Fatal Ambition

COURTROOM B-10:00 AM
 

"Good Morning, Good Morning Attorneys and Prospective Jurors...I am Judge Julie Wong...Welcome to my courtroom....Due to courtroom crowding of cases , we are going to bypass a preliminary hearing...We know that a crime, a heinous crime has been committed so we are going to go straight to trial.. We will have Jury selection today...So Tomorrow,  we will begin with trial." said Judge Wong. "We will start today with introductions.." she said.

"REPRESENTING THE COMMONWEALTH, ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY BRUCE GREENE, your honor." said Bruce Greene.

"OLIVIA BENNETT-ALEXANDER, LEAD ATTORNEY FOR THE DEFENSE YOUR HONOR."said Olivia.

 

Crickett sat next to Olivia.. she was afraid...She had just become an attorney...She didn't plan on being a murder suspect.

Beverly sat on the other side of her...

''BEVERLY WEST-EAST, ATTORNEY FOR THE DEFENSE YOUR HONOR.'' said Beverly.

"NELSON EAST, ATTORNEY FOR THE DEFENSE YOUR HONOR!" said Nelson...

"JOSEPHINE BOYD!! ATTORNEY FOR THE DEFENSE YOUR HONOR!" said Josie.

"BRESHA BILLIPS, ATTORNEY FOR THE DEFENSE, YOUR HONOR." said Bresha.

I sat with them, poised and prepared for a knock down drag out fight.

"Okay, now that we are done with the introductions....Let's begin with Jury selection...."said Judge Wong..

Bruce Greene had prepared a little...He had studied the jury pool and he had prepared his own questions, prepared not to lose to Nelson again...

But Nelson was an old pro at this and way, way ahead of Bruce Greene...He knew the jury pool in and out..Thanks in part to work up's I'd done on them and his own public knowledge he'd gotten of them...He had his own questions..

 

 

plus Josie and Bresha on their laptops whispering information to him......

He got 8 out of the 12 witnesses he had targeted....Including the jury foreman.....Not bad, Not bad at all..

Bruce Greene was astonished...almost impressed with how polished and prepared Olivia and Beverly's attorneys were.. He was a bit frustrated at losing the jury selection battle...but realized the trial must go on..

He looked around....Lt. Tragg, the detective who brought the case in was nowhere to be found...He was usually front and center at these things...

"Excellent...We have a jury.....Trial will start tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM...Attorneys , I expect you to be on time and be ready for trial..."said Judge Wong.

At this moment in the Judge's Chambers..

"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM ARTHUR!!! YOU KNOW HOW TO KISS A WOMAN!" said Judge Kelly Ann Mercer, who had a trial later on today...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHH KELLY ANN, YOU KNOW HOW TO KISS A MAN!" moaned Lt. Tragg...

They were kissing passionately in the Judges Chambers..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....AWWWWWWW LAWDD!" he moaned...He completely forgot he was supposed to be in court with Bruce Greene.

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" he moaned...

"No ARTHUR, DON'T SLIP MY PANTIES DOWN....WE CAN'T DO IT TODAY....I HAVE TRIAL!" she moaned..

"AWWWWWWW JUST A QUICKIE!!!PLEASE!" he begged....

"NO ARTHUR...NOW COOL IT!" she said...

She fixed her bra and she closed her blouse.....

"UGH UGH....NOT TODAY......." said Kelly Ann, pulling away from him....She began to fix her hair and reapply her lipstick....

Lt. Tragg's suit was wrinkled and his trousers were standing out like a circus tent..

Her lipstick was on his collar and his cheeks....

As they emerged from the chambers, it was quite apparent what had been going on in there..

An Angry Bruce Greene admonished him...

"Lieutenant!! You were supposed to be in court this morning.....Instead you were in The Judges Chambers making whoopie... Make whoopie on your own time, Not Mine..I expect you to be in court tomorrow at 10:00 sharp and uh without lipstick all over your face.."said Bruce Green... 

"Just simmer down....I didn't need to be there today....I'll be there tomorrow."said Lt. Tragg.

We were walking past when we saw a friend..

"Hey Renee, what are you doing here?" said Olivia.

"Hey Guys....I was down the hall from you...Court appearence, to file a brief....Hey I'm hungry...You guys going to Sam Mothers?" she  asked.

