VENTURES: She Lives!

"Look at her, Listen to her.."said Olivia as we entered the courthouse.. We got a preliminary hearing rather fast.

"I'd like to stuff a wet fish in her mouth!~" said Beverly as we waded through the crowd and the press.

The Press was snapping photos and listening to Jackie Johnson, the sister of the supposedly missing Janice Johnson Ellis.

"HERE THEY COME, MY BROTHER IN LAW AND HIS PARTNER AND THEIR LAWYERS! THIS TRASH GUY AND HIS HOME WRECKING BED WENCH MURDERED MY SISTER AND THEY GET TO GO??? YOU GUYS CALL YOURSELVES CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS...THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE...CRIMINALS YOURSELVES!" yelled an irate Jackie Johnson...

''What does she get out of all of this? "asked Bresha.

"She's already getting it.. Fame..She's all over social media...Television, Radio...Even on the cover of People Magazine..."said Josie.

"The Big phoney baloney is going to be on HARD BOTTOM this week. I hear she's already gotten herself an agent and is pitching a T.V. show about "Victims of Crime."" said Nelson.

"I'd like to kick her ass."said Kelly.

"That's alright.She's going to get hers." said Dennis.

I said nothing... I had shared my information with Detective Sgt Sam Jones of Missing Persons..

He had left Philadelphia and went to Richmond ,Virginia immediately.... This facade would be over soon enough.

COURTROOM A- 9:30 AM-

"I've got to talk to Elise about these early morning courtroom hearings." said Beverly..

"Being in private practice has got you spoiled honey bun...When we were public defenders we were in here at 7:30 sometimes."said Nelson.

"7:30....Ouuuuuuu!" said Josie.

"WOW! 7:30!" said Bresha , both of whom had never been to court any earlier than this.

Their conversation lightened Olivia's mood...She allowed herself to smile.

As a cop in New Orleans, I had. This was like deja vu.

Olivia and Beverly were there with our two clients , Detectives Dennis Ellis and Kelly Garrett, arrested for "Suspicion of Murder "and now formally charged with murdering Janice Ellis, Dennis's estranged wife who was now missing for eight weeks. Josie,Nelson, Bresha and I were all there... Of the Prosecution "Dream Team" Jake "Lawyer Bae " Patais was missing and so was Jill Jones..

"We're here on time and once again they are late...Are they taking this seriously?" asked Olivia, who was a little irritated at the two being tardy again. She was ready to get started.

"They'll be here."said Beverly.

"Or they'll call the whole thing off right?" Dennis joked.

"In your dreams ." said Kelly...."I feel like this all happened before." she said.

Josie put her arms around Kelly and smiled.

"Yes it is weird!" she assured her.

"Yeah and when they get here they might get a tongue lashing from the judge. This is the second time" said Nelson. He like Olivia was a bit perturbed they were late again.

"They may have to stay at their own homes." said Bresha.

Olivia had set her alarm clock and had woke up and called Beverly and Nelson, Josie and Bresha and made sure they were up and headed for the shower just like before.

She bought hot steaming tumblers of coffee for all of us when we got to the courthouse at 8:30 AM...

I noticed that the Judge, Elise Cummings ,our friend was on time...

And so was ADA Lynne Hewitt, who was also looking around for her partners.

She wasn't hung over either and she looked around for her two comrades...

"Lawyer Bae" Jake Patais came running in... His suit was again wrinkled, like he had had it on yesterday.. He looked harried.

"Sorry I'm late your honor.." he said...He looked around for Jill....

They had had quite a night last night and early this morning, making sweet love.

Jill came in 15 minutes later....

"Sorry I'm late Your Honor...I uh must have over slept." she said..

"NEXT TIME ANYONE IS LATE...I'M HOLDING THEM IN CONTEMPT AND HAVING THEM HELD IN THE COOLER FOR A NIGHT!" said Judge Cummings in a rare foul mood.

Relatively new ADA Lynne Hewitt took over the prosecution, (even though Jake was the Lead Prosecutor)...She was prepared.. She showed photos of the abandoned house, presented photos of the small blood sample and showed photos of bills piling up...

