VENTURES: For Love And Money

"Omelettes made to order....Just like you like Ms. Yvette." said Sam Mother as he personally served Yvette and Gary their Omelettes,

Hash Browns

Sausages..

Orange Juice

and hot coffee..

"You see Gary, the thing you have to understand about these two....Dan Stevens and Phillip Rosen is that they did everything together and I mean everything...It began in their childhood..."said Yvette as she ate her food..

Her new husband, D.A. Investigator, Gary Lockwood just looked at her...He was listening , but he was just close to pinching himself.. He had wanted her for years...He never imagined living with and being married to her...She had rebuffed his advances for so long...He had finally gotten her.

"They were born just two months apart here in Philadelphia....Attended the same Catholic Elementary, Middle And High Schools, played Hockey and Football, lettered....

They attended Villanova for undergrad ,majoring in Political Science, and Trial Advocacy...They both studied law at Villanova, graduating at number 2 and 3 in their class that year...They both passed the bar the same day and clerked for a common pleas court judge named Sylvester Feinstein...Afterwords they both went to work for different small law firms until they met up again and joined forces at guess where? McClusky/Cozen/Connor and Pratt...First as Associate Attorneys and then as Senior Associate Attorneys... Dan Stevens even earned himself a seat on the Board of directors right next to the partners.. He like myself was seeking to make partner..." said Yvette.

"So Mr. Stevens was going places....His profile in the firm was a little bit higher eh?" said Gary..

"Dan Stevens had even married well...He married Sylvia Jordan, One of the top litigators in the city...but that didn't mean he didn't play around...

Phil ,his buddy who never married cut him in on a sweet deal...He was representing..Royce Redding, a restauranter , who also had a hot package on the streets....He was laundering lots of money and his attorney Phil Rosen was making a huge profit..Showing him how to shelter his money and hide it from the government and how to launder it through the restaurant....Phil became a silent partner...He bought a big house, bigger than Dan and his wife and a yacht and a very expensive sports car...Dan asked him, no told him to cut him in on the deal, so he did...They became equal partners...Once again , sharing everything...."said Yvette.

"Everything?"asked Gary with his eyebrow's arched..

"Ahhhhhhhhh now you're catching on...There was her....Lisa Bodice... The sexy para-legal...Married, very married Dan Stevens was enthralled by her.. I mean she rocked his world..."said Yvette.

"Like you rock mine?" asked Gary, smiling seductively...

Yvette laughed...She looked at Gary for a minute and smiled..

"Yeah, I guess..Dan paid for the first two years of her law school and saw to it that she got glowing performance evaluations and great raises. Only problem was...HIS WIFE!!! She suspected something was going on between the two of them and she started visiting the office more often...Finally she told Dan Stevens to get rid of Lisa or else she was going to divorce him....That would mean the end of his life in her mansion on the mainline, The end of his three expensive sportscars...No more yacht, no more great vacations...the end of it all...Now don't get me wrong, he does well here at the firm, but not like that and he wouldn't be the baller his buddy, Phil Rosen was.." said Yvette.

"Yeah but didn't Rosen cut him in on his deal with this drug dealer, Royce Redding?" asked Gary...

"Here's the rub....He cut him in...but for significantly less...If Stevens wife divorced him, his lifestyle would drop considerably...He didn't want that and he didn't want to stop sleeping with Lisa, so..Enter his best bud, Phil Rosen who took Lisa in as HIS para-legal... He also thought that meant sex with her too! Lisa didn't see it that way...She had zero interest in sleeping with Phil Rosen...When she made that abundantly clear....He fired her...She called Dan Stevens and he came down to the office and they had a huge row...Which we heard..."said Yvette.

"I got you...Stevens killed Phil Rosen...Only problem is...There was Arsenic in both their glasses...Enough to kill Rosen and enough to put Stevens in the hospital where he nearly died..How do you explain that and clear your client? The Prosecution could say she planned to kill them both..."said Gary..

"And what would she gain from that? There is a good story here...I'll tell you after the trial is over today babes...See ya later and thanks for breakfast..."said Yvette, giving Gary , a sweet kiss..

and then packing up her things and heading towards court...

Gary was in a near daze.....He smiled as he watched Yvette walk out the door..What a sexy woman he was married to, he thought to himself..

II-

We were waiting for Ms. Yvette

when she arrived..

"Goood Morning Loves, Lisa...Everybody ready to go?" she asked..

"Yes Mam!" I said..

"Sure Am..We were in this same courtroom for different cases ,just weeks ago.." said Bee Bee..