 

"Why yes we are and we'll drop you off at work after we eat." I said,

"Gee Thanks."said Renee.

Beverly hugged her friend...

"How are you?" she said.

"Just fine...Glad I have somebody to eat with."said Renee.

Nelson, Crickett, Josie and Bresha all walked by....

Bruce noticed Renee...He hadn't seen her in months....She made his heart skip a beat....

"Renee, how are you?" he said.

"Hello Bruce....I'm fine.." she said.

"Why don't you and I have lunch together?" he said....

"I'm having lunch with them!" Renee said pointing to us..as we exited the courtroom...

He watched us all leave.....

But talking to Bruce Greene, like talking to Lt. Tragg was like talking to a brick wall....he only heard what he wanted to hear...

"You eat with them all the time...Hell, you live near them...They won't miss you....I need to talk to you about our relationship..."he said. He refused to accept that she was married. In his mind, her marriage didn't exist.

"OUR RELATIONSHIP?? WHATTT? I'M MARRIED!! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" said Renee incredulously...She turned and followed us out the door.

Bruce Greene was incensed... He wasn't happy with being out dueled in court by Nelson and he wasn't happy seeing Renee and being rejected by her... He was hopelessly obsessed with her.

II-

THE NEXT DAY-COURTROOM B-10:00AM

With Judge Julie Wong presiding, the murder trial of Cynthia "Crickett" Redding began....

Assistant District Attorney Bruce Greene painted her as a very ambitious young lady who cajoled the boss into paying for her last year of law school by using sexual favors....and then rolled him for more money and higher positions than she deserved....

"She was already a Senior Associate Attorney having just graduated from law school, the final year he paid for...and having just passed the bar.... having never tried a case or argued a litigation..He dramatically looked around at us......"Neither her defense team, all seasoned attorneys in their own right or me myself have ever moved up the latter so fast and so soon...We wished we had." he said, smiling.

He got the jury to laugh and agree with him, which he was good at doing.

Lt. Tragg sat smugly next to him... He peered over at Crickett...She was a cute little thing...He could see how Judge McCardle could be attracted to her...How he'd give her the world after a romp in the sack with her....

Crickett sat with us and just shook her head at the story, all lies that ADA Bruce Greene was weaving. 

 "Don't worry Crickett....Let's see how he does when it comes to evidence." said Olivia, waiting to give her sumnation.

In her sumnation, she said she would prove that Judge Sam McCardle , a highly respected lawyer and jurist, who had sworn her in as an attorney was also a major hound....a hound who made his seemingly progressive law firm, made up of mostly women, a nightmare for the women who worked there....He had a policy of Lay and Play...In which the women had to submit to him sexually or else they would be forfeiting promotions and raises...

Women that didn't sleep with the boss, soon found themselves without a job.. she said.

None of this proved our client's innocence....but I planned to help her with that...I KNEW who the killer was and why he was killed..We were going to bring that out.

Beverly shook her head too at the narrative Bruce Greene was weaving....

Nelson smiled.. He knew that when it came time for proof, evidence...Bruce Greene was going to come up short.

Josie smiled..She knew what we had planned..

So did Bresha.

Bruce Greene didn't like the smug confident looks on our faces.  For the next two days, He argued without the jury present to block our subpoened witnesses from testifying, arguing that Sam McCardle and his sex life and escapades are not on trial here... 

 

Olivia and Beverly argued that this all went to motive and was an example of describing the atmosphere in the office.,

Nelson , Josie and Bresha  used predicates, past trial decisions  and laws to bolster their argument....

After one day of observation, Judge Julie Wong ruled in favor of Olivia and Beverly and their team...

Bruce Greene was livid at the decision and argued bitterly after the decision was made....His arguments

after the decision came very closely to landing him a night in the "Cooler."

The trial went on......

Beverly, Nelson and Olivia  challenged him on evidence , proof...

The Gun had no fingerprints or DNA on it...was not registered to Crickett, or anybody...It was a common street gun....And anybody could have planted it there they argued...  

Bruce Green called three witnesses....

Josie eviscerated all three of them , noting that two of them had perjured themselves in other trials.

and the third one hadn't seen or heard anything personally...

