Wednesday, November 30, 2022

An End To Complacency

We drove up to Curran-Fromhold Prison Facility, known on the street as"  CFC" ,better known as City Jail where thousands of people who couldn't afford bail or a decent attorney are locked up awaiting their day in court..
We had been here many times to see an unfortunate client we couldn't get bail for... Olivia and Beverly and Nelson had been here so many times..The Warden and the guards knew them by name and smiled and spoke to them...




"You guys here to see Pedro Valas? Boyyyyy he's popular today, The Assistant district Attorney is already in the visiting room with him... I'll take you to see him." he said.

"WHAT? HE HAS NO RIGHT TO SPEAK TO HIM WITHOUT US BEING PRESENT!" said an angry Olivia.
"They do that to us Public Defenders all the time Ms. Olivia..They'll sneak up to the jail and offer our clients a proffer and then when w get there,our client wants to change his plea and accept a deal."sighed  David Charles
"That's dirty pool...Technically they can make him an offer...but it's a common courtesy to have his or her attorney of record present too!"said Beverly.
"This isn't a common case and they have no courtesy, no decency..."said Nelson.
"None at all."said Josie.

"They want to win this case....THEY NEED TO WIN THIS CASE!!!! BADLY!"said Bresha.






 We walked into the Visiting room where our client Pedro Valdez sat quietly.



Assistant District Attorney Chris Garcetti, second chair on the case was already in the room.

"David, I uh was expecting you...but uh not you Olivia....what uh have you guys uh got to do with this?" he asked. 


"You know you shouldn't be here don't you? "said David.

"Look, I knew you were coming...but while I waited...I uh made the proffer to your client... I told him if he confessed , we would take the death penalty off the table and give him Life No parole...It's a good deal..but he refused..He said he didn't do it!  Talk to him...I'm trying to save his life...Oh yeah..I'm new to the team...I'll be second chair... Jim fired Natalie and Brooke quit.." said Chris.
"Chris this little stunt was dirty pool...You were trying to be slick....I know you know better."said Olivia.
"You can go back and tell Jumpshot Jimmy that we are consultants on this case and we will be aiding the defense." said Beverly...
"Yeah....he oughta find that real interesting."laughed Nelson.


"Pedro, we are part of your defense team now...That's Olivia Bennett-Alexander, her niece, Beverly West and Beverly's Husband, Nelson East...I'm Josie Boyd and this is Bresha Billips." said Josie.

"I know who you all are....I've seen you on TV many times...I imagine you guys are going to cost a mint... Thank you for the food..First decent food I've had since I've been here."said Pedro...

''Don't worry about paying us...We are doing this Pro Bono...FREE...as a favor to your attorney, Mr. Charles." said Bresha.

Josie and Bresha laid out a nice spread for Pedro....A Thermos full of coffee, Bagels with Jelly and Cream Cheese Doughnuts and Churros..




He was ecstatic..


"He's pleading not guilty and we plan to give him a vigorous defense...You can go back and tell Jumpshot Jim that...It's Halftime and we've got the lead." said David Charles.



"I'll make sure he knows."said Chris, turning and leaving.

''Pedro..Ms. Olivia Bennett-Alexander and her team of Attorneys are joining the Defesne Team, they are going to help me defend you..."said David Charles.
"Pedro, tell us , your story...don't leave anything out.."said Olivia softly, smiling.


"I bought this car...just hours before I was arrested.. A guy drove up to the corner, offered to give me the car for $600.00 dallars..."The car is one years old"he said... I thought he was on drugs...but I bought the car,I had just got paid, just cashed my check. I gave him $600..00 and he handed me the keys... He was a white guy about five foot nine,maybe shorter, with a limp..a noticeable limp and he had a class ring.." said Pedro.


"Can you describe the ring?" asked Nelson..

"It was a Central High School Ring.. I remember now."said Palo... " I went to Central High..but I have my class ring....and this guy was older than me." he added.
"Mr. Cutler went to Central High...The killer must have stole it." said Beverly....
"You said he had a noticeable limp.." asked Josie.


"Yeah his pants leg was torn , like he'd fallen and tore his pants...and maybe sprained his knee."said Pedro.

"You went home with the SUV right? What time did you get home?" asked Bresha.

