INTERLUDE: THE DAY BEFORE THE PRELIMINARY HEARING!
Lt. Tragg rang the doorbell in the Apartment Complex...He had a bottle of Champagne with him..
and a massive erection just thinking about her, The Pretty new Assistant District Attorney...Brittany Hughes...
There was no answer..Finally after a third ring...She answered her door.
''Hello? Lt. Tragg, it's Sunday Morning, what are you doing here? What are you doing at my condo?" she asked.
She was wearing a white knit romper that came to her thighs and a hint of a white lacy bra beneath it..
He was staring at her like a teenaged boy....
"WOWWWW!!!!!It's Sunday Morning...I brought Champagne...I'm sure you have Orange Juice..
"We can have some Mimosas...Maybe you can crack a couple of eggs or two and we can..." he said.
"We can't do anything!!!!You are out of you damn mind.....Did you recanvass that crime scene like I asked?...I don't want any surprises tomorrow at the prelim..."she said.
"Relax...This case practically solved itself...There is no way you don't walk away without a conviction..."said Lt. Tragg…."Now are you going to let me in?" he asked smiling from ear to ear...
"No!!!...Go Home....And don't come back here again." she said..
"Hey babe, Who is at the door.??.. Look what I made for you...A Friatta…" said a tall Black man..
He had made what looked like an oversized omelette with sausage,green peppers,tomatoes, red peppers and spices
and some hash browns...
"And I just poured us some coffee." he said..
placing two cups at the table..
"Ummmm Thank you baby.." she said and gave her boyfriend a soft, slow sensuous kiss...
He smiled and went back to setting the table for them...
''Goodbye Lieutenant...I'll see you in court tomorrow.. DON'T COME BY HERE AGAIN! I MEAN THAT!" she said and slammed the door in his face..
Lt. Tragg was furious..He stomped his foot and walked away...
II-
LATER THAT SAME DAY AT SAM MOTHER'S DINER-
Me, Sofia. Bee Bee and Kahlil had ordered Several Bowls of Chill Con Carne
"Okay this is hot...but it's good." I said.
"You're telling me? I've eaten Chilli all me life.:said Sofia, laughing...
"And by her, me too...I ate many meals at her house." said Bee Bee.
"I've just discovered it..but I love it."said Kahlil..
As more bowls arrived..
"There is an art to this.."laughed Jessica Sanchez
who along with her husband, Chip had joined us..
He was having a spicy hot dog...
Dabnis , Jazzy, Ms. Jade, Gary and Ms. Yvette joined us..
"Ummm this is good, I love it.."said Dabnis..
"Mmmmmmm yesssss…" said Jazzy..
"Safe to say..if all goes well Sam Weathers will be a free man tomorrow.."said Jade.
Lt. Tragg walked in carrying a bottle of Champagne...He looked like he was in a foul mood..
Naturally he saw all of us eating and enjoying ourselves and headed our way..
"Oh Boy...Here comes Mr. Indigestion..."said Dabnis..
"W-WHAT?" said Kahlil.
"Mr. Indigestion???.." I said,laughing..
"Oh that's funny.." laughed Sofia..
"It is." said Bee Bee.
"He heard Beverly say that about him last week.."said Jazzy.
"That so sounds like Beverly.."laughed Jessica Sanchez..
We all burst into laughter...
while continuing to chow down....
He looked at Dabnis..
"I'M IN NO MOOD FOR ANY OF YOUR FOOLISHNESS TODAY...I'LL KNOCK YOU THE HELL OUT!" he snarled..
"Yeah Yeah Yeah..Sure you will!" said Dabnis dismissively, continuing to eat.....
"WHAT? WHAT'S THAT???? THAT'S IT!! OUTSIDE!!! STEP OUTSIDE!!" screamed an un usually irate Lt. Tragg...
He wanted to take his anger and hurt out on someone and it might as well be Dabnis.
"Hey come on...Come Onnnnn….We are all having a peaceful meal...Let's not ruin it!" said Yvette..
"Yeah Artie...Chill." said Gary..
"STEP THE HELL OUTSIDE DABNIS...I'VE HAD IT WITH YOUUU!!" screamed Lt.Tragg..
