VENTURES: Blood In The Pool

Beverly, her cousin Kayla and their friend, Jasmine "Jazzy " Coley

had debated on meeting up with their old friend Maya Restin

, when she invited them to an indoor pool party in a very Tony Hotel...

None of them had seen or heard from her in years..Since she dropped out of law school in the second year and vanished...

Jazzy and

Raylene Quivers ,another friend of theirs from college and law school had been treated pretty badly by Maya at times...

Maya had come from a pretty Upper Middle class background and she teased Jazzy and Raylene to no end about them being "project chicks"...It was what made those two especially so eager to succeed and surpass their very humble beginnings...

She was a little easier on Beverly ,

who she was a little afraid of..and her cousin Kayla..They were below her economically too, but they both came from stable families and grew up in a house and not the projects...

...The five had known each other since Girls High...They had gone through Temple University together..Pledged the same sorority and had all enrolled in PENN LAW SCHOOL..

They were here today as Maya's guests..The Indoor Bar and Grille was serving them drinks.....

Margaritas were served...

Mango Martini's and

Citris Martini's

"THE SQUAD IS BACK TOGETHER! Can you believe it?" said Maya Restin.....looking at her friends... They had gone to Girls High together and graduated and then to Temple University, all pledged Delta Sigma Theta and then matriculated to Penn Law School... All had graduated except Maya, who dropped out after second year....but didn't seem to miss a beat..She was apparently a Millionaire, driving a Bently with her initials monogrammed on the side and presently staying in a very tony condo in town...She had stories of her travels around the country to New York, Miami, Los Angelas, New Orleans, Atlanta and plenty of photos to prove it...

At least one of her friends could boast the same, Attorney Beverly West- East...One half of the team of Olivia Bennett-Alexander and Beverly West-East, Attorneys at Law...

She and her aunt had been around the country, around the World for that matter taking on big legal cases and was somewhat of a minor celebrity...

Her Cousin, Attorney Kayla Bennett-St. Jacques, was a very successful Attorney in her own right, who had lived and worked in Atlanta, and D.C. before returning to Philadelphia ,to work for a very successful law firm and to get married....

And Jasmine Jenkins -Coley, who came from the poorest background and was often the brunt of Maya's cruelest jokes, next to Raylene...

who had been the "Fat" girl in the group, but had now lost the weight and was gorgeous...A successful litigator in her own right...

Jasmine had first worked as a Public Defender with Beverly and her famous Aunt, Olivia, Then had been a successful Assistant District Attorney and now was working for a very successful law firm...

These five Black girls had come a very long way.......indeed...

The girls had swam all afternoon

and were now enjoying various pasta dishes...

along with the drinks, all on the house...care of Maya Restin..

"You enjoying yourselves girls? I sincerely hope so.." said Maya.

"Girlll this food is delish...and I think I may have to call my Auntay to come pick me Kayla and Jazzy up...We are totally buzzed ." said Beverly...

"I'm glad you all are enjoying yourselves...Beverly...I have heard about you and your famous auntie over the years, all the big cases you guys have tried...Around the country and earlier this year in London...My goodness..Who knew you would be the famous one among us?..I'm proud of you Bev. And you're married too?

Nice.. Your husband is one of the associate attorneys at you and your aunt's firm...Who would have guessed you'd be the famous one.." said Maya..

"I know Maya....You thought it was going to be you right?" said Raylene who carried a lot of bitterness from the past concerning Maya... She had been head over heels in love with a guy on the football team when they had been at Temple..Only to find him in the back seat of Maya's SUV going to town on Maya and her squealing with delight one night after a party...

They didn't speak for awhile, but eventually they patched up their differences....That is until first year of law school..Maya was not only sleeping with one of the professors , but with another young man who had caught Raylene's fancy...

"You gotta lose some of that baby fat babe, then maybe you could keep a man.." Maya had said..

The hurt and animosity was still there...It had never left..

"Come on now...Let's not bicker...We haven't seen each other in years..."said Kayla ,who was always the peacemaker..

"That's okay Kayla...And you....You worked in Atlanta, when I was living there, I saw you in town a few times!" said Maya.

''You never called ,you never looked me up."said Kayla.

..."I always meant to touch base with you...but uh I was constantly on the go... Still am....It's nice to be back in Philly for awhile..

I haven't been here since I dropped out of law school...I did go back (Dartmouth) and I did pass the bar and I became an Attorney for Commodities Brokers LLC...I represent people who trade in uh commodities..I trade myself too" she said..

"You've done well for yourself...What are you like uh a Millionaire now?" asked Jazzy...

"Ahhhh well, I do alright....I see you and Kayla are both married..

"Jazzy I've met your husband....Dabnis, He worked in Atlanta, while I was working there.."she said..

