The Jackpot Question.

TUESDAY NIGHT-Courtroom A

NIGHT COURT-

In Philadelphia, Night Court only operates two nights a week....Tuesday and Thursday, Tonight was Tuesday...and fortunately...We got an arraignment date of 8:00 pm. 

The Judge in this case would not be the Judge in the actual case....

Lt. Tragg was not there... Night court was too low profile for him...No witnesses...No media..and a bunch of  Judges  and ADA's who were mostly older Judges and ADA's about to retire...It was lightweight. It was in session from 7:00 pm- 10:00 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays...We were quite fortunate to get a date...We thought we might have to wait until Thursday Night.

The ADA that did show up was not going to be the ADA that tried the case...He had only the basic out line of the case at hand... He basically wanted to go home...So he didn't really put up much of a fight.

Assistant District Attorney, Darren Gillian ,facing Capital Murder charges was being arraigned.. even in night court ,this wasn't going to be an easy case. The whole city was talking about this..

We were all there along with his personal attorney, Joshua Jenkins-

 

 Ms. Yvette argued very eloquently that our client had no prior offenses , was a respected member of the community and a well known officer of the court was not a flight risk......

Joshua Jenkins gave no argument ,but nodded in approval of Yvette's argument.

Bee Bee, Myself, Sofia and Kahlil presented nearly 100 charactor witnesses ,all from the legal and law enforcement community , who vouched for Mr Gillian's charactor...

Jade had done an excellent job rounding them all up and getting them to sign legal affadavits.. We'd all be using them later on when his trial began.

The Judge released him , but under the condition that he wear an ankle monitoring device..

and that from Sunday to Friday ,he be inside at 11:00 pm and on Saturdays , he had until midnight to be in. No bail was to be paid.

Out in the courtroom waiting hour, Darren Gillian was less than satisfied....

"I suppose I am glad not to be locked up in that hell hole...but to have to wear an ankle bracelet....I feel like a common criminal." he scoffed..

"Should I remind you that you are right now a criminal defendant.  You are fortunate to be released at all considering the serious charges against you...A Black or Latino defendant in your same shoes wouldn't be so fortunate.,"said Attorney Joshua Jenkins...

I was glad he told him because we didn't want to have to break it down to him. 

 "Josh has your clothes and personal belongings in his car....You're going to put yourself in a hotel tonight and for the duration of this trial.. Use your real name and park your car in the hotel parking lot. Let me suggest the Hilton , by Penns Landing." said Yvette.

"Anything is better than being locked up, in a place where there are people who want to kill you because you put them there..." I said.

"Tonight you are free,somewhat, You're out of jail...You can take a deep breathe.."said Bee Bee.

"If I was you, I'd go and get a hot meal and some coffee...Go to your hotel room, get a shave and a shower, get a good nights sleep." said Sofia.

"You know she's right Darren...You they all are right." said Kahlil.

Jade smiled,looking at us with pride.

''Go to your hotel Darren and then come visit us in the morning...11:00 am." said Yvette softly..

"Thank you Yvette, Keith, Beatrice, Sofia , Kahlil and Jade...Good Job and Good Night...Come on Josh." said Darren.

"Good Night...Thanks again guys." said Josh.

They both checked in at the Hilton near Penns Landing. 

II-

WEDNESDAY MORNING!-11:00 AM

We all met in our conference room... Darren Gillian was impressed with our suite and our conference room. It was his first time in our suite.

His personal attorney, Joshua Jenkins came with him and sat with us...

"Nice suite you have here Yvette, very comfortable..I've got to talk to Gil about improving our digs in the D.A.'s office." joked Darren.

"Okay...let's get down to cases here." said Yvette.

"This is a cell phone.. From now on, do not call our business phones or our personal phones." said Bee Bee who passed him the phone number.  "Memorize this and call us from this phone...It's a burner phone and we change the sim card every three days.This phone is untraceable...Your calls to us will be safe." assured Bee Bee.