"I went home around 7:15, 7:20..My girlfriend had used my car to get to her job...She's a Waitress.. Her car was in the shop.I had taken Public Transportation to work...I came home to tell her that now we would have two forms of transportation now...I was going to get new tags for the SUV tomorrow...She was wasted...I couldn't talk to her ,so I went back out...I shoulda known this was too good to be true that this SUV was stolen."said Pedro.

"Yes, you should have." said Beverly, who as a Public Defender , had defended kids who had made simular deals on the street with cars that had  turned out to be stolen.


So had Nelson.

"Yes you should have.. The car was a year old practically brand new, Nobody is going to just sell you a new car ,no questions asked for $600.00..Come on mannnnn." said Nelson.


"I know man....I know...If I had told him to keep it pushin..I wouldn't be in this mess and I am in a real mess.. I'm screwed either way...I'll either get a needle...or spend the rest of my life locked up for something I didn't do....I wasn't even in the area where those people got killed...That's miles from where I live."said Pedro.

''Water under the bridge.. We've got to figure a way to free you...So that you don't lose your life or spend the rest of it locked up.. Think positive."said Olivia with a reassuring smile.


I was at Pedro's house.. He rented it and lived with his girlfriend, a waitress..


''So Pedro came home around 7:15 with the new SUV right?" I asked.

"Yeah, something like that....I already told this to the cops...He had what looked like a Brand New SUV..I asked him if he stole it...He said No that some guy had sold it to him for $600.00...I was wasted...Totally trashed.. He told me he was going to get new tags for it...and maybe get it repainted because he thought maybe the guy who sold it to him was a crackhead...He bought it up near the K & A.  Kensington and Allegheny...aint nothin but crackheads and druggies in that neighborhood.. He was working on a construction job there. Then he went back out.. It was maybe 7:45 pm...I'm not sure..Like I said...I was wasted..I really hung one on after work.."she said.

She was a pretty girl.



She poured me  a cup of tea and we talked some more..




Before I went to her house..I stopped by the M.E.'s office.. I had the pack of cigarettes found in the SUV examined for fingerprints and DNA... They were already examining the panties for DNA...A large amount of semen had been found inside of Mrs. Cutter's body and in her panties as well as saliva on her bra. Luckily, their bodies had been taken out of the house before it burned completely down and they weren't too badly damaged by the fire.

I then returned home


I spent the rest of the day scanning the traffic cams for whoever entered the Cutter house and slaughtered them...One person I did not find was Pedro Valdez...That was a good thing.

Olivia and the gang were gone...They were up at the prison...

The place was empty except for Alfreda and Rockland, who had come over on his lunch  hour..

He had hung Mistletoe in the kitchen and was passionately kissing Alfreda..
"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" he moaned..


"Will you stop moaning? You sound like a mule."said Alfreda..
"Who is here to hear me? Olivia and everybody is gone..Donnie Ray is in the media room." said Rockland.

He opened up Alfreda's slacks and marveled at her pretty panties..

"OHHHHH MY GODDDD!" he marveled.

"Oh Hush up! And stop....before we get caught." she said.

They continued kissing....

II-


SAM MOTHER'S DINER-

ADA James "Jumpshot Jim" was having lunch with ADA Lynn Hewitt...

"Thanks for agreeing to be on the team Lynn... Chris Garcetti is already on the team...This should be an easy win for us...We got that guy dead to rights and he's being represented by a young Public Defender..It's a slam dunk I tell you...It will look nice on our resume's and our profiles, this case." he said.
'Did he do it? Are you sure???...From what I'm reading here..You caught the guy in the couple's stolen SUV...but the kid claims he bought it off some guy who was in a hurry to sell."said ADA Lynn Hewitt.

"Loook, you don't believe a cock and bull story like that do ya?  Come onnnn he did it, we got him cold."said Jumpshot Jim..

"This is a Lt. Tragg case, so take it with a grain of salt.. Did you know they found a pack of cigarettes in the back seat of the car, a newly purchased pack? They don't belong to the Cutter's.. Neither of them smoke and the kid doesn't smoke either...And the semen in the dead woman's panties, the saliva on her bra hasn't been tested to see if they match the suspect...Have Lt. Tragg get you all of that....Don't go into court looking like a fool..."said Lynn.


