Reckoning

 COURTROOM C-

I sat in the courtroom with Private Investigator, Ronald Shylock

he had been waiting for this day for a long time...

The Bailiffs brought him in...Former Judge James Smith, once the lord and master of these courts, once a man who terrorized attorneys...once a man about to get a Federal Judgeship ....but also a soul less sociopath who had murdered four people during his lifetime....He stands convicted of three murders ,which he had tried unsuccessfully to have thrown out or overturned and now today...We were presenting evidence tying him to a 1971 murder....The murder of my wife's uncle...killed before she was born by this man..

I stared at him.... He looked as surly and as full of himself as he had on that very bad day My Wife and her niece had first experienced him in court. It was a Bail Hearing....

 We usually take our clients to Night Court which gives them an easier chance of getting released on their own recognizance or reasonable bail... That wasn't the case with Ronnie Shanahan..

Her personal attorney, our good friend, wanted to get her out of jail as soon as possible. So he got her a hearing that Monday.....

She insisted on this because she didn't want to spend another day locked up...She had been arrested and charged on Friday and it was now Monday.. She had spent the entire weekend locked up...Such was the 

lot and attitude of a privileged princess.   She had been a semi successful rapper at one time and then a podcaster and social media influencer...but her marriage to wealthy Bitcoin entreprenuer , Danny Shanahan had been her real meal ticket and rise to fame and fortune.

So here we were in court facing Assistant District Attorney Matthew Muldoon Jr. , who we had faced before.

and the unusually difficult Judge ,James Wilson....of all people.

He had no love for us....He believed now that we had aided Public defender Adam Clarke

In his successful defense of Accused Murderer, Kathy Elliot. ( Which we did!)

And now here we were with Dexter Braxton , defending Ronnie Shanahan..a young Black Hip hop head accused of murdering her white sugar daddy...

Attorney Dexter Braxton appeared with Olivia, Myself, Beverly, Nelson, Josie and Bresha. in court. 

 

These proceedings usually were smooth, This being only a bail hearing....This was anything but.. It was very contentious...

Muldoon was going for the jugular ,painting Ronnie Shanahan as a flight risk......and asking that she be held either without bail or with a very high bail.

Josie and Bresha presented two charactor witnesses a piece...We couldn't get a fifth one..

 And Dexter Braxton argued brilliantly about his client's character and her lack of a criminal record.

The Judge all but dismissed all three of them... He had a special venom for Olivia, Beverly and Nelson.

He unloaded on those three almost as if it were personal...dismissing every single one of their objections...and talking to the three of them like they were petulant law students or children..

Beverly especially argued with him with a particular venom...

"Young lady I hope you're not making any plans for this afternoon because if you say one more word...just ONE MORE WORD!! I'LL HOLD YOU IN CONTEMPT AND YOU'LL FIND YOURSELF IN THE DAMN COOLER!" he said.

Beverly stared at him angrilly, but she didn't say anything..

"AND GET THAT LOOK OFF OF YOUR FACE...GET IT OFF!" he snarled..

"Neicey Poo, it's alright...Cool it...Go on outside...We'll handle this." said Olivia softly to Beverly, who was so angry, tears were flowing down the side of her face and her legs were shaking..

Tears were flowing down Beverly's face, she was so angry...Olivia hugged her....

"Honey Bun, come on....come on now...Let's walk outside..." said Nelson, walking her out of the courtroom...

"Mrs. Bennett-Alexander, I seriously urge you to teach your niece and all of your staff better courtroom decorum....Do you hear me?" said Judge Wilson...

Olivia stared at him now with blind rage...She wanted to cut him..She said Nothing.

"I SAID DID YOU HEAR ME??" he screamed..

"Respect goes both ways your honor...It's a two way street...You have to show some to get some.. You're a bully you know that?   I heard you...And you're going to HEAR FROM ME in a few days. I HOPE YOU HEARD THAT!!!"said Olivia.

I held her...She was angry and very close to being thrown in the cooler herself.

