VENTURES: December 2024

We were finishing up the breakfast dishes...

Dr. Hector Sosa was helping with the dishes...

"Thank you for helping with the dishes, but you didn't have to do this...You're our guest...Our Client."said Alfreda.

"It's the least I can do...You guys are my legal team the only thing that stands between me and the little green room at Greene State Prison." he said..

That was the room at Greene State Prison where condemned prisoners were given the lethal injection that ended their lives...

"Don't think like that...Think positive..."said Olivia, who was also helping with the dishes...

He thought Olivia was so humble...Here she was a celebrated Attorney and yet she didn't mind washing and drying dishes with her Office Manager/Cook- Alfreda.. He loved it...

"My contact at police headquarters told me that they have found the murder weapon...a pistol with a homemade silencer....It was found in the sewer,.,,No prints, No DNA and the serial number scraped off...It appears to be a common street gun, but no proof of ownership." I said.

"They found it three days after the fact.......Our client was in jail two of those days....and with us the next day,so he couldn't have put it there....And they have no way to prove ownership....That gun is a moot point." said Olivia.

I smiled.

"See how her mind works? You got nothin to worry about Hector...Alright...I'm going out on the street, Bye Olivia." I said.

"Byyyyyyyye" she said softly...

and we kissed as I left out for the day.

Olivia's "Girls" Beverly, Josie and Bresha were in the adjacent building.. Their law library... Studying The Autopsy Report, Witness Statements as well as laws pertaining to this case...Predicates and like laws they might have to go to.... All with the aid of laptops, tablets and their phones...

This was the boring drudgery that good lawyers had to go through when preparing a case...The part the public didn't see on television...Their goal being , not to be surprised by anything. They seldom were.

In the room right next to them...Nelson was busy looking at the current Juror pool...Studying their age, their background , how they voted, their education, the works.. He wanted to pick the best team possible for this case..

I was on the street searching for the missing D.J. Gilberto Salizar...

Dr. Sosa smiled. His lawyer had picked a very good team to assist her in his defense...

His Attorney of record, Karla Williams now Richardson, who he had known since they both were students at St. John's University in New York City and now in Philadelphia had gone back to her office in town to work on his case and a few others on her docket...

She then ventured to the Bridge Building ,down the street from where she worked to eat lunch with her new neighbors.

in their spectacular cafeteria ...

"This cafeteria is so fire Jazzy....So Much food and it's all good." said Karla.

"I know...I don't cook at home anymore..except maybe some weekends.. We eat all our meals here."said Jazzy..

"Yup, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner....Every Now and then we might venture out somewhere else around here...There is much to choose from."said Dabnis.

"So how is the case coming with my cousins?" asked Kayla.

"Oh My God....I hardly have to do anything...They've got it all covered...but I do get updates from them on the Portal Josie gave me.

And I stop by for Dinner every night and we go over the case and how it's coming in general.." she said.

"Well you picked a good team, Olivia and Beverly to assist you...." said Kayla's husband, Ray...

"Yes you did...and if you guys need any additional help... My husband and I are all too willing to help you."said Jessica.

"That's right." said Chip..

"Awwww you all are too kind...I love living near you guys..." said Karla.

"Yeah, we have a strong and very supportive network here..."said Karen...

"I know we love it..Having either Olivia's team or Yvette's team on either side of us..It's always a secure feeling."said Natalie.

"And Educational too...Olivia runs a university at her place."said David.

"Yesssssssssss, they make it soo much easier for all of us, working those complex cases.."said Brooke.

"I see you eat over here too!" said Karla to Sean , who she knew worked a few blocks away in the Federal Building with her husband.

"Yeah I love the food here...You need to tell your husband to meet you here sometimes...The more the merrier."laughed Sean.

"The other people in this building call us "The Clique" because we all always eat together."said Zoey...

"Well I guess we are a clique..We ride to work together, we all eat together unless one or more of us is in court and we leave to go home together."said Lem..

"Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside."laughed Renee. She and her husband were the newest members of the "clique"

"Yeah, warm and fuzzy"laughed Tyrell.....

Tyrell, Paris and Tony sat quietly eating, not involved in the conversation.

