Exile in Cherry Hill

 THE "FISHBOWL", the nickname the detectives give to their interrogation room.

Jeffrey Howard sat contritely in the interrogation room where he was arrested by Lt. Tragg on "Suspicion of Murder "charges.

Lt. Tragg tossed the envelope on the table..

"There is $10,000.00 in cash in this envelope.. Your fingerprints and DNA is all over this envelope and the money. We found it on the desk in Dak Gordan's office." he said.

"So I paid him some money...That's no crime." said Jeffrey..

"Let's cut the crap....Dak Gordon was a Loan Shark..a Juice man...That was money you owed him...was blood money....His goons beat you up a few months ago because you were late with a payment..." said Lt. Tragg.

''We were square.. I paid him in full...Why would I kill him? And why would I leave all of that cash in his office...Use your head." snarled Jeffrey Howard.

"SO YOU ADMIT YOU WERE IN HIS OFFICE FRIDAY NIGHT?" snarled Lt. Tragg.

"YOU KNOW I WAS THERE...BUT I DIDN'T KILL HIM! SOMEBODY ELSE MUST HAVE COME AFTER I LEFT....HE WAS ALIVE WHEN I LEFT HIM!" said Jeffrey...

"Nobody we questioned remembers anybody else visiting him except you..." said Lt. Tragg.

"It's the Egyptian Club....Everybody in there is high or having sex....They don't remember anything clearly...You can't go by that..."said Jeffrey..

"JEFFREY!! NOT ANOTHER WORD!" came the voice of his sister, Attorney Gloria Howard...

"I brought Yvette Jones-Lockwood and her team to defend you..." she said.

''Yvette, how are you? Long time no see." said Jeffrey Howard. 

 "Hi Jeff....Yeah, I know.....These are my associates..

''Attorney Keith Jones."

"What's up man?" I said.

"His wife, Attorney Beatrice Evans-Jones."

"Hello." said Bee Bee..

"Attorney Sofia Garcia -Ahmed."

"Hola." said Sofia.

"Her husband, Attorney Kahlil Ahmed.."

''What's up man" said Kahlil.

"And our investigator, Jade Lee Ho."said Yvette.

''Hello." said Jade.

''What are you guys doing here and who are you?" asked Lt. Tragg.

"I'm Attorney Gloria Howard....Jeffrey Howard is my brother....I work for McCluskey/Cozen/ Connor

& Pratt and these are my fellow attorneys....Now can we have the room?" said Gloria.

"It smells better in here..You mopped the floors...I smell Pine Sol...You emptied the trash...and you opened a window.." said Yvette.

"Great Job...It's bearable....You're lucky Jeff...It has smelled worse."said Kahlil.

Sofia, Bee Bee and I snickered....

"Yvette tell your snot nosed youngins...That I don't appreciate their insolence. "snarled an irritated Lt. Tragg.

''Can we have the room Lieutenant?" asked Yvette calmly.

"Yeah take it!" said Lt. Tragg. He angrilly walked out of the room and slammed the door...but not hard enough to break the glass.

''Still as cool and sexy as can be Yvette...I hear you are Partner now!" said Jeffrey...

''Yes I am... I've been a Partner for about two years now. Enough about me...I need you to dummy up...Don't say anymore about your case to anyone in here..Not Cops, Not Detectives...Not an ADA...and especially not to anybody locked up with you."said Yvette.

''Everybody in here is looking to make a deal at your expense man." I said.

"Talk only to us." said Bee Bee.

"I'd love to just talk to you." said Jeffrey, then looked at me.. "No disrespect meant homie, but your wife is a baddie." he said.

"None Taken...I know." I said.

Bee Bee Blushed.

"We have a list of 10 people who can act as character witnesses for you at you arraignment..Can you think of any others?  If you can write them down for us...Names, Addresses, Email addresses ,the works .That would be great." said Sofia.

He smiled at her and wrote down some names...

"Now not another word about your case...We'll talk about that after your arraignment." said Gloria.

"Hang tight...We are going to get you out of here."said Kahlil.

"I sure hope so homie!  Hey Yvette, you still married?" asked Jeffrey...

"Yupper! Happily." said Yvette.

''We'll see you in a few Big Brother... Vettie my brother always had a thing for you...He thinks I didn't know it...but I knew it..He always used to talk about you and ask questions about you." laughed Gloria.

"I knew it.."said Yvette... "Jade, look up these people..Keith ,you and Kahlil give her a hand."said Yvette.

"On It!" said Yvette...

"Will Do!" I said.

