Tit For Tat

MONDAY MORNING, 9:00 AM , COURTROOM B-

Judge Jetty Dukes presiding...

Olivia, Beverly, our client, Sylvia Peterson, Nelson, Josie, Bresha and myself stood in the courtroom for the arraignment hearing od Sylvia Peterson, who had been arrested a second time for murdering her husband. Acquitted six years ago when there was no body...Accused this year when there definitely is a fresh body!!! This case was in all of the newspapers and getting a lot of TV coverage.

"This the kind of whacky ,bizzaro case you said we didn't get until Donnie Ray came along Niecy Poo? " asked Olivia, hugging her niece and kissing her on the cheek.

"Yup!  You gotta admit Auntay, These cases are kind of fun." said Beverly..

"Not for me doll... This case and the lunkhead Keystone Copper who arrested me is a pain in the ass."said our client, Sylvia Peterson.

"I hear ya.." agreed Nelson...

"We are going to put this to rest once and for all." said Josie..

"And there is a nice harrassment and false arrest charge waiting." said Bresha...

 "Which is why you're here correct Dabnis?" I said to our good friend, Attorney Dabnis Coley.

"Yes indeed!" he said...Never missing an opportunity to stick it to Lieutenant Tragg..."shame he's got qualified immunity...I'd like to sue him personally." said Dabnis.

''What the hell is Dabnis Coley doing here?" asked Lt .Tragg, who was sitting next to

Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Thorne, who we had just faced a few weeks before....She forcefully removed his hands from up under her skirt and moved over a bit...

"Uh Uh...Not this time Lieutenant...." she said sternly.....

She argued that Phone Records indicated that Sylvia Peterson had spoken to her husband by phone three days before his demise and there were photos proving that they had actually met a day before his death.

We didn't know this prior to this revelation...but Olivia argued... "We are still operating on the assumption of Innocence Until proven guilty....and we are not here today to argue to specifics or particulars of this case...We are here for fair bail for our client...She is and has been a successful business woman and entreprenuer for years now and has a spotless record...No criminal record whatsoever not even a parking ticket or juvie record...She is a lion and an asset to the community and poses no threat whatsoever and is not a flight risk." argued Olivia passionately...

Beverly, her husband, Nelson, Josie and Bresha interviewed three charactor witnesses a piece..They were well coached and well versed and quite impressive..

Judge Jetty Dukes smiled...

"I am going to release Mrs. Peterson on released on own recognizance." he said.

"WELL I'LL BE DAMNED!  SON OF A BITCH!" Lt. Tragg bellowed....He got up and stormed out of the courtroom.....

He stood in the waiting area as we walked out..

"You got away with this six years ago...but I've got you now and you won't get away with this this time.."he snarled at Sylvia Peterson..

"You were wrong then and you're still wrong now....I DID NOT KILL HIM, you stupid, imbecile.." Sylvia yelled at Lt. Tragg...

The Press was out in force and they were snapping cameras and getting the entire thing..It was making quite a spectacle..

"Come on...Come On Sylvia...Don't argue with him....Come on with us." said Olivia.

"I'm sorry Olivia...I'm sorry...I momentarily lost it." said Sylvia...

"Wasn't your fault, you were unreasonably provoked" said Dabnis...

"You Ambulance chasing ,Gutless wonder....What are you doing here? Looking for another lawsuit.?/" snarled Lt. Tragg.

"If I were you...I'd move along..If you know what's good for you."said Dabnis..

"IS THAT A THREAT?? I DON'T TAKE KINDLY TO THREATS MISTER!" snarled Lt. Tragg.

"As much as I'd love nothing beter than watching you mop the floor up with him again Dabnis.. I'm hungry and your wife is one of my best friends...I'd be remiss, If I didn't look out for her best interests..Come on buddy...Ignore him." said Beverly...

"Yeah man...just walk away...You got nothin to prove...We already saw what you can do.."said Nelson.

"Come on..let's get out of here." I said.

"Yeah, I'm hungry.."said Josie.

"Me too!" said Bresha...

Josie's husband walked over to us... "I was in court today....I'm having lunch with you."said Paris..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuu gooodie!" said Josie....

As we eased out of the courthouse and got on the train..headed to the Bridge Building..

In the confusion...

Lt. Tragg lost sight of us... He hadn't seen any of our cars or vehicles in the parking lot, because there was none...We were gone!!!He kicked another trash can until it dented...He was so angry he could barely think straight... He headed to Sam Mother's Diner hoping to see us there..but he'd be thoroughly disapointed...We had the good sense not to go there.