Dabnis stood up...
"After you.." he said quietly...We all looked on stunned....Was he actually going to fight Lt. Tragg?
"Baby no!!!...PLEASE??? He's trying to bait you.."said Jazzy..
"Just relax." said Dabnis , extremely and surprisingly calm...
Lt. Tragg walked outside and Dabnis closed the door behind him..
Sam Mother nodded and Dabnis locked the door.. I got the feeling that they had talked about the event of something like this happening before.
We all erupted in laughter...
Dabnis sat back down and finished eating..
Lt. Tragg pulled on the door, but it wasn't opening....He jumped up and down and pulled on the door!
To make matters worse...It began to rain, .....Really pour... Lt. Tragg pulled on the door...Now more people who witnessed this were howling with raucous laughter....
Lt. Tragg was forced to get in his car and drive off, soaking wet...
Once he was gone...Sam Mother opened the door..
Which was met by clapping and cheering.. None of us knew that he was really upset he had been rebuffed by the pretty new ADA Brittany Hughes, who he discovered had a big six foot six African-American/Puerto Rican Boyfriend.
III-
A DAY LATER- PRELIMINARY HEARING
This was where you made arguments that decided whether a case was worth even going to trial...
ADA Brittany Hughes walked toward the courtroom...Her boyfriend met her in front of the courtroom..
"Good Luck in there baby.." he said..
They kissed passionately...
"Ummmm, good luck in your case too!" she said.
"Is that Brittany's boyfriend? He's fineeee.."said Bee Bee.
"Yesssssss.."agreed Sofia..
"You aint never lied." laughed Jazzy....
Lt. Tragg's mood was even more frosty, watching the girls gawk over Brittany's boyfriend...
In the courtroom...
Yvette, Myself and Bee Bee walked in with our client, Sam Weathers, flanked by Sofia, Kahlil and Dabnis..
"Okay guys...This is going to be fast and sweet..."said Yvette..
"One for the record books."I said.
"This is going to be good."said Bee Bee.
"You guys look and sound so confident...It's contagious.."said a smiling Sam Weathers
''Let's hope there are no surprises."said Sofia.
"I don't think it will be...Except from us..."said Kahlil..
"Old Tragg is going to have a stroke..He screwed up yet another case." said Dabnis.
"After this case is over, why don't you lay low for awhile Dabnis.?" said Yvette..
"I'm not afraid or the least bit intimidated by that cornball keystone cop."said a defiant Dabnis..Still angry that he had been arrested and charged with murder by Lt. Tragg just a month before..He was lucky to have beaten the rap .
Brittany gave her sumnation and presented 27 witnesses who all testified to seeing Sam Weathers brandishing a gun at the Gym and demanding to know where Carl Pendelton was, saying he was going to kill him...
She produced the gun with his fingerprints and DNA and the registration which proved the gun was his...
We didn't question a one of them on cross examination..
Something Brittany found strange...
Even Lt. Tragg found that strange..He looked perplexed..
This dragged on until Lunchtime.... The Prosecution rested it's case...
After Lunch ,Yvette and Dabnis gave the open statement saying that our client did not commit this crime and promised to prove it...
We called Sam's wife, Virginia to the stand...She was prepared to say what she told the police...except that we didn't plan to ask her that...
"Mrs. Weathers did you leave the house that night after you and your husband made love?" I asked..
"No, we went to sleep..." she said.
"You're under oath Mrs. Weathers and you're lying.."said Bee Bee.
''Argumentitive.." said Brittany.
The Judge had a knee jerk reaction...he agreed... "Yes very argumentative....Move on counselors." he said.
Sofia turned on the monitor..
''Your honor, we can prove that she has committed perjury."said Sofia.
"That's you at 12:45, about twenty minutes before the murder in the parking lot down the street from our apartment complex...Isn't it Mrs. Weathers?"
said Sofia, showing Mrs. Weathers dressed in Jeans, a scarf and a Black Blouse....Parking her husband's car...
"And look...You're slashing the tires of Carl Pendelton's car..…..You knew he parked there..."said Kahlil..
and you're throwing paint on his car...You were really pissed at him.." he added..
I turned the monitor to the jury...
