Mister Livingston, I Presume!

 

VISITING ROOM-Valhalla Women's Detention Center

"No Hoagies today? Where is Mr. Marks and Mr. Donnie Ray." asked  Alexis Drake...We were at Valhalla, the Women's Detention Center..visiting her...

We had brought  Bagels and Cream Cheese, Doughnuts and Coffee ,Pastries and Coffee ,among other things..

"My Husband dropped us off...He's bringing them.." said Beverly..

"We brought some clothes for you and some panties and bras like you asked us...for court in a few days."said Olivia.

"We are going to fix your hair too, we brought curling irons..and make up..." said Josie..

"We almost didn't make it through "customs" with this stuff..." Bresha Joked as the young women talked and ate...

Outside....

Nelson was being given the third degree by William "Bull" Bailey...Now a checker who had once been a Lieutenant of Homicide with the Philadelphia Police Depatment and an Investigator for the U.S. Attorney's Office... He had been fired when it was discovered he planted evidence at a crime scene..He had tried to frame our friend Brooke for the deed and did everything he could to keep her from going to trial...He wanted her to "confess"  he promised she'd get no jail time, just a possible disbarrment or at best censored by the Legal Ethics Board.. She refused and Olivia, Beverly, Nelson, Josie ,Bresha and I represented her and got her acquitted...

He pleaded guilty and was given probation...No Jail time, but fired immediately from his high profile Federal job, losing his pension... He was living off of his Police Pension, Social Security and the money he was making from working here at the detention center...He was livid everytime he saw us.. He gave Nelson the once over..

"Hoagies? Hoagies eh?  Your associates brought Bagels and Cream Cheese, Coffee, Doughnuts and Pastries, Panties, Bras, Curling Irons and clothes...You're really giving your client A-1 treatment... Shame she's going away for 10 years on a drug wrap." he snarled..

" We'll let a jury decide that." was all Nelson said before he was released... How like Lt. Tragg Bull Bailey was...Both win whined and grieved over things they couldn't change and seemed to long for days gone by when men like them controlled everything...Both men despised attorneys...of course until they needed one...Nelson thought with a smirk...

Beverly perked up upon seeing Nelson..

"There's my baby." she said.

Nelson smiled as Beverly gave him a nice ,sloppy kiss....

He placed six Italian Hoagies on the table with the other food..

"Ouuuuuu they look and smell so good." said Olivia.

"They do.."said Josie...

"Did Bull Bailey give you any trouble? He stopped short of giving us a strip search when we came in." said Bresha.

"Yeah  and he made the same kind of snide remark that Lt. Tragg makes about our client going to prison for 10 years...You know, anything to dig at you..."said Nelson...

''Awww I'm sorry baby.." said Beverly..

who gave him another soft ,slow kiss...

Alexis looked at Beverly kissing her husband... She hadn't been kissed in a few weeks...

Mr. Livingston would often sneak into her room after hours to "Tuck her in" as he called it.. At first she felt guilty, sleeping with her employers husband, but after being called incompetent and a fool to her face all day..She felt it was just revenge...

"Shhhhh....Shhhhhhh..It's alright....She calls me worse names... I just came to tuck you in baby.." he would say...Kissing her, practically slobbering over her...

He'd gently slip her panties down..and quietly crawl into bed with her...

"OHHH MY GODDDDD!! UMMMMMMMMMMMM!" he'd moan....

"Teee Heee." she'd giggle like a school girl..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU YOU FEEL SOOOOOO GOOD BABY!" he would moan...

"UMMMMMMMMMMMM SO DO YOUUUUUUUUUUU!" she would coo!

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuu....ummmmmmmmmm MISTER LIVINGSTON....OUUUUUUUU!" she'd moan..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BABY GIRL, BABY GIRRRRRRRRRl!" he'd moan in his low baritone......

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW ...UMMMMMM!" he'd moan deeply..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU MISTER LIVINGSTONNNNNN!" she'd coo softly.....

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuu....ummmmmmmmmm MISTER LIVINGSTON....OUUUUUUUU!" she'd moan..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BABY GIRL, BABY GIRRRRRRRRRl!" he'd moan softly in her ear..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU I'M ABOUT TO CUMMMM MISTER LIVINGSTON!!!! OUUUUUUUUUU HURRRY UPPPP!" she'd plead..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I'M ALMOST THERE...ALMOST THEREEEEEEEE! OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!! " he'd moan.

