A Moment

 SATURDAY NIGHT- BEFORE TRIAL BEGINS...

Aqua Bar was poppin...They had a packed crowd...

Mellissa Lewis ,our client worked her way through the crowd.... She was with her boyfriend,

Chucky....

"HEYYYYYYYY!!!! I TOLD YOU GUYS I'D BE HERE ,MY NEXT NIGHT OFF!!! THIS IS MY MAN...CHUCKY COLES.....CHUCKY THIS IS PART OF MY LEGAL TEAM.....

Beverly....

Her husband, Nelson...

Josie,

Her man, Paris..

and Bree, she just became a lawyer...She workin with them....." said Mellissa.

"Olivia, the head lawyer isn't here...She home with her husband tonight..."explained Mellissa

"I know who all these people is, except for Bree...Who don't know them? They always be on the news after some big case and I've seen em in Josie's , here and Stoleys....How yall doin anyway?..."said Chucky,laughing..

"How are you? Pleased to meet you...We are going to get your girl off.."said Beverly..

"That's for sure..She shouldn't even be up on charges.." said Nelson..

"This Assistant District Attorney is new and she's trying to make a name for herself.." said Josie..

Paris said nothing...he looked on...

Bresha noticed someone...She brought it to Paris's attention..

"Paris,look...It's Lieutenant Tragg!" she said.

Lt. Tragg in civillian clothes was sitting across the bar, guzzling down drinks..

Several of the waitresses had slapped him for running his hands up their already too short skirts..It was obvious he was inebriated..

"Yo Bae...Aint that the cop who busted you?" said Chucky ,pointing at Lt. Tragg...

"Yeah that's him....I didn't know he was such a hipster.." remarked Mellissa sarcastically."

"What the hell is he doing in here?" asked Beverly..

"Drinkin, like we are about to do Honey Bun....It's not like it's the first time we've seen him in here.."said Nelson, always the voice of reason..And a calming influence on Beverly

She smiled at Nelson and leaned over

and gave him a long slow kiss....

"Dammmmmnnnnnn...Do you two need a moment?" asked Mellissa...

Everybody at their table burst into loud laughter, including Beverly and Nelson.

Wings and Beer arrived...

and Tacos and Salsa...

"Ho Hooo..Now that's what I'm talking about.."said a smiling Paris..

''Dig in Bresha." said Josie..

Bresha was loving how welcome they had made her feel this past month and the wealth of knowledge she had gained ,plus the money she was being paid...She would never forget Olivia and Beverly.

With nobody in the house..Olivia and I used the time for some alone time...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…" moaned Olivia... "You're going for a world record..." she cooed...in between our hot smouldering kisses..

That led to crazy lovemaking...

The kids had gone out for food around 6:00 pm and from there they were headed to Aqua Bar.. It was midnight and we had been  going at it for FIVE TO SIX HOURS..and going at it again...This hadn't happened since the first year of our marriage...I lifted her petite body up and entered her....I couldn't believe how soft and wet she was....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu weeee, Ouuu weeeeee...Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu weeeeeee….yes...
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!  OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! YESSSss! " Olivia moaned as I lifted her up and long stroked her...

"OHHHHHHHHHH you're driving me out of mind!" I cried out....As we sat on the living room couch and she moved up and down on me, smothering me with kisses that were driving me to near delirium.

"OUUUUUUUUUUU....OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...OUUUU HOOO HOOOOOOO, OHHHHHH
Donnnie Rayyyyyyyy...OHHHHHHHHHHH..." she cooed..

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" I moaned...

.We wound up on the couch in our living room really going at it …..I was glad the door was locked...

TWO TO THREE HOURS went by pretty quick as far as I was concerned.

I was cummming so hard...my legs nearly went weak,...She was shaking mightily...her head turning from side to side and her legs were shaking....Her head collapsed on my shoulders as I  tried to catch my breath...

She gently took my hands and led me to the shower...

We kissed each other passionately as the soapy warm water ran off of our bodies...

We sat at our kitchen table  not saying a word...Just staring at each other.. We had both cum so hard , we were a little afraid if you can believe that!

 ''Wow!  The kids could be back here at any minute...."said Olivia..

