The Hand You're Dealt

 MONDAY MORNING!

Angie looked at the Tulips that arrived for her..

"Awwwwwww, Thank Youuuuuuu." she said.

"My trial begins tomorrow...No matter what happens..I want you to know how I feel about you."said Lonnie.

''And how is that Lonnie?" she asked.

''I Love You" he said softly...

"I love you too!" she said.

Looking at the Tulips..

She gave hm a slow, soft and sweet kiss...

CHINATOWN!

A High Stakes Poker Game was going on...

Chink Lewis was on a roll.

Ms. Jade sat down at the table.

"You're doing better than you did the last time I was here." she said.

"And I'd do better if you weren't here...What do you want?" asked Chink Lewis..

"To Talk. I have some serious questions to ask you." said Jade,.

"Here's the thing...I don't want to talk to you and I don't have to...You're just a Private Investigator, you're not a cop...So get lost and don't come near my card game again..."said Chink Lewis.

"You don't have to talk to me , but you will talk to my employers...IN COURT!" said Jade.

Ms. Virginia slapped a subpoena in his lap

''That's for you. Bedtime Reading." she said.

"See you in court." said Jade, smiling...

Coy Cho walked over to Jade..

"GET OUT! "he said..

" Mr. Cho...Here is a subpoena for you too!" she said,passing him one.

Both women hurried out and jumped in Ms. Jade's Pathfinder and pulled off.

Driving through the rainy Chinatown streets.

JUDGES CHAMBERS-

"Your Honor I am Thoroughly and Totally able to prosecute this case without prejudice.. Assistant United States Attorney Todd Dellums clerked for me after passing the bar and attending my alma mater, Harvard Law School... We are NOT, I repeat  NOT in any type of romantic relationship... I was in fact trying to get Mr. Dellums and my new colleague , Assistant District Attorney Vanessa Stevens...

 I only was informed of Mr. Todd  Dellums relationship to defendent  Lonnie Dellums a few days ago.... At no time did I discuss my case with AUSA Dellums and at no time did he attempt to influence me... I do not believe I should recuse myself from this case...and I have cut off all contact with Mr. Dellums until the conclusion of this case." said ADA Astrid Delaney.

''How does the defense feel about this?" asked Judge Elise Cummings.

''We don't have a Problem with ADA Delaney." said Ms. Yvette.

"None at All." I reiterated.

"Not a problem." said Bee Bee.

"I don't have a problem with ADA  Delaney." said Sofia.

"Neither do I." said Kahlil.

''Okay, I'll allow you to continue ADA Delaney, but be careful....You are to have no further contact with AUSA Dellums until this trial has concluded." said Judge Cummings.

"Thank you very much your honor and thank you Yvette, Keith, Beatrice, Sofia and Kahlil..."said a very grateful ADA Astrid Delaney... 

She left ,grateful to still be on the case and furious with Lt. Tragg, who although not named and not present was responsible for this.

After she left, Judge Cummings looked at us..

"You had a request?" she asked..

Ms. Yvette passed her a writ.

"I'd like this piece of cement dug up at this property....We have a strong belief that the murder weapon in this case is buried there..." she said.

''We have subpoenaed the property's former owner this morning." said Sofia.

I showed her a photo of the area outside of the empty car dealership..

The wet cement that was put down just a day before Chink Lewis cleared out his dealership , rumored to be a chop shop.

We showed her a photo of his now abandoned car dealership!

"This is a small area...Alright... I'll allow it.." said Judge Cummings, signing off on this..

"Thank You your honor." said Kahlil...

All in all it was a successful morning.

II-

MONDAY NIGHT-

Lt. Tragg was on his phone... He was talking to Bert Vandenberg's office...

"Well when is he coming back from New Orleans?" he asked.

"When the case is over?  What case is he working on?  He was working for me..." 

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO?" he bellowed.

(Click!)

They hung up on him...

He called Bert Vandenberg's business cell and his personal cell. Both of his calls went to voicemail..

That night , the night before trial, we had dinner and drinks at The Mermaid Club..

"Today was a great day...We got a court order to break that cement up in front of Chink Lewis's abandoned chop shop...Let's call it what it is." said Yvette...

"Yeah,I'd say that was good..They are going to break it up tomorrow morning.."said her husband, Gary..

"We saved ADA Delaney...She owes us." I laughed.

"Don't expect her to give us any quarter...She doesn't look the type." said Bee Bee.

