Engaging Jerome

 

 

KEITH JONES-

Born in Philadelphia PA. 

Mother, Nancy Jones, Court Stenographer

Father, Judge Keith Morrison

Graduated from West Catholic High School

B.A. Administration of Justice, Trial Advocacy, Pre Law- Howard University

J.D.- University of Pennsylvania Law School

Fluent in Spanish, French, German

Passed Bar in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Deleware ,New York, Texas, California

Associate Attorney- McCluskey/Cozen/Connor/Pratt

Senior Associate Attorney-McCluskey/Cozen/Connor/Pratt

Married to Beatrice Evans

BEATRICE LYNN EVANS -JONES

Born in Philadelphia PA.

Graduated from Philadelphia High School For Girls

B.A. -Administration of Justice, Trial Advocacy ,Pre Law- Temple University

J.D.-University of Pennsylvania Law School

Fluent in Spanish and French

Passed Bar in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Deleware, Texas, California

Associate Attorney- McCluskey /Cozen/Connor and Pratt

Senior Associate Attorney-McCluskey/Cozen/Connor/Pratt

Married to Keith Jones

SOFIA CARMELITA GARCIA-AHMED

Born in Philadelphia PA.

Graduated from Philadelphia High School For Girls

B.A. -Administration Of Justice, Trial Advocacy, Pre Law-Temple University

J.D.-University of Pennsylvania Law School

Fluent in Spanish and French

Passed Bar in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Deleware and New York, Texas, California

Associate Attorney -McCluskey/Cozen/Connor and Pratt

Senior Associate Attorney-McCluskey/Cozen/Connor/Pratt

Married to Kahlil Ahmed...

KAHLIL ABDUL AHMED

Born in Philadelphia PA.

Graduated from Central High School

BA.- Administration of Justice, Trial Advocacy, Pre Law- Temple University

JD- University of Pennsylvania Law School

Speaks Arabic languages fluently, fluent in German and Russian.

Passed Bar in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Deleware and New York, Texas, California

Associate Attorney-McCluskey/Cozen/Connor and Pratt

Senior Associate Attorney-McCluskey/Cozen/Connor/Pratt

Married to Sofia Garcia

YVETTE DENISE JONES-LOCKWOOD

Born in Philadelphia PA.

Graduated from North Catholic High School

BA-Trial Advocacy, Pre Law, Administration of Justice -Lasalle University

JD -University of Pennsylvania Law School

Fluent in Spanish, French and Russian

Passed Bar in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Deleware , New York, Texas, California.

Senior Associate Attorney-McCluskey/Cozen/Connor and Pratt

Managing Partner- McCluskey/Cozen/Connor and Pratt

Married to District Attorney Investigator-Gary Lockwood

THE OFFICE OF ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY GREGORY MITCHELL-

"So this is Johnny Graham's legal team huh?   All fine attorneys....They helped him on that Lauren Houser case....I was certain that was going to be a conviction...Looked like a slam dunk, but they pulled it out....Hmmmmm, let's look at Mr. Graham..."said ADA Gregory Mitchell...

JOHN ROBERT GRAHAM

Born in Philadelphia Pa.

Graduated from Central High School

BA-Trial Advocacy, Pre Law, Administration of Justice -Howard University

JD- Georgetown University School of Law

Passed the bar in Maryland/ Washington D.C. /Pennsylvania/New Jersey/Deleware/New York

Taught Law at University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA.

Public Defender, Philadelphia PA.

Former Director -Philadelphia Public Defender's Office-Philadelphia PA.

Founding Partner- Jerome Rich/Johnny Graham Attorneys at Law

"He's also somewhat of a ladies man... I hear....Which is how he got himself into the mess he's in now,

sleeping with his partner's wife...hmmmmmm....Who is the lead detective on this case?" he asked.

"Lt. Tragg sir." said his assistant, Assistant District Attorney Adam Carpenter.

"Oh God!...I like Artie...but he's a bit of a dimwit....Talk to him, Light a fire up under him..Tell him to recanvass...To look for anything....because you can be sure...These attorneys on Graham's team are looking for anything." said ADA.Greg Mitchell.

And at this moment in the Bridge Building-

in our conference room- 

 "Let's go over what we know.... Johnny leaves our celebration of the Hauser verdict after he gets a call from Brianna, asking him to come over right?" asked Ms. Yvette.