And Kayla...I don't know your husband personally...but I know of him...Very good attorney, He was in Atlanta too while I was there......You girls did well...Married, Working at decent law firms...I'm proud of you three.."said Maya...

"Ohhh and Raylene...I hear you are quite the little litigator...They say you're uh...what do they call it..A Rainmaker...You put important people together..Not bad....No husband yet huh? That's alright...You did lose the weight...You look fabulous girl...I mean it.."said Maya..

Raylene smiled a catty ,snarky smile back...

"So how long are you in town for? Maybe you can come by and see our office...My aunt and her husband, who is our investigator live on the top floor..

My Husband and I live on the second floor.

We have an office

with a law library, computers, laptops, tablets, the works...and

my mother is the office manager.. and we just added a new associate attorney this year....She was formerly our para-legal...She went to law school and passed the bar." said Beverly proudly..

"My husband and I live down the street from Olivia and Beverly...

"We just bought our house a few months ago when we got married."said Jazzy...

"My Husband and I bought a house..

Across the street from Olivia and Beverly..."said Kayla.

"We moved in a little before Jazzy and Dabnis.."said Kayla..

''Oh how nice...I can visit you all at one time if I get the chance..It's good you three stayed close."laughed Maya...

Raylene had left the little group for the minute...

She was kissing a young man in the corner...He was about six four and very muscular...he looked more like a bouncer than what he was...The Hotel Account Clerk..He was off today...He usually wore suits..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Raylene.....Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm.." he moaned..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh James...James Logan..Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she moaned... "Come and meet my friends.." she said.

She took him by the hand....

"Uh Ohhhh Raylene has a little action of her own goin on.."said Kayla smiling..

''Aint nothin little about him...did you see those biceps...wowww."said Beverly.

''Ouuuu lawd yes.."said Jazzy..

"I went to College and Law School with these girls...This is Mrs. Beverly West...It's Mrs. Beverly West -East now right? This is my friend, James...James Logan.He is the Account clerk here...at this hotel." said Raylene smiling...She had always loved Beverly and had been the closest to her out of all of the girls.. Beverly always called Maya on her Bullshit and like her wasn't the least bit afraid or intimidated by her..She admired that about Beverly...But unlike her...Beverly was pretty and built nice, while she had been overweight back then..

"Pleased to met you." said Beverly..

He stared at Beverly like a hungry wolf... "You need no introduction...I know who you are...You and that sexy auntie of yours..." he said leeringly...

Raylene didn't like the way he leered at Beverly and almost shamelessly flirted with her..but never the less, she let it go..

"This is Beverly's cousin..Mrs. Kayla Bennett-St. Jacques."said Raylene..

"Hello" said Kayla.

"Lawd Jesus...All these fine women and all three attorneys in one family...Myyyyy word...Let me get locked up." he laughed...

Both Beverly and Kayla were embarrassed for Raylene..Her man was a hound...a horn dog..and blatantly disrespectful..

"Uh This is my friend, Jasmine Jenkins...Oh excuse me..Mrs. Jasmine Coley now..They're all married..."said Raylene emphasising that her three friends were married.

''Hello"said Jazzy.

"Helllllllllllllllllllooooooo... All you girls are married huh? Your husbands are lucky men...Let me tell you,,.Heh ,heh, Heh.." he laughed...

"And this is Maya Restin..."said Raylene..

"Uhhhh, we've met.."said Maya..

Suddenly the smile on James face left...

"Yes..we have...and uh we have some business to discuss..." he said , all smiles gone and a look of seriousness on his face...

"All in good time James...but not here.."said Maya sternly...

"Cool." he said..."Nice meeting you ladies...Enjoy yourselves." he said.. "Raylene...I'll see you later." he said seductively...and smacked her on the butt..

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmph....Hey fat girl! Ummmmmph, I'll definitely see you later." he said raffishly.

Raylene giggled like a school girl..

"Ouuuuu girl, you got you a hottie.."laughed Beverly.

"You better keep a leash on him girll..."laughed Jazzy...

Kayla high fived her...

''Way to go girl." she said..

Raylene laughed..

"We just met a month ago..When I found out our little party was going to be here at his hotel..I jumped for joy...I rented a room here a few floors down for the weekend..."said Raylene.

Maya ,surprisingly enough said nothing..She just smiled weakly...

The girls finished their food and drinks and took one last dip in the pool..

A good time was had by all today!

II-

Raylene and James met in her hotel room below later after everyone had left..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh James.." she moaned..

"Come here fat girl" said James..Kissing Raylene passionately and backing her into the corner...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu yessssssssssssssssssssssss..I 'm about to get it! aint I?" she moaned..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BABYYYYY! YES YOU ARE!!!" he moaned..kissing her, slobbering all over her breasts...and slipping her panties down..

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed softly..

They didn't make it to the bedroom...They wound up on the couch ,making sweet love for the next
SIX TO SEVEN HOURS...