Bruce Greene's anger got the best of him...He jumped up and down and tossed his suit jacket up in the air...

All of his objections were challenged and shot down by Bresha...

This incensed Bruce Greene....We had destroyed his entire argument and hadn't presented a defense yet...

Lt. Tragg shook his head... To him, we had once again used every single legal trick and loophole in the book to get our way...

ADA Bruce Greene's histrionics made him a laughing stock to most of the jury and also made his arguments a little suspect...

Bruce Greene ended his argument,closing, asking the jury to find Crickett guilty of Manslaughter, Second Degree Murder or First Degree Murder .....not quite convincing the jury and he knew it...He didn't seem to have presented a motive as to why she would have killed Sam McCardle...It was quite obvious ,she was benefitting from having sex with him.

"Mrs. Bennett-Alexander, It is Wednesday...... Court will be in recess tomorrow.   I assume that Friday you'll be prepared to present your defense..." said Judge Julie Wong.

"Yes Your Honor...We have our defense planned...We will be ready on Friday." said Olivia.

THURSDAY NIGHT-CURLEY'S BAR-COUPLES NIGHT

"What a week huh?  I was in and out of court and conference rooms, both in our building and elsewhere..I'm exhausted."said Jazzy...
 

"Same here babe..I wish we were going to the beach Saturday...."said Dabnis..

"Liv was going to suggest that, but they're preparing for their defense on Friday and possibly Monday..."said Kayla.

"I'm just happy to be out of court....This was a hectic week." said Ray...

"I'm going to drop by Liv's house and ask if she needs any help on this case." said Jessica, who loved us and Yvette's team.

"Well if you do...You know I will also." said her husband, Chip.

"This was a big week for us too...We won our 401st case, since I took over this unit." said Karen...

"I know....You guys worked hard on that last case."said her husband, B.L.

"Phew, what a week this has been...All of us in court."said Natalie.

"Yeah...I'm just glad we pulled that case out."said David.

"Me too!"said Brooke.

"Next case, I'll help you guys out...It's been awhile since the four of us worked together." said her husband, Sean.

" I was in and out of court and conference rooms, both in our building and elsewhere..I'm exhausted."said Zoey....

"Yes...we all have been busy....This would have been a great weekend to go back to the beach.." said Lem..."But Liv and her gang are in court...I perfectly understand." he said.

"I've been in court this week...They have done excellent in weakening Bruce Greene's case..."said Renee.

''And from what you told me, his histrionics aren't helping him."said her husband, Tyrell.

"I was in court too...Olivia and her team were giving a masterclass." said Nina Rios.

"I saw it some days too!  ADA Bruce Greene was helping them out with his shenanigans...I thought the judge was going to jail him." laughed Carlos.

Cricket was out with us tonight...She laughed... "He was acting like a fool...but he weaves a good story, he can be very persuasive...despite the dramatics..." she said.  Respecting the man who was trying to put her away for life.

"He's an ass.......Olivia and her team,humiliated him....His case was weak as hell." said Elaine Young.

"I agree, I was there some days too...Olivia ,you guys did a good job!"said Judge Charlotte Peterson..."If I was Judge Wong I would have thrown Greene in the cooler the way he was acting." she said.

"Oh she was very close at one point...but I didn't want her to....We've already spent two or three days with oral arguments without the jury and now this trial has already taken longer than it should have...I'm thinking about the jury...We are going into week two." said Olivia.

 

"It's been entertaining to say the least....but our defense is going to be even more entertaining.." I said.

"Boy is it... just wait...You're going to see a show." said Beverly, smiling.

"Lots of sex.." said Nelson....

"That's what people like, sex and murder." said Josie.

"The jury will pay attention  , I can guarantee it..."said Paris.. 

"Because of the sex angle? Hahahahahahahahahaha?" laughed Bresha.

Her husband gazed at her sexy figure and smiled..

"Sex sells.." said Alfreda.

"Indeed."said Rockland.

 "I'm wishing you luck Olivia....Relax this weekend... I think we all need to just relax this weekend.." said Yvette.

"Thank you Vettie...I wish this was over...and it would have been if it wasn't for Bruce Greene and his oral arguments trying to block our witnesses.." said Olivia..hugging Yvette, one of her closest friends.

