Murder Is On The Menu

 Ms. Yvette and her husband, Gary hurriedly walked down the aisle of the supermarket.......

"Is this everything love?" asked Gary...

"Yes , this is everything." said Ms. Yvette...

"So this is true...Olivia's mother taught you how to cook.?" asked Gary, who seemed bemused.

"Yes....Mrs. Bennett was a doll...

She took me under her wing...Treated me as if I were her own daughter...

She had been teaching Olivia, Beverly and Kayla how to cook since they could stand up to the counter....When she met me...I couldn't boil water...

Here I was a college graduate , first year law student....She took me under her wing and taught me how to cook...She wasn't judgemental at all...In fact she made it fun...

She used to say... "I know you girls are going to be big time lawyers one day, but even big time lawyers got to eat...I know you're all pretty, but there is going to be that lonely weekend when you can't find a cute guy to take you out...THEN WHAT?" she would say....We girls would all groan and laugh....I had a lot of lonely weekends like that...So did Olivia, Beverly and Kayla...

She was a good teacher, very patient...More patient than my own mother...I think Mrs. Bennett liked having the company...Having all of her "girls" around the house.. as she called us." remembered Yvette...

Her son, Jimmy....Olivia's older brother and Beverly's father, used to taste test everything...He always gave everything I cooked an A plus...Part of that was because...Jimmy was a little sweet on me...He was 12 years older than me, but he still liked him some Yvette.

"Can't blame him for having good tastes....So in many ways..Olivia's family was uh kinda like your family huh?" said Gary.,..

"Yeah, Olivia and I met on the first day of law school...Both of our mothers insisted on coming up to "Help us Register" We were both mortified and we both laughed about it later  and we both became close friends and decided to be room-mates both on campus and the next two years when we moved to an apartment off campus...

Olivia was the sister I never had....The sister I wished I'd had..Unlike me, she was not an only child..She had an older brother, a niece and a cousin..who lived with her..I felt like Beverly and Kayla were my baby sisters..I was there for their proms, their graduations from high school, college and law school and for the funerals of both Mr. and Mrs. Bennett ...Then for a few years Olivia and I lost touch with each other..Our careers...OLivia and Beverly went to the Public Defenders office and I started downtown at McCluskeys...When she left and started working at Bach and Roach, we rekindled our friendship..In fact...I was the one who introduced her to Zoey..

When she wanted to get her divorce from her first husband, Elwood...The three of us used to eat lunch together.. Then Olivia left to start her own firm with Beverly and she moved and we didn't see each other as much until ironically enough...I was representing a young lady charging Elwood with paternity of her unborn child and Olivia and Beverly, believe it or not were representing Elwood...After that..we exchanged numbers...I came to visit her in her new digs and we kept in touch ever since.. These houses we live in now were just being built...I had no idea ,I'd be living here, across the street from Liv and her guys.." said Yvette.

"Nice how this all worked out..." said Gary, smiling... He had bought an extra table and constructed it for tonight...They were having a big dinner... Yvette's first time hosting...

They drove home .....

And Yvette began preparing her meal..

Her next door neighbor, Attorney Jessica Sanchez-Burrows, herself an excellent cook came over to help prepare the meal...

"I'm so grateful for you girl.." said Yvette...

"Ohh don't mention it.." said Jessica...who had loved Olivia and Yvette since she had met them and looked up to both of them...They were like her big sisters...She was always willing to help either one.

They fixed a huge Roast Beef...

Which they were serving with roasted potatoes...

and a nice salad.....

the guests arrived..

Which was of course Me, Attorney Keith Jones,

My wife, Beatrice "Bee Bee" Evans Jones

Attorney Sofia Garcia -Ahmed

her husband, Attorney Kahlil Ahmed

Investigator, Jade Lee... We all worked with Ms. Yvette

Her significant other, Lt. Danny Ho of Robbery-Homicide..

and Jessica Sanchez-Burrow's husband, Charles "Chip" Burrows... and additional guests..

Olivia Bennett-Alexander and her staff, Husband and Investigator, Donnie Ray Alexander, Niece and founding partner, Mrs. Beverly West-East and associate attorneys , Nelson East, Josie Boyd and her partner, Paris and Bresha Williams and her partner/fiance, Tony Billips..

"Oh Vettie, everything is lovely and it smells good..My mama would be proud." laughed Olivia..

"Yes it does smell good..." said her husband, Donnie Ray.

who brandished a bottle of wine...

"This is an excellent Port...You do know your wines."said Gary..

"Everything is lovely and delish.."said Beverly...

"Yes indeed" agreed Nelson..

"It's just wonderful Ms. Yvette." said Josie..

"Yes..."agreed Paris..

"This is soooo nice.."said Bresha Williams, newly engaged and now a full fledged employee of Olivia and Beverly's law firm..

