Straw That Broke The Camels Back

24 HOURS LATER-

Attorney Cindy Lawrence, now a murder suspect sat very dignified....She was tired, she was hungry and thirsty and had been badgered and questioned by Lt. Tragg up until Midnight, when he left...She sat there, drifted off to sleep with her head on the cold table that smelled like cigarettes and fast food..and now was sitting up in a hot ,airless office that smelled like underarm odor, sweat socks and rotting food..She felt like vomiting.

Lt. Tragg walked in..He had had a good night's rest, had showered, shaved... Every hair was in place..he had on a great suit, a mani-pedi...and a nice smelling cologne..

He sat down with a hot cup of coffee...

Cindy badly wanted some coffee, some food too...but was not going to ask him for it..

"Ready to start opening up?" he asked.

"Not for you!  She'll talk only to me..."said Yvette.

"Can we have the room?" asked Jade.

He stood, staring balefully at all three women..

"Can we have the room please?  I said Please." said Ms. Yvette.

He stared balefully for a minute, then walked out and slammed the door..

"How you holdin up girl?" asked Yvette.

"I haven't said anything....but I'm starving and I'm thirsty." said Cindy...

Jade had a Thermos with Hot Coffee and creamers and sugars and a bottle of cold water..

"Oh My God, you two are saints." said Cindy as she Jade and Yvette drank the coffee.

Yvette motioned with her hands for Cindy to remain quiet concerning her case.

"My People are working on your defense as we speak..

"My girls, Bee Bee and Sofia have secured a Judge that will hear you at arraignment today..

"And my guys have 21 charactor witnesses and a Bail Bondsman, just in case..."said Ms. Yvette.

"This torture in here ends.. You're going to a holding cell..Get some rest and we'll see you in two hours.."said Ms. Yvette 

as she and Jade  got up to leave.

Cindy Lawrence guzzled the bottle of water down completely......

"Ahhh thank you Yvette, Jade...I'll see you all in court in two hours." said Cindy...

A Police Officer handcuffed her and escorted her to a cell a few floors up....

Yvette and Jade walked out without saying anything to Lt. Tragg or giving him any eye contact..

He was naturally livid...He had hoped to get a confession before Yvette and Jade arrived here, thus negating their visit..but had failed..Cindy Lawrence was as tough a nut to crack as any hardened suspect he'd had in the fishbowl.. She didn't budge..Made one statement and then did not talk at all.. Being an Attorney, she was hip to the tricks detectives used on lay suspects who didn't know any better and who blabbed long and hard and often said incriminating things or cracked under the pressure of being confined in this room for hours with no food or water or sleep... She didn't budge...and now her attorneys had arrived and he couldn't question her any longer.

Criminy..he thought and stomped his foot in anger..

II-

Bee Bee and I, Sofia ,Kahlil and Ms. Yvette's Husband, Gary sat in the courthouse waiting area...

''Ms. Yvette will be happy with the Judge we got."said Bee Bee.

"He was anxious to do it..Especially when he found out Lt. Tragg was the arresting officer." I said.

"He successfully talked two ADA's into forcing him to recuse himself from the last two trials he was prosecuting.."said  Sofia.

"Yeah because Olivia and Beverly were the attorneys and he had successfully been defended two seperate times on Murder charges by him...

The Judge we had gotten was Judge Percy Reynolds, a favorite of ours and of course a judge who himself had been arrested by Lt. Tragg on two different occassions and charged with First Degree Murder and defended by our good friends, Olivia Bennett-Alexander, her niece, Beverly Wesy, Nelson East, Josie Boyd and Bresha Billips..who got acquittals in both cases.

He was blocked from serving as Judge on their last two cases because Lt. Tragg had made sure both Asssistant District Attorneys were aware of their history with him, and of course they, like any good attorney asked the good Judge to recuse himself.. Even though we knew him...We had tried a couple of cases in his court..we had no such history with him and he wasn't beholden to us in the least bit.,

"Gary thanks for coming down to be a character witness,"said Kahlil.

