The Arraignment of our client, Entertainment Attorney James Bomer was this morning.
He had been arrested and charged with the First Degree Murder of budding Black Actor, Carlton Caldwell, with whom he had spent a morning or torrid sex with....That was Wednesday..a week ago..He was finally being arraigned today.. We usually get our clients arraigned and out as fast as possible..Same day or next day...We had a reputation for it..but we were involved in another trial at the time..The controversial Lili Guyton double homicide case in which we got an acquittal...
We stood with our client and waited for the judge to arrive...
Judge Tad Thornton, one of the city's youngest judges, a law school chum of Olivia's who was only a year ahead of her( and once rumored to be romantically involved with her, though both denied that vehemently.,,,) arrived in the courtroom..
Olivia smiled and looked at "Her Girls" All excellent Attorneys and said "Good Job in picking the judge." He was a friend and likely to rule in our favor, she meant."We got lucky...He was up."said Beverly...
"Yes." said Bresha.
"Nice to have a friend in our corner.." said Josie..
"Ummmmph....He could stand in MY CORNER anytime..He's a hunk!" said James Bomer..
"Cool your jets counselor...He's as straight as a board." said Nelson...
"Hummmph, Alley Cat!" whispered Josie derisively...
Bresha giggled...
I smiled at their banter...
"Alvin is too personally involved to be his counsel... He is his lover after all...Counsel needs to be neutral, unemotional and clear headed...He was smart to employ other counsel..." said Jill who remembered he had employed us and Yvette's team before to defend his good friend, States Attorney Tanya Mosely.
With James being her ex-fiance and her boyfriend of four years before that...She'd be too emotional to try him as an Assistant District Attorney, which is why she successfully passed on the case.
James saw ADA Jill Jones from afar ,sitting across the courtroom with Lt. Tragg.. Her and HIm???Noooooooo she had better tastes than that ,he hoped..
Nelson had two fellow attorneys... Josie had a local actress and a rapper and Bresha had an agent and another man who lived in the condo with him and Alvin Davis, who all testified to his good and sterling charactor..
Bresha passed the check to the bailiff she always talked to....he knew she was married now, but he still enjoyed talking to her.. They smiled at each other...
''Stop what? He just likes to talk to me...He knows I'm married." said Bresha innocently..
"That's how it started with goofball here, smiling at me everyday, bringing me coffee and pastries and now look at us, Married...
"Yep and I'm still bringing you coffee and pastries when we are in court." said Nelson..
''And I'm still kissing you." said Beverly.
"But first, I'm sure you're starving.." I said.
''With his many goof ups, I don't know how he's stayed on the force for so long." I said.
"A combonation of corruption and nepotism...His Father and his Uncle and his grandfather were all cops...High ranking cops...Grandfather rose from Detective to deputy Commissioner..His Uncle was a Captain and his dad was a Lieutenant like him." explained Beverly.
''He part of the culture." said Nelson...
"A Bad culture." said Josie.
"Well let's not let him live in our heads rent free, We are going to eat."said Bresha.
James Bomer enjoyed the suns rays and the cool breeze on him... He enjoyed being free for the first time in a week..He never wanted to be locked up again..
"We come all the way down here? To the riverfront to get away from Tragg?" Laughed James Bomer.
"You'll see this was a good move." said Beverly.."Yes, you will, trust us." said Olivia.
''And the food is good too, They have some excellent cooks."said Nelson..
"You'll get to meet my husband....He works here." said Bresha.
''Yeah like Alan XO." said Ray , who did not know Alan XO was gay.
"I remember him, Hard core street rapper." said Dabnis.
"That was the rumor." joked Jazzy, who knew Alan XO was Gay.
''Hola Jimmy."said Jessica with a smile.
"You just can't stay out of trouble can you?" joked Chip.
"Pleased to meet you...My wife told me she was defending you." said Tony.
"Glad you could join us."said Keith Jones.
"They had an arraignment.. You know Lt. Tragg is probably unhinged about the result.."said Bee Bee.
''When is he not unhinged?" said Sofia.
''Well unhinged or not.. He's the reason we are all together and here.."said Kahlil..
"Yeah how about that?" said Jade.
"I remember them, the other part of the dream team Alvin put together to defend Tanya.. They're your neighbors too? And they work in this building?" asked James.
