VENTURES: The Phantom Gun

We had had some interesting cases in the past 90 days...

My wife, Attorney Olivia Bennett-Alexander and her niece , Beverly West-East, Her husband, Nelson East and I , their investigator, Donnie Ray Alexander were joined by Attorneys Jasmine Coley-Jenkins and cousin Kayla's husband, Ray St. Jacques in a high powered case that we handily won... It was interesting and fun working with them...

Working back and forth from our Office/Duplex and their building down near Penns Landing....

Using their building's modern conference room.

That same week, Our other two attorneys, Josie Boyd and Bresha Billips worked with Attorneys Dabnis Coley (Jazzy's husband) Kayla Bennett-St. Jacques, (Ray's wife and Olivia and Beverly's cousin) on a very important Litigation....

Soon after that... Reunited with Josie and Bresha, who's litigation was over...Olivia, Myself, Beverly, Nelson teamed up with our favorite attorneys,

Yvette Jones and her crew, consisting of Beatrice "Bee Bee" Evans-Jones, Her husband, Keith Jones, Sofia Garcia -Ahmed and her husband, Kahlil Ahmed and Investigator, Jade Lee- Ho. with Jessica Sanchez-Burrows and her husband, Charles "Chip" Burrows for a Wrongfully Accused case..

ADA Karen Page, who Olivia and Yvette attended Law school with and who ran the Wrongfully Convicted Unit and Judge Jetty Dukes of the Legal Ethics Board , who once again volunteered his time

Agreed to work with us..

That and everybody's other cases kept us all gainfully employed and more coins in our pockets...

It was Karen Page's birthday and as luck would have it...She wanted to have her celebration at Curley's Bar....It was also couples night too..

CURLEY'S BAR- THAT SAME NIGHT!

It was couples night. Buy one drink get one free...Half off on Martini's .Same Deal! Perfect night for a birthday party.

Jazzy and her husband, Dabnis had Two Watermelon Martinis.

"Curley knows how to get people out...These drink specials and couples night promotions."said Jazzy.

"Yes, he does." said Dabnis, who was drinking with one hand and had his hand up his wife's dress, feeling her legs with the other hand....

Kayla and her husband, Ray Had a Lemon Martini and a Citrus Martin.

They were enjoying a passionate kiss.

Jessica and Chip had a Mango and Citris Martini.

While Ms. Yvette and her husband, Gary had two Citrus Martini's.

Keith and Bee Bee had two watermelon Martini's .

They were kissing passionately at their table.

Sofia and Kahlil had a Mango and Citrus Martini.

They too were kissing, but unlike the others were on their second round of drinks.

while Jade and Danny had a Citrus and Watermelon Martini.

Virginia and Jetty had a Citrus and Watermelon martini.

Alfreda and Rockland had a Citrus and Mango Martini.

Beverly and Nelson had a Citrus Martini a piece..

They were kissing so passionately, the ice was melting.

"Hey you two...come up for air."joked Josie.

"Ah leave em alone.It's couples night." said her husband, Paris.,

They had a Citrus and Lemon Martini.

Soon they were kissing as passionately as Beverly and Nelson.

Bresha and Tony both had Citrus Martinis.

Like Beverly and Nelson, they too were kissing so passionately, the Ice was melting.

We all were spread out...at seperate tables. Not a worry in the world. Lt. Tragg hadn't made an appearence. Maybe he wasn't going to come in tonight.. FOR TWO HOURS, We were relaxed and free to drink and talk with no one bellowing and whining and glaring at us.It was the best feeling in the world. We all prayed he didn't come in tonight..

"I'm glad tomorrow is Friday. This is nice and relaxing." said Olivia.

"Yes it is." I said.

We had a Watermelon Martini and a Citris Martini.

Zoey and Lem were out with us tonight...They both had watermelon martinis... Lt. Tragg wasn't here tonight and we had a nice peaceful night of drinking and talking with no one glaring at us, trying to goad us into a confrontation of some type.. It was so peaceful. Curley loved it too..

Curley turned and looked at us...

"Here comes the Birthday Girl Now!!" he said..

He wheeled the cake out..

Champaigne Bottles were cracked

B.L. and Karen Walked in...Karen wasn't surprised...We had all planned to be here, but she was happy at everyone who came out for her....

But as luck would have it...Lt. Tragg walked in....Naturally, he scanned the bar... He saw all of us sitting in close proximity ...His Favorite People!!

II-

Curleys had a full house tonight..

