Partial To Hot Roast Beef

 We worked at Olivia and Beverly's house for three days...The next three days we worked at "The Bridge" , the office building near Penns Landing, where four of our neighbors also worked..

Jazzy and Kayla were gracious enough to allow us to use the law library at their law firm...

"I went to Gottlieb Insurance... Apparently, Barbara "Barbie" Tate was not so popular....Especially amongst other females.. The story is , she slept her way to the top as first Office Manager and then Executive Secretary...Story is..She could barely type." said Jade.

"Hmmm perhaps there is some truth to what they say." said Bee Bee..

"Ms. Tate, come in my office, close the door...Sit on my lap...I want you to take dictation." said Sofia, imitating a corporate boss..

Ms. Yvette howled with laughter..."Little Mamasita, you are priceless." she said.

"I told you...She missed her calling.." I said,laughing too!

Kahlil , her husband laughed out loud....

"This is just office gossip, but it is said she was sleeping with Old Man Gottlieb at least twice a month..

I checked it out...but he made hotel reservations in Cherry Hill for two ,two times a month and the woman with him fits our murder victim to a tee..." said Jade..

''So she was sleeping with the boss...Maybe he found out about Deke and paid her an early morning visit." said Kahlil..

"No..Deke said he hadn't seen her in months...He just happened to run into her that afternoon after the trial..So they didn't have an ongoing thing." I said.

"Jade and I looked up her divorce proceedings.. One of the reasons for the divorce was INFIDELITY on her part...Her husband's lawyer hired a private detective with proof of it..She had been having an affair with a guy named Chuck Wilson..They had photos.." said Bee Bee..

"And yet Deke managed to work out an equitable settlement... FOR HER!!" said Sofia.

"That's a testimony to how good he is in court...He could sell Ice Cubes to an Eskimo." said Ms. Yvette.

"In addition to Old Man Gottlieb...she was sleeping with young Gottlieb... The two often went to that sleazy motel over by Tidewaters place." said Jade.

''Cheap Ass...He's the son of the CEO...And he can't take her to a better place than that?" asked Bee Bee.

"She's better off with the Father."said Sofia..

''So why aren't we talking to them?"I asked.

''Well for one thing, Neither one of them is your killer..Gottlieb Sr. and his wife are in Hawaii on a second honeymoon and have been gone for three weeks.. And Junior and his wife are in the Caymen Islands..also gone for three weeks...I managed to get their DNA...One from a comb in the old man's office that had strands of his hair in it.,..and another from a discarded can of soda left on junior's desk in his office that had a saliva sample.. The DNA taken from them does not match the DNA in that loaded condom...It's not them!" said Jade.

''What about her ex-husband? Maybe he's angry, Trolling her, stalking her, saw Deke leaving her apartment and snapped.."said Kahlil..

"That would be very difficult for him to do, being he is dead...He was killed in a car accident in San-Francisco ,two months after the divorce.." said Jade.

''What about this Chuck Wilson person?" asked Ms. Yvette.

"I don't know a lot about him...He had two forwarding addresses...He's not at either one..Haven't located a place of employment either and he seems to not like to get his photo taken a lot." said Jade.

"Heyyyy guys....Lunch time...Let us show off our new cafeteria." said Jazzy..

"Just Opened this summer" said Kayla, smiling.

The Cafeteria was gorgeous....I wished our building had a cafeteria.

"This is Beautiful...." said Yvette,..

"I'm surprised our building doesn't have a cafeteria." I said.

"I knowwww right?" said Bee Bee.

"Shoot we might just come down here for lunch.."said Sofia..

''For real!" said Kahlil.

"This is very nice.."said Jade..

"When I heard my firm was moving here...I jumped for joy...Not just because I was going to be closer to my Boo Boo here, but because they had a Cafeteria and fast elevators.." said Ray St. Jacques, Kayla's husband..

Kayla smiled.

"I used to visit him in his old building and the elevators were so slow, I'd get out and walk the rest of the way and still beat the elevator.." she said..

Dabnis howled with laughter...

"You're crazy!" he said.. "I' just glad this building has a cafeteria...My old building didn't either...and uh of course...I'm glad to be close to my wifey.." he said hugging Jazzy...

