Million Dollar Mermaid, Part 2

 A Beautiful day at Rehoboth Beach....

Olivia, Beverly , Nelson, Josie , Bresha and I sat with our newest client, A swimmer named Regina Jordan, a dead ringer for the now deceased and murdered former Olympic Star, Velma Davis-Rathbone..

"It's good that we are getting to talk to you now Regina. " said Olivia.

"We usually don't know our client's side of the story until after they've been arrested and we've arraigned them or in a few cases, we meet them in the prison waiting room." said Beverly.

"If you do get arrested, remember..You have the right to remain silent.. Don't say a word, you tell the cops if they have any questions to ask your attorneys...but you say nothing else.."said Nelson.

"They'll be in your face and try to keep you up all night...Don't say a word, just smile and be polite, but don't say a word, because as they'll tell you when arresting you, anything you say can and more than likely will be used against you in court." said Josie.

"The cop who arrests you will say he's your friend..but he's not/..He's working for and with the prosecution." said Bree..

I smiled...I used to be a cop...A Homicide Detective...Everything they were telling Regina, though true was anathema to my whole reason in life...busting murderers...

"Remember Donnie Ray...You're not a cop anymore..You're one of us now...Don't take that personally."said Olivia, rubbing my back..

She gave me a soft ,slow kiss...

I smiled...I felt closer to them than I ever did anyone on the New Orleans Police department..

Regina Smiled..

"They took me to meet Velma's younger sister,  Victoria Davis ,which was like looking in a mirror almost... She was kind of cold towards me...

She put me through a number of tests...Made me dive from the highest boards...had me swimming the length of their 20 lane pools at her clubs in Philly..and back for hours..

She used to swim herself, but was never as good as her sister..She never made it past the semi finals..she seemed both competitive and resentful... Her knowing that I was a former state champion made her stick it to me in training that much harder.

This went on for two weeks..

With Captain Jack Sparks coaching me also. He was nice, friendly...He'd tell Victoria to cool out..

There was another man there..a real handsome young guy...Dr. Tim Brady..

He took my blood pressure and monitored my heart beat....Checked my vitals daily...

After two weeks.. Victoria said..

"Okay...You've passed...You'll do..."

I was relieved...

"Regina, did you sign a contract?" asked Olivia.

"Yes I did and I made copies in Triplicate....One of them has the original..I used a color copier."said Regina,pulling the copies of the contract ,signed by a Notary Public out of her pocketbook.,.

"Great, Did you have an agent?" asked Beverly...

"I do...His name is Peter Marino...

She showed us a photo of him...and passed me his Philadelphia address..

"I wish half of our clients was as together and as organized as you.." I said.

Nelson smiled....

He and Josie looked at the contracts and the photo and information on her agent..

''What's his story?" asked Bresha..

"He didn't like the deal from the beginning...He thought it was fraud, which it was and slightly illegal..

Her husband assured him it was not....But it became apparent in the days leading up to the event..That neither Mr. Rathbone, 

Dr. Brady

or Victoria Davis wanted him around...

They paid him twice his commission and quietly told him to beat it..but he ignored them...He hung around.. incognito...I didn't even know he was there.. Thank God, because he saved my life." said Regina.

Olivia, Beverly, Nelson, Josie, Bresha and I all had her rapt attention now...This story was wayyy more bizzare than anything we had heard before..from anyone else and in a long time..

Pete spoke to an attorney , a Dabnis Coley...

who told him he was being aced out of the deal and that what they were doing was indeed fraud, but very hard to say what they were doing was illegal...

''We know Dabnis Coley, very well..He lives across the street from us." said Olivia.

"His wife and I were in law school together. and she, my husband and my Aunt Olivia all worked at the Public Defenders office many years ago." said Beverly, speaking of Jazzy.

''Dabnis helped me study for the bar." said Josie.

"Oh myyy small world.."laughed Regina..

