DISTRICT COURTROOM B-
ONE WEEK LATER-
She knew all about us and she knew we had defended Judge Percy Reynolds twice for Murder and had gotten him acquitted.. She knew that he really liked us and judging by the low bails he set in our cases, she argued correctly that he couldn't be fair of arbitrary and thus should recuse himself from this case.
He was furious that she had filed this motion , but decided in the interest of fairness he should recuse himself..
Lt. Tragg had had a pretty disastorous week ,last week..with two big raids that led to nothing..His standing amongst his fellow cops reaching an all time low..His informant turning out to be an unlicensced Private Investigator with a shadowy past and worse..He had not gotten a second invitation into ADA April Taylor's bed..
Culminating in a relaxing shower for two the next morning and then that had been it! She had been laser focused on this trial.
He glared at Lt. Tragg..
"YOUUUU!" he said..
Lt. Tragg was a s red as a beet... This was becoming his usual color now of days.
"Look at me, surrounded by all these fine young women." he said.
Kayla was not actually part of the defense team...but she wanted to be here.. Olivia listed her as a
April Taylor was no slouch or pushover..She was surprisingly very prepared.. We had thought we had enough to win in the preliminaries..She had turned out to be very tenacious and had met us at every turn with a compelling argument.. We didn't want to show our full hand, so we allowed this case to become a full blown trial.
Judge Hughes didn't like the postering back and forth and admonished both Prosecution and Defense against it for the duration of the trial.
"He seems like a meany." Kayla whispered to me..
ADA Taylor knew about the business in Alaska..We suspected she'd been fed this information by an angry and vengeful as well as portly Attorney named Joseph Richards anonymously..
"Consultant", the way she used to list Nelson, before he came to work for us..
She manned a laptop for us..
Josie and Bresha rounded out the defense team...
We were past the preliminaries..It was the first day of trial..
She knew what type of juror she wanted, but Nelson and Josie knew what type of juror they wanted too..
They took two days on Voir Dire, fought to a seven- five split, going our way.
"We are going to stick to the facts of law..Don't get cute in here." he said.
I sat at the table with everybody...I watched carefully...
I sat at the table with everybody...I watched carefully...
Her argument was that Robert Bennett finished here in Philadelphia , what he failed to finish in Alaska..The murder of William Lewis AKA Manny Siwell.
She tried to talk about Robert's long history of grifting and his file at Bunco squad..
Olivia and Beverly argued to supress all of Robbie's past wrongdoings and they stated cases,predicates and laws..
Bresha brilliantly cross examined the Bunco and Vice Detectives who knew him in the past and got them to admit that Robert Bennett was harmless and likable and not at all violent.
Nelson asked for proof, such as a police report of the attempted murder in Anchorage, Alaska., knowing there was none..Manny Siwell has survived his gunshot wound and gotten himself taken care of by an unlicensed doctor, supplied to him by Attorney Joseph Richards , who never reported the crime. Anchorage Police knew nothing about it.. We had learned that much from the late Tassie Phillips in our interview of her. Score one for the Defense.
He gave three different times he witnessed this event and Olivia produced a witness who saw him, who put him five blocks away at the time.
Beverly brought up the fact that he had perjured himself in five different cases..All of which he admitted to.
Nelson showed that he had been recently arrested for "pandering" and that he agreed to testify if the charges were dropped..
His credibility was completely destroyed..Score two for the defense.
Lt. Tragg looked like he'd swallowed a canary....
ADA Taylor said that Uncle Robbie's motive for murder was because he was being blackmailed to the tune of 200K..She also accused defense of suppressing that evidence...
Olivia and Beverly asked the prosecution to provide evidence that they had such evidence in their presence.. They knew she could not..They knew she was bluffing.
"You had a meeting with Tassie Phillips the day before she died and it's believed she either gave you or told you where the location of that money, 100K was." she said.