Lt. Tragg remembered that his last case with us..He wound up getting arrested three times...Two times in one night and had a DUI, which got him arrested again... His Next to last time wit Yvette and her crew got him a 90 day stint on the Marine Boat....and now they had just bested him again since he came back... He had no love for either of our teams..

He walked over to us....

"What is the occassion?" he asked.

"It's couples night...Don't you see all of the couples?" said Olivia..sitting on my lap..

I had a pleased as punch look on my face...

He looked around... Beverly and Nelson, Josie and Paris, Bresha and Tony and Alfreda and Rockland were kissing passionately..and continuing to drink...

"You guys need to get a room...This is a bar, not a hotel. AND I HOPE YOU HIGH FALLUTIN LAWYERS AREN'T DRIVING AFTER DOING ALL OF THIS DRINKING!" he remarked snidely...

"Lighten up Lieutenant....You're off duty and it's couples night." I said.

"You know we all came here on the buses...We aren't driving for the most part and besides...It's Karen's Birthday...See the cake and champaigne?" said Olivia.

B.L. was feeding Karen Birthday Cake.....

Yvette was snapping photos with her phone...

Gary, Keith, Bee Bee, Sofia, Kahlil, Jade, Danny, Jazzy, Dabnis, Kayla, Ray, Jessica and Chip, Zoey and Lem all cracked bottles of champaigne and toasted Karen and B.L.

Virginia Shaw, a frequent target of Lt. Tragg wasn't drinking anymore...She was safely in the arms of her boyfriend, Judge Jetty Dukes kissing him passionately....

Lt. Tragg was furious... He couldn't spoil our parade tonight... and he hated seeing his former friend, Attorney and Television Host, B.L. Benz, hugged up with Karen Page, who he himself had always wanted..

They were kissing so passionately , that soon they just might need a room...

Lt. Tragg walked over to the bar and ordered a Beer.

"They come in here and just take the bar over." he grumbled...

''What are you talkin about? They order a lot of drinks, They order three of my best bottles of Champaigne and they leave big tips...I love it when they all come in together. So leave em alone...Don't hassle em.." said Curley... "I mean it Artie." he said ,walking away....

Tomorrow was Friday...They had all called out from work...Olivia had given us all the day off...

We all loaded up into the buses that would drop us all off at our homes...

Karen and B.L. were the last to leave and both were toasted...They were stumbling..

Lt. Tragg was triggered... He was just waiting for them to get in a car... He had em for DUI.... He wouldn't crash tonight...

"I called us an UBER....You're staying with me tonight...We'll come and get your car in the morning." she said to B.L.

"Good Idea....because I can't even see how to get to the car." said B.L.laughing..

An Uber drove up ,picking them both up and pulling off....

Curley smiled... It had been a good night.. He had made good money...and Artie hadn't been able to ruin it...There was no loud argument or fistfight... And he wouldn't be able to bust B.L. and Karen, who even he could see were both too plastered to be driving... That Karen Page was smart....She called an UBER..

III-

That same night.....Down near Penns Landing in an empty Warehouse...

Assistant U.S. Attorney, Todd Dellums is meeting with an informant....

"Alright Wiggins...I'm here and I'm alone...What have you got for me? I could be out with my lady enjoying life tonight, so this better be good." said Todd Dellums...

There was an eerie silence......

A man appeared...

"There's been a change of plans " said the man..

"What are you talking about Wiggins? You told me you had evidence I need...We had a deal.. I was going to grant you immunity..." said Todd Dellums..

"They know man...They know...I've been compromised." he said.

Someone in the shadows fired one single shot.....The shot hit the man named Wiggins center mast, killing him instantly...

"OHHHHHHH HELL!" said an astounded Todd Dellums... before he could turn to run...He was struck in the head two times with a sap, knocking him unconscious....

Not a good night for him.....

Not a good night at all!

That same night, or early morning..

Olivia and I were home... We had just arrived back from Curley's....Our buses had taken everybody home...

Olivia stood in our kitchen...The lights were dimmed...She looked at me and shyly smiled..

"do you have any idea what's on my mind baby?" I asked her..

''Well let's see, you've been kissing me all night long...Had your hands up my skirt, feeling my legs and rubbing my booty.. I can't imagine..." she joked, laughing at me..

I pulled her to me and kissed her passionately.... I slipped her dress and her blouse off...

"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 I slipped her panties down..

"UMMMMMMMMMMMM!" I moaned..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!" she cooed....

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...

"Ohhhhhhhh Donnie Ray, I think you get bigger everytime we do it..." she said..

