Robbing Peter to Pay Paul

We were on the train, headed for Center City...Central Booking..
 

'It's been awhile since we all worked together huh?" said a smiling Ms. Yvette, who I could tell was glad to have her team together again and with her... Over the past month, I had been working with Dabnis, Tyrell, Tony, Ray and Paris, Bee Bee had been working with Jazzy, Kayla, Renee,and Lem and Sofia and Kahlil had been working with Jessica, Chip, Karen, Brooke, Natalie, David and Sean...and she herself had been teamed up with Zoey.
 

"It does feel good.. despite all of the other teams we've worked with...This one is the best." I said, smiling.

"Truly the best." said Bee Bee smiling...

"This is our family...Our first family." said Sofia.

"Yeah!" said Kahlil.... 

''So Boss Lady, what's the game plan?" asked Jade...

"It's A Tuesday Night...We are going to Night court her..That's our best chance of getting her out on bail.." said Ms. Yvette.
 

''Sooner or later ADA's are going to get hip to the Night Court and they're going to shut it down." I laughed.

Bee Bee laughed..."Well until they do...let's use it to the best of our abilities." she said.

"Lt. Tragg's head is going to explode when he finds out we got her out today." laughed Sofia.

"Oh wow, he'll probably be running up to our old building looking for us." said Kahlil..

"Let's just hope he doesn't come by our homes at night." said Jade with a smile.

THE FISHBOWL- The nickname the detectives gave to the interrogation room...

"PEEEEEE YOUUUUUUU! This place stinks, don't you guys ever clean this place up? It smells like an open air toilet in here." said Erica Chandler...

"The Odor of this room is the least of your worries...PEEEEEEEEEEEEEE YOUUUUUUU!! But you do have a point... Mackie....Bert...Empty these trash cans...and turn the fans on.. Mop these floors later on..."barked Lt. Tragg... "Now back to you.... You're in a lot of trouble.. You've killed a man....Here take this pen and paper and I want you to write down everything that happened... Do yourself some good..Confess, save the State a trial and maybe, just maybe with this being your first offense, you'll get a light sentence." said Lt. Tragg.

"I told you, I didn't kill him....I told you that even though that is my gun...I hadn't seen it in a week...I reported it stolen...and I did get there a little before 3:00 pm...Micheal was already dead, slumped over in the corner....I did not kill him...I'm not going to confess to something I didn't do!" said Erica.

 "THAT'S RIGHT ERICA, CONFESS TO NOTHING...JUST SIT TIGHT UNTIL WE CAN GET YOU OUT OF HERE!" said Yvette

'Hi, we are Ms. Yvette's associate attorneys...I'm Keith Jones" I said.

"I'm Beatrice Evans-Jones, His wife and also an associate attorney." said Bee Bee.

"I am Sofia Gracia -Ahmed, Also an Associate attorney" said Sofia.

"And I'm her husband, Associate Attorney, Kahlil Ahmed.." said Kahlil.

''I'm Jade Lee Ho-Their investigator." said Jade.

''Well Lahhhhhhhhhhhhh DEEE DAH!! I see the snot nosed youngins are back with their mother hen.."snarled Lt. Tragg.

"You know you have a knack for being really annoying." said Erica.

''With him, it's a gift."said Ms. Yvette. "You sit tight...Don't answer any questions, don't talk about your situation at all...We are going to get you out of here.."said Ms. Yvette as we began to file out....

''Don't Bet on it!" snarled Lt. Tragg, 

''This place could use a mop and some hot water and some air freshners.." said Jade.

''Muzzle it! You could stand to close that smart mouth" said Lt. Tragg...as we walked out of the interrogation room.

II-

NIGHT COURT- Just a few hours later.

In Philadelphia, Night Court only operates two nights a week....Tuesday and Thursday, Tonight was Tuesday...and fortunately...We got an arraignment time of 8:00 pm. 

The Judge in this case would not be the Judge in the actual case....

Lt. Tragg was not there... Night court was too low profile for him...No witnesses...No media..and a bunch of  Judges  and ADA's who were mostly older Judges and ADA's about to retire...It was lightweight. It was in session from 7:00 pm- 10:00 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays...We were quite fortunate to get a date.

The ADA that did show up was not going to be the ADA that tried the case...He had only the basic out line of the case at hand... He basically wanted to go home...So he didn't really put up much of a fight.

We presented 25 charactor witnesses , all from her company....We brought up the fact that prior to these accusations Erica didn't have so much as a parking ticket on her record....

The Judge released her on her own recognizance...No Bail, no nothing...

"You guys are the truth..."Thank youuuuuu!" said Erica , hugging each one of us...