"He wanted to win this case badly...He's eying a run for D.A. in the fall...and he needs to win big cases."laughed Yvette's husband, Gary.

" Beat him good...I'd hate to see Bruce Greene as D.A." said Keith Jones.

"Me too! He's a sexist creep!" said Bee Bee.

"He is and he won't take no for an answer...Renee told me he asked her on a date just a few days ago...forgetting that she's married." said Sofia.

"WHATTTTTTTTTTTT?" asked Kahlil..."A DATE?" he said.

"Yeah, he wanted me to have lunch with him to talk about OUR RELATIONSHIP!!!...It's like he can't get behind the concept of me being married." laughed Renee.

"I should have been with you...I'd of reminded him."said her husband, Tyrell who despised Bruce Greene.

"Don't waste energy on him...He's in here...." said Jade.

"Yeah....he's looking over here...Ignore him." said Danny Ho.

"First Lt. Tragg...Now Bruce Greene." sighed Virginia.

"Yeah...they all come in here." said Jetty.

Bruce Greene sat a few tables over from where we all were drinking a cold beer...He felt fatigued and beat up after his tussle with Olivia and her crew....He was angry, he felt the judge was against him and favored them....

He peered at Renee.....laughing and talking to Olivia and company , and with that "husband " of hers...

 

It made him sick.....

He peered at Lt. Tragg and Judge Kelly Ann Mercer over in a dark corner.. kissing passionately, not a care in the world..  That should be him and Renee, he thought.

"OHHHHHHHHH KELLY ANNN, YOU ARE DRIVIN ME CRAZY!" moaned Lt. Tragg...

"MY HORNY HORNY BOYFRIEND!" she chuckled in between more kisses...

I

III-

MONDAY MORNING-COURTROOM B- 10:00 AM

It was the second week of our trial and the beginning of our defense.

Olivia called two of the attorneys we had subpoenaed....

Beverly called another two attorneys we had subpoenaed

and Nelson called two other employees, the office manager and a female investigator...

These women had a lot to say and they wanted to unload....They talked long and hard about the horror of working for Sam McCardle...

The unwanted touches....The unwanted kisses, the threats of losing one's job if one didn't submit sexually to him...

All but one of the women admitted to sleeping with him.... All of them got a boost in salary and one of his glass dogs.

Each time they slept with him.....

ADA Bruce Greene protested largely....saying again that Sam McCardle's sexual escapades had nothing to do with his murder....

Olivia called Cynthia "Crickett" Redding to the stand.

Crickett admitted that she had had sex with Sam McCardle from the time she started working there...and that he paid her final year of Law school because she was having sex with him...and that her promotion to Senior Associate Attorney was because of that...unlike the other women who testified...She didn't mind having sex with him occassionally and she liked him...She said she had no reason to kill him and that she didn't kill him....that she had never seen that gun before in her life and was out to lunch the day the police found that gun in her drawer...

Bruce Greene went at her hard...Trying to get her to break....but we prepared her well..

Jasmine "Jazzy"Coley

Natalie Charles

And Brooke Marks

All Former Assistant District Attorneys went at Crickett hard, bringing her to tears to get her ready for what Bruce Greene would try to do with her on the stand...

Virginia Shaw -Dukes, a disbarred Attorney and our friend as well as Yvette's Office Manager also helped out...

Crickett stood her ground with poise and did not break...

This frustrated Bruce Greene to no end....He stomped his foot and kicked the table...

Olivia and Josie called Elaine Young who testified about the atmosphere just two days before Sam McCardle's murder.....

"We had just finished a major litigation...A Multi million dollar litigation.....

And at our conference room downtown in Liberty Place..

All of the lawyers had just cleared out of the conference room after a successful litigation 

All except Attorney and Partner, Sam McCardle.

and me......

"Elaine...Elaine...Don't go....Remember what we talked about said Sam McCardle grabbing me and pulling me to him... His hot breath on my face...

''About me going out with you for drinks and then uh coming over my loft for coffee and uh I told you that wouldn't look right... I" said. I hadn't been working for the firm that long.

He slowly opened my blouse...He marveled at my pretty bra...

"Ummmmm let's be adults here, you KNOW I'm not talking about coming over for some damn coffee, you know what I'm talking about.." he said, almost moaning... He held me in a vice grip...

