Million Dollar Mermaid

 Olivia stood outside on this gloriously warm  Saturday Morning, looking at flowers....

"If you stare at me any harder, I swear  your eyeballs are going to fall out.." she said, smiling at me..

She's a brilliant Defense Attorney...I'm an investigator for her firm and her husband..I'm Donnie Ray Alexander..

I smiled..

"You can't be turned on... This is one of my most unsexy sundresses.." She said, smiling brightly...

"Sorry you think so...I don't happen to agree..." I said..

Her niece, Beverly  and the founding partner of our law firm was walking down the street...

"Hey Auntay...There's an article on you in the paper today.." she said

"Oh really? What have I done now?" asked Olivia sarcastically...

"Oddly enough...It's in the Sports Section.." said Nelson..Beverly's husband and an associate attorney with our firm.

"THE SPORTS SECTION??" said Olivia, now interested..."It must be a mistake." she said.

"No..It's about when you won the State Swimming Championship..."said Beverly..

"Oh My God...That was a lifetime ago...I was 18 years old..and you were what?? Nine or ten Niecey Poo?" laughed Olivia..

"I believe I was nine..." said Beverly smiling...

There were two photos of Olivia, one recently after a court victory and another one taken when she was an 18 year old senior at Girls High in a  Black Bikini...She had modeled this swimsuit for me a few years back..She hadn't changed much since then..She was a hottie then and still a hottie now..I was salivating, but saying nothing..

The article was on former State Swimming champions and what they were doing now.. The article read..

"Perhaps the most famous Pennsylvania State Swimming Champion is renowned Defense Attorney ,Olivia Bennett-Alexander...Then an 18 year old High school Senior at the Philadelphia High School for Girls, who went on to win the State Swimming Championship and a scholarship that paid for her first two years at Temple University...

Today she's married and she's traded swimming laps around the pool  to lapping prosecutors in the courtroom."

"Ohhhhhh this is too funny... Too damn funny...I haven't swam in competition since then..."laughed Olivia.

"You had a shot at the Olympics Liv." said Nelson..

"I lost in the semi-finals...and you'll never guess to who?  We didn't remember each other for a long time..Even after she sold me this duplex..."laughed Olivia..

"Ms. Sepia??" asked Beverly in amazement..

thinking of Private Investigator, Kevin Morris's wife and Realtor supreme...Sepia Morris.

I didn't catch it at first because she was introduced to me as "Sepia Morris."  But one day when we were talking she told me that "Sepia" was a nickname her mother gave her...Not her given name which is Jo-Anne. and that her maiden name before she married Kevin was Cokely...Then it hit me  Jo-Anne Cokely, winner of the New Jersey State Swimming Championship the same year...She was 16..I was 18. We laughed and laughed about her just edging me in the semi-finals after we both beat five other girls .

"I'm guessing she lost too in the next round.." I said.

''Oh she did..to eventual U.S. Champ Velma Davis...who went on to win the Gold for the United States.."said Olivia.\

"Yeah I've heard of her... She uh went on to open up a number of Swimming camps  and had a store that sold swimsuits..." said Nelson..

"If it involves panties or women's swim suits..I knew you'd know about it.." laughed Beverly.

Nelson laughed sheepishly...

"Come on Goofball, let's go inside.."laughed Beverly, taking Nelson, by the hand...

"You know I could go for a cool drink myself.." I said..

"Well come on inside then." said Olivia

as we walked upstairs to our domicile..

No sooner than the door had closed...I took Olivia in my arms..and we began kissing passionately..

"You didn't really come up here for lemonade did you?" she asked me..

"No, I didn't.." I said honestly...

We continued kissing...

"Ouuuuuuu you really are turned on aren't you?" asked Olivia.

"Yes..Very much so.." I said in between more kisses.

''That photo of me in my bikini turned you on didn't it?" she said.

Thinking about when we went swimming a week before and she had that leopard print one piece turned me on also..

"I was turned on before I saw those photos."I said..

"I think my breathing turns you on.." said Olivia..