" ARE YOU THREATENING ME?   ARE YOU THEATENING ME ???WATCH YOURSELF YOUNG LADY!!!  I'M SETTING BAIL AT TWO MILLION DOLLARS!"he said snarkily....

"That's outrageously unfair."protested Olivia.

"Are you serious?" asked Josie.

"You can't be serious." balked Bresha..

Olivia, Josie and Bresha balked at such a high bail....They argued that it was unreasonable..

"I've made my motion and I don't want to hear anymore about it...IS THAT CLEAR??? DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR? YOU ALL HAD BETTER THINK ABOUT YOUR BEHAVIOR TONIGHT ,BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE A LONG TRIAL...I'LL TELL YOU THAT MUCH..." he snarled.

"It's alright...We can pay it. They only want 20 percent.."said Dexter diplomatically..

He signaled the Bail Bondsman, who we brought along just in case...

and Ronnie Shanahan walked out of court, a free woman but with an ankle monitoring bracelet on..

her left ankle...A Parting shot from Judge James Wilson.

Not a good day in court for us...

I stared at him then and I was staring at him now...I don't think he recognized me...but I certainly knew him.. He wasn't so high and mighty now..

He was handcuffed with a chain leading to his feet...He was surrounded by three beefy Baillifs..

A far cry from his high and mighty days on the bench!

''Well Hello James...It's been a long time...Remember me? Detective Shylock....You remember me?

You were what 13, 14....You drowned another little boy because he beat you in the swim competition...You couldn't take losing at anything....Not even marbles....And look at you now...Loom at you...Your Mommy and Daddy paid to have your records sealed and they paid to have people silenced about what they saw and heard......You went to law school and became an attorney and a distinguished Judge... and I got put off the force because I wouldn't leave your case alone...Your Mommy and Daddy's money couldn't keep me silent..Couldn't stop me from digging deeper into what I knew you did.. You murdered that little boy...And maybe James, just maybe if I had stopped you then....Three other people who you went on to murder....Your Wife, Your wife's lover and the guy who helped you discard the bodies..would still be alive today....Today is your final reckoning James.... Today you pay for all of it.."said Ronald Shylock.

He didn't say a word back...He looked at Ronald Shylock and smiled maniacally.....

He looked up and winced at who else he saw walk into the courtroom..

U.S. Attorney Sean Marks, Brooke's husband....Who had lead the investigation that got him convicted of the three murders mentioned by Detective Shylock.

"Donnie Ray....When I heard his hearing was this morning...I had to come." said Sean, who had been just as dogged as Ronald Shylock in bringing James Wilson to justice.

"Good to see you Sean." I said, smiling.

II-

James Smith stared angrilly at Sean Marks... He thought...

"The Worst Decision I ever made was to allow you to serve on that woman's jury.." he thought..

WEDNESDAY MORNING- COURTROOM A-

Sean sat in the jury pool....He looked confident that he wouldn't be picked....No way.....

ADA Abigail Wilson-Walker stood pensively, looking at the jurors and studying questions she had for them...She thought she recognized Sean Marks, sitting with the other jurors...

Arresting Detective- Lt. Arthur Tragg also recognized Sean and he too wondered what he was doing in the jury pool...

Sean peered at the Defense Table....

The Defense Attorney was Public Defender Adam Clarke...

The Defendant was Kathy Elliot, accused of bludgeoning Zack Roman, her lover to death....

The Judge was none other than James Wilson , presiding over this case.

"Good Morning, Good Morning, I am Judge James Wilson , a direct descendant of one of this nation's founding fathers...Welcome to my courtroom....Due to courtroom crowding of cases , we are going to bypass a preliminary hearing...We know that a crime, a henious crime has been committed so we are going to go straight to trial.. I expect, some of you are tired of hearing this...but it is what it is..We are  trying to wind down our case load.. We will have Jury selection today.. Trial could begin tomorrow morning if we seat a jury today..

"We will start today with introductions.." he said.

"Representing the people of this commonwealth , Assistant District Attorney Abigail Wilson your honor.." said ADA Wilson-Walker...

