VENTURES: Alleys That Lead Nowhere

ONE NIGHT LATER-

A Rare Date Night for just the two of them.

Attorneys, Beverly West- East and her husband, Nelson East had just finished a delicious meal at one of Philadelphia's tony restaurants and were preparing to leave...

"Oh Nelson...This place is fabulous....Ouuuuu Husband, the food in this place was just delish and the ambiance..." she said...

"Ouuuuu listen to my Ivy League Lawyer Bae usin them big words...Ambiance..." Nelson said laughing...

"Don;t tease me." said Beverly ,laughing..

"I don't tease you nearly as much as you tease me...You've been teasing me all night with this new skirt and this sheer blouse..."said Nelson...

"Have I? " laughed Beverly...

"Yeah, you have... "laughed Nelson looking at Beverly slyly....

"Well, let's stop playing..."laughed Beverly...

"Yes, we play too much" whispered Nelson, staring in Beverly's eyes..

Beverly smiled serenely....

"Find a place...Quick!" she said softly..

They drove a few blocks....It never occurred to them on this warm eary spring night that they might be being followed..They were just a young married couple, very much in love..

Nelson drove a few blocks and turned down a side street and parked under a tree....

He peered at Beverly sheepishly...She smiled at him sheepishly....

"Playtime is over Mrs. East.""he said.

Beverly smiled and then laughed...

"Then let's stop playing." she said..

"Woof!" he said..

''Meooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!""she cooed and leaned over and kissed him passionately...

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmph....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." he moaned...

Beverly could see that his trousers were standing out like a circus tent... ,She softly rubbed his erection and continued deep throat kissing him....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Nelson...We need to take this back to our place..."she moaned...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I know...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh but I'm losing my mind over here...Ohhhhhhh.."he moaned and lifted her top

and began unbuckling her bra...

"Too Late.....Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." she moaned as Nelson sucked on her breasts and kissed her breasts, her neck and her cheekbones and finally her lips....She moaned and leaned her head back....They had made love in this same spot just three weeks before, for hours......She was giddy with excitement....Nelson started by kissing Beverly from her mouth down to her breasts, He began giving her french kisses,He moved his lips slowly across her breasts down to her body, He kept kissing her body as he lowered himself to her waist and hips. Beverly was wearing a short skirt and Nelson lifted it..

As he got to her panties, He placed a hand on both of her shapely legs and slowly spread them, Instead he kissed her vagina through her panties and even squeezed it slightly with his lips,

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU....UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM ,OHHHHHHHHHH

MY GODDDD!!! OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU, NELSONNN!" she moaned.

Beverly was near delirium.. Nelson ran his tongue softly over her panties... He kissed her through her panties for a few minutes He moved slightly lower, kissing along her inner thigh. He licked & kissed her inner thigh... Then he began deep throat kissing her again...She was breathing heavily and her body was shaking..

"OH MY GODDDDD NELSON....UMMMMMMM!" she cooed.

"OHHHHHHHHHHH BEVERLY....OHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nelson moaned.

"Ouuu husband...Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"Beverly moaned...She was very close to having a very intense orgasm....So was Nelson..

"OH MY GOD BEVERLY...OUUUUUUU!" he moaned..

She was getting ready to unzipper his trousers...and slip her panties to the side , when she saw police lights in the background...

"Nelson!!! It's a cop!! It's two cop cars..." she said as they broke their embrace...She hooked her bra and pulled her top down...She straightened her dress and buttoned her blouse before the policeman got to the car..

Nelson straightened up....zippered his trousers back up...

The policeman, a tall white man with blond hair and blue eyes walked towards them with a flashlight...He had a grin on his face....There was another white policeman with him....

They peered at Nelson and Bev....

"Sooooooooooooooo..What's goin on here folks?" he laughed...He knew exactly what had been going on..

"Nothing officer.. Why are you here.?..And with two police cars.? "asked Nelson...Luckily they were fully clothed...

Beverly said nothing...

The second policeman chuckled...He eyed Beverly's cleavage and her shapely legs...and smiled sardonically...Beverly felt uncomfortable the way he was staring at her..