"We are glad you're here...We've had Beverly and Josie here for lunch, but we want to get the rest of the guys down here eventually...." said Jazzy...

"It beats having to put up with Lt. Tragg standing by your table whining and pontificating about how guilty he thinks your client is and why you shouldn't even be defending him.."said Kahlil.

"Yeah after awhile, it gets tiresome..." I said.

''We try to ignore him and go on with our conversation..but it's a waste of time...He's standing there privy to everything you say." said Bee Bee.

"Only time we get any relief is when ADA April Taylor is around.." said Sofia.

"Olivia and Beverly told me that...They said the same thing you guys said, which is why they buy a lot of groceries and cook a lot of their meals at home.." said Kayla..

"But when you're in court...You don't have a choice, but to eat at Sam Mother's.." said Jazzy..

"Liv said that they eat in the courthouse cafeteria.. Lt. Tragg doesn't  eat in there." said Kayla.

"This is crazy...All this strife over one man...There ought to be some legal means to deal with him.."said Dabnis..

"He's on Cease and Desist...he's not supposed to go near us or our homes unless he has a warrant, but with him that's not worth the paper it's written on..." said Ms. Yvette.

"He's gonna get clocked one of these days.." said Ray...

II-

At Sam Mother's Diner.. Our Client, Deke Richards was ignoring what we had told him...We told him to keep a low profile..

He wasn't  doing anything bad, but in all honesty , he could have picked a better place to eat..

They were all having an open faced Hot Roast Beef Sandwich...The special for the day!

"Ummmmmmmmm, I've always been partial to the Hot Roast Beef sandwich they serve here..I know Curley's makes a good one...but Sam Mother's tops that...What do you think?" he asked..

"I don't know...I haven't had Curley's. But you're right about this one...It is delish!!" said Attorney Jessica Sanchez-Burrows, who like Deke was really chowing down.

So was  her husband, Charles "Chip " Burrows...

"Ummmmmm this is good...I can't imagine anybody topping this..ummmmmmm.." he said..as he wiped the gravy off his fingers.

"Ummmmmmmmm, yes...Well you should try Curley's and then compare...They're both good.." said Deke, really enjoying his food.

''If you say so.." said Jessica. Jessica had interned for him straight out of law school, He had taught her a lot about being a lawyer in the real world...She had been a fast learner , a model student..

Once , but only once..She had given in to his advances...and spent a rainy night with him in a hotel room,

making sweet and crazy love... 

That had been a lifetime ago... She was married now and a successful lawyer in her own right.

She had dropped by Olivia and Beverly's house yesterday and had seen her mentor for the first time in years and they had caught up...

He had met her husband and had found that they ,

like Yvette and company lived right across the street from Olivia..

"I've only had Curley's Corn Beef, Not his Roast Beef.." said Chip..

"Ummmmm, Okay, now, the Corn Beef???... The edge goes to Curley...but I've always been partial to the Roast Beef served in here." said Deke as he chowed down...

They looked up to see Lt. Tragg staring balefully at their table..

" AND I'VE BEEN PARTIAL TO NOT EATING WITH RAPIST AND MURDERERS!!!  You murderous scum bag....So you finally reared your head huh?  Your lawyers have been hiding from me all week..I thought they were hiding you, but I guess not huh?" he snarled.

''Why don't you leave our table? Nobody here is bothering you and Nobody wants to hear all of that. GET AWAY FROM OUR TABLE!!!!" said Jessica angrilly!  The other customers turned to look!

"YOU HEARD MY WIFE!!!!!GET AWAY FROM OUR TABLE!!!!!. GET AWAY  FROM THIS TABLE!!!." said an Angry Chip Burrows...

It was as if they hadn't said a word.. Lt. Tragg kept his eyes on Deke Richards , who he hated with a deep passion..

"Well you raping murderous scum bag???... You piece of human excretement...What have you got to say for yourself?" snarled Lt. Tragg..

"If you don't leave our table..I'm calling the police." said Jessica.

Deke ignored Lt. Tragg , he continued to eat his food...He didn't utter a word...He even smiled.

This angered Lt. Tragg even more ...He slapped Deke's plate and his food off the table.. His plate went crashing to the floor...shattering into pieces and his food splashed on the floor!!!