"He rushes over because that's a booty call more than likely." I said.

Bee Bee laughs..."Yeah, that'll get a guy running...They'll drop everything." she said.

The entire room bursts into laughter...

"He goes there...That's mid afternoon, They make crazy love, Marathon sex...."said Sofia..

"How do you know it's Marathon sex?" asked Kahlil.

"He left us around 3:30 in the afternoon...He didn't leave there until 7:00m in the morning...What were they doing?" asked Sofia.

Yvette and Bee Bee almost toppled over laughing....

"Alright...Alright...Simmer down guys... He left at around 7:00... The Street Cam has him leaving at 6:54 am to be exact...." I said.

"The Coroner has her time of death at around 7:00 am...Which means if she was alive...Someone killed her immediately after he left...Someone was in wait...Watching..."said Kahlil.

"Was there any other cars there?" asked Ms. Yvette.

"Only the cars of the people who lived on the block...Ms. Jade checked.

Ms. Jade showed us another photo.

"There was this car , I didn't get the license plate..." It was there." she said.

''Something else bothered me..There was no sign of breaking and entering..If someone else arrived right after Johnny left...How did they get in?  I think they had a key...They let themselves in...She had dozed off to sleep and they had the perfect opportunity to kill her."said Yvette,.

"I think her husband did it!" said Ms.Virginia.  "He and Johnny weren't getting along...There was talk of dissolving the partnership and then he finds out his wife is sleeping with his partner...That's motive right there."she added.

"That's a hell of a motive! How come The Husband wasn't picked up?" asked Bee Bee.

"He was...He was staying at a Motel and had a meeting in Cherry Hill the next morning...He was seen there by people checking in....But that was around 4:00 pm....He wasn't seen in between then and 8:30 the next morning."said Jade.

''With a fast car, he could have driven there...Killed her and come back and who would be the wiser?" said Ms. Yvette.

"You think he'll cop to that?" I asked.

''Well he'll talk to us or he'll talk in open court.. Prepare a subpoena."said Ms. Yvette.

II-

While at Olivia and Beverly's house..

They were having Breakfast.

"Breakfast is served....Dig in everybody...We are all family here...No strangers."said Alfreda..

as they were treated to a catered breakfast this morning. 

"Ummmmmm everything smells delish!" said Olivia.

 

"Uh where is our current guest? He's usually up here when the food is served..."said Donnie Ray...

"He's sleeping it off." said Beverly with a smile.

"He had a guest last night of the uh female persuasion!"laughed Nelson...

"Ohhhhhhh that's who I saw leaving here in the car this morning." said Josie.

"I saw her too."laughed Bresha.

"He'd better watch himself!!!... Alfreda...Fix him a plate and put it in the oven to stay warm...He'll be up eventually." said Olivia.

"Okay ! and He'll be famished after a workout in the sack!" said Alfreda.

The entire room exploded in laughter again.

The Night Before-

In the Sub-Basement of Olivia and Beverly's Office-Duplex-

The Young Lady who had been with Johnny when he got arrested showed up...

"WOWWWWW!  This is a nice spot you got here...Your lawyers hooked you up huh Johnny." said Glenda Pace, a young attorney from the Public Defenders Office where he once worked.

"Yeah.. My actual lawyers live across the street and they work down near Penns Landing in the Bridge Building... This is the home and office of Olivia Bennett-Alexander and her niece, Beverly West and their husbands... Their office is on the first floor and they live in apartments above it with their husbands." said Johnny Graham.

"I've heard of them..Who hasn't?  WOWWWWW!   You know them and they live across the street from your lawyers....Must be nice..." said Glenda.

"When you've been in this legal game as long as I have...You'll know people too! " said Johnny..

"Now...Let's me and you get to know each other a little better..." he laughed as they began kissing...

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ,okay!  I've had a feeling you've wanted to do that for awhile anyway." Glenda whispered as they began kissing.

"I have...I've got a boner for you that won't quit." he said.

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, I can see that!" she giggled.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm yes, let's get to know each other......Ummmmmmmmmm!" she said..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BABYYYYY!" he said..

