But Not Today

 

PRELIMINARY HEARING DAY- THE ROUTINE!

Gary Lockwood, Investigator for the D.A.'s Office and husband of Ms. Yvette was working today..He had already taken his shower and put on a fresh fragrance.

He sat in the kitchen sipping his coffee and watched his wife, Yvette Jones-Lockwood, Attorney at law and our supervisor run through her routine...Which was no different today than any other day..

She got out of bed..Made the bed up...

Took a nice hot shower.. with a sweet and fresh smelling body wash, Lotioned down, pout on a heavenly fragrance..

and proceeded to get dressed..

Put on a cute outfit...

Called her coffee order ahead and paid for it by phone..

"My car is back and fully inspected...I just feel like a relaxing train ride today." she said to Gary..

"You really like that train ride don't you?" asked Gary, smiling.

"I do...It's very relaxing...It's not going to stop me from driving...but I do find it relaxing...for the time being." laughed Yvette.

and then she kissed Gary softly for three minutes..before applying her lipstick and hurrying out the door..

''See ya Babes.." she said.

"Yeahhhh, see ya..." said Gary...Who was more than aroused by that soft kiss from Yvette...

SEPTA had just finished the new train station, just one block from where they all lived..The train took them all straight into Center City and beyond where they worked...Today to Yvette's surprise..she saw her other neighbors on the train..Her most unlikely neighbors..

"Olivia?? Donnie Ray?? Beverly?? Nelson?? What are you guys doing on the train?" asked Ms. Yvette,

pleasently surprised.

''Hi Vettie! Kayla,Ray, Jazzie and Dabnis Raved about the train ride, so we decided to check it out..

The station is right there by the courthouse and it drops us off just two and a half blocks from where we live..Why not? Who feels like driving today??It's so nice....And since we are having dinner at home tonight and aren't stopping anywhere..It's perfect." said a smiling Olivia.

''We have a trial date today..and it's early, so we figured..We'd try this trian out." said Donnie Ray..

"No better time than the present." said Beverly..

"Yeah..." added Nelson.

Josie's boyfriend , Paris wasn't going, but he had packed lunches for all of us and passed them to Josie  as they all boarded the train..

''See you tonight babe." said Josie.

Giving him a soft kiss.

Their intern, Bresha Williams was happy to be riding part of the way with her boyfriend Tony Billips, who took this train every morning and then caught the High Speed Line to south Jersey where he worked.. He was tickled pink to have Bresha and her gang riding with him today.

"Join the party guys.." he said as their train pulled off..

We had just missed them because we were all on the second train... We were planning to eat dinner at home tonight and if we were going out, it would be neighborhood bars like Josies or Aqua Bar or Stoleys..We weren't planning to stay in town..

''We keep saying we are going to drive, but I guess we are just hooked on this train ride for now."I laughed.

"It's new..We'll get over it." said Bee Bee.

"I'm sure.. but it's just nice to lay back and leave the driving to someone else."said Sofia.

"You always leave the driving to someone else. Me." said Kahlil and we all laughed..

We were joined by our other neighbors..

"Hola...We are running late...We should have been on that first train."said Jessica Sanchez-Burrows.

"Got a court appearence today." said her husband, Chip..

It seemed like we all did.

"Ditto, same here." said Ray.

''Well I don't." said Kayla.

"I don't either."said Jazzy..

"Me neither.. We just enjoy this ride." said Dabnis.

We all laughed and talked as the train pulled off and headed into center city...

II-

The Hearing began... 

Judge Margaret Robinson was presiding....

James "Jumpshot Jim" Taylor, Assistant District Attorney was presiding... He looked around....Lt. Tragg, who was never late for these things...came running in....

He was late... His hair was still wet...meaning, he had just got out of a shower recently... He was busy fixing his suit..

Jumpshot Jim was furious..

He imagined his ex-wife, April Taylor

and Lt. Tragg , furiously making love in the morning, knowing they had court appearences today..

but making love anyway...

and showering together to make up for the lost time and hurriedly getting dressed and rushing to court..