We both laughed.

We continued kissing, I hiked her sundress up and ran my hands down into her panties..

which I slipped off slowly....

"Ohhhhh myy gooddd Olivia...." I moaned..

'Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm" she moaned softly...

I lifted her up slowly...and entered her..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU..WOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!! MEOWWWWWWWW!!"she cooed.. as I thrusted slowly and then gradually faster...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I moaned loudly...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!" she cooed.

We stood in the living room kissing some more..

Olivia whispered softly-

"Let's take this to the bedroom horny mannnnnnnnn!" and laughed..

I followed her, undressing along the way...

Olivia knew how to destroy me in bed.. We sat on the side of the bed, devouring each others lips..as she eased down on me slower and slower...

"Ummmmmmmmmm!" I moaned...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, meowwwwwwwww!" she cooed...

In the bed, she rode me slowly and softly like a surfer riding the waves...

"OHHHHHHHHHHH MY GODDD!" she squealed..

"UMMMMMMMMMM!" I moaned..

and for the next NINE TO TEN HOURS, we thought about no one and nothing else but each other while in a state of coital bliss..

We had no idea that at least one of the people she named to us and swimming would be the basis of our next case...

II-

SUNDAY MORNING!! 7:30 AM

"Oh wowww, somebody bit the dust in this pool? This is a great pool." said  one of the crime scene investigators..

"This is a nice pool, twenty lanes...wow! Do you swim Harvey?" asked another crime scene investigator.

"Yeah, I was in the Navy for godsakes..but this pool...this pool is for Olympic swimmers...Alright, bring her out..." he said..

The water in the pool was a watery crimson red...It looked like water colors... Two men got into the water and brought the body of a woman in her late thirties, early forties out of the pool..

Forensic specialist brought the body up...Dr. Hazel Baylor looked at her..

"She's in her panties and bra.... It looks like she was changing clothes , getting ready to get dressed...There is  a pair of jeans and a top there, a traveling bag... and a Bikini  over by her office..She looks familliar...Like I've seen her somewhere before.. Television maybe.." Observed Hazel.

"The safe is open... She came back here to get money...but the money is gone.!!!!"said Hazel.

"Maybe this was a robbery gone wrong...Heyyy I  know who she is..That's Velma Davis....The Olympic Gold Medalist..I remember when I was in High School , She went to the Olympics and beat everybody..Won Three Gold Medals and one Silver..She was incredible."said Dr. Marcy Templeton..

"She's got a great body...Va Va Va VOOOOOOM!" said Lt. Tragg..."I admire a woman with just a little bit of traction on her...I remember her too! Hell of a swimmer... I'll bet she was hell beneath the sheets too!" he added.

Hazel and Marcy looked at him derisively and shook their heads..

''Either of you girls swim?" asked Lt. Tragg ,imagining Marcy in a bathing suit..

''I swam in High School.." said Marcy..Suddenly every man there was staring at her, imagining her in a bikini...She was immediately sorry she said she did.

"She was shot with a .40 Caliber in the abdomen...She bled out apparently....Get a diver or two in that pool Harvey, see if you can locate a shell.."said Lt. Tragg..

"I'm on it Lieutenant!" said Harvey...

''She's been in the water a long time and it's cold...I can't determine an accurate time of death...but I'm going to estimate...sometime last night..."said Hazel....

''Alright...Get her out of here..Get me an autopsy report as soon as possible.."said Lt. Tragg who looked at the C.S. I. guys... "I don't suppose you guys have any prints or DNA do ya?" he asked.

"Plenty of prints....No DNA...."said one man...

"Okay...let's get her out of here.."sighed Lt. Tragg.

The put the body in a white body bag and strapped it to the gurney and wheeled it out...

MONDAY MORNING! SAM MOTHER'S DINER!

Beverly, Nelson, Josie and Bree had Pancakes, Sausage and Hash Browns..

Olivia had a regular omelette..

Olivia ordered an Everything Omelette for me.