"Let's go!" said Kahlil.

''Ladies look into some night court dates for us..."said Yvette.

''We are on it!" said Bee Bee.

"Yes...We are on it!" said Sofia.

"I love your team...They are so loyal to you and they are so efficient...I heard you hand picked them yourself from University of Pennsylvania ."said Gloria.

"Yup...They had just graduated law school and passed the bar... I went to their parents homes to sell it 
and the next thing you know..They were with me...I used to supervise the four of them...When I made partner, I took them with me."said Yvette.

"Of course.." said Gloria.

"Jade was a Homicide Detective from Tokyo....who came to the United States and wanted to be a Citizen...We helped her get her citizenship. She was grateful to us...So she became our investigator and she's a damn good one too!." said Yvette.

"I need to put together a team like that."said Gloria as she and Yvette left...

THE OFFICE OF ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY BRUCE GREENE-

Sometime later Gloria stopped by Bruce Greene's office..

"HIIII, Since I was in the area I thought I'd stop by..." she said.

"Oh I'm glad you did...I heard your brother has been arrested and charged with murder....Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Bruce Greene.

"No but thank you for offering... Yvette Jones-Lockwood and her team, Keith Jones, Beatrice Evans-Jones, Sofia Garcia-Ahmed ,Kahlil Ahmed and Jade Lee are on it..." said Gloria.

''Well he is well represented then." said Bruce.

"Thank you for asking..." she said again...

They embraced and they kissed in his doorway..

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!! OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! THANK YOUUUU" she moaned..

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! OHHHHHHHHHHHHH LAWWWD! YOU ARE WELCOME!!!" he moaned..

"I'm going to have you over my place real soon for an entire weekend." she said as their kissing got hotter, more passionate...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHH I CAN'T WAIT!!! UMMMMMM!" he moaned in between kisses.

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!! OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she moaned..

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! OHHHHHHHHHHHHH LAWWWD! I WANT TO SCREW YOU SOOO BAD!" he moaned..

"I KNOW...I KNOW BABY...SOON...I PROMISE!" she said,.

"Byeeeeeeee" she said as she left...

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! OHHHHHHHHHHHHH LAWWWD!" he moaned..watching her walk away....

Her lipstick smudge was on the side of his face and his shirt collar..

"WHAT A WOMAN!" he exclaimed...

II-

TUESDAY NIGHT- A FEW HOURS LATER-

Bee Bee and Sofia had outdone themselves.. They had found us a court date that night.. 9:30..in Night Court.

NIGHT COURT-

Jeffrey Howard was in court with us tonight..nearly hours after he was arrested.Charged with Murdering Loan shark, Dak Graf. , 

In Philadelphia, Night Court only operates two nights a week....Tuesday and Thursday, Tonight was Tuesday...and fortunately...We got an arraignment date of 9:30 pm. We were the last case on the docket.

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

Lt. Tragg was not there... He was probably snuggled up with Judge Kelly Ann at her loft..

"MMMMMMMM KELLY ANN!" he moaned..

"OHHHHHHH ARTHUR!" she coooed..

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" they both moaned in unison as they lie on her soft sheets, kissing like kissing was going out of style,.

Night court was too low profile for him anyway....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. Quite fortunate to get the last date on the docket on THIS DAY!

Yvette made a note to give both Bee Bee and Sofia a nice fat bonus in the in next paycheck..

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.

Jeffrey never expected to be arraigned this quick...We had just been to see him hours before...

Yvette and I presented 15 charactor witnesses, all from the business community who vouched for Jeffrey's good charactor.This reminded me of the early days ,when she and I worked cases.

Kahlil argued that our client was more of a victim of the deceased than a killer...He argued that he had no prior convictions for any crime and was not a flight risk...

His sister , a well known attorney promised to make sure he showed up for his court dates..

The Air conditioner wasn't working and it was sweltering hot in here tonight..Everybody wanted to go home..

THAT WAS A BIG FACTOR IN THE JUDGE RELEASING HIM ON HIS OWN RECOGNIZANCE!

This was the quickest we had ever gotten anybody out of jail...

"You guys are the truth...Thank you, Thank you springing me." said Jeffrey...

"Come on...You're going home with me tonight."said Gloria.

Jade passed him our card...Stop by our office tomorrow , 10:00 am." she said.

"We'll begin working on your case...Let's get out of here...We all needed to get some sleep."said Yvette.

It had been a long day.We had seen our client and arraigned him in Night Court all in the same day. 