It made him so furious...he was literally shaking.

It wasn't lost on Bee Bee..

"We've had a couple of near misses like that ourselves.." she said.

"Yeah I know." I said, laughing.. We had decided , no matter what...Not to have sex on the morning of a hearing.. In fact..We didn't have sex in the morning at all except on weekends and days off...

"Looks like someone got in a little early morning action today , eh papi?" laughed Sofia.

"Yeah, remember us , when we first got married?" laughed Kahlil..

They too had made a pact, No early morning sex on work days or trial days....It was always more time consuming than you expected..

Ms. Yvette laughed herself.. In her entire time as an attorney, she had never known Lt. Tragg to be late for these things..

He had not been coming in Sam Mother's Diner lately either, which made it very peaceful for her and her friends.. and when he did come in, he was usually with ADA April Taylor and not at all interested in them.. It was just heaven lately. 

At a preliminary hearing the judge must find that such evidence provides probable cause to believe that the crime was committed, and that the crime was committed by the defendant.

Our client, Mary Flowers, accused of murdering her one time Mentor, Mike Stevens.

 There is a right to counsel at the preliminary hearing. 

 The conduct of the preliminary hearing as well as the specific rules regarding the admissibility of evidence vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Hearsay is typically allowed. If the court decide that there is probable cause, a formal charging instrument (called the information in some jurisdictions) will be issued; and the prosecution will continue. 

If the court should find there is no probable cause, then typically the prosecution will cease. Many jurisdictions, however, allow the prosecution to seek a new preliminary hearing, or even seek a bill of indictment from a grand jury.[

 The key questions that a preliminary hearing normally addresses are: Is there probable cause to believe the alleged crime occurred and did it occur within the court's jurisdiction? Is there probable cause to believe that the defendant committed the crime? If a judge determines that there is sufficient evidence to believe that the defendant committed the crime, it is said that the defendant is "held to answer" or "bound over" (in U.S. jurisdictions).

After four days of arguments..

Judge Robinson ruled that this case should be held over for trial..

"It's Thursday...Trial begins on Tuesday at 10:00 am, be prepared for trial.." said Judge Robinson..

In the hallway, Jumpshot Jim said to Margaret...

"You finally ruled in my favor..It's about time." he said.

" I didn't rule in YOUR FAVOR....I ruled in favor of the law and where the facts of this case was taking me." said Margaret coldly.."I will admit, you were better prepared this time.." she said and walked off..

Jumpshot Jim smirked..

''She wants me...She wants me badly.." he said.

As for Jade... She had taken the record of everyone who had parked in the lot on the night of the murder from 7:30- 12:45 and checked all of the license plates.. against the cars and drivers..

It was painstaking work and it wasn't easy....

She hired a couple of people to help her sift through the license plates and match them to people, then she pain stakingly checked them all out..

An Investigator's work wasn't always easy!

III-

FOUR DAYS LATER-

We all sat in Sam Mother's Diner...We Were all in an upbeat mood..

"I can't believe this is as easy as it is.. We are taking apart Jumpshot Jim's argument like a surgeon."said  Kahlil as five Pancake platters were delivered to our table.

"I can attribute that to several things...One..Lt. Tragg's case is as weak as hell, as usual... and two, Jumpshot Jim is off his game..He's slipping up in ways I know he wouldn't have in earlier trials."said Yvette..

On Voir Dire... He had allowed Kahlil and I to pick 10 out of 12 jurors that we wanted.. We expected a 7-5 split at best...Not a 10-12 split our way....

Bee Bee and Sofia nodded their approval..

So did Jade, who made one of her rare appearences in court during the trial. She was still trying to figure out who might have been in that parking lot that may have killed Mike Stevens.

"Sure he's off his game...The Judge is his ex and she seems like she's mad at him for something and he's sitting next to a man , who is sleeping with his ex-wife...That's got to be gnawing at him..."I said.

"I'm enjoying the whole thing...Tea is really spilling.."laughed Bee Bee.