He noticed matching wedding bands on both of them...He knew they were a married couple. He knew exactly who they were.

"Okay...wait here someone wants to talk to you guys?" he said...

"What? Talk to us about what?" asked Nelson.

A menacing man in a suit got out of one of the cars.. A dark unmarked car with red and blue flashing lights.

He looked like a Detective....He walked over to the car...

"Nelson East, Attorney....And You little lady are uh one half of Auntie and Niecey....You're Beverly West....Mrs. Beverly West-East..." the Detective said..

''What's this about?" asked Nelson, sensing this had nothing to do with them making out in an alley..

''We weren't breaking any laws...We are fully dressed and off on a side street with no residences..You have no right to stop us."protested Beverly.

The Detective laughed...

"Oh I know you've broken no laws....I just want to talk to you two....An Associate of you two...Your Uncle I believe Mrs. East...can't get over the fact that he is no longer a Homicide Detective...That's my Job...He still likes to play Nancy Drew....This foolish investigation he's launched into this Jaunita Townsend murder is just that , foolish....You two should uh impress upon him that he shouldn't waste his time..And that's what he's doing ,wasting his time...Impress upon him and your little intern that too much time has passed...Her aunt is dead and buried and mouldering in the grave...It's been 15 years....She barely knew her aunt...She was too young...Can't miss who you don't know...." said the detective.

"You Tryin to convince yourself of that or us?" asked Nelson, who was now furious...He had an idea who this was they were talking to..

Beverly rubbed his hands softly to calm him down... She was a little frightened...

"Don't be a smart ass! You know...You two are young, married, successful attorneys...You have great careers ahead of you...

YOU COULD! Don't go down alleys that lead to nowhere....It could lead to uh uncertain futures for all involved.....understand...?? Tell Donnie Ray to back off.. Impress upon Juanita's little niece that this isn't going to lead anywhere... I hope we don't have to meet like this again. Good Night...You two can uh, continue what you were uh doing...Heh Heh heh...!" laughed the Detective who never gave his name..

And just like that, the two police cars were gone...and the unmarked car with the shining lights the detective was in was gone also...

For Beverly and Nelson, the mood had been spoiled and their night blown...Both were equally furious and a bit un nerved by what had just happened...They drove home..

Unknown to them...earlier that same afternoon...

Josie and Paris had been out on a rare date night for them...They were at the Mermaid Club..

"Man these crab legs are better than the ones at Josies on Crab leg night.."said Josie's boyfriend, Paris.

"That's because Josie's only have crab legs on Thursday Night....This place specializes in it.."laughed Josie.

The same menacing detective invited himself into their booth..and sat down next to Josie...

"Heyyyy man , what gives? Who the hell are you?" asked Paris.

"Relax Junior...I just want to talk to your missus a minute...I don't plan to stay..."said the detective.

''Who are you? What do you want?" asked Josie.

Beverly, Nelson and Josie had only heard the name, Phillip Marlowe, They had never met him...So they had no idea who was talking to them...

"You're Josie Boyd, Attorney...You work for Olivia Bennett-Alexander and Beverly West right??

"I know all about you....You helped them open up their practice....You started out as their girl friday and they put you through law school as a reward...You have a great future ahead of you....So here is the deal. Olivia's husband, Donnie Ray is poking around in a meritless investigation that has nothing to do with a case or client...I would like for you to tell both Liv and her husband Donnie Ray to cease and desist...It's a nowhere case, it's a waste of time...It's 15 years old and cold.." said the detective.

"Why don't you tell em yourself?" said Paris, who was enraged..

"Didn't your mama tell you to speak when spoken to boy?" snarled the detective..

"WHY YOU???" said Paris, who grabbed a knife off the table and went to lunge,

Before Josie grabbed him...

"Noooo Paris, chill baby...Chill." she said.

