Closed Mouth

 We were in court awaiting the arrival of the Judge..

Federal Public Defender, Ian Hardwick made the introductions-

"Chris, this is 

Olivia Bennett-Alexander, Your lead Attorney...

Her husband, Donnie Ray Alexander, Investigator

her niece, Mrs. Beverly West-East- second chair..

and her husband, Nelson East, Associate Attorney

Josie Boyd, Associate Attorney 

and Bresha Williams, Associate Attorney" said Ian Hardwick.

"It's Wednesday Morning, You guys sure took your sweet time getting me arraigned.. I've been locked up since Saturday." said Chris Tabor tersely...

''We got to you as soon as we could..We do have other cases, other clients you know..It's not like we were sitting around waiting for you to get in trouble." said Olivia.

"Excuses don't cut it with me.."said Chris.

"Chris don't be an asshole." said Ian.

"You know what Chris? Todd hasn't paid us our retainer yet...We can easily turn around and walk out of here and you can find yourself some attorneys who meet your standards."said Olivia, disgusted with his attitude.

"Alright, Alright...Okayyyyyyy I'm sorry....Look uh I'm just irritable about being locked in a cage like an animal.That's all." he said.

I could look at Beverly and see she was already through with him..

So was Nelson.

Josie looked disgusted..

and Bresha looked disappointed..

''Way to go Chris...Pissing off your defense team is not going to keep you from getting a needle..Do you realize how serious this is?" said Ian..

"I know..Again, I'm sorry guys..." he said.

James "Jumpshot Jim" Taylor and April Taylor were the two Assistant District Attorneys assigned to this case..

Lt. Tragg sat on one side of  April...He was pissed as usual...We couldn't tell if it was because we were the defense team or he had to share April with Jump Shot Jim. Probably a little of both!

This trial was going to be different...We had never faced a prosecution team before..Though we had faced both of them individually and bested both of them...Facing them as a team would be different.

Judge Michael King was presiding....He was tough, but fair..Still we would have rather of had someone else..

Olivia, Beverly, Nelson, Josie, Bresha and Ian argued that Chris Tabor, a career prosecutor was not guilty of this heinious crime and considering there was no physical evidence to place him at the scene..all charges should be dropped..

They argued that he had no prior criminal record and that he was not a menace to society at all.

April Taylor argued that due to the nature of the crime, a horrific double murder that Chris Tabor should indeed be held in custody....

Jump shot Jim argued that they had an eyewitness who placed him at the scene of the murder...

Olivia, Beverly and Ian argued that they did not intend to argue the particulars of the case here in an arraignment hearing..

Nelson, Josie and Bresha brought out charactor witnesses to vouch for Chris Tabor's charactor.. They found six... They found out that he wasn't too well liked amongst the majority of the Federal attorneys.

Judge King set bail at $10,000.00 dollars...

Ian wrote a check for $1000.00 dollars and passed it to Bresha

who passed the check to the bailiff, who always made goo goo eyes at her and checked her out from top to bottom..Today was no different...He was looking at her and just smiling.. She giggled.

"Freshie" laughed Beverly, who had peeped the whole thing. Both girls laughed.

"Once again, you overplayed your hand James...I had the Judge in the palm of my hand and then you had to bring up the eye witness...Giving Olivia and Beverly the opening they needed for a counter argument..

You just had to have the last word James.." scoffed April.

"Yeah...She had it all under control Blabbermouth.." said Lt. Tragg.

"You! Butt Out!" he said to Lt. Tragg.. "Now I'm gonna run this team nice and tight..We are gonna be prepared and ready for anything they throw at us.." said Jump shot Jim.

''Whoa Hold up Cowboy, who said you were running anything?" said April.

"Yeah, who said you're running this case?" asked Lt. Tragg..

While they bickered..

"Thanks guys...Whew ,it feels good to be out of that hot cell." said a grateful Chris Tabor.

"Here is my card with my buisness phone and my mobile phone...It was a pleasure working with you guys...If you need me for anything further..Just call me. at either number."said Ian.

"Thank you so much for all your help Ian." said Olivia.

"Thank You Ian" said Beverly.

"Thanks Guy," I said.

"Yeah Thanks Man." said Nelson.

"Thank You Ian." said Josie.

"Thank You Ian....Byyyyeeeee." said Bresha.

"Chris, I know you probably want to get a shower, a shave and some food...Here is our address...Meet us tomorrow morning at 9:00 am." said Olivia.