"I agree ,Where is your proof of anything said to or told to them by Ms. Tassie Phillips , who is not here to testify? Where are you getting this from?" asked Judge Hughes ,who was highly exasperated with the Prosecution.
''We've got to find a way to bring that in, without admitting we have the other money or that we even saw it." said Olivia.
II-
I co-operated fully on the Tassie Phillips murder case with the two homicide detectives involved. They were much better, much smarter and much nicer than Lt. Tragg.
They came to our Office/Duplex..
Alfreda served them coffee...
and we all talked in length , the six of us and them
about the case, the blackmailing by Manny Siwel and Tassie Phillips of Uncle Robbie, the cash paid out and how Lee Lyedecker and Attorney Joseph Richards fit in and took the money from them...We didn't mention that she told us where the rest of the money was or that we had it..
They for their part had pulled a latent fingerprint off of the liquor bottle in her apartment and the bottle of pills that didn't match Tassie Phillips and they got a partial of an automobile speeding away from her apartment in the time frame of the murder...
This , unknown to us at the time was going to help us in our defense of Uncle Robbie and point us to the real murderer, who I already was 90 percent sure of.
Lt. Tragg had called ADA April Taylor several times and she had not answered her phone..
He stopped by her home... She wasn't there, but at least he didn't hear the bed squeaking and moans of pleasure...
Unlike us...April didn't have the luxury of studying for a case at home..She had to use the Law Library downtown..Which is whwere she was..Studying up on her case...She had done pretty well against us, but not well enough...
Lt. Tragg showed up with two coffees.
"Ohhh thank you Lieutenant." she said as she sipped the coffee...
"You did good today kid..You had Olivia and Beverly on their toes."said a cheerful Lt. Tragg..
"For about a week, but they prepare very well....They weren't too surprised by anything and they had an answer for everything..They're good, damn good.. All of them and their little intern is far ahead of most recent law school graduates...She's certainly ahead of where I was at that stage of my career."said April..
They finished their coffee...
April made some notes...and then put her files away...She was tired.
Lt. Tragg had had his hands up her skirt, rubbing between her legs the entire time...His face once again , beet red...with a pleased as punch look on his face.. She hadn't said anything and she hadn't moved his hands this time..
In fact as they walked out into the street..
She gave him a slow, soft kiss..
FORTY MINUTES later at the condo of Assistant District Attorney April Taylor..
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"moaned Lt. Tragg..
"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM"moaned April Taylor..
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU MY GOODNESS...LIEUTENANT!!" she cooed..
"GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZ"he moaned..
Lt. Tragg and ADA April Taylor were standing in her doorway kissing passionately..
"Let me get my keys out of my purse and let's go inside.." she whispered..
"OHHHHHHHHHHH!" was all he could manage to say as they both stumbled inside and closed the door..
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU ....YOU MISSED ME HUH LIEUTENANT?" she asked in between sloopy wet kisses..
"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! YESSSSSSSSSSS" Lt. Tragg moaned as he ran his hands down into her panties ,squeezed her butt and kissed her passionately
in her living room...
"WOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU........OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUWEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"she squealed ...
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH........AWWWWWWWWWW GEEEEEEZ!"he moaned.
as they made love on the living room floor.
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU LIEUTENANT!" she moaned.
"OHHHHHHH VA VA VA VOOOOOOOOOOM!" he yelled..
until finally they wound up in her huge bed...
We had our own law library on the premises to work in..We didn't have to go downtown....Olivia, Beverly , Nelson and I were working well after 5:00..it was almost 9:00 pm..
"Look at the time...Let's call it a day guy...Whew..I'm hungry and it's too late to cook."said Olivia.
"It's never too late to call out for food." said Beverly..
''Yeah,it's just 9:00 pm." said Nelson...
"Yeah, lots of places are still open." I said.
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH LORRRRRRRRRD!!!"he gasped!
"OUUUUUUUUUUU..WOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!! OH MY GOODNESSSS!"she cried out!!
"OHHHHHHHHHHHH..APRIL......YOU ARE DRIVING ME INSANE!!" he moaned..
