Sweet Cover

Ms. Yvette, Mrs. Yvette Lockwood was more than just our boss, She was a friend...and she really wanted us to succeed...Which meant she protected us from anything she thought might be harmful to us..and our careers..

We all wanted to work on Jason Pale's murder trial, but due to the nature of it..The fact that we had to keep who hired us a secret from everybody and due to the fact that one of our founding partners was deeply involved in this somehow..She decided that we needed to be out of sight and temporarily off the case..

She called Olivia and Beverly and told them that Bee Bee and I would be free to work on their murder case with them...

which I know sent my new wife,Bee Bee, over the moon...She loved Olivia and Beverly and patterned herself after both of them...

Sofia and Kahlil were tasked to work on the case with our good friend, Jessica Sanchez-Burrow and her husband, Chip Burrows..

Sofia and Jessica had gotten particularly close in the short time we knew her.

We would also be working with Josie Boyd,

Olivia and Beverly's newest Attorney, who they had lent to them...This was another Immigrant ,facing deportation case..

 

Jade was also working with them on the case..

Ms. Olivia had an open door to all of us...Both groups worked out of their duplex...Both clients were there...We had all of our meals with them...We did all of our research with them and for the next few weeks were basically out of sight..

Beverly's mother, Alfreda , their office manager was also a good cook and she kept us supplied with warm baked goods..

It was cool walking right across the street to "work". 

 Having Breakfast and Lunch and sometimes dinner with them. 

It really wasn't work for us..It was fun working with them, doing research, discussing predicates and law and getting into the meat of this case..

But what was best...Neither Olivia and Beverly's case or Jessica and Chip's case  involved Lt. Tragg in anyway whatsoever..So we were basically off the streets...

Our case featuring, Beverly, Olivia, Myself, Bee Bee, Nelson and Donnie Ray

was to be argued in a conference room at Penns Landing..

with a Judge present... and the help of ADA Karen Page, and attorneys Jasmine Coley and Olivia and Beverly's cousin and our neighbor and friend, Kayla Bennett-St. Jacques.

The other case featuring Jessica, her husband Chip,Sofia ,Kahlil and Josie

was being argued in Immigration Court-

It kept us off the streets somewhat and out of sight, yet still working....

This kept Lt. Tragg guessing..He hadn't seen any of us...Not in Sam Mother's ,Not in Curleys and not in court..

Ms. Yvette and Jade, who was doing double duty...With us during the day and Ms. Yvette in the afternoon and at Night..Moved  Jason Pale ,

from one hotel to another to keep just a step ahead of Lt. Tragg...

II-

As you can guess.. the heat was on Ms. Yvette, who was taking it all on herself..

She sat in her office, leafing through mail and looking at briefs...She worked in her office...She never discussed the case anywhere in the office or with anybody and when she and 

Jade discussed strategy ,it was usually at her house or Jade's house..

Lt. Tragg visited Ms. Yvette at her office first...She looked up from her desk and then sat back..

''Yvette...Congratulations on the uh wedding....You and Gary huh? I'm not surprised...You've had his nose open for a long time.....

 

Wow....Haven't seen you or your uh 

snot nosed little youngins around lately...What are they doing?" he asked.

"They're lawyers lieutenant, they are in court on different cases...I keep them busy..Andddd you should stop reffering to them as snot nosed youngins....They're all adults, they've all graduated from law school and passed the bar and they are married and homeowners as well... They should get a little more respect."said Yvette.

"Okay, Okay..Okay... I won't talk bad about your babies... What about the Jason Pale case?" he asked.

"That's why you're really here isn't it?  When a trial date comes up, maybe you'll see them...but like I said, they're busy with other things...other cases...Not just his.." said Yvette.

"I haven't seen Jade Lee...

What is she up to?" asked Lt. Tragg..

"She's an investigator...She is helping one or more of them with other investigations...other cases Lieutenant.."sighed Yvette..

