VENTURES

COURTROOM A-

Judge James Wilson's courtroom-

The Jury sat pensively...

Especially Jury Forman, Sean Marks

As Defense Attorney , Adam Clarke did the unexpected...He put Kathy Elliot on the stand, to tell her story.

Kathy took the stand...She was composed...No more crying..She sat calmly and told the story...Her story of her life with murder victim, Zack Roman...

"Six Months ago...We moved into the same loft...

These lofts were brand new and in an exclusive part of town...We both were very fortunate to get in this particular loft.

The place had a very nice laundry room in it's basement..

Zack happened to walk past my laundry basket and take a peek.

There were several pairs of my panties in the laundry basket... I saw him looking at them and smiling..

"I said , excuse me...you get a good look?"

He said..."Not good enough...I'd love to see you in them, that would be a good enough look."

"Normally I might have slapped a guy for a fresh remark like that...but something about him, something about the way he said it was kinda cute.. I giggled..He laughed and for the next hour we were having the most amazing conversation while our clothes washed and dried..

When our clothes were finished...We were getting ready to get on the elevator and got to our respective floors when we turned and began kissing..

I mean just kissing...We couldn't stop...it was an electric attraction, one lioke nothing I had ever had for a man in my life.

I had never had an experience with a guy like that before...He told me he had never had that kind of experience either..

No one was around....and the next thing I know..

He had my skirt hiked up...

and slipped my panties down...

Lifted me up, spread my legs and made love to me, right there in the laundry room...right there by the elevator...

He put me on top of the washing machine and that was it...He spread my legs and we made love for then next HOUR and A HALF!

Luckily...no one came down ...no one caught us....

"That began a six month long sexual and emotional relationship...... That night we spent the night in my loft....The next night I spent it with him in his loft. I often fixed him breakfast on weekends. We didn't just screw...We went to Baseball games..

We both, being born and raised in Philadelphia were avid Phillies fans.. His job gave him season tickets.

We liked the Camden Riversharks too and we went to their games...

We both loved Pizza..

and Beer.... We often had a slice and a glass of beer at a local pizzeria down the street from our loft..They all knew us in there.

He was the love of my life....I would have never of hurt him....No way! They'll never bee another man like that in my life. We had no plans of breaking up, contrary to the prosecutions theory...There was no other man for me and no other woman for him...He was the love of my life and I was the love of his." she said.

Sean and the four female jurors and and at least two male jurors believed her and were strongly leading toward acquittal... It was the other jurors.

After court let out...

"Adam Clarke is doing a great job, I think he's winning over the jury....I was moved to tears hearing her story..I don't think she did it." said Brooke, who was there to cheer me on..

"I don't think so either...None of the women on the jury think so..and I think two of the guys believe she's innocent too...I've got to convince them that she's innocent."said Sean.

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm how about a kiss sweetie?" she said and kissed him slowly and softly..

"Ummmmmmmm Vanilla, you can convince me to do anything..." moaned Sean as he kissed her passionately...

Judge Wilson peered at them from afar....He was furious that Sean was kissing Brooke...

Lt. Tragg walked up next to him...."How do you like that huh Judge? Them two kissin like this in public...There was a time when them two kissin like that in public woulda been unheard of...Socially unacceptable."said Lt. Tragg.

Judge Wilson didn't respond...he simply breathed deeply and walked away.

Sean and Brooke were lost in their kissing.

II-

At A tony coffee shop ,blocks away from the courthouse...Public Defender, Adam Clarke met with his "consultants" ,Olivia and Beverly and their team..Donnie Ray, Nelson, Josie and Bresha. Natalie and I came along too...We all had been in court today....Much to Judge James Wilson's surprising consternation... We weren't doing anything..We were in the visitor's section.

"It was a good idea to meet here for coffee's Olivia...No chance of running into Judge Wilson or anybody else involved with the trial."said Public Defender, Adam Clarke.

"We aren't doing anything wrong...I could see if we were on the jury, but we aren't...We aren't officially involved in this case at all...but there is absolutely nothing wrong with you talking to us." said Olivia.

"I'm glad you let her talk about their relationship....Particularly about their mutual love for baseball..