We were all settled down with our significant others.. What better way to spend a muggy summer night than to be making love.?

Bee Bee was wearing another 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 had on a new bra and matching panties that I hadn't seen before.

She giggled..

"A successful day for the most part...I was happy for you, being proven right after six years." she said.

I pulled her towards me...I just wish we had of been able to have pulled this off in 2019. A man might still be alive....Now as far as pulling something off" I said.

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu." she giggled..Her body was shaking in anticipation....

"Oh My God Bee Bee...You are so sexy....but then you always have been, as long as I've known you." I said.

"Awwwwwwwwwwww" she giggled.

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

Who could ask for anything more?

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

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

We lie across the bed, kissing and practically slobbering over each other....

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Bee Bee..." I moaned..

"OH MY GODDDDD YOU'RE SO BIGGG!. SO DAMN HARD HOT STUFF! OUUUUUUUU!" she moaned..

"You're so SOFT AND WET!" I said...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HOT STUFFF!" she cried out....

"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM YOU FEEL SO DAMN GOOD!" I cried out...

"SO DO YOUUUUUUUU!!! " she cooed...

Soon we were making love passionately on top of the bed..

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 unhooked her bra and  slipped her panties down and off...

"OHHHHHHHH MAMASITA!!!" he moaned...as she eased herself down on him..

"OUUUUUUUUUUU PAPI...AYE MIOS DIOS! You are sooo damn hard! OUUUUU! AND BIG! AYE MIOS DIOS" 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!" she cooed.

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

Gary and Ms. Yvette were way ahead of us..

"Ummmmmmmmm, I couldn't wait until you got home." said Gary...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU Gary!." Yvette moaned..

He unhooked her bra and slipped her panties down...

Yvette eased herself down on Gary's waiting penis...Gary felt how warm and wet she was and was simply delirious with pleasure....He knew how hard she was working lately.

They had been making sweet love since They got in the door .....Downstairs on the couch

And then straight  to the bedroom..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU GARYYYYYY!" Yvette  moaned  as she rode him on the side of the bed until neither one of them could take anymore...

"UMMMMMMMMMMMM VETTIE GIRRRRL!" moaned Gary..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HUSBAND!" Yvette moaned..

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

Enjoying  their massive and  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..

NINE TO TEN HOURS had passed by.

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

Sofia and Kahlil were in each others arms and still kissing, almost asleep.

And Gary and Ms. Yvette were sound asleep..

A nice stress buster for a long day.

And At Ms. Jade's House...

"I'm so glad you finally came home." said Danny...

"I'm glad to be home with you too. This was a hell of a day.." said Jade.

"Come here..." said Danny, pulling her towards him..

They kissed passionately..

Standing in the middle of their bedroom kissing passionately.

Danny slipped her panties down....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH JADEEEEEEE!!!" he moaned..

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM DANNY!" she cooed...

She eased herself down on Danny slowly.....they began kissing...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUU JADE!" he moaned. He didn't know if he was coming or going....

"OHHHHHHHHHHH HUSBAND!" she cooed.

They began making love. 

Enjoying a nice warm spring afternoon and night. At Ms. Virginia's House, a few doors down...

"Jetty!! You're staring at me like you want to rip my clothes off."said Ms. Virginia.

"Oh I would never do that...You pay good money for your clothes....Hey by the way have your breasts gotten larger?" he asked..

"No Smarty, they haven't! You asked me that before!" laughed Virginia..

"Well uh let me uh see....Unzip that dress, let me take a look." he asked slyly and unzipped her dress , slipped it off  and began kissing her..

"Ummmmmmmmmm are you sureeee?" he asked..

"I'm positive...but I think your penis got bigger...Ouuuuu lawddd!" said Ms. Virginia..

"I'm certain it has...especially in the last few seconds...Heh Heh Heh!" he laughed.

"I just know it has... Does it ever go down? Myy goodness." laughed Virginia.

"Not when you're around..it stays hard all day..." he said.

"I believe it!" she said..

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...OUUUUUUUUUU VIRGINIA, I'M SO HORNY RIGHT NOW...I CAN'T THINK STRAIGHT!" he said.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU YEAH!" she said and they both giggled in between smouldering hot kisses.

He unhooked her bra...

He slipped her panties down...

and humped her over the bed....

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU YOU NASTY DOGGGG!  OUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she screamed out...

Jetty was on top of her and didn't know if he was coming or going... She always smelled so good, Her skin was so soft...and her voice was so entrancing, he couldn't control himself..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH VIRGINIA, LAWWWD!!!" He cried out..