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU ARTHUR...ARTHUR...OHHHHHH ARTHUR!!" she cooed.
FOR THE NEXT NINE TO TEN HOURS, neither Lt. Tragg or ADA April Taylor cared about anything or anyone else but each other..
ADA Taylor wasn't the only one working late..
Olivia rarely if ever asked us to work later than five thirty... Unlike ADA April Taylor
Josie and Bresha went home and came back with overnight bags..They were staying the night..
"Heyyyyyyyy, we are back.."said Josie.
"And we brought food!" said Paris.
''We drove up to Jakes and got Dogs and Juice for everybody.." said Bresha, smiling.
"They told me you guys were doing an all nighter..So I said, what's better than Jakes...When I was in law school..I used to drive all the way to Philly for Jake's Dogs and drive back." said Tony Billips., Bresha's boyfriend.
They brought Hot Dogs for all of us from Jakes and that Guava Punch we all liked.
"They haven't gone anywhere near the money and there is no chatter on the phone at all." said Lyedecker, newly released from the hospital.
"Maybe they don't have it."said Lyedecker.
.
.This was a welcome treat for all of us..
Sitting across the street from us in a car with tinted windows..was Private Investigator, Lee Lyedecker and Attorney Joseph Richards.
"They know about the phone..Nothing you'll hear on the phone is reliable..The money isn't on the premises and I've checked their Safe Deposit Box in town..It's empty...They must have either given it to Bennett and his wife or somebody else is holding it for safekeeping."said Richards..
"It wasn't brought up as evidence in the trial either.." said Richards..
"They have it.. Tassie Phillips told me she told them the location of the safe deposit box before I killed her." said Richards grimly..."Come on...Let's get out of here before we are seen." he said and they pulled off.
III-
Judge Landon Hughes looked around the courtroom...
"Hopefully everyone is now ready for trial..I don't intend to keep these jurors here any longer than need be." he said.
He glared at ADA April Taylor..and Lt. Tragg..
It seemed as though both of them had incurred his wrath... They didn't seem to notice...They were both gazing at each other like star crossed lovers...
It wasn't that he was that thrilled with us either..
He had prosecuted Robert Bennett a few times when he was a young Assistant District Attorney and had lost each time to a pretty little Public Defender named. 
Olivia Barnes..the married name of the former Olivia Bennett.
Beverly West, Now Mrs. Beverly West-East, the founding partner in her aunt's law firm and her husband, Nelson East, now an Associate Attorney.
He had tried and LOST cases to all three of them when they were Public Defenders..They didn't remember him at all, but he remembered them...and was nearly as frosty to them as he was the prosecution..
He had a soft spot for Josie..and Bresha ., He thought they were cute...
He didn't know Kayla either...He just knew she was an attorney, acting as a consultant for us...Working the laptop. He thought she was one fine woman and he was going to make sure to slip her his number when this was all over.
ADA April Taylor was far better prepared than before..
The next few days were brilliant battles of laws, cases, predicates from both sides..
Having Kayla there to take notes and write down questions using the laptop was an extra bonus..Plus her being an attorney too helped...She gave us suggestions from time to time.
April Taylor resorted to some courtroom stunts and theatrics
"Okay guys, the jury is 7 to acquit..3 to convict and 2 undecided.." said Nelson.
''Yeah she was." said Bresha.
"Ladies, Ladies..While I admit she has been good up until this point..We haven't put on our defense yet...We've got five people to convince.." said Olivia.
''For all she did, she didn't put him at the scene of the crime. He has an alibi and we are going to provide it." said Beverly confidently..
I knew who had killed Manny Siwell..I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt..The only person who could have done it.
Assistant District Attorney James "Jumpshot Jim" Taylor was addressing the press.
"No comment guys..We'll talk to you after the trial is over." said Olivia.
"What My Auntay Said." said Beverly..
"How do you feel about your ex-wife facing Olivia and Beverly in court?" asked one reporter..
