Mini Drug Kingpin, Richard Gold, known on the street as "Goldie" walked into the fncy building near Penns Landing..He had a Court Summons with him..All he would need for entrance and to be escorted to the huge conference room..
It looked nothing like a court room, this looked nothing like a court hearing of any type he had ever heard of...
Once inside..he got a pleasant surprise....
"Ms. Jenkins??? Jasmine Jenkins??" he said..
"Oh My God!!! Richard Gold??" said Jasmine....
"Lawwwwwwd is that , Ms. West??Beverly West???" he asked..
"Richie? Richie Gold? Oh My Goddddd…"said Beverly...
"Nelson? Nelson East..." he said..
"Damnnnn Richie...When they let you out?" laughed Nelson..
"I never went in anymore thanks to you guys...Several arrests, but so far, only two convictions...I've been keeping my nose clean the past few years." said Richard Gold..
"Oh My God...Ms. Olivia...." he exclaimed..
"Hi Richie....Glad to see you've stayed out of prison...but not so glad to see you're still in the life."said Olivia..
''Well I aint out on the corners no more...I uh just uh ...Well why go into all that...It's so nice to see you all...after all these years....I see you and Beverly on the news....You got your own law firm now, you and Beverly...huh?" said Richard...
"Yeah and Me and Beverly are married now and we both work for Liv."said Nelson..
"That's right....I'm Mrs. East Now.."said Beverly....
"And I see you've met my wife, Jasmine.."said Dabnis.. ''Richie and I grew up in Kensington..a long time ago..Small world.."said Dabnis..
"Yeah, well, Olivia, Beverly, Nelson and I all represented him numerous times throughout his storied uhhh career, isn't that right Richie..Oh that's right...You went by the name "Goldie."said Jazzy..
He laughed...
''Mannn Dabnis, an Attorney and married to this fly ass babe...It's like the whole world has turned upside down...You work for Olivia too?" he asked.
"Nah, I work for a Law Firm in Center City....Jasmine works for a law firm in this building...We all are representing Phyllis Shafney and running it through the Wrongfully Convicted Unit of the District Attorney's Office, which is headquarted here.."said Dabnis..
"Ohhhhhhh I see.." said Goldie.
Olivia sat in my lap..
''Your wife right?" he said....He remembered me from a few days ago..
"That's right " I said..
"Sweet....." he said..
He eyed Josie and smiled..
"And uh who might you be sweet thang?" he asked.
"I also work for Olivia...My name is Josie...I'm an attorney.." she said..
"You don't look like you're married or attached to anybody here...I'm going to get myself in trouble so you can represent me.." he laughed...
ADA Karen Page walked in with Phyllis Shafney...
"I am Assistant District Attorney , Karen Page...I run the Wrongfully Convicted Unit...I am here to hear arguments for Mrs. Shafney today....and to hopefully overturn her sentence...Thank you for being prompt...As soon as the Judge and the others get here..We can start." she said.
Phyllis Shafney, who had spent seven years in prison because of his bogus testimony could not look him in the eye...He couldn't look at her either.
II-
The Arbitrator, Former Common Pleas Judge, William Pierce walked in just then....
"Wow! This is a huge room...Second time I've been in here.." he said..
"I remember when you were here sir."said Jasmine, smiling..
Dr. Hazel Baylor
and Doc Gibbons from the Medical Examiner's Office came in....
"Good Morning Everybody...With everyone here...Let's begin these proceedings..."said ADA Karen Page..
''Shouldn't the arresting officer be here?" asked Judge Pierce..
"Lt. Tragg is currently on assignment with the Marine Police Unit... on the riverfront your honor.."said Karen Page..
"I know, but I sent him a court summons...I cleared it with his Captain..."said the Judge...
Suddenly...He appeared..
"I'm Here...s-Sorry I'm, I'm Latttttttttttttttte." he said...Just a shadow of mimself...
Lt. Tragg, looking nothing like he usually looks..No suit..no make up..Hair mussed up..Wearing Jeans and a Denim Shirt and a Bomber jacket...
He also looked half tanked...
Doc Gibbons looked at him with total disgust and shook his head.
''He's drunk as hell." he muttered.
Hazel cracked up....
"Well okay...everyone is here...Let's uh start the proceedings...Ouuuuuuuuuu!" she sighed.. "Excuse me.." she said, blushing..