I saw the murder weapon....The baseball bat was new...It was autographed by Juan Soto of the Yankees...Neither one of those two avid Phillies fans would have bought a bat like that...It had to have been purchased by someone either not a fan or who didn't know or care about the significance..Talk about that tomorrow.." said Donnie Ray.

"Donnie Ray is right... By the way...you're doing an excellent job on defense...Abigail is our friend, but you've got her on her heels..She's losing the jury and she knows it."said Beverly...

"That Judge keeps looking at you as though you've pulled a rabbit out of a hat or something and today, despite not having been at trial since day one...He was giving us the side eye...He definitely didn't like us being there." said Nelson.

"I don't get him...It's as if he has a personal stake in all this. I'd understand if he was a Prosecutor, not wanting to lose a case...but what does it matter , win or lose who wins this case? He's a judge." said Josie.

"I know right?" said Bresha. "He appears to be too invested in this case." said Bresha.

"I know...I've heard he doesn't like Defense Attorneys, but is he this biased in all of his trials?" asked Natalie.

"I know...There is something about this damn judge.....I can't put my finger on it." I said.

"I know! I just want to be done with it AND HIM!" said Adam Clarke.

A few blocks away at Sam Mother's Diner.

Sean ordered a big breakfast.. An everything Omelette, Sausages and Hash Browns....

"You're not eating sweetie?" he asked Brooke.

"I had breakfast this morning in my building...you're eating enough for both of us.."she giggled.

Judge Wilson sat at the counter alone,.sipping coffee.

and staring at Brooke-

Daydreaming about her-

III-

COURTROOM A- DAY 6

Adam Clarke picked up the Baseball Bat...

"Now neither of you owned this bat right....The first time you saw it was after you came out of the shower...It's signed by Juan Soto of the hated Yankees....You both being Phillies fans would have never bought a bat like this would you?" he asked.

"No Never!"said Kathy...

"OBJECTION!! RELEVANCE!" said ADA Abigail Wilson-Walker

"I agree..Strike that from the record." said the Judge.

"Your honor...I am going somewhere with this...If you give me just a little leeway here!" said Adam Clarke.

"I said Move on counselor...Now not another word about that bat..."said the Judge with a smirk....

Adam Clarke and Abigail Wilson Walker made their closing arguments and the case was given to the jury to deliberate....

The trial was over....Now it was up to the jury...

Sean was the Jury Foreman...

They took their first vote, Sean and the four women on the jury voted for an acquittal, one male voted for acquittal also...The other six jurors voted for conviction......

Outside in the courthouse waiting area...

Natalie brought coffees for everybody from the same coffee shop down the street that we had all been hanging out in..

"Coffee everybody." said Natalie.

"Thanks Nat....Think they'll have a verdict today?" asked Brooke.

"They might but juries are funny....That's one thing I've learned." I said.

"Thank you Natalie. Yes, David is right, Juries are funny, you never can figure them." said Olivia.

"That wasn't a jury we helped pick, it's a mixed bag of nuts in there." said Donnie Ray.

"That damn Judge did a nice hatchet job didn't he?" said Beverly...

"He might as well have been on the Prosecution's team." said Nelson.

"Yeah wouldn't allow the testimony about the baseball bat." said Josie.

"I swear, it's almost like he had a personal stake in this whole thing." said Bresha.

Back in the Jury deliberation room.....

The Jurors listened as their Foreman spoke-

"Look guys, there is absolutely no proof that these two were planning to break up...She came to his loft in a trenchcoat and nothing on under it except panties and bra...a brand new fancy pair at that..The witnesses the prosecution presented said they were goin at it all night...She got up and was taking a shower. She said there was no bat there...She didn't own a bat and there is no proof that he owned a bat...and let's look at that bat....It was signed by Juan Soto of the Yankees...They're Phillies fans to the bones.."said Sean.

"Yeah...I'm a Phillies fan...I wouldn't buy that bat." said one of the male jurors who had previously voted for conviction...

"I wouldn't either."said Sean... "That's the point the Defense was trying to make that the Judge wouldn't let him make..."said Sean..

"That bat came from someone, some place other than those two...and it was placed at the door so that whoever was taking the shower had to touch it, had to move it in order to get out...She called the police and waited there naked and wet for them to come... Not the actions of a pre-meditated murderer."said Sean.