"That's right son...You listen to your girlfriend...Chill , I didn't come here to have to make an arrest or kill you for threatening the life of a police officer..I just came to talk...Josie as I said, you have a great future ahead of you as an attorney, so does Beverly and Nelson ,Don't go down alleys that lead to nowhere....It could lead to uh uncertain futures for all involved.....understand...?? Tell Donnie Ray to back off.. Impress upon Juanita's little niece, Bresha that this isn't going to lead anywhere... I hope we don't have to meet like this again. Good Night...You two can uh, continue with your meal, it looks delicious...Heh Heh heh...!" laughed the Detective who never gave his name..He got up and walked out...

Paris was so angry, he was trembling...

The good feelings and mood was destroyed for Josie too! They paid their bill and left....

It had been quite a night for our youngins.....

II-

THE NEXT MORNING!

Olivia was incensed when she heard about Beverly, Nelson and Josie being approached by Phillip Marlowe the night before in seperate incidents..

"I'm so angry right now , I don't know what to do...The nerve of that scoundrel...The Gall.." she said..

She realized they didn't know what he looked like...but I had left a photo of him , before I left to go to CID headquarters...

"That's him!! That's the guy.." said Beverly..

"The More he talked about the case....The more I realized who he was.." said Nelson.

"It was all I could do to keep Paris from cutting him..That's him though..." said Josie.

"Oh My god....I didn't mean to cause any trouble with this." said Bresha..

"You didn't cause any trouble baby!.....And we will not be intimidated...I'm calling the D.A.'s office and then I'm calling the Precinct....He's not going to get away with this.."said Olivia..

The bell was ringing..

"I'll get it Liv." said Alfreda...

Detective Phillip Marlowe pushed right by her once she opened the door..

"HEYYYYYYYY!" she said.

He walked into our conference room...

"WELLLLLLL GOOD MORNING MRS. ALEXANDER....I WAS HOPING TO TALK TO YOUR HUSBAND...IS HE IN?" said Phillip Marlowe.

"Do you know how to knock?" asked Olivia.. Incensed....

Beverly, Nelson and Josie stared daggers at him..

"Apparently you don't know who I am.."said Phillip Marlowe"

He heard the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked and felt the cold steel of a .40 caliber pistol close to the hairs of his neck..

"AND APPARENTLY YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW!" said Alfreda , who had it cocked..

I had given her that gun for protection if we weren't around and had taken her to the range and taught her how to shoot.

He turned slowly.....He smiled.

"Do you even know how to use that thing little lady?" he asked, smiling..

"WELL THERE IS ONE WAY TO FIND OUT ISN'T IT ?" said Alfreda, staring him down...

"GET OUT AND DO NOT COME BACK UNLESS YOU HAVE A WARRANT AND PROBABLE CAUSE! GO ON AND GET THE HELL OUT!" said a very uncharacteristicaly angry Olivia.

Phillip Marlowe smiled....then frowned..

"Your Husband is walking down an alley that leads to nowhere...His safety could be involved and I will be back Mrs. Alexander with a warrant concerning that gun..." he snarled.

"It's legally registered....I work for Attorneys....NOW GET OUT!" said Alfreda..

He turned and walked out....

"You're making this hard on yourselves..You really are." he snarled.

At Police headquarters. sometime later.

Captain Edward Cantrell called Detective Phillip Marlowe into his office..

Assistant District Attorney Rockland Cambridge was also there....

''What is that about?" snarled Detective Marlowe.. He missed the days of White Captains and Lieutenants and White Assistant District Attorneys..It was a different world..He felt like a man out of time.

"You've been quite busy the last 24 hours...You harrassed an Attorney and her date at a restaurant, You harrassed two other attorneys out on a date and this morning you entered an attorneys office uninvited and preceded to harrass them...Why the interest in attorneys? You need one? Or Are you going to need one?" said Captain Cantrell.

"He just might...A certain private detective has been looking into a 15 year old cold case....involving an ADA who had brought him and his two now deceased partners up on charges of loan sharking, extortion and arson among other things....The woman winds up dead two days before she's about to go to the FBI and the case was closed , He was off the hook and her murder was never solved...Now that it's being looked into independently...He's nervous....You got something to hide Marlowe???...Somethin you feel like talking about?" asked Rockland.