The bed would rock a little, the headboard would shake and they'd make sweet love for  THREE TO FOUR HOURS....One time, even longer....

He'd stop by her room as many as four times a week....They never even came close to getting caught.

"Ummmmmmmm that was goooood baby!" he'd say and he'd get up and quietly tip out of her room...

She often wondered if Mrs. Livingston knew about her husband's late night "episodes" in her bedroom...but figured if she had known, she'd of definitely had been fired a long time ago...before the drug bust...

They both mutually agreed that the last time, which was a few days before she drove to Montreal to make her last pick up of baby formula and condensed milk in which she got busted for drug possession was to be their last time..

"Ummmmmmmmmm, I'm gonna miss this." he said

Slipping her panties down and crawling in the bed one last time...

"I am too, but we can't keep doing this...I need this job too bad and it's not right...You got a whole wife down the hall... discover her." said Alexis..

"You right..You right..I need to...This will just be our little secret." he said.

"Yes.." she agreed.

He never did come back and she didn't tell anyone, not even her lawyers...It was their little secret!

And for FOUR TO FIVE HOURS, he made their last time, the absolute best.

Alexis missed a man's touch....She looked at Beverly and Nelson and decided that was going to be her goal, find a nice boyfriend...after she got through with this case.

"We expect to argue that you weren't aware of these drugs and that you were an unwilling mule."said Beverly.

"Mr. Marks and Mr. Donnie Ray are interviewing your other employer, Althena Tubbs." said Nelson.

"Hopefully she can give us some insight...because, I can't lie, we don't have a lot to prove your innocence right now...but we are going to get you off, trust me...They can't prove you were aware of this and you have no priors...That's in your favor." said Olivia.

"Tell us about your other employer...Althena Tubbs." said Josie.

" Yes what was she like?" asked Beverly...

Alexis smiled when talking about Althena Tubbs..

"Oh she is a sweetheart...and a godsend...She knew I needed money, more money than I was being paid.. She always was very nice to me and sympathetic...someone I could talk to when I couldn't talk to anyone else...She thought it was horrible the way Marla Livingston talked to me and about me to her high society friends, always putting me down, calling me incompetant and making me feel like she was doing me a favor letting me live and work there. No Althena is good people... Her husband died suddenly and left their finances in shambles..She uh took over his dry cleaning business ,which was just about to go belly up..She made it solvent...and then she opened up the day care for infants and that's how she managed to make enough money to keep that nice house and remain in that tony neighborhood my parents so love and is so essential to their status as movers and shakers..." said Mavis. "You might want to look into Adrina Soles....but I doubt if she can tell you much." said Alexis.

"Mavis Livingston described her the exact same way..." said Olivia.

"I knew Mavis, vaguely...The Livingstons were sooo disapointed in her...They laid out a lot of money for her to go to Vassar, the exclusive women's university and one semester shy of graduation, she was caught with 9 kilos of Heroin on her... She was expelled from the University and arrested...but unlike me...The Livingstons have connections, Lawyers, Judges, Cops et al. She got 3-5 years probation, no jail time...They enrolled her in Rutgers after she completed Rehab and Community service and she graduated....They bought her an apartment in Camden on the waterfront and she got a job at Adventure Aquarium....but out of their sight...out of their neighborhood.   Her mother is something. Mavis was cool, good people." said Alexis..

"We met her this past weekend at Adventure Aquarium.. She told us that too....did you know Adrina Soles?  She worked there before you."asked Bresha.,

''Didn't know her....I replaced her... She went into a coma...A Heroin overdose I heard...We never met."said Alexis...

''Something weird.. How a trail of Heroin appears to be linked to those two households and everybody that works or lives around there."said Olivia.

''I know and Mavis never gave up her connect..Makes you wonder how deep she figured in all this, doesn't it?" said Nelson.

"I was thinking that same thing myself.." said Beverly...

II-

I was at the Hospital.....

I stood in the room where Adrina Soles lie in a coma...