"NINE??? NINE?" are you kidding me? I'll be at your office, but It'll be a little later than that...I got someplace I gotta be.. See ya later." he said and left.

"You know...Here is a case I wouldn't mind you guys losing...He almost deserves a needle ,whether he did it or not." I said.

"I'm right with you on that Donnie Ray." said Beverly..

"For Sure." said Josie.

"He's going to be a problem..."said Nelson.

|"Yes he is..I feel like giving Todd his retainer back." said Olivia.

II-

THE NEXT DAY-

11:30 am

"He's Late!" I said to Olivia.

"Ya Think?" snarled Olivia..."He was supposed to be here at 9:00 AM..It's 11;30 AM!" She said.

"You think he'll show at all?" asked Beverly.

"If he doesn't...I'm returning Todd's retainer and he'll just have to find other counsel... I don't have to put up with his arrogance." said Olivia, who was red hot angry.

"Guess what? "said Nelson, looking out the window.."He just got out of his car." he said.

"And he looks like he really tied one on last night."said Josie..

"Ohhhhh god, I hate drunks." said Bree.

The doorbell rang...

Alfreda answered the door and was immediately rebuffed by his strong smell of alcohol..

"Looks like you brought the party with you...Smells like it too!" she said.

"Gotdamn...I wish you'd been at that party baby!" he said , smiling at Alfreda and looking her up and down..

"Follow me...They've been expecting you." said Alfreda dryly...

"I'd follow you anywhere baby!" he said, laughing..

He walked into our conference room and looked around..

"Nice set up you got here...better than I expected.." he said.

"You're late." said Beverly..

"And you're as pretty as a picture....just like your auntie.." he said.

"Do you realize the serious trouble you are in? Do you realize what's facing you?  Or you don't think they'll put you to death because you're white and priveledged?? "said Olivia.

"They might want to make an example out of you....You know, to show the system is fair." said Nelson..

I said nothing...I folded my arms and stared balefully at him...

"They've got two very good prosecutors who could send you to death row!" added Josie.

"Nah, you guys have beaten both of them...This year in fact..." said Chis Tabor, sitting down... He smelled like a saloon...

Alfreda poured him some coffee..

She poured us all some coffee too!

"Thank you Alfreda." said Bresha.

Chris looked around the room..

"Olivia, I must say, you keep some gorgeous women in your employ..." he said.

Olivia sighed.. "The police have no physical evidence tying you to the scene of this double murder...No fingerprints, no DNA and no signs of you on any hotel camera, street camera or traffic camera..The only thing they have is the word of an eyewitness, who has not been named...you see his name and address have been didacted on this file, who says he saw you and names you by name ,fleeing the scene of the crime after three shots were heard." she said.

"I've interviewed the entire hotel staff as have the police, along with everyone that was in a room on that floor and no one recalls hearing any gunshots at all...Police claim the murders took place in between 1:30 AM-2:00 AM.  They got an anonymous call at 2:15 AM reporting the murder." I said.

"Good Job, way to get ahead of this thing...Olivia you do know you can demand to know the name of their so called eye witness through Discovery.."said Chris Tabor.

''And you do know that I didn't graduate from law school last week." said Olivia.

Josie and Bresha showed him an appeal already written...

Beverly showed him copies of the Autopsy report and the Police Report as well as witness statements , which he breezed over...He seemed more interested in their cleavage, hips, legs..et al...

''Sorry,I didn't mean to insult you....You guys apparently do know your business.."said Chris , who now had a newfound respect for us..

"For your own good..We are asking you to sign into a hotel room, using your own name..

and to limitt the use of  your personal and business phones....To use this burner phone to contact us....Only talk on this phone about your case.

And communicate with us through this Portal about any updates on your case." said Nelson.

"This Portal is cool..It means no more early morning meetings way out here...No Offense..but this is quite a hike from where I'm staying..Oh and I uh won't need a hotel...I've got a pretty cool place to stay." said Chris Tabor.

"Now...All we need from you is an alibi...Where were you on the night and early morning of the murder and is there anybody else who can verify your whereabouts?" I asked.

"I uh can't tell you that unfortunately..." he said.

"WHAT?" said an already exasperated Olivia..

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!" said Beverly, who was equally exasperated..