"Ummmmmmmm.." James moaned..in the baritone that turned Raylene on...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! give it to me!" she cooed..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" was all he could manage to get out...

and then on the living room floor...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU JAMESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!" she moaned....

"Don't stop!" she said to James in between hot smouldering kisses....

They were standing near the bedroom door kissing.....

They walked into Raylene's bedroom and collapsed on her bed...

''I can't stop..." James said....nearly out of breath...

"I knowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..I DON'T WANT YOU TO!" she moaned...

ANOTHER THREE HOURS of sweet love making continued..

Raylene had had three intense orgasms and was sound asleep...

James got dressed

He took Raylene's cell phone and made a call...He talked for about a minute...Then he quietly slipped out of the room...Raylene was snoring loudly...

It was 3:00 am in the morning..He walked upstairs to the Indoor Pool...It was naturally empty..

The Bar was closed...He was the only one up there...

Maya Restin walked in...

"Hi...What do you want?" she said..

"I don't know if you know it or not..but before I was an Account clerk here...I was a cop.. I made detective even and went to school for accounting at night...I quit the force for an office job after I graduated with a double major, Accounting and Business Administration....This one.." said James..

"I'm impressed..So what do you want ? You want me to screw you? Raylene wasn't enough?" said Maya..

"I was a pretty good cop...Not many African Americans can afford this place..Oh a few can...Like your girlfriends, Beverly West, Kayla Bennett, Jasmine Coley...They're legit...But you rented out the pool and the bar for a day...and you've been staying here for a week in one of our most expensive suites..So ,I did some checking...I still have some cop friends that were willing to help me out and I found out, Quite by accident who YOU really are...You've been in several cities and everywhere you've been certain things have happened..Now I'm no longer a cop...but I know WHO YOU ARE..It took me a minute, but I put two and two together..I don't know what you got going..but it's not going down here..Pay your bill and leave..and don't worry, My cop friends don't know anything..I figured this out for myself..I gotta admit..I was stunned when I figured it out. " said James.

"I'm certain YOU AND I can work something out...can't we?" she whispered to James..

James giggled..

"What you say girl? What kind of money are you talking?" he asked..

"The self righteous ex-cop has a heart for larceny and a skill at blackmail...My my myyyyy.." said Maya.

"We can discuss money later...but did you know I'm not wearing any panties under this black sun dress?" she whispered...engulfing him with soft,slow kisses and pulling his zipper down and fondling his massive penis...

"OHHHHHH MY GODDDD!!!" he moaned as he rubbed her nice firm buttocks...

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.." he moaned..

''Raylene can't handle all this you got in your pants...not like I can.." she said..

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" he moaned.. "SHOW ME.." he said...

"Now I'm certain we can work something out.." she whispered..

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" he moaned softly..

He had her bent over the bar stool making love to her doggie style...

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW LAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWD!!!" he moaned..

How lucky was he? He had just screwed Raylene's brains out hours before and now here he was screwing her girlfriend's brains out...

Maya was surprised....He was an excellent lover...He had a huge penis and he knew what to do with it...She was squirming and shaking and sweating...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU PUT IT ON ME!!!OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Maya moaned...She was having an intense orgasm...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH." he moaned...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU HOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, OHHHH MY GODDDD!" she screamed...

He had her on the floor , really going at her, doggie style..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY GODDDD!!! OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYY GODDDD!!! OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!" she moaned...She hadn't imagined it was going to be this good...He had brought her to yet another intense orgasm...Her legs were shaking, her head was moving from side to side.....He was cumming like a gusher...

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!" he moaned....

They continued kissing passionately.....

Within minutes, they were making sweet love again...on the floor by the pool...... until he came hard again....

He was exhausted...it was 5:30 am.

Yes, James was certain they could work out something..as he struggled to catch his breath.....

III-

At our Duplex Office...

We were hanging out in Nelson and Beverly's domicile..

Drinking Ice Tea..

''I vaguely remember you talking about Maya...She dropped out after your second year of law school." said Olivia.

"She was the only one on my pledge line that didn't graduate...Me, Jazzy ,Kayla and Raylene all graduated and passed the bar...She said she went back to law school eventually and graduated and passed ..She went to Dartmouth.." said Beverly..

''She kept it Ivy Leauge." said Nelson.

Who pulled Beverly to him and kissed her passionately...

"She said she represents or does Commodities trading eh? Wow...I guess she's kind of like a rainmaker...Isn't that the term you were telling me?" I said.

"Ummmmm I'm gonna put my baby through law school...He learns fast.."said Olivia, smiling...I believed she would too if I asked..Just like she did Josie..