"MISTER McCARDLE PLEASE!! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!!! I'M NOT INTERESTED IN YOU IN THAT WAY....I JUST WANT TO DO A GOOD JOB!!" I  pleaded..

"UMMMMMMMMMMM AND YOU HAVE BEEN DOING A GOOD JOB!! A DAMN GOOD JOB!!" he said ,hemming her up against the wall and kissing me passionately...."Now I want you to do a job on me." he said, laughing...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....AWWWWWWWWW...I'M ABOUT TO BLOW MY LOAD!" he moaned...

As he hiked my skirt up and attempted to slip my panties down.... I pushed his hands away....

"PLEASE ...PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!!! Don't pull my panties down...not in here!" I begged...

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...GEEEEEEEZ!" he moaned... He was ejaculating in his trousers....

He breathed heavily....

"Alright...okay.." he said releasing me... "You've come here and made Senior Associate very quickly....Remember Serita?  and think about Jane.... Serita James made Partner in a month and Jane Halsley has come here after you and she has made partner before you....You think about that....because you might not even have a job to come to...." said Sam McCardle..breathing heavily and walking out the door...His trousers soiled.

I  sighed releif....That was the close....That was the third time he'd tried to get her....and the closest he came to it...Nothing about the man attracted me in a sexual way...I found him disgusting...Plus he was my boss...I wouldn't feel right sleeping with him....Serita James, another attorney who started around the time I did had slept with him and had made partner the next week people said... but after a month, she had left the law firm and Philadelphia for parts unknown... She knew she couldn't stay here much longer either... The money was so good...and I'd miss it....but  I knew I'd better put some feelers out and see if I could get another job and soon..." said Elaine.  "The next day I was given a notice that my services would no longer be needed...." said Elaine.

The jury was astounded...

ADA Bruce Greene tossed his suit jacket up in the air....

"ARE WE FORGETTING THAT SAM MCCARDLE IS THE VICTIM HERE?  HE IS NOT ON TRIAL...." he screamed..

"KEEP UP WITH THESE OUTBURSTS AND I'M GOING TO HAVE YOU REMOVED COUNSELOR! THIS IS A COURT OF LAW....NOT A CIRCUS!" said Judge Wong.

We didn't subpoena Serita James, but she sent us a copy of the video she made of Sam McCardle in action....

"This was filmed just a month before his death....Further proof that his law firm, the women of his law firm was his personal harem...."said Bresha..

She directed the court's attention to the 75 inch monitor-

....

"Well Alrighttttt."  he said.

"Here ? In your Office?."  asked Serita James.

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM  Yes....where else? he moaned as they kissed..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU MISTER MCCARDLE YOU'RE FRESH!" Serita nervously giggled.

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM  HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" he moaned..

"MISTER MCCARDLE, YOU'RE SO HARRRRD!" she laughed.

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" he said as he slipped my panties down..

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMM I LIKE THESE PANTIES! Can I keep them as a souvenir?" he said,laughing slyly....

"No you may not!" she said.

He laughed..

He locked the door, dimmed the lights and pulled the shades...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MISTER MCARDLE, PUT IT IN, PUT IT ALL IN...OUUUUUUUUU!" she moaned..

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" he said as we fell on his couch.....Clothes strewn all over the floor....

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU MISTER MCCARDLE!! OUUUUUUUUUU!" I moaned....

As we both retreated to his rather large couch and made sweet love the rest of the day.....

He had asked that he not be disturbed....Everybody knew what that meant...His shades were drawn, the door was locked and the lights were dimmed..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH GODDDDDDDDD!" he cried out...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"  I cooed...

He said I  was so soft, so wet....smelled so good , that he was nearly losing his mind...He couldn't get enough of me......

Actually, it wasn't so bad..I found I  was actually having an intense orgasm...my body trembling fiercely, my head turning from side to side and  actually crying a little bit...

As we continued to make sweet love....It was about like for EIGHT TO NINE HOURS!

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  MY GODDDDDDDDD!AWWWWWWWW LAWWWD! SERITA YOU ARE THE BEST!! THE BEST I'VE EVER HAD!" he cried out...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! MISTER McCARDLE!!! UMMMMMMM" I  cooed...