''But we foiled Lt. Tragg...you know he was behind that..When he saw her with Todd and that black girl, he went ballistic...I think he was attracted to her and he mistakenly thought that her and Todd have something going on...."said Sofia.

"I've always seen him with her and another woman...We know Todd and ADA Delaney both went to Harvard..I believe she said he once clerked for her... I don't think it's romantic or sexual at all, they're just hanging.." said Kahlil..

"But you know old lunkhead is going to think it is more than that." said Jade.

"Still, she's prosecuting the man's cousin in a Capital Murder case...That doesn't look good."said Jade's husband, Lt. Danny Ho.

"You're right. It doesn't look too kosher." said Virginia...

"Well she was told not to have any contact with him for the remainder of the trial." said Yvette.

It was nice to have drinks in a comfortable surrounding with no fear of Lt. Tragg and his shenanigans...

Angie and Lonnie were not taking any chances tonight...They chose to stay in...

"Good Luck tomorrow...I'm coming to the trial..."said Angie.

''Thank you baby!"said Lonnie.. "I've got some good lawyers...They'll get me out of this." said Lonnie.

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" he moaned as they kissed.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU" she cooed softly...

"OH ANGIE....I'M LOSING MY MINNNNNND!" he moaned. Slipping her out of her clothes...

Y

Unhooking her bra and slipping her panties down and off..

"And I'm losing my panties and bra." she giggled...

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" he moaned...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU, YOU'RE SO HARD AND,SO DAMN BIG....OH MY GODDDDDD!" she moaned..

"It's all for you baby....All for you!" he moaned.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU, THANK YOU!  THANK YOU BABY!" she said.

He lifted her up and began to long stroke her...

"OHHHH LONNNIE, LONNNIE...OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...YOU'RE SO HARD AND,SO DAMN BIG....OH MY GODDDDDD! UMMMMMMMM!" she cried out!

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he moaned....

He had her bent over the bathroom sink, going at her doggie style..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she moaned..

and on the living room floor going at it...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...We've been so nasty lately...OUUUUUUUUU!" she screamed out loud!

"YES WE HAVE! OHHHHHHHHHH" he moaned.

''I want you to feel good tomorrow." she whispered in his ear as she rode him slowly on the side of the bed..

"I FEEL GOOD RIGHT NOWWWWW!" he moaned.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" he yelled out ..

And for the next NINE TO TEN HOURS, they made sweet, sweet love...

Culminating in Angie falling sound asleep on Lonnie's chest.....He put his arms around her and held her softly... In just a matter of days..He was falling deeply in love with her...

III-

Voir Dire is the process by which prospective jurors are questioned about their backgrounds and potential biases before being chosen to sit on a jury. Voir Dire is the process by which attorneys select, or perhaps more appropriately reject, certain jurors to hear a case. It also refers to the process by which expert witnesses are questioned about their backgrounds and qualifications before being allowed to present their opinion testimony in court.

Voir Dire also helps us get a feel for the Prosecutor, It tells us what we are up against...Kahlil and I used bait and switch against Astrid Delaney...She was no fool...After we got our first three witnesses, She used her objections to knock down the next two and get her two witnesses...

We went back and forth like this and by the end of the day...We had seven witnesses to her five...

Bee Bee blew me a kiss..

Sofia blew Kahlil a kiss.

Ms. Yvette gave us a thumbs up.

Lonnie looked very confident in us.

Ms. Jade smiled at us too...

As Promised...Angie was at the trial...

''Alright It's Tuesday....We have a Jury...Trial starts tomorrow Morning at 10:00 AM. Attorneys, Jurors be on time and be ready for trial.." said Judge Cummings.

Lt. Tragg sat very stoically...He was furious that he had failed to get Astrid recused from the case..He was furious that (in his mind) she was dating Todd Dellums, Public Enemy Number One in his book..

Todd Dellums had out maneuvered him...He had spooked Bert Vanderberg and chased him out of town...

He no longer had someone to watch and wiretap and photograph his enemies...He had him followed by the FBI to the point that everytime he was in Olivia and Yvette's neighborhood 

or in under 200 feet of them he could be arrested for violating C&D...He had spent 13 days of and on in jail this month because of Dellums...He had to hit back and hit back hard.

He got up and walked out of the courtroom...

He was not happy with the way this trial was going and it hadn't even started yet.

 

The trial began Wednesday Morning....Astrid had nothing new to present....ADA Astrid Delaney argued that due to the cruel nature of this crime, the victim shot in twice in the chest and once in the back of the head, and blood on the defendent's clothes and his penchant for gambling and welching on his debts...He should be considered dangerous . She brought up the fact that he fled Atlanta due to gambling debts and an angry husband of one of the women he was fooling around with being after him...It was an old argument... She used it in the araignment and in the preliminary case....