Olivia argued on redirect that that blood sample could be anything from a small cut, an unexpected period leak, a nose bleed or a cut....That it wasn't enough to amount to a major loss of Blood.

Beverly cross examined CSI and Medical Examiners Office personnel asking if the blood sample amounted to a major loss of blood.. They all to a man and woman said no and that such blood spots can be found in any number of houses...Houses where people did not vanish.

Lynne presented a Restraining order....filed by the missing Janice Johnson Ellis six months before.

This would prove to be a major mistake.

Bresha had handwriting samples of both Janice Johnson Ellis and Jackie Johnson... The handwriting on the complaint was that of Jackie Johnson...and Bresha presented a clerk who did not know that Jackie Johnson was not Janice Johnson Ellis.

This was a bombshell I had discovered just days before.. The audience in the courtroom gasped..

Jackie Johnson turned beet red and slumped down into her seat.....

Jake Patais slumped down into his seat....They had been caught slipping...Apparently the police hadn't caught this discrepancy either. He was surprised because he knew both Lenny Brice and Sam Jones, they were good detectives, pain stakingly thorough...Not like Lt. Tragg at all.. How could they have missed this? He wondered.

Jill Jones presented Telephone records showing that a number of calls were made from Janice Johnson Ellis's phone to Dennis Ellis and from his phone to hers in the weeks leading up to her disapearence.

Josie explained that they were still married and the lines of communication were still open and since we know that Janice Johnson Ellis never actually filed a restraining order and we don't know if she even knew about it...It's safe to say that she didn't mind talking to her estranged husband...

Nelson asked if any of this had anything to do with detective Kelly Garrett..He hadn't heard her name mentioned once.. He questioned why she was even arrested...Her only crime was moving in with him for a spell.. She hadn't lived with him for three months and there was only two phone calls from her to Mr. Ellis and only one from Mr. Ellis to her since she had moved out.

Jake Patais sighed.. "Two days in and they're killing us....." he said. The case was horribly weak...There wasn't any proof that any crime had been committed...Only that the woman was missing. "The People move to dismiss all charges against Detective Kelly Garrett..At the present time there is no evidence that she engaged in any criminal behavior." said ADA Jake Patais.

"So Moved. Ms. Garrett, you are free to go." said Judge Cummings.

Kelly hugged her attorneys, Nelson, Josie and Bresha.

"OH MY GODDDDD! Thank you guys sooo much.." she said.She was relieved that she could go back to living her life... She could now be re-instated. She could report to Robbery-Homicide as early as tomorrow.

"We told you they had nothing on you."said a confident Nelson.

"You should have never been arrested in the first place."said Josie.

"This whole thing got blown out of proportion...It became a media circus because of one person and they didn't allow Missing Persons to do a thorough investigation....Plus they brought Homicide into this prematurely." said Bresha.

We hadn't shared with either of them Kelly or Dennis that we had proof that Janice Johnson Ellis was still alive...We had only shared that with Detective Sgt. Sam Jones who had immediately left for Richmond , Virginia.

"Your honor...We would like to ask for a continuance...To confer with the Detectives involved with this case."said a shaken ADA Jake Patais, who knew he was in over his head and had a case worse than anything Lt. Tragg had brought in..

'You know...You two come in here late twice, you come in here unprepared and you have the nerve to ask for a continuance..." said an exasperated Judge Cummings..

"Your honor...We have no problem with their request." said Olivia.

"Okay, you have 24 hours... Be on time and PLEASE be prepared for trial."said Judge Cummings.

"Yes Your Honor."said Jill.

"Thank You Your Honor."said Jake.

"Thank You Your Honor."said Lynne.

II-

It was a Celebration...We had got charges dropped against Kelly and we felt as though it was just a day or two before this whole matter would be wrapped up..

We were at Rollie Rollerson's new rooftop Micro Brewery and Wine Bar...

Kelly and Dennis Joined us.

"I am so glad this nightmare is over and Dennis...I'm certain it will be over for you as well in a day or two...I don't see this going to trial...It's weak, They got nothing."said Kelly.

"I know...We really shut Jackie's mouth up today...She's being called a fraud on social media."said Dennis.

"Trust me...When this is all over, she's going to be called more than that!" I said, smiling confidently.