He was a s red as a beet...He had never liked ADA Rockland Cambridge...He didn't care for Captain Eddie Cantrell either.. He ignored Rockland and looked at Captain Cantrell..

"You know...I remember you..I remember when you were a fresh faced rookie, fresh out of the academy...You were happy to fetch my coffee..I was a Detective when you got out of the Academy..."snarled Phillip Marlowe..

"Yes ,And you're still a detective...And I'm Captain Your point is? I remember you too! and your corrupt cronies...Shaking down small businesses, in the Black, Puerto Rican, Asian and Russian communities.. Everybody knew about it...but you were good ole Captain Jack's boy and I'm sure you gave him a cut of your ill gotten goods back then. It's a new day now! You don't have Captain Jack Tragg or Lt. Arthur Tragg Sr. to protect you now.. If you're smart you'll ride out the rest of the time you have left until your retirement...But you aren't smart are you Phil? You disgust me!!...You give all cops , Honest cops a bad name...You've been protected all these years...but know this...I won't protect you , If I ever get wind that you're responsible for any crimes...and I mean any crimes, You're out of here." said Captain Cantrell..

Rockland passed him an envelope..

"This is a cease and desist order , you are not to go anywhere near Olivia Bennett-Alexander, Beverly West-East, Nelson East, Josie Boyd, Donnie Ray Alexander, Bresha Williams or Alfreda Johnson unless you have a proper warrant or probable cause...Violate this and you will be prosecuted and possibly terminated... and I warn you...don't try me....One phone call and you're toast! " he said.

"They called you fast didn't they.?....Must have called you right after I left their office.. Look at you the big bad Assistant district Attorney...You need to grow a pair of balls, that's what you need to do. You're as pussy whipped as Donnie Ray...That receptionist must be hell in the bed...She's got you wrapped around her fingers.. She's certainly good with a pistol. Is she as good with your johnson? heh heh heh!" snarled Phillip Marlowe derisively....

" WHYYYYY YOUUUU!" screamed Rockland lunging at Phillip...He was furious at being talked to like that...

Captain Cantrell got in between the two men...

"That's enough....Alright we are done here ! Marlowe, go back to work. And try to stay out of trouble! "said Captain Cantrell..

III-

At Criminal Investigation Division Headquarters , I sat in the office of FBI Deputy Special Agent in Charge, Sharon Hopkins...

''Thanks for getting back to me Sharon..This was kind of fast...." I said..

"I made it priority, said it might have something to do with domestic right wing terrorism." Sharon Joked.. "That Palm print and both of those latent fingerprints in the car and on the condom in her purse belong to one man and one man only, Detective Phillip Marlowe.. " she said.

"He wasn't at the scene or on the case...I got that from Reed and Malloy, the two detectives on the case..His fingerprints, palm print and DNA have no business being on her car and in her purse that time of night..."I said.. "Also...I found out that that money , that $2500.00 that miraculously wound up in Gladys Daye's account, the day after the murder came from Marlowe's bank account...My theory is that he called her and got her to call Juanita and tell her to meet her at that coffee shop...He knew about their relationship and he had been hounding her for years, busting her for drugs and whatever....He paid her to set her good friend up and he intercepted her and murdered her and that was pay off money...It explains why Gladys went into a spiral of drugs and alcohol and died of an overdose three years later..It was guilt.." I said.

"That is a good story but can you prove it?" asked Sharon...

''Not all..but he has to explain why his prints and DNA were in her car and her purse at that time of night and why this evidence has been buried all these years and why that money was in the account of someone who he had arrested several times over the years, who just happened to be a client and a friend of the deceased..." I said.

"You're right....You got enough to go to the D.A. with your suspicions.." said Sharon...

"Thank you babe....I owe you." I said and kissed her on the cheek..

"Your federal government, working for you."laughed Sharon...

I returned home, I had been gone all morning..

"Heyyy guys....I'm sorry I wasn't here when that creep arrived...but uh I heard Alfreda, Bad Ass Alfreda held down the fort.." I said, laughing..

"YES SHE DID!!!!!"said Olivia, smiling.

"Mama don't take no mess." said Beverly, smiling..

