Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Search For Tommorrow


 Morning in Philadelphia..



Our building, The Bridge Building at Penns Landing..


Our cafeteria ........
"Where is Ms. Yvette this morning?" asked my wife, Bee Bee..
"She didn't want any breakfast...She and Ms. Virginia and Ms. Jade all got coffee's from their favorite shop down the street and went upstairs." I said.
"I saw they picked up newspapers too!"said Sofia.
"Ah well...Keith, you and Bee can help us file away our case files today."said Kahlil.

"Oh no doubt....It'll give me something to do."I said.

"Besides me."giggled Bee Bee..

''Always you.."I said and pinched her butt..
"OUUUUUUUU....stop it!" giggled Bee Bee.
"Yall nasty!" laughed Sofia... 

"Yall are soooo cute...."laughed Jazzy...
 
"Say where is your boss lady?" asked Dabnis.


"She and Ms. Jade and Ms. Virginia went to their favorite coffee shop down the street and got coffee and went upstairs...They weren't hungry this morning."said Kahlil.
"You're talking about Mocha Joes?


Jazmatazz and I go there in the summer some mornings." said Kayla..


"Yeah it's a cool place.."said her husband, Ray.

"We have all of our meals here, which is cool, but we should walk around , see what other places are around here to eat in." said Jessica.
"Oh I know it's quite a few places.."said her husband, Chip..


"I guess we are all just lazy....and this place here is so cozy and comfortable."said Karen.


"Yeah....and in the summer...we just grab our food and go eat on the rooftop."said Natalie.
"No other place has that."said David.
"True..."said Brooke.
"But there are some real nice spots around here." said Sean.


"Well when it gets warm...We'll make our way to them." said Zoey...

"Oh yeah, I'm sure." said Lem.

"There's a cafe a few blocks down I used to go to when I worked at the Women's Law Center."said Renee.
"Let's go there." said Tyrell...

"Not much longer now huh Paris?" said Tony to Paris..


"My finals are next week....I have to try a case from the Public Defenders Office as part of it."said Paris, who was in law school..
"Hey man, if you need any help, and we aren't busy, let us know."said Kahlil.
"We'd love to help you out..." I said.
"Even in court if you need a second chair."said Bee Bee.

"He's got his wife and all of Olivia's folks..."said Sofia, smiling.




But upstairs in our conference room a more serious conversation was going on..





Over steaming hot tumblers of coffee.
.





Ms. Yvette was looking at today's newspaper..

HOUSTON MAN FOUND DEAD!  MURDERED IN TRUNK OF CAR BEHIND MOTEL!!!!!
A SUSPECT IN 3.4 million dollar embezzlement!

"The dead man...Dakota Jefferson, isn't that your girlfriend's fiance?"asked Virginia.

"Yes it is.. I can't imagine another man having that same name and from Houston too...It's too much of a co-incidence." said Ms. Yvette.

"I made some phone calls and did a little digging...Dakota Jefferson was not an Executive Director of anything....He was an administrative co-ordinator for the Executive Director...He was let go last month..
Brenda was simply an Office Administrative Assistant...She was laid off a few weeks ago...Right after they exited that job... 4.3 million dollars vanished out of one of the accounts...The Insurance Company and The Houston P.D were investigating... Oh and another thing... He couldn't possibly be her fiance...
HE'S MARRIED!! HE HAS AN 18 YEAR OLD SON AND A 15 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER!!!!"said Jade.

"I can't believe she'd lie like that!"said Yvette , who was devestated...
"She was jealous! She came here..She saw how well you were doing and so she had to blow her circumstances up to make herself look and feel better."said Virginia..  'Why don't you go and talk to your friend tonight after work?" said Virginia.


 "That's a good idea......" said Ms. Yvette.



II-


Meanwhile back at the apartment complex-

Brenda Cherry was very worried...She should have heard from Dakota by now....When Midnight came and she hadn't heard from him...She called him....The person who answered sounded foreign to her..She hung up and disabled the GPS unit so she couldn't be tracked...

She woke up to the news that Dakota had been murdered ,his body found in the trunk of his car and now she really was worried...Petrified...Still, she had to go to the safe deposit box and see if he'd picked up the money....The money was the only thing that mattered at this point...

Just as she was getting ready to leave....Ms. Yvette was standing in her doorway...

"Hello Brenda.....Mind if we talk?" asked Ms. Yvette.

"I'd love to talk Vettie girl, but I've got to uh meet someone downtown right now...It's important.." said Brenda.

"It can't wait? It's 6:00 pm..." said Yvette..



"No it can't wait....it's very important....it's business..." said Brenda.

''Where is your fiance...He should have been here by now?" said Yvette staring into her friend's eyes..


Brenda was silent....