He shouldn't have done that....

"ANSWER ME!!" he yelled.

"Mannnnn,  you done lost your  rabid mind!" said a furious Deke who smashed Lt.Tragg in his jaw, spinning him around..

"OOOOOUUUUUUF!" he grimaced.

Lt. Tragg swung a haymaker at Deke that missed by a mile... He  then went for an uppercut, like he had used to floor both Petey S. and Jumpshot Jim in past fights..but  Deke blocked him both times...

Deke hit him with three rights and three lefts to his face and then a right cross which knocked Lt. Tragg to the floor and out!!!! Out Cold!!!  The whole fight lasted a little under a minute!!!

The other customers gasped...Some laughed and high fived... Others just stood stunned.

 Lt. Tragg lay on the floor in the Roast beef and gravy and broken glass...his nose bleeding profusely, both of his eyes blackened and swollen shut nearly and his right cheek, swollen and purple...

"Ughhhhhhh!" he moaned....then was out like a light.

Sam Mother ran up to Deke..who was now composed and calm and collected...

"I'm sorry about this. sir...I saw the whole thing...I have told Artie about this..I knew it was just a matter of time before somebody did this to him!!...Look..I've got the cook making you another meal..It's on the house...I'm so sorry about this.. HEY Ralph, Get a mop over here..."he said.

"Not your fault Sam, make that to go...And here is uh money for Jessica and her husband's  meals too with a tip.." said Deke, patting Sam on the back.. "It's Okay Buddy." he said softly...

"Thank You Deke....I'm so sorry about Artie..." said Sam Mother.

"I think he's more sorry right now that he ran into me.."laughed Deke....

"If you are arrested  I saw the entire episode.. He was clearly the aggressor and in the wrong..I'll rep you Pro Bono." said Jessica..

''I will too!" said Chip...

Deke smiled...

"Thank you, but I don't think it will come to that....You think, he wants to admit he got knocked out in under a minute in court?? I don't think so." laughed Deke...

He looked at the still unconscious Lt. Tragg to make sure he was still breathing, then laughed and walked out with Jessica and Chip..

Lt. Tragg groaned..

"Ohhhhhhhhhh my head!!!" he said and lie still on the floor,..

An Ambulance arrived and took a now semi conscious Lt. Tragg to the hospital...

SOME HOURS LATER 

"You just can't stay outta trouble can you Deke? What am I going to do with you?" asked Yvette..

''All I was doing was eatin lunch with Jessica and her husband.. We were talking.. He came in and called me all kinds of names..I still didn't respond...They'll tell you ,until he knocked my food off the table and on to the floor..Then I knocked his dumb ass out!!!...Bet'cha he won't do that shit anymore." said Deke.

"I just gotta shake the hand of the man who knocked Lt. Tragg out cold." I said laughing and giving Deke some dap..

''Me too!" said Kahlil, shaking his hand and laughing..

"WOWWWWWWW...I would have loved to have seen that." said Bee Bee.

''Remember when Lt. Tragg and Jumpshot Jim got into it and he hit Jumpshot Jim with that uppercut and knocked the wind out of him?" said Sofia. "He did the same thing to Petey S."said Sofia.

"That's because they can't fight...I wasn't always a lawyer... I come from the streets...He can ask around about me! Guess he aint gotta ask...He messed around and found out!!!!" laughed Deke.

''Deke listen to me..I'm trying to save your life..Please keep a low profile....Until after your trial...We don't need anymore bad publicity...You of all people should understand that." said Yvette.

Deke rubbbed the side of Yvette's face softly...

"I know you are baby...I'll take my meals here from now on...I can order my food from Sam Mother's 

on line and have it delivered here...You know I'm Partial to their Roast Beef.." said Deke,.,,,

Jade walked in...She had been down at Police headquarters...

"Good News.. Lt. Tragg was released from the Hospital a few hours ago! ..Other than two black eyes and a slightly swollen face...He's fine.. He attempted to put an APB out on you, But Jessica, Chip and about 17 witnesses all said that he started the altercation..So no charges were filed.. He's mostly just bruised and a little embarrassed....Everyone is talking about how he got knocked out....I don't suspect you'll be seeing him around for awhile...." said Jade.