"Ohhhh I see and where is Mr. Pale now of days?" asked Lt. Tragg.

Yvette sighed-"Lieutenant , I have work to do, so if you don't mind?" said Yvette...

He sighed and walked out, without saying goodbye..

Attorney Leonard Biggs, two weeks from leaving the firm sat in Curleys Bar , drinking Ice Tea....

He had turned in his resignation. 

He was meeting with fellow Attorney Patty Reynolds..

He suspected she may have seen him at the crime scene..He needed to talk to her. He didn't like loose ends..

He had two Ice Teas sitting on the table.

She hated the sound of his voice and she hated him having her phone number...

She met with him reluctantly in Curleys...

"What do you want? I'll dare you call my personal phone number.." she said Icily..."I've done like you said, I haven't mentioned that night..or afternoon." she said icily..

"I know....but something has come to my attention...Young Jason Pale has been bailed out...He was bailed out several weeks ago and has been free and I wasn't informed... He is being represented by some friends of yours.. Yvette Jones, oh I mean Lockwood, Keith and Beatrice Jones, Sofia Garcia -Ahmed and Kahlil Ahmed...

''What I need is information Mrs. Reynolds...We rarely if ever do pro bono cases here at this firm..And even the cases they are presently working on are paying cases.. Olivia Bennett-Alexander's firm is paying them as consultants and The Innocence Project are paying the other three as consultants..But I don't know who is bank rolling this case..Who is paying them to defend young Pale??...You're close to Yvette...Invite her to lunch, a little girl talk, find out how they are paying for this man, because I know this kid doesn't have the money to afford one of them, let alone five and an investigator." said Leonard Biggs..

"You're a beast....I've never liked you...I'm glad you're leaving us soon...You want to ruin this kid's life...Why don't you leave him alone? He didn't see anything, he doesn't know anything...Why should he go to jail for something you and I know he didn't do?" asked Patricia Reynolds..

"A kid like that was on his way to jail anyway...He is of no consequence to me...and he shouldn't be of any consequence to you Mrs. Reynolds...He's what the uh military call collateral damage! Remember who you were before you caught the Judges eye?

A young Attorney, working downtown for a small firm, Living in an apartment complex in West Philly...doing alright, but a far cry from what you have now...A Luxury car every other year, Expensive Jewelry..Trips around the world...A nice big house...and think of uh where you could return..."he said.

"You are evil!" said Patricia..

"We all do things to get what we want...To live a certain way....That's all I'm doing Mrs. Reynolds..I expect a report back in 24 hours.." he said.

''Aren't you going to drink your Ice Tea...The Ice is melting?" he said.

"You go to hell!  I don't want to be seen doing anything with you...You sewer rat!!" she snarled..

"24 Four Hours....I want a report Mrs. Reynolds."he laughed....

III-

At a local Bar, Patty Reynolds and Yvette Lockwood met for lunch..

"This is sooo nice Patty...We should do this more often.."said Yvette...

"Yesss...I've got to get with Olivia soon too....I know she's busy...She and her team and Bee Bee and Keith just finished up a wrongful conviction case at uh the Penns Landing office....

My husband was the judge in that case..

He said that every attorney involved in that case, Olivia, Beverly, Nelson , Bee Bee and Keith and Donnie Ray were excellent, well prepared and gave excellent arguments..

.

He reversed the ruling and dropped the original conviction, thus freeing the defendent, who had been in jail for two years.....

ADA Karen Page was very impressed with all of them too!

And a few days later as luck would have it...

My husband was the Judge in Immigration court..

He oversaw the trial of two immigrants facing deportation that Jessica Sanchez-Burrows and her husband Charles "Chip" Burrows, two fantastic attorneys, he said

and that Sofia , her husband Kahlil and Olivia's Josie assisted with...

He said they all were fantastic too!

Vettie girl, my husband gets excited about the law....He remembered you and Olivia...He said you twwo were his prize students and that he is immensely proud of you both.....When I say he gets excited...I mean excited..