"Shortly after I last talked to Pete...I went to Mr. Rathbone's office...I was intending to back out..It was only 5:30 pm...Anyone could have walked in there...I came into the outer office..in his office...

Mr. Rathbone and his sister in law were embraced in a very very passionate kiss.....

"Ohhhhh Floyd...Floyd...Not in here." she pleaded..

"I can't wait.,..I've been thinking about you alll day.." he said.

"Floyddddddddd, stoppppppppppppp...we are going to get caught.." she said in between slow smouldering kisses.. 

 "By who? The Doc has already gone for the day and my wife is doing what she usually does, drink herself into a stupor........It's just me and you...."said Floyd in between smouldering kisses... 

 "I shouldn't be back here with you.." she cooed... 

 "Sure you should...Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...."he moaned... 

 He slipped his hand up her skirt...She moved it.. "No..Not in here..NO! " she said.. 

 "Victoria  please....I've been watching you all week, I just can't watch anymore..I need to have you..."said Floyd Rathbone... 

 He slipped his hand up her skirt again, softly caressing her thighs and hips...he tugged on the waistband of her panties...She was getting aroused....

 "Ummmmmmm, you are soooo bad Floyd, but we are not going to do this in here....Stop it now!." she said firmly and gently removed his hands...

 Floyd  smiled.. "Okay, Okay...I'll try and control myself.." he said softly... 

 "Yes..try hard.." she said..

Then she turned and kissed him again...

"You give up too easy." she said..

He slipped her panties down...\and off...

and bent her over his desk....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU FLOYYYYD!" she cooed loudly, slamming both of her hands on the desk...

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU VICTORIA!!!OHHH
MYYYYY GODDDDDDDDDDD!!!!" he howled...

"I got the hell out of there..quick...They never knew I was there." said Regina.

"Oh My God!" said Josie.

"What did you do?" asked Bresha.

"I told Ms. Velma the next day what I'd seen and I told her I didn't want to get mixed up in anything. She told me she had known about her sister and her husband for awhile.. She thanked me and she gave me an envelope with $600.00 in it.. A bonus for informing her." said Regina.

"But you went along with the dive anyway?" I said.

"Yes...and this is where the story really gets twisted." said Regina..

"Oh My God, as if it's not twisted enough.." said Olivia.

''We should have bought some popcorn." said Beverly.

Nelson just laughed...

II-

"The day of the dive came... It was a bright sunny Saturday....

It had really been hyped up..... They took photos of Ms. Velma in the exact same bikini as mine...We were the exact same height...and would have been the same build, but unfortunately... Ms. Velma had put on a little weight since her swimming days...and was grossly out of shape.."said Regina.

"Ms. Olivia...you look the exact same size as when you were swimming...Like you could still fit your bathing suit..You're in great shape.." said Regina..

"You mean for a woman my age..?" said Olivia ,blushing..

"Yes she is.....Did you know she modeled that exact same Bikini for me a little while ago and it fit her perfectly?" I added...

"DONNIE RAYYY!" said Olivia, now blushing and playfully swatting at my arm..

"Noooo, you look good Ms. Olivia, I hope I can keep this shape by the time I'm your age.." said Regina..

"Girrrrrrrllll, it takes work...We go to the gym a lot, Me and Auntay and Josie... THIS here, don't come easy." said Beverly , tapping her behind...

"It may not...but I appreciate every inch of it..." whispered Nelson in his wife's ear....

"Your husbands obviously like it...So it's all good.."laughed Regina..

Josie and Bresha smiled approvingly....

Regina continued with the story...

"The Yacht was beautiful....

You should have seen the inside..

I was on the boat in a brand new Bikini...

Which wasn't lost on Mr. Rathbone..

"Myyyyyyyyy lorrdddd, wouuuuuuuuu you...you really look good in that Bikini." he said.. His eyes and leering making me uncomfortable...

I couldn't help but catch the cold glare of Ms. Velma's younger sister, who reminded him...