She was a baby to him...He was 11 years her senior...he thought as they began kissing. She had been a young Public defender when he was briefly in charge of the office.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he moaned as their kissing got more passionate.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!"Ohhhhhhhh myyyyyyyyyyyy...Ouuuuuu you are very forward.....and very erect....You've wanted to do me for a long time haven't you?" she asked as they continued to kiss and undress.

"Yes I have." he said.

He unsnapped her bra..

and slipped her panties down...

"All of you female lawyers like these flowery lace bras and panties..." he mused..

"They're comfortable." she said.

He laid her across her bed, spread her legs and slowly entered her...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...OHHHHHHHHH MY WORRRRRRD!" she moaned...

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...PUT IT IN...PUT IT ALL IN...OUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed.

She couldn't believe this was happening and so fast!

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW SWEEET BABYYYYYY! UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!" he moaned...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU IT FEELS GOOD...OH JOHNNY , IT FEELS GOOOD!   IT FEEEELS GOOOOOD! OUUUUU JOHNNNNY!" she cried out...both of her legs were shaking, her whole body was trembling something fierce.....her head turned from side to side and tears were streaming down her face....She was experiencing an intense orgasm...

"WOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she screamed out as he humped her with wild abandon....

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW LAWWWWWD!" he moaned.. She was so warm, so wet and so soft...He felt as if he was losing his mind.. He didn't know if he was coming or going..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...THIS WAS WORTH WAITING FOR!!OH MY GODDDDDDD!" she moaned..

She used to notice him looking at her when he briefly ran the Public Defender's Office where she worked. Once she observed his erection in his trousers and smiled...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he moaned...

They began making sweet sweet love......"OHHHHHHHHHHHH  !!!!  OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU  MISTER GRAHAM!!OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU,

UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM" she moaned..as the bed rocked and squeaked louder than it had since they'd begun making sweet love... The headboard creaked and sounded like it might split in half...

"Oh my goddd this is sooooooooo damn good.." he moaned...

" OHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she screamed out....

The bed squeaked even louder...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed. She had yet another intense orgasm , that had her crying like a school girl, had her head turning from side to side and had her legs trembling...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUU WHYYYYYYY?? WHYYYYYY?? WHY DO YOU HAVE TO DO IT TO ME SO DAMN GOOD???OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!  , AWWWWWWWWW LAWWWWD WHYYYYY?" she cried out..

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWW SWEEEEEET BABYYYYYY! OUUUUUUUUU!" he moaned..

They made love for the next EIGHT TO NINE HOURS!! She couldn't believe how passionate he was, his stamina.. 

She crawled on top of him and eased herself down on him...

"DO YOU WANT SOME MORE?   MORE?" she yelled to the top of her lungs..

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWW, AWWWWWWWWW LAWWWD YESSSSSSSSSS!" he cried out..

 riding him like a surfer rides the waves.....He didn't know if he was coming or going!!

She had yet another intense orgasm.....She feared she was slowly losing her mind.....

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she moaned......

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU....UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMPH!" she moaned.

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW..LAWWWWWWWWWDDDD!" he moaned

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU GIVE ME THAT MONSTER!!! OH MY GODDDD!! YOU ARE HUGE!!! AND SO DAMN HARRRRD!! OUUUUUUUU! GIVE IT TO ME!!" she cooed.Her whole body trembled something fierce..

She was so prim and proper and prissy in public, but behind closed doors...Glenda was a freak...

They wound up on the side of the bed, kissing and smooching, while she continued to ride him...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYY DAMNNNNN!" he moaned..

"IS IT GOOD TO YOU? IS IT GOOD TO YOU BABY? LET ME RIDE THAT HORSE!!!WOUUUUUUU! " she yelled to the top of her lungs..

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!" he yelled out....

ANOTHER TWO AND A HALF HOURS PASSED BY

He came so hard, he felt as if he were dying....

She had her final intense orgasm.......

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!  IT'S GOOD TO MEEEEEEEEEEE...OUUUUU JOHNNNY!!!!!  "she moaned loudly...

He wound up sound asleep on his back...Glenda lay on top of him, smiling ...His arms wrapped around her...She felt secure....Happy.. Totally satisfied...

She was gone by the time he woke up.... She got up, showered and put on her clothes...(She had brought a change of clothing. ) She had to go to work...He didn't.

