It was the day before what was going to be the first preliminary hearing for Judge Percy Reynolds , accused of the brutal first degree murder of Herbert Jeffries...
Attorney Dabnis Coley arrived a little early, just in time to see ADA Rockland Cambridge leaving..
and kissing Alfreda…
"Ummmm Babbbby.." he moaned...
Alfreda kissed him again and waved goodbye...
"Byyye Horny toad....I'll see you tonight baby." she said..
He walked up....
"That's Assistant District Attorney Rockland Cambridge.." he said..
''Very Good, I take it you know him." said Alfreda..
"Our Paths have been known to cross."said Dabnis...
Rockland was one of two ADA 's who had bested him in court....He thought Rockland was a jerk , a big square jerk...
"Tell me he's not your boyfriend.." said Dabnis..
"Okay...I won't tell you."said Alfreda with a smile..Knowing he saw them kissing.
Dabnis shook his head...
He was thinking...A sexy , fine, hip chick like this with that square....unbelievable...
"Trying to make time with my mommy Dabnis? Rockland won't like that!" joked Beverly...
"This is your mother??Wowwwwww I see where your beauty comes from!" said Dabnis..
"Before you ask....A long time ago...Olivia's much older brother, Jimmy and I were lovers...Beverly is the result of that love...At the age of Nine, Olivia became an auntie...."said Alfreda…
.''Yes....I am the product of ALL THAT LOVE!" joked Beverly...
Olivia walked up....
"Oh telling him our family history Freda.?" she said, hugging Beverly....
Beverly giggled...
"He seemed curious." joked Alfreda...
Dabnis smiled... All these fine women in this house....Unbelievable..
II-
"Well come in let's get started..."said Olivia..
Inside he saw our conference room...with water and fresh fruit
Hot coffee and doughnuts were on the table..
He saw Nelson seated...
''What's up Dabnis?" he said...
and Josie next to him...
"Hi Dabnis…" she said..
He sat next to her...He kept ogling her breasts...
"You're supposed to be relaxing...awaiting the Bar exam." he said softly....seductively...
''We've been telling her that...But she insists on hanging up under us..."said Olivia.
"You're no longer a Para-legal Jo...You're an Attorney now.....That Bar exam is just a technicality.."said Beverly...
"I told her the exact same thing Beverly....Used the exact same words.."said Dabnis...
"Great Minds Think Alike." laughed Beverly...
Josie sighed , smiled and shook her head.
"Hi Dabnis….Let's get down to cases..."I said..
"Our defense is simple....This was a rush to judgement....based on nothing...."said Olivia..
"Our client was not there..." said Beverly...
"We know this because we have proof...His credit card slips show he was at Big Rig's Soul Food Joint eating and drinking from 4:30 pm to 7:00, when he left..."said Nelson..
"We have witnesses who will testify they saw him there....Several witnesses.."said Olivia..
"We know the murder occurred sometime between 6:15 pm and 6:45 pm... We know this because he called Patricia Reynolds..at 6:15 pm and she arrived at 6:47 and found him dead...She then called 911 and us..."said Beverly...
''Why is she not a suspect?" asked Dabnis.. He was just curious.
"Science...The way the blows were struck and the height the blows were delivered tells us that the killer was left handed...and over six feet tall...a man more than likely.." I said..
"Patty is five feet nine and right handed..very petite..Like Olivia and Beverly.."said Dabnis…."But her husband is six feet four and he is left handed and his finger prints and DNA is on the crowbar.."said Dabnis..
Olivia smiled and made a mental note of how well Dabnis knew Patty's height, the fact that she was right handed....and the fact that he called her "Patty" and not Mrs. Reynolds..He was very familiar with her she mused.
"But he wasn't there..He said he and the original owner of the house...A Jack McCandles were working on the indoor plumbing in an extra shower the day before..He was going to pull the wall out and check out the pipes...He wasn't there after that..."said Nelson..
"His prints and DNA aren't the only prints on that crowbar...There is unidentified DNA and a palm print."said Beverly..
"McCandles ?" asked Dabnis...
''We don't Know....But My husband and Beverly are going to talk to him today..."said Olivia..
"If we are lucky....We'll get a sample of his DNA...."I said.
"Might not mean he killed him either...but he'll be the one explaining why his DNA is on the crowbar, Not our client.."said Beverly..
"You could very well win this in the preliminary."said Dabnis...
"Well, we've won our last three in the prelims...It's kinda nice, not having a drawn out trial..."said Olivia..
Dabnis respected how Olivia and Beverly structured their defense, piece by piece....leaving nothing to chance..
He respected them as Attorneys...He liked how good they both looked even more...between them and Josie
and Beverly's mother, Alfreda...He couldn't imagine how Nelson and I existed in here without being aroused 24/7..
We were used to being around beautiful women...
III-
Beverly and I found Jack McCandles back at the house, Judge and Patty Reynolds was buying...He was arguing with Lt. Tragg..
"Look Pal....I gotta go inside and prepare this place for sale... Mrs. reynolds would like to move in within a week ."said Jack McCandles..