A Hot Roast Beef sandwich and A Corn Beef special arrived.

"Ummmmmmmmm, I've always been partial to the Hot Roast Beef sandwich they serve here..I know Curley's makes a good one...but Sam Mother's tops that...What do you think?" he asked..

"I don't know...I haven't had Curley's. But you're right about this one...It is delish!! I can't imagine anything topping this."said ADA Lynn Hewitt.

"Ummmmmmmmm, yes...Well you should try Curley's and then compare...They're both good.." said Jumpshot Jim, really enjoying his food.


"This is a really good Corn beef Special."said Lynn.

"Ummmmm, Okay, now, the Corn Beef???... The edge goes to Curley...but I've always been partial to the Roast Beef served in here." said Jumpshot Jim as he chowed down...

Lt. Tragg walked in just then and sat down with the two....Uninvited of course...
"Lieutenant, meet the new member of our team, ADA Lynne Hewitt...I think the two of you have worked together before..." said Jumpshot Jim..
"Yes...Don't remind me.." said Lynn Hewitt, who removed Lt. Tragg's hands from up under her skirt..
"Did you know they found a pack of cigarettes in the back seat of the car, a newly purchased pack? They don't belong to the Cutter's.. Neither of them smoke and the kid doesn't smoke either...And the semen in the dead woman's panties, the saliva on her bra hasn't been tested...to see if they match the suspect..You should look into that. Brooke discovered this and I read her notes...She informed you of this." she said.

Lt. Tragg didn't know any of this.. He hadn't read the Autopsy , nor had he looked at the Crime and Evidence Reports. Yet he said. "Look it's all covered." He didn't like a woman, any woman telling him what he should do...ESPECIALLY WHEN IT CAME TO POLICE WORK! "I'm all over it!" he said.
Brooke had indeed brought this up, She'd read the complete crime scene report...he hadn't.

Chris Garcetti walked in just then..."We got problems." he said.


"He didn't take the proffer? Well that's his problem...."said Jumpshot Jim..



"Noo Not that...He's got additional lawyers...In addition to Public Defender, David Charles, he's enlisted the services of Olivia Bennett-Alexander, her niece ,Beverly West-East, Nelson East, Josephine Boyd and Bresha Billips...They are serving as Consulting Attorneys and they are doing it Pro Bono. They were at the jail with Coffee, Bagels, doughnuts and what not this morning." said  Chris.












"DAMN IT...THEY'RE INVOLVED IN THIS? NO WONDER THEY WERE AT THE ARRAIGNMENT....DAMN IT!!!" snarled James "Jumpshot Jim" Taylor...Now he was worried.
"I SWEAR!  ANY CASE , ANY CASE THAT IS THE LEAST BIT CONTROVERSIAL AND THEY HAVE TO INJECT THEMSELVES INTO IT! DAMN IT!! DAMN IT TO HELL! THEY'RE JUST MAD BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T IN THE SPOTLIGHTY LIKE WE WERE!! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT TO HELL!!! THE NERVE OF THOSE GUYS!" screamed Lt. Tragg.



"It gets worse..." said Chris.


Her husband, Donnie Ray wasn't at the prison, but he was at the Crime Scene, then he was at the M.E.'s office..




He's having the dead woman's panties and bra examined for DNA and Forensic evidence...There was semen inside the woman's body and saliva on the bra strap...They are going to match it to Pedro Valdez's DNA.. They took a saliva swab, some blood and a semen sample from him already at the prison.



He also visited the girlfriend and interviewed her." said Chris.

"Looks Like Donnie Ray has done the kind of investigating you should have been doing.He's ahead of you...How is that when you guys had this case a whole 48 hours before Olivia and her team even got involved.?  It looks like this Public defender is a little more on the ball than you guys...HE ORDERED THE DNA TESTS and HE DISCOVERED THE CIGARETTES IN THE BACK SEAT....Donnie Ray is just piggy backing him.....Why weren't you on this? Why did you ignore Brooke and Natalie's notes??" she said to Lt. Tragg. "You know you still can!" she added.