Thinking of her case with Olivia, Beverly and Donnie Ray.

and Kahlil and my case with

Nelson and Calvin Hunt...

Both of our cases involved suspects that Lt. Tragg had arrested..

and both ended in acquitals during preliminary hearings... He was very irritated..and furious to be back in court with yet a third person he'd arrested and facing us..

Sofia's case with Jessica Sanchez-Burrows and her husband, Chip and Josie Boyd was in this very courtroom, but didn't involve Lt. Tragg, thank goodness...It also ended in an acquittal...

Being in this courtroom gave the four of us a sense of deja vu...Let's hope it gave us good luck too!

"I'm a little nervous."said our client, Lisa Bodice.

"That's normal...You're going to be an attorney...That is normal.."said Sofia.

"You'll be nervous at the start of trials and sometimes in the boardroom at negotiations...It comes with the territory..you'll get used to it."said Kahlil..

Jade passed Yvette some papers..

"Okay! Let's go loves.." said Ms. Yvette...

Judge King, a very good judge, but who like Lt. Tragg loved seeing himself on Television just as much presided over the case... He was on Hard Bottom and a" legal consultant "on several news shows on other networks.

He cautioned Lt. Tragg...

"Artie...No Nonsense today okay? Keep your hands to yourself.." he warned... " I mean it!" he said.

Lt. Tragg smiled that pleased as punch look he usually got when teamed with an attractive prosecutor.

The ADA was relatively new....She had come to Philadelphia from South Jersey...Her name was Ellen Bunn...

With all of the players in place we were ready to begin...

AUSA Todd Dellums sat in the audience observing....

Dan Stevens , who had been supeonaed as a hostile witness came in with his wife,

Attorney Sylvia Stevens...

The Atmosphere was electric..

"Are you okay Ms. Yvette?" asked Bee Bee..

"I'm fine, How about you?" asked Ms. Yvette, who hugged Bee Bee..She saw Todd Dellums in the crowd..She knew about their history...

Todd Dellums eyed Bee Bee..

Bee Bee got herself together..

"I am now...Thanks Ms. Yvette...Let's do this." said Bee. Bee.

III-

Assistant District Attorney Ellen Bunn began her opening argument, which was simple...Lisa Bodice poisoned her boss, Phillip Rosen because he refused to pay for her law school tuition unlike her previous supervisor and he fired her...

It was simple and it made sense..

Yvette began with her opening argument...That Lisa was fired because she resisted her boss's sexual advances...Some of which she and her staff had witnessed and that she could not have possibly have killed him because she was gone long before he died..

Thus the opening salvos had been fired..

ADA Ellen Bunn showed the jury an eerie 64 inch monitor still of Phil Rosen in death, sitting at his desk, lifeless eyes staring straight ahead...

She interviewed the Crime Scene Investigators, Forensic Specialists and uniformed policemen on the scene...

We didn't question or cross examine a one of them..

She put Lt. Tragg on the stand...

He was only too happy to tell the jury about the three glasses of water

loaded to the gill with arsenic.. and a lipstick

smudge on one glass, the one glass that had clean untouched water in it.. The lipstick belonged to the defendent, Lisa Bodice and her prints and DNA were on the glass..

Bee Bee asked him if he knew that Lisa Bodice's prints and DNA were not on the other two glasses, glasses she didn't drink out of?"

He smiled..

"I wouldn't expect there would be." he said.

Sofia asked him if he knew that the lab had found traces of Bourban in the glass as well...Meaning they had drank Bourban before they drank the water..

"Uh...Er uh...No I did not." he said..

I produced a urinanalysis given to Lisa after he arrested her that detected no Bourban in her system and a bottle of Bourban , located in Phil Rosen's refrigerator loaded with Arsenic...and the autopsy report that suggested the Arsenic may have been ingested in the bourban the two men drank earlier..

"My client didn't have any Bourban...She was long gone by then..She had been fired....She left the suite and never returned.." I said.

Lt. Tragg had been outdone again...He didn't know about the Bourban, and mistakenly thought the Arsenic had been delivered by the water..

ADA Bunn didn't like being caught off guard either...She glared angrily at Lt. Tragg...

He had his both of his hands palming her butt......

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she squealed and turned and slapped Lt. Tragg so hard, he fell out of his chair..

"What is wrong with you?" she said..

"OOOF!" he said as he hit the floor...

"Artie that's it..I told you to behave yourself...OUT....OUT OF MY COURTROOM, BAILIFFS!!!" ordered the Judge...