.Yvette and I brought in witnesses from the club who stated that Bennie Ling through him out at least three times a week...And that he always allowed him back in when he was sober.. as well as lent him money to stay in the game.. Something he didn't do for anyone else. This was like Deja Vu.

Yvette and I brought in witnesses from the club who stated that Bennie Ling through him out at least three times a week...And that he always allowed him back in when he was sober.. as well as lent him money to stay in the game.. Something he didn't do for anyone else.

Astrid tried on cross to break these witnesses down..She had done her research and had good questions,

but she didn't do any damage....

Once again she used his bloody trousers as evidence..

Judge Cummings was incredulous...We had gone through this during the prelims...

Bee Bee used me and a dummy to demonstrate how leaning down to take a pulse was a way to have blood transferred to your trousers.... Lonnie arrived at the scene to see Bennie Ling in a pool of blood and slumped on his living room floor. He bent down and got blood on his trousers.

We had been through this before..

Sofia noted that his hands had no residue from firing a weapon on them. She also brought up the fact that the defendent was the one who called 911.

She presented several new witnesses who testified that they had been with mr. Dellums when he called 911.

Astrid again argued that he had time from the time he reported the murder until the time the police arrived to wash his hands..

Judge Cummings was astounded that Astrid was going here again... 

Yvette argued that this was speculation and told Astrid that she knew this....

Kahlil showed crime scene photos of the sink in the kitchen and the sink in the bathroom...both were bone dry...

Astrid asked to see the crime scene photos and asked to talk to the police photographer who snapped the photos..She asked him when did he snap the photos and how long had Bennie Ling been dead before he took the photos? He wasn't sure.. She asked how long did he think it would take for a sink to dry?

Yvette asked for the court's indulgence... She took them into the women's bathroom and washed her hands in the sink...one half hour later...The sink was still wet.  The Photographer said he arrived on the scene about a half hour after the 911 call and the sink was bone dry... It hadn't been used.

Yvette and I asked her then where was the gun? The police searched that place from top to bottom and all of the dumpsters and they found nothing I said.. If he left the apartment, Somebody would have seen him and he would have been picked up on the street cam...I added..None of the witnesses that night reported him running or leaving the building before the police got there. We had the witnesses there to testify.

After three days, Astrid felt as if she was taking a beating..She silently cursed Lt. Tragg for not getting enough evidence to her and not giving her any heads up on what could be used against her..A thorough investigation by him that didn't include harrassing the defense attorneys and getting himself tossed in jail would have been welcomed.

She came close to using jury nullification , asking the jury to find Lonnie guilty because in her words..

"HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD HAVE DONE IT!!!"

She glared at Lt. Tragg...

"You gave me the absolute worst case ever...There was more holes in this case than SWISS CHEESE...

You are the absolute worst detective I have ever seen." she said.

"Maybe you should have been on top of your game instead of wallowing around in bed with Todd Dellums." snarled Lt. Tragg.

She slapped him hard...

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?? YOU CORNY KEYSTONE COPPER?? Whether I was in bed with whoever or not..bottom line is...I WASN'T IN BED WITH YOU AND IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS....YOUR BUSINESS WAS TO BRING ME BETTER EVIDENCE! HANDLE THAT AND  DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHO IS IN MY BED!" she snarled loudly..."NOW GET OUT OF MY FACE!!!"she snarled..

Cameras were snapping....

Lt. Tragg was embarrassed and livid..

"GET THOSE GOTDAMN CAMERAS OUTTA HERE!" he snarled angrily....

"Whoaaaa did you see that?" asked Lonnie.

''Yeah, looks like there is trouble in paradise." I said.

"First time he got slapped for not ripping somebody's panties off!."said Kahlil.

"Oh My God" laughed Ms. Yvette.

"WOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!" laughed Sofia..

"OHHH MY GODDDD!" laughed Bee Bee lowdly.

Ms. Jade just laughed loudly.......

So did Judge Cummings, no fan of Lt. Tragg..

Lt. Tragg was livid ...He stormed out of the courtroom. His face was as red as a beat!!!

IV-

MONDAY MORNING!

The trial had begun Last Tuesday and here it was Monday Morning and we were beginning our defense..