"And we've got to exploit it to our advantage.." said Sofia.

"Ouuuuuuuu you guys are ruthless."laughed Ms. Yvette.. "How are you doing Jade..?" asked Ms. Yvette.

"I've been working on another angle...and I don't like what I've found so far..but I'll talk to you about it.

Later." said Jade.

At the counter , while we were eating and talking...Lt. Tragg ordered two coffees...

He smiled when April Taylor came in..

''Arthur, I uh have to talk to you.. I enjoy having sex with you more than any man I've ever been with up to now....Really, but you have made me late three times in the last week..The Judge really ripped me a new one this morning...So uh let's uh cool the early morning sex okay? And in fact...why don't you uh stay home a few nights.. I uh need a little break...Whooooooo, you are wearing me out..." she said.

He had a pile of unopened mail at his house and several suits that needed to be taken to the dry cleaners as well as laundry that needed to be washed.. He had been spending more time at her condo than his own..He needed a break too...His energy level was at his lowest and he found hmself falling asleep at his desk at work...A nice long hot bath in his own tub and a nice cigar would be nice tonight...and the prospect of going to bed a little early...

"You know, you got a point doll..." he said and smiled.

"Thanks for being so understanding  Arthur.." she said.

She gave him a kiss , just as her ex-husband ,Jumpshot Jim was coming in..

Jumpshot Jim saw them kissing.. he turned and stormed out!

"You know...If I was in his situation...I'd recuse myself.. Too much personal baggage..The Judge is his ex girlfriend and Lt. Tragg is sleeping with his ex-wife..That's a lot for anybody to have to deal with.." said Ms. Yvette.

Bee Bee and Sofia were enjoying the whole thing..So was Kahlil...but I understood perfectly what Ms. Yvette was saying.. I half way felt sorry for Jumpshot Jim and prayed I'd never be in a situation like that.

IV-

We began our defense... The jury had heard the testimonies of the 22 people both Lt. Tragg and Jade 

had interviewed....Including Waitresses, Waiters, Bartenders, Barmaids...et al.. and they all told the same story..That the two had had dinner that night and that Mike Stevens had gotten a little too handsy, putting his hands on her legs, up her skirt , asking her the color of her panties and just being a nuisance..

They all testified that Mary Flowers excused herself and went to the ladies room and that when she came out, he was waiting for her..They got into a skirmish of some type..in the corridor which resulted in a loud slap being heard and a knee to the groin, Mr. Stevens was seen lying on the floor and Ms. Flowers was seen running out..

It didn't prove she committed murder...

As Bee Bee, Sofia, Kahlil and I drove home last week and this week...

Jumpshot Jim brought up their long history together.. He stated that Mike Stevens had hired her straight out of college as a Para-Legal and kept her employeed throughout law school...Tutoring her on how to study for the bar... He pointed out that Mike Stevens was the reason she had her splashy job with an office of her own at McCluskey/Cozen/Connor & Pratt , Where he added , all of her defense attorneys worked..

Yvette, Sofia and Bee Bee argued that despite all of that..It didn't give him the right to think that she owed him her body...

The women on the jury agreed with them..

Kahlil called the Uber Driver that picked her up that night...The Uber Driver testified that he picked her up at 11:45 pm and got her to her apartment complex at 12:15 AM...She paid him via debit card and used her passcard to enter her building at 12:18 AM and she didn't leave until7:30 AM the next morning to come to work...People at Bottom of the C. say Mike Stevens paid his bill, had one more drink and left Bottom of The C. at 12:20 AM...This was the last time he was seen alive..

But this effectively proved that Mary couldn't have done this..

I showed the jury the Autopsy report , that showed his trousers were soaked with his semen.. proof that he had ejaculated in his trousers while assaulting Ms. Flowers outside the ladies room...

Bee Bee and Sofia showed the court signed affadavits and videos of Mike Stevens female associates from His jobs in Atlanta, Washington D.C. ,and  Bang and Bang here in Philadelphia.. Proving that he had a history of playing fast and loose with his hands and making unwanted sexual advances to women.