Two Bailiffs escorted him out...

Bee Bee, Sofia and Kahlil were laughing hysterically...

I was laughing so hard, I was shaking...

"Oh My Godd!" said Lisa...

Jade smiled, but only slightly...She shook her head...

"Your Honor, The Prosecution rests.."said ADA Bunn..knowing she needed to go back and do a little bit more preparation...to be ready for a full blown trial..She was thinking of hiring her own investigator.

She was doing damage control.

"Do you wish to offer a Defense Ms. Jones... I mean Mrs. Lockwood ,congratulations on your wedding..."said Judge King.

"Thank You Your Honor...We do wish to offer a defense.."said Yvette..

"Okay....It's 11:30..We are going to break for lunch....Everyone be back at 1:00 pm sharp." said the Judge..

IV-

Despite everything we knew...Ms. Yvette didn't want to get everyone weighed down with the entire Federal Investigation of both men,She wanted to keep it simple....The afternoon of the murder..

Sofia produced the key card belonging to Lisa...She showed the jury on the 64 inch screen, the photo of what time she clocked in the morning...The time she left for lunch, the time she clocked back in for lunch and the time she clocked out..at 7:03 pm...Not to return..

Bee Bee showed the jury the Autopsy report which stated that the time of death was 9:13pm and the cause was Arsenic poisoning...The Arsenic having been distributed through the Bourbon..

Kahlil showed Lisa's credit card record for the night after she left the office...She went to Jake's for a hot dog and fries at 7:35 pm...At 8:30 pm, she was getting gas at a gas station miles away and 9:00 pm while Phil Rosen was taken his last breath, She was in Aqua Bar having drinks until 11:00 pm when she went home..

He movements didn't fit the time of the murder..

Yvette called Dan Stevens to the stand..

He glared at her with a blind hatred..

"Mr. Stevens....You were quite fond of my client were you not?" asked Yvette..

"She was alright.." he snarled.

"She was more than alright... Here is her records from law school...You paid for her first two years of law school... Isn't it true that your wife discovered this and that's the only reason why you didn't pay her final year and that you transferred her to your friend, your best friend, the late Phil Rosen's office?" asked Yvette.

"Objection...Calls for speculation." said ADA Bunn..

"On the contrary....I find it a very interesting question....Answer the question sir."said Judge King.

"YES!" he said, fuming with anger...

"You got a phone call from Lisa around 4:00 pm, I have the phone record here..She was telling you that Phil had fired her because she refused his sexual advances...and you were livid...I have three administrative assistants, a para-legal and another attorney who are set to testify that you told them to hold your calls and you went down to Phil's office, where a very loud argument was heard....I heard it myself..I was still in the building...Phil was not supposed to handle what was yours right? Not your girl." said Yvette.

"You don't know what we were arguing about and anyway....after we argued...We uh kind of squashed our little disagreement and had a glass of Bourban...It was pretty strong and we washed it down with water..I didn't kill Phil...When I left...at 8:45pm...He was still very much alive..." said Dan Stevens..

"Yes you were...You know..at first we thought you poisoned Phil Rosen...until we did a little digging..

That bottle of Bourban he cracked open...was given to you as a birthday gift last month and you gave it to Phil for his birthday....You two had a drink...Neither of you knew that the Bourban was spiked with Arsenic... Phil drank a little more than you....Which is why he died....You got very ill afterwords and checked into the hospital where you were for three days...Arsenic poisoning...You two guys poisoned each other...But actually that bottle was meant for you!!......You didn't know that did you?" I asked.

Dan Stevens had a look of object horror on his face... He stared at his wife..

"YOU!!!!! YOU !!!!! YOU GAVE ME THAT BOTTLE....THAT SPIKED BOURBAN WAS MEANT FOR ME!!!! YOU BITCH!!! YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!!!!" he screamed..

"YES I DID!!!!!!!I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING...MONEY ,CARS, YACHTS, MY BODY ANYTIME YOU WANTED IT AND YOU CHOSE THAT, THAT OPPORTUNISTIC WHORE OVER ME...I WANTED YOU DEAD!!! DEAD!!!! DEAD!!!!......THE WRONG PERSON DIED...IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE YOUUU!!!!!''screamed Sylvia Stevens...

"The defense rests your honor."said Yvette.

"Your Honor, in light of this new information , the people move to dismiss all charges against Ms. Bodice." said ADA Bunn..

"So Moved.....Bailiffs, take Mrs. Stevens into custody." said the Judge...