He practically ripped my clothes off in his chambers..

Girrrll he was all over me..

"Ohhhhhhh Pattty I can't wait...ummmmmmm..." he moaned..

Oh my god....

"PERCYYYYYY!  OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!! NOT HERE!!! LET'S GO HOME...GET COMFORTABLE!!!" moaned Patty...

"He took me home and made love to me like he hasn't done in a few months...I was totally satisfied...

I mean it.. I love my husband.." she said.

The bed in their bedroom was squeaking and rocking like crazy...Their headboard actually split in half...

And NINE TO TEN HOURS later...they were still going at it...

"That's good Patty, That's beautiful , you should remember that whenever you get lonely and uh..."said Yvette.

"HORNY? Yes  Yvette ,I will remember that....I will.." said Patricia..

Two Bacon Cheeseburgers arrived...

"Ummm this burger is delish.." said Yvette...

"It is....ummmmmmmmmmmm"said Patty.., "Sooo Vettie...I hear you guys are defending that kid accused of uh shooting that witness in the Tarnick case...The Bike Messenger..How is that going?" asked Patricia..

"It's going well..Better than I thought...If Lt. Tragg was half as good a detective as he is a television personality, all ready with the good clip...He wouldn't be so quick to make an arrest in these cases."said Yvette, who was now on guard..

"We rarely do any pro bono cases at this firm...I know this guy is rather friendly with your guys..

but come on now...This kid is a bike messenger...He doesn't have the money to afford one lawyer, let alone five and an investigator.  Who is bank rolling this?" asked Patricia.

"That's the second time I've heard that today...about what he can and can't afford... ..WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED??? Who have you been talking to ?"said Yvette..

'Vettie, come on....No harm, no foul...I was just asking..."said Patricia as both women finished their burgers...

"Are you Patty?   Who got to you?  Was it Biggs?  Did you see something you weren't supposed to see?   Jason described another person on the street at the time of the shooting...He said a pretty Black lady, who he didn't know...He said she was tipsy.... That was you that he saw wasn't it? You know who shot Ed Tarnick don't you?  You know that my client didn't shoot him, don't you?

He's got something on you doesn't he? He saw you with Mikey......He wanted you to give him some information..."said Yvette..

"YESSSSSS! He saw me and I saw him in that split second in the street that night...I was drunk.. but I saw him...I didn't actually see him shoot him, but I saw him by the SUV...and he saw me too...He told me to keep my mouth shut, which I did...Then he told me yesterday that he wants me to find out who is bankrolling this kid's defense or my husband finds out what happened with me and Mikey Green...But I'm not going to do it Vettie!!!...I'm not going to do it..Subpeona me..I'll testify to what I know..I will and whatever happens, happens...I deserve it...I should have kept my panties on and my legs closed..I won't betray you...We've known each other too long ."said Patricia , who was crying profusely...

"Don't cry...Don't cry....I can help you....I know a way out of this...You'll be alright...Just trust me.."said Yvette holding her good friend in her arms and hugging her.

IV-

The Private Investigator, Kevin Morris had once did a simular  favor for Olivia once... Young Beverly had taken some nude photos for a guy who was trying to blackmail her..

Kevin had operatives who were former CIA, KGB and Homeland Security agents...It was no problem for them to get inside Leonard Biggs's home and erase his laptops, his phone and his tablet and steal the

zip drive that contained compromising photos of Patricia and Mikey the bartender going to his house and leaving his house, early the next morning...There was no photos of them having sex...She could have technically have told her husband that she went there to crash, to sleep it off.

But now he had nothing...Not even her phone numbers in his phones..

"I think your friend is pretty much in the clear now Vettie , but she needs to watch herself..This isn't the first time I've had to clean up one of her messes." said Kevin..

"I've heard...This will make her sleep a lot better..Thank you soooo much Kevin.." said Yvette, hugging him..