"YOU LIKE IT DADDY?" she asked him..\

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! I LOVE IT!!!" he moaned..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH VIRGINIA, LAWWWD!!!" He cried out..

"YOU LIKE IT DADDY?" she asked him..\

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" he moaned..

"I TAKE IT THAT'S ANOTHER YES!  YOU NASTY DOGGGG!  OUUUUUUUUUUUU! " she said...

"LAWD!!" he mumbled as they made sweet love..for the next EIGHT TO NINE HOURS. He was deeply in love in a way he had never been before...Virginia loved that a man loved her this much....

III-

The Next day, Gloria and her brother met us at the Bridge Building at 8:30....

They came up to our cafeteria to have breakfast....

"WOW! Yvette works in this building?  They have this cafeteria that serves all of this food..? Damnnn!"said Jeffrey.

"Yes this is a nice..She made a real power move." said Gloria.

 

 "Dig in... This food is a major improvement over that jailhouse food."said Yvette.

"You aint never lied.. You guys eat like this every day.?" he asked.

''Every Day." I said and smiled.

"We are spoiled.. It wasn't always like this." said Bee Bee.

"We are going to try to make it where you can eat like this or close to this every day."said Sofia.

"In other words we are going to keep you out of jail." said Kahlil.

Jade smiled.

"Another case."said Virginia.

"That keeps the lights on." said Jetty. 

"There is Gloria, Yvette's friend.. I heard her brother got arrested and charged with murder."said Jazzy.

"Yvette and them got him out already...Wowwww!"said Dabnis.

"They got a last minute Night Court appointment."said Kayla.

"Damn they're good!"said Ray.

"Got him out the day of his arrest."said Jessica.

"That is something."said Ray.

"That's good lawyering." said Karen.

"Wow I gotta ask Bee Bee and Sofia how they managed that." said Natalie.

"They played that close to the vest...real close." said David.

"That's fearlessness..."said Brooke.

"They've got Ice Water in their veins."said Sean.

"The Fearlessness of Youth."laughed Zoey.

"They did good."said Lem.

"They're my Sheroes."laughed Renee.

Her husband, Tyrell laughed.

"Gotta tell Bev and Josie about this one."laughed Paris.

"You know at some point they're going to try and top it."laughed Tony.

"I continue to learn from all of you."said Lee.

"So do I." said Matthew.

''Let's finish up our food....We've got a big day today.."said Nina.

"I know... I wish I was back on that Cruise."laughed Carlos.

Jefrrey and Gloria followed us to our suite and our conference room!

"Nice set up you got here Yvette...This building, that cafeteria, this office.. Looks like you're surrounded by nice people too!" said Jeffrey.

 

 "I am and it is very comfortable being here , and away from Center City..." said Yvette.

"I am soooo envious." said Gloria.

"Now about your case.  Dak Gordon was a notorious Loan Shark...He had juice on the street as they say."I said.

"You were into him for a lot of cash.... Cash that you paid up..."said Bee Bee.

The Police found an envelope on his desk in his office with your prints and DNA all over it... But! No prints or DNA on the believed murder weapon a ten pound metal ash tray.." said Sofia.

"That's in your favor.   But right now, you're his only known visitor that night." said Kahlil.

"But I didn't kill him...I had no reason to. Our debt was paid..We were all square....He was alive when I left, sitting at his desk, counting his money..."said Jeffrey.

"The Police found a safe that was slightly open...There was over 250 large in that safe. Kind of hard to believe that you and whoever killed him would leave that much cash laying around...Not to mention the cash in your envelope on the desk."said Jade.

"There had to be other people's fingerprints in that office besides mine."said Jeffrey.

"The Police are going over the place as we speak.. Jade will be too...." said Yvette.

"I used to be a Defense Attorney and I've worked closely with police on this type of case and it looks to me like a woman may be your killer...an angry woman...Did he have any girlfriends?" asked Virginia.

"I don't know about his personal life....."It's the Egyptian Club....Everybody in there is high or having sex....They don't remember anything clearly...You can't go by that... Any number of women may have come through there...The place is totally hedonistic."said Jeffrey..

"Yeah, that's what I've heard ." I said.

Bee Bee, Sofia, Jade and Ms. Virginia gave me the serious side eye...

"WHAT?   I just said I heard about the place...I've never been in there." I said in my defense..

Kahlil ,Gloria and Ms. Yvette cracked up laughing...

"Ouuu you in the doghouse bruh?" said Jeffrey.

"No he's not...We are just playing with him." said Bee Bee.