II-

We all wound up at the Bridge Building where our friends and neighbors worked...

It had become our home away from home since all of our friends wound up working there..

Attorney Jasmine "Jazzy" Coley hugged her good friend, since 9th Grade, Attorney Beverly West -East

"Thank you Beverly for looking out for my husband...I told him there was no need for him to be at the arraignment this morning.. He just likes to tempt fate.."she said.

"It was nothing...I know you would have done the same for me."said Beverly....

"You saved Lt. Tragg the embarrassment of getting his ass kicked on live TV...That's what you did...but thank you Bev....I owe you." said Dabnis, also hugging her..

"Ouuu all this love I'm gettin." laughed Beverly...

"You aint seen nothing yet....Wait til I get you home." whispered her husband, Nelson in her ear...

Beverly got a devilish look in her eye and smiled , rubbing Nelson's hands softly...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed.....

"Olivia..If Lt. Tragg keeps up with his pyro-technics You aren't going to be able to get a fair trial...It was bad enough that this case is so bizzarre it's already in the news...but with that Brouhaha today..That yelling screaming match between your client and him and that near fist fight with Dabnis..Everybody is going to be talking about this.We got a change of venue to Bayside...I can give you the name of a judge you can argue before." said Yvette Jones-Lockwood...Olivia's friend since law school and one of her closest friends..

''Vettie you might be right...but I'm going to call Captain Cantrell first and ask him to ask Lt. Tragg to cease and desist...If that doesn't work...Then I'm going for a change of venue.This case is just too controversial..and we might not be able to get a fair trial here."said Olivia.

"Yvette may have a point Liv." I said.

"Damn him...Damn him...Things were going so good for me...Damn the both of them...Tragg and my now late husband." said Sylvia.

At the tables behind us... Kayla and Ray, Jessica and Chip, Brooke and Sean and Natalie and David Sat eating their lunches..

"I like this... It kind of reminds me of High school, eating meals with all of our friends." she said.

"When we all worked in town, we weren't this together.. Yeah it is cool."said her husband, Ray..

"I felt so sorry for Olivia.. That messiness outside of their arraignment with Lt. Tragg today." said Jessica.

"Yeah...he can turn a simple arraignment into a circus."said Chip.

"I'm so glad to be away from here down here.."said Brooke..

"And luckier still that a lot of your cases are here in this building's conference room or in the Legal Ethics Board's conference room and you don't even have to go downtown.."said Brooke's husband, Sean, a Federal Public Defender.

"Yeah...it is a luxury....I don't miss being downtown at all....I kind of like it here, it's quiet, serene."said Natalie..

''Anywhere without that bellowing loudmouth Lt. Tragg is quiet and serene."said David,

"You're right..and he just gets worse everytime it seems." said Sofia...who was at the next table and overheard their conversation..

"Olivia is going to have to do what we did and get a change of venue... Bayside isn't so bad.."said Kahlil.

"If they get assigned there... It's a crap shoot..."said Bee Bee.

"Yeah, but this case is already all over the news...It's a circus."said Keith Jones.

"I knowwwwwwwwwwww!" said Jade..

"I don't know...If they can effectively put a muzzle on Lt. Tragg and quiet things down in between now and trial they might have a shot at a fair trial here in Philadelphia."said Virginia.

"I don't know...Like Bee Bee said..It's a crap shoot." said Jetty.  "I'm gonna make a call to the Deputy of Operations..See if he can muzzle Tragg." he said.

Josie was happy to be having lunch with her husband, Paris and Bresha was happy to be having lunch with her husband, Tony... The two couples were spending more time kissing than eating..

"All that kissing they are doing is making me hot.." said ADA  Karen Page to Olivia...

"YOU? Me too!"laughed Olivia, observing the two couples and laughing..

"DITTO THAT !MAKE IT THREE!"said Yvette as all three women laughed...

in the comfortableness of our modern cafeteria.

THE OFFICE OF ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY JENNIFER THORNE-

Jennifer Thorne was enjoying a delicious Cuban Sandwich she bought off of the truck outside and a Coke when Lt. Tragg invited himself over...He was whining and complaining as usual... He couldn't torture any attorneys because none of them were anywhere to be found. So he whined and complained to her... She really wanted him to go...

''And They called My Captain and The Deputy of Operations on me... I am not allowed to hold a press conference or speak on this case in public at all until it's conclusion...Can you believe that?? I was supposed to go on HARD BOTTOM to discuss it tomorrow and my appearence has been cancelled..OUUUUUUUUUUU I AM LIVID!" he said.. He pulled out some photos.. One was a photo of our OFFICE/DUPLEX.....