"Hey Lady....Tell Olivia tomorrow if she can spare a moment.. To come with us girls to the shopping center.. Bridget has got some new bras she wants to show off in her store tomorrow night. It's an exhibit.." said Yvette.

"Ouuu Vettie Girl , that sounds like fun....They'll probably want a break.." said Karla.

"Yeah..."laughed Yvette.

"Hey ,we going to the food court tonight for floats?" asked Keith Jones.

"Yeah that's the plan...Sofia and I want to change our clothes, slip on some jeans and Sketchers."said Bee Bee.

"Yeah, get comfortable.."said Sofia.

"Cool, you joining us Jade?" asked Kahlil..

"Yeah,I guess so...Jessica and Chip are going too!"said Jade.

"We are stopping in Josie's for drinks."said Virginia.

"Yeah....This is one of those nights huh?" laughed Jetty...

Just another average day...

II-

I was on the street..As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans for many years, I knew how to track somebody down, and who on the street to ask , who knew everything and everybody...Having lived in Philadelphia for years...I knew who to ask about damn near anything...I even knew people who would talk to me, but not the police.

It worked this time because between good old fashioned police work and pinging the cell phone towers to trace him, I located Gilberto Salizar.

He was in a bar in Northern Liberties...A Hipster joint much like the No I.D. Bar that we hung out in on the weekends...

Gilberto Salizar sat at the bar ordering one beer after another..

"You're a hard guy to find Gilberto..." I said.

"Who the hell are you?" he said..

"I need to ask you about Carmelita...Mrs. Carmelita Sosa...You called her...You were the last person she talked to...She went to meet you and she wound up dead...What have you got to say about that?" I asked.

"You a cop?" he asked.

"No! I'm a private investigator....I'm working for the attorneys who ae defending her husband, Hector Sosa...who we believed was falsely accused of her murder..." I said.

"Well it wasn't me....I was at the movies the night she died and I got a movie stub to prove it and eyeball witnesses...and I got a lawyer too! He says...You know what he says? He says I don't have to answer no questions." snarled Gilberto Salizer..

"Well...you can answer them in court ." I said and I slapped a subpoena in his hands.

The smirk on his face left and was replaced by red hot hatred and anger...

"You have a nice night...and uh go easy on the beer, especially if you're driving." I said with a smile and I got up and left..

I went home and reported to Olivia, Beverly, Nelson and the rest my findings....

We all sat in the conference room.

"I found Gilberto Salizar....He's a cocky little devil...He was in a bar, not far from where he lives...He says he has an alibi...He was at the Movies the night of the murder and he had a ticket stub...Not only that..He's already lawyered up." I said.

"Now that seems strange...Why would he lawyer up?" asked Olivia.

"Because his alibi doesn't quite add up...He was indeed at the movies and he has a ticket stub and witnesses..He even shows up on the camera inside the movies...But that movie let out at 9:45 pm..His call to Carmelita was at 11:00 pm and Carmelita was killed at 11:45 pm.. He doesn't know that we have a record of her phone calls and HIS as well and the police probably do too!" I said,

"We ought to make Lt. Tragg aware of this." said Beverly.

"He won't listen to us..You know how he gets when he gets a full head of steam about something."said Nelson.

Josie laughed.. "Well maybe we can make the ADA aware....."she said,.

"Who is the ADA on this case anyway?" asked Bresha,

"I don't know...but I can find out tomorrow..." said Karla.

"That'll be very much appreciated.." said Olivia.

III-

LADY CHATTERLIES LOVER, PANTIES AND BRAS FOR THE DISCRIMINATING WOMAN- The Next Afternoon!

An unusual day after work.. All of the women were assembled in Bridget Jones's store....

To see a display of new bras...

It was a nice break for Olivia and the girls..

"Ouuuuuuu what a nice display!" said Olivia....

"This is the first time I've ever been to an event like this."said Beverly...

"Thank you for inviting me to this...Do they always have events like this in this Shopping Mall?" asked Karla.

"To my knowledge , this is a first..." said Josie.

"Just a nice little girls bonding and shopping event.."said Bresha.