Yvette promised the jury that she wasn't going to keep them long...We had made our case during the prosecution that Bennie, the victim and Lonnie were friends and that Lonnie would have never hurt Bennie...That Lonnie called 911 and did not attempt to leave...That Lonnie had been texted by who he believed was Bennie, explaining why he was there.

Jade our investigator and Bee Bee produced both Bennie's smartphone and Lonnie's smartphone..

Yvette produced  Lonnie's phone with the text supposedly from Bennie's phone under the guise of a blocked number, telling him to stop by with the money he owed him... and then Bennie's phone which had not sent any messages out..

''So obviously somebody lured Bennie there.."said Yvette..

''Speculation your honor."protested Astrid...

''Your honor... I'm going somewhere with all of this." said Yvette.

''Make it plain." aid the Judge.

Kahlil produced crime reports that 25 luxury cars had been stolen in the past few months, Cars that belonged to some of the players in China town... The catalytic converters had been stolen from several more cars..

I called Coy Cho to the stand..

I asked him about the car thefts...he admitted that they happened.. I asked him what did Bennie Ling do about it. He admitted that Bennie put up several street cams and traffic cams surrounding the neighborhood...This resulted in three Asian Kids and Three Black Kids being arrested.. They gave up their boss, Lou Check. he told us...

Sofia called Chink Lewis to the stand.

She asked him if he ran a car dealership blocks away from Eddie Lee's place of business..

He said that he did.

She said that he was going belly up until lately in the last three months he got a huge infusion of capital..

He laughed.."I got Lucky."

''Did you get lucky or did you get Lou Check?" asked Yvette.

"He was your partner right? In the Car Theft ring..Your used car lot was actually a chop shop wasn't it? When Bennie Ling set all those cameras up and those kids and Lou Check got popped , you lost a lot of money didn't you?  They never named you because they didn't deal with you...Lou paid them and he's too scared to name you as the boss...So he took the fall didn't he?" I asked.

"Nice story...but you can't prove a damn thing." said Chink Lewis.

Sofia said nothing.

Sofia dialed a number on her phone 

The phone in Coy Cho's pocket rang...

''When Bennie Ling tossed Lonnie Dellums out yet again.. You saw your chance didn't you? It wasn't Bennie that called Lonnie..,it was your boy Coy Cho....he was your partner in the car theft ring." said Bee Bee.

"Coy told you that my investigator was asking questions and that her husband was a cop..

You closed up shop with a quickness...

and hid the murder weapon...The murder weapon the cops were turning the city upside down looking for in the freshly laid cement outside of your former dealership/chop shop.." said Ms. Yvette.

"You're crazy, you got no proof of any of this." said Chink Lewis.

"I'm afraid we do." said Kahlil.

"We got a court order and dug that cement up from in front of your old dealership and we found this in a plastic bag... with your prints and DNA on it...It passed a ballistic check and those nice people there with the handcuffs are waiting for you." said Kahlil pointing.

Lt. Danny Ho of Robbery-Homicide stood in the doorway..CID Detectives Duke Baylor and Angie Belton-Barlow walked into the courtroom...

''It's Tank Time Stupid." said Danny Ho.

''Charles '"Chink"Lewis, you're under arrest for the murder of Bennie Ling..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? Sure you do...you're a three time loser." said Duke, handcuffing him.

Taking him out of the courtroom..

Angie handcuffed Coy Cho...

''Oh I didn't forget about you little man..Coy Cho...you're under arrest for the murder of Bennie Ling..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? Sure you do honey." said Angie as she led him out of the courtroom..

He held his head down in shame..

''That was my collar, THAT WAS MY CASE...YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO CALL YOUR HUSBAND!" screamed Lt. Tragg at Ms. Jade.

"You didn't have a clue." laughed Jade, walking away...

''Tell Him Jade." said Astrid as she left the court.

Lt. Tragg was furious.... He stomped his foot and stormed out of the courtroom.

''Well guys, we did it again."said Ms. Yvette.

''Another successful defense."I said.

"Yes...I feel like a couple of cold ones..but where?" asked Bee Bee.

''Anywhere but Curleys."said Sofia.

''Hey look Angie came.." said  Kahlil.

Angie had come to the trial...She had seen Lonnie exonerated of all Charges.

They were in the corner enjoying a sweet kiss...

I got their attention... 

''Go In there...The Judge left.. You'll have plenty of privacy." I said.

''Oh you're so helpful." joked Angie.

''Good Lookin out man."laughed Lonnie.

Pointing to the Judges Chambers.