"If you want to see these Bikini panties I have on tonight or any other night, you'll avert your eyes off of her and limit your comments.." she said coldly.. She didn't think I heard her.. but I did." said Regina..

Nelson howled with laughter...

Olivia looked at him and smiled and shook her head..

I dove into the big blue ocean and began my swim...I was too far for the reporters to see my face , see that I actually wasn't Velma Davis."said Regina.

''Where was she? She wasn't on the boat with you?"I asked.

"No...She and Dr. Brady and Captain Sparks were on another boat, further out... I was supposed to swim the lion share of the distance and get on the boat and she was supposed to finish the swim...Make it look like she had swam the entire distance.."said Regina.

''What a sham...what a fraud.." said Beverly dismissively...

"I knew her back then..We were all 18 year old High School girls.. I can't believe she had sunken so low as to pull off such a dishonest and shameful act like this..."said Olivia.

"She was desperate..... Her Swimming clubs had closed eight locations...She was hemmoraging money...She figured this would gin up new members, support.."said Nelson..

"Maybe, but this was wayyyy over the top." said Josie.

Regina continued..

I swam a good two and a half hours... I'd trained for this.. I was getting tired...

I was almost at the agreed upon spot, when the boat appeared...

Captain Jack Sparks was on the boat...but neither Velma , nor Dr. Brady was on the boat...

He had a thermos... I swam up to the boat...

"Here kid, drink this.." he said..

It was good hot broth...It had a little bit of an after taste...but it was welcomed after all that swimming..

I swam a half hour more.. My legs were starting to cramp up and I was feeling dizzy...

The Boat came closer to me..

"You Okay kid? You don't look so good.." he said..

"Jack...I'm sick...I'm cramping up..."I said..

He tossed me a life saver...I tried to grab ahold of it...but I was going under...I was losing consciousness..

"I'm comin in kid.." he said...

and he dove in the water and swam toward me...

No sooner than he did..

That beautiful boat exploded..

Making a big splash....The roar of that explosion and the heat woke me up...I grabbed Captain Sparks and pulled him towards me and the life saver..

My agent...Good Old Pete  had been following us in a small boat.

He saved both of our lives, he put us on the boat and drove us back to the shore..

"Neither Velma Davis-Rathbone , nor Dr. Brady were on the boat as planned, were they?" I asked.

"That's right...They weren't!!! And I was no fool... I was set up to be murdered....She never had any intention of paying me...But I had a legal contract and she was going to pay me my money." said Regina.

"What did you do?" asked Nelson..

"I was furious!  The three of us drove to Philadelphia that night... 

I told Pete to take Captain Jack Sparks to the hospital...To check for a possible concussion.. He asked me what I was going to do..

I told him I was going to my apartment, chill out.." said Regina.

"But you didn't did you?" asked Beverly...

"No, I showered and changed... I knew where Velma would be.. Holed up in her office at her Swim Club...I had figured out what she had planned to do.. It would look like she had perished at sea...in an explosion...Her business had a one million dollar life insurance policy on her..She or somebody would cash it in... but first, she'd hit her safe for" traveling money.." I planned to head her off before she could flee..I didn't care about her plan...I just wanted my money... Only..when I got to the club..she was already dead!!! 

Her body was floating in the pool, face up and the water around her was crimson red..it looked like she'd been shot

 and the safe was open, all the money, gone..  I got the hell out of there then....I saw your photos in the paper...

You all had just won a big murder case... I knew I had to find you, hire you to defend me.. They say you guys are the best money can buy..." said Regina.

Which Brings us to today!!

III-

''Wowww that is some story....Well You've done the right thing so far.. You've stayed out of sight....and you've got legal counsel...when we get back to Philly, We want you to check yourself into a hotel under your name...and sit tight..we are going to give you a phone and a portal in which to communicate with us." said Olivia.

"I've got a lot of people to interview....Starting with Rathbone, her sister, Valarie , Dr. Timothy Brady and even Captain Jack Sparks...They all seemed to be part of this plot, this scam and it seemed to break down at some point..At some point it all went sideways.." I said.