She was a Latina woman who had been in a coma for six months.... The Nurse told me that her coma was a "shock coma..." She didn't merely overdose on Heroin...Her body went into shock..It was her first time...Which said to me.. Somebody was trying to murder her to silence her... Maybe she knew something, discovered something..

There was three bouquets of roses...All with the same handwriting and the same message..

"GET WELL SOON BABY, I LOVE YOU!"

but no name and no forwarding address.

This gave me an idea...I was going to run it by Olivia..

At the prison, Alexis was getting another visitor...

"Oh Alexis... I see you have other visitors... I know who you guys are, Olivia and Beverly....Oh My God!!! I see you on Television all the time!!! You're her attorneys?? Are The Livingstons paying for your services?  Alexis, you're not depleting all of the money you've saved up are you?? Oh I would hate that.."said Althena Tubbs, a very nice and pleasent woman..."I can help you." she said.

"There is no need for that...She has a Federal Public Defender , Sean Marks, who is very good.. He

requested our services and is paying us through the government...as " consultants" said Olivia...

"Let me introduce you to my staff..."

"My Niece, Attorney Beverly West-East."

"Pleased to meet you." said Beverly...

"Her husband, Attorney Nelson East."

"Hello." said Nelson..

"Associate Attorney , Josie Boyd.."

"Hello." said Josie.

''And Associate Attorney, Bresha Billips."said Olivia.

''Hello,pleased to meet you." said Bresha.,

"Our investigator, My husband, who is not here now was looking for you...but you've found us first."said Olivia.

"I've been in Montreal on business, the past few days....I'm sorry I missed him... When I heard of the trouble Alexis was in , I was just sick...Just sick...She's a good girl.. I hope you can get her off.."said Althena Tubbs.

Alexis smiled and rubbed Althena's hands softly....

"I see you've supplied her good food...Can I contribute money for clothes to wear to court? Let me do something."said Althena.

"We got it covered...We brought clothes, panties and bras for her.."said Beverly..

''And we are going to do her hair.."said Josie.

"You do have everything covered....Myyyy myyy, you're nothing if not efficient." said Althena..

''We try hard to be." said Olivia ,hugging Nelson and Bresha.

HOURS LATER-

"Thank you for coming by on such short notice, Bonnie..." I said to Bonnie Shay, our good friend, A former Public Defender and Assistant District Attorney, who was now an Insurance Investigator, known to have excellent IT skills among other things...

"Oh No problem Donnie Ray...I was hoping to see your wife and the guys, but I understand they are up at the Women's Detention Center with a client... Give them my regards when they do return...Tell em I'll see them another time..

Now...What I'm doing is sending an email and false social media posts about Adrina Soros medical condition... I'm saying she miraculously came out of her coma and has been returned to her home...I've even faked some photos.... Tell me why I'm doing this." asked Bonnie.

"Our client...Alexis Drake is an Au Pair...To make extra money, She was driving a rental car to Canada every month to pick up Baby Formula and Condensed Milk for a real ritz Titzy nursery here in Philly...I checked...The prices are much cheaper in Montreal...Anyway...She'd been doing this for about a year when she had a car accident...The Police found 9 Kilos of Heroin, Street Ready Heroin underneath the condensed milk and Baby formula... She has no idea how it got there...We believe her... Adrina Soros was the girl she replaced..She used to do the drives to Montreal...Six Months ago she had an overdose and lapsed into a coma...Doctors told me , her body went into shock at the unusual amount of Heroin introduced to her sytem...It was her first time..." I said.

''So this was a murder attempt?" said Bonnie.

"Exactly! A Murder attempt that failed... I suspect...Adrina discovered what was going on and more importantly , WHO was behind this.. and she confronted them about it...And the string puller attempted to give her what we call a "Hot Shot" ,only she didn't die..She lapsed into a coma...I saw flowers in her room, three bouquets with the same message... I believe she is being closely monitored by whoever...I arranged with the hospital to have her removed to another room to throw whoever off...I'm hoping that whoever is monitoring her emails and social media and will show up at her house...Thinking she's well to finish the job they started... And when they do...." I said.

"You got em! " said Alfreda...

"Exactly!!" I said.

"That's diabolical and sneaky Donnie Ray.  I LIKE ITTTTTT!"laughed Bonnie.

"You may get your wish Bonnie... Olivia, Beverly and the guys just drove up." said Alfreda.