Lt. Tragg was as red as a beat....He was livid...He hated that we were involved in this case... He didn't like Lynne Hewitt brow beating him...She was proving to be more annoying than Natalie Tennison...He knew he didn't dare ask that she be dismissed from the team... He was more angry at us for getting involved in this case... He had seen other cases of his, seemingly solid slam dunk cases suddenly fall apart when we got involved... He had too much involved for this case to fall apart...A Possible TV talk show of his own, a PODCAST and a gig as technical advisor on the same movie that Junpshot Jim would be working on..


Nightfall

What better to do at night...after a busy but otherwise successful day but make love..

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" I moaned..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"cooed Olivia in between slow, butter soft kisses..
"Donnie Ray, take my clothes off...nowwww..." whispered Olivia in my ear,....
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...I WANT TO BABY....BUT I CAN'T LET YOU GO!" I moaned..
"UMMMMMMMMMMMPH!" I moaned..
Olivia took her top off and unhooked her bra herself while still kissing me....

I eased her panties down slowly...

"OHHHHHHH MY GODDDDDD!" I moaned..
I lifted her up...I slowly entered her....


"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU HOOOO HOOO HOOO HOOO HOOOOOO, Aye...Ayeeeeeeee, Ayeeeee, Ay yi yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii….OH MY GOD DONNIE RAYYY!...OUUUUU! YOU ARE ALL UP IN THIS..OUUUUUUUUUU WEEEEEEEEEEEE!!" she screamed.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU HOOOO HOOO HOOO HOOO HOOOOOO, Aye...Ayeeeeeeee, Ayeeeee, Ay yi yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii….OH MY GOD ...OUUUUU!  ayyyee, aye yi yiiiiii" she screamed.
I placed her on top of the bathroom sink, spread her legs and slowly and silently entered her again..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...I've really got to clean this top off with Comet in the morning...As much as we've done the nasty on top of this...OUUUUUUUUUUUU!"whispered Olivia in my ear in between slow, soft kisses...

"OHHHHHHHHHH OLIVIAAAAAA I JUST LOVE YOU SOOOOO DAMN MUCH!" I moaned..

"I love you too...I love you too Donnie Ray." she whispered..


We sat on the side of the bed and she rode me like a surfer rides the waves..


"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU HOOOO HOOO HOOO HOOOOOOOOOO
UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, OH MY GODDDDD, YOU ARE SNATCHING MY SOULLLLLL...WOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed...as she had yet another intense orgasm ,making her body tremble like crazy, her head move from side to side and tears just stream down the side of her face..
By the time we made it to the bed, She was having yet another orgasm... Her body trembling..Her head moving from side to side and tears streaming down the side of her face.."OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" I moaned. ,collapsing on top of her.

"YOU ARE A BEAST!  ARE YOU ON SOMETHING DONNIE RAY? VIAGRA, CIALIS???" she asked.

"No not yet...Maybe in a few years!" I said , trying to catch my breath.



We made love for the next  NINE TO TEN HOURS.....As the rain poured down....
The floor below us, Beverly and Nelson weren't wasting anytime either...They were in their new couch, kissing ,making up for lost time..
"Ouuuuuuuu baby, we said we weren't going to screw on the new couch...Let's go to the bedroom...I'm not going anywhere...but into your arms.."said Beverly, trying to ease out of Nelson's embrace, but failing..
They continued kissing passionately..
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" he moaned...
Beverly eased away from him...They fell up against their refrigerator door...Kissing...


He had his hand deep in her panties, squeezing her butt...

"OUUU NELSON, YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SO INTO MY BUTT!" She giggled.


They finally made it to the bedroom where they undressed...
Nelson bent her over the bed where he entered her doggie style..

"OUUUUUUUU..OUUUUUUUUU..UMMMMMPH YOU DIRTY DOG!! OUUUUUUUUUU!" she moaned as her body trembled... 
She rode him cowgirl style and continued kissing him....
They sat on the side of the bed, Beverly continuing to ride him and kiss him...
and finally in bed where they made love with unbridled passion for the next EIGHT TO NINE HOURS...


and in our sub-basement..

"Hi Baby, how was your day?" asked Natalie..
"It was great..We went up to the prison to visit Pedro and we began our shadow investigation...Thank you for suggesting I go see Olivia and Beverly...Their whole team is great!" said David ...
Her kisses were driving him insane.. He was glad they were in the sub-basement..They had the privacy they needed...