She passed him the clean phone.

Sofia passed hm the Portal.

"This is the Portal... This Portal will help you get updates from us on the progress of your case , trial strategy etc...You won't have to come over here for face to faces...We can communicate with you from your room." said Sofia.

"You might want to stay in your room....The Press is already reporting that you were arraigned and out of jail and in seclusion." I said.

"You are not to talk to the press at all... "No Comment " is your new pat saying if you are confronted by the press right now." said Kahlil...

"Where is Jade?" asked Darren.

"She's out...Investigating....Your case...We need to establish an alibi....I need your Smartwatch for beginnings." said Yvette.

He passed his Smartwatch to her..

"This will verify your whereabouts.... We are going to check your credit card and debit card accounts also and the GPS on your car...." said Yvette.

"You guys leave very little to chance huh?" said Darren.

"That sir is why we win cases.." said Ms. Yvette..

"Touche', I should know.." he said...and we all laughed.

Virginia brought in hot coffee for everybody...

Our old building...Where we all started...It had been awhile since we had all been over here...The Headquarters of McCluskey/Cozen/Connor and Pratt.

Jade looked into our old suite.

The lights were on and it was finally being occupied by someone...It looked like other young attorneys.

Finally, she thought...and whoever they were they didn't know us or where we had gone...

The man Jade was looking for the husband of  the recently slain Jennifer Barnes. Attorney Mark Barnes , an associate attorney here was not in...He was given a leave of absence....

Jade had an address and was getting ready to leave when...Mark Barnes showed up....

"Jade!  You uh work for Yvette Jones right? How are you?" said a surprisingly cheerful Mark Barnes.

"Let me first say you have my sincere condolences...I am so sorry for your loss." said Jade.

"Save it....We didn't have a real relationship anymore..she was stepping out on me and I was stepping out on her... She'd stay out all night and come home like nothing happened... I stopped even asking her where she'd been...She'd just lie anyway...

I hired a real good P.I. Bert Vandenberg... Know him?" he asked.

"Yes I know him..." said Jade.

"I knew about their little love nest where she was killed at and that she was boning ADA Darren Gillian, who you guys are representing in his murder...Lt. Tragg had me down to Central Booking twice before cutting me loose." said Mark.

"I have to ask you where you were the night of the murder..."said Jade.

"I figured you would... I was in Japan...On Firm business... I was with Mr. Connor and Mr. Pratt.You can check, I have Airline ticket stubs, expenses, the works...I got back here two days after the fact...I didn't kill her...I was planning to divorce her...but I didn't kill her..She was worth more to me alive. Trust me. we had a small memorial service for her yesterday....Six people ,besides me showed up...She wasn't very well liked..  I had her body cremated right after the funeral and you know what I did? I flushed her ashes down the toilet...She is out of my life.." he said almost happy... "See you around Jade...Tell Yvette, Keith,Bee Bee, Sofia and Kahlil I said Yo!" he said and walked off..

Jade talked to Partners, Connor and Pratt and they verified his story....The three of them were indeed in Japan and returned two days after the murder.. She saw Credit Card charges and expenses as well as hotel reservations from the trip...He was innocent...

Strike one suspect!

III-

At dinner that afternoon...

"You can scratch Mark Barnes off the list of suspects...He wasn't in the country..He was in Japan with Partners, Connor and Pratt...I checked with them and with his credit card records, Hotel reservations , the works...It wasn't him."said Jade.

"I'm glad....He is after all one of us, part of our firm."said Yvette.

''Mark is a cool guy..He was always nice to me." I said.

"Yeah me too!" said Bee Bee.

"I worked a case with him once, a pretty good attorney too! " said Sofia.

"He deserved better than Jennifer. I mean I'm sorry she's dead but she wasn't a righteous person."said Kahlil.

"I know what you mean.. I know exactly what you mean." said Virginia.