"She's doing a credible job..Of course you speak of this as if it's competition...It's not and I'm sure Olivia and Beverly would tell you the same..A Man's life is on the line here..This is serious business.." he said.
He actually pulled Olivia and Beverly up to the podium with him to show there was no hard feelings.
"Jim..Any chance of you and your ex-wife working together on a case in the future?" asked another reporter.
"Uhhh , Ahhh I don't know...We'll see " said Jumpshot Jim...
"How do you feel about rumors that your ex-wife and Lt. Tragg are getting pretty cozy? They've been seen together quite a bit during this case ,outside the courtroomm?" asked another reporter.
"Uh I'm certain there is no truth to those kind of rumors....My ex wife has better tastes than that, I mean after all..She WAS with me once." he said and winked..
As Jumpshot Jim walked away and the media people dispersed.. He saw his ex-wife and Lt. Tragg..
Standing by the courthouse exit, enjoying a soft , sweet kiss.
"Ummmmmm, wanna go get some dinner?" he asked.
"I thought you might like to order in...My place.." she said seductively, taking her index finger and running it across his lips..
"VA VA VA VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" he said..
She giggled.
"Those two huh?" I said.
"Imagine that!" said Olivia.. "But that's his type..Blonde, Busty..No wonder he hasn't been slapped, because he has certainly been handsy with her..She removes his hands, but she doesn't get mad."laughed Olivia.
"Jumpshot Jim" was furious...As red as a beet...He just started kicking a trash can until it dented..
IV-
We began our defense with Olivia beginning her opening argument promising that she was not going to keep the jury here much longer.
and promising to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that her client, Robert Bennett was innocent.
Judge Landon Hughes whispered under his breath, "Hallelujah." He clearly didn't want to spend anymore time on this trial than absolutely neccesary..Being in the same room with that jackass Lt. Tragg was more than any man should have to stand, he thought to hmself. Since that unfortunate raid..
Anita Brown hadn't accepted his calls or answered his texts...She had blocked his number..Everytime he looked at Lt. Tragg he felt a murderous rage.
Beverly called police who were at the scene of the discovery and people from the Medical Examiners Office, along with Crime Scene Investigators ,who pinpointed the exact time of the murder..They said when they found the body it was about six in the morning, but the estimated time of death was sometime around midnight.
We anticipated that so we showed credit card receipts of all of the places Manny Siwel aka William Lewis was in his last hours..
He had Hot dogs at Jakes with Tassie Phillips at 9:00 pm..He drove her to her apartment and gassed his car up at 10:00 pm..
They had cell phone records that shows he took a call from Attorney Joseph Richards at 10:45 pm.
Bresha then asked the question..
"Where was Robert Bennett at this time?"
She showed credit card receipts for a car rental place..He rented a car at 6:30 pm.. He gassed his car up at 8:00pm..
"Halfway across the city from where Manny Siwell, Lee Lyedecker and Joseph Richards was." she noted.
At 9:00 pm , he had a meal and drinks at Eddie Lee's Chinese Restaurant..
Eddie Lee testified that Robert Bennett ate a meal at his establishment and then retreated upstairs to the card game, where he played until 2:30 am in the morning..
They brought in some baggage carriers and a clerk from the hotel he stayed at..He checked in at 3:00 pm and was there until the next morning, when he left..
He returned his car and took the train to Atlantic City...
Judge Landon was clearly irritated and exasperated with us..even though we were presenting our argument in a timely fashion, he wanted us to get to the meat of it..
Nelson called Lee Lyedecker...
He asked him about his relationship with Robert Bennett..Wasn't it true that he knew him only in passing..That he was hired by Joseph Richards on orders from Manny Siwell to find Robert Bennett after the business in Alaska? And that the trio trailed him and his wife to Philadelphia with the sole purpose of blackmailing him?
He admitted that that was true..
Then Nelson asked him wasn't it true that his license was in fact suspended six months ago and he had no business doing any investigative work for a fee? He got very uncomfortable.