"Wow! My first case, solo and the jury would take three days to deliberate...You think it's gonna be a hung jury?" asked Bresha..

"You remind me of me when I tried my first case solo...The Jury deliberated for three hours, but it felt like three days." said Josie.

"You did everything right, you were prepared and your closing argument was excellent..I think you got it in the bag... I read the jury Thursday Night and it was 11 to acquit and one undecided..Nobody was for conviction." said Nelson.

"You've got this girl, You did everything right, Everything humanly possible..And if you do get a hung jury..We have an appeal all written  up." said Beverly, hugging her..

"Relax, eat your breakfast...We've got two hours before court time..."said Olivia..

I walked in with the newspaper..

"Hey guess what? The woman you were talking about Saturday, The one who eventually went to the Olympics, Velma Davis!! She was murdered yesterday....well actually Saturday Night..They found her floating face down at her swim club in that Olympic sized pool." I said.

"Oh Noooooooo!" said a shocked Olivia, taking the newspaper from me...

"Who would want to kill her? It says she was shot with a .40 caliber....You wouldn't think she had an enemy in the world!" said Beverly...

"You wouldn't think, but apparently she did." said Nelson...

"Wowww, and I think I got problems huh?" said Bresha.

Josie smiled.

"You knew her didn't you Liv?" she asked.

"Just in passing..We competed against each other in swimming...We weren't friends...but we had met a few times." said Olivia.

"Case like this they probably have Sissy and her C.I.D. detectives on this or Reed and Malloy." I said solemnly...

I didn't know how wrong I was.

III-

We stood in the courtroom with our client, Excuse me, Bresha's client..

Ramone Scott, who owned a Men's Clothing store and was accused of murdering his rival...

Bresha stood next to him...He kept trying to hold her hand and she kept pulling away...He kept trying to feel her legs and her butt and she kept removing them and giving him the serious side eye..

He seemed to have confidence in her..He also had a big crush on Bree that he didn't try to hide...

Neither Olivia, Nor Beverly argued a motion or took part in any cross examination...They simply observed...

Nelson did help with Voir dire, picking the jury...

Josie handled some cross examination...but the lionshare of the research and work on this case was Bree's..

I did a full investigation...The only person on the staff, whose role did not change..

Judge Reynolds asked the Jury Foreman...

"Have you come to a conclusion?"  It had been three days..

"Yes Your honor, we have!" said the Foreman..

The Bailiff received the verdict and passed it to him... He read it and then passed it back..

"YOUR HONOR, THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE MATTER OF RAMON 

SCOTT! COUNT ONE, CONSPIRACY TO COMITT MURDER, WE FIND HIM NOT GUILTY, COUNT TWO , USING AN INSTRUMENT OF CRIME TO COMITT MURDER, WE FIND HIM NOT GUILTY, COUNT THREE FIRST DEGREE MURDER, WE FIND HIM, NOT GUILTY AND COUNT FOUR SECOND DEGREE MURDER, WE FIND HIM, NOT GUILTY!!" said the Baillif.

"I never doubted that you had this in the bag baby!....Hey look, can I have a kiss before my girlfriend gets here?" he asked Bresha.

"WHAT??? NOOOOOOOO! GET OUT OF HERE!" said Bresha,  laughing, and glad to be done with the case..and her client's wandering hands as well!

Her client had had a big crush on her, which became somewhat annoying at times...But she got by it..

''And you were worried..We told you , you had this one in the bag..." said Beverly..hugging her..

"I knew you were alright the minute you gave your closing argument."said Olivia, hugging her and kissing her on the cheek.

"Excellent Job Bree."said Josie, who also hugged her.. It seemed like only yesterday, she was where Bree was now!

''So proud of you Bree." I said.

"Your investigation made it so much easier for me. Donnie Ray...I'm feeling soo good right now.."said Bresha..

"At any rate you are feeling better than he is.." said Nelson ,pointing to the Prosecutor..

ADA Chris Garcetti, the D.A.'s son was furious..He tossed his suit jacket up in the air..He kicked the table several times and he jumped up and down....