EPILOUGE-

ONE WEEK LATER-

Everybody loves a Party, We all turned out for Lonnie and Angie's "Housewarming."/ Engagement party. They moved in together in a larger unit of her apartment complex and announced they were engaged to be married.

Lonnie agreed to attend AA and Gamblers Anonymous.... At long last, he was getting help for his vices...

And Angie couldn't be happier...She was just months away from graduating from law school...Now she was engaged and living with a man she had secretly loved for years....Her soon to be former boss, Lonnie Dellums.

They kissed while we cheered.

Alfreda's Caterer brought three cold cut trays. Hard rolls, Mayonaisee and Mustard..

and Ice Tea since Lonnie wasn't drinking anymore..

"I'm sooo Happy for you two." said Ms. Yvette.

"Congratulations!" said Gary.

"Thanks for asking me to be your best man..." I said.  We had become close during the trial...Outside of maybe two or three classes in law school...we had barely had a conversation.

Bee Bee was going to be one of the bridesmaids...

And Sofia was going to be  a maid of honor.. Second time for her.. She had been Bee Bee's maid of honor.

Kahlil was going to be a groomsman....

And Ms. Jade was going to be a brides maid.

Danny Ho hugged her.. He loved getting a collar over Lt. Tragg, thanks to his wife, Jade's brilliant investigation...He was thankful to Lt. Sissy Van Buren for lending him Duke and Angie to make the arrest.  Chink Lewis and Coy Cho were going to do a lot of time for running a criminal enterprise and Murder.At least those six kids in their gang would be released in a few years and get to live a life again ,he mused.

''Alfreda, this is so nice and your caterer is the Bommmmmmmb! He has helped me out immensely." said Virginia.

"I'm glad to be of help...being Office Managers to a bunch of lawyers is not an easy task.. He makes it easier." joked Alfreda as the two women shared a laugh.

"This is sooo beautiful , I love it when young couples get together." said Olivia.

''We have so many around us." said Donnie Ray.

"This is soooo nice..They're moving in together, she's about to graduate and take the bar. and they're getting married." said Beverly wistfully.

''Almost reminds you of us huh?" said Nelson, who hugged Beverly and kissed her neck and ear lobes.

"Wow..another wedding..I love weddings." said Josie, tearing up...

"I love honeymoons."laughed Paris, who hugged Josie...

"Most guys do!"laughed Bresha, playfully swatting his arm.

Tony laughed....He squeezed Bresha...He loved her curves...

"Awwww this is sooo nice." said Jazzy.

"Makes me want to take you home and pretend it's our wedding night..." Dabnis whispered in her ear.

She giggled.

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuu Dabnis, you're as bad as my husband.."said Kayla.

Ray rubbed her butt and hugged her....

"This is making a lot of you guys very romantic ." noted Jessica, whose own husband was rubbing her butt and kissing her neck, making her giggle.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm." moaned Chip, squeezing her and making her giggle.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Dellums, Lonnie's cousin arrived with his date, Newly minted Assistant District Attorney Vanessa Stevens...

"Congratulations Cousin and Angela, welcome to the family." said Todd..

''So nice to meet all of you.. I look forward to some spirited battles in the court with some of you." she said with a smile.. She seemed very nice..

CURLEY'S BAR-

Lt. Tragg sat in the bar...Furious as usual.  He had arrested the wrong suspect and other detectives had made the collar.  Jade Lee had shared information with her husband and two Criminal Investigation Division Detectives that she refused to share with him...There was nothing he could do about it.  Clearly the problem was him, but he couldn't see that.

His Private Investigator, Bert Vandenberg was mysteriously out of town...In New Orleans...He had no one to gather information for him on his enemies..

His girlfriend, ADA April Taylor was still out of town.. She had been in San-Francisco for a month now and hadn't called or answered his calls.

He sat at the bar and was astounded when he saw who walked in and what they were doing.

ADA Astrid Delaney walked in with Attorney Warren Lloyd, another one of his enemies..

They were kissing passionately.... They sat down and continued kissing...He ran his hand up her skirt...

He smiled sheepishly..

"OHHH MY GODDDDDDDDDDD!" he moaned..

"OUUUUUUUUUUU! CALM DOWN!  OUUUUUU! LET'S GET A DRINK!" moaned ADA Delaney as he rubbed her legs.

Lt. Tragg couldn't take anymore. He got up and left... he had lost..He had failed to humble his enemies..

His enemies all had Hope... and A MAN WITH HOPE CAN NOT BE DEFEATED!  A MAN WITH HOPE IS A MAN WITHOUT FEAR!