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMM That's your imagination baby!" I moaned..

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, OHHHHHHHHHHHH I DON'T THINK SOOOO...OUUU!" she moaned..

"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...

For the NINE TO TEN HOURS....we made sweet and intense love in our bed....

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 she moved up and down on me...

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

Olivia riding me softly and slowly and me nearly losing my mind....I was like a machine tonight...That Sake had had an effect on me too!...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...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" Olivia cooed as she climbed on top of me and dozed off...still shaking a little bit..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she moaned loudly before drifting off to sleep...

End of a nice night...For us!

IV-

MORNING-

"Drivers license says Randy Wiggins.... He was shot once in the heart, died instantly....."said a Crime Scene Investigator to a detective on the scene.. Another CSI man took photographs of the death scene.

"Body temperature indicates he's been dead a few hours...I'd put time of death as sometime after 2:00 this morning."said Dr. Hazel Baylor...

Dr. Marcy Martin put a bandage on Todd Dellums's head..

"He was an informant...I can't talk about the case...It was an open federal investigation...We were supposed to meet here and he was supposed to give me some much needed evidence to make my case..

Only there was someone else here...In the dark.. I didn't see who it was...They shot him and slugged me with a sap." said Todd Dellums...

We found this gun....

It's only been fired once... It matches the shot inside the victim.."said one CSI man... "It was in your hands sir." he said.

"That's NOT MY GUN!!!!!.....I don't own a gun!!!!...I've never seen that gun before in my life..." said Todd.

"OH IS THAT RIGHT?" said Lt. Tragg, who arrived at the scene with three uniformed policemen...He was almost gleeful...

"Ohhhhh hell." sighed Hazel... She didn't try to hide the fact that she despised Lt. Tragg and hated working on any case that involved him.

Dr. Marcy Martin had been romantically involved with Lt. Tragg at one time...She now wondered what she ever saw in him...He was a boorish ,incompetent bully who refused to listen to anyone else's opinion except his own....

"What have we got here?" he asked.

"Victims name is Randy Wiggins, He was shot once in the heart, died instantly....Shot with a .22 caliber handgun... We came upon the scene.. Found Assistant U.S. Attorney Dellums unconscious with a .22 caliber gun in his hand.."said one of the CSI guys.

"He was an informant...I can't talk about the case...It was an open federal investigation...we were supposed to meet here and he was supposed to give me some much needed evidence to make my case..

Only there was someone else here...In the dark.. I didn't see who it was...They shot him and slugged me with a sap. That gun!That's NOT MY GUN.....I don't own a gun...I've never seen that gun before in my life..." said Todd.

"But the gun was in your hands right?" smiled Lt. Tragg...It was a dream come true.. He had the man he hated the most at his mercy....

" We haven't done a ballistics test yet on this weapon, We don't even know if it is the murder weapon...Why don't you let us finish our work on the crime scene before you go off half cocked.."said Dr. Hazel Baylor.

"GET OFF MY CRIME SCENE....GET OFF!!! I AM TIRED OF BEING QUESTIONED AND SECOND GUESSED BY YOU...GET OFF MY CRIME SCENE OR I AM PLACING YOU UNDER ARREST!!" snarled Lt. Tragg.

"TRAGG!!! YOU'RE AN IDIOT!! YOU ARE THE ABSOLUTE WORST PERSON TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS OR ANY OTHER INVESTIGATION...THIS MAN WAS AN INFORMANT IN A VERY SENSITIVE FEDERAL INVESTIGATION...NOW I DIDN'T KILL HIM...SHE IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT..LET THEM DO A PROPER BALLISTCS TEST...DON'T BE A DAMN FOOL! Well, maybe you can't help that!" said Todd Dellums, who also did not like Lt. Tragg and had made his life miserable the past year...with his undercover agents calling the Sherriff's office everytime he violated C&D and came anywhere near us or the other attorneys who lived on our block without a proper warrant.. This led to half a dozen arrests! "YOU ARE NOT GOING TO ARREST HER OR FURTHER HINDER HER TEAM FROM DOING A THOROUGH JOB...I WON'T ALLOW IT!" screamed and irate Todd Dellums

"WHAT YOU WON'T ALLOW IS NO LONGER UP TO YOU COUNSELOR....YOU BELONG TO ME NOW! Mickey...Cuff him... Todd Alexander Dellums, you are under arrest for suspicion of First degree Murder for Randy Wiggins..You have the right to remain silent...Personally I hope you do...I hate the sound of your voice...You have the right to an attorney...if you can not afford one...which I'm sue is not a problem for you...I heard you used to be engaged to Bee Bee...Thank god she had the good sense to cut you loose and marry someone else..but as I said, if you can't afford one...One will be provided to you..You being a lawyer...I know you understand these rights as I am explaining them to you.. Take him away boys." said Lt. Tragg.