"D.A. Garcetti's head must be exploding right now. His team was woefully unprepared , they were forced to drop charges against Kelly and now they are asking for a continuance.."laughed Olivia.

"I can't see what else they can bring to the table...Continuance or not...I mean what have they got??asked Beverly.

''A lot of Hyperbole and over blown emotional rhetoric... They don't have a case....If this hadn't become a media circus and political hot potato...Detective Jones would be allowed to do a painstaking and thorough investigation like he usually does and Homicide would not even have been brought into this."said Nelson.

"You Know Lt. Tragg would have jumped on this and you all would be in the same situation."said Paris.

"Yeah he would have done a quick arrest with no foundation..."said Josie.

''At least we are able to talk to Sgt's Brice and Jones and share information with them...Lt. Tragg wouldn't have wanted our information and would have blown us off and dismissed us."said Bresha.

"I hate when he would ring our bell..Then it was followed by a loud knock and yelling,like we were dogs or something." said Alfreda.

"I decided years ago that I didn't want to be involved in any case that he had anything to do with...The man is a boob!" said Rockland.

"Isn't that what he did to you Jade?" asked Tony...

"Yes, blew me off completely....I gave him the guy's name and told him of my suspicions...You know I usually don't talk to him at all...but he told me he had NO intention of looking into the guy." said Jade.

"That sounds like him...He's like that with me and Sissy and her detectives...Once he gets something in his head there is no talking to him, unless the Captain or the Deputy of Operations intervenes.."said her husband, Lt. Danny Ho of Robbery-Homicide.

"The Case Jade is talking about is funny because I broke the guy down on the stand, made him confess..And then Lt. Tragg looked like he swallowed a canary.."said Yvette.

"He tried to blame it on Jade..." said Keith Jones.

"Threatened to pull her license ....Said she had interfered with his investigation." said Bee Bee.

''After she practically fed the guy to him on a plate.."said Sofia.

"The ADA didn't buy it...I think it was Lynne Hewitt..She called him the worst detective ever and said she never wanted to work with him or any case he had anything to do with again..."laughed Kahlil.

"He's a real head case."said Danny.

"Always saying he doesn't understand how I got this job after being incarcerated.. I don't understand how he still has a job after all of his screw ups." said Virginia.

"The Ole Boy Network...They knew his Father and his Uncle..Neither of who were any better a detective than him."said Jetty.

"I'm glad the buses are downstairs....No way You and I could make it home tonight."said Jazzy..

"I know...Aren't you glad we are all off tomorrow?" said Dabnis.

"YESSSSSSSSSS!" said Kayla.

"The Building is being inspected...They do this once every quarter and everybody is given a paid day off."explained Ray.

"Ouuuuu I knew I liked working in this building."said Jessica.

"At any rate...We'll all sleep good tonight."said her husband, Chip.

We had a nice relaxing night....A beautiful celebration.....but the job wasn't finished yet.

Night came...What a day it had been....

We all made it home safely thanks to the two buses which transported us back to our block and transported Kelly and Dennis back to their hotel.

Olivia and I retreated upstairs to our domicile..

We sat on our sofa, kissing passionately...

"Today was a good day."said Olivia in between kisses.

It was, getting charges against Kelly dropped and partially exposing Jackie for the fraud she truly is."I said.

"Tonight, right now is going to be an even better day or end to one....said Olivia.

"Girrrrrl , what you say?" I laughed.

As we continued to kiss each other passionately on the couch...

I peeled her out of that dress,and hurriedly took off my clothes and we were basically in a sphere of love and light and warmth, and the rest of the world just vanished. It was better than I ever could have dreamed, it was the thing I had been looking for, that perfect mix of love mixed with the rapture of sex...

"Ouuu Husband of mine...you are ready..." said Olivia staring at my erect and engorged penis...

"I should be used to this by now...my goodness..." she said as we embraced and kissed each other passionately.

She stroked me softly...I was throbbing and shaking...Olivia whispered to me...

"It's alright...just relax....calm down...don't get too excited...." she said..

An impossible task....

Especially after slipping her panties down and off...