"I figured you would be." said Olivia with a smile.
"I know your husband is.." laughed Beverly...
"Girrrrrrl Food and Me are his two favorite things in life."laughed Beverly...
Bresha and Tony were kissing like two teenagers...
As the food came out and all of us sat down to eat...
"There is a witness who claims he heard arguing and a loud thump and gunshots."said Olivia.
"He must be mistaken about the gunshots...The killer used a silencer." said Beverly..
"We're going back to the crime scene.. I suggest you register yourself into a hotel, using your own name." I said.
"I know why you're suggesting that...but I think I'll feel more comfortable sleeping in my own bed." said James.
"Okay suit yourself, but keep a low profile ...This is a Portal..We will give you daily updates on the status of the trial and our strategy..."said Nelson.
"You know , except for the unmade bed, this place is very immaculate... Not a dirty dish in the sink." observed Olivia..
"These bed sheets and pillow cases match and they are gorgeous..." exclaimed Beverly..
"It's so cold in here...and antiseceptic... No wonder CSI didn't find anything in here but the victims prints and DNA.."said Nelson..
''And of course our client." said Josie.
Bert Parker stood behind him... He recognized us...
Josie passed him a piece of paper.
"This is a court order...Signed by Judge Tad Thornton allowing us to be here and observe the crime scene..." said Olivia.
The house was beautiful...Perhaps a house like this was in Olivia and I's immediate future one day...We had talked about buying a stand alone house one day...And even Beverly had talked to us about purchasing a house of her own eventually...We would always be partners in the firm..but we didn't expect to always live in such close proximity of each other.
I'm Donnie Ray Alexander. Private Investigator....I work for my wife...Attorney ,Olivia Bennet-Alexander...
We were at the house warming party of Attorney Thomas Armstrong...a good friend and former colleguge of Olivia...They had worked together at the same law firm for years...We were outside of Bayside Township,Pennsylvania...a suburb of Philadelphia...We were in a tony mostly white section called Bayside Heights....It was beautiful...
Now he ,just like she had left...Olivia had started her own firm...Thomas had switched to another firm and quickly made partner...It didn't hurt that he had married the senior partner's daughter, Elizabeth, who was also an Attorney...
They both had done well for themselves....and they hosted this gala event and invited all of their friends..
I scanned the mostly African-American crowd...I smiled and mused to myself..."These can't all be just his friends..." I thought smiling...
After meeting and talking to his wife,Elizabeth or Lizzy as she preferred to be called..I understood that these people could very well be hers too...I don't know where she grew up...but I could bet it wasn't the inner city or mean streets of Philadelphia...Yet half of these people were her friends...and if you closed your eyes and talked to her...You would swear you were talking to a black woman...and not a blonde haired blue eyed white woman...
She was cool with me...
I scanned the room...Beverly and Nelson were standing in the corner talking a little bit and stopping every now and then to kiss..
Millionaire playboy, Rollie Rollerson arrived ,uncharactoristically alone...with no date...He was congratulating Attorney Celeste Tate and her fiance and our former client, Soloman Foster on their engagement and upcoming new edition...Celeste was just starting to show...
I had never seen Soloman so happy in the entire short time I'd known him...He finally looked like he was at peace...
Thomas passed my wife a drink and smiled..
"We did alright for ourselves huh Livy?" he said.
"YOU sure did...Married, got this beautiful home...Made partner..."she said and toasted him....
"Look at you Livy, You are more than partner...You're the firm....I've been seeing you on the news from time to time...You've been reppin some very heavy hitters....and makin waves...I mean wow!"said Thomas..
"Ahhhhh, I do alright..." she said laughing...
They both laughed....
"And you got married again too...I'm happy for you....That knucklehead you were married to before used to make my skin crawl..He was so full of himself...What is he doing now anyway?" asked Tommy.
"Leave you? I'm afraid you're stuck with me babes..." I said..
"Good to know.."said Olivia ,who took me by the arm and hugged me...."Cause you're stuck with me too honey."she said.
The party was going on...A good time was being had by everyone.....This wasn't Josies on a Friday night, but it was still a good time being had...There was plenty of good food and drink....and great music being pumped over an iPod dock unit...
I was surprised that anybody heard the doorbell ring....
It was the police!!!
Two policemen to be exact....