"Her funeral was yesterday....And shortly after the funeral...He had her cremated and flushed her ashes down the toilet..."said Jade.

"Damnnnnnnn that's cold blooded." said Jazzy...
 

''Wowwwww, now that's cold blooded."said her husband, Dabnis.

''She really hurt him." said Kayla.

"Yeah, really."said Ray..

"Well, she's totally out of his life now." said Jessica.

"I'll say." said Chip.

"So life goes on huh?" said Karen.

''We have other suspects...Darren's wife and her well heeled Father in law for instance and maybe others..At any rate, we are just getting started..We have a lot of work to do." said Yvette.

"I hate the very beginning of a case when you have to start eliminating suspects and building an alibi."said Natalie.

''Are you kidding? that's the beauty of the case." said David.

"No...the beauty is when the bailiff reads the Not Guilty Verdict." said Brooke.

"OKAYYYYYYYYYYYY?" said Bee Bee  high fiving her.

''You aint never lied."said Sofia.

"There you go!" said Kahlil.

"Yessss" I said.

Sean laughed.

''Well at any rate...Good Luck." said Zoey.

"Yeah good luck."said Lem..

"If you guys need any help, I am available."said Renee.

"I am too!" said Tyrell.

"Ditto that." said Tony..

"Yeah.."said Paris.

"Thank you guys...It's so nice to be with all of you guys in this building...I love it." said Yvette.

She loved being in this community with talented attorneys she and us had worked with over the course of our careers.

Later on that afternoon.....We went home and drove back to our old apartment complex in Jade's SUV.

"This brings back memories huh?" said Jade....

"Oh Yes....Sofia, we had our apartment just two doors down from his apartment..."said Bee Bee.

"Yeah, brings back memories....We were just starting out." said Sofia.

"Mannnnnn, I had an apartment on the top floor...and then one right across from you girls." said Kahlil.

"I was upstairs and then right next door to you...We kept moving to get close to the girls."I laughed.

"I see his apartment was right next to the fire escape...."said Sofia.

"In case either of them had to make a speedy exit."joked Kahlil.

"Or Both of them." I said..

We all busted out laughing...

"You guys are so badddddd!"laughed Bee Bee.

Jade laughed and then she noticed something.....

"Look at this...all these wax shavings on the floor by the door...could the police have missed this.?" she asked..

"If Lt. Tragg was in charge of the investigation....Certainly." said Bee Bee, who took her phone out and snapped photos of the wax shavings...

Jade swept the shavings up into a plastic bag...

"The killer had a key....Now Darren said that he was the only one with a key...Jennifer didn't have a key... This looks like somebody copied his key on one of those three dimensional printers." said Jade.

"But who would have access to that? And how would whoever get his keys?" I asked.

"That is the jackpot question." said Jade.

As Sofia and Kahlil looked on.

IV-

Nightfall

We all returned home...

Bee Bee was wearing a sheer see through Baby doll.....She had just taken a hot shower and walked into our bedroom..

My eyes popped out of my head..

She giggled..

"Oh my goddd..look at you...Are you going to act like this all the time?..WOW!!! That boner is massive." she said and put her hands over her mouth..

"You act like this is the first time you've seen me like this. You see me every night...You've kind of been seeing me in my underwear since law school." she said.

"It certainly isn't the first time I've had a boner because of you.I was having them in law school too and having to hide them from you...because we were supposed to be just friends." I remarked , smiling at her.

"Oh I know..THAT goes back to the first day we met. I have a confession to make..I was  kinda turned on by you too, lots of times...and I just never said nothin."she said.

I pulled her towards me..." Well you can say something now...Is this something you bought at Bridget's store the other day?" I asked.

"Yes, The Panties and The Baby doll....I bought it at Bridget's store in the Mall at Bayside.." she giggled..

I undressed and  slipped her panties down and off  and took her into my arms and kissed her softly....

"Ohhhhh my godddd, Bee Bee..."I moaned...