The kissing got hotter and more passionate....and within minutes I was sitting on the side of the bed and
Olivia was sitting on top of me, easing herself down on my waiting penis..and moving up and down..

This was my favorite position, because I could look at her and kiss her passionately...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh, Ohhhhhhhhh baby....Ouuuuu,easy Donnie Ray...ouuuuu" she moaned...

"Damnnnnnnnnnnnn gurlllllll.ohhhhhhhh, you feel so good." I moaned... as I thrusted faster and faster inside of her....She was so round, so soft, so warm....

She wrapped her legs around me so she could take all of me in and I continued....as she moaned and groaned...We slowed it down some and got into a slow rhythm...

"Ouuuuu,ummmmm, I love you so much Donnie Ray." she moaned..

"I love you too Olivia..."I moaned..nearly out of breath as we continued to make sweet love...

EIGHT TO NINE HOURS of sweet and intense lovemaking went by....

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...ouuuuuu, you're as hard as an iron pipe..ouuuuuuu.." she cooed

"Sure you're not on something?."she asked

"I'm on you" I responded.

She laughed and then tossed her head back...moaning softly...Her body quivering softly....Her breathing getting heavy...

"Ohhhhh...Ohhh my god Donnie Ray...Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.."she moaned...

"Ouuuuuuu...Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Olivia....Ohhh my goddd.."I moaned as both of our bodies trembled.

FOUR MORE HOURS of sweet lovemaking followed...We were both enjoying ourselves immensely...

Me riding Olivia softly and slowly and me nearly losing my mind....I was like a machine tonight....I wanted to cum at this point, I was exhausted... but I couldn't...

Olivia was sweating profusely and laughing one minute and crying the next....She began to climax slowly,intensely...her body shaking and she smiling the sweetest smile I had ever seen....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she moaned...When I came it was so surprising and so intense that I began to shake myself....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" I moaned...

We cuddled in the bed softly....

"That was nice..Whoooooooooooooooo..." she said.

"That was better than nice..."I said.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU YESSSSSSSS!" she moaned as I rubbed her butt...Her body trembled.

We both dozed off peacefully!

III-

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA- TWO DAYS BEFORE-

Richmond Virginia is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and the Greater Richmond Region. Richmond was incorporated in 1742 and has been an independent city since 1871. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 204,214 in 2020, the population had grown to 226,610, making Richmond the fourth-most populous city in Virginia. The Richmond Metropolitan Area has a population of 1,260,029, the third-most populous metro in the state.

In the center of the city...The very much alive Janice Johnson Ellis sits with her boyfriend, Angelo Barksdale.

"I can't file for divorce Angelo....If I did that, they'd know I was still alive..I have to stay ghost...for at least 7 years..Then I'd be declared legally dead....and it wouldn't matter.. I would change my name and identity and then we could get married." said Janice.

"I waited a long time for you baby.....You remember when you and your sister used to spend summers down here back in the day..?" asked Angelo.

"And we'd play "Catch a girl, Kiss a Girl....I always let you catch me...You know that, don't you?" she laughed.

''Yeah I knew it....Look I've made a lot of money in this Music Producing business....I invested well and I've got an off shore account in the Caymen Islands...We could move there.Just me and you...I know a guy...A lawyer...He could help you change your identity for a price and we could get married." said Angelo.

"Ouuu sounds like a plan." said Janice.

"There's been a change of plans little lady... I've been searching for you for a lonnnng time...You're under arrest."said Detective Sgt.Sam Jones..

"Oh Shit Five OH!" screamed Angelo Barksdale, who jumped up and took off as fast as he could,leaving Janice standing there.

The police didn't bother to give chase.. They read Janice her rights and handcuffed her.

"Welcome back to the world of the livin darlin....You and your sister have caused a whole lot of ruckus in Philly." said Detective Sgt. Sam Jones.

"How did you find me?" she asked.

"When you gassed your car up twice, using your debit card, we located the city....Then we followed your sisters phone calls to your uh boyfriend...Lead us right to ya!" said Sam Jones as he took her into custody quietly.

At our home in Philadelphia.