"It was meant to go sideways..Regina was a pawn...A not quite so innocent pawn, since you kind of knew this was a scam...Still if you didn't kill her, the question remains..WHO DID?" said Beverly..

"I was angry....but I just wanted my money that's all...I didn't care what she was trying to do.." said Regina..

"That wouldn't make you a sympathetic defendent...but we'll work on that." said Nelson.

"Actually...She's not even a defendent yet...She hasn't been arrested or charged...This is just a pre-emptive move on her part..just in case ." said Josie.

"Actually , a pretty smart move.."said Bresha..

"Since we are here...We might as well order some food.."said Olivia.

"Excellent Idea Liv." Nelson  chimed in...

His wife, Beverly smiled..

"I knew he'd like that idea.."she said.

Some of us had Ribs, Fries and Beers

While the rest had Beach Burgers and Fries...

We were even treated to a live band...While we enjoyed our food...

Since we were here, we might as well make it a day...

Back in Philadelphia.. Things were not so rosy for Alfreda..

We had left early in the morning and were in Rehoboth Beach, Deleware... Alfreda and her boyfriend, Rockland Cambridge, the Assistant District Attorney were alone at our Office /Duplex..

Kissing passionately.....Rockland had just won a case early this morning and was off for the day...So he did as he had a lot of times, He stopped by our place..He was delighted to know that Liv, Bev and I, Nelson ,Josie and Bree were not only out of the office, but out of town...

He opened her slacks and just gazed at her....

"Ummmmmmmmmmmm" he moaned...

"Rockland, what has got into you...I'm still at work..." said Alfreda in between sensuous, sloppy kisses..

He opened her blouse and took her top off...He unbuckled and unzipped his trousers and dropped them..

''ROCKLAND, what do you think you're doing?  I'm at work!" said a startled Alfreda..

'' Well let's go down  in that sub-basement..SO I CAN GO TO WORK!!!!" he said..

"You are the horniest man alive!!!" said Alfreda.. She took her index finger and tickled his lip..

She kissed him slowly...

"Okayyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" she said softly...

Then the doorbell rang..It was followed by bamming..

"OHHHHHHHHHHH WHO THE HELL IS IT?" screamed an angry Rockland.,.

Alfreda put her blouse back on and straightened her hair as best she could..

"Pull your trousers up, fix your clothes." she said.. She fixed her lipstick and her make up...

"ALRIGHT!!! ALRIGHT...I'M COMING...KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON!" she bellowed

The incessant ringing of the bell and the bang on the door could only mean one person...

She looked out the window...She saw an unmarked Police car and two police cruisers, parked facing each other...

It was Lieutenent Tragg..

"Is this a bad time?" he asked sarcastically..

"It's always a bad time when you come around, what do you want? Liv and Bev and the gang are not here." she said..

"Oh and where might they be?" he asked..

"I think they're at the beach." said Alfreda sarcastically, though she was actually telling him the truth...

"Ohhhh, they're at the beach huh?   Righttttt!!!! I have a warrant for the arrest of Regina Jordan for First Degree Murder Charges.." he said, not believing Alfreda at all..

"That's supposed to mean something to me?" asked Alfreda, shrugging.

"It's a controversial case.. She's accused of killing former Olympic Swimming great, Velma Davis-Rathbone Saturday night....I figured she might be a client of theirs since they love to jump on controversial cases.."said Lt. Tragg..

"As do you..... They aren't here like I said..and I don't know any Regina Jordan." said Alfreda.   

"You don't know Regina Jordan??  You don't know Regina Jordan???Okayyyyyyyy..suit yourself... I'll be back tomorrow..." said Lt. Tragg..

"I'm calling out sick...Thanks for the heads up." said Alfreda as she slammed the door in his face...

Alfreda took Rockland's smartphone and called Olivia.

We were just finishing up our lunch...

