VENTURES: Uncivil Suit

Max Lupin wisely used his right to remain silent and said nothing for the past 48 hours that he was locked up...

He underwent a brutal grilling by Detective Jimmy Tragg ,cousin of Lt. Tragg and son of his Father's brother, the late Jack Tragg..

"LOOK... WE GOT YOU COLD...MAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF....JUST GET IT OFf YOUR CHEST...CONFESS!" said Jimmy Tragg, who was so frustrated and so angry, he was close to hitting the suspect...It wouldn't be the first time he had struck a suspect...

The only thing keeping him under control was that he had just come off of 90 days on the MArine Boat...He was in no hurry to go back out on that boat.

Max Lupin, finally sober and still wearing the same clothes he had on at his Bachelor Party finally spoke..

"I told you I DIDN'T DO IT!" he said.

He hadn't spoke...but he had agreed to take part in a line up...

His would be accuser not only couldn't identify him....She picked an undercover cop , who had been thrown into the line up...

He wisely refused to take a lie detector test...

Detective Tragg knew he would have to charge him or let him go soon.....

"Jimmy , this interview is over." said Attorney Eric Farr.....

Detective Jimmy Tragg looked up only to see behind him, Olivia Bennett-Alexander, myself, Beverly West, Nelson East, Josie Boyd and Bresha Billips..

"Well Well Wellllllll...Looka here, Looka Here.. You went out and brought the troops huh Eric? Nice seeing you again Mrs. Bennett-Alexander... I uh saw you and your hubby slipping out of the Sheraton a few nights ago when this went down....Did you by chance see anything?" asked Detective Tragg.

"We were on a different floor." I said.

"Oblivious to the whole thing.."said Olivia.

"I'll bet you were....If I had a dish like you all alone...I'd of been oblivious too..Heh heh heh!"laughed Detective Tragg...looking Olivia up and down....

"Max, Attorney Farr has found you a Judge...."said Beverly..

"She'll see you in an hour.." said Josie.. They didn't know who it was.. They thought it was maybe Elise Clemmons or Martika Anderson...They were in for a big surprise.

A Very contrite Max Lupin Jr. hung his head..

"Thank You...I can imagine...You guys didn't want to take this case...I mean...If I were you, being Black and all ,I wouldn't take this case...I'm a white boy from Port Richmond, accused of raping a Black girl at a drunken Bachelor Party, Only...I didn't do this...I was so drunk, I wasn't aware anything had happened until Barney Fife here put the cuffs on me..." said Max Lupin Jr.

"Interesting you'd make that comparison.." said Nelson..

Bresha laughed...

Detective Tragg didn't find it funny...Like his cousin, he was livid at being made fun of...

"Sit Tight chum....Help is on the way..."said Eric.

DISTRICT COURT- ONE HOUR LATER...

We were standing before Judge Naomi Fletcher...an aging Black female Judge..

''Wowww..I thought she had retired..Oh My God...Maybe I should have let you girls find the Judge."said Olivia..

"I thought she was dead." said Beverly...

"Me too! The three of us have had our moments with her as Public Defenders....She nearly made you cry Beverly...No easy feat..She told me one of my suits was wrinkly and to never come in her courtroom looking unkept again. "You're an Attorney, Dress like it "She said. I always made sure my suits were dry cleaned and pressed after that." said Nelson..

"Yeah, I remember...It was only my third case......I was glad you and Auntay were there..."said Beverly..

"I remember..She nearly made me cry as a young attorney...She taught me to always be prepared, always be on time...and never be surprised..."said Olivia..

"They have such history." said Bresha , looking at Olivia, Beverly and Nelson.

"They do, don't they?" said Josie..

"Oh God, this isn't gonna go good."said Max Lupin..

"Relax Kid...Let us handle it." I said.

Attorney Eric Farr, who had been in the game as long as Olivia and Beverly at least, looked intimidated himself...I was surprised..It was good he brought us along..

The Assistant District Attorney was someone none of us knew..Her name was Hillary..Hillary Newton.

She caught Detective James Tragg's eyes..