"You're not out of the woods yet...But for tonight.. My girlfriend, Olivia is going to allow you to crash at her house...Tomorrow morning You'll come with us to our office and we'll sort things out okay?" said Ms. Yvette as we left court and boarded the train...
 

''Wow, This is late for us huh? Everybody is home.." I said to Bee Bee.

"All warm and cuddled up." said Bee Bee.

''As we'll be in a few minutes..This train is pretty fast."said Sofia.

''It's still a 45-50 minute ride to our street." said Kahlil. 

"It's so different...the train feels so empty with just us on it tonight." said Jade.

We boarded the train after we got out of court....It was night time... The train was empty compared to the mornings and afternoons when all of our friends were on here...Laughing, making out, talking... It was a quiet ride home..

NIGHTFALL CAME!

Yvette was across the street at Olivia and Beverly's Office Duplex, talking to Olivia and her husband, Donnie Ray.

"Liv , I so appreciate this...I owe you girl." said Yvette.

"Oh will you hush up...You're my sister...I can't say no to you, ever." said Olivia, hugging Yvette.

"Beverly and Nelson drove her to her apartment to pack an overnight bag and grab some things....And Liv and I just put some new bedsheets and pillowcases on the bed down there..She had her privacy and it's a perfect place for her to stay...She can stay here the duration of the trial if she likes.. It beats a hotel.." said Donnie Ray..

"You sure?" asked Yvette.

''Sure I'm sure..Here comes my niece now." said Olivia.

"Hi Auntay, Ms. Yvette... We stopped by her place and got her stuff..."said Beverly..

"Thank you all so much for putting me up." said Erica.

"Come on...We'll show you the apartment in our sub-basement..."said Nelson..

"I'll see you in the morning." said Ms. Yvette.

"Thank you all again." said Erica.

Ms. Yvette walked across the street to her house... It had been a successful and productive day.

III- 

NIGHTFALL !

Yvette and Gary were relaxing at home..

"Did you guys get Erica settled?" asked Gary.

"Yeah,She's across the street at Liv's...Liv said she can stay there the duration of the trial.. 

It cuts down on Hotel costs and we can watch her better." said Yvette.

.

''Well that's good and Liv is correct....You two are good friends, you always support and look out for each other."said Gary.

"She's a gem.... I knew the minute we met in law school on registration day that we were kindred spirits."said Yvette..

Gary and Ms Yvette enjoyed their tea..Organic Tea..

They both took a nice warm shower together...

"That felt good "laughed Gary.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. yes it did "laughed Yvette, running her fingers across Gary's lips..

Gary slipped her panties down..

"Ummmm I really like these." he said..

"Really? I got these from Agent Provacative...Bridget's other store." giggled Yvette

"They're lovely, like you." he said.

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Thank youuuuuu!" said Yvette.

Yvette gave him a wet, sloppy kiss....

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she cooed.

She opened up his bathrobe and stuck her hands down in his boxers...As she expected, he was as hard as a baseball bat...

She smiled sheepishly...

''WOW!   Well Damn!!! " she said and laughed...

He smiled sheepishly...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh lawd...." he moaned... Gary helped her slip her panties down.

"You are getting too good at this.."Yvette joked..as she slipped his boxers down and he let his bathrobe drop to the floor..

Once their clothes were off, Gary lifted her up and entered her slowly and softly....He loved her soft skin, her baby like smell....her kissable lips...He savored every moment like a diner savors a fine meal...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Garrrrry...yesssssssssssss..ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm...Thank you baby.."she moaned..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu girllllllll..You know you can ask me for anything..." he moaned...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Gary, ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..Thank you...."she moaned... She felt too good to stop at this point...

Gary's stamina amazed  Yvette once again....He kept her lifted up like that,long stroking her for close to TWO HOURS....He brought her to orgasm twice...She held on for dear life....She was crying like a little girl...Gary was so excited ,he was near collapse...

They sat on the side of their bed and she rode him....Moving up and down. for another TWO HOURS and coming again and again...both of them....she smiled at him so serenely, so lovingly....She was all at once , very beautiful.....

"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, oh ..OH MY GOD GARY...OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!" she cried out...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh Yvette, I love you girrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl..."he moaned softly...

"I love you toooooooooooooooooooo..ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. You better love me...ohhhhhhh Garyyyyy! "she moaned..

Gary laid her across their smart bed and stared deeply into her eyes with those hypnotic green eyes of his..She was a little frightened...

"WOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" cooed Yvette...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH VETTTIE GIRRRRRL!" Gary moaned as he flipped her over and slowly entered her....she gasped as she had an intense orgasm that had her head turning from side to side, her body trembling and tears streaming down her face...

''OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH GARY, I LOVE YOU!" she moaned..

"I LOVE YOU TOOO!!! OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH VETTIE, YOU ARE MY SWEET GIRRRL!" Gary moaned loudly..

Gary was curling her toes and good...but she was also curling his toes also......

It would be another EIGHT TO NINE HOURS, before Gary would finally climax and she would have climaxed another two times herself by then...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Gary, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh that was, that was amazing.." she said...Her entire body was trembling...Her left leg was shaking...She felt chills..."Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Gary...." she moaned..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH VETTIE!" was all he could manage to utter.

Gary was out of breath and dazed himself...He still couldn't believe how good Yvette was...He was becoming addicted to her...He lie between her legs for a few minutes...

Yvette got up, put on her night shirt,..The short one that came to her hips that he liked..and slipped her panties back on....

Gary was staring at her...and smiling..

She just shook her head and grinned....

"Stop staring at me like that before your eyes fall out......Let's get some sleep!" she said, laughing...

Gary smiled.. " I second that emotion." he said, smiling.

"You swear you're Smokey Robinson, don't you?...."said Yvette crawling up on his chest and drifting off to sleep.

Gary had a big wide smile on his face.

The next morning as promised.. Ms. Yvette picked up Erica Chandler and took her to work with us on the train..

Erica looked around...She was surprised at how many Black people and people of color lived in this area , near the end of the line...and rode this train to work.. She even said something about it to Ms. Yvette.

 "Most of us live on the same street...and with the exception of ADA Rockland Cambridge, we all work in the same building...The Bridge Building at Penns Landing...

"Yeah, we manage not to get tired of each other." I said, laughing...

"You'll like our cafeteria...where you'll be eating today.."said Bee Bee.

"It's like a four star restaurant."said Sofia.

"You're safe from Lt. Tragg..He has no idea we all work here.. When we worked in Center City, he was constantly stopping by our office, to whine and complain...Just like he routinely does when we eat in Sam Mother's Diner.You certainly don't need that." said Kahlil.

''We certainly don't need it." said Jade, smiling.

"Amen to that." said Virginia..

"AAAAAAMENNN!" said her husband Jetty, but he was amening to the good sex he and Virginia had had the night before.

They began kissing passionately....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH VIRGINIA!" he moaned....

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed.

"HUMP DAY EH?  WOW!! I sue got humped last night AND this morning by you..." said Jazzy ,laughing and smiling at her husband, Dabnis, who had a big grin on his face...
 

"Yes lord.." he said, still grinning...

Kayla leaned back and lay her head on her husband's shoulder...

Ray held her tightly....

Jessica lay her head on her husband's shoulder too...She softly and subtlely stroked the crotch area of his trousers...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU  YOU REALlY WERE SOMETHING LAST NIGHT PAPI!" she whispered in his ear...

He grinned sheepishly...

"Ouuuuuu..."HUMP DAY EH?  WOW!! I sure got humped last night AND this morning by you..." said Natalie,laughing and smiling at her husband, David, who had a big grin on his face...''And stop looking so damn satisfied." she said, still smiling.. "OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she silently cooed.

"I am satisfied...UMMMMMMMMMMMM!" said David, Smiling sheepishly....and rubbing her butt.

Brooke lay her head on her husband's shoulder too...She softly and subtlety stroked the crotch area of his trousers...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU  YOU REALLY WERE SOMETHING LAST NIGHT  Chocolate Daddy" she whispered in his ear...

"AWWWWWWWWW,I plan on being something again tonight.too!" said Sean raffishly...

They began kissing passionately...

Lem and Zoey were kissing, making out like teenagers in a drive in movie...

As was newlyweds, Renee and Tyrell. Kissing like kissing had gone out of style.

Paris was talking to Tony..

"No school today...not virtually or literally...That's nice...a break." he said.

"That's good for you man...Today is an easy day...We are filing away briefs and records from our previous cases...

Rockland sat quietly enjoying the ride, lost in his own thoughts.

It was a 45 minute ride..

IV-

After Breakfast, we all adjourned to our conference room..

"This is a great building you guys have....A Gym, A Spa...and that great cafeteria...Wowwwwww...This is so cool and you all work in this building, just floors apart...I love it..." said Erica.

"We enjoy it here!" said Yvette.
 

"Funny thing is...We worked with all of these people and were good friends before we wound up in the same building and the same neighborhood." I said.

''Yeah, it's just funny how we all wound up  living and working together in close proximity." said Bee Bee.

''We are all one big family and it is easier for us to work together." said Sofia.