"I feel as though I have to... I know everybody involved... I served on the police force with the victim and I knew his proclivities...He liked the ladies...A little too much...I feel bad for his poor wife , who I just don't believe did this..I feel as though I have to do something for him...."said Gary.,

"Oh Look, here comes Ms. Yvette now.."said Bee Bee.

"Hi Ms. Yvette!"said Sofia.

"Boss Lady!" I said.

"I trust everything is in place...No one called me, so I know you guys took care of business..Good Job."said Ms. Yvette.

"We've got a few minutes ...Let's go inside and get seated."said Ms. Jade.

The 7 of us all went inside and took our seats.

COURTROOM D- 1:00 pm

Judge Percy Reynolds called the court to order...

"DOCKET 107-Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Cynthia Lawrence, Two counts of First Degree Murder." he said.

Cindy sat stoically next to Ms. Yvette.

"Yvette Jones Lockwood for the Defense your honor..My client pleads not guilty to both charges." she said.  "I'll be assisted by Attorneys Keith Jones, Beatrice Evans-Jones, Sofia Garcia -Ahmed and Kahlil Ahmed your honor." she said.

The Four of us sat at the table with her and Cindy...

As did our investigator, Jade Lee-Ho.

The Assistant District Attorney was someone none of us seemed to know.. Brenda Young..

Lt. Tragg was quite enamored with her.. "VA VA VA VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" he said to himself, looking at her and rubbing her legs softly....

She politely removed his hands from her legs four times before whispering to him...

"There is a time and a place for all of that....This is neither the time or the place, you nasty boyyyyyyy" she said and giggled and removed his hands again...finally slapping his face so hard, he spun and fell out of his chair..

"OOOOOOOOOOUFFF!" he groaned as he hit the floor..

"What's going on over there? You having a problem staying in your seat Lieutenant?" asked the Judge..

Of course you know that I, my wife, Bee Bee, Sofia ,Kahlil and Jade exploded with loud laughter, which we didn't try to hide...

Ms. Yvette shook her head and sighed.

Lt. Tragg, thin skinned as he was , was embarrassed  at being slapped into next week...He gritted his teeth and said to the Judge.. "NO...I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM!" he snarled..

"Good,because if you should fall out of your seat again...I'm putting you out of my courtroom." said The Judge who knew that Lt. Tragg liked to feel ladies legs and inappropriately touch them and run his hands up their skirts..

The mutual hatred and animosity between these two men was quite obvious..and quite evident..

"Assistant District Attorney Brenda Young your honor..On said date, in an office in City Hall, Mrs. Cindy Lawrence , the estranged wife of Mr. Linwood Lawrence, a decorated Detective who served in the Vice Unit, The Narcotics Unit and finally Internal Affairs before becoming an Investigator for our own District Attorney's office did gun down her husband and his mistress, her own sister.. Due to the heinious nature of this crime...I see her as a threat to the city and I respectfully ask that she be held with no bail your honor." she said.

"Nothing could be further from the truth your honor... Right now there is not a shred of forensic or DNA evidence linking my client to this crime and the gun that was used....Her legally registered gun was reported stolen and actually found, NOT IN HER HOME, but in  a dumpster in back of her home in the alley..She is not a flight risk ,is an officer of the court and has no priors..I ask that she be given reasonable bail your honor.."said Yvette. Yvette had read the actual police report.Lt. Tragg had not been there when the gun was found and falsely reported that the gun had been found inside her home. It had not.

With my wife, Bee Bee, Sofia and Kahlil, we paraded 24 charactor witnesses..all Attorneys and Para-Legals from the main office of McCluskey /Cozen/Connor & Pratt, our law firm and a couple of outside attorneys that worked with her...