Judge Reynolds ignored him and walked out of the courtroom..shaking his head....

"God, this is tough on his ego..Last year, Vettie was jury forewoman in the trial of the kid, 

Wendall Cobb , who beat him in court... The man ,Wendell Cobb had a high school diploma and an Associates Degree from Community College.He had won 100 cases with no losses, but the case that had got him caught and that had made him a newspaper sensation was beating the D.A.'s son..An Assistant District Attorney..Chris Garcetti.. The Case made the man, Wendell Cobb, a newspaper sensation... His trial made National News and made Chris Garcetti the laughingstock of the legal world.. This guy was basically a self taught lawyer, who read law books for fun., and defended his friends in the neighborhood for $25.00." laughed Olivia.

"Yeah , I heard of him..He has since entered that accelerated program at Drexel that Josie was in and graduated with honors.. He passed the bar recently too!" said Beverly...

"Yeah, well you lose to a guy like that, who's not even a lawyer at the time and now you lose to a first time attorney, who just passed the bar a few months ago and just finished her internship...That's gotta be a hurt piece.."said Nelson...

"I remember you two taking down some pretty established heavy hitters when you tried your first cases alone as Public Defenders." said Olivia, looking at her prize pupils, Nelson and Beverly..

"Look who taught us."said Nelson.

"Yeah, look who taught us."said Beverly..

''Awwwww" beamed Olivia,like a proud mother.

"And you guys taught me." said Bresha...

"Me too!" added Josie..

"Let's celebrate with ice cream." I said..

We all went to Food Corner...

where we all celebrated Bresha's victory with Banana Splits....

When a young woman walked to our table..

"Ms. Olivia?  Ms. Olivia Bennett-Alexander???  I thought that was you...You see I've been following you since you guys left court today." she said.

"You have? " asked Olivia ,who stared at her for minutes.... "My goodness, the resemblance is uncanny...Anybody ever tell you that you're a dead ringer for the swimmer, Velma Davis?? The Olympic Gold Medalist from this area?? Of course you're too young to remember what she did?" said Olivia, gasping..

"I stared at her too...Of course...She was a younger version of Velma Davis...but Olivia was correct, the resemblance was uncanny...

''Believe it or not...I've been told that and in fact....It's the reason I'm here...I believe I'm in a little bit of trouble." she said.

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" asked Beverly...

"I don't know if you've heard....but Velma Davis was murdered at one of her pools a night ago...I think they're going to try to blame it on me.." said the woman..

"Why would anyone suspect you?" asked Nelson..

"It's a long story..." she said and passed Olivia an envelope.. It had $500.00 in twenties in it..."I know that's not much , but I want you to represent me...I didn't kill her..but I was at the pool...I discovered the body and I called the police..Then I got the hell out of there...but I didn't kill her, I swear." said the woman..

"I'm going to need you to tell us what happened." said Olivia.

"Okay...I can meet you tomorrow..Early at your office...You guys feel like taking a trip to Rehobeth Beach in Deleware?" she asked..

"SURE!!" said Beverly, smiling at the thought of a road trip...

"YEAH!!" said Josie..

"OUUUUUUUUU!" said Bree...

"Well, I see my staff already agrees with the idea...And I have uh already taken $500.00 dollars from you as a retainer fee....It would be nice if we knew your name at least." said Olivia, smiling at the woman..

Nelson laughed...

So Did I...

"Oh excuse me..I'm sorry...I'm Regina Jordan....I'm a triathlete...but primarily a swimmer.. I understand you did some swimming too Ms. Olivia..You won the State Championship a few years ago.."said Regina.

''Many years ago..Allow me to introduce you to my niece and founding partner of my law firm,

Mrs. Beverly West-East." said Olivia.

"Pleased to make your acquaintence." said Beverly.

"Ohhhhhh I know who you two are." said Regina..  I won the Pennsylvania State Championship myself, though many years after you Ms. Olivia." she added..

''Don't remind me..Let me introduce you to the rest of my staff...