"Attorney Adam Clarke for the Defense your honor." said Adam Clarke.

"You're with the uh Public Defenders office aren't you Mr. Clarke?" asked Judge Wilson.

"Ahhh errr yes your honor, I am."  he remarked..

"Alright, we'll begin with Voir Dire." said the Judge....

The battle of wits between ADA Abigail Wilson-Walker and Public Defender, Adam Clarke began....

Sean yawned.. , He was certain he was going to be dismissed and he was used to seeing the brilliance of Olivia Bennett-Alexander and her team of attorneys  

 

And or Yvette Jones Lockwood and her team of attorneys...

 

Both teams who knew in advance everything there was to know about the jurors, who had excellent questions for each juror and was able to pick the jury they wanted..

ADA Abigail Wilson-Walker was doing slightly better than Public Defender Adam Clarke...She had already picked 7 of the 12 jurors needed....Then they got around to Sean..

"Mr. Marks....Sean Marks isn't it?  You sir are an Attorney...Am I correct?" he asked.

"Yes, I am in the Federal Court System...I am a Public Defender like yourself, a Federal Public Defender." said Sean.

Adam Clarke smiled... "I ask that this juror be struck for cause..." he said.

"No!  He stays.....You've already struck down three witnesses for cause.... Mr. Marks  as a fellow attorney can you be impartial?" asked the Judge..

"Yes, but..."I said.

"Excellent, we have our twelfth juror.....ADA Wilson, you don't have a problem with him being on the jury do you?" he asked.

 "Uh er no your honor." said ADA Abigail Wilson-Walker..

"You can't be serious!" said Adam Clarke.

"I'M DEAD SERIOUS!" said the Judge.... Alright...We have a jury.....Jurors and Attorneys , we will meet in this courtroom, Courtroom A tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM....be on time and be ready for trial." said the Judge.

Sean couldn't believe he'd been picked to be on the jury..... He couldn't believe it...

That had been a serious mistake, a Mistake that lead to him being arrested and charged and convicted of three murders...Disbarred and imprisoned on death row...He hated Sean Marks more than anybody...except maybe Mr. Shylock.  He wouldn't leave well enough alone...He stayed on his trail until he got what he wanted..  He was so close to being a Federal Judge and then out of their range..So close..

Judge Telma Bailey was presiding over the hearing..

Assistant District Attorney Todd Baker was presenting the Prosecutions case...

It was kind of weird sitting on the prosecutions side...

Representing James Wilson was a new attorney....

Michelle Stafford...from the Legal Aid Society....She really didn't want to be here and it showed... She hated the former Judge's condescending attitude and his leering eyes and hands...but she attempted to do the best she could...She got a successful ruling not to mention his three prior convictions..and just to stick to the case at hand...The Murder of Elroy Bennett.

The Testimony began...

There was the photo of the lifeless body of 13 year old Elroy Bennett, found in the pool on June 13, 1971...

Elroy Bennett....The Uncle of  acclaimed Attorney, Olivia Bennett- Alexander ...He beat James Smith out for the city championship and later the regional championships....Elroy Bennett was Olivia Bennett-Alexander's Father's younger brother..He was her Uncle..He too was a swimmer..  He would never meet his famous niece , who would not only be a champion swimmer in her own right, but also an acclaimed attorney..

Young James Smith was distraught at losing both swim competitions...There were photos of the young man crying profusely and his Mother trying to assauge his grief....

Shortly after he was awarded the last trophy, his lifeless body was found in the pool... His head was bleeding...it was assumed he hit his head while diving in the pool...

Robert Shylock testified..  He had been the Homicide detective on the case.

"When young Elroy Bennett's lifeless body was found floating in that pool ,I immediately thought something was wrong....They tried to write it up as a drowning...but I didn't believe it..The CSI guys noticed marks on his neck...marks that could have come from hands...hands holding him down under the water,.....I immediately wrote it up as a 'Homicide."

 I kept looking at the snarky little kid, being comforted by his parents and I swear that little boy...He was only 13 at the time, looked at me and smiled.. smiled..