"Hmmm, Rockland is calling me...I hope nothing's wrong with Alfreda.." said Olivia..

"Hello Rockland??" said Olivia.

"No it's me, Alfreda..... Barney Fife was just by here looking for you guys...He has a warrant for Regina on First Degree  Murder charges.." said Alfreda..

"Oh wow...I was kind of hoping he wasn't involved with this case..Okay...well thanks for the heads up Freda." said Olivia.

"Is Mommy alright?" asked Beverly..

"That was your mom...Lt. Tragg stopped by the office with a murder warrant for you Regina.." said Olivia..

''We are going to put you on a Bus back to Philadelphia.. Turn yourself in and then use your one call to call us.. "said Olivia, passing her our card.

"I'll drive you to the bus station when we leave here and pay your ticket." I said.

''We'll come and get you." said Nelson..

"I'm already looking up Judges to arraign you." said Josie.

"You guys are on top of everything.." laughed Regina..

"That's why they win all the time." said Bresha, proud to be part of the team.

 

 

IV-

THREE HOURS LATER-

We pulled up in front of our Office\ Duplex in Philadelphia.

"Heyy Paris, Tony..You guys are right on time."laughed Olivia..

Paris and Tony had come to pick up their girls, Josie and Bree.

"Hey Liv, Bev, Donnie Ray, Nelson..I wish I had known you were going to the beach...I needed a reason to call out sick.." joked Paris.

"That was my first time at Rehoboth Beach...It's beautiful..."said Josie.

"It is.. My cousins had a time share down there..I've been before." said Tony.

"It was so nice..but we were partially there on business. Uh Ohhhhhhh, We got company!" said Bree..

"Go on home you guys...Everybody....I'll handle this..See you all tomorrow." said Olivia, smiling..

An Unmarked police car drove up , along with two police cruisers facing the opposite direction..

"Ohhh hell and after we'd had such a nice day.." said Beverly.

"He is a bit of a buzz kill.." said Nelson..

Today I was inclined to agree.

Lt. Tragg looked around... 

"Liv.. I heard you guys were at the BEACH TODAY!!" he said Sarcastically...

No one said a word..

"We'll see you guys tomorrow." said Tony taking Bresha by the hand.

"Good Night Guys."said  Bresha as they began to walk away..

''See you guys tomorrow." said Paris, taking Josie by the hand...

"Good Night Liv, Bev, Donnie Ray, Nelson." said Josie.

They walked toward their homes.. Lt. Tragg had no authority to hold them on anything.. He had no idea where we had been or with who..

Beverly took Nelson by the hand and they walked inside.. Her mother ,Alfreda had long gone..

"Lieutenant, we are very tired.. If you don't have anything, Don't waste our time with this.." said Olivia.

He couldn't ask us about our client...He couldn't even prove she was our client and she was nowhere in sight..He had absolutely nothing and he knew it.. What's more..He knew we knew it..

"You Guys are slicker than canned grease!" he said.....

Without saying a word.. The police cruisers took off..

He pulled off in his unmarked police car... Three of the four hub caps came off as the car roared down the street... The car had to stop and one of the uniformed officers had to get out and chase the hub caps down, and get back in the car with them, before the car took off again..This time, the fourth hubcap came off...Another officer had to run and chase that one..

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS CAR?" he bellowed

 as they pulled off again.

Olivia and I cracked up laughing....

AN HOUR LATER-

At the Bus Station, Regina Jordan was met by police , 

who recognized her and were stationed at the Airport and the Train station,looking for her..

"Regina Jordan you are under arrest for the murder of Velma Davis Rathbone...You have the right to remain silent..Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law...You have a right to an attorney...If you can not afford an Attorney, one will be provided for you...do you understand these rights as I have read them to you mam?" asked the officer.

"Yes I do... and I have legal representation... I just need to be allowed to call them." sighed a weary Regina Jordan...

The Press were waiting for her as she was walked inside the courthouse, 

where she would be jailed for the night..

(TO BE CONTINUED)