"This is the best part of my day." he said in between more soft kisses..

She laughed.

"It is?" she asked..

"Yeah." he said.
"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMM !"HE MOANED.

She giggled..."You sound like a moose, moaning like that.....My god, you\re hung like one too!!...Myyyy lord!" she gasped..
He slipped her panties off..

He lifted her up, and entered her slowly...

Her body trembled.. "OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU HOOOO HOOO HOOO HOOOOOOOOOO
UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, OH MY GODDDDD, YOU ARE SNATCHING MY SOULLLLLL...WOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed...as she had an intense orgasm ,making her body tremble like crazy, her head moved from side to side and tears just streamed down the side of her face..

He lifted her up and placed her on the sink and began to plow away...

"OHHHH GODDDDDDD NATALIE....I CAN'T LET YOU GOOOOO THIS IS SOOOO DAMN GOOD!!!" he screamed..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU DAVID, YOU ARE HUGE!! OUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she screamed.. Tears just flowed down her face..Her body trembled... His body trembled.

"OHHHHHHH MYYY DAMNNNNNN!" he howled.

She was so soft, she smelled like a new born baby and so wet...He was losing his mind!!

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM GIRRRRRRRRRRRRRL!" he moaned.

"Natalie could I be falling in love with you this soon?" he asked as he humped her across the bed.

"Ouuu it must be good to you." she laughed.. "Ouuuuuuuuuuu it's good to me...damnnnnnnnnnnnnn, I don't know... I might be falling in love with you too...WOWWWWWW!" she exclaimed.
They soon began making love on the bed...for the next NINE TO TEN HOURS....


The inhabitants of our property were busy tonight.



III-


CURLEY'S BAR-

It was a Thursday Night..Couples Night!! Couples got half off their drinks...You couldn't beat that...So despite our better judgement, We were all out at Curleys...We arrived early enough that we had a whole section to ourselves...We had 16 seperate tables in a semi circle in the back...

"I love couples night..The drinks are cold and cheap.."said Jazzy.
"Yeah I like that, Cheap...Remember when you and I used to come here for that when we were both single, before we became a couple.. Those were magic times..."said Dabnis..


"Yes , they were. Neither of us had any idea that one day WE WOULD BE A COUPLE!...We were just friends then..." said Jazzy, rubbing his hands softly..

" We know how to party don't we?" said Kayla.
"You know what I say..You Bennett women keep things poppin."laughed her husband, Ray.
"You always say that!"laughed Jessica..
"Well they do...Kayla had the Thanksgiving Day Dinner and Olivia and Beverly organized this..."said Chip...

"I understand you and Jetty are going to be our new neighbors."said Kayla to Virginia.

"Yes...in about three weeks , just in time for Christmas...We are so excited we can't wait..."said Virginia.
"Married and a Homeowner...I waited until I got this old to finally settle down."joked Jetty, who was about a decade older than most of the people in the group with the exception of Alfreda. He was three years older than her.
"That's okay Jetty...We got it done..."laughed Alfreda, rubbing his arms.
Rockland smiled and hugged his wife....
"I can't wait to welcome them to the neighborhood."said Bresha.
"I never lived on a block where I knew everybody or got along with everybody...This is great.."laughed Tony.
"You gonna hold me if I get Tipsy babe?" said Josie to her husband Paris..She had clearly drank too much!

"I got you bae."laughed Paris, holding her in his arms.
"Awwwww you're already holding me."said Beverly to Nelson..
She was sitting on his lap... He was holding her with one hand and eating a sandwich with the other hand.
"Josie and my niecey poo have had a little too much to drink...I think I'll open the office at 12:00 tomorrow ,give everybody extra time to sleep."said Olivia.
"That's a good idea. They've all been working hard on this case. They've earned it"I said Laughing.

"We 're all off tomorrow ." said Yvette.
"Speak for yourself."laughed her husband, Gary... "Some of us still have to work for a living." he joked.
"I'm sleeping late tomorrow." said Keith Jones..
"Me too! If you let me."joked his wife, Bee Bee.
Sofia was sitting on her husband's lap...
Kahlil, like Nelson was eating a sandwich with one hand and holding her with another.
Jade had a slight buzz, she wasd laughing hysterically at something..
Her Husband, Danny was laughing too!