"Detective Sam Jones called me... He thanked me for the tip..He captured Janice Ellis.. She's trying to waive extradition....but the Commonwealth of Virginia is not going to protect her...They should be back here in 48 hours...Just in time for you to put on your defense. He wants us to keep that under our hats."I said.

"This is great...This case was weak from day one..."said Olivia.

"Ohhhhhhhh I'm waiting to see the look on her big mouth sister's face when she's wheeled into court."said Beverly.

''Yes, that will be rewarding. She has certainly trashed us enough in the press...Worse than Lt. Tragg..These remarks are almost personal."said Olivia.

"She looked really bad yesterday in court when Bresha showed those handwriting samples and brought up the clerk who said she didn't realize that Jackie filed and signed that restraining order and not her sister."said Nelson.

"All Three of her ex-husbands have been interviewed on TV last night ...they talked about how obnoxious she was and impossible to live with." said Bresha.

"You were right Liv...Her 15 minutes of fame is indeed up...She's taking a beating in the media.."said Josie.

''As she should..If those two come late tomorrow...Judge Cummings may throw the whole thing out anyway."laughed Olivia.

Beverly and I,Josie,Nelson and Bresha all cracked up laughing.

IV-

COURTROOM A- 9:30 AM- A DAY LATER!!!

"This is more like it...everybody is on time today "said a jubilant Olivia.

"We are going to wrap this up today."said Beverly..

"You sound confident."said Dennis Ellis, now the only one on trial for murder.

"Trust me...The real show stopper is coming."I said.

"For sure."laughed Nelson.

Josie and Bresha smiled.

"I take it you are prepared to procede." said Judge Cummings.. They weren't. They had nothing new..They were playing it for time...

"Your honor we are finished with our presentation and we would ask that Mr. Ellis be held over for trial on a charge of First Degree Murder."said ADA Lynn Hewitt.

"Yes your honor , this is our position" said Jake Patais.

ADA Jill Jones was silent.

"You have got to be kidding." Judge Cummings grumbled under her breath.. "Mrs. Bennett-Alexander do you wish to put on a defense..?" she asked.

"Yes your honor...We move that all charges be dropped against our client."said Olivia.

"Because no crime has been committed.. The so called deceased is STILL ALIVE!!!" said Beverly..

The courtroom gasped as Detective Sgt. Sam Jones of Missing Persons walked in the courtroom with the very much alive, Janice Johnson Ellis in handcuffs.

Her sister Jackie fainted....

Josie, Nelson, Bresha and I smiled...

''Well I'll be damned..She was alive all along." said Dennis.

"She was living in Richmond, with a known Drug Dealer...Your sister in law knew all along...She or she and her sister manufactured this entire hoax!" said Olivia.

Policemen surrounded Jackie and handcuffed her too, reading her her rights... She was embarrassed...as cameras popped.

She had gone from being famous to infamous in just the course of an afternoon.

"I told you your 15 minues of fame were up." said Olivia.

"Fraud! All that stuff you said about us...Talk that Talk now."said Beverly to Jackie as she did the perp walk.

"Shame on Both of you, Putting the city through this farce." said Nelson.

"I hope you both do every day of the time that's gonna be given to you."said Josie.

"Looks like the worm has turned." said Bresha.

Both women were in tears as they were lead out of court to jail cells...

I was relieved it was all over.

''You guys are the best...Worth every penny." said Dennis Ellis, relieved to be exonerated.

The Press was eating it all up...snapping photos of us as we left the courtroom..

"I'm glad it's over.. We might have wound up looking like fools with this loser case."said Jake Patais..

''We really had nothing...Thank God, it ended up like this.. The Blame will be placed on others, not us."said Lynne Hewitt.

"That's right...The Politicians and our lovely District Attorney got punked..At least Sam Jones got to the bottom of it."said Jill Jones.

On the Police Marine Boat, Lt. Tragg poured the last of his Jameson's Irish Whiskey into his coffee..He read the newspaper heading for today..

"MISSING GIRL TURNS UP ALIVE IN VIRGINIA...SHE AND SISTER TAKEN INTO CUSTODY IN WHAT WAS A HOAX! FRAUD CHARGES PENDING!"

Missing Persons Detective Sgt. Sam Jones was hailed for running a thorough investigation and getting to the Bottom of the hoax.

