Tip & Ty
by: E Walk

(Copyright 2007 by the Author)
 

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

 

Chapter 29

 Witness For the Defense

This is Ty.

I left for the bank for my meeting with Rita Cummings.  When I walked into the bank, she was walking by and motioned for me to follow her.   When we got to her office, she motioned for me to sit down.  She sat behind her desk and opened a folder.  “I have the appraisal for Mrs. Quinn’s house here.  I understand that the offer is on the table is for $1,500.000.00.  I have been to that house and I think you should take it and run.  Now, how much would you like to finance?”

I looked at Rita, “You don’t mess around, do you?  What do you recommend that I do?”

Rita was very direct, “Ty, since you know that I know what your financial situation is, I would recommend that you put $500.000.00 up front and finance the other one million dollars.  It sounds to me like you and Tip could swing that without too much difficulty.  I have it on good authority that you are going to be fighting off clients before long.”

I guess I looked like I had been hit by a laser beam, “Rita, why would you say something like that?”

“Dear Ty, you forget that Clarisse is my sister, didn't you?  I probably know more about you and your family than you do.”

I looked at Rita, “So, you are saying that I have been sold down the river by one of my employees?”

Rita could hardly speak, “I think the operative words would be sold up the creek.  Now, get your cute butt in gear.  By the way, Ryan had the time of his life at your house on Saturday and Sunday.  Mark and the rest of the people who were present sure impressed Ryan’s parents.  Ryan called me when he got home and all he could talk about was Mark, Zack and Kevin.  I don’t know what they did to him, but it was like they had injected him with happy juice.  I am beginning to think that Mark is a saint.  Ryan fell in love Billy, Bobby and your two daughters.  You had better be careful or someone will be hijacking them.”

This is Tip.

When Ty finally arrived home, Mark had dinner ready so we sat down to eat almost immediately.  Ty asked the children about their day and got a recap.  He looked at me and asked how my day had gone. After I answered, he looked at Mark, “Mark, how fast do you think you could have us ready to move to Mrs. Quinn’s house?”

Mark surprised even me with his answer, “Well Mr. Jefferson, I think we should check with Mrs. Quinn to see how fast she can vacate the property, and then we can decide when we could move.  It would be nice if we could be installed in the new home when Beau and Becca come this weekend; it would make it much easier for everyone.”

Ty came back, “Mark, I have asked the Jenkins and the Burnses for dinner tomorrow night.  Do you suppose you could fix a nice dinner for us?  Maybe we could ask Mrs. Quinn to come too, so we can make plans for the move.”

Mark threw up his hands, “So, now you want me to be the social director in addition to being the Nano and the moving man.  The next thing you will probably want me to be is the traffic cop in your bedroom.  By the way, who are the Burnses and why are these people coming to dinner?”

Billy interrupted anymore conversation, “Nano Mark, you sound like something is wrong.  You aren’t going to leave, are you?”

Mark got out of his seat and went and hugged Billy, “Billy, I won’t leave until you and your brother and sisters throw me out.  Now let’s get these dishes done, so we have time for a story.  Ty, I’ll get the rest of the story after we get the children in bed.”

We had soon had the children settled, and Mark joined Ty and me in the living room.  “Now, who are the Burnses, why are these people coming here tomorrow night and what would you like me to fix for dinner?”

Ty looked at Mark, “Do you always ask your questions in sets of three?  I have asked Mr. Jenkins to join my practice.  Mr. Burns is the private investigator, who has been doing some work for me, and his wife just received word that she passed the bar exam and is seeking employment.  I am sure that something simple for dinner would be in order, since the children will be eating with us.”

Ty went on to tell about his encounter with Philip Burns earlier in the day and Mark and I were laughing so hard it almost hurt.  Mark finally composed himself, “This Philip guy sounds like my kind of person.  What’s his wife’s name anyway?”

Ty got a funny look on his face, “I haven’t the foggiest idea.  How bad is that?”

The conversation was interrupted by the phone, Mark left to answer and we could hear him talking so we figured it had to be Zack.  Ty opened his briefcase and started to go over what he had on the Lane case.  It was like a light bulb went on, “I think I am going to be able to win this case.  It will be interesting to see what Philip and his guys can come up with.  Let’s go to bed and celebrate.”

Mark was standing there, “Well, don’t celebrate too loudly and I suggest you lock your door while you are celebrating.  You two go celebrate and I will secure the condo and make out a plan of action for tomorrow.”