"Yeah we just walk down the bacvk stairs or take the elevator." said Kahlil...

We all laughed..... 

"Now getting to your problem....I checked with the Medical Examiners Office and the Police.. I have the Autopsy Report, nothing new there...Three slugs to the chest, cause of death... The murder weapon, a .22 caliber hand gun, legally belonging to you passed ballistics.. and your fingerprints on the door handle..This is what the D.A. has." said Jade.

''It's all circumstantial...You said you had a 3:00 pm appointment with him....That's stated on his phone and his tablet's Google calender and you said you had a meeting with him  at 3:00.... Tell us your story//Like why you were meeting with him?" asked Ms. Yvette.

"He was Blackmailing my boyfriend.. Harold Charleston....We called him Harry Chuckie.. Harry was into him for 50 Large... Gambling debts... Micheal Lewis was a legitimate businessman by day...Big time Gambler by night.. He ran a floating crap game game in the Northeast on Week Nights...Harry had already been beaten up by Micheal's goons once...and they had fractured his ribs... He gave them one hundred dollars..  They were leaning on him hard...

I called Michael Lewis and told him I could give him Twenty large to begin with and I'd have the rest later. He said alright and he said to bring cash...No checks...That was why I was there at three o'clock...I had a gym bag with 20 large in cash...You can check my company's account.. I withdrew that much cash...." said Erica.

''Did your boyfriend know you were going to give Michael Lewis some cash?" I asked.

''Yeah he knew and he didn't like it...We quarrled bitterly about it.. He said he absolutely didn't want me involved in this.. He told me he had already borrowed the entire 50K from a "friend", a friend he said would not lean on him so tough and give him a chance to earn the money back... "Big Chicken" , the guy who owns the strip clubs...  I didn't like it." said Erica.

"I can imagine...That's robbing Peter to Pay Paul.." said Kahlil.

"Exactly...that's why I raised the money myself...to keep him from paying him that money..and being on the hook to yet another unsavory person. Big Chicken is like any other gangster, He doesn't lend money out for nothing...He's going to want something..Harry and I were planning to get married ,I didn't want to start our life off on the hook for 50K to some gangster..." said Erica.

"You say you arrived at 3:00 pm and he was already dead right?   The Medical Examiner puts his time of death at a little after noon...So whoever killed him had been there a good while before you arrived." said Yvette.

"Exactly and I left immediately...I didn't touch anything...I got out and I called 911, reporting it ...I tried to explain that to Lt. Tragg." said Erica.

"That was a waste of time...Talking to him is like talking to a Brick wall." said Bee Bee.

"You've got two strikes against you..One you're a woman and two you're a woman of color....He listens to neither." said Sofia..

''You did touch that door handle...Your prints are on it..and that's your gun...the gun you reported stolen, in the waste basket...Since his office is like this one....the only suite on that floor...There are no witnesses to your coming and going...This is going to be tough ,but not insurmountible.."said Yvette.

"Your boyfriend? Have you heard from him?" asked Jade.

"No and I'm surprised...He must know I've been arrested by now...He hasn't even tried to call me.. I can give you his phone number and his address...He's a Vice President of my company...The Chandler Candy Company." said Erica.

"Good, Jade look up Harry Charleston....We need to know where he was on all of this and go talk to Big Chicken...See if Harry still has his money...It didn't appear like it was delivered.."said Yvette.

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

Bee Bee produced a Portal...

"You'll be staying with Olivia and Beverly...You will be getting updates Daily or Bi-Daily from us here on this Portal...You don't have to venture out..." she said..

Sofia produced a Burner phone.

"This is a burner phone...Copy this number down..memorize it...If you need to call us..Call this number...Do not call our personal phone or our business phone...This way our communications won't be compromised." she said.

"You guys leave nothing to chance huh?" said Erica, smiling..

"We can't afford to." said Kahlil.

"That's why we win cases." I said.

Ms. Yvette looked on at us like a proud mother...

At this moment in our old building and 

our old office, which we hadn't been in in over two and a half years...

A very triggered Lt. Tragg was standing outside of our old office...Furious that we had managed to get Erica Chandler released so quickly....He was awaiting us "to come to work" He had been standing outside the door of an office with the lights off and the doors locked since 8:00 am..It was near 11:00am and we hadn't shown up...

He finally got on the elevator and  left.

"I don't know how they get a paycheck...They're never at work....They're probably home ,sleeping it off!" he bellowed..but he knew better than to drive to our neighborhood and ring bells and bang on doors..

He sat in Sam Mother's diner, sulking and livid... None of us was there...He was alone in his bitterness.

(TO BE CONTINUED)