"My God Artie you look like Hell and you smell like you bathed in whiskey.." said Sam Mother..
"Enough with the commentary Sam..Just fix my regular, two eggs fried hard, yolks broke..some spuds and some breakfast sausage and a cup of coffee...Black!." said Lt. Tragg of Homicide..
"Comin Up Artie..Where ya been? I haven't seen you in a few days.."said Sam Mother.
"I took a few days off...I'm off today, but I have a court appointment...The Preliminary hearing for that kid I busted for killin his wife." he said..
"Oh" said Sam..
Lt. Tragg was so pre-occupied with his thoughts of
Jane Paul, Ms. Yvette's former client and our neighbor that he didn't notice
Me, Bee Bee, our client, Sean Williams, Bee Bee's cousin , Sofia, Kahlil and Ms. Yvette all sitting in a huge booth having Breakfast..
Sam's Waffle Special to be exact with Sausage and Scrambled Eggs....
We added hash browns and
Hot Coffees..
"Ms. Yvette, I think we have enough to win this in the Preliminary....I've seen discovery and the prosecution has a very weak case." I said..
"Ms. Yvette , both you and Olivia taught me not to play your entire hand during the preliminary unless you are one hundred percent sure you have a winning hand..or else you lose your edge or any edge you might have been building...but I have a strong feeling I have that hand.."said Bee Bee.
"Then go with your gut baby....I've won several trials in the pre lims…"said Ms. Yvette..
"My Mom, My aunt, Your Mom and your Tia are coming today Sofia.."said Sean..
"Aye Mios Dios...I just hope they behave themselves...No Cheering or clapping or shouting out..This isn't a spectator sport."said Sofia.
"I just gotta feeling about today...Will you look over there at Lt. Tragg? He doesn't even notice that we are all here.."said Kahlil..
He finished his breakfast and tossed down a few dollars on the counter.....
"I can't believe it...She and I had a connection...a real connection...That gotdamn husband of hers..He got in the way...I swear...Every chance I get, I'm gonna stick it to his ass.." snarled Lt. Tragg..
Detective Sgt. Eric Paul had now replaced Dabnis Coley and B.L. Benz as the man most hated by Lt. Tragg...
II-
At this very moment, Detective Sgt. Eric Paul was meeting with our investigator, Jade Lee..
"I didn't forget you....By now you know the DNA of the boyfriend and his prints were found in Tynetta Williams apartment...He was interviewed briefly by Tragg and although he couldn't account for his whereabouts that night...Tragg never re-interviewed him....I went to his apartment and it was empty...He had moved out...But I got a lead on him..Yo want in?" he asked Jade.
"I'm a P.I. , I usually don't get invited to the party...but thank you...I'm in." said Jade..
"Lt. Tragg doesn't invite you to the party..He fears the competition...I'm inviting you to the party..Me and your boyfriend, Lt. Danny Ho... They'll be an Investigator from the D.A.'s office with us...I believe you know him...Gary Lockwood...He's got the warrant.." said Sgt Paul..
"Okay...Let's do this.."said Jade..
We were already in court and things were starting off with a Bang...
"ALL RISE FOR THE HONORABLE JUDGE PERCY REYNOLDS!" said the Bailiff...
"HA! Honorable and Him, that's two words that don't belong in the same sentence."said Lt. Tragg..
"Artie , What the hell? Would you cool it? He heard you!!! "said ADA Denver Miller...
"ADA Miller ,I hope you are prepared today....and ...lord...Have you been drinking again??You smell like a distillery! ...I told you not to come to my courtroom drunk."said Judge Reynolds..
"Your honor..I'm completely sober."said ADA Miller...He actually was..
"Tragg? Have you been drinking?" asked Judge Reynolds..
"What if I have? You've taken a drink or two yourself, ya hypocritical son of a bitch!"said Lt. Tragg..
The entire spectators section gasped..
"OH MY GOD, NO HE DIDN'T JUST SAY THAT!" said Yvette in total shock!
"Ohhhh Lawd, My Mama and My Aunt are here.."said Bee Bee..
"So is my Mother and Father and my Tia..."said Sofia, sighing..
Their relatives were looking at each other and laughing...
I smiled.. "They picked a great day to come huh?" I said..
"Man oh Mannn." said Kahlil, laughing...
"Awwwwww sheeeeet! He stepped in it now!"said Sean, smiling..