Ty and I took our showers and we indeed did lock our door like Mark suggested.  When we were settled in bed, I handed Ty a bottle of lube and whispered, “Be gentle, I want to be able to walk in the morning.”

Ty was extremely gentle and we both released our frustrations onto the bed and made quite a mess.  Who changes sheets in the middle of the night?

This is Mark.

It was so lonely in bed without Zack.  Oh well, he only had another three months of school.  Then we could be together all the time, hopefully. 

I woke up at 6:00 and checked on the children, went to the workout center and did some exercises, ran a mile and then swam four laps of the pool and I was back at the condo by 6:45.  Tip and Ty were coming down the stairs just as I walked in.  I looked at the them and they were dressed in their warm up clothes, “I have already done my exercises.  We are going to need to work out a schedule to make sure one of us is always here with the children.  I guess we will need to have a sign in and sign out board.”

I took a quick shower and woke the children.  Barbie was easy to get up, for a change, since it was the first day that she would be meeting with her play group.  That would give me enough time to go grocery shopping and start preparing the meal.

I delivered Barbie to the house where the children would be meeting on
Tuesdays, then I went to the grocery store.  When I was picking up the last items, a gentleman came up behind me and put his hand on me, “I don’t suppose you would be looking to have some fun, would you?”

I turned around and saw this guy with a baseball hat and baggy sweat shirt. I started to laugh, “You have to be Philip Burns.  Why are you following me?”

“I wasn’t following you.  I just recognized you from the mug shot I obtained of you while I was investigating your background for Mr. Jefferson.  Heck, you have to be a perfect example of the all American male.  So how’s it going with Zackie?”

I was almost in tears, “Mr. Burns, you just accused me of being a criminal and then asked about a friend of mine.  What business is it of yours?”

The gentleman stepped back, “Mr. Leavitt, might I introduce myself to you.  I am Philip Burns, and my wife, Pam, and I will be joining you for dinner tonight.  Might I ask what we might be eating, since I am allergic to shell fish?”

I decided to be a wiseass, “I was planning on having Beef Stroganoff, but now I think we might be having Lobster Thermidor.  We’ll probably start off with Sshrimp Cocktails and then some clams.”

Philip was enjoying this foray, “Okay Mark, I surrender.  Pam and I eat anything.  I need to go to make sure your boss doesn’t get into too much trouble this afternoon.  The other two guys have been busy collecting data for Ty.  See you tonight at 6:00.”

I left the supermarket shaking my head.  I took the groceries home and was putting them away when the phone rang.  “This is Mark Leavitt, how may I help you?”

“Oh hi, Grandma Quinn, no, just bring yourself.  It might prove to be a very interesting evening.  I just had an encounter with Mr. Burns and he is a trick and a half. … Okay, see you about six.”

While Barbie was resting, I started dinner and I went an entirely different route than what I had originally planned..  After we picked the children up from school, I took them to the park for a short time and then we came back to the house to get ready for our guests.  The children wanted to know who was coming to dinner, and when I told them, they were happy since they knew the Jenkins and Grandma Quinn.

This is Philip.

I know this isn’t my story, but I don’t think Ty has the strength to do it justice.  I had taken the information that we had gathered in the Lane case to Ty’s office right at noon.  He was fretting that he was going to blow the case.  I handed him the information that we were able to obtain and he quickly read through it. 

Ty took a very deep breath, “Thanks Philip, this is just exactly what I needed.”  Ty came around the desk and hugged me.  He started to pack his briefcase, “I am to meet with Rocky and his wife in 30 minutes, so please excuse me.”

I went home and changed clothes and Pam and I left for the courtroom.  We both wanted to see Ty in action.  We were surprised when Mr. Jenkins was there also.  He looked at us and said, “I had to come and see what Ty was going to do this time.”

We were about to find out.  After the opening statements, the prosecution called the woman who was making the charges, to the stand.  After she was sworn in, the prosecution asked her some leading questions which she answered.  The prosecuting attorney turned to Ty and said “Your turn, sir.”

Ty approached the witness stand, “Miss Hargrove, it appears that you are about to deliver.  Exactly, when was it that you had a sexual encounter with Mr. Lane?”

Miss Hargrove answered, “It was on July 28^th.  We went to his house, here in Kansas City and he raped me.”

Ty was so cool, “Miss Hargrove, did you not know that Mr. Lane and his family do not live in Kansas City, but rather in St. Joseph.”  Ty turned, “No further questions.”

The prosecution rested, and Ty stood, “Your honor, I have one witness that I would like to call.  I would like to call Mr. Tyler Jefferson to the witness stand.”