"This is the first such event like this I've ever been to." said Alfreda.

Yvette and her girls attended.

"Wowwww...I think I may even buy a few pieces tonight."said Yvette.

"Yeah me too! I know our husbands will be happy."said Bee Bee.

"Yeah, they thought this event was a joke." said Sofia.

"Yeah because we didn't include them....They could have come...Look at Judge Kelly Ann over there.. Lt. Tragg is here with her.."said Jade..

And sure enough, Judge Kelly Ann Mercer was here and Lt. Tragg was with her..making him the only male here.

He didn't bother any of us...He was just so enthralled with Kelly Ann.. He didn't seem to mind being the only man at this exhibit amongst all of these women...

"My God..that man is a walking definition of WHIPPED.......He's like her shadow.." exclaimed Virginia.

"I know....She's got him under a spell." said Jazzy...

"Well he's been in no brawls...Hasn't been arrested and tossed in the cooler in months or sent on the Marine Boat...I'd say she's improved his life."said Kayla,laughing.

"We've all improved our men's lives.."said Natalie.

"I'd say...but I'm glad our guys allow us to breathe ,like tonight....and to reward my man...I'm buying some of these bras..."said Brooke.

"So am I...Some panties too!" said Jessica.

"Same here." said Renee.

"Way ahead of you.."said Zoey, who had already picked up a few things.

and Karen, who was looking over some things herself.

Judge Charlotte Peterson and Attorney Elaine Young were also in attendance.

"This is nice...I've never been to anything like this." said Charlotte.

"I'm going to buy some things....Hopefully I'll have somebody to show them off too soon." said Elaine Young.

The Guys were all at Eric Becker's loft on the other side of the shopping center for a night of cards and Beers...

"Enjoy Guys...Happy to have you all over...."said Eric Becker, the new Assistant States Attorney

Several games of Pinocle and Poker was going on...

There was delicious hot links to eat...

and plenty of beer...

"I hope the girls are having as much fun as we are." I said.

"Yeah me too!...This is a nice break..I told Hector he should come with us...but he chose to stay in the basement apartment."said Nelson..

"Well you know, Lt. Tragg is always over here....being that Judge Kelly Ann lives here....He probably didn't want to risk running into him."said Paris.

"No Need to worry about that....I saw Lt. Tragg in the shopping center with Kelly Ann when I dropped Bresha off..He's over there with them." said Tony.

"Talk about whipped....He's probably up to his neck in bras and panties right about now..."said Tyrell..

"When you think about it...That's not such a bad predicament to be in." said Gary...

The whole room erupted in laughter.....

"Pass me one of them hot links.." said Keith Jones...

"Here you go....You'd better grab a beer...Those things are hot."said Kahlil.

"Yes they are...but they are delicious."said Rockland.

"Indeed they are....There is a meat store in that shopping center.. I have to pick some of these up." said Lem..

"Deal me in." said Ray....

"I'm sure glad we don't play for money."laughed Dabnis.

"I know....Some of us would lose our shirts."laughed David.

"I hear both Olivia and Beverly are excellent Poker Players." said Sean.

"They are....I 've seen them in action... I heard they went down to Chinatown, Eddie Lee's joint and cleaned the joint out."laughed Chip...

"They did once...but it's not like they go every week or something." said Nelson.

"Heyyyyyy Jetty's got wine." said B.L.

"But of course....crack that bottle Jetty."laughed Tony Richardson....

Jetty as always was dependable to provide a well chilled port.

which he poured...

Hector however was at our place, in the sub-basement apartment,

alone lying in the bed in the dark...

He was thinking about his last night with his wife, Carmelita...

She was so sexy....He was obsessed with her almost and the thought of her cheating on him with another man drove him nearly insane..

"OUuuuuuuu papiiiii...ummmmmmmmmmmm" she moaned..

"AWWWWWWWWWWWW CARMELITA, I'm going crazzzy!!" he moaned as they shared a sweet kiss...

They were devouring each other's lips.....

and slowly undressing each other...

Hard to believe she could be so passionate with him and be passionate with another man too!

Just who was she really?