"Forget it...This is a crime scene...You can't come in..."said Lt. Tragg..
''Come onnnnn your forensic boys came and cleaned up the blood, they took the bed sheets and the contents of the trash can in the bedroom..." said Jack McCandles..
"What? When was this? Why wasn't I told?" asked Lt. Tragg..
"Take it up with them...They were here yesterday...Now Can I go inside?" asked McCandles..
"Maybe tomorrow...but not today...Don't let me catch you inside..."said Lt. Tragg… 'Smitty, watch this place." he said..
The uniformed officer nodded as Lt. Tragg left..
"Mr. McCandles....I am Beverly West, I'm an Attorney ....My Aunt and I are defending Judge Percy Reynolds , who is accused of murdering Herbie Jeffries....THis is our investigator, Donnie Ray Alexander.."she said.
"Hello Mr. Jeffries...Can I ask you a couple of questions?" I asked..
"Nah, not without a warrant." he said..
"I'm not a cop...I'm a private investigator....I work for Attorneys..."I said.
"I'm an attorney....I can get a subpoena and you can talk in court."said Beverly...
"Then get one...Other than that...I'm out!" he said and he left...He was sipping a Styrofoam tumbler of coffee..He tossed it in the trash, got in his car and pulled off...
Beverly retrieved it and passed it to me..
I put it in a plastic bag...
"Hazel ought to be interested in this..." I said.
Back at our house..
Dabnis couldn't keep his eyes off Josie...he said to her softly...
"So Uh, where is your boyfriend? Mr. Paris?" he asked..
''He's at work.."she said..
"Ummmmph...I'd like to be at work....In bed with you..." he said under his breath..
"You just won't stop will you?" said Josie...
"Here comes my baby!"said Olivia.."And my sweet Neicey Poo." she added..
''He wouldn't talk to us at all and Lt. Tragg was there...He wouldn't let any of us go inside the house.."I said.
"I threatened him with a subpoena...but he knew I was bluffing..." said Beverly...
"No matter....I did a little digging....Jack McCandles was born and raised here in Philly, attended Philly Public schools...Did a stint in the Army, got out and went to several trade schools...He knows carpentry, stone masonry, plumbing, brick laying and air conditioning and heating.." I said.
"Ouuuu we could use him around here." joked Olivia...
"No police record...." I said.
"He was married....I checked to a Joan McCandles."said Nelson..
''Yeah ,I found several complaints of domestic violence calls against him by his wife on the police file..Charges were always dropped....He was booked only once..Never did any jail time or went to court." I said.
''They divorced?" asked Olivia..
"No, his wife just up and left him about five years ago... Hasn't been seen or heard from since.. He filed a Missing persons report...which turned up nothing...He took out a one million dollar insurance policy on her which he just collected on about a week ago..."I said.
"Between that and the sale of that house...He's got it made..."said Nelson...
"Yeah...how about that...He wanted to get back in that house in the worst way..."I said..
"I want to take another look at that house..tonight!" I said.
'' Alright..but we all go..."said Olivia..
IV-
The uniformed officer had gone off shift...I watched..A half an hour went by...I saw no evidence of another cop relieving him...
Olivia , Beverly and Josie sat in the SUV, a block away...
Olivia and Beverly were attorneys...They couldn't be privy to this..
Josie shouldn't have even come along, but she insisted...I didn't want anything to get in the way of her getting her license...
Nelson was an Attorney too...but I did need some back up...He turned his back as
I did what we detectives back in New Orleans used to call a "Black Bag Job" I picked the lock and let myself in....If caught...I'd say the door was open and I just went in...
Nelson walked in behind me with a flashlight..
We walked into the extra bathroom and shower...
"This is nice...but it smells weird..."said Nelson...
"This is where the Judge and Herbie Jeffries said the weird odor was coming from...That's why the Judge had the crowbar...he was pulling out the wall.." I said.
"Right there?" said Nelson.
I saw where he had loosened the wall and exposed the indoor plumbing..
"That smell is more distinct....I've smelled that smell before...Come on...Let's get out of here."I said and the two of us left..
At the car....
"I'm nervous..The one thing I don't want is to have to bail my husband out and yours too."said Olivia.
"I know right? Josie...You shouldn't even be here...."said Beverly...
"I'm part of the team...We go down in flames together.." she said and smiled..
Just then, Nelson and I showed up..
"We can go now."said Nelson...who hopped in the front seat with his wife Beverly...
"I'm so glad you guys got out of there.."said Beverly...
''What's the matter Donnie Ray...You look like you've seen a ghost..."said Olivia..
I imagine I did look spooked..
"Let's get out of here.." said Josie..
Beverly started the car up and took off..
"That smell, that smell in the bathroom...I've smelled that smell before.." I said.
"You have dearest?" asked Olivia..
"What smell?" asked Beverly...
"In the spare bathroom and shower..There was this horrible smell..."said Nelson..
''Well Bathrooms are where bad smells are supposed to be.."said Josie, smiling..
"Not this smell Josie...This was the smell of human remains, decomposing human remains..." I said..
No comments:
Post a Comment