The judge nodded and Ty went to the witness stand and was sworn in. “Your honor I realize that this is a bit theatrical, but I need to do this.”  Ty went and stood in front of the witness box.  “Mr. Jefferson, what can you tell us about the location of a Mr. Rockford Lane on the night of July 28 of 2007?”

Ty returned to the witness box.  “Sir, I can attest that Mr. Lane was in our room at the Kansas City Chiefs training camp, sound asleep.  I lived with the turkey the whole entire ten years that I played for the Kansas City Chiefs.  He was sawing logs from seven o’clock on.  We were so exhausted after our third day of practice, that none of us could have moved.  None of us left camp for the entire two weeks we were there.  I guess you could say we were sequestered.  We were even isolated from our families.”

Ty resumed his position as defense attorney.  “Your honor, we rest our case.”

The judge looked at the prosecuting attorney who said, “No further questions your honor.”

The judge said, “This is an easy case.  Miss Hargrove, I am sorry that you have wasted your money to bring this case to the courts.  You will pay all court fees and Mr. Lane is found not guilty in this alleged paternity suit.  Mr. Jefferson, I would appreciate it if you would visit with me in my chambers.”

This is Ty.

The bailiff escorted me to Judge Wallace’s chambers.  When I entered, Judge Wallace lit into me, “Mr. Jefferson, why would you do such a grandstanding thing to win a case?”

 

I looked at the judge, “Judge Wallace, I took the road that I thought would cause the least amount of hurt to the people involved.  I have information in my briefcase that says that Miss Hargrove has been married five times and already has seven children.  My information also says that she serves as a lady of the night.  I also know for a fact, that Rocky is infertile and incapable of producing children.  I felt that everyone would be best served by not bringing these facts to the publics’ attention.  I truly hope that what I did today will not cause either of the parties any harm.”

Judge Wallace stood, “Ty, I apologize, I really thought you were grandstanding, but you were just trying to protect all of the parties involved.  Might I asked why Judge Jenkins was here?”

I shrugged my shoulders, “I have asked Judge Jenkins to be an associate and I guess he was here checking me out before he made his decision.”

Judge Wallace excused himself and I returned to the courtroom.  Rocky of course picked me up and nearly squeezed me to death, “Thank you, my friend, send me the bill.  I’ll say this for you, once a showboat always a showboat.”

Mr. Jenkins came over to me and hugged me, “I’ll say this for you, Ty, you sure don’t waste words.  I would have probably fined your ass for contempt.  I can’t believe that Wallace didn’t dress you down.  He is probably the most conservative and by the book judge we have in this area.”  Mr. Jenkins hugged me again, “I'll see you and your family at six.”

I hardly recognized Phil, when he and a beautiful lady came up to me.  I hugged him, “Thanks for the great information.  I am just so glad that I didn’t have to use it to pull anyone through the mud.  Now, who is this lovely woman?”

Philip was proud, “This is my lovely wife, Pamela; she wanted to come and observe you in action.”

Before I could say anything, Mrs. Burns said, “Mr. Jefferson, that was a masterful job of defending a client.  I hope I can live up to your standards, if we can work out an arrangement.  We’ll see you tonight at 6:00.”

When I got back to the office, Shawn handed me a handful of messages and said, “That person is from the Kansas City star and would like to visit with you.”

I went to the person who was sitting there and introduced myself. The person stated, “I was sent to get a picture of you.  One of the reporters is doing a feature article on you tomorrow, and would like to have a picture of you in action.  Could you please go talk to your office manager like you are plotting some revenge or something?”  The photographer wasn’t satisfied with that and took a picture of me with Kevin and another with Colleen.  By the time he left, it was 5:15, so we closed up shop.  Business will just have to wait until tomorrow.  There are more important things to do tonight.

To be continued... 
 

Feedback always welcome:     

Editor's Notes:

One of the things that were important for ME to do tonight was to edit this chapter which, apparently, has been sitting in my in box for some time without me noticing. I don't honestly know how that happened.  I wish to apologize to Uncle Ed for that oversight.

As always, this was a wonderful chapter. I feel wonderful about this story and the way it is moving along.  It's about time they decided to buy Mrs. Quinn's house, isn't it?

Ty has a wonderful sense of ethics. I am so proud of him for not taking the mean spirited approach and spilling all that information that he had at his disposal to the public. That is just one more reason for me to love him.

I miss Zack too, I know Mark misses him more, but Zack livens things up quite a bit, and is so full of fun. I miss him.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher  

Posted: 02/08/08