Ms. Yvette's husband, Gary was our 25th witness.. He testified that he knew the victim, Lenny Lawrence very well, They had been in the Academy together, had been beat cops and had made Detective around the same time... That Lenny Lawrence had made Sgt. and had worked under him in Internal Affairs.. He said he had gotten Lenny a job as an Investigator, for the D.A.'s office and hired his sister in law as a favor to both he and his wife... He knew the defendant, Attorney Cindy Lawrence back when she was Cindy O'Neal a public defender....They were good friends and he did not believe she could be capable of murder...

His testimony was perhaps the best, the most dramatic..

Lt. Tragg was enraged that Gary had testified for the defense, but there was no longer anything he could do to Gary...He chalked it up to his belief that Yvette had him so whipped that he would do anything she asked.

"I am going to release Mrs. Lawrence on her own recognizance...but I am going to request that she wear an ankle monitoring device on her ankle.. She can not leave the city limits and must be in her home by 9:00 pm on Sunday through Friday....and 10:00 pm on Saturday." he ruled...Looking at Lt. Tragg and smirking..

Lt. Tragg was livid...

"WHATTTTTTTTTTTTT???? ON A MURDER RAP??? I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!! " He bellowed.

He watched as the Bailif  strapped the ankle monitor around her left leg....

"When I was A Public Defender , 80 percent of my clients were Black or Latino, a small amount were Asians..They wore these things...and it somehow seemed...well natural...And here I am a ...A white woman...and I'm wearing one...and it....." she said.

"Doesn't seem Natural for a woman your race and your class?" asked Ms. Yvette sarcastically.

"Touche...I guess I deserve that.....I'm sorry Yvette...that was my white privilege and classism showing." sighed Cindy Lawrence.

"That's alright...Let's get out of here and get you some good food.." said Ms. Yvette.

"Let's go out that side door..."I said.

"It'll lead us right to the train station.." said Bee Bee.

"Right behind you.." said Sofia.

Kahlil, Jade and Gary followed us...

By the time Lt. Tragg exited the courtroom, 

We were all gone and on our way to our building.

III-

We were back at our building...

In our safe cafeteria, where we could have a meal and a quiet and safe conversation, free of Lieutenant Tragg. Upon arriving we saw that our good friends, Olivia , Donnie Ray, Beverly, Nelson, Josie and Bresha were our guests... Josie and Bresha were happy because now both of their husbands also worked in this building.

''Livy Girl...How nice to see you guys."said Yvette..

"Yeah, we'll be here all week Vettie.. We are working a wrongly accused case with Karen's team and Jessica and Chip of the Innocence Project. That and my girls ,Josie and Bree wanted to eat lunch with their husbands.."said Olivia.

"We miss Alfreda not being around.. She and Rockland are in Atlanta this week.."said Donnie Ray.

"We told them about the double murder that occurred in Rockland's Office, when we were on the phone with her last night." said Beverly...

"Rockland was pissed that his office was a crime scene." said Nelson.

"I told him...I assured him that by the time he and Freda got back...It would all be cleaned up.."laughed Olivia.

"Some things about Rockland never change.."laughed Yvette...

Josie and Paris were oblivious to the conversation...they were in a corner kissing passionately...

As was Bresha and Tony.....

"This is our client, Cindy Lawrence, An Attorney with my firm, from our main building..the latest victim of Lt. Tragg's rush to judgement.."said Yvette.

"I had heard about the satellite office the firm had here....I had no idea this building was so new, so fly and modern..Nice to finally meet the Legendary Olivia Bennett-Alexander and Beverly West...I've heard so much about you guys... Vettie said you two were room-mates in law school and BFF's. It's nice to be able to work in a nice comfortable place."said Cindy..

''Oh yeah...we love it..down here, away from everything." I said.

"And the best thing , Lt. Tragg doesn't have a clue we work here..He still  thinks we work in the main building.."said Bee Bee.

"When we worked there..He was a constant presence..Always bugging us...It's so nice to be far away from him here.."said Sofia..