Her fiance Tony Billips couldn't be happier for her.. Like her...He loved her friends and loved hanging out with them all..

"I was so worried I wasn't going to be able to pull this off...."said a relieved Ms. Yvette as we all chowed down , enjoying each other and enjoying the food..

Alexa played smooth jazz....

Nightfall came and everyone left....

Ms. Yvette sat on the end of the bed, watching Television as Gary showered...

She was watching renowned Philadelphia Chef, Johnny Oland...

prepare another one of his mouth watering dishes...

Gary came out of the shower and passed Yvette her Herbal Orange Tea that she liked..

"I didn't know that you liked him.." he said.

"I watch him a little bit.... I actually was waiting for HARD BOTTOM to come on.. I just wanted to see what B.L. would be talking about this week and glad that I'm not on it.." laughed Yvette..

Gary rubbed her behind..

"Ummmmm speaking of bottoms, yours is nice and soft...the way I like it.." he whispered in her ear..

Ms. Yvette giggled..

"You're so nasty.." she laughed..

Gary eased her panties down and off.....

Yvette continued to giggle.....

They began kissing passionately.....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH GARRRRRY!" she moaned.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU VETTIE..UMMMMMMMMM!" he moaned.

which led to Gary easing her on the bed and slowly entering her... She knew she was never going to actually see "HARD BOTTOM tonight..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU, OH MY GOODNESSS...OUUUUUU GARRRRY!" she cooed..

"OHHHHHH GIRRRRRRRRRLLLL!" he moaned loudly...

They wound up making love...

"Ouuu, ride me baby....ride meeeeee." he said.

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSS...YESSSSSSSS...OUUUUUUUUUUU YESSSSS!" she cooed.

Making love to the glare of the television set... For the next EIGHT TO NINE HOURS....

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM GARY!! OUUUUUUUUU!!! OUUU WEEEEE!" she cried out..

OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU GIRRRRRRRRRRRL....OUUUUUUU!" he moaned..

HARD BOTTOM WAS LONG OFF BY THE TIME THEY FINISHED MAKING LOVE!

II-

"Wow...She's got a massive head gash..." said one of the CSI men....

"Looks like Blunt force trauma.." said another observer ...

"Lots of loss of blood.." said another..

"I recognize this girl....Ohhhh my God...It's Susan Douglas.. from TV...The Millionaire Heiress, Who is or was engaged to that TV Chef...Johnny Oland..."said Dr. Marcy Templeton..

"That's right....I watch his cooking show sometimes...I remember he said he was engaged and had her on the show..."said Dr. Hazel Baylor..

"Rich Broad like that, engaged to a TV Chef?? I mean he's alright...I like the guy and all, but they're from two different worlds if you know what I mean." said one of the Forensic guys...

"Yeah , we know what you mean....What detective caught this case...I sure hope it's not....." said Hazel..

"Relax...Today was his day off.."said one of the cops on the scene,laughing...He knew how both Hazel and Marcy hated working with Lt. Tragg...

An Unmarked Police car drove up to the alley...

A younger detective got out..He had the same familliar swagger as someone they all knew...He walked upon the crime scene like he owned it..

"I'm Detective Tragg, Jimmy Tragg-Homicide...What have we got here?" he asked..

"Victims name is Susan Douglas, she's 25....cause of death appears to be blunt force trauma as you can see here..."said Hazel..

He took his latex gloves and put them on and observed the body...He looked around..He conferred with the CSI guys,.,

Then he looked at Hazel and Marcy...

"Uh You Girls Got everything you need?" he asked..

Neither Hazel, who was a little older than this punk kid, she thought, Nor Marcy liked being reffered to as "girls", Never the less Hazel answered... "We have everything we need."

"Your name is Tragg huh? Any relation to a Lieutenant Arthur Tragg?" asked Marcy...

"He's my cousin..I'm the son of his Uncle Jack Tragg.." he remarked...

Hazel and Marcy looked at each other and smiled....

"You can release the body now....Get the Autopsy to me as soon as you can." he said and got up..

"Good Night ladies.guys.." he said..

The body was put in a white body bag and strapped to a gurney and moved out of the alley to a Medical Examiner's Van and prepared for it's trip to the morgue...

They all quietly pulled off. Another night..Another murder...

48 HOURS LATER-

Another, seemingly normal day at work....

"Ms. Yvette, you heard about the fiance of that TV Chef you watch, Johnny Oland being murdered a few nights ago didn't you?" asked Sofia..

"Yesssss...I sure did..what a shame... They had only been engaged for two weeks..."said Yvette...

"They arrested Johnny Oland yesterday, I believe...and uh he confessed.." I said.

"Whatttt?? Oh Noooo..I liked him...I always watched his show.." said Ms. Yvette..."Well I watched it when I could.." she added...

