When You Get Right Down To It

 Ellie Highland sat in "The Fishbowl", the nickname Philly Detectives gave their interrogation room..

"PEEEEEEE UUUUUUUUU! I've heard that the cops nicknamed this room "The Fishnowl" but it smells far worse... It smells like smelly sweat socks, cigarette smoke, bad breath and underarm odor...Why don't you air this place out and give it a good mopping?  Or do you purposely lock someone up in here to torture them into confessing to whatever they are charged with?" asked Ellie Highland..

"Ya Know...the smell of this room is the least of your worries..You are charged with Capital Murder mydear, Capital Murder...It carries a sentence of either Life imprisonment or the Death Penalty...So if I were you I'd be thinking of a way to help myself..Like a quick confession to me and me talking to a grateful ADA and Judge for sparing them a trial and them either pleading you down or giving you the kind of sentence that would allow you to come home before you're eligible for Social Security..." said Lt. Tragg..

"Confess to what? I'm not guilty of anything...I didn't kill anybody...Especially not Curt Fowler...He was my husband." said Ellie.

"I don't think so...There is no marriage license in Pennsylvania or New Jersey for Eric Fowler...Or Mexico or Canada...I checked.. but the Bunco Squad has quite a file on Mr. Fowler..He was a grifter and a Blackmailer...He met women on cruises that had more body and more money than brains and after he relieved them of their bra and panties, he relieved them of jewelry...Jewelry that they stole..

He used Blackmail....Were you privy to this? Were you his partner? Did you double cross him?? Wanna come again.?" asked Lt. Tragg.

Ellie was speechless...

"Not another word Ellie." said Ms. Yvette..."We plan to have you arraigned and hopefully bailed out in just a few hours." said Ms. Yvette.

"Glad to have finally found you...I was turning this city upside down, looking for you." said Jade.

"HAH!!! I'll just bet you were....So Vettie, where are the cub scouts today??" smirked Lt. Tragg.

"You'll see them soon enough...Now could we have the room?" asked Ms. Yvette softly.

"Oh Vettie , I uh should mention...We found the murder weapon...A .38, buried in the park...Guess who it was registered to?  Your client..HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...Just thought you'd like to know." laughed a confident Lt. Tragg as he left the room...

Once he was gone and the door was closed.. Ms. Yvette turned to Ellie.

"If you want me to defend you first off you're going to tell me the truth....If you lie to me..I'm going to give your sister her retainer fee back and you two will have to find another lawyer.. DID YOU SHOOT AND KILL Curtis Fowler?" she asked.

"No...I swear...I didn't kill him...I walked in on him ,already dead..He was shot to death in my apartment, but I don't know by who....I was drugged....I was drinking tea in my next door neighbor,Blanche Devereaux's room...I heard the gunshot....Then everything went black...Next thing I know I'm in the park in my panties and bra and Curt's shirt...and I see Curt floating in the water fountain...That's the truth...I swear...I didn't kill him..." said Ellie.

Yvette looked at Jade and was silent for a minute...

"Okay , sit tight...We'll see you in court in a few." said Ms. Yvette.

We were in the newly renovated courtroom.....

In front of Judge Michael King... Not the ideal judge we wanted... He was tough , but fair.

The Assistant District Attorney was Danny Varnier, who we had gone to law school with and graduated with... He was a pompous , arrogant jerk who neither Kahlil nor I particularly liked.. but he had unfortunately once dated Sofia..and came close to winning her over...Thank God she came to her senses and chose Kahlil at the last minute..

He hadn't seen us in two years and wasn't aware of the changes in our lives... 

"Wellllllll if it isn't the Beatles.... I see the band is still together huh? How is apartment life?  I recently bought a house in Queen Village..Heh heh heh?" he said.

"How nice for you...So did we?" I said.

"Oh you did did you?" he said as if he didn't believe us.."

"YES DANNY WE DID!! KEITH AND I GOT MARRIED AND BOUGHT A HOUSE LAST YEAR!!" said Bee Bee showing him our wedding bands and the addresss on her drivers license...