Lt. Tragg had his hand up her skirt and was tugging at the waistband of her panties..unseen to everyone else..
She firmly removed his hands and got up and stood on the opposite side of the room...
"Okay...uh let's begin.." she said..
Olivia and I, Beverly and Nelson, Josie, Dabnis and Jazzy all looked at each other...We had no idea what had just transpired or why Karen had gotten up and moved to the opposite side of the room.
We just stared at the drunken Lt. Tragg , who had a pleased as punch look on his face.
III-
Jasmine, Beverly and Olivia opened up arguments stating that
Phyliss Shafney was convicted on a hill of circumstantial evidence and that a lot of exculpatory evidence had been with held from the original Defense Attorney ,now deceased by the now deceased ADA Arnold Patch...They brought up at least seven instances of ''Willful hiding of discovery evidence that may have swayed a jury in a different direct...and lastly they set out to prove that her husband, Wes Shafney might not have been murdered at all , but died by natural causes.."
Nelson, with help and testimony from Hazel and Doc Gibbons presented the first Autopsy which showed cause of death was Heart Failure and Cihrosis of the Liver..mixed with acute alcohol poisoning..He had downed a case of beer and some gin on the day of his death...
Josie called Lt. Tragg to the stand..
He said that the sister of the defendant told him to take a second look at the body and that she believed her sister poisoned her brother in law...
Beverly and Olivia looked at the second autopsy , which found traces of LSD in the urine..
Hazel explained that the LSD was not found the first time because no one was looking for it..A second look found some deposits in cold urine that was still in the body...She explained that while LSD will speed your heart rate up and he did have a bad heart...The LSD would not have caused his death.
Doc Gibbons concurred....
Jazzy, Olivia, Beverly and Nelson submitted statements from at least ten other doctors on the same subject to support their claims..Basically saying..His bad heart, his bad liver and his excessive consumption of alcohol on his last day of life caused his death...
It took me and Beverly and Josie days to locate these doctors and get these statements in writing and signed affadavits...but we did it!
Dabnis presented Phyllis's recantment of her original claim...The first one in a signed affidavit mailed to ADA Arnold Patch, a day...One day after the conviction and sentencing..It was never made public..
He then presented the second recantment of her original claim , which was found in her house...after her suicide..
"You were the detective on duty Lt. Tragg, weren't you?" he asked.
" I turned it over to the D.A.'s office..Patch didn't think much of it.." protested Lt. Tragg..
"You didn't either, did you?" asked Dabnis..
"WHYYYY YOUUUU POMPUS LITTLE TWIT!!" screamed Lt. Tragg, who lunged at Dabnis..
"Hey Hey Heyyy cool it guys.." I said..grabbing Lt. Tragg and restraining him....
"Come on now...This is just a hearing.."said Nelson.
We both restrained Lt. Tragg..
"I'll knock him senseless" snarled Lt. Tragg.
"Lieutenant, it's bad enough you're in here drunk...Now you're attacking attorneys?...Calm it down...Calm it down..I have no desire to send a cop to the cooler!"said Judge Pierce..
"I'm Not drunk."said Lt. Tragg...
Dabnis was getting ready to say something...
Jazzy put her soft hand over his mouth...
''Shut it! Don't start.." she said softly and smiled at her new husband..
She called Richard Gold to the stand..
He smiled...He was amused by the entire outburst....It was the most exciting thing about this hearing, which so far had been a lot of legal mumbo jumbo that he didn't understand and the presentation of depositions and affadavits...
"You never sold Mrs. Shafney any LSD as you testified in the original trial did you?" asked Jasmine..
"No prior to her trial ,I never saw her before in my life...I sold the LSD to her daughter, Chloe and her girlfriend.." said Goldie.
''Why did you testify that you did sell her LSD?" asked Olivia.
"Lieutenant Tragg
had me in the Fishbowl for eight hours grilling me..
.He told me I could find myself in jail as an accessory to murder if I didn't tell what happened..He said I already had two strikes against me and I was looking at a third..Automatic Life..
Then ADA Patch came in...He had my record with him..He told me if I didn't say I sold to Mrs. Shafney, I would be facing a stiff sentence-20 years to life....I couldn't do all those years...I had a serious charge in front of me...I said what he asked me to say and he wiped my slate clean...I am so sorry you had to sit in jail for seven years because of a lie your sister, ADA Patch and an overzealous cop put together."said Richard Gold..staring daggers at Lt. Tragg..