"YOU!!! YOU ARE THE ABSOLUTE DUMBEST COP IN THE CITY...JUST LIKE THEY SAY!" said Todd as he was handcuffed and dragged away by police.

"Okay guys...wrap him up and let's get out of here.."said Hazel..

"YOU DON'T GIVE ANY ORDERS UNTIL I TELL YOU TO...THIS IS MY CRIME SCENE!" he said to Hazel...

Hazel ignored him and walked away.. She was in charge of the Medical Examiners people and they obeyed her.

"Guys...Like I said....Wrap him up and let's get out of here.."said Hazel defiantly.

They wrapped the body up in a white body bag, strapped it to a gurney.. and rolled it out..

The CSI team and Dr. Marcy Martin followed Hazel out of the Warehouse..

Much to Lt. Tragg's disdain.....He was livid. He angrilly stomped his foot.

THAT SAME MORNING!

Olivia and I were having a late breakfast at our home.......We had all slept in late this morning...It was almost noon...We were famished...

"Wow! What a night!" said Olivia, smiling and rubbing my arms..

"It was a nice night, all th way around." I said...

"Okay guys, come and get these hotcakes... The Eggs are in the pan on the table already.."said Alfreda.

She and I and Alfreda whipped up some Pancakes, Hash Browns, sausage and Omelettes to order along with Orange Juice and Hot Coffee..

Beverly, Nelson, Josie, Paris, Bresha, Tony and our special guests, Zoey and Lem were all seated around the table as hot plates of Pancakes, Hash Browns, Sausage and Eggs were passed to them. We chowed down, enjoying each other's company and the hot breakfast food..

"Ouuuu thanks...I was starving. Everything is delish!"said Beverly..

"I was too! and yes it is." said Nelson..

"What else is new...?" joked Josie...elbowing Nelson in the side. Their brother and sister relationship was quite evident...Over the years they had become great friends.

"Pass me the sausage..."said her husband, Paris.

"Everything is delish." said Bresha, pinching herself at being so fortunate to be working at this law firm with these people who she came to view as family.

So did her husband, Tony, Happy and grateful for Bresha and their new friends.He felt the same.

"Thank you Liv..for inviting us and allowing us to spend the night and park our car in the back..." said Zoey.

"Yeah, now that I've slept and showered and had a good meal...I think I can drive us six blocks to our house...Even Lt. Tragg would agree with that.."laughed Lem.

"Uggggh don't mention him Lem, I just finished eating..." said Beverly..

Nelson cracked up laughing...

"He does a way of taking you away from your food."said Josie.

Paris laughed and shook his head.

"Thankfully, our last few cases didn't involve him at all....Me and Josie's case in The Bridge Building...Our Wrongfully convicted case with Ms. Yvette's group and that murder trial you guys had with Jazzy and Dabnis...didn't involve him and we were able to eat and drink at Sam Mothers and Curleys...It was pure Heaven."said Bresha.

"Yeah, I was happy for you."said Tony.

"Did you see him last night...He was a little frustrated that he couldn't bust up our celebration. He looked like he was in pain when he had to walk to the bar...Nobody was acknowledging his presence at all...Maybe we should do that in Sam Mother's too!"said Alfreda.

"Sometimes it's impossible...Him standing over you...Glaring down your throat.....Breathing heavy....That drives me crazy.....

"You ask him to leave and it's as though you didn't say anything.." said Zoey....

"I personally don't know how he keeps a job....all the cases he's goofed up....The ADA's refusing to work with him...Getting arrested all the time.. I'm surprised he's not pounding a beat." I said.

We All had a good laugh....Little did we know...Some of us in this room would not be laughing long...

The "Fishbowl", the nickname the detectives gave the interrogation room smelled like old socks, bad breath, underarm odor and garbage.... It was making Todd Dellums gag...

"This place stinks....Don't you ever clean it?" he asked.

Lt. Tragg ignored him... "That gun passed ballistics....I just got the report back...and guess what..It only has YOUR fingerprints on it...We found no evidence of anyone else being in that warehouse..no prints, no DNA...nothing...Just YOU , care to explain?" laughed Lt. Tragg, who was enjoying this a little too much.