This is you around 1:30, about 15 minutes after you shot Carl Pendelton
Using your husband's credit cards to gas the car up..Am I correct" I said.. The Camera in the Gas Station clearly showed her gassing up that night and it was time stamped and dated..
She shook her head and meekly answered "Yes"
"So you did in fact go back out....Not your husband."I said.
"HOW DID THEY GET THAT FOOTAGE?" asked Lt. Tragg..
"HOW IS NOT THE QUESTION.....WHY DIDN'T YOU HAVE IT? Instead of running your hands up my legs and tugging on my panties and coming to my condo, you should have been recanvassing all scenes pertinent to this crime scene.." Brittany scolded him...
He really hated this bitch now ,he thought and hoped he never had to work with her again...The feeling was mutual..
"And after all that killing..You worked up quite an appetite..You are seen here at 2:00 am
at Jakes getting one of his fabulous hot dogs...
''2:15, you were back home and back in bed with your sleeping husband ,who never knew you left...and when your daughter got home at 3:00 am
Mommy and Daddy were both sound asleep.." said Yvette..
"Oh and with a warrant.... They popped open the trunk of your husband's car and found that can of paint you splashed all over Calvin Pendelton's car, with your palm print on the can...It's a wrap...You killed Carl Pendelton..Not our client."said Dabnis..
Virginia Weathers broke down...She cried profusely..... "I loved that man...I loved that mannnnnn and he told me he loved me....and when I found out he was sleeping with my daughter, My daughter!!!...I just lost it..I lost it..I couldn't believe he'd betray me like that...I was his fool, His old fool..He practiced on me so he could make love to her better....OH MY GODDDDD! OHHH LAWD HAVE MERCY!!! AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!" she said, crying profusely..
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MOTHERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" cried Bria, running to her mother...
"I'm so sorry, I'm soooo sorry!" she cried out..."OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she squealed..
"Order...Order...Order in the court....In light of these developments...I am going to ask the bailiffs to take Mrs. Weathers into custody and I am dropping all charges against Sam Weathers, you are free to go Mr. Weathers...Court is adjourned..." said the Judge..
"I know he hated that..He couldn't sentence somebody to death.."said Yvette to Jade, Jazzy and Gary, who were standing nearby..
Jade laughed..
"Now I'm going to get my husband out of here before Tragg can start anything with him.Or we'll be back in here again." said Jazzy..
"Jazzy, That's a good idea..A Damn good idea..."said Gary..
"You guys are incredible!!!!...I want you guys to meet my future wife..Nora Jennings."said Sam Weathers.
"I know a lot of you from the gym.."she said.
"Yes....You're the manager."said Bee Bee.,
"Yes..I remember you." said Sofia..
"I do too!"said Kahlil.
''Pleased to make your acquaintance."I said. Unlike them, I rarely went to the gym.
ADA Brittany Hughes smiled surprisingly and walked over to us....
"Nicely done guys,..Nicely done....This is my boyfriend
Attorney Alonzo Calderone Williams of Hughes and Douglass and Associates.." she said.
"Pleased to me you.." he said.
"I graduated from Howard too and then did my law school at Penn.YOUUUU KNOWWWWWW" I said.
"YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU KNOWWWWWWWWWWWW!" he said and laughed.. "I did my law school at Columbia...I was teaching at Penn, when you guys were there...That's how I met Britt." he said..
"I'm a Howard University Graduate too and like you I attended Columbia Law school...Small world."said Dabnis , shaking his hand.
He smiled.. "WOWWW! It is indeed a small world." he said.
Lieutenant Tragg was listening to the entire conversation...
''So he's a lawyer...Un believable.." he snarled..
"Listen, we are going to be partying a little tonight at a new spot...I'll text you the directions."said Kahlil.
"Sure...Britt and I will come through.." he said..
"Some Girls have all the luck huh?" said Bee Bee.
"I know right?" laughed Sofia.
"Awww you guys are pretty lucky, you both have great guys."said Ms. Yvette..
''You do."said Jade.
"Yes we do don't we?" said Bee Bee.
"Indeed we do."said Sofia..
Bee Bee pulled me to her..
and
kissed me slowly and softly..