"Lt. Tragg, you don't know how much pleasure this gives me... BAILIFF...ESCORT THE GOOD LIEUTENANT TO THE COOLER!!! I THINK 48 HOURS WILL SOBER HIM UP AND TEACH HIM SOME RESPECT!!!"said Judge Reynolds....
"RESPECT??? WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT RESPECT?" snarled Lt. Tragg defiantly....
"Got Any More to say?? I can make it 72 Hours...Speak up MANNN!" said Judge Reynolds..
"Artie for cryin out loud...Shut up!!!!...Don't say anymore!" pleaded ADA Miller.
The Bailiffs took Lt. Tragg and escorted him to the elevator, which would take him to the Holding Facility
nicknamed the "Cooler." He didn't resist...He hung his head and walked with them...
The arguments began.. ADA Miller produced Three people who claimed they saw Sean Williams car, a Black 2020 Nissan Rogue outside of the apartment or near the apartment of his estranged wife, soon after the time of death...
Bee Bee took them apart on cross....None of them got their story straight...One said it was in front of the apartment complex, Another said it was at the corner of the block and still another said it was racing away...They got their times wrong also...
Bee Bee blanched with embarrassment as her Mother, Her Aunt, Sofia's Mother, Father and Grandmother all cheered and clapped and whistled and had to be told twice to simmer down...
"GO HEAD BEE BEE!!!.... THAT'S MY NIECE DAMN IT!!! GO HEAD GIRL, OLA BEE BEE"they chanted...
I showed a Photo of his Nissan Rogue, then I showed time stamped photos of the block taken at all three times the so called witnesses say they saw his car.... There was no car matching his on the block at the time..
I showed a Time stamped photo of his car, 16 blocks away in front of a Bowling Alley, where he said he was...
Her Mother shouted out..
"THAT'S MY FUTURE SON IN LAW UP THERE!! YOU GO BOY!!"
I smiled..
Bee Bee was so embarrassed...She hung her head and sighed.
Ms. Yvette cracked up!
Kahlil had his credit card slip and Four people who testified that he was in the bowling alley at the time of the murder...
"THAT'S LITTLE MAMASITA's Boy friend...GO GET EM KAHLIL."said Bee Bee's mother who thought of Sofia as a second daughter..
ADA Miller falsely said that Sean's DNA was found in his semen in her panties...
He had misread the crime scene report...It said the opposite. Whoever she had had sex with used a condom and no DNA or any sort was found in her body or in her panties...Only spermicide..
Sofia brought that point up...and produced the Autopsy report and the rape kit as Defense exhibits.
"GO GET EM LITTLE MAMSITA!" said her Mother and Father proudly, whistling..
Sofia just like Bee Bee hung her head low...She too was embarrassed at her parents enthusiasm!..
ADA Miller brought up a witness, A Jailhouse snitch, who claimed Sean had confessed to him the murder while they sat in the cooler together...
I destroyed him on cross... He got the time wrong and we had bailed Sean out before he even arrived in the cooler....Thus he was caught perjuring himself...
ADA Miller was as red as a beet...He had tried a dirty trick and had failed miserably...
This was seemingly too easy...
Sean smiled at his mother and aunt and Sofia's relatives who clapped everytime a point was made by the Defense....
Ms. Yvette thought the entire thing was cute..And she was happy for both
Bee Bee and Sofia, making such a good showing...
During a brief recess she whispered to me..
"This kid should have never been arrested in the first place...Did Lt. Tragg even check his alibi?" asked Ms. Yvette.
"You know how he is...Once he gets a full head of steam about something..And the witnesses were there...They all came forward and he just ignored them..."I said..
"He didn't even check his own witnesses stories.."said Kahlil..
"And your ADA is once again unprepared...He unwillingly gave you guys a gift by stating the wrong DNA evidence.."said Yvette , shaking her head.. ''Never have I seen a criminal case handled so haphazardly.." she said.."He had all the time in the world to go over the crime scene and check everybody's stories on both sides...As usual he did a slip shod investigation..and was pre-occupied with Mrs. Paul …."said Yvette...
I couldn't blame him there...I had seen Mrs. Paul and she was enough to distract and pre-occupy any man...
"We've got DNA reports from the Goggins Lab, The M.E. and the FBI that all but exonerate Sean and point the finger at someone else..."said Sofia..
"Her sometimes Live in Boyfriend... Cochise Trainor...We found a loaded condom in the waste basket..with his thumbprint on it...I know it's not much...but it puts him at the scene.."said Bee Bee.