"I'm not explaining anything to you...As an Attorney you do know that I understand my right to remain silent... I'm going to say only this...I killed no one...I don't own a gun and I've never seen that gun before in my life....That's it...I'm not saying another word.." said Todd...

"A lawyer can't help you now bud...and I'm not inclined to...I'm just enjoying the hell out of seeing you sweat!" said Lt. Tragg.

"Lieutenant...can we have the room?" said Assistant District Attorney Vanessa Stevens...

"My god...Vanessa's breasts may be larger than Yvette's" he thought to himself..

"I'm afraid not Vanessa...I know you're an attorney, but you're an Assistant District Attorney...You can not act as his attorney or afford him any legal advice , you know that."said Lt. Tragg... He generally liked Vanessa...He couldn't understand her attraction to Todd Dellums...an egotistical, self centered blowheart" he thought of him....Amazing...People thought the same thing about he himself.

"ALLOW ME TO SEE HER!" demanded Todd....furious...He wanted to punch Lt. Tragg's lights out!

He felt frustrated and helpless..

"GIVING ORDERS AND MAKING DEMANDS ARE NOT IN YOUR VOCABULARY LOSER!" Lt. Tragg bellowed to him.

Lt. Tragg smiled and walked out of the room, with a smirk on his face....Closing the door behind him..

He could have allowed Vanessa in to see Todd..She was still an attorney...She could have fought him on that, but she was tired and too weary to argue the point.

Vanessa Stevens knew that it was Friday afternoon, And way too late to find a Judge or get him arraigned today!...He would more than likely have to spend the weekend in jail....She felt so bad for him...He needed legal help... The best legal help she could find...

The doorbell rang...

"ADA Stevens....How are you?" said Olivia...

"Hi Olivia..." said Vanessa coming in...

She walked upstairs to our domicile..

She saw everybody sitting around the table in the kitchen enjoying breakfast...

"Hello ADA Stevens...Sit down...There is a little food left, have a bite with us." I said.

"Yes..there is room over here.. My husband is just finishing up." said Beverly..

Nelson was getting up...

"Sure..Have a few Hotcakes...."said Nelson.

"If you like , I can make you an omelette." offered Josie...

as she and Paris got up and put their plates near the sink...

"Hello ADA Stevens." said Bresha.

"Hello." said Tony...

"The Young people are getting up..Come on sit down, have some breakfast..." said Alfreda.

"Ohhh thank you...I didn't mean to interrupt your breakfast.."said Vanessa Stevens as she sat down...

We gave her a plate of Pancakes, Hash Browns, Sausage and coffee... She was hungry...She hadn't eaten, She had rushed straight to Central Booking when she heard about the arrest. she devoured the last of our breakfast food..

''Well Liv..We are going to head home.."said Lem...

"Thanks again for everything.." said Zoey as they walked out.....

"Oh you're welcome...See you later guys.." said Olivia as they left.. She then sat down....

"Okay Vanessa..What brings you here?" she asked..

"Early this morning, Todd was arrested and charged with First Degree Murder...." said Vanessa.

"MURDER??" said Beverly ,surprised..

"He met with an informant early this morning around 2:00 AM....Someone shot and killed the informant and placed the gun in his hands...They also knocked him in the head with a sap...He has a huge bandage on his head.. He says he doesn't own a gun...He never saw the gun before in his life..."said Vanessa.

"Let me guess...Lt. Tragg arrested him anyway right?" said Olivia..

"Right....The gun passed ballistics and Todd was found unconscious with the gun in his hands...Only his prints are on the gun..."said Vanessa.

"Sounds like a neat little frame.. but why? Why didn't whoever kill Todd too? They had the opportunity?" I said.

"I don't know...I just know Todd needs help...Your kind of help...I can pay you."said Vanessa.

"It's Friday...It's a little after noon...Much too late to find a Judge or get him arraigned.. Unfortunately, he's going to have to spend the weekend in jail...but Monday Morning...We can go to work...

Bev, you Josie and Bree, find me a Judge and a courtroom.." said Olivia.

''We are on it Auntay.."said Beverly.

"Let's check the register...see who's up, so we don't have to guess."said Josie..

"I'll go to the U.S. Courthouse and see if I can get some charactor witnesses." said Bresha.

"Nelson, you and I will stop by the House of Corrections and visit with him on Monday."said Olivia.

"I'm on it..."said Nelson..

"Alfreda... Can your catererer have Doughnuts, Bagels , Pastries and a Thermos full of hot coffee ready? We are going to visit him tomorrow." asked Olivia.