"Oh My God! Thank You Yvette, Thank you....I am in your debt." said Lisa...

"You're welcome Lisa, good luck.."said Yvette..

"Good Luck."said Bee Bee.

"I could get used to these quick trials.." I laughed.. We hadn't had to go to a jury trial in awhile..

"Me too man."said Kahlil..

"Let's go to Aqua Bar tonight and celebrate...It's Salsa Night.." said Sofia..

"You guys have a good time...I've got a hot date tonight.."laughed Jade...

AUSA Todd Dellums smiled.. His investigation was over and an innocent woman was free...He didn't have a case against Dan Stevens..He took one last look at us and turned and walked out...

"Lisa, you can have your job back with me at double the pay....and I'll finish paying your last year of law school...After my divorce is final....I want to marry you..."said Dan Stevens..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Dannnnnnnnnn!" said Lisa..

as they kissed passionately....

Dan Stevens walked over to Ms. Yvette..

"Nicely done counselor...I thought you were going to bring up all of that business about the Federal Investigation...but you didn't." he said.

"There was no reason to...The Feds didn't have a case against you...Phil Rosen was their target...and the more I looked at his death, the more I realized his death had nothing to do with their investigation or any of this....When I realized that you ingested a great amount of the poison too, I realized that you weren't the killer, being you nearly died yourself...I figured one or both of you were the targets of the real killer...I'm sorry it was your wife." said Yvette..

"Ohhhhh that's fine...If she had failed at this...She would have tried again...You actually saved my life...I'm in your debt....Thank you....I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier...You're a great attorney, a credit to our firm and you've got a great group of Attorneys working for you..." he said

and walked away with Lisa.

Yvette smiled and just shook her head as she watched him and Lisa walk away....

''I guess true love prevailed huh?" I said.

Ms. Yvette laughed..

"Yeah ,How about that?" she said and laughed...

So Did Sofia, Bee Bee, Kahlil and Ms. Jade..

EPILOUGE-

"Remind me never to play you in poker...You played that so close to the vest...You knew as I figured out that those two guys poisoned each other and that the Bourban was a gift from the wife...How could you be sure a cool cookie like Sylvia Stevens would crack?" asked Gary as he and Yvette sat in bed.

"I didn't think she would actually..but either way by showing that Phil and Dan poisoned each other with a Bottle of Bourban given to him as a gift was enough to prove that my client didn't do it...That was my job...Her screaming out like that in court, why that was an extra bonus.. But I figured she might want to unload...She is a woman and her husband betrayed her...I know women..."said Yvette..

"Guess you do...being quite a woman yourself..Lawwwwwwdddd!" said Gary, just staring at Yvette.

"Yes... I am quite a woman aren't I?" laughed Yvette..

"Yes indeeeed!" said Gary.....his mouth practically watering...

"Silly....You are such a horndog..." laughed Yvette.... "Come here!" she whispered...

as she and Gary kissed passionately..

and Gary parted her legs and entered her slowly on top of the bed..

"Ummmmmmmmmmphhh.." he moaned..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"cooed Yvette as the bed began to heave under their weight..

"OHHHHH MYYY GODDDDD...OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU....UMMMMMMMMMM!" she cooed..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" moaned Gary...

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...OUUUUUUWEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she moaned..

They were making love for the next EIGHT TO NINE HOURS.....

"Ohh Gary, I love you!" said Yvette...

"I love you too Vettie.." he said..

"I know." she giggled....

They both laughed as they continued making sweet love...

As for us....We were all in Aqua Bar

with our friends..

Chip and Jessie

Ray and Kayla

Dabnis and Jazzy

Nelson and Beverly

and Josie and Paris

Having a great time..

Plenty of drinks and catered food surrounded us all....

A nice way to end the year....right before Christmas.

Lt. Tragg, totally humiliated in court for a third time in as many weeks...stood outside of Aqua Bar, drinking a bottle of Jameson's Irish Whisky..

"Damn lawyers....I wanted to be a lawyer...My Uncle Jack and my dad said..."No......You gotta be a cop...Tragg men are cops...Damn lawyers." he mumbled as he quaffed the bottle down, tossed it in the trash can and walked into the night..

And at Curley's , Assistant District Attorney Todd Dellums sat alone sucking down a beer.. He had cracked his big case....He had made sure an innocent girl wasn't prosecuted..and had tied up all the loose ends...He should be happy, Should be out celebrating with his agents and associates who helped him make the case...but here he was alone in a cop bar...