"Yeah , we only have to worry about Bree, everybody else is going downstairs.." I said...

"Oh My Goddd...I can't believe us... We are like newlyweds..." said Olivia.

"Yeah, I uh know..." I said...Exhausted, but feeling great..... "Let's go to our room..." I whispered..

We went to our room and locked the door..

Once in our room with door closed we began kissing again...

"Ummmmm I'm glad tomorrow is Sunday.."sighed Olivia..

"Me too!" I said.

II-

A Drunken Lt. Tragg spotted his favorite lawyers....Well some of them... The main one, Olivia , wasn't there.. He wandered over to where we all were sitting..

"Wellllllllllllllll Olivia's gang is out tonight huh? Where is Olivia?"he asked..

''Someplace you should be...Asleep!" said Mellissa.

"Bae cool out...He's drunk!" whispered Chucky...

"I knowwwww you...You're the barmaid at Josies that served that guy those drinks....Well, between me and you...I think the ADA is off her nut...That aint your fault that crazy ass shot up all those people..but heyy what do I know...I'm just a cop...A cop in love with a crazy woman, who doesn't want to see me!" he said...and stumbled away...

"Goooood Night folks...Give O-Olivia, my love..HAHAHAHAHAHAHa!" he laughed...

"Oh my God!!! He's soused..." said Beverly, laughing.. "Wait until I tell Auntay this.." she laughed..

"You know I thought him and the ADA had something going on?" said Nelson..

''Why? Because she didn't slap him the entire time we were in court...You know how handsy he  gets..Has to feel your legs, run his hands up your skirt..."said Josie..

"WHATTTTTTTTTTT??" said an astonished Bree..

"Oh yesssss..he's been slapped silly by quite a few Female ADA's for doing...Uh, what my husband is doing right now..." she said and laughed at Nelson... 

Nelson had had his hand up Beverly's skirt most of the time they had been sitting there , when he wasn't munching on chicken..rubbing her smooth ,shapely legs..

Beverly leaned over again and gave Nelson

a slow ,sloppy sensuous kiss..

"Yeahhh, we need to get out of here and go home..They making me hot..They definitely need a moment!"said Mellissa, laughing..

"You two are so cute..."laughed Bresha..Talking about Beverly and Nelson.

"I'm glad tomorrow is Sunday....It's 2:00 am, closing time...Let's get up out of here.."said Josie..

"Yeah ,I'll see you guys on Monday." said Mellissa.

"Nice meeting you good people."said Chucky..

''Same here man." said Paris.

Across the street in the parking lot..

Lt. Tragg feverishly dialed ADA Jennifer Thorne's number...

It kept going to voice mail... He had called 29 times and texted her 14 times tonight...All to no avail...No Answer.

III-

MONDAY! 

 The Trial began , Nelson and Josie showed Bree the finer art of Voir Dire, picking a jury....

Because he had been a Psychology minor in college, Nelson had Voir Dire down to a science...He knew how to read people...and he usually did good against ADA's who weren't trained in Jury science and selection.  Josie was coming along just fine as his pupil..

Olivia and Beverly had signed up to take a Trial Science course at Middleton Law School in Bayside sometime this summer..

It was being taught by Dr. Alice Bourdain..A Brilliant Jurist and former Assistant District Attorney, who we had gone up against...She was now once again a law proffessor.  She had taught Voir Dire to Nelson , when he had been in Law School.

ADA Jennifer Thorne , however brilliant an Attorney she was, was out of her depth here...We had already decided on the type of juror we wanted..

I had done work ups on the Jurors in the present Jury Pool...

Nelson knew what he wanted and he got all 12 of the jurors we needed...He rarely got a slam dunk like that.....

"Oh he's really good."said Bresha..

"The Best....Only person I've seen close to him in Voir dire is Yvette Jones and I think he has a slight edge over her."said Josie.

"That's My Babbbbbyyyyyy!" said Beverly..

"Don't know what I'do without either of my guys."laughed Olivia, snuggling up to me..

I smiled and rubbed her arm softly...