"Well...I am impressed....You two took a step in forward movement..." he said and then looked at Sofia..

"You know...I own a nice sized house and a nice sized bed.. The only thing missing is you in it mamasita...Aren't you tired of being with this underwhelming guy.? " he said looking at Kahlil...who he always felt superior to.

"MANNNNNNNN I'M ABOUT TO KNOCK YOUR ASS OUT, YOU POMPOUS JERK!" said Kahlil..

''No Need for that." said Sofia, showing him both of their hands... "We got married too! Last year, before Keith and Bee Bee and we too are in a house..We live right next door to them.."said Sofia showing him both of their addresses on their drivers licenses..

"I would ask you to stop by and visit...BUT I DON'T REALLY WANT YOU IN MY HOUSE!" said Kahlil.

I cracked up laughing...

He was heartbroken at the news that Sofia had gotten married, that she was no longer Kahlil's girlfriend, but his wife and that we ,just like him were homeowners... It took the wind out of his sails 

and he looked like he aged a year...He had no snappy comeback and looked genuinely hurt..

Although she thought of him as an arrogant jerk at times, a part of Sofia felt sorry for him...She knew ,having dated him for a short spell knew that his arrogance and swagger was 90 percent an act to hide his insecurities.. She had seen that soft part of him..Not often , but enough to tolerate him...

He and Bee Bee had no beef..She just stood quietly through it all..

He tried to cover up his hurt, by reverting to swagger...

"Welll, I suppose uh congratulations are in order...I'll...I'll see you all in court.." he said and walked off..

"He'll never change, still the same arrogant , swaggering jerk he's always been." I said.

"Well, you guys made your point...You got to him."said Bee Bee diplomatically..

"Yeah, took the wind out of his sails.."said Kahlil..

"Yes you did baby.." said Sofia, who rewarded her husband with a passionate kiss.

that lingered.

He looked back at Sofia and Kahlil kissing passionately and he turned and hastily entered the courtroom... He couldn't bare to think of them, married and living in a house.. He should have pressed the issue with Sofia a little harder...Now it was way too late..

II-

Judge Michael King brought the court to order...

Ms. Yvette and Jade  and our client Ellie Highland joined Sofia,Myself, Bee Bee and Kahlil in court to ask for bail..

ADA Daniel Varnier sitting with Lt. Tragg argued vehemently that the circumstances of this case demanded that Ellie Highland be remanded to custody...He even argued that she was mentally unstable, talking about how she was found clad only in panties and bra and the murder victims shirt claiming to have amnesia..Only to escape from the hospital, a day later and to have remained "Invisible" until Lt. Tragg and his men arrested her a day before. He described her as a flight risk and a danger to the community.

Ms. Yvette and Sofia argued that our client had been drugged by persons unknown and stripped of her clothing and transferred to the park.. They produced a copy of urinalysis test results taken from the hospital that proved she had in fact been drugged. They produced a full autopsy report that showed that murder victim, Curtis Fowler had also been drugged with Morphine, before he was fatally shot in the head in Ellie's apartment and a luminol test run by the police and CSI people that showed a lot of blood 

in the twice bleached apartment.

I argued that our client had no prior criminal record and that while she was missing, she committed no known crime or criminal act. I argued that she was not a menace to society...

Kahlil and Bee presented 27 charactor witnesses, including her Jeweler Father...who attested to her good charactor...

Lt. Tragg shook his head in frustration...

Judge Michael King granted bail at $8000.00 dollars..

Her sister, Elaine wrote a check for $800.00 dollars..and passed it to Sofia.

Sofia passed the check to the young baillif, who smiled lustfully at her...

ADA Danny Varnier thought of his sexual history with Sofia..

The first time they made love, he came in three minutes...He tried to blame her for being "too sexy",

She didn't laugh at him...She told him it was no big deal  and that there would be other times...