And of course we made it our own party... Our caterer brought a sandwich and condiment tray...With meats, cheeses, mayo, mustard and hard rolls and condiments of all types for sandwiches.. and a table of beers and martini's...






''Oh Look it's the newlyweds." said Zoey as Brooke and Sean walked in... They got married in the courthouse earlier in the day in a civil ceremony....We were all there...This was kind of like a reception...
"Congratulations!" said Lem
"THANK YOU, THANK YOU ALL." said Brooke. She was crying tears of joy.
"THANK YOU GUYS...THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING!" said Sean.
They kissed passionately as we all cheered.
Natalie and  David walked in behind them...We had seats saved for them.. She sat on his lap and put her arms around his neck....

It was a lovely time...

All of us were going back on the buses that were parked down the street in another parking lot..along with our catering truck.





Olivia had everybody covered.... Sean and Brooke were taking an UBER to their hotel afterwords...



Of course, we were all having a good time for close to THREE HOURS and then...HE WALKED IN.!!!! Angry and Unhinged!

Lt. Tragg...and as usual, He was livid!!! He had a lot of targets...All of his "Favorite people" were here tonight all in one area.

He walked over to our area.. 


He looked at Attorney David Charles and snarled.


"You were too scared, too much of a punk to take the case by yourself..You had to call Olivia and Beverly to save you!!! WELL IT AINT GONNA SAVE YOU, NOT THIS TIME!!! YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE...THEY CAN'T SAVE YOU! Pedro Valdez is guilty as hell...You know it...and I KNOW IT!" he bellowed.

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING AND WE ARE GOING TO PROVE HOW INEPT YOU ARE ONCE WE GET TO TRIAL BECAUSE I'VE ALREADY DISCOVERED SEVERAL MISTAKES YOU'VE MADE!" said David.



"Why don't you let the lawyers try the case in court? This isn't the place..We are here enjoying ourselves..GO AWAY! GET AWAY FROM OUR TABLE!" said Natalie.


"YOU KNOW...I DON'T LIKE YOU!!!...AND I THINK YOU SENT YOUR BOYFRIEND HERE TO OLIVIA AND BEVERLY TO SPITE US FOR FIRING YOU FROM THE TEAM! " he bellowed.

"Prove it!" she laughed.

Brooke was enraged..She walked over to him.


"Lt. Tragg ,I want you to leave....My husband and I are celebrating tonight...We are not in court..We are no longer part of the prosecution team, Please Leave."said Brooke.


"THAT'S RIGHT...YOU HEARD HER...LEAVE!!!....I'M NOT GOING TO ASK YOU AGAIN!"came the voice of Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Dellums...


He was there with his girlfriend, ADA Vanessa Stevens.

"Hi Brooke, Sean,  Congratulations. Hiii Natalie!" she said.

"Todd, you came!!! Heyyy thanks brother."said Sean shaking his hand.


"Sorry I missed your wedding..I was in court.."said Todd.



"YOU'D BETTER GET OUT OF MY WAY PAL!!! THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!" said Lt. Tragg getting more enraged by the second.

''We are taking Pedro's case pro bono because we believe he's innocent..We are assisting David Charles because we want to and there is nothing you or anyone else can do about it and nothing more anybody here is going to talk about with you...So if you want to stand here and look stupid..Then go ahead..No one is going to talk to you."said Olivia.


"You know you guys are just doing this because it's the biggest case of the year and you want to share the stage with me and Jumpshot Jim...You want some shine..."said Lt. Tragg.

"Believe what you want to believe Lieutenant, but like I said...We are through talking to you about this. We'll do our talking in court."said Olivia.




"AND DON'T GIVE US THAT SPEECH ABOUT US HIGH FALLUTIN LAWYERS DRINKIN, YOU KNOW WE ARE ALL GOING HOME ON THE BUSES....SO GO AWAY."said Dabnis.


"YA KNOW, I OWE YOU A FAT LIP BUDDY!"snarled Lt. Tragg..