The trial began and ADA Jennifer Thorne told the story of what happened on New Years Night..How Barmaid Mellissa Lewis had served Roderick Hampton his eighth "Tall Boy" of Beer, how she saw he was inebriated..Terribly innebriated and advised him to leave.. She followed him home in her car and watched him park and go into the house..Satisfied that he was safe, she pulled off...Only she didn't know he had a gun and didn't know his estranged wife was entertaing a man.. Roderick shot and killed his estranged wife and the boyfriend.

She showed the jury the gruesome crime scene photos.....What she didn't realize is that she was making our argument for us...

THREE DAYS LATER- after boring the jury with pontifications...She made her closing speech.

"I know she didn't commit this atrocious double murder and suicide...but she served this man eight drinks...EIGHT DRINKS....He was well over the legal limit...Perhaps, if he had been sober this wouldn't have happened...We'll never know...Three people are dead!  Somebody has got to pay...somebody!" she said and sat down, with a superior look on her face.

Olivia laughed...

"Somebody has got to pay..Somebody has got pay....That's what the Assistant District Attorney tells you...Roderick Hampton, who murdered his estranged wife and her lover can't pay....He's dead! So she decides that my client,

Mellissa Lewis must pay...Pay for what?  She's a bar maid...It's her job to serve people drinks..It was New Years Eve...she was serving lots of people drinks...Was she supposed to count the drinks of everybody she served?  She saw that Mr. Hampton was drunk and she stopped serving him...As she was required by law to do...She asked him to leave....The Assistant District Attorney  has told you that she followed him home in her car...She did not have to do that.....She watched him park his car and sat there and waited for him to enter his home and then she left...Her responsibility ends right there..She didn't know he had a gun, she didn't know about his domestic situation. It wasn't her business to know!...Ask yourself..Why is she here?" said Olivia..

Beverly and Nelson paraded 19 witnesses...19 friends of both Roderick and his wife, who knew about their domestic strife, who had heard him threaten to kill her if he ever heard about her and another man, even after they legally seperated and he was put out..

Olivia interviewed the Private Investigator, Roderick Hampton had hired to follow his wife and inform him on her comings and goings... He testified that he told Roderick about the other man in his estranged wife's life, eight days before the murder -suicide... And he produced photos of the two he had taken and shown Roderick.

"This man knew about his wife's indiscretions at least eight days before the tragedy and was a walking time bomb who could have exploded at any minute." said Olivia.

ADA Jennifer Thorne argued that this was all hearsay.....

Judge Reynolds allowed their testimony...

Josie and for the first time Bresha showed the 29 restraining orders taken out against him...and 14 since they had been legally seperated...

Olivia interviewed the gun shop owner , who sold him the gun and the range official who opened the range for him on Christmas Day to shoot...One week before the double murder-suicide..

In closing Olivia said..

"None of this has anything to do with our client...Not one thing....On the day he committed this atrocity, He had breakfast at Sam Mother's Diner... Why isn't his waitress here?My client is no more guilty than his waitress at the diner.. Come on....This is ridiculous..Vote the only way you can...Not Guilty!" she said.

The Jury went into their chambers to deliberate..

" I called you a number of times and texted you, you never replied...What's going on?" asked Lt. Tragg.

"Lieutenant....We..We had a very nice time together...A very nice time..but all good times must come to an end...I'm sorry...but I can't do this with you any more.." she said.

''What did I do? What did I say?" asked Lt. Tragg..

"You didn't do anything....It's me.....I- I- I'm MARRIED!!! I have been the entire time we were together.. I left my husband years ago and changed my name...My real name is Norma Jennifer. Gibson...

I married Roy Thorne of Boley ,Oklahoma.. I dropped Norma and became Jennifer Thorne ,I got my law degree, passed the bar and started a new life in Philadelphia, a lifetime away from Boley, Oklahoma, where I'm from..

My husband found me...He asked for a divorce... I went back to Boley to give him a divorce and then a funny thing happened...We fell back in love....We did and he's coming up here to live with me in about a week....

All I could do right now was concentrate on  winning this case....Be Happy for me Lieutenant!" she said..

"You're off your nut." said Lt. Tragg, and he walked away...

''I've never seen a jury so lopsided..We got this.."said Nelson confidentlly.

"I felt so too...but you never know..All it takes is one confused juror and we have to do this all over again."said Olivia.