The second time they made love..He came before she got her clothes off..

He was so embarrassed ,he avoided her in school for two weeks..

She finally cornered him and they had an honest conversation about his insecurities...He exposed himself to her in a way he had never exposed himself or opened himself to anyone ever before..

They tried one last time...He managed to last for AN HOUR AND A HALF, before cumming, but he left Sofia very unfulfilled..  This led to her showing up at Kahlil's room early in the morning.

and the two of them making sweet love for the next FIVE TO SIX HOURS..

And a nice peaceful sleep in each other's arms..

Sofia felt so ashamed of herself for weeks, sleeping with two men in one night. She was a "good girl" and good girls didn't do that sort of thing!

She never attempted to be intimate with Danny again...but his behavior on campus towards other law students and people in general became crueler...His swagger and arrogance on campus hid the fact that he was very insecure deep down inside..

He loved Sofia...She knew him in a way that no one else did..but he also feared her in a way he didn't fear anyone else.

"You dated the ADA once right Mamasita?" asked Ms. Yvette.

"I did!  He was uh more talk than he was action if you get my drift!" said Sofia staring Ms. Yvette in the eyes..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh" said Ms. Yvette, giving Sofia , a knowing smile.

Bee Bee and I told Ellie to check into a hotel or motel under her own name and that we would communicate with her through Portal to keep her up on the case...

Kahlil gave her a burner phone and gave her instructions to channel all of her communications concerning the case through the phone..

He gave her additional sim cards just in case and told her to change them ever so often..

"Wow! You guys take nothing to chance do you?" said Ellie.

"That's why we win cases." said Jade.

"She'll be staying with me.." said her sister Elaine as the two women exited the court..

Ms. Yvette didn't want us to be harrassed by Lt. Tragg, She and our entire squad 

met at The cafeteria at the Bridge Building for dinner...

"I figured we deserved to have a nice pleasent dinner today guys with no harrassment from you know who, who is probably on a rampage right this minute." said Yvette.

"You figured right." I laughed.

"I don't want to run into him or Danny...They might both be in Sam Mother's."said Bee Bee.

"I feel so relaxed, so safe in here." said Sofia.

"You'll always be safe with me mamasita."said Kahlil, putting his arms around her waist..

"Awwwwwwwww" said Jade, smiling..

Ms. Yvette and Ms. Jade's husbands joined us..

"Thanks for the invite...Neither one of us wanted to be in Sam Mother's Place with you know who..He\was at his whiny best today." said Gary..

"Oh My God..I was hoping the Deputy of Operations put him back on the Marine Boat after that stunt the other night." said Lt. Danny Ho.

Olivia and her crew also joined us.

"Heyyy guys...We just finished a couple of serious Litigations and Civil Cases.. We didn't feel like cooking tonight and we wanted to go out for cheap eats...Normally we would have gone to Sam Mothers, but then Donnie Ray told us we had a standing invitation from Jazzy and Kayla to dine here..

So here we are.." said Olivia.

"This place is huge.." said Donnie Ray.. It was he and Olivia's first time in this cafeteria.

"Josie, Nelson and I have eaten here before ...It is huge, but the food is incredible." said Beverly.

"I remember eating here when Jazzy, Ray, Kayla and Dabnis were prepping you guys for your trials."said Nelson.

"Use your phones to scan the menus on the table and then you can electronically enter what you want." said Josie.

"Ohhhhh wow, this place is space aged." said Paris.

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuu sweet!" said Bresha.

"This is mad cool." said Tony, Bresha's husband..

"WHOAAAAAAA Look who joined us tonight." said Jazzy, who was entering with Kayla,

Dabnis, Ray, Jessica and Chip." said Jazzy.

"Hi everybody, welcome!" said Kayla.

"Heyyyyyyyyy" said a surprised Dabnis.

'We should do this more often." said Ray..

"Hola!" said Jessica.

"Heyyy guys.."said Chip.

We enjoyed a delicious meal in the cafetria..