Two Sherriff's Deputy vehicles pulled up in front of Curleys...

Four deputies walked in and  handcuffed him...

"You never learn do ya Artie?" said one of the Deputies..


"Awww come onnnnnnnnn! COME ONNNNNNNNN!" he screamed and stomped his foot in rage!!

The four read him his rights and hustled him out of the bar..

It was met by claps, loud claps, whistles and cheers...He stomped his foot and struggled with the men as they put him in the back of the vehicle and pulled off.

"THIS WAS DELLUMS!! HE CALLED YOU GUYS!" he snarled.

"Actually it wasn't...It was several people though....but not him this time..Why don't you find another bar? This is a big  city...there are plenty!" said the Sherrif's deputy as they pulled off!


Curley shook his head..

"Poor Artie..He never learns." he said.


IV-

FRIDAY MORNING-


The very next morning at "The Cooler" the nickname for the holding facility at the courthouse..

Assistant District Attorneys James "Jumpshot  Jim" Taylor and Chris Garcetti appeared at the jail and secured Lt. Tragg's release.

"You know both your Captain and The Deputy of Operations told me to let you stay in here until Monday Morning when you'd normally be released..but I need you to get on this case..." said Jumpshot Jim, who was slightly amused..

"He told me to tell you to send a sandwich tray and a written apology to Olivia Bennett-Alexander's residence for your behavior last night."said Chris Garcetti.


"WHAT??" snarled a still angry Lt. Tragg..


"DO IT OR YOU'LL BE SUSPENDED WITHOUT PAY FOR A WEEK!! NOW THAT'S THE WORD FROM THE TOP!...I kept this little misadventure out of the papers...Now do your part Lieutenant and get back on this case...Assign some detectives to it...You don't have to investigate it personally...Just get me something....The Preliminary hearing is Monday..."said Jumpshot Jim.
"I don't need any other Detectives, I can handle this."snarled Lt. Tragg.
"Go home and get cleaned up..Meet us back at the office." said Chris Garcetti , who was enjoying the whole thing.


AT OUR OFFICE/DUPLEX-

Without breakfast or Coffee...Our youngins went to work around 9:30 AM-

Olivia and I and Alfreda came downstairs at 12:00 noon

"Oh My God...How long have they been in here?" asked Olivia.
"The way things are laid out...I'd say a couple of hours." I said.
"Youth" laughed Alfreda.
In the law library, Beverly, Josie , Bresha and David Charles were doing research on the case.
"Good Morning Auntay, Donnie Ray, Mommy...Did you guys get enough rest?" asked Beverly.
"We came in at around nine o'clock..We had a lot of work to do..The Preliminaries are Monday." said Josie.
"David and I are looking over witness statements."said Bresha.
"Good Morning." said David Charles.
Next door, Nelson was still sizing up potential jurors and mapping out a trial strategy.

"Good Morning guys."said Nelson..


Our doorbell rang.


"Hey guys....Look at this...It's from Lt. Tragg and there is a card, with a letter of apology." said Alfreda.

"If I didn't see this with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it." I said, laughing.
"Come on in kids...break  for Brunch." said Olivia.
Alfreda  spread it all out on the table with help from the delivery men..

A sandwich tray with all kinds of meats and cheeses, mayo, mustard, hard rolls for sandwiches
and condiments..
as well as bagels and cream cheese. and jelly.

Alfreda put on some coffee and joined us in the conference room.

"He's really trying to butter us up!"said Alfreda.
"I knowwwww ,right?" laughed Olivia.

Beverly's eyes got as wide as saucers...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU WEEE LOOK AT THAT! IT CAME IN THE NICK OF TIME BECAUSE I'M STARVING!" she said.
"It's from our buddy Lt. Tragg...and look, it has a letter of apology." laughed Olivia.
"That means he's been sprung from jail.."said Bresha.
"His bosses told him to do this to get out of jail and to ward off any law suits from us."laughed Josie.
Nelson made himself a sandwich..

"You know...I gotta hand it to Lt. Tragg, whoever his caterer is..they have the best meats...Ummmph, I've got to ask him one day."said Nelson..
"Oh No doubt...Damn this is good!" said David Charles, who had also made himself a sandwich..
I smiled.

(TO BE CONTINUED)