'You'll never guess who the arresting detective was." laughed Bee Bee..

"Lt. Tragg." sighed Yvette.

"Close, but no cigar!"laughed Kahlil..

"Detective Jimmy Tragg, his cousin.... The bastard child of his late Uncle Jack Tragg....He made detective last year and just recently moved up to homicide.." said Jade...

''Doesn't the world have enough Tragg's without another one being on the police force.?" asked Ms. Yvette as we all laughed..

III-

Our Founding partner, William McCluskey just happened to walk into our suite..

"Good Morning Yvette, guys..I just happened to hear you guys talking about The TV Chef, Johnny Oland...That's your next case.." he said..

"Our next case sir?" said Ms. Yvette.

"You know how at least twice a year we do a pro bono case for the Public Defenders Office? It makes for good Public Relations...You guys have been bringing us much good publicity and public relations I must say...Well, this is our case.." said Mr. McCluskey.

"He confessed" I said....

''He did didn't he?  After 11 straight hours of non -stop interrogation in the uh "Fishbowl" isn't that what they call it.. Well.. you look..I have it qued up.."said Mr. McCluskey..

We watched the interrogation on the 6o inch Flat Screen...

"Heyyyyy he's got a black eye..." said Kahlil...

"And cotton in his nose, to stop the bleeding.."said Bee Bee.

"That's right...and that's after the ninth hour...Now...I'm cuing it up to the tenth hour..."said Mr. McCluskey..

In the "Fishbowl" , the name given to the interrogation room by the detectives...

Detective Jimmy Tragg leans on Chef Jimmy Oland..

"LAST CHANCE KID....YOU KILLED THAT GIRL...SHE WAS GONNA BREAK UP WITH YOU AND YOU CHASED HER OUTSIDE...DRAGGED HER INTO THAT ALLEY AND SMASHED HER HEAD IN WITH A STEEL BAR.....NOW DIDN'T YOU??" he screamed...

"Look man, you've asked me this a thousand times and a thousand times I've told you...I didn't do it..I didn't kill anybody...I loved Susan...I wouldn't hurt her...Please...PLEASE...can I just have some water...Can I just got to sleep, please...PLEASEEEEEEE!" begged Johnny Oland...

"Johnny...Just confess...Get it off your chest...You'll feel so much better if you just tell the truth...I'm the only person that can help you...You wanna go to sleep don'tcha?

You want a glass of water don'tcha... Just tell me what I need to hear.....Come on...You killed that girl didn't you?" asked Detective Jimmy Tragg.

"Okayyyyyyy...Okayyyyyyyy...Yes...Yesssss...I killed her! Okayyyyy I killed her.." said Johnny Oland.

"Eleven Hours in that hot, small room, being  questioned, not allowed to sleep...No food, no water..damn, I might confess too." I said.

"My point exactly." said Mr. McCluskey..

''Eleven Hours of that plus he was hit too...That's definitely coercion and a nice case for police brutality..This was definitely bogus..

"Most definitely.." said Jade.

"He's worse than Lt. Tragg, if that's possible." said Kahlil.

"Looks possible to me.."said Bee Bee.

''Sure does.."said Bee Bee.

''So what's our move?" I asked.

"You heard what the man said...That's our next case." said Ms. Yvette.

IV-

The next day...We all appeared at Curran Fromhold Correctional Facility...known on the street as "CFC"

When the guard brought Johnny Oland in he was shocked to see so many good looking women..

"What is this? Who are you?" he asked..staring at us..

''We are your lawyers Chef...I'm Beatrice Jones...You can call me Bee Bee." said Bee Bee.

"I'm Sofia Garcia-Ahmed."said Sofia.

"I'm Keith Jones." I said.

"I'm Kahlil Ahmed.."said Kahlil..

"I'm Investigator, Jade Lee.." said Jade..

"I watched your show almost every night I was home...I always wanted to meet you...But never like this..I'm Lead Attorney Yvette Jones, We are from McCluskey/Cozen/Connor and Pratt ." said Yvette.

"Who sent you? I can't afford no lawyers and especially not from hoity toity downtown firm like yours.."said Chef Oland..

"Twice a year, our firm does a case Pro Bono, that means free for the Public Defenders Office,,Today is your lucky day...You've got us.."said Yvette..

Sofia opened a Thermos and spread seven cups out..

Bee Bee and Jade laid out a spread of  Bagels and doughnuts..

His eyes got as large as saucers..

"Ohhhh Wowwww!! You guys are alright." he said.

"Dig In." I said.

''We told you today was your lucky day." said Kahlil.

"You're going to eat and drink..Then we are going to talk about you recanting your confession and changing your plea to not guilty.." said Ms. Yvette.

(TO BE CONTINUED)