"Ummmmmm, ouuuuuuuuuuuu you are so hard....Ouuuuuu, look at youuuu! And so damn BIG!  OUUUUUUU!" she exclaimed as she stroked me lightly...

"You like that honey?" she asked softly..

"YESSSSSSSS!" I moaned.

"Ummmmmmmmmmmm I like it too!" she cooed..

Soon we were making love passionately on top of the bed..Not thinking about the days events..

The next EIGHT TO NINE HOURS, all we were thinking about was each other..

The same was next door at Kahlil and Sofia's house..

Sofia and Kahlil were lying across the bed..

Kissing ,fondling and laughing..

He slipped her panties down and off...

"OHHHHHHHH MAMASITA!!!" he moaned...

"OUUUUUUUUUUU PAPI...AYE MIOS DIOS! You are sooo damn hard! OUUUUU!" Sofia moaned  as she rode him on the side of the bed until neither one of them could take anymore...

"You've always gotten me hard mamasita." said Kahlil.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! I KNOWWWWWWWWW!" she cooed.

It was not long 

before they too were making sweet love for the next EIGHT TO NINE HOURS!

Moaning and cooing..

"I waited up for you." said Gary..

"I knew you would.....I'm glad you did." said Ms. Yvette.

"Ouu Husband, slide em down....I'm ready!" she cooed.

"OHHHHHHH VETTIE, SO AM I!" Gary moaned, as he slid her panties down..

They had been making sweet love since Ms. Yvette got home for the day...

They had  gone straight to the bedroom..

They had made love early into the morning hours....

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWW YOU ARE MY SWEET GIRRRRRRL" Gary moaned..

Ms. Yvette liked when he called her that...

She loved the look of pure joy in Gary's face as he entered her and humped her.......

Enjoying  their massive  smart bed.. 

Yvette smiled.The bed was sturdy and very very comfortable...It moved with their every move and was very comfortable and warm..It actually enhanced their lovemaking..

EIGHT TO NINE HOURS had passed by.

 Bee Bee and I were fast asleep in each others arms..

This time, so was Sofia and Kahlil...both exhausted from their furious lovemaking.

And Gary and Ms. Yvette were sound asleep in each other's arms.

Ms. Yvette sleeping soundly on top of Gary, who was still awake, with a big wide smile on his face....

A nice stress buster

And At Ms. Jade's House...a few doors down.

"You got a new client huh?" said Danny.

"Yes...a cop, Officer Kim Gladden." said Jade laughing.

"I know her...She's a good cop....Smart too!  I think Lt. Tragg is wrong...I can't believe she killed anybody" said Danny.

"We don't think so either." said Jade.

They kissed passionately..

Danny took her into his arms and stood in the middle of their bedroom, kissing her passionately.

Danny slipped her panties down....

She  eased herself down on Danny slowly.....

"OUUUUUUUUUUUU JADE!" he moaned.

"OHHHHHHHHHHH HUSBAND!" she cooed. She liked being able to say that.

They began making love.  And like us ,for the next EIGHT TO NINE HOURS, all they cared about was each other.

They ended the night like all of us...Cuddled up and sleeping soundly.

Early the next morning....Darren and his lawyer, Joshua was having coffee in a coffee shop near our building.

"You look worried Darren. You're out of jail, you got good defense attorneys working your case...What are you worried about?" asked Joshua Jenkins.

"I don't know Josh...Something that keeps bothering me...I locked that door after I left Jennifer that morning like I always did...The killer would have had to have jimmied the lock to get in..and that would have taken time or have knocked on the door to get Jennifer's attention...but that didn't happen..Jennifer was killed in the bed...The door wasn't jimmied or the police would have said so...That means the killer had a key.....I'm the only person that had a key...Jennifer didn't have a key...So how did the killer get a key??asked Darren...

"Darren my boy, that is the jackpot question!" said Joshua.

(TO BE CONTINUED)