A Jubilant Attorney Olivia Bennett-Alexander and her staff, Niece ,Beverly West-East, Husband, Donnie Ray Alexander, Attorneys Nelson East, Josie Boyd and Bresha Billips, shown here with the two innocent and exonerated Detectives, Dennis Ellis of Narcotics and Kelly Garrett of Robbery-Homicide

celebrating yet another courtroom victory. said the report.

Lt. Tragg didn't know how to feel... On one hand...Sam Jones, who he didn't particularly like...brought in a good case and Olivia and her gang kept two innocent cops from being jammed up for something they didn't do... On the other hand..

D.A. Gil Garcetti took a major hit for this one... He walked away with egg on his face...

His dream team of prosecutors did the best they could with what they had to work with...At least they saved the city a long expensive trial...

He sat back, drank his coffee and enjoyed a cool breeze...

For Once, HE WASN'T The laughing stock of the city....He wasn't the goat!

EPILOUGE-

Both Janice Johnson Ellis and her sister ,Jackie Johnson were convicted of Fraud and Making a False Police Report among other things... They were both sentenced to 24 months in the County Lock Up.

Janice was released after 18 Months...Her sister Jackie did every day of her 24 month sentence before she was released.

Dennis Ellis got the services of Attorney Zoey Easter, our friend and got divorced from Janice.

He and Kelly got married. He sold his house and they moved into another house..A House of their own.

It would only make sense that we had our post trial celebration in the place we all felt the most comfortable. Josie's Bar and grill.

Gus allowed us to have our caterer provide food for our roped off area.

A Cold cut tray with condiments and Hard Rolls, Mayo and Mustard for sandwiches.

Ribs

Fried Chicken

All the beer we could drink

and Martinis galore. Olivia and Yvette chipped in and paid for the Caterer and the drinks.

"Olivia, guys, thank you for everything....Not just our legal defense, but taking us both in..Befriending us. I'll never forget you guys." said Dennis.

"Thank you guys for everything and thank you too Detective Jones for getting to the truth."said Kelly.

"Just doin my job...You really should thank Donnie Ray..He broke this case wide open and helped me a lot."said Sam Jones, our special guest tonight.

"Thank you Sam for listening...We could never get Lt. Tragg to listen to us..We could have saved him a lot of embarrassment...One day he'll learn." I said.

''Let's not mention him..It's a celebration."said Olivia.

"Congratulations on your engagement."said Beverly.

"YES..CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HAPPY COUPLE TO BE!" said Nelson.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" said Josie.

"A TOAST!" said Paris.

"I'm sooo happy for you two." said Bresha.

"CONGRATULATIONS MAN!" said Tony.

"My caterer out did himself with the Ribs and The Fried Chicken."said Alfreda.

"Yes he did.."said Rockland, munching on a Rib...

"This is sooo cool."gushed Zoey.

"Liv and Vettie give the best parties, no matter where it's at."said Lem.

''Awwww thank you." laughed Yvette. " Garyyyyyy, Stop looking at my breasts." she playfully said to her husband, Gary.

"I can't help it."laughed Gary.

"Such a cool way to spend a Friday Night."said Keith Jones.

"With our very best friends in a comfortable place."said Bee Bee.

Sofia hugged her good friend.

"I couldn't think of a better place or people." said Sofia.

"Me neither." said her husband, Kahlil.

"Here here." said Jade, sitting in her husband's lap.

Danny Ho just smiled

"You know, this is the most peaceful period we've had in a long time."said Jazzy.

"Yeah,Lt. Tragg should go out on that boat more often.Permanantly."said Dabnis.

"He never comes in here."said Kayla.

"Then this is where we should be. Our comfortable place." said Ray.

"I agree...We can always feel this way."said Jessica.

"Yeah." agreed Chip.

"Jetty, did I tell you I love you?" asked Virginia.

"Not recently, but you know I love you." he said in his deep baritone.

They shared a soft kiss.

It wasn't a happy ending for everybody.

The Trial was over, ADA Jill Jones sat in her apartment alone in just a T-shirt and Panties. She had had her crush, Jake Patais in bed, twice.. but that was it.