"She aint the one.." said Nelson..

"I honestly thought she was going to shoot him.." said Josie..

"Mrs. J. is bad ass.."said Bresha, hugging Alfreda...

"Ahhhhhhh, you weren't here Tall Dark and Southern, so I had to fill in for you.." said Alfreda, laughing...

"Well, I got what I needed....I've been to the D.A.'s office.. An indictment should be coming down soon...so there is nothing better to do than to have lunch....All of you guys, on me at Curleys for a front row seat....Trust me , you don't want to miss this." I said.

"Look at my big spender husband.." laughed Olivia.

IV-

Curley's Bar, A Thursday Afternoon after work...

"Philly, why didn't you let me handle it?" asked Lt. Tragg..

"You've got multiple cease and desist orders on you Artie, you can't go near em...."said Phillip Marlowe.

"Yeah and now you've got one on you..." said Lt. Tragg.

"Yeah, so looks like I have to go to another option...THE FINAL OPTION!!! It's the only way......Your Uncle Jack taught me that." laughed Phill Marlowe..

"I'm not hearing this....Come on Philly, they got nothing....No eyewitness, no evidence, just a bunch of half baked stories by people who weren't there...Let it go."said Lt. Tragg.

"Wellllll look who it is...Auntie and Niecy and crew.." snarled Phillip Marlowe.. "They have the gall to come in here and eat..." he said.

''Well look who's here..Mr. Warmth?" said Olivia sarcastically.

"I knew he'd be here...I was hoping he'd be here..." I said,

"Be easy Tall Dark and Southern, He's not supposed to come near us."said Alfreda.

Olivia and I and Alfreda took one table....

''I don't think he cares about a C&D Mommy."said Beverly...

"He's with Lt. Tragg, maybe he'll explain it to him." said Nelson..

"You give Lieutenant Tragg too much credit."said Josie.

"Just ignore them."said Bresha, who was the most uncomfortable , being here.

Beverly, Nelson , Josie and Bresha took the table next to ours...

We all ordered Beers

Cheeseburgers

and Onion Rings...

And just like I knew....Detective Phillip Marlowe couldn't resist coming over to our tables..

"Ouuuuuu those burgers look good..so do those onion rings... That's a lot of beer...I hope you guys aren't going to be driving home under the influence..I'd uh hate to have to arrest lawyers on a DUI..Heh, heh heh.." he said.

"I heard you were looking for me....In all the wrong places." I said.. "Well here I am..."

"Donnie Ray Alexander , At last we meet....I hear you used to be on the job, a Homicide Detective and now you're doing what so many guys do when they retire, you get a P.I. license and whore yourself out to Attorneys as an investigator...Two things...One you're no longer a cop and two, your license can be taken and then you can't investigate anything..." said Phillip Marlowe..

"Are you threatening me? I would hope not...Because your days of snatching anything are just about over." I said.

"Oh noooo..I'm not threatening you Donnie Ray....I'm just saying, you're going down an alley that leads nowhere....You should give this investigation up and stick to your wife's cases..If you'd like to keep your license.."said Phillip.

"This is our case...We are representing Bresha Williams here, Ms. Juanita Townsend's niece...I'll have my license longer than you'll have your badge...You can make book on that!"I said.

"I'll take that bet...Give it up...You're wasting your time...You've got nothing...." said Phillip Marlowe..

"Awwww and I've made so much progress...." I said..

I pulled out handcuffs and tossed them to Detectives Reed and Malloy, who had just arrived...

"You've waited 15 years for this guys....Your day has come. This case is down." I said..

"Thank You Donnie Ray" said Detectives Reed and Malloy..

They had a tactical squad with them...

''Don't make this hard Philly."said Detective Reed, who handcuffed him.

"Phillip Marlowe you are under arrest for suspicion of murder in the case of Juanita Townsend...You have the right to remain silent..Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law..

You have the right to an attorney...If you can't afford one...One will be provided for you...Do you understand these rights as I am reading them to you.."said Detective Malloy..