She handed him a smartphone.....

"We want you to turn over your phone and your tablet to us...Disable the GPS..We are going to lock it in our safe.You will use this phone , so memorize this number...It's a burner phone, It is untraceable. Don't call our Business or Personal numbers...You call this number on this phone." said Bee Bee.

'Damn you sure you guys are lawyers? You operate like guys on the street."laughed Jeffrey.

"This is a Portal, also untraceable...You can get more personal updates on the process of your case without having to leave your sisters house."said Sofia.

''At sometime today Lt. Tragg is going to find out you've been released from custody...He's going to be livid...He will try to harass you...He can't tap your phone or trace it and if you're at your sister's house in Cherry Hill he can't harass you.  He doesn't know we work here and for the time being..We'd like to keep it that way." said Yvette.

"WOW!  You guys leave no stone unturned.."said a smiling Jeffrey..

"That's why we win cases." said Kahlil.

Gloria smiled.

"Come on Brother, let's get you out of here and get you home....My Home in Cherry Hill."said  Gloria.

IV-

As would be expected... Lt. Tragg got the news of Jeffrey Howard's arraignment and release and he was incensed..

So he went to our old office...He still didn't realize we were somewhere else.

He found Cassidy Skyler in the Office Yvette used to inhabit...

with Alexa Pratt in the office next to hers..

He demanded to know where Yvette and company were...

Cassidy told him she didn't know and asked him to leave.

He threatened to come back with a warrant...

Cassidy told him to come back with one...

He went next door to Alexa's office..

"Now look Ms. In High Demand....I need to know where Yvette's Office is." he said.

Alexa told him that she wouldn't tell him our whereabouts even if she knew.

He angrilly stormed out of our building...

Cassidy locked our back entrance... Never again would he be able to slip up the backstairs and surprise them the way he used to do us.

Gloria lived in brand new apartments in Cherry Hill.....They were on top of new retail stores...

"Wowww I'm surprised I've never visited you here sis..." said Jeffrey...

"I've asked you a number of times..."said Gloria.

"I know and I'm sorry..." said Jeffrey...

Tonight Yvette and company were having dinner with Olivia and Beverly and company. 

''So you got Jeffrey all squared away?" asked Olivia.

"Yeah, he's staying at Gloria's apartment in Cherry Hill. He's not under house arrest or anything..So technically he's not breaking any law by being out of town."said Yvette.

 

''With his phone and tablet surrendered to you guys , Lt. Tragg can't track him...He must be going bonkers." said Donnie Ray.

"You two did a really good job getting Jeffrey a Night Court date the same day he was arrested...That was some gutsy maneuvering..Good Job ladies." said Beverly.

"We were really gambling with that one..We could have gotten an 8;00 pm appointment on Thursday Night..but Sofia said, "What if we can get him one tonight? It is Tuesday."So I said yeah, let's go for it."

''We gambled and we won...A 9:30 appointment..Last appointment of the night..."said Sofia.

"It was Swelteringly hot in there , The A.C. wasn't working that night!" I explained.

 

"Oh man...I know people wanted to go then."laughed Nelson.

"The Judge let him go on his own recognizance."said Kahlil.

Josie burst into laughter....

"They wanted to get out of there...Excellent!" said her husband, Paris.

''We ought to try that...That was a real ballsy move on your part."said Bresha.

"Yeah" said her husband Tony..

"Alright Dig in everybody!  Dinner is ready....we are all family here." said Alfreda.
 

"Mmmmmmmmmm good!" said her husband, Rockland.. 

 "Olivia, everything is just delicious!" said Yvette.

''Why thank you" said Olivia.

"One of these days we are going to have to invite you guys to our house for dinner."said Gary.

"Yeah we can all contribute something."I said.

"It'll be like a potluck.."said Bee Bee.

"Call Renee, get her to arrange everything."said Sofia.

We all laughed.

''We don't need to bother her with that, just invite her and Tyrell."said Kahlil.

"I'm just glad to be here with all of you guys." said Jade.

"Ditto!" said her husband, Danny.

"Olivia , everything is delish!" said Virginia.

"Nothing like a home cooked meal." said Jetty.

And in Cherry Hill-

Jeffrey and his sister, Gloria were enjoying a delicious meal at Emily's Soul Food restaurant, a favorite place of ours..

"This Food is good.." said Jeffrey.

'See? Being Exiled in Cherry Hill isn't so bad after all, is it?" asked his sister, Gloria as they enjoyed their food.

(TO BE CONTINUED)