"Your fiance is dead!  And he wasn't YOUR FIANCE.....He was a married man with a wife ,an 18 year old son and a 15 year old son....or didn't you know that? "said Yvette...

Brenda was silent....Yvette stared at her girlfriend...
"You didn't know that did you? Oh Girl how could you? You used to school me on boys when we were in school.." said Yvette...


Brenda smiled.... "I remember when you got your first period....Me and your cousin had to school you and take you to buy Tampons....and I remember that summer when your breasts just exploded...No training bra for you....a woman's bra.was what you started out with!...and we taught you how to dress....how to talk to boys...how to figure out which ones just wanted to get in your panties....You were such a nerd, always had your head in a book...We had to school you.....The Boys were going nuts over you all of a sudden...Now look at you now....A Baller, dressing to the nines, A big time lawyer, partner at your firm, got your own suite, your own staff, married and a homeowner....You've come a long way Vettie......Now you're schooling those two young girls who work for you..


Bee Bee and Sofia....They took those two cute guys..


Keith and Kahlil off the market....They weren't giving 



Virginia or Jade a chance at them......heh heh heh.."laughed Brenda.


"I had nothing to do with that....Those four were together when they were in law school and they were with me before Jade or Virginia came to work for me..." said Yvette.


Brenda sighed.... "I should have taken my own advice....I met Dakota in a club....six months ago...We laughed and drank and danced all night....I gave it up that first night in a motel in a Houston suburb...I knew better than that...but I did and I was hooked...That thang had me tore up girl.....He worked at my firm...I had just started there...I was an Office Administrative Assistant....They worked me like a runaway slave, ordering Xerox Paper, Ordering office supplies for everyone, ordering coffee and kitchen supplies, setting up meetings for everybody.... Dakota was the Administrative Co_ordinator for the Executive Director...He hated his boss...We felt each other's pain...He never mentioned a wife or kids...Never and I never saw a wedding band..I should have figured it out....I always called him through this burner phone and I had never seen his home in the six months we had been seeing each other...Always spending nights in motels outside of town...Never being together on a holiday...I should have known and maybe a part of me did know...but just didn't want to know.." said Brenda.



"The Money.....What about the money?" asked Yvette...


"He and his boss, the executive director never got along and he was fired....a few weeks ago....I found myself laid off immediately afterwords......

I didn't expect to hear from Dakota again...but he contacted me...told me to meet him at , you guessed it..A Motel.. He proposed to me...gave me this ring..


"OUUUUUUUUU GIRRRRRRRL, Look at this rock...He paid a mint for this!" said Yvette.

"He proposed and he told me that he knew that he had proof that his old bossed had embezzled 3.4 million dollars of company funds....but that the joke was on him...He had embezzled it from him.....He said it was the amount of money that couldn't be reported stolen and that since his boss had initially embezzled it..We were free and clear... He said to pack up all my stuff and let's hit the road, lets get as far from Houston as possible, get married, start a new life..We hit the road and four and a half days later...We wound up here in Philly...Free and Clear."  said Brenda.

" Brenda, somebody knows you are here...Somebody found Dakota and murdered him last night...You still got that Burner phone?  Disable the GPS on it." said Yvette.


"I did!" said Brenda.


"Good! Get rid of it...I don't think whoever is behind this knows about you....If they did, they'd have paid you a visit by now..." said Yvette...


"Thank you Vettie...." said Brenda, taking the phone apart and putting it in a small bag... "I'll dump this in the trash..a few blocks away..." said Brenda.

"Give it to me... I'll dump it far away myself." said Yvette.... "What are you going to do now?" asked Yvette.


"I took my life savings out and I started a bank account here.. I have enough to live off for about six months....I should find a job within that time..."said Brenda.

"Be safe girl!" said Yvette, hugging her good friend...


"I will....I will and thanks girl."said Brenda, almost in tears, hugging Yvette.....


TENDER WAS THE NIGHT!
Yvette returned to her home after discarding the burner phone.

Her husband, Gary, was up.....



Gary had taken a hot shower ...He had two hot cups of her orange organic tea brewed.

"Ouuuuuuuuuuu thank youuuuuuuu." said Yvette...
"So did you get to the bottom of everything?" asked Gary...
"Yeah....I think I did....She met him six months ago...He wined and dined her and took her to motel after motel...He proposed to her and gave her a big expensive ring..She didn't know he had a wife and kids.. They both got let go from their jobs....His boss embezzled.3.4 Milli and then he ripped off his boss and took her with him to her hometown of Philly..." said Yvette.

''Well the news sure traveled fast...He's killed the day he got here...I'm just saying...You gotta wonder..."said Gary.....

He took Yvette in his arms....

"Know what I'm wondering?" he asked, snickering..
Kissing her passionately.....


''What color my panties are today?" Yvette answered and giggled..

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" moaned Gary....

"They're Green, for St. Patty's day soon!" she laughed.....

"OHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYYY!" he said..

"You are soooo silly." she laughed..."And Horny!" she added...

"One out of two aint bad...." he laughed....


They continued kissing.....saying nothing....just kissing....Yvette opened Gary's bathrobe , revealing once again that he was nude underneath and fully erect...

'' OH MY GODDDD, YOU REALLY ARE A BIG BOYYYY..OUUUUUUUUU HUSBAND!" moaned Yvette..

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" moaned Gary.....


Gary unhooked her bra...

and slipped her panties down..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....OHHHHHH MY GODDDDDDD VETTIE GIRRRRRL!" he moaned....



He couldn't help but lift Yvette up.....

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU BOYYYYYYYYYYY, UMMMMMMMMM I LOVE YOU SOOO MUCh!" Yvette cried out as her body trembled, her head turned from side to side, sweat and tears streamed down the side of her face.....

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU GIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRL! YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT YOUUUUU!" Gary moaned....

"HARDDDD!" she said.

"YESSSSSSSSSS!" he moaned...

Gary placed Yvette on the dresser drawer and pounded her relentlessly.....

Yvette held on to him for dear life......
They wound up on the side of the bed....Yvette eagerly moving up and down on Gary's erect and eager penis..... Gary was  delirious, he didn't know if he was coming or going...
Yvette was having an intense orgasm.....and smiling...looking at her husband.....
"UMMMMMMMMMMMM..OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" said Gary as he entered Yvette on the bed...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...LAWWWWWWWWWWWD!" moaned Yvette....delirious....not knowing if she were coming or going....
Yvette was laughing and partially crying as she wrapped her legs around Gary's waist and her arms around his neck....
They made sweet sweet love for the next EIGHT TO NINE HOURS!
Yvette was happy , satisfied and relieved to be resting on top of her husband and in his arms...She figured as though a potential crisis had been averted..She didn't know how wrong she was.. 



III-

The next morning at work-



We were all in the cafeteria having breakfast, all unaware of the trial that was just on the horizon.

''We are going to Curley's tomorrow aren't we?" I asked.
"Yes, it's St. Patrick's Day...and Couples Night..." said Bee Bee.
"We haven't been in Curley's in a month..." said Sofia...
"And this is a good time to go...We aren't involved in any case involving a certain Lieutenant."said Kahlil....

"Since when has that meant anything? He'll just find something nasty to say to try and trigger us..."said Virginia.

"Maybe we'll see a good fight...He'll piss somebody else off..."laughed Jetty. 

"Two for two drink specials....I missed that." laughed Jazzy.
 
"You better be careful...That place will turn all of us into alcoholics."laughed Dabnis..
"I am looking for the two for two drink specials."said Kayla.
"It being St. Patricks Day and all...I imagine there will be St. Patty's specials too!"said Ray.

"Two for two drink specials....I missed that." laughed Jessica.

"I missed it too...but I loved the peace and coziness of Josie's." laughed Chip.

"Yeah, me too! I'm with you there Chip." said Karen.

''You and I have a good time wherever we go ,right baby?" saod Natalie, still tickled pink to be married.
"Right  lover."said David , who was tickled pink to be married to Natalie...
"I don't mind going to Curley's tomorrow night..."said Brooke.
"Me neither...maybe if we spread out and not sit in a cluster...Lt. Tragg won't have such easy targets to target."said her husband, Sean.


"I'm not worried about him...He's like a broken record...We won't be driving....and he knows that....We can drink as much as we like.." said Zoey..

"And we don't have to be shadowed by him all night...like we 're children.." said Lem.

''St.Patricks' Day...2 for 2....That sounds like fun." said Renee.
"Yeah....I can go for that.Damn Lt. Tragg."said Tyrell.

"I'm certainly not worried about him....I hope my girl wears something sexy.....My eyes are gonna be on her."said Tony..


"Same here." laughed Paris....

"You talked to her last night....She said she didn't know he was married?  Well his wife knew about her...She told the Houston P.D. He had a girlfriend and she was from Philly and had probably come here to Philly....There is a warrant out for both of them on embezzlement charges in Houston....and the FBI might get involved....Interstate Flight." said Jade.
"She never mentioned to me anything about where the money was....She was getting ready to go somewhere when I arrived at her apartment...If the Houston P.D. knew or guessed they might be coming to Philadelphia....Somebody else figured it out too and somebody was here waiting for Dakota...They could be looking for her too!" said Ms. Yvette.
"You're right...She could very much be in danger....The news got here from Houston very fast.."said Jade.
"Gary said the same thing to me last night." said Yvette.
as we all ate our breakfasts.


IV-



Later that night.....



Ms. Jade and Ms. Yvette drove over to Brenda's apartment.....Yvette went up to her apartment while Jade sat in the SUV... Yvette walked out...

''She's not home!" said Yvette..