The SUV was pulling up in front of the house... Beverly, Josie, Olivia, Nelson and Bree walked into the office..

"We really did a nice job on Alexis's hair Jo... "said Beverly...

"Yes we did and she was really appreciative of the Clothes we bought her for court and the panties and the bras." said Josie..

"Oh Hi  Bonnie...Happy New Year....What Brings you out here?" said Olivia..

"Hi Bonnie."said Nelson..

"Hi Ms. Bonnie..."said Bresha.,

"Hi Guys....Your husband brought me out here Liv... He has this plan to nab whoever is behind the drug smuggling ring that framed your latest client...and he utilized my uh IT skills to do it.."said Bonnie.

"Shortcake...I'm gonna need you and your camera...We're doing a Stake Out...Tonight. I'll explain everything on the way there..." I said.

"Ouuuuuuuuuuu boy, a stake out!" said Beverly......

Sean Marks showed up.....

"Hey Guys, wasted day... I went by Althena Tubbs's house and by her two businesses and there was no sign of her." he said.

"She was at the Detention Center with us... She came by around lunch time.."said Olivia.

"Nice woman.... She helped us wash and style Alexis's hair...."said Beverly...

"She offered us money for her defense.. but we told her you were paying us..."said Bresha..

''Very Nice woman, very helpful." said Josie.

"I think we can scratch her off of our suspect list... but something is definitely going on there..Something." said Nelson..

"Ummmmmmmmmmmm Ummmm Ummmmmmmmmph, They get some cases don't they?" said Alfreda.

''Yes they dooooo!" said Bonnie.

IV-

"Seems like I'm always sitting in a car with you somewhere waiting for someone else to show up!Seems like I've been doing that for the past what? nine years?" said Beverly smiling.

"Has it been that long? My how the time flies when you're having fun..." I said...

"It has been fun....When I agreed to be my Auntie's partner... I figured it would be for a few years until she got up and running, that we'd take on boring and routine little cases and in time I'd have time to freshen up my resume and move on....But then you came...and we started really having fun, traveling...bizzare cases....I got involved with  and married  to Nelson...Josie stayed on and became an Attorney and all of these wonderful people moved into the neighborhood....I'm not goin anywhere.. I'm here for the long hall.. Where else could I go and have this much fun???... Have this much camraderie???"said Beverly.

''I'm glad you're staying...I'm glad all the folks moved into the neighborhood, Kayla, Ray, Jazzy, Dabnis, Ms. Yvette and her entire staff, not to mention your mom and Rockland,, Virginia and Jetty and Jessica and Chip...They do make us less isolated...and it's nice having dinner guests almost every night...Remember when it was just the four of us???...Me ,your auntie, You and Nelson? and he didn't even live with us then..." I said.

"Yeah....Just us four....Sometimes Josie and Paris joined us and spent the night...But this is much better..

and we drink a better brand of coffee too!" laughed Beverly...

"Somebody's coming!" I said.. and began snapping photos....

"It's Mister Livingston!!!" said Beverly.

Stanley Livingston had a key to the door and was entering .............

"Let's get him!" said Beverly...

''Stay behind me Shortcake...." I said and I pulled my .40 Caliber..

We followed him right inside the house..

"MISTER LIVINGSTON, I PRESUME!!!!!" I said...and I cocked my .40 Caliber pistol...

HE WAS STUNNNED!!!!!

He had a Bouquet of Roses and a Bottle of Wine....but no gun and no Heroin!!!

"There's no need for that...I'm not armed....." said Stanley Livingston softly.. "This was a ruse wasn't it?" he said, a look of sadness in his eyes....

"You weren't coming to silence her were you?" asked Beverly..

''Silence her? I was in love with her....I was paying her hospital bills, still am....I am sick over this..I can't imagine who would of done this to her or why?? She didn't use drugs...She would hardly drink,unless she was with me.." he said, tears freely flowing from his eyes..

"I'm sorry...we were trying to flush out whoever might have done this to her...We thought they would be coming by here to finish what they started." I said.

"Go Home Mr. Livingston." said Beverly softly...

Just as the three of us emerged from the house...

A car parked outside the house in the middle of the street pulled off at break neck speed.....