Sofia pulled Kahlil
to her
and kissed him...
Dabnis and Jazzy
were kissing already....
Lt. Tragg was furious..
He stomped his foot...
Gary , Yvette and Jade left together ,
as did Brittany and her boyfriend..
For Lieutenant Tragg, at least the press wasn't around to harass him...This had ended in the preliminary...He quietly walked outside...
The rain had stopped...
EPILOUGE-
Virginia Weathers was convicted of 2nd degree Murder and sentenced to 15-30 years....It should have been First Degree Murder...She'd be released in seven years...She got lucky...Some Girls have all the luck!
Sam Weathers divorced Virginia and married Nora Jennings , one week to the day his divorce was final...
Ms. Yvette and Sofia handled the divorce....
We returned to Blue Bar...
In Bayside , for drinks....and to relax...and to have no interference from Lt. Tragg...
"You know, she might have at least gotten away with it...If she hadn't made all those stops." I said.
"And hadn't of parked in that parking lot and did all that stuff to his car." said Bee Bee.
"She knew she was going to kill him...why vandalise his car..?" asked Sofia..
"She was really hurt...She was terrified that she and him had been discovered, then relieved that her husband hadn't killed him...Then mortified when she discovered that her daughter was sleeping with him too!"said Kahlil...
''Wonder how she found out about the daughter?" asked Dabnis.
"Her daughter still lived at home...Probably when she was doing her laundry , she smelled his cologne on some of her blouses...Maybe his business card was in the daughter's bedroom...It could have been a number of ways ..but she found out and she was incensed..."said Jazzy...
"And it was perfect...Everybody had seen her husband waving the gun and going after him..She took his gun and his car and his access card , which he had given her...Police found it in her pocketbook.. and she killed him...But she made too many stops, that's what did her in...This was an easy case.."said Yvette..
"Easy for everyone except that jackass Homicide Detective, Lt. Tragg....He's disgusting...Did you know he was rubbing my legs and running his hands up my dress the entire time..trying to pull my panties down? He's a pig...I have a good mind to file a sexual harrassment suit against him."said Brittany.
"Is that the guy that came to the spot with the bottle of champagne yesterday?" asked her boyfriend...
"Yes that was him....I told him to get out and not come back ever!" said Brittany..
"That's why he was so pissed yesterday in the diner, wanting to fight..."said Gary....
"Well we are going on a little vacation, so we won't be around at all next week...He can calm down and perhaps forget about you baby!" said Jazzy..
"I'm telling you guys...I'm not worried about him.."laughed Dabnis.
"Gary, thank you and Danny for all your help on this case..."said Jade.
"No problem Jade..I was glad to be able to help...I never thought Sam was a killer.."said Gary..."Nobody that installs a shower like that is a killer, the man is an artist."said Gary..
Lt. Danny Ho of Robbery-Homicide laughed his head off.. as did we all...
More drinks arrived...
THE NEXT MORNING,
Lt. Tragg sat at the counter in Sam Mother's Diner...None of the attorneys he usually sparred with were there...He didn't see them last night either...
He sat drinking a cup of coffee
When Detective Michelle Benson walked in...
She placed a file on the counter...
"That's a complete work up on this guy...Alonzo Calderone Williams. Born in Miami , Florida...Mother , Puerto Rican....Father, African American...They moved to Philadelphia when he was five..Attended Philadelphia Public Schools...Attended Howard University in Washington D.C. , graduated with a Degree in Administration of Justice and Trial Advocacy, Speaks Fluent Spanish and French...
Went to Columbia University Law School in New York City, passed the bar in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey...
Taught Law at University of Penn...Among his students were Brittany Hughes, Keith Jones, Beatrice Evans, Sofia Garcia and Kahlil Ahmed.
..
He recently began working at Hughes and Douglas Attorneys at Law.. Associate Attorney and is dating
Assistant District Attorney Brittany Hughes, daughter of founding partner, Robert Hughes.
That's the book on him... He's cute....Some girls have all the luck.." said Detective Benson...
"That will be all, thank you." said Lt. Tragg..
"Okay." said Detective Benson as she left...
"Ummph some girls have all the luck.." she repeated to herself and smiled..
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