I knew he did it..I knew he did it..

Little James Smith....That creepy little spoiled well to do boy, that little psychopath..Your uncle beat him out for the city swimming championship and the regional swimming championships....Elroy Bennett was your Father's younger brother..He was your Uncle..or he would have been, He too was a swimmer..  He would never meet you, his famous niece , who would not only be a champion swimmer in her own right, but also an acclaimed attorney..He would never meet his great niece, Beverly, who would also be an acclaimed attorney or his other niece, Kayla Bennett, also an acclaimed attorney...He would have been so proud of the three of you...

But I'm getting ahead of myself.. I stayed on this case... I followed the family...His Mother suspected that there was something about her son that wasn't right. He was diagnosed as a Sociopath at 14....The family got that report buried..

The original forensics report that showed hands on the neck suddenly vanished and was the death was written up as an "accident, a drowning.."

Dr. Delores Farber, The Coroner who original said the death was a Homicide changed her report...and I was told by the brass to drop my investigation.. Only I couldn't...I kept probing, kept questioning people close to him...Girls he had assaulted...Guys close to him et al...

My investigation lead his Mother and Father to sue the Police Department for Harrassment and it lead to me being kicked off the force.

I became a private investigator and continued my investigation.  Years went by.... Next I heard, a young man was bludgeoned in his apartment and his girlfriend was charged with the murder...He was by now, a Judge, a Judge on his way to getting a Federal Judgeshuip. The Girl was acquitted and I heard that his wife and her lover, an attorney who had been his rival had vanished and were missing for years...

When their bodies were discovered ,along with the murder weapons and other incriminating evidence linking him to all three murders and he was convicted and sentenced to three death sentences...I jumped for joy... " said Ronald Skylock.

Attorney Michelle Stafford asked that The Psychiatrists report be stricken, Citing Psychiatrist/Attorney

priveledge....

But ADA Baker countered that James Wilson wasn't actually the client, His Mother was and she was deceased... He cited a predicate that allowed the testimony... He reminded me of my wife and Beverly.

He produced a piece of the pool, a pool that was emptied and closed down on orders from the owners , who were paid off by the Wilsons.... The piece had blood, blood from Elroy Bennett and Blood from James Wilson..which contained DNA from Young Wilson....This evidence was suppreseed for years.

He produced the dying document of Dr. Farber , who did the original autopsy.

He presented Bank records which showed payoffs, hefty payoffs to the then Deputy of Operations, Then Captain of Homicide and a Lieutenant in Homicide, all deceased to shut down Shylock's investigation..

He presented Three witnesses who said they were told in so many words to keep their mouths closed about what they saw and heard that night.

Attorney Michelle Stafford tried her best to break them down on cross examination but they held to their testimony...

She questioned Dr. Farber's statement, bringing up that she was dying of cancer at the time and heavily

under the influence of morphine..

ADA Baker brought in current DNA  experts who confirmed what had already been said.

Attorney Michelle Stafford did the best she could ,but she knew it was a losing battle.

"Alright, I heard all oral arguments.....I will make my ruling tomorrow morning...be here at 9:30 AM,

Court is adjourned." she said.

We all cleared out for the day....

III-

That afternoon at our home.-

"How did everything go today baby? I'm certain we are close to an indictment." I said to Olivia.

"They are telling so many lies and half truths....It's unbelievable..." she said.

"It was packed in there... It was so crowded in there... Me, Beverly, Nelson, Josie,Bresha, Keith, Bee Bee, Sofia , Kahlil and Jade on one side... 

 

with our clients, Vettie,Mr. McCluskey, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Connor and Mr. Pratt on the same side as us

Across the table from Michelle Aiken, our old adversary Wallace Payton....hoping for a win this time..Our old"  friend" H.Stanley Stanlison..and a new Attorney, A heavyweight from out of New York City named Tamara Perri... She's Black...I was surprised.

And of course the defendent, Sylvia Lively, who had the nerve to be an hour late...We had already started the arguments when she arrived."