"Damn man, you've let yourself go over the years." he said..
Beverly and Jasmine couldn't help but snicker at that remark..
"You're listening to him? He's a career criminal...I coulda busted him for the sale of a controlled substance, but I didn't.."shouted Lt. Tragg..who was visibly angry at this point...
"Like you did him some big favor...Instead you suborned perjury.."said Dabnis..
"THAT'S IT! I'M KNOCKIN YOU THE HELL OUT!"said Lt. Tragg, leaping out of his seat....
"Sit Yo Ass down Lieutenant....Now that's my last warning...SIT DOWN! Calm it down!...Let's take five for lunch....I've seen enough....I'll look over your argument and your findings and make my decision then." said Judge Pierce. "Thanks to everyone who came down today." he said..
"I'm done?" asked Goldie.
"You're free and clear...Thank you for coming down here." I said and shook his hand..
"Nice seeing all of my favorite Public Defenders again. And wow! Thanks for the uh entertainment..." said Richard Gold, smiling...
"Bye Richie...Get out of that street life...Before it catches up to you."said Olivia.
"Richie...We aren't public defenders anymore...You might not wind up so lucky next time."said Beverly.
"My wife is right Richie."said Nelson..
"Be well Richie."said Jasmine..
"I will." he said..
Doc Gibbons and Hazel left...They took one look at Lt. Tragg and both shook their heads...They hurried to the elevator...Neither wanted to ride down with him...
Lt. Tragg eased up against Karen...
"I want you soooo bad baby...I can taste you...ummmmmmmmmm.." he maoned.
"Arthur...you've been drinking...Just go...Please."said Karen...
"I'm not drunk baby....How about a kiss baby?" he asked..
"NO!!!...GOODBYE ARTHUR."said Karen loudly...
''You okay Karen? Our food order from Chinese Bob's is here."said Dabnis..
"I'M JUST MINUTES FROM KNOCKING YOU THE HELL OUT!" snarled Lt. Tragg..
"Ahhh Yeah! Sure you are! " said Dabnis, who walked away...
Chinese Take Out from Chinese Bob's arrived..
''Come on Baby, get some of this."said Jazzy to Dabnis, to get him away from Lt. Tragg.
"Ummmm depending on what you're talking about...That's an offer I can't refuse/"laughed Dabnis..
"You are soooo nasty."laughed Jazzy.
"Ummm It smells good."said Olivia..
"It smells Delish.."said Beverly...
"Dig in everybody.."I said..
"Don't have to tell me twice.."said Nelson..
"I know that's right.."said Josie..
"There's enough for you too Ms. Phyllis.."said Dabnis..
"Oh Thank you.,..I am famished.."said Phyllis. she looked at Lt. Tragg...
"He has let himself go over the years....He used to wear finely tailored suits, have a manicure..Hair was perfect...If he wasn't such a prick...he was actually quite attractive, What happened to him?"she asked.
"He's temporarily assigned to the Police Marine Unit...He's out on a boat...for the month!" I explained.
"I have to go...Thank you for coming...Good Bye Arthur.."said Karen, pushing him out the door and locking it..
''Babyyyy just one kiss..." he said..laughing a little..
He stood there watching us eat and then he left..He was pitiful...
IV-
TWO HOURS LATER-
Judge Pierce returned...
"Well...I'm glad to see cooler heads have prevailed...Okay...Here is my ruling... I don't see a crime here! Apparently this wasn't a homicide at all...This poor man was a ticking time bomb...He would've been dead in a few days anyway...He just didn't know it..So with that...I am voiding your conviction and sentence Mrs. Shafney...You are free to go and this conviction has been stricken from your record. It's like it never happened..."said the Judge..
\
"YESSSS!! WE DID IT!"said Olivia jubilantly....
"YESSSSSSS!" screamed Beverly with Joy...high fiving and hugging her aunt....
"I feel soo good."said Jasmine, tears flowing down her cheeks..
Olivia , Beverly and Jasmine hugged Phyllis Shafney...She was a free woman....after 7 years of a life sentence...7 years we couldn't give her back...
She hugged Me, Nelson, Josie and Karen Page..
"Thank all of you so much!" she said....