I left his office carrying one of his glass dogs...I applied my lipstick, Straightened out my clothing and my hair and swiftly exited...

He was sleeping soundly on the couch...Naked..I  looked at him and giggled.. I knew this was not going to happen again...I was not going to be his whore... 

Jane Halsley sat in court listening to all of the testimonies and watching the film footage... She was sick..She planned to fire all four of the attorneys who had testified and the office manager and the investigator as well....She had warned them all about "besmirching Mr. McCardle's name." she was just sick at seeing evidence of his debauchery..

The Jury was titilated.. Olivia called her to the stand next..

"Ms. Halsley you like all of the other women knew about Sam McCardle's proclivities, didn't you? " asked Olivia.

"I know of none of this...Mr. McCardle always treated me like a professional." she said defiantly.

"You're under oath....Perjury carries up to four years incarceration and possible disbarment..."said Beverly.

Jane Halsley really didn't like Beverly...She found her annoying.

"I've got a cleaning lady who will testify that you left a pair of your panties in the office the night before the murder....She said she knew they were yours because you had been in his office for close to nine hours, the door was closed , the shades were closed and the door was locked..She couldn't get in to clean.

She saw them sometime later when she came in and emptied the waste baskets."said Nelson.

"My client will testify that she saw your panties on the floor when she came to the office a few hours after you left.. She and Mr. McCardle were making love on the couch....He was quite a stud...Two in one day....I think at sometime you realized you had left your panties and you came back for them....Only to see Mr. McCardle and my client humping on the couch....Isn't that right Ms. Halsley?" asked Olivia.

"ALRIGHT!! ALRIGHT!!! I WAS SLEEPING WITH HIM....HE WAS A MALE WHORE!" she screamed angrilly...."BUT I DIDN'T KILL HIM!" she said.

"I think you did and I can prove it!" said Olivia..

Beverly produced a torn condom wrapper....

"That room was sanitized good...No prints, no DNA, not even Sam McCardle's...and no loaded condom ,which would have had plenty of DNA....but you forgot this...A Condom wrapper found by detectives in the waste basket...It had one smudge on it...A fingerprint....You opened it for him didn't you?" asked Beverly...

"And the gun you placed in my client's desk drawer.....You were good, but a litttle sloppy, you left your fingerprint on the outside of the drawer and it's a match for the fingerprint on this condom wrapper.."said Nelson.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THEY ARE MINE.? YOU DON'T HAVE MY PRINTS! I'M NOT ON ANY FILES...I HAVE NO CRIMINAL RECORD!" she screamed.

"But you do have Civil Service Records....You were once an Assistant District Attorney in Montgomery County...Your Prints are still on file there."said Bresha.

I presented her Civil Service File.

"I refuse to answer any further questions without counsel present." said Jane defiantly and with tears welling up in her eyes.

"You know Jane...You're a smart girl...I admire you...Really, I do... You've been a high achiever all your life...You could've went to any law firm in this city and risen to the top...Maybe not as fast as you rose here..but you would've been a star....Your ambition was remarkable....but somewhere you went wrong...somewhere you thought you could use your body, sell your dignity for a position, for a few dollars more and somehow you thought this man valued you more than all of the other women in his shop...That's also where you went wrong..I feel so sorry for you. Your Ambition was Fatal...A Fatal Ambition.  The Defense rests your honor." said Olivia.

Bruce Greene looked at Lt. Tragg with exasperation..

"YOU BONE HEAD......IF YOU HAD OF BEEN DOING YOUR JOB INSTEAD OF BONING THE JUDGE, YOU MIGHT HAVE DISCOVERED THE PRINTS....THEN AGAIN, MAYBE YOU WOULDN'T HAVE." he said.

"MUZZLE IT BUDDY! MUZZLE IT!" said Lt. Tragg. 

We all walked out of court past them both.. The decision rested with the jury now.

"Come on guys...We are done here."said Olivia.

''You guys were great!" said Crickett, who looked hopeful..

"Well, we'll know for sure tomorrow." I said.

"We knocked this one out of the park...Bruce Greene had nothing." said Beverly.

"He certainly lost the jury with his histrionics and courtroom antics."said Nelson.

"He's worst than a child...Throwing his suit jacket up in the air and kicking the table."said Josie.

