CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATORS and FORENSIC SPECIALISTS were snapping photos and dusting for prints and DNA, anything that would help them...
Me, Bee Bee, Sofia, Kahlil and Jade had been up to the floor, seen Calvin Pendelton's lifeless corpse lying face up on the floor , his lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling....His chest blown open by three well placed gunshots...
''Wow...we were just talking to this guy on the roof three days ago and he's dead...I just can't believe it." I said, holding Bee Bee tightly...She was shaking...Visibly upset...
"Oh My God! what is going on?" she asked..
"I wonder if this was a jealous girlfriend , he slept with so many.." said Sofia..
''Or a jealous boyfriend or husband..?" said Kahlil..
"Anybody see anything? I heard the three shots...At first I thought they were fire crackers..M80's."said Jade.
"That's what I thought at first....Then I heard a thud...Sounded like somebody fell, right afterwords."said Kahlil..
"We didn't see anything...Didn't even hear a car pull off."said Bee Bee… "You think the killer is still in the building?" asked Bee Bee..
"No, but it does mean the killer left on foot, more than likely..Look where his room is..They came right up the back stairwell and knocked on the door.Shot him and quickly vanished.." said Jade.
"That's scary." I said.
Dr. Hazel Baylor had on latex gloves and examined the body....
"Three gunshot wounds to the chest.....38 caliber shells...He died quickly....He didn't have a chance to call out for help...two punctured his left lung and the third hit his heart...Death was immediate."she said....
We were standing outside when two squad cars drove up, facing the opposite direction....
Lt. Tragg and six uniformed officers walked in our building....
He observed the body...
''Cause of death?" he asked..
Hazel sighed...She despised this man and hated working a case with him...
"Three Gunshot wounds to the chest...Left Lung and heart perforated..." she said... She handed him a bag with shell casings in them...
"Murder weapon was a .38 smokeless...No murder weapon can be found as of yet..." she said..
Lt. Tragg walked outside... He saw us..
"None of you saw anything huh?" he asked.
"He's two floors up from us....I was in bed...at around 12:45 am, I heard what sounded like three shots and then a loud thud.."said Kahlil..
''Same here...I heard three shots and a loud thud...I woke Keith up.."said Bee Bee..
"We heard a scream...apparently one of the uh tenents on the third floor found the body in the doorway of his apartment in a pool of blood on the floor." I said..
''We walked upstairs and we saw the body.."said Sofia.
"I heard the shots from across the street....I came over here to make sure they were okay."said Jade.
"Did you know him?" asked Lt. Tragg...
"Everybody knew him...Calvin Pendelton...He was a Fitness Trainer at the Modern Gym in the Shopping center." I said..
''Last time I saw him was Saturday on the rooftop... We were all up there chillin..He came up,said he had company coming over"said Kahlil...
"You know who the company was?" asked Lt. Tragg.
"Not really...but we knew it was a female.."said Bee Bee.
"He entertained a lot..but nobody we knew." said Sofia..
"Alright boys, I want everyone in this building interviewed and I want all these dumpsters checked..across the street too...Then get somebody down to that gym..."said Lt. Tragg.
"Can I release the body now?" asked Hazel...
"Yeah and get me that full autopsy report ASAP!"said Lt. Tragg….
We watched as the body of Calvin Pendelton was removed from his apartment..
and put into the Medical Examiner's wagon.....
"I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight..."said Bee Bee...
"Me neither...let's go back to our place..Come on guys."said Sofia..
Kahlil and I followed the girls....
"You guys mind if I crash with you?" asked Jade..
"Of course not...I'll put on a pot of coffee..."said Bee Bee..
"And I'll make some popcorn.." said Sofia..
We had all wrapped our trials up yesterday....We didn't have anything on our dockets...we could chill today...
Another murder in the city...We had no idea that we would be involved in this case ,both defending the accused and ultimately solving the mystery of who did this...
II-
That morning we were all in Sam Mother's diner..
One good thing about last night...Bee Bee clung to me extra tight in bed....
Kahlil told me that Sofia did the same thing....
And Ms. Jade slept on the couch in their living room...
This morning everyone was talking about the murder of Calvin Pendelton and speculating on who could have done it...