"I was never more proud of my niece and her husband, Nelson, or Josie, Bree, Keith,Bee Bee, Sofia and Kahlil...all of whom I've tutored and mentored... They went into that nest of vipers unafraid and with receipts and calmly and cooly stated our case...They made my job so much easier....

We argued from10:00 pm until well past 4:00 before ending the day....No decision or agreement was made , but we made it clear that we weren't paying a red cent and that the charges and accusations made by Sylvia were nonsense and without merit..

There was an Arbitrator there, An Attorney with no ties to McCluskey/Cozen/Connor & Pratt and certainly not us named Joseph Rydell... Very good attorney...He tabled the oral arguments until tomorrow.  I think we made some great headway." said Olivia..

''What a day we both had." I said.

''Yes...What a day."sighed Olivia.

"Give me a kiss baby." I said.

She kissed me with those butter soft lips of hers..

Kisses that got hotter and more passionate by the seconds.

she helped me out of my clothes 

and I helped her out of her panties..

I lifted her up and entered her slowly.. Her body began to tremble and shake, sweat and tears ran down the sides of her face and she held me for dear life...

She opened her legs wide and eased herself down on me... I was losing my mind...She was so soft, smelled like a newborn baby...so wet...I didn't know if I was coming or going.

She rode me like a surfer rides the waves....kissing me softly.....

We sat on the side of the bed, kissing and riding.......

Finally I turned her over and entered her again....

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU HUSBAND!" she moaned... She was experiencing an intense orgasm that caused her entire body to shake...tears to flow down the side of her face and her head to turn from side to side..

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW LAWWWWD!" I moaned.

She opened her legs wider and she wrapped her arms around my neck......I couldn't get enough of her and she couldn't get enough of me.. Soon She was experiencing another intense orgasm that caused her entire body to shake...tears to flow down the side of her face and her head to turn from side to side..

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 TEN TO ELEVEN 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! "she moaned... 

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

She was lying across my chest...her arms to the floor...soaking wet with perspiration...

"OUUUUUUUUUUU THAT WAS GOOOOOOOD!" she moaned....

"OH MY GOD!" was all I could say...

We drifted off to a sound sleep.

IV-

COURTROOM C-

Judge Telma Bailey returned with her ruling the next morning.. she looked squarely into the eyes of former Judge James Wilson.

" I have decided after hearing all of the evidence and the oral arguments that there is indeed enough evidence here to indict you for the murder of Elroy Bennett."she said.

He was surprisingly stunned....Here he was already convicted of three homicides and now he was indicted for a fourth.....

The only good thing about this is... His indictment would hold up his execution for the other three..

He couldn't be executed until he went on trial for the murder of Elroy Bennett.

As we filed out... Ronald Shylock looked at James Wilson and smirked.

"It took me 54 years...54 years.....but I got you!   You rotten son of a bitch...I got you." he said.

Former Judge James Smith surprisingly smiled at him, but said nothing...

Sean Marks and I walked out of the courtroom....

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Sometime later at the Cemetary..... Uncle Robbie met with Olivia, Myself, Beverly, Nelson and Kayla and Detective Shylock at the gravesite of  Elroy Bennett.

"This is my brother's gravesite.....He was a great swimmer, would have been a great man and as I am...he would've been proud of you girls...Olivia, Beverly, Kayla....I wish he had been able to know you.....  Donnie Ray and Mr. Shylock , thank you two for bringing that horrid man, that horrid man who murdered him to justice...." said Uncle Robbie.

"Yes Thank you too! Both of you..."said Olivia, tears running down her cheeks.

"You're quite welcome...Everything I did I did for love...I did out of love for these three women...They took me in...They became my family in a place far away from where I was born...." I said.

"Awwwwwwwwww!" said Beverly, tearing up and hugging me.

Nelson stood by her side, his arms around Beverly's waist and Kayla's waist...

Tears streamed down Kayla's face.

Ronald Shylock stood stoically...

(CONCLUSION NEXT-)