"Well if she didn't kill him, Who did? " asked another Juror.

"That is not our job to decide...Our job is to determine whether Kathy Elliot did this or not!!" said Sean.

The Jurors had one last final vote!

IV-

COURTROOM A-Day 6....THREE HOURS LATER-

The Jury had come to a decision.

"Alright, it appears the jury has come to a decision." said Judge Wilson. He was smiling, certain they had voted for a conviction.

ADA Abigail Wilson -Walker thought she had done a credible enough job to get a conviction also.

both , ADA Abigail Wilson-Walker and Lt. Tragg looked confident...

Adam Clarke looked worried. He had done his best, but this Judge had been more of a thorn in his side than the prosecution. He already had an appeal drawn up. Though he knew, challenging a Judge could be detrimental to the advancement of his career if he was wrong and the appeal didn't go his way.

Kathy Elliot sat wondering how did her life go so wrong?

"Has the Jury come to a decision?" asked Judge Wilson.

"Yes your honor, we have." said Jury Foreman, Sean Marks...

He passed the decision to the bailiff , who passed it to the Judge.

He read the decision and looked incredulous...He passed it to the bailiff who read it..

"WE THE JURY OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA FIND THE DEFENDENT,

KATHLEEN ELLIOT NOT GUILTY OF FIRST DEGREE MURDER!" he said.

"OH MY GOD!! I DON'T BELIEVE IT!! OHHHHH THANK YOU MR. CLARKE!" said Kathy, hugging her lawyer.

"You're quite welcome doll." he said. He couldn't believe he had won...He actually thought he was going to lose, which was why he planned to file an immediate appeal...He wouldn't have to now..

He looked out into the visitor's section and smiled at Olivia and company and winked.

They all smiled and winked back....They didn't want to look too jubilant.

"He Pulled it Out." said Olivia.

"He sure did..but did you have any doubt? Look at his teachers." said Donnie Ray,.

"He still could have lost...with that jury...We had an inside man kinda sorta...in Sean."said Beverly.

"Yeah Kinda sorta, only he wasn't..We never talked to him the entire trial." said Nelson.

"But he was the Jury Foreman and he looked at it from a Defense Attorney's perspective."said Josie.

"He sure did and he saw just what we saw that like all of his arrests, Lt. Tragg had little to no motive , no evidence...no nothing....He shouldn't have even made an arrest."said Bresha.,

"He'll probably blame us just being present as reason they lost." said Brooke.

"Oh you know he will...Good thing he doesn't know that Liv and Bev were consulting Adam on the case."said Natalie.,

"Doesn't matter if he knows or not...they didn't do anything wrong." I said.

"WHATTTTTTTTTTTT? I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!! WITH THAT JURY??? AND THEY VOTED TO ACQUIT!!! I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!" snarled Lt. Tragg, who was as red as a beet.

He stomped his foot and angrilly stormed out of the courtroom....This time he couldn't blame Olivia or Beverly or Yvette and her snot nosed kids...A Public defender , who had no business winning this case had pulled it out..Though he did wonder what we all were doing in court.

ADA Abigail Wilson-Walker walked over to us..

"Hey Guys....Know any place a girl can get a cold one tonight? I'm hella thirsty..." she said.

"We are all going to Curley's after we leave here...Join us." said Olivia.

"I think I will." she said and smiled.

Lt. Tragg watched us from afar.. He had never liked all of us being in the courtroom, even though we had no visible involvement in the case...Us just being there bothered him...He didn't like that the Prosecutor was laughing and talking with us now that everything was over.

Judge Wilson felt the same way and he couldn't help saying as much to Sean...

"Mr. Marks...perhaps it was a mistake having you on the jury." he said snidely....

"You did everything you could to kneecap the defense...Never have I ever seen a Judge so biased....I'd like to know why? Meanwhile there is a murderer still out there that has all but gotten away with this crime for the time being." said Sean.

"Perhaps...but as far as the police are concerned ,this case is closed...Perhaps YOU should leave it that way." he said and strode off into the afternoon....

Sean stared at him as he walked away...