We all ordered Pancakes
Hash Browns
Orange Juice
and hot coffee..
Ms. Yvette came in just as we all were beginning to chow down..
"Are you guys alright?" she said.. There was genuine concern in her voice and worry...She was more than just our supervisor...She really really cared about us and you could hear it in her voice and see it in her every action...
"Yeah, we were fine...He lived two floors above us..." I said.
''We heard the gunshots and his body falling."said Bee Bee.
"Yeah, it happened sometime around quarter to one.." said Kahlil...
"We didn't see anything or hear a car pull off or nothing.."said Sofia.
"That's good for many reasons..."said Yvette.
"Those back stairwells are usually locked in my building.."said Jade.
"They're locked in our building...but if you have a key or electronic access card , you can let yourself in..." I said.
"He was killed by someone he knew...One of his women friends.." said Yvette.
"I hope Lt. Tragg figures all this out." laughed Bee Bee.
"He's on the case? Ohhhh He'll probably wind up arresting the wrong person...like he always does."laughed Yvette..
''What do the reporters call him, Lieutenant Wrong Arrest." said Jade..
Ms. Yvette, Bee Bee, Me,Sofia and Kahlil cracked up laughing...
But at the time we didn't realize how right Ms. Yvette would turn. out to be.
III-
Sam Weathers phone rang...
"Hello" he said.
"You did it didn't you? I told you to go home to cool out."said Nora..
"Did What? Nora, what are you talking about? "said Sam Weathers..
"Calvin Pendelton was shot to death this morning with a .38 smokeless, he took three to the chest...You killed him didn't you?" said Nola..
"No...I went home just like I told you and I was there all night...I haven't even seen the little scum bucket...I didn't kill him...I'm telling you."said Sam Weathers..
''A Bunch of cops were in here..They heard about you coming in here waving a gun saying you were going to kill him..I told them you were upset and that I talked you into going home." said Nola..
"That's what I did..I swear...I didn't go back out until this morning...My wife and my step-daughter will testify to that." said Sam Weathers..
"Where are you now?" said Nola.
"I'm with a client.." said Sam Weathers.
"Well I'm giving you a heads up...The cops are looking for you..." said Nola.
"They are? I'm sure this is a mistake...Thanks for the heads up Nola.."said Sam..
"Be Careful Baby!"said Nola..
"I will." said Sam Weathers..
He was at Gary's House..
"Man , you told me Thursday...Those guys came in here and went to work....They finished two days ahead of schedule...Thanks man...My new shower looks great..."said Gary..
"I told you I had some good workers..."laughed Sam Weathers...
"Everything okay man?...You look a little on edge..."said Gary...
"No...No.. uh everything is alright." said Sam Weathers.
Gary looked out his window..
"Hey Man are you in trouble?" he asked..
He saw several cop cars ...
Lt. Tragg
and an armed Tactical Squad..
They rang his doorbell..
Gary came to the door..
"Lieutenant Tragg?" he asked..
"This your place Lockwood? Nice Spot..."said Lt. Tragg..
''What's this about?" asked Gary..
"I got a warrant for his arrest..Take him boys...Hook him up..."said Lt. Tragg
Guns drawn,
Sam Weather was handcuffed..
"Samuel Charles Weathers...You are under arrest for the Murder of Calvin Pendelton...You have the right to remain silent...Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law..You have a right to an attorney..If you can't afford an attorney, one will be assigned to you..Do you understand these rights as I have read them?" asked Lt. Tragg..
"Yes" said Sam Weathers meekly...
"MURDER?" said Gary..
"Call Yvette....I'm innocent man...I am...You know me Gary...I'm no killer."said Sam..
"Let's go!" said Lt. Tragg...
He looked at Gary's house again..
"Nice place Lockwood!" he said again as they left.
Gary stood there dumbfounded..
IV-
Sam Weathers sat in the "Fishbowl" , the nickname the detectives gave to the interrogation room..
"I'm telling you this is a mistake...I was home all night....I didn't go back out until this morning...I'm telling you...I never saw him.."said Sam Weathers..