"I thought the Judge was going to throw him into the cooler..." said Bresha.

|"Hey Guys, you all did a great job...Come on...Your breakfasts are on me."said Elaine.

IV-

THE NEXT DAY-COURTROOM B- 9:00 AM

"ALL RISE FOR THE HONORABLE JUDGE JULIE WONG!" said the Bailiff.

Bruce Greene stood stoically...

Lt. Tragg was surprisingly not here today...He didn't really need to be, but that had never stopped him before.

 Crickett stood with us, nervous...Her whole future in our hands...She was a recently graduated law student, had just passed the bar and been sworn in as an attorney...had not tried a case yet and was in danger of losing it all, of going to prison for the rest of her life.

 Olivia held her hand.....

I stood next to Olivia with one of my arms around her waste...

Beverly and Nelson held hands..

Josie stood next to Bresha, expressionless..

And Bresha stood ,looking hopeful...She was always hopeful.

"Has the jury come to a decision?" asked Judge Wong.

"We have your honor.."said the Jury foreman. He passed the envelope with their unanimous decision to the bailiff, who passed it to Judge Wong.. She read it without making an expression and passed it to the bailiff.

"Read it!" she said.

"WE THE JURY IN THE MATTER OF COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA VS. CYNTHIA REDDING on COUNT THREE-MANSLAUGHTER- WE FIND THE DEFENDENT- NOT GUILTY!

ON COUNT TWO, 2nd Degree MURDER, WE FIND THE DEFENDENT, NOT GUILTY ,ON THE CHARGE OF USING AND INSTRUMENT OF VIOLENCE TO COMMIT A CRIME, WE FIND THE DEFENDENT, NOT GUILTY!! AND ON THE MOST SERIOUS CHARGE- 1st DEGREE MURDER, WE FIND THE DEFENDENT, NOT GUILTY!!"he said.

"Thank you jurors for your attention to detail in this matter...You may leave through the center doors...Your checks will be mailed to you." said The Judge... "Court is dismissed." she said.

"Oh Thank you...Thank you all soooo much.." said Crickett.

"You're so welcome." said Olivia.

 

"And don't worry, Our fee was paid by the Women's Law Center..." I said.

"I want you to come and work for us...You'll learn how to be an Attorney and you won't have to sleep with anybody to get a position..." said Elaine.

"Oh Thank you...Thank You....I figured Jane Halsley wouldn't be hiring me back there after all of this."said Crickett.  She was right.

Olivia and Beverly leaped into the air and high fived each other, shouting..

"WOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" as was their custom after a victory...

Nelson clapped... He was happy to be on the winning team..

"I would hope someone is springing for breakfast this morning, I'm Famished." she laughed.

"I got'cha Big Sis.." said Bresha, who considered Josie and Beverly her big sisters...

Elaine heard Josie... "Come on.. Everybody's Breakfast is on me..." she said.

We all laughed and followed her out of the courthouse..

"I'm taking some vacation days and go down the shore...Get my head together...I need a break from this." said Bruce Greene as he walked out of the courthouse...

EPILOUGE-

Jane  Halsley left the trial totally humilated and convinced that she would be indicted for the murder of 

Samuel McCardle in a matter of days....whether that was true or not, no one will ever know.. She was found dead in her condo, the day after the trial of an apparent self inflicted gunshot wound.....

"Cause of death appears to be one gun shot wound to the head..."said a crime scene forensic investigator as a detective snapped photos of the body...

Dr. Hazel Baylor felt the body and then the pulse...

"The Body is still warm... I'd say she's been dead no more than 90 minutes....Two hours tops." she said.

"Right around the time...people said they heard what sounded like a single gunshot..."said Dr. Marcy Templeton..

"This broad was a witness in a murder trial I was just involved in....It kinda looked like she killed former Judge Sam McCardle...I guess the guilt was too much for her...She stood to lose everything she had worked for...Guess it was too much for her." said a somber Lt. Tragg..."Okay, get her out of here." he said.

Her body was put in a white body bag and strapped to a gurney and rolled out on it's way to the morgue..

Our friend and client, Rollie Rollerson allowed us to use his private pool for a private pool party Saturday.

It wasn't the beach, but it was the summer respite we all needed...

We had Burgers and dogs on a grill...

and a seafood boil on the other grill...