"There's something about you....This aint over....I'm gonna get to the bottom of you Judge, just wait!"he said to himself.

EPILOUGE:

CURLEY'S BAR-COUPLES NIGHT!

"It feels good coming out tonight.." said Abby Wilson Walker.

"The drinks are cheap and cold..." said her husband. Albert Walker, also an Attorney.

ADA Abigail Wilson did come to Curley's that night...She brought her husband along with her and they sat with us...

"I'm glad you came out Abby...I'm glad this trial is over." said Olivia.

"I know you are too!" said Donnie Ray.

"Now we all can relax for awhile."said Beverly

"Until the next big trial." said Nelson.

"Yeah, until the next one."said Josie.

Even though they didn't argue this case..only consulted the defense, they felt as if they were indeed involved, if only from behind the scenes...Way behind the scenes.

"Well it's nice to enjoy some cold ones.. with friends.."said Paris.

Bresha raised her glass...."And we are all friends here." she said.

"Here Here." said her husband, raising his glass.

"Here Here." said Alfreda.

"Here Here." said Rockland.

"Here Here." agreed Adam Clarke, who raised his glass also,.

All of us attorneys sat together....The case was over, We didn't take it personal.

"I'm going to be doing a series of lectures at PENN LAW SCHOOL next week...starting Tuesday...

"Maybe if I have some time off, I'll meet you for lunch." said her husband, Gary.

"We'll keep the office humming."said Keith Jones with a smile.

"You'll try to keep me in your office, so we can fool around...but I have work to do mister."said Bee Bee.

"That's telling him girlfriend, so do I...You hear that husband."laughed Sofia.

"Yeah I hear that."laughed Kahlil.

"I'll keep em straight" said Jade to Yvette.

"Nice !" said her husband, Danny Ho.

"She'll be lecturing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday....I might go watch her one day."said Virginia.

"Maybe we can go together." said Jetty...

''We just finished a big trial ourselves in Federal Court this week." said Nina Rios.

"Yeah we could have used your help Sean,,,,We were in Federal Court." said her boyfriend, Carlos, also an attorney working at the Women's Law Center.

"Oh Yeah",laughed Sean.

''We missed you at Breakfast and Lunch Sean." said Jazzy.

''We are glad you helped get that girl acquitted." said Dabnis.

"Yeah we were glad about that..I was hearing about the case on B.L.'s Podcast and judging by what they had, I didn't think she was guilty either."said Kayla.

"I'm glad Abby and Adam came out tonight..I like both of them....Glad neither of them took this personal."said Ray.

"Olivia and Yvette taught me that....They said each case is a job...a job you have studied and are being paid to do...Win or lose you don't take it personally, you appeal and move on to the next case." said Jessica.

"Yupper, they both taught me that too!" said her husband, Chip..

Karen sat on her husband, B.L.'s lap...

"I know you're going to have Kathy Elliot on your show aren't you?" she asked.

"I asked her, but she said she didn't want to talk about it right now...I'll give her time."said B.L.

"She said he was the love of her life...She has nobody now....They were soul mates and now she has nobody....I feel bad for her.." said Natalie.

"I know how bad I'd feel if I lost you Natalie and then worse had to stand trial for your murder when I know I'm innocent.....She never got a chance to grieve." I said, hugging Natalie.

''Awwww I'd feel the same if I lost you too boo." said Natalie.

"Well it's all over now." said Brooke, sitting on her husband's lap and hugging him..

Sean smiled.

"Yeah it's all over." said Zoey.

"What's up for the weekend?" asked Lem.

"We are having another game day at our house with Games, Food and Fun....but before that...Bridget is coming over and having a lingerie showing just for us girls called "Panty Palooza."said Renee.

"Ouu that sounds like fun.....Everybody will be nice and snug and warm."laughed her husband, Tyrell.

Judge James Wilson stared at all of them, Lawyers all....all sitting together, laughing ,talking, drinking....Including the prosecutor in his case and the defense attorney....He didn't like it.He didn't like them....He didn't like that Kathy Elliot was scott free..but he knew as far as Lt. Tragg was concerned...the case was closed, so he wasn't worried. All Tragg was worried about was sucking face with Kelly Ann Mercer, another Judge and trying to get in her panties..