"Your wife said that you came home...You two patched up your differences....I don't see how..but you two made love and you both went to sleep...but she said..she slept so sound...she can't honestly say if you got back up and went out or not!"said Lt. Tragg..
"WHAT? IS SHE CRAZY?? SHE KNOWS I DIDNN'T GO BACK OUT!" he bellowed..
Lt. Tragg tossed the gun on the table...
"Recognize that?" asked Lt. Tragg.
"That's my gun...it hasn't been fired."said Sam Weathers..
"Wrong....This is the murder weapon and it has been fired, three times...and the shells passed a ballistics test...Not only that...Only your prints and DNA are on the gun.... I got several witnesses...27 to be exact who say you came in the gym ,waving that gun, screaming that you were going to kill Pendelton because you found out , he was banging your wife...and oh yeah, we got the photos your P.I. took of them in the motel, of them leaving his apartment...Of the two of them having drinks together, Laughing and talking, even sharing a deep soulful kiss in Center City....As a man I understand...This would have driven me over the wall....I understand...Make it easy on yourself..Confess..Tell me what happened...I have some drag with the different ADA's...I can get this pled down to 2nd Degree or even Manslaughter....I can't promise...but it'll go a lot easier for you if you save the city the cost of a trial...We got you cold buddy..."said Lt. Tragg..
"You know...I wanted to rip his head off...but I didn't..Nora...the manager at the gym...She talked me out of it..Told me to go home..I put my gun on safety and I went home....I made love to my wife for hours and went to sleep...So did she...I never left my house...I'm telling you...I didn't kill him..I'm innocent."said Sam Weathers..
"We got you using your credit card to get gas from this all night gas station and to buy a hot dog at Jakes...Come on man....Give it up.."said Lt. Tragg..
"That's insane , I was never at Jakes...I was not at Jakes and I didn't get any gas....I did not kill that boy...I'm tellin you...Now I'm through talkin to you....I want a lawyer...I got no more to say."said Sam Weathers..
"You've already said enough!!...We are here." said Ms.Yvette..
I walked in behind her...
Bee Bee was behind me..
Sofia was behind her
and Kahlil was behind her.
Lt. Tragg got up and reluctantly left the room and closed the door..
"Yvette!! Thank God you're here....I didn't do this...I swear....Who are these young people?" asked Sam Weathers..
''I supervise them...These are my associate attorneys..
Keith Jones
Bee Bee Evans
Sofia Garcia
and Kahlil Ahmed...
and you know my investigator, Jade Lee..
They'll be assisting me with your defense...but you know the police have a pretty strong case...Your gun is the murder weapon and only your prints are on it...They have 27 people at the gym who say you came in there waving that gun , threatening to kill Calvin for sleeping with your wife and your credit card says you gassed up before coming home." said Yvette..
"I never left my house...I swear....Virginia will swear to that! We were together all night! " said Sam Weathers..
"We talked to your wife and your daughter Mr. Weathers...
"Your wife said you came home, you two made up and made love for hours and that you both went to sleep...but she says she can't swear that you didn't get up and go back out..."said Bee Bee..
"And we talked to your daughter....
''She said that she saw you both in the bed when she got home..but she got home at 3:30 am....Well after the murder which occurred sometime around 1:00 am...."said Sofia...
"I feel like this is all my fault...I should have never given you those photos"said Jade..
"It's not your fault...Yvette is my attorney...I asked you as a favor to look into that...I can't understand my wife's comments. Why she is burying me like this???"said Sam...
"She's out in the hallway now with your daughter and your wife, talking to Gary..."said Kahlil..
They were all trying to make some sense of all of this...
I pulled out a thermos..
"We brought you some hot coffee and some doughnuts.." I said..
"This should go a long way to making you feel better."said Bee Bee.
"Yes."said Sofia, who set the doughnuts out on the table.
and passed them to him...
"Vettie, I like these kids already....If you're supervising and mentoring them...I know I got a good team behind me.."said Sam, smiling..
"We gotta see about getting a judge and getting you arrainged tomorrow..."said Kahlil..
"I'm calling Karen and see if Judge Reynolds is available.."said Yvette...
"Thank You Yvette...This is a nightmare.." said Sam Weathers...
And here we were embroiled in a big case once again..
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