There was plenty of beers to go along with the food.

"Rollie is an angel..He couldn't be here today...but he gave me the keys to this place and told me to invite my friends....So I did." said Olivia.

"And speaking for everybody, we love you and him for this..." I said.

Everybody had enjoyed the pool today...laughing and swimming... It was mid afternoon and now people were out of the pool and ready to eat....Gary, Rockland, Jetty and I had not gotten into the waters...We had set up the grills and had the meats and seafood cooking..  

"We really needed this break...It feels so nice out here...Perfect day..." said Beverly..

"It sure does feel good." said Nelson.

Josie smiled.. "You like this dress babe?" she asked.

"I sure do..I love who's inside of it too!  LAWDDD!" said Paris, who was practically salivating over his wife.

"Ohhhhhhhh stop itttt!"laughed Josie...who loved that she turned her husband on so much!

Bresha smiled...

"This is so nice.." she said as she and her husband Tony fixed themselves plates...

She sat in Tony's lap and passed him a Hot Dog, while he passed her a Hamburger.

"This is sooooo nice... A Pool party, not too far from our home and cook out.." said Alfreda.

"It's what good summers are made of." said Rockland.

As he poured himself some Ice Tea.

We had a table with Pork and Beans, Cole slaw,Creamy Pasta salad and Tacos as well.Beverly, Olivia, Josie, Renee and Alfreda had prepared the Pork and Beans, Creamy Pasta Salad and Cole Slaw the night before and Sofia and Jessica had prepared the Tacos.....

"Mmmmmmm Tacos....."said Nina Rios, our special guests...

"And The Meats smell good." said her boyfriend, Carlos Ortiz.

Jazzy was there with her hair blown out...She was turning heads, of people who knew her...and especially of her husband..

"Babe you are so hot... I can't even concentrate on eating my damn food...LAWWWWWWD!" said her husband, Dabnis.

"OUUUUUUUUUU HOOOOOO HOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO, TELL ME MORE!" she laughed.

She was grateful to Beverly for doing her hair last night.

"Thank you baby!" said Kayla to her husband, for making her a plate.

"Thank youuuu for looking so damn good." said Ray, who couldn't take his eyes off of Kayla.

"Ouuu flattery will get you everywhere you want to go!"laughed Kayla alluringly...

Jessica  made her and her husband a plate of food ....

"Here Papi" she said as they sat by the pool and enjoyed their food.

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmm thank you baby." said Chip, who couldn't take his eyes off of his wife, Jessica.

Karen Page was also looking quite yummy....She and B.L. sat together laughing talking and eating.

"This pool party was just what the doctor ordered." he said.

Natalie was sitting on her husband's lap....Happy to have a husband, Happy to be with so many friends.

David was holding her gently....They had already eaten....

Brooke looked around at all of her new friends....They were  all Black  or Latino or Asian....Only Karen and B.L. were White like her...but she never felt safer, more accepted ,more loved than she did with these people.

Her husband Sean felt the same way.. Loved, accepted and not judged for being married to a white girl, this was their safe space.

Zoey made her third plate of food and opened her third beer....

"You're gonna sleep good tonight...between the water and the food.."laughed her husband, Lem.

"Stop staring at me like you want to rip my clothes off."laughed Renee,munching on a Taco.

"I do want to rip your clothes off."laughed her husband, Tyrell.

"Gotta wait until you get home for that." joked Yvette, who overheard their conversation.

"Rollie Rollerson is a great client to have. He hooks Olivia and Beverly up." said Gary.

"I'll say...this was great...A Pool Party and Cook Out." said Keith Jones.

"We couldn't get down to the beach, but this will do." said Bee Bee.

"I heard that that girl in Olivia's case....The one who was running the law firm was found dead yesterday, a suicide." said Sofia.

"Yeah, she killed herself , rather than be indicted and convicted." said Kahlil.

"Such a shame...She had her whole life ahead of her."said Jade.

"No she didn't...She threw it away." said  Danny Ho.

"She'd of been convicted, disbarred and sent to prison for the rest of her life." said Virginia, who knew.

"That's what happens when you let ambition get ahead of you. It becomes a fatal ambition." said Virginia, knowingly.

Jetty nodded somberly...

We all enjoyed the rest of the day around the pool.