Nelson defferred.. He smiled and yielded the floor to his wife.
"I don't see what any of that has to do with this case." said Joseph Richards..now frowning...and turning as red as a beet..
"Just Answer the question." said Judge Landon Hughes, who was exasperated with the entire case..
"YES!! It's....................true." he said.
''And wasn't your soul purpose of getting involved with Manny Siwel because you and he saw a cash cow in my uncle, I mean Mr. Bennett and you two sought to capitalize on that...He'd made a fortune with Bitcon and Dodgecon and he had a successful business...You two wanted to be silent partners and when he he refused...You two began blackmailing him...He gave you close to 200 large which you three split evenly between yourselves.. We know this because both of your bank accounts shows a sudden increase by 50K in them.. Then he fell off the grid and somewhere, somehow, you and Manny Siwell had a falling out..a disagreement of some type and sometime that night.. YOU SHOT AND KILLED Manny Siwell." said Olivia. The Jurors gasped!
'"OH THIS IS PERPOSTEROUS..I'M GOING TO SUE YOU FOR SLANDER!" he shouted.
"The police searched your hotel room earlier, with a warrant of course..and they found this..." said Bresha, dropping the gun on the table.
Beverly showed him credit card receipts of his activities that night..
"You and Joseph Richards had a meal with Manny Siwell at 10:55 pm at this restaurant...You left at 11:30 pm.."said Beverly..
"Nahhh I know what you're gettin at..but I left, I left him and Richards in Olde City..... I had drinks with this chick at Stoleys after that and we were there until closin.." he said.
Beverly smiled sweetly..
"I know that....This witness can step down." she said. We did know that... We had Lyedecker's credit card and debit card receipts for the night.. We at first thought he was the killer...but his bar tab and finding the young lady he spent the night with alibied him out.!
Olivia called Attorney Joseph Richards..
He smiled at the jurors....
"You're from out of San-Francisco aren't you? Isn't it true that you've been hauled before the Legal Ethics Board three times and nearly disbarred?" asked Olivia.
"An unregistered .22 caliber.. It's a ballistics match to the Manny Siwel murder...." said Bresha.
The jurors again gasped...
"The Defense rests your honor!" said Olivia.
Assistant District Attorney James "Jumpshot Jim" Taylor sat in court with his arms folded, he was furious.
He had seen and heard enough ! He got up and walked out.
THIRTY MINUTES LATER-
"We have your honor." said the Jury Foreman.
"Bailiff, bring me the verdict." he said.
He looked at the verdict and laughed.
"Figures" he said ...."Okay, read it!" he said.
"THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSLYVANIA VS. ROBERT LOUIS BENNETT. ON THE CHARGE OF MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE , WE THE JURY FIND HIM NOT GUILTY!!"
"OH THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! OUR NIGHTMARE IS OVER!" said Zelda.
"I NEVER HAD NO DOUBT...MY FINE ASS NIECES DON'T PLAY!" said Robert Bennett.
Looking relieved and wuite confident for a man who could have gotten the death penalty or very well spent the rest of his natural life in prison.
"Now Uncle Robert, try to stay out of trouble..Will you?" asked Olivia, hugging him.
"Yes..Please try to stay out of trouble."said Beverly, hugging him also.
"I'm so happy for you Uncle Robbie." said Kayla, kissing him on the cheek.
"I'm happy too and thanks to the rest of you.."said Robbie.
''Yes.. Donnie Ray, Nelson, Josie and Bree, thank you too!" said Zelda.
"You're quite welcome.." I said.
''All in a days work" said Nelson.
"Is that how you see it? More like two weeks work." laughed Josie.
"I'll say, but this win feels extra good." said Bresha..
They handcuffed him, read him his rights and marched him out of the courthouse..
Lee Lyedecker didn't care about any of that..He had his eyes on Bresha...
"Awww man, you jive as hell!" he said as he walked away...
Judge Landon Hughes had his eyes on Kayla.