"That's Olivia and Beverly's residence...a certain Judge on this case lives across the street from them

and is seen here with his wife, leaving their residence a few nights ago.... They had dinner with them...Now if he's had dinner with the defense team and lives across the street from them...That's a little too cozy to be a fair and impartial judge, wouldn't you say?" asked Lt. Tragg.

Jennifer Thorne looked at the photos as she munched on her sandwich and sipped her coke..

"Ummmmm, hmmmmmmmmmm , well, you actually have a point... I'm going to ask that he recuse himself from the case...and we get another judge.." she said..

Lt. Tragg smiled..

"But I think it's a good idea that you don't give any more statements to the press or appear on any Television shows talking about the case...It's already enough of a circus." she said.

III-

THE NEXT DAY-

We were all seated in our conference room...

"Here is some Ice tea to quench your thirsts.." said Alfreda..  

We were all grateful for that...

"Oh Bless you Alfreda..."said Olivia..

"Just what the Doctor ordered." I said.

"Thank you Mommy." said Beverly...

"Yes...Thank you Mrs. C." said Nelson.

"Thanks Ms. Alfreda."said Josie...

"You read my mind,Thank you Ms. Alfreda." said Bresha.

"Yes Thank You!." said our client Sylvia...We had taken her home..Allowed her to shower and get some sleep and had picked her up this morning and followed her here in her car...She had packed a week's worth of clothes as we instructed.

The Bell rang!

"I'll get it." said Alfreda. It was Judge Jetty Dukes.!

"Hi Olivia...Guys...I've uh got some bad news for you....I've been forced to recuse myself from the case..." He said and he showed them photographs of Him and Virginia  having dinner the other night with Yvette, Gary, Keith, Bee Bee, Sofia, Kahlil,Jade and Danny with Olivia and I, Beverly and Nelson, Josie and Paris, Bresha and Tony and Alfreda and Rockland..  "

"These photos were showed to the ADA , along with a photo of our home address... which is of course across the street from you guys... I told them that despite that I could be fair and impartial... The Board didn't think so.....And so I had no choice but to recuse myself while they look for another Judge. ADA Thorne wouldn't tell me how she got the photos...but it doesn't take much imagination to figure out how she got them." said Jetty Dukes..

"This Pettiness has Lt. Tragg written all over it..He's angry because you and I called his superiors and they put a muzzle on him...."said Olivia.

"His TV appearence on HARD BOTTOM tonight was postponed too...He's really steamed about that." said Beverly.

He was probably sitting in an unmarked car across the street from us, snapping photos of everybody who entered  our house... He's got some sick obsession with us..." snarled an unusually angry Nelson.

"Well the next time he's sitting over there... I'm going to make a call to the Sherrif...I think he could use a little time in the damn cooler." I said.

"That would serve him right." said Josie...

"Ouuuuuuuu he makes me so mad.."said Bresha..

Sylvia began to tell us her story....

"My husband vanished in 2017..without a trace.... We were legally seperated then as you know...He wasn't picking up his mail...Wasn't paying his bills, His car sat there for months...The inspection stickers lapsed....Because of a talkative and newsy neighbor...I wound up getting arrested and charged with his murder...You guys got me acquitted.. I had no idea where he was or what had happened to him...His whereabouts or the location of his body was a mystery...to me as well as everyone else.  If you check his bank account...I didn't touch a penny... All of my money was made by my business....and my speaking engagements... I'm involved with a new man... He wants to get married... I wanted to wait until next year when my husband would have been declared legally dead...Then flash forward to three days ago...My husband ,Roderick Peterson calls me..Calls me from out of the blue...It was like speaking to a Ghost..The Ghost who walks... Of course I wanted to know where he'd been all that time and I chided him about me almost going to death row for killing him... He told me that he arranged for you guys to be paid through a third party...and that he knew you guys would get me off.. He told me that he owes a powerful Atlantic City Gambler, a quarter of a million dollars..Money that he couldn't pay. He said this guy was the type who would have killed him or caused him serious bodily damage...He said his apartment was being watched...So he had to disapear... He said He never meant for me to be charged with his murder.He apologized... I told him I was involved with another man now and that that man wanted to get married.  He said that was okay with him and that he'd meet with me in a few days to work out a speedy divorce. That was the last time I saw him.....The next time I heard about him...somebody had shot him and dropped him in the river...That's the truth...but it wasn't me...I don't own a gun...I had no reason to kill him...I swear that's the truth...All of it." said Sylvia.