"We are practically in Camden."said Kahlil..

Jade laughed....

"I missed you guys....I see all went well." said Virginia....

''Sorry Big Daddy couldn't make it up to keep you company today baby...I was busy.." said her husband, Jetty.

"That's alright ...I was able to get a lot of work done today.."said Virginia, smiling..

"Hi Cindy, it's been awhile."said Karen...She had known Cindy, the brief time she'd been an ADA..

"Hi Cindy..haven't seen you since I left the Public Defenders Office.." said Natalie.

"Heyyyy Cindy..So you're in the Private sector now.huh?" said David Charles.

"Yeah I work as a senior Associate Attorney at McCluskey/Cozen/Connor and Pratt,I've been there about five years now.I heard you and Natalie got married...You always adored her so...Glad you guys finally found each other. Congratulations and Congratulations on your new jobs guys.. And Congratulations on your marriage too Brooke and your new job with Wrongful Conviction Unit. I feel like our entire old office is down here in this building...Jessica and Chip too??Wow!" said Cindy Lawrence.

"Thank you...this is my husband, Sean...He's a Federal Public Defender." said Brooke.

"Pleased to meet you."said Sean.

"I haven't seen you in what? Four or Five years....Wowwwwwwww Nice to see you, though I wish it wasn't under these circumstances....but you got five fine attorneys with you...you'll be alright."said Jessica.

"Yeah...just fine."said Chip...

"This is sooo cool, you're all down here and you all know each other...wow!" said  Cindy...

Kayla,Ray,Dabnis and Jazzy  walked over and sat down with us..She didn't know them

"Hi Cousin Liv, Bev, everybody.." said Kayla.

"This is sooo cool, one big happy family."said Ray...

"And I thought it was going to be quiet and dull down here... The whole crew is here almost.."" said Dabnis.

"Hi....I'm Jazzy, we Jasmine Coley.... I remember you vaguely from when I was an ADA..." said Jazzy..

"Yes, you were leaving just as I was starting out..You were Jasmine Jenkins then.....I'm with  McCluskey/Cozen/Connor and Pratt Now."said Cindy..

"Oh that's nice...Looked like we all landed on our feet."said Jazzy...

"She's my current client." said Yvette.

" I drove home...but not before I deactivated three GPS trackers that Lt. Tragg had put on my car...I parked the car in the garage and then took the train here." said Gary..."He's pretty steamed right now." laughed Gary.

"What else is new?" said Kahlil.

"Yeah when aint he steamed about something?" I said.

After Lunch , Kahlil and I showed Cindy our gym. She was quite impressed..

...

Before taking her to our suite...She was equally impressed.

We sat in our conference room....

"Now tell us everything Cindy, everything..We don't want to be surprised." said Ms. Yvette.

"There is not much to tell.. I suspected my husband was cheating on me.. It hadn't been the first time in our marriage that he had cheated...but when I found out he was sleeping with my sister..that was the straw that broke the camels back..I put him out and I began a trial seperation.. Within a few days..I began divorce proceedings.. I hadn't seen my husband or my sister in about a month....I did have a  restraining order out on him... My Gun was stolen a week before.. I reported the theft to the police... Now how it wound up in a dumpster behind my house...Is a mystery to me." said Cindy.

Sofia handed her a Portal... "We want you to register in a hotel..Use your real name and find a hotel with an indoor parking lot. We will communicate with you through the use of a portal." said Sofia.

"Write this number down...This is a burner phone...Do not call our personal phones or our business phones...when you contact us...You use this number.." said Bee Bee.

"WOW!! You guys play for keeps."said Cindy..

"That's why we win cases..

Keith, Kahlil and Jade will go with you, help you pack and get settled in a hotel...."said Yvette,.

'We want you to be able to relax while you await trial and not be hassled by a certain unhinged Lieutenant."said Virginia..

And speaking of that Lieutenant..