"VA VA VA VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" he said to himself.. "She's a hot babe.." he mused..

She was smart too, she had Eric Farr tongue tied and caught up into arguing the case..

He seemed lost out there.. He wasn't used to arguing cases in court..He hadn't done so in a long while..He had a staff of 4 attorneys to do that...He supervised litigations..mostly in the office..He barely argued a case.. He was out of practice and it showed..

Olivia, Beverly and Nelson took over and argued in Maxey's behalf brilliantly...

Eric Farr had hustled up with the help of Maxey's Father..

Max Lupin Sr. 37 charactor witnesses...

Josie and Bresha presented and questioned them...

ADA Hillary Newton was going to prove to be a Tenacious Prosecutor, She argued the seriousness of the crime...and said young Lupin presented a threat to society... This was going a bit far..

Olivia, Beverly and Nelson argued that nothing could be further from the truth...

Judge Fletcher agreed....but she set a high bail...

She sat back and smiled.. She remembered when Olivia was a young, green attorney...How far she had come and how much poise she now had and she had mentored and prepared her young niece and her other attorneys so well...They were all dressed immaculately and well versed in law, cases and predicates...They were very professional...She was secretly very proud of them...

Maxey's Father came from money. His father easily wrote a check and bailed him out....

"He looked at Eric Farr. He shook his head.

"Eric , you looked shook in that courtroom today buddy ...Rusty....It was a good call to bring Olivia and Beverly and their crew in on this." said Max Lupin Sr.

"Yeah, I was definitely off my game.."said Eric.

Judge Fletcher spoke to us briefly...

"I've been keeping up with you Olivia... You have your own practice now.. and I see you've brought your niece and Mr. East along with you.... You've trained them well...Very prepared....Mr. East...I see you're dressing much better..very good... Ms. Beverly... Ms. Beverly...Very Professional...I like the way you comported yourself.. I'm sure your auntie is very proud of the Attorney you've become. I'm proud of the three of you..." she said.

She had reduced the three of them to children just like that..

''Why thank you, your honor.."said Olivia.

"Thank you your honor." said Beverly...

"Thank You, your honor." said Nelson.

"Judge Fletcher...I don't know if you knew..but Beverly and Nelson are married now, Three years. He joined my practice shortly after they got married and This is my Husband, Donnie Ray Alexander..He's our investigator."said Olivia..

"Pleased to make your acquaintence." I said.

"Well How nice....He's handsome...You're not from here are you? You're from down south aren't you?" she asked.

"New Orleans Mam!" I said.

"I thought so... Beverly and Nelson. Congratulations on the wedding...I' not surprised though...He always did look after her so."laughed Judge Fletcher.

"And these are my other associate attorneys,

Mrs. Josie Boyd

And Mrs. Bresha Billips." said Olivia.

"Gurrrrrrl you doin good...Got your own practice, four additional attorneys and an investigator... Good for you...It was nice seeing you all again... Be ready for trial when a date comes up.." she said.

II-

Eric said he knew a place in town where we could talk and not be bothered by anybody like a certain detective or his annoying cousin.

He found a Wing Stop in the Shopping Center, Not too far from where we lived.

Where We all sat down and talked..

" Maxey" Lupin came off as a pretty mild mannered , almost nerdish guy...He didn't get high, He didn't smoke and according to him... The night of his bachelor party was the first night he really drank more than one or two beers....

"Look....I was the guy who kept the stats for the football team in high school and college...I didn't play...So when all these guys offered to throw me a Bachelor Party...I was amazed...I jumped at it." he explained.

"They weren't really your friends were they? asked Nelson, who seemed to understand and relate to this guy more than most clients.. Nelson for his part had made Honor roll every year of High school, was in who's who in American High Schools and lettered in Track and Football..He was a cornerback in High School and played at St. Johns... But as he told me.. He wasn't exactly the guy all the girls were checking for..

"It ever occur to you that you might have been set up?" I asked.

"I never thought of that." said Maxey..

''I've known this kid all his life...He's just not the type to do this..."said Attorney Eric Farr.