"Good , I still want you to keep  a low profile...You hear?" said Yvette.

"Okay...Anything you say Vettie." he said.

III-

A DAY LATER-

"You know it's very risque...Us even talking to you right now..." said Bee Bee..

"Let alone you having dinner with us tonight." added Sofia..

"It's a wonder you two aren't married to each other...Do you always finish each other's sentences?" laughed Assistant District Attorney Janice Hankins, who was having dinner with us tonight..

"Sofia is my sister...We are both only children..We grew up across the yard from each other..We've known each other since before Kintergarden haven't we Sofia?" asked Bee Bee.

"Yup, our parents became friends...We went to the same Kintergarden, same Elementary School, Same Middle School and same High School." said Sofia.

"Not to mention the same College, same Sorority and same Law School..You work at the same Law firm and you got married three weeks apart...and now you live next door to each other... Wowwww...That's a lot of togetherness... You two are scary..."laughed Janice who like Bee Bee and Sofia was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority....She pledged a year before them and was their Dean of pledges when they pledged..She loved them both dearly though....And likewise they loved her...

As I said..I dated Janice once...Bee hated it.. I wondered why since back them we had a brother-sister type of relationship or so we said...So She said.. I was often caught looking at her sexy body and wondering what it would be like to be her man... Now of course...I know.. She was looking at me as well and checking me out..I just didn't know it then...

''We ready? We got everything we need?" asked Kahlil...who had graduated from Central High with Janice and knew her before he knew all of us..

"We got everything babes...let's go to the check out line.." said Sofia..

"I gotta admit..I've never seen you two more happy, more content...Perhaps I should find me a good man and get married..Easier said than done though.." she said.

"You never know...The man for you might be right around the corner..." said Sofia.

"Bee you were engaged to somebody else at one point weren't you?" asked Janice...

"Yeah, Todd Dellums... That didn't work out...He lives here in the city...He's a U.S. Attorney now." said Bee Bee.. "He's got a girlfriend...She's a model.." she added.

''His loss, Keith's gain." said Janice.

"That's how I see it.." I laughed..

We went home..We gave Janice a tour of both of our houses...

"Both of your homes are gorgeous... I've heard this is the area of the city to live in...Wow..I might look at some real estate out this way..." said Janice.

Dinner was at Bee Bee and my house tonight..

Bee Bee and Sofia cooked the meal...

Fried Chicken, Greens , Candied Yams and Macaroni and Cheese.....

Alexa played all of the Hip Hop classics from our high school days and into college and law school...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuu chile, those bring back memories....And this food is delish....You two are excellent cooks.." said Janice.. "I should eat with you guys more often.." Joked Janice..

"You know you're always welcome Soror.." said Bee Bee..

''But preferrably after this trial is over."joked Sofia..

"Rightttttt...Righttttt" laughed Janice..

Kahlil and I laughed too as we sat down to eat....

We had made an agreement not to discuss any aspect of the trial nor anybody associated with the trial..

We didn't...We just chowed down caught up on each others lives and fellowshipped...All in all it was a great night.

Lt. Tragg was out of the hospital...Both of his eyes were black and nearly swollen shut..His right cheek was purple and swollen a little too..

He had asked for and gotten a few days off from work..He didn't want anybody to see him looking like this..

He walked the streets sipping on his drink of choice, Jameson's Irish Whiskey....He didn't want April to see him like this...He hoped she hadn't heard the story...

He wanted another crack at that swaggering , rapist bastard...Deke Richards....

He peered in Sam Mother's diner..  None of the attorneys he regularly sparred with were in there tonight.. They were probably eating at home... Sissy and her detectives had long stopped eating there ,preferring their new building's cafeteria or to eat at home...

He walked on...He might not eat in there for awhile...after the thrashing he took two days ago he couldn't stand the snickering and outright howls of laughter.. He could imagine the howls of laughter at the precinct....

No , he was going to take a few days off until the swelling went down...

He decided to go back to the crime scene , see if he could find some new clues ,anything to help put this creep behind bars...and possibly death row.. That would be perfect...