He made it upstairs to Olivia and Donnie Ray's domicile.. They were still eating breakfast.

"Good Morning Folks. Sorry I'm a little late." said Johnny , smiling sheepishly... 

"You're not on the clock!  We fixed you a plate just in case you didn't make it..."said Olivia.

 

"I'll get it...it's in the oven ."said Donnie Ray.

''Did you sleep well last night?" asked Beverly with a mischievous grin...

"I slept very well." said  Johnny.  He had a feeling they knew he had been "entertaining" a young woman last night.

Nelson smiled...

Josie playfully punched him in the side.

Bresha just smiled.

"Well you've probably worked up quite an appetite. said Alfreda..

At that everybody laughed...

He knew that everybody knew about his late night activities. 

AND AT THE BRIDGE BUILDING AT THIS MOMENT-

Alexa Pratt was in our conference room..

 

"I'm telling you Lt. Tragg has been a total pain in the ass, He's been by the office three times looking for you Ms. Yvette, well really, all of you guys..He wants to know the whereabouts of Johnny Graham. He says he has disabled the GPS on his phone and his laptops...So he can't track him or listen to his conversations and he's mad that he can't find him...He says he's close to charging you guys with obstruction of justice."said Alexa. 

 "He always threatens that. He knows he has no grounds..." laughed Ms. Yvette.

  "And his partner Jerome Rich has dropped by too!  Very Nasty Man, looking for Johnny and you guys too! I really don't like him and don't know why they both think I know something.... "said Alexa.

"Probably because you've worked with us and Olivia and Beverly on different cases. So they think you have the inside track."I said. 

 Alexa didn't know we had Johnny Graham holed up at Olivia and Beverly's office/duplex.

"Sooooooooooo Alexa girl...How are things going with you and Daniel...He lives in your apartment complex now?" asked Bee Bee.

''Come On, Dish girl, Dish."laughed Sofia.

"Oh it's just wonderful.... He spends more time in my apartment than he does his own...We sleep together every night...." she gushed.

Kahlil heard their conversation and smiled.

"Hmmmm weird that Jerome Rich is searching for him isn't it?"said Jade.

"Very interesting...He definitely needs to be served a subpoena.." said Yvette.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go...He wanted to see us...Now he will." said Virginia.

III-

"Interesting Building... I knew that people stay here and that they have a pool and a bar on the top floor.

Strange place to have a law office..."said Yvette..

"And it's walking distance from us...Wowwww!   He was scorching the Earth looking for us and we were that close."said Virginia.

"Johnny did mention that he wasn't located too far from us.." said Jade.

They walked into the former offices of Jerome Rich/John Graham Attorneys at Law... Johnny Graham's name had already been removed from the door.

Jerome Rich seemed surprised to see the three of them...

"Heard you were looking for us, So We are here!" said Yvette.

"So where have you got my former partner holed up?" asked Jerome Rich

"You'll see him in court." said Yvette..

"This is a Subpoena..."said Virginia.

"You'll see him court...." said Virginia.

"You're calling me as a defense witness?? That creep was sleeping with my wife...Killed Her.." he snarled.

"I think you know he didn't kill your wife!" said Jade, staring him straight to his face..

"Get out of here!" said Jerome Rich!

THE BRIDGE BUILDING! AN HOUR LATER-

We were all having dinner in our cafeteria.

"Mmmmmmmm I love the food here..." said Alexa.

 

 "You love being here period....I wish I could bring you here full time Alexa, I really do." said Yvette.

"But you have a building pass, you're welcome to eat with us whenever you feel like coming this distance." I said.

"Yeah...you have a car, just drive over like you did today." said Bee Bee.

"We got Jerome Rich served...That was good.."said Sofia.

"And we are almost ready to go to trial." said Kahlil.

"I'm going to do a little more digging." said Jade.

"A very successful day." said Virginia.

"And that means I'm going to have a very successful night right?" said Jetty, with his arms around Virginia's waist...

"You have a successful night every night, horn dog!" said Virginia.

"I feel good this afternoon....Let's go to Josie's for drinks tonight." said Jazzy...
 

"Okay but only for a few minutes.."said Dabnis.

"Yeah I could go for that...Wonder if my cousin and Nelson want to walk over there?" asked Kayla.