"His DNA is all over her apartment and on the panties and bra..Not seminal fluid, but from sweat and saliva...It just proves he was her last sexual partner...that's all."said Kahlil...
"Doesn't matter...It Proves that Sean wasn't her last partner and Sean wasn't in the vicinity of the murder. That's all you need Bee Bee… You guys got this...You deserve this win."said Ms. Yvette..
A few floors up in the Holding Facility called "The Cooler..
Lt. Tragg sat daydreaming about
Sexy Mrs. Jane Paul
Their hot steamy kisses..
and the mind blowing sexual marathons they had had …..All of that was in the past now...Over as fast as it started....
What luck or lack of luck, he thought...
III-
And in West Philly...
Ms. Jade and Detective Sgt. Eric Proud sat in an unmarked car outside a townhouse..
"That's the place..."said Jade..
"Yeah....my plain clothes guy just saw him go in there with a girl...I'm waiting for my Lieutenant and Gary Lockwood." said Sgt.Paul.. Jane Paul's Husband...
Lt. Ho knocked on the window of the car , a few minutes later..
"D.A. Investigator, Gary Lockwood is with me...He has the warrant... It's proper procedure to call the case Detective in on this..That would be Lt. Tragg, but he's locked up at the present time.." said Lt. Danny Ho.
"Locked Up?" said Jade..
"Locked Up?" asked Sgt. Paul..
"He appeared in court drunk today and insulted Judge Reynolds...The Judge sent him to the cooler."said Gary Lockwood..
All four busted out laughing...
"He's in there on the third floor, room 311, Call it Lieutenant!" said Sgt. Eric Paul..
"Okay, settle down...Back Up is here...This guy has priors...weapons violations...Gary and I will take the front.... Sgt. You and Jade take the back....Let's make this quick.."said Danny Ho..
"Let's do this." said Gary, who pulled his glock!
"Let's Roll." said Lt. Dany Ho..
Investigator for The D.A.'s Office, Gary Lockwood and Lt. Danny Ho of Robbery-Homicide entered the building quietly and went up the stairs...
Jade Lee
Sgt. Eric Paul
and other police entered from the back....
They captured Cochise Trainor in the hallway in his boxers...He was unrolling a condom, heading back to the room where a girl was waiting...
He saw them and attempted to run...only to See Jade and Sgt. Paul and more police coming from the opposite end..
"You won't be needing that pal.."said Gary...
He was handcuffed, read his rights and taken by the police...
"I hope this helps with your case."said Sgt. Eric Paul..
"I can't thank you enough.." said Jade..
IV-
TWO HOURS LATER-
We were back in court after a Lunch Break...
"Your Honor...I uh would like another two day continuum to better prepare for this case.."said ADA Denver Miller..
"NO!...You had three days!!!...That was more than enough...I'm ready to throw this whole thing out based on I've heard so far.."said Judge Reynolds..
Jade walked in with a file.. She whispered in Bee Bee's ear...
Bee Bee smiled and showed the file to us..
"This changes things considerably.." said Sofia..
"Yeah..Show the Judge.."I said.
"This is great.." said Kahlil..
"Your Honor, Permission to approach the bench.." said Bee Bee..
"Approach!" said Judge Reynolds..
Bee Bee showed him the file...He read it..
"ALL COUNSEL APPROACH THE BENCH!" he said..
ADA Miller, Sofia, Me and Kahlil approached the Bench...We were all made aware of the file..
Cochise Trainer had been captured earlier and had confessed to the murder of Tynette Jefferson..he said it was an accident..He was being charged with Manslaughter...
"In Light of this new evidence...The People move to drop all charges against Sean Williams..." said ADA Miller..
Bee Bee's Mother and Aunt, Sofia's Father ,Mother and Grandfather all stood and applauded..
"THAT'S MY BABY GIRL!" "THAT'S MY NEICEY POO!" " THAT'S MY LITTLE MAMASITA!" "AYEEEE MAMASITA!"
"Oh My God!"sighed Bee Bee.
"Aye Mios Dios."sighed Sofia..
"YEAHHH BABY! I KNEW MY LITTLE COUSIN AND MY EX-GIRLFRIEND WOULD SPRING ME!" said an exuberant Sean Williams , hugging both
Bee Bee and Sofia..
and dapping me and Kahlil...
"And My man, Keith, future family and my man Kahlil... I'm thankin you too." he said.
He whispered- "Yall's Boss, Ms. Yvette is a fox....Damnnnnn man!"