"Don't Say it Auntay...Don't Say it!"said Beverly...

"Relax Shortcake...even Lt. Tragg agrees with us...Imagine that!" I said.

"Yeah Imagine that!" said Josie, laughing...

"I agree with Nelson, I was looking at the jury the entire time...They looked pretty convinced...They looked at the ADA like she was nuts."said Bresha.

"She is nuts....Her whole argument makes no sense...What does she hope to gain by this? That's what confuses me..

"Two things...She beats us...She does what so many have tried to do and failed..And she takes a loser case and makes it into something and improves her profile.. She picked the wrong case though...This case is going nowhere." I said.

IV-

THIRTY MINUTES LATER-

We thought this was going to be a quick trial and it was...It appeared to be the easiest to defend.

Judge Reynolds addressed the bailiff...

"Has the jury come to a decision?"he asked.

"Yes Your honor, they have." he said. he passed him the verdict and he read it, then passed it back to the bailiff.

ADA Jennifer Thorne had only lost two out of her 32 cases...She had a very smug, superior look on her face..until the verdicts were read.

"IN THE MATTER OF STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA VS. MELLISSA LEWIS..

COUNT ONE INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER- NOT GUILTY!!

COUNT TWO INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER-NOT GUILTY!!

COUNT THREE INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER-NOT GUILTY!!

COUNT FOUR MALICIOUS NEGLIGENCE-NOT GUILTY!!

"Poll the jury! " she demanded.

The Jury was polled..All 12 said "NOT GUILTY!"

"Need a Moment?" asked Lt. Tragg, laughing mockingly....He was through with her!

Both Beverly and Olivia kissed me.. For doing a stellar investigating job!

"We did it! We won this case, easily!"said Beverly.

''Did you have any doubts?" I asked.

'The only thing that makes me mad is that these charges were such a waste of time.They should have never been filed."said Olivia.

''Yes they were, just frivalous."said Josie.

"Like I said...I never saw a decision so lopsided..."said Nelson..

Mellissa and her boyfriend Chucky were kissing passionately in the corner......Celebrating her acquittal...

"I think they need a moment." said Beverly..

We all busted out laughing...

ADA Jennifer Thorne was stunned...

"I-I-I can't believe I-I lost this case....I-I can't believe it!" she said..

Lt. Tragg stood in a corner, laughing....He exited through the side door...He was not going to deal with the press and for once , he wasn't angry about a decision that didn't go the prosecution's way..

"This was a slam dunk case...How did I lose? How Did I Lose?" she asked herself..

Surprisingly, she was the only person, who couldn't see how!

EPILOUGE-

THE NEXT MORNING!

We all had breakfast at Sam Mother's diner..

Hot Platters of Shrimp and Grits

Cheddar Omelettes

Pancakes

Hash Browns

and Breakfast Sausages...

Orange Juice

and hot steaming cups of coffee abounded ..

''I heard D.A. Garcetti read ADA Thorne

 the riot act for bringing up frivilous charges and embarrassing the D.A.'s office..."said Olivia..

"He should have disciplined her from day one when the charges were made, Then she wouldn't have wasted our time and Mellissa's ...Three month's after the fact...Ridiculous!" I said.

"I knowwwwww....And she actually thought she was going to win that case."said Beverly laughing..

"I know, did you see how shocked she looked when she lost?  I would have been shocked if WE HAD LOST THAT CASE "said Nelson.

"Or Deadlocked it..." added Josie...

''So Bree, got any future plans?" asked Paris, who didn't realize she was still going to be our intern for awhile..

''Well, I met a young lawyer in the hallway during our court appearences, We got pretty friendly over the weeks  and he's asked me out for a date tonight...Dinner, and drinks annnnnnnnd we'll see how it goes from there..So I'm uh staying at my place tonight Ms. Olivia, Mr. Donnie Ray and I'll see you guys on Monday." said Bresha,.

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuu,look at you lady!"said Olivia..

"Get it girl!"said Beverly...

"Mmmmmmmmm Hmmmmmmmm!"laughed Josie..

"I know what this means for you and Liv tonight!" whispered Nelson to me..

''Don't you know it!" I laughed.

Thinking about Olivia..

and the night we were going to have!