One officer was young...about 25...Blonde haired...Blue eyed..He had that rookie look about him....The one with him looked even younger, .had a high and tight marine haircut and carried himself with a bit of arrogant swagger....He reminded me of Officer,Bart Snark...The idiot we had put in jail in Dallas for murder last year and even more of Detective Bobby Grandon...That idiot detective and son of my former Lieutenant in New Orleans who botched up my father's murder trial and came close to sending my dad to jail for a crime he didn't committ,before Olivia,Bev and I and a pretty decent detective named Baptiste intervened and set things right...
Just looking at this guy gave me the image of the very types of cops that turned many of my people against the police force...The very type of cop I tried to not only distance myself from when I was a cop...but who I tried to be exactly the opposite of...
Elizabeth Armstrong came to the door...
"Is there a problem officer?" she asked...
He looked at her funny and then looked at all of the mostly African-American faces and then asked..
"Are you alright mam?" he said.
"UH...ruh..You live here?" he asked..
"Yes...Me and my husband just moved in last week..We were having a house warming party and we invited some of our friends over.."she said..
"Friends? You guys from Philly?" he asked.
"Yes..." she said...
Just then her husband,Thomas Armstrong walked up to the door...
"Is there a problem officer?" he asked..
"Who are you?" he asked..
"I'm the homeowner..."said Thomas...
"YOU? You're her husband?" he asked incredulous...
"Yes...Is there a problem?" asked Thomas...
''So these are your friends?" he asked.
"They are our friends...I went to school with some of them...College....and some of them we both worked with...Some are former clients."said Elizabeth.....
"We both are...My husband and I work for my father's law firm..." she said..
He laughed and shook his head...
"So most of these people here are ex-cons right?" he said laughing...
His partner looked uncomfortable..
"Bert...Come on man...That aint cool....There's no problem here...Come on let's go."he said.
"Shut up....I'm the lead dog here..." said Bert...
"You know I resent what you're implying...Most of these people are professionals...There is Rollie Rollerson,Millionaire entrpreneur over there...Olivia Bennett-Alexander, an attorney, Soloman Foster, an Attorney, Celeste Tate, an attorney...There are no felons here...The majority of these people here are professionals..."said Thomas..
Officer Bert Parker snarled...
"Well La dee dahhhh..." he said as he he scanned the room...
The average person in this room made more than his annual salary easily....
''Well let me in...I want to make sure there is no under age drinking goin on in here..."he said.
"Oh My God, Are you for real?" said Elizabeth.
"Sir there is no underage drinking going on in here...The youngest person in here is about 27 or 28..We are all adults...There are a half dozen attorneys in here...We are quite aware of the law sir."said Thomas..
"Get out of my way and let me in."said Officer Bert Parker....
Samuel blocked him....
"You are going to have to produce a search warrant for that....I didn't invite you into my house...Now there is nothing illegal going on...Just some friends celebrating our new home with us..."said Thomas...
"Some of them might have warrants on them.."snarled Officer Bert Parker...
"Then produce a search warrant, produce probable cause and then you may enter...Other than that...I'm going to have to ask you to leave..."he insisted...
He looked at Elizabeth..
"Now look sugar britches...except for your choice of husband...you otherwise seem like a sensible gal...Explain to your husband that I'm loosing patience and that he'd better let me in."he said.
"Oh My God...You are incredible!!!!!!....What is your badge number?" she said..
He covered it up.....
Olivia, Bev ,Nelson and I were at the door at this point..
"You know good and damn well you can't do that..."I said.
He looked at me...
''Who the hell are you? Another fancy pants lawyer?" he said.
"As a matter of fact....I am not...I'm a P.I. but I used to be a cop...I was a Homicide Detective...I know the drill...You don't have a search warrant, you have no probable cause and you don't even have a complaint...Half of the neighbors are in here at this party...Now there is nobody here younger than 27..There is no drugs or underage drinking going on....You really need to go."I said staring him down...
His partner grabbed his arm...
"Bert...Bert...They aren't causing any trouble...It's just a housewarming party..Leave em alone, come on."he said...
Bert Parker ignored them....
"Ex-cop eh? You don't tell me what to do...P.I. and anyway...I'm not talking to you..."he snarled.
"I know your name is Bert...Bert Parker..Can't be too many more people in this town with that name...I'm going to call the precinct right now and file a complaint.."said Thomas...