Olivia's "girls", Beverly, Josie and Bresha had pretty much sized him up. They didn't think he was the type to do something like this or take part in something like this either....

Neither Did I, but I was still going to give him a full investigation...

''Eric..We'll take his case..." said Olivia softly...

"Thank You Olivia.." said Eric Farr.

''Thank You Ms. Olivia..Thank You Guys." said Maxey.

We enjoyed the wings the rest of the afternoon...

Nelson licked his fingers as he went in for another wing..

"This was a good idea to come here man." said Nelson...

"Yes these wings are delish.." said Beverly, who was also enjoying her food.

''We should order these for the weekend when we Netflix and Chill."said Josie.

''Yes, this would be perfect..."said Bree..

Beverly and Nelson, Olivia and I and Bree and Tony were planning to have a small get together at Josie and Paris's new house this coming Saturday....

While we did that, across town, Maxey's fiance, Lisa was getting cozy with his "friend", Biff..

"Ohhhhh Biff...I don't know if this is right..." she said..

"Lisa...Lisa..Lisa...Listen to me, relaxxxx baby..." said Brian "Biff" Bardo...soothingly...

in between soft kisses...

He slowly ran his hands down into her panties..

"Ummmmmmm...oh my goddd Lisa.." he moaned..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuu...Ouuuuuuuuuuu BIFF!" she cooed.

he slowly slipped her panties down...

"OH MY GOD...OH MY GOD....OH MY GODDDDDDDD!! LISA!" he moaned...

He entered her from behind on the living room floor..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH LISA, YOU DON'T KNOW....YOU DON'T KNOW HOW LONG I'VE WANTED TO GET YOU IN THE SACK! OUUUUUUUUU!" he moaned..

"Biff.. Biff...please stop talking... Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu stop talking and just take care of your BUSINESSS...OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she screamed as he thrusted even harder...

"OUUUUUU!"he moaned as they wound up in her bed..

THIRTY MINUTES LATER-

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...I'M ABOUT TO BLOW MY LOAAAAAAAADDDDDD!!! OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

BABY!" he moaned as he came and came hard...

She was quite underwhelmed...For all his seductive talk and bragging...Biff was not a very satisfying lover.. She hadn't been satisfied at all.. She missed Maxey.. Her and Maxey used to go all night and then some..Maxey did things to her that made her toes curl.. Biff was all talk..He was lying on top of her fast asleep..snoring..

She pushed him off of her...and just stared at the ceiling...Maybe she had been too quick to call off the wedding.

III-

TWO DAYS LATER-

I took Beverly with me...We picked up the Police Incident report, with a complete list of everybody who was at the Bachelor Party..I intended to interview everyone there..

The young woman, who we finally found out was named Vanessa Hudson..

Had done a rape kit...They had found Semen from three different boys inside of her...In her Vagina..In her anus and in her mouth....She had been done a terrible injustice that night...I felt for her too....I just didn't want to believe Maxey had anything to do with this.

We met with Dr. Hazel Baylor.

"Your wife and Nelson East was here with your client.... We took a saliva sample, a urine sample and a semen sample.

We have his DNA and we are going to compare his DNA with the DNA we have from the three different samples we have inside the girl...Hopefully he won't match any of them." said Hazel.

After that...our information will be given to FBI/ATF Deputy Special Agent in Charge, Sharon Hopkins.

and she'll send it to the FBI's DNA LAB in Quantico for verification and comparison...

And finally to Dr. Goggins and her Independent DNA Lab for the same." said Hazel.

We thanked her and we left....

Attorney Eric Farr took Attorneys Josie Boyd and Bresha Billips with him to talk to the victim , Vanessa Hudson. but that proved to be futile...She had gotten herself an Attorney..

Civil rights Attorney, Vivian Hubertry...

"NO!! YOU WILL NOT SPEAK TO MY CLIENT..... WE PLAN TO SUE HIM FOR THREE MILLION DOLLARS FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA AND OTHER DAMAGES!" she bellowed...

"My client is innocent..We want to help your client identify who may be guilty of this." said Eric Farr...