"I was with a MARRIED WOMAN!! SHE'S A GOOD FRIEND!! SHE ,SHE ,SHE HAS NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH THIS!!! I AM NOT GOING TO RUIN HER MARRIAGE JUST TO SAVE MY SKIN!!" said Chris..now a little angry himself.

"Oh but sleeping with her behind her husband's back isn't ruining her marriage." said Josie, sarcastically..

''Come on mann"said Nelson.

"No, you guys come on!! You're supposed to be the best defense lawyers money can buy...They have nothing, they can't place me at the scene...Nobody can ,because I was never there....but my married 

"friend" is in no way involved with this and I don't plan to drag her into this.And THAT'S FINAL!!" said Chris Tabor.

''She's your alibi..Her testimony wraps this thing up just like that!" I said.

"FIND ANOTHER WAY!!!" he said angrilly.... "Now good day folks.." he said ,picking up the Portal and the burner phone..."I'll talk with you later." he said.

"Livy girrrrrrrrlllll.. you got a live one there..." said Alfreda.

"I swear...I feel like calling Todd, offering him his retainer back." said Olivia.

Downtown at the law library...

Assistant District Attorney , April Taylor was feverishly going over all of the witness statements, The Police Report and The Autopsy Report...

Her ex-husband, James "Jump Shot Jim" Taylor walked over to where she was...He had two styrofoam tumblers of coffee..He set them down on the table.

She looked up.. "Oh Thank you James...We don't have enough...We are missing a lot.." she said.

"Huh?" he asked.

"These witness statements...The Hotel Staff and the residents in the other rooms on the floor.. Not one of them heard any gunshots...Not one of them saw anything!!!!  The Police report shows that not one fingerprint, no DNA other than the two murder victims was taken from that room....He's not on Hotel Cameras, Street or Business Cameras or Traffic Cameras...Nothing places him at the scene at all.." said April.

"We have an eyewitness that calls him by name and says he saw him fleeing after hearing three gunshots." said Jim..

"He's the only one who heard gunshots...Nobody else did!! I find that odd.." said April..

"It is flimsy...but look who brought the case in.."said Jim..

Lt. Tragg came walking in just then with two styrofoam tumblers of coffee..

One for him and one for April..

"Oh thank you Arthur...but James already brought me coffee.." said April.

"What are you doing here?" snarled Lt. Tragg..

"Trying to make sense of this ultra weak case you've brought in...No physical evidence...Witnesses that aren't reliable and only one eyewitness...Tell me, what was he doing at the scene..He didn't have a room on the floor?" asked Jumpshot Jim, which was a question we planned to ask him..

"Ask him yourself...instead of bothering April.."said Lt. Tragg...

"NO! YOU ASK HIM!! You're the detective here or at least that's the rumor.."said Jumpshot Jim..

"I'LL KNOCK YOU THE HELL OUT!!" said Lt. Tragg..

"OH YEAHHH??" snarled James "Jumpshot Jim" Taylor..

"YEAH!" snarled Lt. Tragg..

While they were verbally squaring off... April packed her things and quietly and calmly left... Got in her car and pulled off...

Leaving those two with two cups of coffee on the table near them....

III-

>

Nightfall...I told Nelson to expect Good sex tonight.. Both Olivia and Beverly were livid at our client Chris Tabor's attitude and behavior as well as the fact that he came late, made us miss lunch and refused to cooperate fully.  We had never had a client like this!  When they both were angry like this..The lovemaking was more passionate..

Olivia was both Horny and angry, I suspect..

''Donnie Ray, get over here and get out of your clothes.." she said..She was standing by the window in the kitchen ,looking out at the moon. She said it non-chalantly...

"With Pleasure." I said ,practically salivating...

I eagerly unhooked her bra , and slid her panties down...

I pulled her to me and dropped my trousers...Hiked her babydoll up and bent her over the sink..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!" she moaned as I entered her.. 

"You've been wanting to do this all day haven't you?" she said.

"Yesssssssss!" I moaned as we went at it hard for about  AN HOUR!

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMPH!" I moaned...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU  I CAN TELL...OUUUUUUUUUUUU!!! The nerve of that pompous ,pompous jerk,Chris Tabor,  coming late and then telling us what he 's not going to do...and giving me a lecture on filing an appeal like he's talking to Bree... " she cooed softly..

"YESSSSSSSSSSSS!" I moaned..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUU I DON'T USUALLY GET MAD LIKE THIS!" said Olivia.  "UMMMMMMM

OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she hollered..

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!" I moaned...but I was glad she was.....