"THE HELL YOU ARE !" snarled Officer Bert Parker, who pulled out a taser and zapped Thomas...
"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed as he fell backwards...
I immediately lunged for Bert Parker trying to take the taser out his fat stubby hands...He hit me in the head with a sap and then tasered me also...
"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" I screamed.....and then I began to fall backwards on the grass...
People began screaming....
''Auntay...He's gonna be alright...Auntayyyy...Isn't he going to be alright??.."screamed Beverly who was crying hysterically and helping her aunt to hold my head.....
"Livy....Livy...Get him to a couch...Get him some water..." yelled Celeste...
"Couch my ass!!!...Both Mister fancy pants lawyer over here and ex-cop turned P.I. are both under arrest..for assaulting an officer and obstruction of justice and all you sambo lawyers can eat it.!!!..Aint none of your fancy smancy titles gonna help you in this town...EAT IT BITCHES!"he yelled...
By now the crowd was getting unruly....A hail of bottles and beer cans went flying their way....
"Heyyy..Heyyy...what are you guys doin? Eddie call for back up...We got a situation here."yelled Bert...
"Bert...Bert what have you done? You started this...They didn't do anything to you!!!...Come on let's get out of here before you start a race riot!!"screamed his partner...as a bottle sailed past his head..
"SHUT UPPPPPP! YOUR JOB IS TO BACK YOUR PARTNER!!! NOW IF YOU CAN'T DO THAT..YOU DON'T BELONG ON THIS POLICE FORCE!!!!"all you sambo lawyers can eat it.!!!..Aint none of your fancy smancy titles gonna help you in this town...EAT IT BITCHES! EAT IT!!!"yelled Officer Bert Parker..as his partner pulled him inside the patrol car and they pulled off as a crowd of people gathered in the street and began shouting and throwing bottles at their retreating patrol car..
"Oh My God, Oh My God, Oh My God...My husband!!!!...What have you done?" screamed Elizabeth cradling Thomas's head...
Thomas was unconscious...I was losing consciousness...
"You shoulda married a white man!!!...What is a nice good lookin woman like you doing with this guy? SAMBO SPADE?? HUHHH?? I tried to talk to you in the market the other day and you ignored me...Looked at me like I wasn't good enough!!! NOW...Who isn't good enough NOW??HUHHH???WHO ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH NOWWW??? " yelled Officer Bert Parker..
''Bert..Is this what this is about? Some chick ? Some chick gave you a boner and you're takin it out on her and her friends?" yelled his partner..
"I'm tired of chicks TURNIN ME DOWN...I'M DAMN SICK OF IT! "yelled Bert Parker...as their patrol car pulled off...
I wanted to ring his fat red neck...but I was too weak and I was already losing consciousness....The entire world was spinning...spinning out of control.....
"You're no longer a cop..You can't hide behind your badge or gun or taser or sap...Isn't that your choice of weapon Parker?...Now I can put you through the gotdamn wall." I growled..
"HEYYY WHAT IS THIS?" he asked.
"That means we can call you as a hostile witness...You're a prosecution witness, but you're also our witness too!" said Josie.
Beverly, Josie and Bresha did what they were excellent at, Research of laws, past cases, predicates.
in our law library.
"Hi Ms. Alfreda." said Tony.
"Hi Ms. Alfreda." said Paris.
"Ms Alfreddda...don't you look luscious today" joked her fiance, Rockland Cambridge..
Holding hands, she and Paris walked across the street to their house..
''See You guys tomorrow."said Bresha.
She and Tony , holding hands walked down the street to their home.
Beverly hugged Olivia and kissed me on the cheek..
"Yeah see you guys" said Nelson as they retreated upstairs.
''Good Night Liv." said Alfreda
"Yeah goodnight." said Rockland.
which left Olivia and I kissing passionately in the conference room.
and then for the next EIGHT TO NINE HOURS, we were in bed ,making slow, sweet love..
He called his business phone and his private phone...both phones went to voicemail.
7 comments:
Another good installment Keith.
Loved this title...The ending fits..
Excellent!
Loving this story.
I've been away for awhile.. I've binge read a lot of the stories here and in "Ventures"
Still writing great stories Keith.
Loved this title and this story.
STANDING AND APPLAUDING AND THROWING MY PANTIES TO THE ROOFTOP!
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