"That is the correct term Donnie Ray...My other girlfriend Raylene does that type of litigation too, but probably not on the scale that Maya does it..Maya is a Millionaire..She rented out that hotel's pool and bar,...just for me, Kayla, Jazzy and Raylene..Just us five girls...We had a good meal and all the drinks you could ask for.."said Beverly...

"Let me call Vettie and see if we graduated with any rich friends like that..."laughed Olivia.

I laughed too..

"Maya was kind of mean spirited...She and I nearly came to blows two times...Once in Temple and once at PENN LAW...both times..Kayla came in between us... She was very mean to both Jazzy and Raylene.. Jazzy because she came from the projects and Raylene because she was a little chunky..Jazyy is a baller now..She can no longer tease her about her background and Raylene lost all of that weight ,She's gorgeous...and a very sucessful attorney...We all are...Three of us are married and in homes...Maya just wanders from city to city chasing a buck...I don't envy her."said Beverly..

"She's a millionaire and drives a Bently with her initials monogrammed on it..I think I envy her a little bit my damn self.."said Nelson..

Beverly, Olivia and I all burst into loud laughter...

IV-

Crime Scene Investigators and Forensic Specialists looked as two uniformed policemen put on hip boots and removed the body from the pool..

It was an African-American male, muscular, athletic build, about six feet four......

Dr. Hazel Baylor looked at the well muscled man...she shook her head.. What a waste...He was so handsome and built..she mused

"His name is James Logan , Dr. Baylor.. He works here..He's the account clerk.." said one of the CSI guys...

"Cause of death appears to be blunt force trauma to the back of the head..skull fracture..We can't find the murder weapon..." said one of the officers at the scene..

"He was up here with someone.. I'm assuming it was a woman...."said Hazel..She saw a pair of Boxer shorts laying by the side of the pool.."Whoever killed him , dressed him hastily, but forgot to put his boxers back on him and tossed him into the pool.." said Hazel...

She saw a puddle near the bar stool...She leaned down and took a closer look...

"Oh My god!!! This is semen....Come over here..Get a sample of this...Our victim was having sex with some one...possibly, but not certain...whoever killed him..."said Hazel...

"Nice bit of detection Dr. Baylor...But as I've told you before...I'm the Detective here."said Lt. Tragg..
who had just arrived with six uniformed policemen...

"At least that's the rumor!" said Hazel under her breath..She hated Lt. Tragg with a passion.

He saw the boxer shorts and he observed the puddle of semen... he saw the soaking wet corpse of James Logan..

"Wow..somebody brained him...Geez, cracked his skull..We got a murder weapon?" asked Lt. Tragg.

"No Lieutenant...but there is a piece of the piping missing, somebody unscrewed it...That is more than likely the murder weapon..an iron pipe."said another policeman.."

"Whoever killed him dressed him , but forgot to put his boxers back on...and tossed him into the drink...probably won't be any forensic evidence..Go through his pockets...Check for a phone, see who he called..See who is on his call list.."said Lt. Tragg...

'His name is James Logan, he was the Account clerk here Lieutenant."said another officer..

"James Logan, James Logan...I know this guy...He was a cop at one time..a Detective.. He put himself through night school and when he graduated..He left the force...Geez , damn horrible way to end up.."said Lt. Tragg shaking his head..

He looked at Hazel..

"I'm done here...you can have him...Have an autopsy report on my desk as soon as you can."Lt. Tragg said softly...He looked genuinely shook up...

"Okay guys wrap him up...Let's move him out.."sighed Hazel..

Her team put him in a body bag and on a gurney and moved him towards the elevator..

It wasn't quite daybreak yet....as they rolled out of the hotel lobby and into a waiting van in the street.

SOME HOURS LATER-

We were all seated in our conference room...

Olivia had a strange look on her face...

"Neicey Poo, wasn't one of the girls who was with you at that swimming party named Raylene? Raylene Quivers?" asked Olivia..

''Yeah..what about her?" asked Beverly..

"Well apparently she is in big trouble..She's been arrested and charged with First Degree Murder...I got a text message from an unlisted number and was told to check our accounts...Somebody has wired 100K into our account for her defense.." said Olivia..

"WHAT? MURDER?? RAYLENE???NOOOO!" said Beverly...

"Yes ..The Text Message says she's in Central Booking..."said Olivia.

''Wow! who is she accused of killing?" I asked.

''Some guy named James Logan, The Account clerk at that hotel you guys were at."said Olivia.

"Oh MY GOD!! We Met him...That's Raylene's boyfriend...She wouldn't have killed him..She was crazy about him.."said Beverly...

''Well somebody wasn't crazy about him...he's been murdered...Is there a possibility there was another woman in the picture?" asked Nelson..

"I mean, I don't know..I only met him for a few short minutes...He did have a kind of wandering eye...He looked at me like a hungry wolf...and shamelessly flirted with me , Kayla and Jazzy right in front of her.."said Beverly.