He tried interviewing some people on the dead woman's floor...He kept hearing..

"I told that to the officers and to that Asian girl, who said she was an investigator." they all said.

"What Asian girl?" he asked, although he knew..

"The Asian girl that's in the apartment now." said one of the residents..

Ms. Jade was in the apartment with equipment simullar to what Crime Scene Investigators use, examining for more DNA or prints and looking around for anything they might have missed..So Far she had found little to nothing..

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON MY CRIME SCENE?" bellowed Lt. Tragg.

"Must we do this dance Lieutenant?  I am a licensed Private Investigator...I work for Attorneys who are defending a client...The law says I have a right to the crime scene as well as the autopsy reports and crime scene reports." she said pulling out a piece of paper that had the law written on it so he could see it..

He went to snatch it, but she snatched it back and put it in her pocketbook...

"Plus, you're drunk, you're off duty...You can't snatch anything of mine.. License not withstanding..But anyway...No need for us to do this dance.. I'm leaving... I got all I need..Good Night." she said and walked past him....

He stood there and sipped his whiskey...

He polished off the bottle and deposited it in the waste basket...

IV-

Nightfall came..

At Gary and Yvette's house..

Gary laughed as he passed Yvette her tea..

''I heard Lt. Tragg got knocked cold a few days ago.." he said.

"Try not to laugh too hard." said Yvette with a devilish smile..

''Well I'll tell you one thing.. He's taken a few days off and he hasn't been in Sam Mother's or Curley's Bar at all..He's probably waiting for the swelling to go down...You know...I always thought Dabnis Coley or Ray St. Jacques was going to be the one to cold cock him...Never thought this dude, your client would..Damnnnnnn!!!! "laughed Gary...

"Danny Ho and I both said we wished we'd been there to see it.."laughed Gary..

"I don't wanna talk about it..In fact.. I don't wanna talk period.." said Yvette..

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.." she moaned..Kissing Gary slowly and softly...She wanted to be in Gary's arms and to make love...She could care less about Lt. Tragg or anything having to do with this trial.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Gary moaned himself.. Yvette's butter soft kisses always got him aroused and took his mind off of whatever he had been thinking of prior..

He ran his hands down into her soft silky panties...

and slipped them off..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh my godddddddddd!" he moaned..

"Meowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!" Yvette cooed..

''WOWWWWWWWW!!"said Gary..nearly delirious with lust and desire!!!!

Lifting her up and long stroking her... He didn't know if he was coming or going at the moment..Yvette was so wet, smelled like a new born baby, so soft...He was losing his mind...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUWOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!" she squealed..

"OHHHHHHHH MY SWEET GIRRRRRRRRRL...UMMMMMMMMMM!" he moaned..

They sat on the side of the bed with Yvette moving up and down and engulfing Gary in soft sweet kisses..

and finally on top of the bed, making slow sweet love...

The next NINE TO TEN HOURS belonged to just them, only them

In an after hours spot...Attorney Maya Andrews was on her phone

"Okay lover...I'll be right over...Yes, I'm horny too! Don't go to sleep..." she said..

A drink came over to her..

"Oh No...I can't drink another thing...I'm getting ready to leave." she said and placed some money on the counter..

"You can't have a drink with an old friend Maya? " asked Lt. Tragg..

''Artie, my god..what happened to you?? I know...I should see the other guy right?" said Maya Andrews..

"Long story babe, ya see..." said Lt. Tragg..

''Sorry Artie..I gotta go babe, got to see a man about a horse.." she said and got up...Hurrying out of the After hours spot to her car...

She was actually just a ten minute drive from the Holiday Inn at the Airport where Deke was staying.

There was a knock on Deke's door..

''Well hello lover...I came to see a man with a horse in his pants." said the Attorney .Maya Andrews.

"I am he." he said and closed the door behind them..

Soon they were embracing, kissing, he had her dress off..

"Ummmmmmmmmm ,oh my goodness...Ouuuuuuuuuu that thing is huge...and hard." she said , stroking him gently as he ran his hands down into her panties..

He slipped her panties down..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh my goddddd!" he moaned...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!" she cooed softly...

and the two of them spent the night..making sweet  love....

(TO BE CONTINUED)