Jumpshot Jim argued that whether he was guilty of this or not.. It didn't justify him being murdered..

Yvette called her final witness..

A witness that stunned Jumpshot Jim... Kelly Green..

"Mike Stevens.He liked the ladies...Couldn't keep his hands off of them...Many years ago, before you came to McCluskey/Cozen/Connor and Pratt, I was there...I was right out of college..Swartmore..where I had a B.A. in Pre Law, Administration of Justice, Trial Advocacy..Mike Stevens was a friend of my dad..My dad thought of him as a son...but he was anything but "brotherly towards me.. He was constantly groping me..Trying to pull me into a corner and kiss me..running his hands up my skirt..even as far back as when I was in college..At first, I thought it was funny, but after awhile it became annoying.

Anyway, I started working at McCluskey/Cozen/Connor and Pratt as an Administrative Assistant/Office Manager...I took a course at Community College and got certified as a Para-Legal.. I worked directly for Mr. Cozen, a beautiful man and a partner..

Mike was around..I tried to avoid him...He'd see me and pull me into an empty room, and kiss me, try to hike my dress up, try to pull my panties down..I'd playfully fight him off and run away..I should have reported him, but like I say...He was a friend of my dad..I was always uncomfortable around Mike.

I began Law school and as fate would have it, I became Mike's para-legal..everyday was a struggle to keep my panties on and my bra snapped..He was an octopus...I thought of quitting..I know I could have filed a complaint, but I didn't..

I got assigned to Mr. Pratt, which was great...He was hardly ever in... I worked for him for three years, graduating law school..

Mike offered to help me study for the bar, but I turned him down..He'd just try to grope me some more..

so I went on, studied for the bar and passed and was offered a position there ,since everybody knew me and I'd been like an office fixture for three years..

Mike came by to "Congratulate me"

He had Champaigne... We downed the bottle.. but I didn't feel normal....I felt warm and then I felt dizzy, woozy...

He walked me out and put me in an UBER....but he didn't take me home..

I woke up in his apartment ,clad only in my panties and bra..

He had roofied me. A hospital examination determined that I had enough Rohypnol in me to subdue a horse." she said.

Next thing I know, we are kissing...I'm too weak to resist...

And we are in his bed...kissing, making love..

throughout the night...and the next thing I know..I'm out like a light.. I wake up..It's morning..

he's getting dressed and there's fifty dollars on the bed. He told me to use it to catch a cab home..

I felt used..Like a two dollar whore...

HE RAPED ME!!!  I didn't do anything about it.. I just resigned and went somewhere else to work..

Today I have my own law firm....When I heard about Ms. Flowers and her ordeal, I decided it was time to come forward...I don't think she killed him...but she was stronger than I was..she resisted him, as I should have.

Her testimony was icing on the cake..

Yvette gave her closing argument.. She said we had proven that Mary Flowers couldn't have killed Mike Stevens because she was gone and home and not on the street again until morning.. She wasn't aware he was even dead until she was arrested." Her arrest was clearly a rush to judgement. she was the real victim here as was several other women,"  she said.

Jumpshot Jim implored the jury to forget about Mr. Stevens charactor .."Remember that he was murdered and that we were only here to see that his killer doesn't go free." he said.

But by now it was too late..The jury was sour on Mike Stevens completely, which was what Yvette wanted.

TWO HOURS LATER-

"Has the jury reached a decison?" asked Judge Robinson.

''We have your honor"said The Foreman..

"Bailiff , bring it to me." she said.

The Bailiff brought it to her...She read it and laughed.. "Oh My God!" she said, cracking up..

"Read it!" she said, still laughing..

"THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA VS. MARY ELLEN FLOWERS ON THE CHARGE OF MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE FIND THE DEFENDENT- NOT GUILTY!!"

The jury was polled...It was still the same... NOT GUILTY!

"OH MY GODD, THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!! THANK YOU KELLY!"said Mary..