"I don't believe you guys....I'm being arrested?? WHATTTTTTT? What evidence have you got? Come on guys, this is crazy?"said Phillip Marlowe.

"Badge and Gun Phil. we've got enough evidence for the D.A. to issue a warrant for your arrest...You'll see it at your trial." said Captain Cantrell, who took his badge and his service revolver....

"Let's go." he said.

''You killed my auntie you creep! I hope they bury you under the jail.." said Bresha, who was in tears.

He looked at her, but said nothing to her..

"I don't believe this...." was all he muttered.

"Looks like this alley led somewhere didn't it?" said Beverly...

We all busted out laughing....As now former detective ,Phillip Marlowe

was walked out of Curley's in handcuffs..

"I don't believe this....What evidence could you possibly have? Come on guys, COME ON!!!!" he yelled as he was walked out..

Lt. Tragg sat at the bar lost in thought... It was the end of an era...

EPILOUGE-

Former Detective, Phillip Marlowe was convicted of the 2005 Murder of Juanita Townsend..

His fingerprints and DNA at the scene, long buried in the evidence room was made public, His payoff to Gladys Daye the day after the murder and his long stated animosity toward the deceased was enough to convince a jury that he was guilty....Plus two witnesses were discovered who lived in his apartment complex reported that they saw him returning to his apartment with a torn suit jacket and blood on the suit.. They said they testified to Captain Jack Tragg in 2005 what they had seen and he never made it public and went short of threatening them to keep their mouths shut. They came forward after it became known that I was asking questions about the case and that Reed and Malloy had reopened it. The long unsolved murder of Juanita Townsend was solved.

Phillip Marlowe is housed in Segregation in Stanga State Prison...for his own safety....

Juanita Townsend, the late Civil Rights Attorney and Activist's name was suddenly all over the news and on everyone's lips...

Assistant District Attorney Rockland Cambridge successfully prosecuted him..sending him away for the rest of his natural life with no possibility of parole..

B.L. Benz dedicated an entire week of his show HARD BOTTOM to covering the case..

He had detectives Reed and Malloy

and myself on the show, talking about how we reopened and cracked the case...

He had Bree on his show too , Juanita's niece, now an Attorney herself and now working as an intern to famous attorneys,

Olivia Bennett-Alexander, Beverly West-East, Nelson East and Josie Boyd..

who I was also affiliated with....were also on the show.

No one could fault us for finding new spots to eat....With a family friend of his Uncle and Father now locked up for life due to his murder conviction...I could only imagine that I was not high on Lt. Tragg's list... No one wanted to hear his rambling today, So we all picked a nice new place to have Brunch..

My wife treated me to a New Orleans dish done Philly Style, Fried Catfish and Shrimp over Grits...

"Ohhhhh Wowwwwww! This is soo good, Thank you!" I said.

"I know it's not New Orleans, but I hope it will do..Until we go back down there." said Olivia.

''Awwww baby this is great." I said.. "If anything, it's making me homesick." I said.

"Glad you like it." said Olivia..

"I like something else too!" I laughed....

"I know that....." Olivia laughed gingerly...rubbing her index finger across my lips...

She sat in my lap and kissed me passionately...

"I like you too!" she cooed in between kisses.

"Soooooo Bree, Still going to Intern with us for awhile?" asked Beverly...

''Yes indeed...I've learned so much and I'm so grateful you guys finally discovered what happened to my auntie.." said Bresha.

"You know, this case could have easily have been cracked in 2005, if someone had wanted it to be..I'm speaking of corrupt ass Jack Tragg, who beat a suspect into confessing to a murder he didn't commit and the suspect getting executed...and who obviously knew that Phillip Marlowe was the killer and he shut down the investigation and hid evidence to protect him...He should have been fired for his misdeeds.. Olivia's father beating the snot out of him was his comeuppance...but he deserved to be punished more."said Nelson..

"True..but he''s dead now...Him and his brother...Now Maybe we can put all of this ugliness behind us."said Bresha.

"Yesss.....I wonder what old Lt. Tragg is doing right now? That was his father and uncle's friend and the news reports sure didn't shine a good light on either of them." asked Josie..