"My husband and Investigator for my firm, Mr. Donnie Ray Alexander.."said Olivia.

"Pleased to meet you." I said..

"My niece , Beverly's husband, Associate Attorney, Nelson East..."said Olivia.

"Hello Regina." said Nelson..

"Associate Attorney, Ms. Josie Boyd."

"Hello Regina." said Josie..

"And last but not least, our newest Associate Attorney, Bresha Williams."said Olivia.

''Hello Regina." said Bree.

"I'll meet you all at 7:30 am tomorrow morning..Sorry to get you up so early..." she said.

"Nonsense...That's the time we normally open our doors." I said, laughing..

Beverly, Josie,Nelson and Olivia gave me the serious side eye.

IV-

It was a tight fit...but we got everybody in our SUV....

I was driving....Olivia and Regina sat up front with me....

Beverly, Nelson, Josie and Bree sat in the back...How Lucky Nelson was, surrounded by beautiful women on all sides...

Our office manager ,Alfreda supplied us with Thermos's filled with hot coffee and hot soup...

We had everything we needed...We said our goodbyes and headed towards Rehoboth Beach in Deleware...

TWO HOURS LATER-

We Arrived in Rehoboth Beach ,Deleware...It was a beautiful day...About 85 degrees...A warm wind was blowing...Regina felt as if she could talk freely here , out of the  net of The Philadelphia Police, who she was certain was closing in on her.

In late summer, the beach was still crowded with vacationers..

The water looked inviting..

We found a nice Grille and we settled there..

We ordered three large pitchers of Ice Tea and seven glasses.

"I brought you all here , because it's comfortable and I can talk freely...In Philly, I was too hot..I felt the long arm of the law breathing down my back..."said Regina.

"Regina, if you're innocent, you can't hide out in Deleware...If they think you've skipped town they'll put out a federal warrant for your arrest and send the FBI out for you.." said Olivia.

''Which puts us in jeopardy because it looks as if we aided you in escaping the law..." I said.

"If you know you haven't done anything...turn yourself in and allow us to arraign you and get you released..You don't have a criminal record so your chances  are very good that we can.."said Beverly...

"Okay...I'll turn myself in...but at least let me tell you my side...Like I said.. I'm a  swimmer..a former champion swimmer.. Velma Davis Rathbone...That's her full name.. She was married, needed me, wanted me..

"Her husband and associate , Captain Jack Sparks located me one day on the beach...

And they just went berserk over me.. I was used to male attention when on the beach in a bikini, but not this kind of attention...

They said it was as if Central Casting had sent me to them...They offered me one million dollars if I would pull off a scam...

In hindsight, I should have said no..but they were talking a million dollars.. They asked me if I'd ever heard of Velma Davis, the Olympic Gold Medalist. I said I had.. They showed me photos of 18 year old Velma and 20 year old Velma.. I must admit..The resemblance was uncanny...They told me that Velma was going to do a publicity stunt...They wanted me to pretend to be her and dive off of a boat and swim 

so many miles in the ocean...I would be picked up by a boat and Velma herself would jump into the water and swim the rest of the way to shore..Nobody would know I had subbed for her ,for half the dive..and they would pay me one million dollars. Easy Money."said  Regina.

''Why?"asked Nelson...

I wanted to know why myself..

"It was for publicity...Her swim clubs and pools were going belly up.. She had started out with 10 and was forced to close 8 over the years...She needed to bring attention to herself and the clubs to generate more customers and more revenue she said.. Mrs. Davis Rathbone is older than she was then...and she's put on a few pounds and not at all in the best of shape...There was no way she could actually swim the distance they wanted me to swim...but if it appeared she still had her form of yesteryear, she could convince people to sign up to her swim club." said Regina.

''So you were kind of their Million Dollar Mermaid." said Josie.

"Exactly" said Regina.

"Ouuuuuuuuu Josieeeee." said Beverly...smiling and shaking her head..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" said Bresha..

Olivia smiled.....

"Easy Money is Never Easy!" she said.

(TO BE CONTINUED)