"We can swing by there and ask them." said Ray....

"I'm interested in going to Josie's too! " said Jessica.

"Well you and Chip are invited, come with us." said Kayla.

"Thank you! "laughed Chip.

"Well Vettie, you guys almost ready to go to trial?" asked Karen..

"Yeah , we've made strides.." said Yvette.

"We going out tonight? Or we staying in?" asked Natalie.

"We can go to Josie's for a little while...but not too long." said David.

"Yeah Same here...We can all drop in for a few drinks and then walk home..."said Brooke.

"Works for me." said Sean.

"I'm for staying home and relaxing." said Zoey.

"I'm glad because I don't feel like going out tonight." said Lem.

"We going out tonight? Or we staying in?" asked Renee.

"We can go to Josie's for a little while...but not too long." said Tyrell.

"Josie and I are down." said Paris.

"I'm sure Bresha and I are down too!." said Tony.

"I don't mind going to Josie's for a few drinks." said Lee.

"Okay, just for a like an hour or so." said Matthew.

"Wanna stop in Josie's tonight for a few drinks?" asked Nina.

''Why not?"said Carlos.

''We are going to walk over to Josies after work....Come on out Alexa, Bring Daniel with you."said Bee Bee.

"Okay...I gotta stop and gas up my car first." said Alexa.

"Tell Toni and Eric to come out too!" I said.

"It'll be a good time!" said Sofia.

"Most definitely." said Kahlil.

IV-

The House where Jerome and Brianna Rich had lived...The House where Brianna had met her gruesome death just weeks before. It was no longer roped off as a crime scene.

A familiar vehicle drove up...a 2025 Gray Nissan Rogue,. This was the same car partially caught on the camera the day of the murder.

Attorney Jerome Rich got out of the car and used his key to enter the residence..

Jade sat a few cars behind snapping photos of the car and of  Jerome Rich's coming s and goings...

He left the house...

He looked around...

And got back in his car and pulled off!

AND AT THE BRIDGE BUILDING-

It was a typical workday for us... Bee Bee and Sofia were busy looking at Crime Scene Photos, The Autopsy Report, reading witness statements and looking up predicates, laws that pertained to this type of case and general laws that might be argued...

"Sofia, this is going to be a difficult case to argue...With him being there and being seen by both neighbors and the street cam cameras leaving right around the time of death."said Bee Bee.

"I almost wouldn't believe it myself girlfriend, but if she was alive when he left and talking to him...The Killer had to be there in waiting...either already in the house, or right outside and ran right in the house

immediately after Johnny left..."said Sofia.

"And that's our argument, our whole argument...That it was someone else...Not our client." said Yvette.

"And that it happened fast...very fast." said Yvette.

"Take Five Ladies...I brought you some coffees from your favorite place, Mochas..."said Ms. Virginia.

In the room next door, Kahlil and I were picking perspective jurors for our case....

"We've got to have some Black jurors homeslice, Black professionals, Doctors, lawyers , what have you.. People that run in his circles..."I said.

"Well we'll see how many we can pull from this group...I gotta tell ya , it's not that many..." said Kahlil.

"Take Five Guys.....I brought coffees from Mochas.." said Ms. Virginia.

"Yvette, I got him....I have photos of Jerome Rich parking his car, a 2025 Nissan Rogue, White...The same car that was parked outside of the house on the morning of the murder when he was supposed to be miles away in the motel...I have him exiting the car and letting himself in the house...The car is a match, same license plate number and all.. Lt. Tragg and his boys missed this because they were so busy looking at Johnny Graham's car..."said Jade.

"They missed it, not surprise there." I said.

Bee Bee and Yvette laughed...

"If that's the same car....Then Jerome was laying in wait....He knew Johnny was in there...He knew!"said Sofia.

''And if he knew...He was waiting..."said Kahlil.

"That's our story...I can't wait to get him on the stand."said Yvette.

"I checked the Motel he was staying at....He checked in right after he left our celebration....but the cameras have him leaving two hours later and not returning until around 8:00 am.  He had time to shower and make his meeting in Cherry Hill with his client." said Jade.

"He's going to have to explain his absence..." I said.

"He sure is....We got him!" said Yvette.

(CONCLUSION NEXT)