"It was his event...He bares sole responsibility.." she said.

''Mam, she didn't identify him that night...and we heard she took part in an illegal line up, which he shouldn't have taken part in without legal counsel present...and she still failed to identify our client."said Josie.

''She identified an undercover cop...The truth is...SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHO ASSAULTED HER!!! She was assaulted by three men....It's not fair to punish everybody who attended the Bachelor Party..." said Bresha.

"You two work for Olivia Bennett-Alexander...She usually wouldn't be on this side of the issue...I'm surprised at her...Boyyyyy Money sure does talk doesn't it?" said Vivian Huberty...

"You're one to talk..If My client's father wasn't who he was...Would you even be entertaining suing in a civil suit... Why don't you wait until he has his day in court first?" said Eric Farr...

"I know your type....You're as slick as canned grease...If his father wasn't who he is...Would YOU be taking on this case, counselor..?" said Vivian.

"Mam, here is our card..Why don't you call Olivia tomorrow? She's not in today...but she will be there tomorrow." said Josie.

"I'll do her one better, I'll stop by her office tomorrow...10:00 am sharp..." said Vivian Huberty...

IV-

A FEW HOURS LATER-

"Yes I know Vivian Huberty quite well...She's an old friend..she was my mentor once! She never saw an in justice she wouldn't challenge , for a fee and she's looking at a fat million dollar payday for herself in this case...She could care less about that girl...It's who our client's father is that attracted her to this case..I'll gladly meet with her tomorrow." said Olivia to Josie and Bresha.

''She's initiating a civil suit right now..regardless of the outcome of the trial, because she says whether he took part or not...It was his event and he bares responsibility." said Josie.

''And she's wrong there. The event was organized for him by some friends...It was not his event...She can't penalize everyone at the event...Only three people assaulted that girl...I'm betting there were many people there who weren't even aware of what went down...."said Bresha.

"The DNA evidence, when it's returned could clear our client...and we might not have to go to court..."said Nelson..

Beverly and I walked in just then..

"Hi Baby" she said to Nelson and kissed him..

They hadn't seen each other all day and the kiss lasted exceptionally long....

"Hello folks. We picked up the Police Incident report, with a complete list of everybody who was at the Bachelor Party..I intended to interview everyone there.. Shortcake and I interviewed everybody at that party except three people..Two people are out of town, and one, a Brian "Biff" somebody refused to talk to us. " I said. They all gave statements which I have here to compare against witness statements and they all freely turned in DNA samples...Which can be compared against the DNA found in the semen , found in the young lady after the assault. I know you got Maxey to turn in his DNA to Hazel , Sharon and Dr. Goggins. We win this case on DNA...We might not have to go to trial."I said.

''Well not to criminal trial.. The victim has gotten herself an attorney and is taking Maxey to trial for 3 million dollars for damages in a civil case." said Bresha.

I laughed... "The Money Grab begins.." I said..

Olivia looked at Beverly and Nelson, who were still kissing passionately...

"Do you two need to be alone?" she asked..

They stopped kissing and looked at everyone...They were a little embarrassed..

''We heard everything said..Vivian Hubertry is initiating a civil suit.." laughed Beverly..

"Which she'll lose like she lost the last two frivoulous suits she launched." added Nelson...

Olivia laughed and playfully swatted Nelson's arm....

"You lovvvve my neicey poo don't you? But you can't have her...not all of her..she's my niecey poo!" joked Olivia..

Both Beverly and Nelson laughed out loud...

''What's our next move Liv?" asked Josie.

"We wait for the DNA results...which could take a few days....And as for the four other people...We subpeona them...They don't have to talk now..but THEY WILL TALK IN COURT!" said Olivia..

Beverly wrote down the names and addresses...

''What about Vivian?" asked Bresha.

"I'm bettin she doesn't show up tomorrow or call...but if she does,I'm going to try an ask her to hold off on the civil suit until after trial...because she's going to look foolish suing an innocent young man, one who not only is innocent, but who is not responsible for the event.." said Olivia.