I was near delerium!

"YES.....YES....YESSSSSSS..OHHH YESSSSSS! GIVE IT TO ME!!! YESSSSS , GIVE IT TO ME STRONG!!  UMMMMMM GIVE IT TO ME!" Olivia demanded as we wound up on the living room floor for  TWO HOURS....really going at it...I did my best to oblige her..

I lifted her petite body up and began long stroking her..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU....UMMMMMMM...OHHHHH DONNIE RAYYYY...OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!YOU ARE DOING THE DAMN THINGGGGG!!! OUUUU!" she moaned..gasping for breath... 

We fell on to our huge couch , where we made love feverishly....

Another TWO HOURS passed by..This was the ride of my life...I didn't know if I was coming or going..She was still so soft, so wet, smelled so good...Kissed me soooo softly....

.We had stopped to catch our breath...

"WOW!! You were really horny Donnie Ray!" she laughed..

I didn't answer..

She took me by the hand and led me  into our bedroom where we undressed..

''Let me take care of you!" she said softly

We sat on the side of the bed, kissing, while she moved up and down on me..

"Ummmmmmmmmm you feel so gooood!" she exclaimed in between butter soft kisses..

"OOOOOOHHHHHHH, SO DO YOUU!" I moaned.

and then for the next EIGHT TO NINE  HOURS, we were in bed ,making slow, sweet love..

Downstairs, Nelson and Beverly

were on the couch kissing until they couldn't stand it anymore...

Clothing came off, Boxers, Panties and Bras came off.

 and Nelson lifted her petite body up and long stroked her in the corner...Beverly's loud howls of pleasure resonated outside the window.. She admired Nelson's stamina.. He held her up like that for THREE HOURS!

"OUUUUUUUUUUU!   YESSSSSSSSSS, YESSSSSSSS OUUUUUUUU HUSBAND, DO IT TO ME!!" she yelled.

"OHHHHHHHHHHH!!!   OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU, OHHHHH MY GODDDD!" exclaimed Nelson..

Beverly was soft and wet and smelled good....She kissed him slowly with butter soft kisses...He was close to exploding..

Their soft sweet moans could be heard if you stood close to the window..So could Olivia and I.

Nelson was going to town...He had Beverly on the living room floor..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" cooed Beverly loudly...ANOTHER TWO HOURS passed by,,

Beverly had Nelson hollering too!

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! OUUUUUUUUUUUU...LAWDDDDDD!"

She was riding him! slowly, softly like a surfer rides the waves on their couch...

They never made it to their bedroom , they wound up making slow and sweet love on their living room couch for the next EIGHT TO NINE HOURS....

Beverly was riding him.. and kissing him slowly...

" Baby we may have to get a new couch or get this one fumigated.. We've been doin the complete nasty on this couch a lot.. a whole lot.." she said..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I knowwwww.. ouuuuuuuuuu I knowww.." he said..

She continued to ride him slowly...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!" she yelled to the top of her lungs.

"Come on...let's get in bed." she said as he got up and followed her into the bedroom...

They walked into the bedroom where they finished making love on the bed...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" they both moaned as they finished up on the bed finally...

Somebody unfortunately wasn't getting any loving this night.. Lt. Tragg.

He rang the doorbell and knocked on the door of April Taylor's condo all night long... There was no answer..He dialed her number...No answer...She had turned her phone off...It was on the charger..

She was getting a good night's sleep...She didn't feel like being bothered..

Her ex-husband, Jumpshot Jim called her too! Around 2:00 AM, hoping she was alone and would let him come over.. He got nothing..He knew she wasn't with Lt. Tragg tonight...but she wasn't with him either!  Some night..

IV-

We decided to go to Sam Mother's Diner for lunch today....We knew there was a chance we could run into a Lt. Tragg on a rampage.. especiall since I had piggybacked his investigation...but nobody cared.

Olivia told us to just ignore hm and he'd get tired of just standing and not getting any attention or responses...

Beverly sat in her husband, Nelson's lap, her head leaned against his shoulders...He looked at me and smiled.

Olivia sat on my lap too, her head leaned into my shoulder...I knew that Nelson had had as good a night as I had..

Josie and Bree sat with us..

A cariff of Ice tea and six glasses filled with ice was placed on the table..

Six Bacon ,Lettuce and Tomato sandwiches were placed in front of us.. We hungrilly chowed down...