Lt. Tragg was once again in our old building..

and our still empty unoccupied suite..looking for us.. As usual, the lights were off and the doors locked..

No sign of us... If he only knew how far away from that building and suite we all really were.

He was as usual, livid!

IV-

NIGHTFALL !

Yvette and Gary were relaxing at home..

"Did you guys get Cindy settled?" asked Gary.

"Yeah, Keith, Kahlil and Jade took her to the Hilton at Penns Landing.

She's a few blocks from us..She wanted to be close to us..."said Yvette...

''Well that's good...I'm not going to work this week.. I mean, no need to..Rockland is not there..He's going to be gone another week.. I think I'll go to work with you guys.."laughed Gary..

"Ouu that is nice.. I'll like that... We'll be in our office the rest of the week... I'll have my hubby with me and I'll get to hang out with Liv and the gang too, since they'll be there this week too! too.. The best thing about this, is Lt. Tragg won't have a clue as to where any of us is."laughed Yvette..

Gary and Ms Yvette enjoyed their tea..Organic Tea..

They both took a nice warm shower together...

"That felt good "laughed Gary.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. yes it did "laughed Yvette, running her fingers across Gary's lips..

Gary slipped her panties down..

"Ummmm I really like these." he said..

"Really? I got these from Agent Provacative...Bridget's other store." giggled Yvette

"They're lovely, like you." he said.

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Thank youuuuuu!" said Yvette.

Yvette gave him a sloppy kiss....

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she cooed.

She opened up his bathrobe and stuck her hands down in his boxers...As she expected, he was as hard as a baseball bat...

She smiled sheepishly...

''WOW!   Well Damn!!! " she said and laughed...

He smiled sheepishly...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh lawd...." he moaned... Gary helped her slip her panties down.

"You are getting too good at this.."Yvette joked..as she slipped his boxers down and he let his bathrobe drop to the floor..

Once their clothes were off, Gary lifted her up and entered her slowly and softly....He loved her soft skin, her baby like smell....her kissable lips...He savored every moment like a diner savors a fine meal...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Garrrrry...yesssssssssssss..ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm...Thank you baby.."she moaned..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu girllllllll..You know you can ask me for anything..." he moaned...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Gary, ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..Thank you...."she moaned... She felt too good to stop at this point...

Gary's stamina amazed  Yvette once again....He kept her lifted up like that,long stroking her for close to TWO HOURS....He brought her to orgasm twice...She held on for dear life....She was crying like a little girl...Gary was so excited ,he was near collapse...

They sat on the side of their bed and she rode him....Moving up and down. for another TWO HOURS and coming again and again...both of them....she smiled at him so serenely, so lovingly....She was all at once , very beautiful.....

"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, oh ..OH MY GOD GARY...OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!" she cried out...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh Yvette, I love you girrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl..."he moaned softly...

"I love you toooooooooooooooooooo..ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. You better love me...ohhhhhhh Garyyyyy! "she moaned..

Gary was curling her toes and good...but she was also curling his toes....

Gary laid her across their smart bed and stared deeply into her eyes with those hypnotic green eyes of his..She was a little frightened...

It would be another EIGHT TO NINE HOURS, before Gary would finally climax and she would have climaxed another two times herself by then...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Gary, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh that was, that was amazing.." she said...Her entire body was trembling...Her left leg was shaking...She felt chills..."Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Gary...." she moaned..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH VETTIE!" was all he could manage to utter.

Gary was out of breath and dazed himself...He still couldn't believe how good Yvette was...He was becoming addicted to her...He lie between her legs for a few minutes...

Yvette got up, put on her night shirt,..The short one that came to her hips that he liked..

Gary was staring at her...and smiling..

She just shook her head and grinned....

"Stop staring at me like that before your eyes fall out......Let's get some sleep!" she said, laughing...

Gary smiled.. " I second that emotion." he said, smiling.

"Okay Smokey...."said Yvette crawling up on his chest and drifting off to sleep.

(TO BE CONTINUED)