"Oh You're welcome...Thank you for being strong!" said Kelly Green.

"And thank you all...for everything."said Mary, hugging us all..

''Anytime, Anytime..Welcome to our firm.."said Ms. Yvette.

"You're quite welcome Mary." I said.

"Good Luck Mary...Maybe we'll all do lunch one of these days.."said Bee Bee.

''Yeah that would be nice."said Sofia.

"Good Luck Mary." said Kahlil.

"Good Luck Mary." said Jade..

Judge Robinson congratulated us...

"Excellent Job guys...You were both prepared and you acquitted yourselves well...It was a pleasure having you in my courtroom." she said as she walked out..

Jumpshot Jim was exhausted...He had worked hard on this case under unbelievable stress and had lost the case...

"You look like you could use a drink...Could I buy you one?" asked Kelly Green..

He looked up at her..

"Yeah, sure." he said, smiling.. The case was over and they left, bypassing the press as did we..out the side door.

Lt. Tragg addressed the press..

"It was a long and harrowing case...but it's over.. The will of the uh jury prevails."said Lt. Tragg.

He too was more exhausted than angry or upset at the loss.

"Once again you failed to bring in the right suspect eh Lieutenant?.."said a reporter.

''What was it this time Artie, a Broad or your usual incompetance?" asked another reporter.

This was met by howls of laughter..

"THAT'S IT LOU!! THAT IS IT! KNUCKLE SANDWICH COMING UP!" snarled an angry Lt. Tragg..

Fists began flying, punches began landing and tables fell over as the mellee began...

"Damn...The more things change, the more they remain the same." said Kahlil.

"You aint never lied Kahlil." said Bee Bee.

''How about we get out of here, through the side door?" I said.

"Great idea." said Sofia..

"Come on let's go." said Ms. Yvette

As Jade followed us out the door..laughing..

EPILOUGE-

Mary and Bee Bee never did do lunch..Mary resigned within three months and went to work for

Kelly Green's small practice.

Becoming her second attorney... It was a pay cut, but a chance to grow something.

A WEEK LATER-

We were having breakfast in the office.

"Nice to have a few days off huh?" asked Kahlil.

"Yes indeed..especially after the load of cases we have had.." I said.

as we munched on Bagels ,Cream Cheese, Jelly

Hot Coffee and doughnuts...

"I want to get my hair done and a mani pedi.."said Sofia.

"Me too! wanna go tonight after work?" asked Bee Bee.

It was then that Ms. Jade Dropped a bombshell on us.

"I found out about this for sure, the last day of trial.. Since we had gotten our client off.. I felt no need to bring it up!! I checked the cars that signed out of that garage, the night Mary was accused of killing Mike Stevens and the last car to leave that garage belonged to 

Victoria Craig!!!  I cross checked everybody else.. She left the garage at 12:35 am...Her car was the last car to leave. No more cars entered until around 9:00 AM.  Mike Stevens left the bar at 12;20 am...He was killed in between 12:20 and 12:30 am...and she left at 12:35..  I checked her credit cards..She was in Bottom of the C. that night and she witnessed the entire thing between Mary and Mike Stevens." said Jade.

"You think ..You think she killed Mike Stevens?" asked Yvette.

"Either she did or she witnessed it..He was killed with his own gun... There is no way she could have been there in that lot and either not killed him or at least witnessed it..She didn't call the police..His body wasn't discovered until 2:00 AM. 90 minutes after the fact,"said Jade.

"Well, she's gone..She moved out of town, right after she retired.."I said.

"Closed all of her bank accounts too and moved them somewhere else."said Kahlil.

"Our Job was just to get our client off, which we did..Not to solve the murder.. That's Lt. Tragg's job." said Bee Bee.

''Which means it won't get solved." said Sofia.

''Well, I liked her..She was a good woman and innocent until proven guilty...This isn't proof beyond a shadow of a doubt...At any rate...Her conscience or justice will catch up with her eventually." said Jade.

"Yes..but not today....Not today!" said Ms. Yvette.