"I've got to go to the laundromat tonight.."said Beverly

''So do I."said Josie.

"Good...We'll go together. after work."said Beverly...

"Look...if he doesn't wish to supply us with an alibi...That's fine..We'll go with what we have...If we lose...We lose...but that's entirely on him.." said Olivia.

"I filed the motion for discovery....I have the name and address of the so called eye witness..His name is William Sonnett, he's a local area businessman, solid citizen...Not a serial perjurer.." said Nelson...

''I'll get the book on him and question him...he'll probably  stick to his story.. We need to know Tabor's mystery lady...She's the key to his whole case." I said.

''He won't give it to us...and I'm not going to say anything else to him about it."said Olivia.

Lt. Tragg walked in just then...He looked furious as usual.. The spell that April Taylor had had over him seemed to have worn off.

Naturally he saw us and stopped by our table.

"Well Olivia..Still taking on the most controversial cases huh?" he sneered.

"It keeps us in the news...Why I can't tell you how many new clients our high profiles have gotten us."said Olivia with tongue in cheek...She was being sarcastic, but there was some truth to what she was saying...We kept a number of clients on retainer..This paid the bills and kept the lights on ....and we attracted even more clients..We were all making close to six figures annually and enough that we could pay Bresha a nice little salary, more than any of her fellow law school graduates were making as interns ,(if they were making any money at all) and give her a percentage of our case fees.. This was unheard of , but we could afford it..

"Yeah, I know you guys are making money off of this." snarled Lt. Tragg.

''And that's why I decided to become a lawyer....rather than say, a cop!"said Beverly, smiling sweetly...

We all burst into laughter.... I was the only one at the table, who wasn't an Attorney...but my salary as an investigator was triple what I made as a detective on the New Orleans Police department and when you add what I make on the side as a musician to it...It was four times as much...

Lt. Tragg continued to stand there as we continued chowing down and drinking Ice tea..

ADA April Taylor walked in...

"Hi Olivia, Hi Beverly, Donnie Ray, Nelson, Josie, Bree." she said and waved..

She gave Lt Tragg, a sweet kiss.

"Ummmmmm Hiiiii Arthurrrr.." she said seductively..... He forgot why he was so angry and followed her to the counter...

"Sam, I'll have a BLT on Wheat Bread...Toasted and Coffee.." she said.

"Make that two..put it on my tab Sam." said Lt. Tragg, with a pleased as punch look on his face..

"Ugh Ohhhh here comes trouble." said Nelson..

Jumpshot Jim walked in...He wasn't alone..

He had a pretty young woman on his arm..

"Ouuuuu I wish Bee Bee was here...You know what she'd be saying." said Josie..

"The Tea will be spilling.." said Beverly imitating their young friend and colleague..

Bresha laughed along with them...She had heard Bee Bee say this herself.

"Good Afternoon April...April , this is Laura...Laura Vale.. She's a private investigator...She'll be helping us with the case./"said Jumpshot Jim..

April looked at him and then looked at Laura..

"Oh!  well Hello!" she said.

"Pleased to meet you." she said.

"WHAT DO YOU NEED WITH A P.I.?  I'M THE DETECTIVE ON THIS CASE!" said Lt. Tragg.

''Exactly why we need a P.I. You've given us a weak case, you don't intend to recanvas ,so your job here is done.. Go....I don't know, go arrest the wrong suspect in another case." said Jumpshot Jim..

"I'll knock you out...You..You cheap playboy!" snarled Lt. Tragg...

"YEAH?"snarled Jumpshot Jim..

"YEAH!" screamed Lt. Tragg..

While they yelled at each other.. April Taylor finished her sandwich, paid her bill and grabbed her things and quietly walked out, waving to us...

The P.I., Laura Vale didn't order anything.. She too turned and left, leaving the two men screaming at each other..

"YEAH?" screamed Jumpshot Jim..

"YEAH!" retorted Lt. Tragg..

Neither realized that both girls had left.

"You know Jumpshot Jimmy actually has a point and he made a good move , bringing her in..." said Olivia.

"Perhaps...but these witnesses are going to hate being questioned about the same thing, a third time..Glad I'm done with them...I just need to talk to one witness, William Sonnett." I said,

"I just paid the bill guys, we ready to boogie?" asked Nelson..

"Yes, let's go home." said Olivia.

Beverly, Josie and Bresha followed us out...

We all caught the train back home...

(TO BE CONTINUED)