...She didn't want anyone to see her talking to him...

''Shhhhhhhh, it's cool, you left something at my place last night...I figured you might want these back..they look expensive...They smell even better."he said with a laugh and passed her a paper bag.

It was a pair of panties she had worn the night before when she had slept with him...

"Oh My godddd.!!!..uh Thank you..." she said..embarrassed and aroused a little at the same time..

"Thank youuuuuuuu..See ya around.." he said..

She had talked to him and stayed until closing...He offered to walk her to her car, but she instead asked if she could go home with him and he bring her to her car in the morning..

He obliged and the two of them went back to his apartment and made crazy love well into the early morning..

She was obviously very passionate...

Verrrry passionate...He knew who she was...That she was a former judge...He had appeared in her courtroom years ago in a case that ultimately got thrown out..and now an Attorney in private practice , who worked in the downtown area near his bar...

He knew she was married too, but if she didn't mind..He certainly didn't.. They made love a good NINE TO TEN HOURS....stopping in the early morning..when they both were totally exhausted and tapped out...

with him sleeping soundly in her arms...She got up showered and dressed hurriedly and headed straight for work...She stayed in her office, fielding calls all morning... Her husband was in San-Francisco at at National Bar Association Dinner...He was due home tomorrow...Despite her many indescretions...She felt bad for the first time...She couldn't believe she had slept with the bartender...She had hit an all time low now...

She saw Yvette Jones and her crew walking up.. She envied them...They were all recently married and all so in love...

She wondered what was wrong with her...When her husband was around she certainly loved him, but he wasn't..She played....and now she had slept with a bartender...A Bartender she barely knew....She felt lower than dirt....

"What happened here?" asked Yvette..

"Somebody got murdered."said Bee Bee.

"That's that witness in that case against the businessman that Leonard Biggs was repping.

"Yeah that's him...Somebody lit him up....Guess he won't be testifying.."said Kahlil..

"Yeah...how fortunate for him.." said Sofia who peered at Biggs in the crowd..

She didn't like him..He gave her the creeps..

Jade didn't like him either...She thought he was a psychopath...

"Hi Vettie, Guys...Congratulations on all of the recent weddings and I understand some of you are first time homeowners too!!! WOWWW!! What a glorious time for you all." said Patricia with a big smile.

"Hi Patricia...How nice to see you."said Yvette, who was glad to have another Black woman attorney working with her and one with her rank, Senior Associate Attorney...This was the most people of color working at this firm ,since she had joined the firm...

When she joined, Fresh after passing the bar..

Miles Ellis, currently an Assistant District Attorney was the only other Black person working here..

There certain were no Latinas here ,

Like Sofia...

Or Arabs, like Kahlil

or Asians,

like Jade Lee..

She had brought them in....

Me, Bee Bee, Ms. Yvette and Patricia Reynolds made four African Americans....Our previously lily white law firm was starting to look like the rest of America.

IV-

Upstairs back in the office, while looking over files...All we could talk about was the murder downstairs..

''Wowww..The day we come back somebody gets snuffed right in front of us.." I said, leaning back at our conference table out in the suite, while leafing through some mail..

"Welll..Welcome back to Philly."said Bee Bee, smiling.. She too was shuffling through mail and looking at some old case files she hadn't filed..

"That guy was a witness against that businessman that Leonard Biggs was defending...with that guy dead..He's got a clear shot at winning this case...How nice for him."said Sofia sarcastically...she didn't like Biggs...She had worked a case with him once and didn't like the way he cut corners, lied sometimes and did a few things that were borderline unethical.

"Didn't a witness in another case he had die last year?? I think it was a suicide....She jumped out the window on the eve of the trial."said Kahlil..

"Or was pushed.." said Jade, laughing...

"I know right?  I wouldn't put it past him.."laughed Sofia.

"Tell us how you really feel." I said and the three of us laughed...

We decided to head to our offices......I looked at Bee Bee, my new wife..

"Uh....Since we are married and all I was wondering uh..." I said..

"Uh Uh!!....We live together now...but I'm keeping my office with Sofia...I can't be in an office with you all day...We'd be kissing every minute, We might wind up on the couch...We wouldn't get any work done..."said Bee Bee.

"That's right...This way we get some work done...I'm stayin with my girl.."said Sofia, who kissed Bee Bee, her life long friend since Kintergarden on the cheek..

Kahlil smiled..It was Better this way...

Patricia Reynolds walked into our suite...

"Is Yvette in?" she asked..

"She's in her office...The door is open." said Jade.

Yvette was on her phone, whispering..

"Ouuuu Gary, you are soooo bad...weren't you paying attention when I got dressed this morning? They're floral, almost matching this dress...The Bra is too!  Yesssss ,I try to match everyday, but I don't always....Why?  Oh shut up boy and go back to work...Tee Hee." she laughed..

She was having a rather racy conversation with her husband of one month, Gary...

Patricia Reynolds walked in...

"Ohh Hey Patty!" said Yvette, smiling..

''Vettie...I need to talk to somebody!" she said.

(TO BE CONTINUED)