"Maybe she went shopping....food shopping..."said Jade.
"Maybe...but yesterday when I was here...she looked as if I was keeping her from something very important...but she didn't go back out after I left....At least I don't think so.....Jade ,something about this worries me...There are so many parts of this story that just don't add up..."said Yvette.

"Like who killed Dakota and why?   His hotel room was tossed and he was tortured...Somebody was looking for something and they didn't find it and he didn't tell them....And the main question, who knew he was here? and how did the news get here so fast?" asked Jade.


"That's the jackpot question!" said Yvette, sighing...


"Let's go home...maybe it's nothing..." said Jade


"You're right...it's probably nothing."said Ms. Yvette...




As they pulled off into the night...






At a major downtown bank at this moment...


A Safe Deposit Box is being opened...



Brenda was removing a metal briefcase...



The Briefcase contained 3.4 million dollars...She should have come and gotten this briefcase a night ago.....but Yvette had come to her apartment and they had talked... She didn't want Yvette to know about the money....



"Drop that case little lady.....You're under arrest and that briefcase belongs to me for the time being..."said Lt. Tragg to a shocked Brenda Cherry....


''What's the charge? I've done nothing wrong..."said Brenda Cherry..

''Save it for the courts baby....Brenda Cherry you're under arrest for the murder of Dakota Jefferson, you have the right to remain silent..anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law...You have a right to an attorney, if you can not afford one...One will be provided for you..Do you understand the charges as I have read them to you?" said Lt. Tragg, who was there with a tactical squad..


"Yes!" sighed Brenda Cherry...

"Hook Her up Boyz!" said Lt. Tragg..

"I'm afraid she belongs to us...We have a federal warrant for her arrest on Interstate Flight Charges to avoid prosecution for embezzlement and conspiracy to commit murder." said Deputy FBI/ATF Special Agent in Charge Sharon Hopkins.

''WHAT? THE HELL YOU DO?" snarled a furious Lt. Tragg.
"I'm afraid She's right....She has a Federal Warrant, signed by me...She's our prisoner...Move aside..."said Assistant United States Attorney Todd Dellums.. ''Look Don't make me have to lock you up for obstruction of justice and interfering with a federal investigation again!."said Todd Dellums.

''Don't make me have to LOCK YOU UP AGAIN for OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE and interfering with MY INVESTIGATION!" snarled Lt. Tragg.


"OH YEAH?" snarled Todd Dellums... "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU I AM AN ASSISTANT U.S.ATTORNEY?" yelled Todd Dellums.


"I DON'T GIVE A MERRY DAMN IF YOU'RE THE KING OF SCOTLAND!" yelled Lt. Tragg.Lt. Tragg punched Todd Dellums in the stomach and then punched him in the jaw...sending him back a few feet and then to the ground...


"OOOOOOOOOOOUFFF!" moaned Todd Dellums as he went down...He got to his feet and landed 16 lefts and 16 rights to Lt. Traggs face, sending him spinning around like a top... Lt. Tragg landed 16 lefts and 15 rights to Todd Dellums face sending him falling up against a car as policemen and FBI agents attempted to get in between the two, but the fight raged on... Todd Dellums hit him with 16 more lefts and 16 rights to his face...again sending him spinning around like a top...


This was the fourth time these two had fought...Lt. Tragg swung two haymakers which missed completely and absorbed 16 more lefts and 16 more rights to his face..before tackling Todd Dellums, to keep from falling down again and both men went crashing to the ground and rolling around on the ground   pummelling each other with punches..before they were finally seperated and FBI agents handcuffed and arrested Lt. Tragg and charged him with assault and battery of the Assistant U.S. Attorney and hauled him into a federal car..... Both of Lt. Tragg's eyes were swollen nearly shut,.his cheek was swollen and his lip was swollen and bleeding..His hair , a mess...Both sleeves were ripped off of his suit jacket, his jacket was split in the back...his shirt was out of his trousers...

Sharon Hopkins couldn't control her laughter.".Brenda Cherry you're under arrest for the murder of Dakota Jefferson, you have the right to remain silent..anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law...You have a right to an attorney, if you can not afford one...One will be provided for you..Do you understand the charges as I have read them to you?" said Deputy FBI/ATF Special Agent in Charge...She handcuffed Brenda.. and took her metal briefcase which contained 3.4 million dollars.



"Yes." she said quietly....So for the second time tonight, she had been arrested...



Lt. Tragg, battered and bruised was put in a federal car in handcuffs and driven off into the night..



Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Dellums tried to straighten himself out...His nose bleeding profusely, his left eye, black and swollen ,his hair a mess and his lip swollen...Angrier than he had been in a long time...He got in one of the Federal cars and they all pulled off and headed towards the U.S. Courthouse.



into the Philadelphia Night..

(TO BE CONTINUED)