"It was my pleasure."I said..
"You are so welcome." said Nelson..
"You're welcome."said Josie, so glad to be a part of this..
"That's my Job."said Karen , who was now 39-0 in reversed convictions...
"Mrs. Shafney...I am going to recommend that the State compensate you for this blatant miscarriage of Justice...I'm only sorry that that old bastard Arnold Patch is no longer alive to pay for this.."said Judge Pierce who was no fan of Arnold Patch.
"Thank you...Thank you so much." said Phyllis Shafney...
"Well Honey Bunny, what do you want to do tonight?" asked Olivia.
"It's Friday Night...Let's go to Josies and grab some cold ones.."I said.
''Sounds good to me.."said Beverly..
"I'll find Paris and meet you there."said Josie..
"What about you Karen? what do you plan to do?" asked Nelson..
''Find B.L. and find a quiet cozy place...for two."said Karen.
"How romantic."said Jazzy..
"Have a nice night Karen." said Dabnis..
EPILOUGE-
THAT NIGHT-
A mellow night at Josie's
They had a new singer on stage and she was from out of town....she and her band sounded good!
As it turned out...Tonight was a good night to be at Josie's...It being Friday..Of course it was packed and some of our favorite people were there...
"Hey Guys,pull up that other big table and some chairs before somebody else get's it..Heard you guys had quite a week...You were up at the Wrongful Conviction Unit..That's always fun.."said Yvette Jones..
"Girrrl you just don't know.."said Olivia..
''We had one of those Public Defender cases that come up for review annually...It was a dilly."said Beverly.
"Woman served seven years for a murder that wasn't even a murder.." I said.
"Man died of natural causes...but because one family member lied and old ADA Patch put the pressure on a drug dealer...that poor woman got convicted for a murder that wasn't a murder."said Nelson..
"I'm glad we were able to get her off."said Josie..
"Wow you guys have some wild cases.."said Paris..
"Well we are all free and clear...Let's relax."said Gary Lockwood..
"That's why we are here.."said Keith Jones..
"We all need to get out of town again.."said Bee Bee.
"Yeah really!" said Sofia..
"That would be nice.."said Kahlil..
"Heyyy where are Jasmine and Dabnis tonight?" asked Jade.
''They decided to just relax at home tonight."said Josie..
Danny Ho smiled wryly.....
"Hmmmm." he said.
Yvette looked at Olivia..
"You KNOW, what that means right?" she said slyly..
"Oh Most definitely.." laughed Olivia..
And at Jasmine and Dabnis's new house..
"Oh My God...I couldn't wait to get you home, alone..."said Dabnis...nearly coming out of his clothes..
"I couldn't wait either...I kept throwing you hints..."said Jazzy , panting..
Soon they had each others clothes off and were kissing ,passionately and sloppily...
As they began making passionate love in their bed...
While back at Josies..
Multiple Drinks came for the ladies..
and beers for the guys...and two other people joined us..
"Any room for us at these two large tables?" asked Kayla..
''Sure it is..Move over.."joked Ray..
"The More the Merrier." I said.
And that at least is how our night ended..
At Penns Landing..
Tender is the night..
B.L. Benz is at a Tony Little Coffee Shop
with his girlfriend, ADA Karen Page.
"Heyyy baby this is nice..you told me about this place..." he said.
"I came here a few weeks ago with Yvette and her guys and Dabnis and Jazzy.."said Karen..
He sipped his coffee...
"Mmmm love this...So you guys won another one huh? "said B.L.
"I'm a perfect 39-0.." bragged Karen..
"Well yeah...you've contracted out Olivia and Beverly and her crew and Yvette Jones and her guys..of course you're perfect." laughed B.L.
"What are you trying to say? I don't play with people's lives..I get the best defense possible.."said Karen..
"I know...but say for instance they're all out of town...They all went to London recently you know..Then what?" asked B.L. "Ahhhhhh think about it." laughed B.L.
"You think about this." she said..
"What?" asked B.L.
"This..." she said and kissed him softly and slowly...
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" he moaned and rubbed her legs and her butt....
"Ummmmmm…" he moaned..
Staring in the window ,looking at them was a drunken, Lt. Tragg….
He didn't say anything...
He turned and walked the pier
, back to his boat..
back out on the river...Boy he'd be glad when this was over and he was back on the streets..
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