"I'll have to look into this...I need the name of the Gambler he was into...and I'll have to talk to that third party who contacted us and paid us to represent you..." I said..

"Meanwhile...we need you to register in a hotel...under your own name...and preferably one with an indoor parking garage..." said Olivia.

Meanwhile..Take this.. It's  a Portal..We will give you daily updates on your case and how it's progressing.." said Nelson...

'Write this number down...From now on you will contact us through this number and this number only...

This is a burner phone...It has an untraceable blocked number...Don't call our personal phones or our 

business phones." said Josie.

passing her the phone..

"You guys don't play...but I know that from the last time you repped me... And now it's more of you.."laughed Sylvia.

"That's why we win cases.We leave very little to chance..." said Beverly.

"Here's something else....

He was hoping ADA Jennifer Thorne was going to run the case and he would be setting next to her and playing.."Hide the Salami " but she got a call, from Oklahoma...Some kind of family emergency....She will not be the ADA either.... He will find out soon enough,....." said Jetty..

"And the next time I see his unmarked car with tinted windows just sitting on the block, I'm calling the sherrif. Everybody around here parks their cars in their garages or in back of their houses...There are no cars just sitting around here." said Bresha.

NIGHTFALL!!

Olivia and I were in our bedroom..

"Tomorrow Donnie Ray...Look up Mr. Lockwell.....he's the guy who paid us, the first time we represented  Sylvia...We never questioned him and Sylvia swore she didn't know him...Surprisingly, nobody questioned him about anything."said Olivia..

"Your wish is my command Mrs. Alexander..." I said.

"You love saying "Mrs. Alexander" don't you?" laughed Olivia as I took her into my arms...

"Yes I do.....I've loved it since the day you said "I do"" I said...

We kissed passionately....

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! And I've loved being Mrs. Alexander since the day I said I do" she said.

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" I moaned quietly as we kissed....

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU I lovvvvvvvvvvvvve being Mrs. Alexander." she moaned..

I helped her undress and she helped me undress...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYY GODDD! OLIVIA!" I moaned.

Olivia stared in my eyes kind of strangely... She slowly ran her hands down my leg, felt my erection and squeezed it a little bit....Her eyes grew wide and she looked at me...

"Whooooooo...I guess you' love being Mr. Alexander too!!!" she whispered...and then giggled. "You are always HAPPY to see me.." she laughed...

"Myyy goodness. LOOK AT YOUUU!" she said...

I slowly slipped her panties down......

''Ouuuuuu Liv, these are pretty...."I said.

"I'm glad you like these...All my panties are pretty."she giggled.

"YES THEY AREEEEE!" I agreed,

"Oh My God....Look at youuuuuuuu." she said.....

"Look at you baby." I said as I unhooked her bra and began sucking on her breasts....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...." she moaned...

She moaned , all the while holding my penis with both of her hands and rubbing it....

I kissed her, thrusting my tongue practically down her throat and rubbing her breasts...I could feel Olivia trembling....and moaning softly....I eased her panties off of her and laid her across the bed....

I stared down into those gorgeous brown eyes of hers and I entered her like nobody's business...I wanted to savor this experience, I entered her softly and gently and began to stroke her softly and slowly....She moaned and put her arms around my neck and drew me closer to her..She wrapped her legs around my waste and we began to move in a slow, yet deliberate rhythm for quite some time.

I couldn't get enough and neither could she...

''Ohhhhh my Godddddddddddddddd, oooHHHHHHHHHHHHH......Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..." she moaned ..."Don't Stop...Don't Stoppppppppppp...please...don't stopppp." she moaned, which turned me on more...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THIS IS SOOOO DAMNNN GOOOOD!" I moaned...

"Oh yes...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu yes..." she cooed...

So I took my time...I made slow, steady sweet love to Olivia for  EIGHT TO NINE HOURS!

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!  MISTER ALEXANDER!" she moaned..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MRS ALEXANDER!!!! " I screamed out...

She matched me thrust for thrust and even bit my shoulder at one point...She was so soft...so moist and smelled so good...I was losing my mind....

We made sweet passionate and intense love for another THREE MORE HOURS!!...

Olivia began to shake and gyrate and tears began to stream down her face....

"It's sooooooooooooooo goooddd...Oh my godddddddddddddd it's soooooo gooood! AND YOU NEVER GET ENOUGH!!!! OHHHHHHHHHH! "she moaned... 

She was so moist, so soft...I was losing my mind....

When we both finally came....We were drained....

"Donnie Ray, We are like newlyweds...hehehehehee." she giggled.