You're my kind of woman....How bout I take you to dinner?....We can go someplace quiet after a nice dinner...You like seafood baby? We can go someplace quiet after dinner..Have quiet conversation..a bottle of wine and uh work some things out?" whispered Judge Landon Hughes to Kayla.
"Your Honor..I'm married.and plus, Aren't you dating the Mayor's wife?"asked Kayla.
"Three of his nieces are attorneys..it could be expected." he said.
"EXPECTED?? EXPECTED BECAUSE YOU WERE INVOLVED!!! You gave her a weak case.. A witness who perjured himself five times, A suspect staring you right in the face..as usual..and several misteps you failed to see..Thank god those two detectives and Olivia's investigator did their jobs...the damn case might have gone unsolved.. There is no hope for you." snarled an angry Jumpshot Jim..
I had a feeling that that was not what he was really angry about..
"I'LL KNOCK YOU THE HELL OUT!!"said Lt. Tragg..
gathered up her papers and her briefcase and walked away and out of the courthouse as did all of us ,while the two men faced off..
And So it Goes.
EPILOUGE-
Joseph Richards was disbarred and convicted on two counts of First Degree Murder and sentenced to Life without the possibility of parole.
A Nice victory for Assistant District Attorney April Taylor, after losing to us..
We gave Uncle Robbie and Aunt Zelda their briefcase with the money that had been taken from them through Blackmail..and after a joyous reunion...and a delicious dinner at Bottom of the C. restaurant, Dollar Bill's joint.
We all said our goodbyes at Northeast Airport the next morning.
Where we watched them board a plane. We all went to Northeast Airport to see them off on their next adventure..wherever that might be..!!!
.
This time we weren't interrupted by Lt. Tragg.
"Well here's what's on our dockets for this work week...I've got three contract negotiations.." said Olivia.
"No Need for me there...I can practice on my trumpet..for my next gig." I said.
"I've got a will to read and probate." said Beverly..
"I've got two contract negotiations and a will." said Nelson.
"See Bresha, not all of our cases are so exciting.. A lot of what we do is boring, paper work and negotiations handled right here in the office." said Josie.
"True, but when you guys have a case.. You have a case." said Bresha.
"Hey Guys...you have a visitor." said Alfreda.
''Well Hellooooo...How are you?" said Olivia.
"Congratulations are in order...You put Joseph Richards away for life." said Beverly.
"Not at first...but we figured it out eventually." said Nelson.
Olivia laughed so hard, she had to hold on to me...
I admit, I was laughing myself..
Beverly was cracking up!
So was Nelson..
Josie was laughing too!
"Yes we were, how did they like it?" joked Bresha.
********************************************************************************
SOMETIME LATER-
We were all sitting around our conference room table talking..
It was ADA April Taylor.
"Hello Guys!" she said with a smile. There was no hard feelings..She had fought a good fight.
"Yes, I hate to say it , but I couldn't have done it without losing to you guys." laughed April Taylor, proving that she could take a joke, even when it might be on her..
"I came by here to tell you that your old pal, Lee Lyedecker attempted to get his P.I. License back..
I strongly opposed it and he didn't get it..Guess he'll finally leave town and go somewhere else. He was an ex cop...San Francisco P.D., who got kicked off the force..We don't need his kind here...but I gotta ask you guys something..The case is over now, you can tell me..
"You guys knew he had cloned your Uncle's phone all along didn't you?" she asked.
"That last call, when your Uncle said he and his wife were staying at that sleazy motel and that Tassie Phillips was in that Apartment complex in West Philly... That was just you guys auditioning for Lt. Tragg and Lee Lyedecker right?" asked April Taylor.
"Well I'm certain Lyedecker didn't like it, having half his butt cheek shot off and uh Lieutenant Tragg, oh he LOVED it.." she joked.... "Just give him a heads up next time you uh audition for him..." she said, smiling...
We all erupted into loud raucous laughter...
FOR CAITLIN!