'Somebody was watching this house ,Shortcake... We might have been wrong about him...but I think the real string puller did show up..." I said.

"I got the license plate number..."said Beverly...

''What does all this mean?" asked Stanley Livingston..

"It means Shortcake may have cracked this case." I said.

And a little while later in the back offices of a dry cleaners in tony Chestnut Hill.. Some dossiers are on the desk of the owner...

  

Olivia Marissa Bennett-Alexander

Graduated , Philadelphia High School for Girls

B.A. Administration of Justice, Pre-Law, Trial Advocacy -Temple University..

J.D.-University of Pennsylvania Law School

Passed the Bar, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Deleware, Louisiana, Texas, California

 Speaks French and Spanish Fluently...

Worked as a Public Defender, -Philadelphia PA.

Worked for Bach and Roach LLC, as Associate Attorney

Founding partner-Alexander & West , Attorneys at law..

Divorced- Elwood Barnes..,Corporate Attorney 

No Children, two miscarriages..

Married-Donnie Ray Alexander

Beverly Cheryl West-East

Graduated , Philadelphia High School for Girls

B.A. Administration of Justice, Pre-Law-Trial Advocacy, Temple University..

J.D.-University of Pennsylvania Law School

Passed the Bar, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Deleware, Louisiana, Texas, California

 Speaks French and Spanish Fluently...

Worked as a Public Defender,-Philadelphia PA.

 Founding Partner-Alexander & West Attorney's at Law.

Daughter of Olivia's Older Half Brother, James West... Olivia's Niece

Married to Nelson East.

Nelson Sean East

Graduated, West Catholic High School-Philadelphia PA.

B.A. Administration of Justice, Pre-Law- St. Johns University, New York City
Psychology Minor...

J.D. -St. Johns University Law School, New York City..

Passed The Bar , New York, Pennsylvania, Deleware, New Jersey, Texas, California 

Speaks Spanish , French and Russian Fluently...

Worked as Public Defender, -Philadelphia PA.

 Associate Attorney at Robert Foxworth and Associates.

Associate Attorney at Alexander and West , Attorneys at law.

Married to Beverly West

Donnie Ray Alexander

Born and Raised in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Educated in New Orleans Public Schools..

Associates Degree- New Orleans Community College-Administration of Justice, Pre Law

Homicide Detective, New Orleans Police Department, Retired.

Principal Investigator, Alexander and West Attorneys at law-Philadelphia PA.

Married to Olivia Bennett

Also a semi-professional musician

Josephine Boyd

Born in Philadelphia PA.

Raised in Red Hook Section of New York City 

Bachelors of Science, Architecture from Fisk University

Master in Business Administration- University of Pennsylvania.

Para -Legal -Alexander & West Attorneys at law.

JD- Drexel  University Law School..

Passed the Bar in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Deleware, New York, Texas, California

Associate Attorney-Alexander & West, Attorneys at Law, Philadelphia.

Married to Paris Boyd

Bresha Billips

Graduated from Philadelphia High School For Girls

B.A. Administration of Justice,/ Trial advocacy /Pre Law- Lasalle University, Philadelphia PA.

J.D.- Middleton Law School, Bayside ,Pennsylvania.

Passed the bar, Pennsylvania, Deleware, New Jersey, New York, California.

Speaks Spanish and French Fluently...

Associate Attorney at Alexander and West , Attorneys at law...

Married to Attorney Tony Billips.

SEAN MARKS

Born in Philadelphia PA.

Graduated from Central High School

B.A. -Adminstration of Justice/Pre Law/Trial Advocacy -Lasalle University...

JD- Howard University Law School.

Passed Bar in Maryland,/Virginia/ Pennsylvania/Deleware/New Jersey/New York

Law Clerk for Pennsylvania's Chief Judge of Appeals, Carter Baum

Trial Attorney for U.S. Department of Justice's Anti- Trust Division, Washington D.C.

Met and married Attorney Brooke Kennedy

(Divorced, No children)

Federal Public Defender

Remarried Brooke Kennedy

"They're all quite impressive... I'm sure they can get Alexis off... Will they be a problem otherwise?" asked a young man , an associate who had hired the  private investigator , who had compiled the dossiers..

"I don't think so." said Althena Tubbs.

(CONCLUSION NEXT)