He removed her bra

and her sexy panties...

and he lifted her up and entered her slowly...She was soo wet and her skin was so soft....Her head turned from side to side...and tears began to roll down her cheeks..

"AYE MIOS DIOS PAPI"she cried out...

He sat her on the dresser drawer ,parted her legs and began to move deep inside of her...She was experiencing an intense orgasm...

One that continued as he ;laid her across the bed, spread her legs again and entered her...

"AYEEEEE MIOS DIOS PAPI!!.. AYYYE PAPI!" she cried out.....

"AWWWWWWWWWWW....OHHHHHHHHH CARMELITA, I LOVE YOU!" he said.

"AND I....................love you." she said...so non-committal....

They made sweet love for EIGHT TO NINE HOURS!!

He was exhausted....He thought she was too! He had no idea she was pregnant, four weeks gone....He dozed off to sleep for a minute...

He heard her get up...

He heard the shower and heard her getting up...Getting dressed...

He heard her on the phone, whispering in Spanish....

"I must see you tonight...Only for a few minutes...We have to talk..about what I told you the other day...What am I going to do about this? You can't treat me like this.. You can't just throw me off for another woman like this, not after what we did together...I am going to her house..I know where she lives and tell her about us..Tell her that I am carrying your baby!"

She left...

He got up...He hurriedly dressed and he followed her.

He was in an area of the city ,he was unfamilliar with....

He heard two gunshots....Saw the flash from the muzzle....but did not see the shooter...He did however see his wife fall to the ground....and he decided to do the only sensible thing, considering the situation..

Get the hell out of dodge!!

Which brings him to tonight...Alone in the sub-basement of his attorney's home... On bail for murder..

IV-

The Next Morning-

We all sat with Hector and Karla at our conference room table and discussed trial strategy up to this point and other things... We had a meeting like this at the end of every week..

"Hector I don't know if this will ease your mind or not....but we found out some additional information that we didn't get to talk with you about yesterday, because you were in the sub-basement and we were all going out." said Olivia.

"Your wife was indeed carrying on an affair with Gilberto Salizar... The people at Aqua Bar confirmed as much." I said, hanging my head...No man wants to hear that.."And she was pregnant, four weeks gone." I said.

"The good news is...If there ever is any good news in a situation like this...Is that it WAS YOUR BABY!" said Beverly....

"DNA records we got from the Medical Examiners Office confirmed it! She was Pregnant with your baby and not his...I don't know if she knew just who the father was." said Nelson..

"I think she may have thought it was Gilberto's baby."said Olivia.

"We also know that Gilberto was involved with another young lady....We don't know her identity as of yet, but we are working on it...I think Gilberto was throwing Carmelita over for this other woman..."said Josie.

"It explains the late night phone call and her leaving so suddenly..."said Bresha.

"The Funny thing is...Gilberto doesn't live in those lofts that she was going to....He lives in Northern Liberties.." said Hector...I followed him home...I don't know what she was doing there."said Hector..

"The other woman! The other woman must live there and Carmelita was going to tell that other woman about her and Gilberto..."I said.

"Yeah, that makes sense..."said Beverly...

"Which tells me who our killer might be.... His motivation at least.." said Karla....

"As my husband says...We don't have to prove who did it...We just have to prove Hector didn't do it..

His hands were tested and there were no powder burns...They don't have the murder weapon...and outside of him just being on the scene...They have nothing."said Olivia.

Alfreda rubbed his back...

"It's gonna be alright." she whispered softly...

Hector managed a smile..

"Oh and I found out who we'll be facing....Assistant District Attorney Lance Roderick..."said Karla.

"We know him Niecey Poo...We've faced him before...Years ago...We beat him. Remember?" said Olivia.

"Yeah....I remember...The Singletary Case...." said Beverly ,laughing...

"Wasn't he a States Attorney then..?" I said, remembering him...

"Yes he was and the Judge was our old friend.. H.Stanley Stanlison..." said Olivia.

"Both of them were driven from their lofty perches by scandals which they both barely escaped unsinged...H.Stanley Stanlison is an Attorney in private practice...and it looks like Lance Roderick is an Assistant District Attorney, a far cry from his days as States Attorney.." said Olivia.