"I feel like this is the first time, everytime I make love to you....."I said.

''So do I Donnie Ray..So do I....WOUUUUUUUUUUUU!!"said Olivia lying on my chest.....both of us slowly drifting off to sleep...

Meanwhile across the street from us..

Two Sherrif's deputies cruisers surrounded an unmarked Police Car with tinted windows..

"Out of the car Artie....I tell you the way you stalk this woman is bordering on unhealthy....Olivia Bennett-Alexander is an attractive woman...but she's married and almost a decade younger than you...Come on mannnnn." said the Sherriff's deputy as Lt. Tragg was handcuffed..

"Come on guys...COME ONNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!! How much does Dellums pay you to harrass me?" Lt. Tragg protested as he was put in the wagon and a Deputy commandeered his car..

"Dellums? Who? I don't know no Dellums..." said the Deputy as the other three Deputies broke into raucous laughter.

"COME ON!! COP TO COP!" said Lt. Tragg..

"Copt to Cop...You need a hobby or to get laid on a consistant basis." said the one deputy..

Lt. Tragg was driven off into the night.

He would spend the next two days in "The Cooler" The nickname for the Holding Facility..

IV-

ADA Jennifer Thorne sat on the plane...She laughed to herself.. She had gotten out of prosecuting this case and possibly losing in such short time by faking a family emergency in Oklahoma...There was no emergency...but she did want to get home again and she had some sick and vacation days due her... She was giddy with excitement to be leaving Philadelphia for a few days...She had heard that Arthur Tragg had gotten himself arrested last night by the Sherrif's Deputies...Something about violating C&D again..

He spent more time in jail than some of the people she prosecuted...She laughed...She was free from his grubby hands up under her skirt and him constantly begging to go to bed with her...Maybe some other time..but not now...She lay back in her seat and allowed herself to drift off into a peaceful sleep while the plane took off.

Judge Julie Wong would be taking over the case ...

Former Detective and now Assistant District Attorney, Nicole Edwards would be taking over as ADA...Boyyyy would Lt. Tragg be surprised...

A DAY LATER-

We were all in Sam Mother's Diner for some good old fashioned comfort food..

"I was by the courthouse this morning...Judge Julie Wong will be hearing our case... and the ADA will be Nicole Edwards...Jennifer Thorne is in Oklahoma attending to family business."said Nelson, who was really enjoying his food...and the peace that came with not having to worry about Lt. Tragg...

"That's good...Judge Julie Wong is tough but fair...I don't have a problem with her...Nicole Edwards is tough period...She's no nonsense and I can assure you Lt. Tragg will not have his hands up her dress."said Olivia , almost laughing..

"God....He's been in jail for a day...He'll probably be sprung tomorrow. He's really not going to like these new developments...Jennifer Thorne gone, no sex....New ADA Nicole Edwards....No sex!" said Beverly with tongue in cheek..

Bresha spit her drink out....She was laughing hysterically....

"All this tit for tat....and it did him no good..no good at all.." said Josie..

"I've seen that Nicole Edwards...She's one tough cookie...If anybody can make ole Tragg toe the line..She can!" said Paris, who remembered her as a detective...Now she was an Assistant District Attorney. He had heard she put herself through law school at night while she was still on the job...It took her four and a half years... He had big respect for her.

"I wish I could see his face when he finds out it's her and not his little play thing that's running the case.." laughed Alfreda.

"Olivia , I looked up our former benefactor, Jason Lockway...The one who paid for our first defense of Sylvia....He's dead and he's been dead for three years.. I checked his bank account....Sylvia was telling us the truth... Roderick Peterson transferred the money for his wife's defense into his account , three days after he was reported missing...Nobody ever checked....Not us...We just took his money and not Lt. Tragg....He never checked the dead man's finances....EVER!!!! Now there was no movement after that for six years,,,,but if somebody had of checked...They would have known that he was alive, at least after he was reported missing." I said.

"What about this gambler he was into for so much money in Atlantic City?" asked Olivia.

"None of my contacts in Atlantic City seem to know anything about this gambler or any debts owed by Roderick Peterson... The guys here in Philly on the streets don't seem to know anything either.. Nothing but dead ends...but I'm still digging." I said.

''See?" said Beverly to Nelson, Josie and Bresha. "We never had bizzaro cases like this until we met Donnie Ray..." she said.. "We didn't start really having fun until he came along." she said.

They all agreed and nodded their heads...

I smiled...

Olivia smiled..

"It's true you know." she said.

(TO BE CONTINUED)