No argument there!
We were all smiles..
Yvette smiled like a proud mother..
"Yvette Jones!! I haven't seen you in years...How are you doing?" said Denver Miller, slyly placing his hand on her butt...
Yvette forcibly and quickly removed his hands..
"Hi Denver.."she said..
"What are you doing here?" he asked..
"Those four attorneys work for me." she said.
"You've got your own firm now?" he asked.
"No..I'm a Senior Associate Attorney at McCluskey Cozen, Connor and Pratt and I supervise those four attorneys.." she said.
"They're damn good...They're very well supervised...They were very articulate and well prepared...I liked them.." he said.."Speaking of uh like...I really liked you and I'm sorry we never got to uh finish that date we went on years ago... I know a place..Great thick steaks...Cold drinks..Quiet conversation....Are you ahhhh interested?" he asked.
"I have a boyfriend....I'll see if he knows a place like that...See ya around Denver..."said Yvette, who left with us...
"Good Job Loves.."she said..
As I followed behind her out of the courthouse, followed by Bee Bee, Sofia, Kahlil and Jade..
Denver watched Ms. Yvette and us as we left the courthouse...Relieved to be done with this case..
It was Friday....How fitting .
EPILOUGE-
Cochise Trainor was sentenced to 10-15 years for Manslaughter in the death of Tynetta Jefferson, the estranged wife of Bee Bee's Cousin, Sean Williams.
ONE WEEK LATER-
It was Saturday Morning..
Three moving trucks were outside of our building...when the five of us came outside..We were going to go to breakfast...
"Hmmm somebody moving in or moving out?" I wondered.
"Moving out..There's the furniture.."said Bee Bee..
"It's from the first floor.."said Kahlil..
"Oh Look...It's Eric and Jane.." said Sofia.
"Heyyy Guys...We are going to miss you..." said Jane Paul, newly reunited with her husband, Sgt. Eric Paul..
"We bought a house in nearby Bayside....and I resigned from the Philadelphia Police Department effective last week and will be working as a Security Specialist at a major company in Bayside..Making three times as much as I did as a cop." said Eric..
"Niceeee my man.." I said.
"That's so cool..." said Kahlil...
"I'm sooo happy for you two."said Bee Bee..
"Happy you two guys were able to work it out.."said Sofia..
They had been indeed working it out...every night and well into the morning when he got home from work...
"Yess.."said Jade, smiling..
"We are soo happy...Guess what???I've just discovered that I'm pregnant!!!!" gushed Jane..
"Our first!" gushed Eric..
Kissing her passionately as they got in their car to follow the moving vans..
"Tell Ms. Yvette, I said Goodbye and Thanks for everything.." said Jane, hugging all five of us.
"Yes and Jade....It was great working with you..Thank you as well." said Eric as they got in their car and drove off!
"It was great working with you too...Thank you for all your help.."said Jade..
We walked to Sam Mother's Diner...
"Well Hot stuff,looks like you'll be moving across the hall from me and Sofia after all." said Bee Bee.
"Yeah and Kahlil will be right across from me.."I said.
"And two doors down from us..We don't have to take the elevator or walk up those cold backsteps half dressed anymore."laughed Sofia..
"How bout that? Heyy are you guys thinkin what I'm thinkin...She said she was pregnant!...Hmmmmmmm." said Kahlil..
"Oh God, I don't even want to think that.." I said..
"Me Neither."said Sofia..
"The Horror." said Jade..
''Who is pregnant? I'm being newsy."said Ms. Yvette, who had just walked in with Gary and heard the tail end of our conversation..
"Uh Ohhhh, which one of you is gonna be a daddy?" said Gary looking at me and Kahlil.
who were smiling sheepishly...
"It's Not Them!" said Jade.
"Nobody here...Jane Paul told us this morning that she just found out she's pregnant!! "said Bee Bee.
"They moved out this morning...They bought a house in Bayside....He quit the Police Force and took a job as some kind of Security Expert for some firm out there..Making Boo Koo bucks."said Sofia..
Our meals arrived and Yvette and Gary sat down at a table..
"She's pregnant? Oh My God...I wonder if." said Yvette...
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh lawwd! Don't even think about that possibility.One of him is enough..." thought Gary...
Lt. Tragg walked in just then...
"Fried Eggs, spuds, sausages and Coffee Sam.." said Lt. Tragg...
Bee Bee was so embarrassed...She hung her head and sighed.
Ms. Yvette cracked up!
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