We had all traveled here by train today...

We all traveled by train over into South Jersey for drinks at a cool tony bar, Yvette and Gary had been to. It was a great afternoon...

Olivia's bus service transported us all back home at the end of the night.

III-

ADA Danny Varnier traveled to all of the spots he figured Sofia and us might populate..

Josie's

Aqua Bar

Stoleys

The Mermaid Crab Tavern...

We weren't at any of them tonight..

He drove to our block just in time to see Sofia and Kahlil waving good night to everybody.. and going inside..They had obviously all been out somewhere special tonight. But where? It was Wednesday Night? he wondered.

Sofia and Kahlil

and me and Beatrice went  inside our homes.

This was a nice block, he thought.. Two very nice houses... It figured the four of us would live on the same block and next door...We did everything together , he thought.. That hadn't changed since law school..

He drove around the block and pulled up right behind Sofia and Kahlil's house..

Inside, Sofia and Kahlil wasted no time getting it on... Ms. Yvette had told us all we could come in late tomorrow at 12:00 noon.

Sofia and Kahlil were kissing up until the point that neither could take it anymore..

"Ouuuuuuuuu papi, you are getting me hot." said Sofia..

"That's the idea .Mamasita!...Because you've had me hot and bothered all day." said Kahlil..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUU PAPI!! OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU !" said Sofia, nearly in tears, she was so aroused..

Her panties nearly melted off of her..

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW MAMASITAAAAAAAAAAA!" moaned Kahlil.. as she eased herself on Kahlil on the side of the bed...Smothering him with soft kisses...her body trembling and she speaking in Spanish....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...OHHHHHHHHHHHH PAPIIIIIII!" screamed Sofia as she moved up and down on Kahlil, riding him and driving him to near delirium.....

Neither of us was in an apartment building anymore, where we had to hold back somewhat...because of thin walls and being heard in the hallways, which I'm sure we were..

We were now in our homes...In a house..with complete privacy!

Like us...THE NEXT NINE TO TEN HOURS..SOFIA AND KAHLIL CARED ABOUT NO ONE ELSE EXCEPT THEMSELVES!

He had dozed off and awakened and could still hear Sofia and Kahlil making love...Her soft coos and moans and their bed squeaking... They had no idea he was behind their home, listening..He couldn't believe they were making love so long.. Finally, he could take no more.. He pulled off, tears streaming down his face.

The next day...Lt. Tragg took the elevator to our office. It was empty...He had no idea we weren't coming until late.. He had seen none of us the night before or this morning at Sam Mothers..

Frustrated, he left....

At Noon, we arrived at work..

With Hoagies

Cole Slaw

and Cokes..

We had a lot work to do, to get ready for the trial that was coming. Research laws, look at predicates and cases...discuss strategy.

"Alright guys...What do we know? We know they have a gun, registered to our client.. but it has no DNA or prints on it, so anyone could have fired it.. We know that both she and Curtis Fowler had enough Morphine in them to incapacitate them both..Her was shot to death by somebody...Rather than kill her, they took her clothes off and deposited both of them in the park, so she could be blamed for his murder..Now in the case of this murder, who benefits?" asked Ms. Yvette.

" Curtis Fowler went on a lot of cruises... He ingratiated himself to at least five young ladies..Ladies who were couriers to a Jewelry smuggling ring....He had to have a partner.. Someone who was getting inside the girl's apartments ,finding the jewels and photographing them.. Then he would blackmail the girls later on....He was discovered by somebody and he had to be stopped." said Jade.

"Okay...but if Ellie was his partner, why not kill her too?" asked Bee Bee.

"Who said she was his partner? He was sleeping with her.. She was in love with him...Thought she was his wife.."said Sofia.

"He arranged for a phony ceremony on the cruise ship...Jade discovered the phony pastor and the phony papers." I said.

"Ellie's father is a renowned Jeweler, worth millions...Being "married" to her and having her money put him on easy street.. No one can even imagine what he planned to do to her in the future." said Kahlil.