"No problem...Imagine the look on his face when he discovers all of this stuff is missing."laughed Kevin..

Yvette laughed...

"I know right?  Thank you again.."She said..

Tender is the night..

24 hours had passed and Patricia Reynolds had not shown up...

Attorney Leonard Biggs checked his watch again...She was 15 minutes late..Did she think he was playing? He hated tardiness..

He sipped his drink... He looked up and two women were sitting with him...Two women he recognized..

Bee Evans-Jones 

and Sofia  Garcia-Ahmed...

He recognized them... They were Associate Attorneys at his soon to be former firm...Yvette Jones-Lockwood's kids... They wouldn't ordinarily be socializing with him...

"Welll the newlyweds, How are you? Where are your husbands?" He asked.

"They're around.....I suppose you are waiting for Patricia Reynolds...Well she's not coming..She sent us instead and we have something for you."said Bee Bee..

Sofia went in her pocketbook....

His eyes got as wide as saucers....He immediately knew what was up...He couldn't afford to be subpeonaed...Not now...Not now that he was so close to leaving..He pushed both girls away and leaped up and ran for all he was worth...

"WE GOT A RUNNER!" yelled Sofia, who took her heels off and went into hot pursuit after him..As patrons gasped...

So did Bee Bee..She took her heels off and ran after him too!...

He got to the street corner and was about to turn, when Kahlil and I 

both put blocks on him, which knocked  him off his feet and knocked the wind out of him..

As he lie in the street , wheezing and trying to catch his breath....Ms. Jade walked up to him..

She put the subpeona in his hands...

"Ouuu that looked like it hurt...See you in court counselor.." she said..

A young Black girl came running down the street with both pairs of shoes that Sofia and Bee Bee left behind..

"You girls left your shoes in there...These shoes are too fly to leave behind...Are these Minolo Blaniks? " she asked..

"Thank you baby, Yes they are!" said Bee Bee..."I wish you could have brought me fresh pantyhose..I ripped this pair I have on chasing this jamolk."said Bee Bee, staring at the run in both legs of her pantyhose.

"Me too! Beverly and Josie told me that the same thing happened to them when they tried to serve a subpeona once..They said they hate it.."said Sofia. 

She only had a run in one leg of her pantyhose. She frowned too!

"That's okay...we're going home." I said.

"Yeah ,let's get out of here." said Kahlil...

"I'll bring the car around ....Stay here.."said Jade.

Attorney Leonard Biggs stumbled back into Curleys... He was livid...

"I'll have all of them fired....Yvette Jones too...She put them up to this...But first...I'm going to fix Patricia Reynolds...." he said. He knew he couldn't prove Yvette had anything to do with this and he knew he couldn't fire us for serving him with a subpeona..He was one week from not even being a part of our law firm and he was just an Associate Attorney like us...Not even a Senior Associate like Ms. Yvette...He couldn't do anything to us at all.

He went in his phone....There was no business number or personal number for her and no home number for the Judge, her husband...No cell phone numbers for him either business or personal..No photographs either..

"This had to be some mistake." he thought..

He went into his other phone..Both phones were empty...No numbers and no photos..

He went to his car and checked his laptops..

They were both empty...blank....

"WHATTTTTTTTTTTT? I HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED!!!" he yelled to the top of his lungs...

At home , his other laptop, His PC and his tablets all were wiped clean of anything relating to Patricia Reynolds..

His Zip Drive was clean too...

And he didn't have a bit of proof who did this or how...

Patricia Reynolds had reached out to somebody ..Somebody very professional and had wiped out the only leverage he had over her...

Yvette and her team were scheduled to appear in court at the preliminary tomorrow...and now he had to appear...What did they know???

He knew he had no proof that Patricia Reynolds or anyone had wiped his devices clean and even if he made that accusation, he'd have to admit that he was blackmailing her, which he couldn't do...

He looked in his mirror... He was sweating heavily...He had a great sense of dread..

(CONCLUSION NEXT)