The person who killed Curtis Fowler is the head of the Jewelry smuggling ring.. He fished someone into that apartment building to get close to her and then he drugged him and his girlfriend and killed Fowler to stop the blackmail and to stop his little ring from being disrupted. And that killer can only be one person." said Ms. Yvette.

IV-

RIGHT OUTSIDE CHERRY HILL, NEW JERSEY-

Jade was an incredible investigator...She had located Richard Klybourne..She knew where he lived and where he hung out..

He was sitting in the South Jersey Bar we had all just been in two nights before.talking to a potential client when we walked up..

"Richie, long time , no see... You know you are a hard man to catch up with."said Bee Bee,laughing..

"What do you want?" he asked nervously.

"We want to invite you to something." said Sofia , sitting on the other side of him..

"Invite me to what?" asked Richard Klybourne...

a subpoena was slapped in his lap.

"COURT!  This is a court summons..Commonly known as a subpoena.. Violate it at your peril...

Good night Mr. Klybourne....Yes...We know your name...We know everything about you...We'll see you in court..Please don't stand us up!  Gooooood night!" said Jade as she Sofia and Bee Bee left.

At Curley's Bar-

"Ouuuuuuuu Lieutenant....your hands are cold." cooed Blanche Devereaux..

She was enjoying her 7th, 8th and 9th shot of Tequila and was getting very friendly with Lt. Tragg...

"But something in my trousers is hard and warm.."he laughed.

"Ummmmm let's go someplace private where I can see and feel it." she whispered...

 

"AWWWWW GEEEEZ" he said, just giggling like a school girl..

Lt. Tragg was tickled pink and had a pleased as punch look on his face...He had no idea who she was or her relation to his case..

He had his hand up her skirt and was busy rubbing her legs , working his fingers to the waistband of her panties...

and smiling sheepishly...

"UMMMMMMMMMMMM LIEUTENANT, I might find out what's so hard right heree!" she cooed.

"Good Afternoon folks..I hate to interrupt you guys at a time like this..." said Kahlil..

"But we'd like to invite you to appear in court during the Ellie Highland murder trial in a week or two

as a defense witness.Ms Devereaux" I said.

I dropped a subpeona in her lap..

''Good Night folks....See you in court...Be there or be square." I said.

Kahlil and I walked out...

This sobered her up and killed the mood.. She read the subpeona....Scoffed and removed Lt. Tragg's hands from up under her skirt.

''THE NERVE!!"she said angrilly.

"WELL OF ALL THE-" screamed a livid Lt. Tragg, who looked into the sea of people..

He saw Ms. Yvette smiling wryly one minute....Then she was gone.

He ran to the door, but there was no sign of us.. We made sure we served the supoenas and got out of there as quickly as possible.

Jade , Bee Bee and Sofia were double parked outside and the three of us hopped in 

and sped off into the night.

By the time Lt. Tragg returned to his table.. Ms. Deveraux was also gone....

He angrily kicked the table....and stomped his foot.

We sat in Ms. Yvette's living room laughing our heads off some time later..

"Good Job guys...We got em both tonight... Olivia said we are welcome to work remotely from her Office/Duplex tomorrow...She's serving breakfast at 9:00 am... Don't forget your laptops, your Portal and burner phone.." said Ms. Yvette.

"Ohh Goody, I love working remotely at their office."said Sofia.

"And they love having us."said Bee Bee.

"Tragg will be on one tomorrow..He'll be up at our office and looking for us in Sam Mother's Diner." said Jade.

"One thing is for sure.. He won't come by here..He's been arrested by Sherrif's deputies twice for violating cease and desist..." I said.

"And he's still on thin ice with the Deputy of Operations.. any more trouble and he goes back on the boat..." laughed Kahlil.

"Still we need to be able to work in peace...and eat in peace, so we can be ready for this trial." said Ms. Yvette. "It's time to wrap this up!" she said.

(CONCLUSION NEXT)