Miz Sara Faces a Tough Opponent

"What is going on in there?" David whispered.

I turned to Cindy. "Did you bring your camera, dear?"

"Yessum," she confirmed.

"OK, then here's what I think we should do. David, since you're the homeowner, you have a perfect right to enter your own home, even if Jeanine doesn't like it. Nevertheless, it would be a lot better if you can do so without being seen. Just step inside, have a quick look around, and then come back and let us know what's going on."

"I understand, Miz Sara," he said grimly.

Extracting his key from his pocket, he carefully unlocked the back door and quietly let himself into the kitchen. Then, he stepped down the hall and out of sight, and Cindy and I spent what seemed like an eternity waiting for him to reappear.

After long minutes, David reappeared at the back door and stepped out onto the porch. His face was pale, and he motioned us out into the yard so we could talk freely.

"I can't believe it, I just can't believe it," he kept repeating.

"What did you see?" Cindy urged him.

He looked at us with a stunned expression. "That loud music seemed to muffle everything, so at first I thought there was nobody around. Then I heard noises coming from the den, so I tiptoed down the hall there and peeked around the corner. There were two couples in there, and they were" -- here he looked at me uncomfortably -- "um, making love!"

Cindy was agog. "Who were they? Was it your wife?"

David looked at us helplessly. "I've never seen any of them before in my life!"

"So where was Jeanine?" I asked him.

"I never saw her. Maybe she's upstairs," he replied.

"Come on," Cindy urged, "let's go up there and see."

"Hold it. Just hold on a minute," I said firmly. "Cindy, let me borrow your cellphone." When she gave it to me, I stepped away and made a quick call. After speaking for a couple of minutes, I hung up, returned to the two of them and handed the phone back to her. Both of them stared at me curiously, but we didn't have time for explanations.

"David," I whispered urgently, "can you slip back inside and open the front door? When you've done that, come right back."

He nodded his agreement and again slipped inside and out of sight.

In seconds he was back. "Alright, Miz Sara, I opened the front door and unlatched the screen door. I don't think anybody heard or saw me. I guess they were too busy, er, doing other things."

"Alright," I said to the two of them, "I think it's time for us to check out the upstairs part of the house. Cindy, be sure to have your camera ready."

"Just a minute, Miz Sara," David spoke up. "Let me go up there alone and I'll come back and tell you what I see."

My dander was up now. "No," I said, "they've chosen to drag all of us into this, and we're all going to find out what's going on. Besides, we need Cindy to get pictures of whatever is going on, and I want to make sure you don't do something rash. We all go together."

I hoped I was doing the right thing.

David was surprised that I would want to venture in, but he was too eager to find out what was going on in his home to argue with me. He set his jaw, and the three of us went back into the house. The music was still playing, but the moans and panting emanating from the den were now loud enough to let us know that the activities he'd witnessed earlier were still in full swing.

Stepping slowly and carefully to avoid making any noise, David led us upstairs. "Goodness," I thought as I trudged behind him, "the high ceilings in these old places sure do make for some tall staircases."

On the second-floor landing, we found a hallway with several doors leading to rooms off to the side. It was a good thing David was there to guide us. He led us down the hall to the master bedroom. The door was ajar, and he carefully eased it open.

We needn't have bothered to be so stealthy; it would have taken a fire alarm to interrupt the scene before us. Jeanine was lying on the bed with a scarf covering her eyes. She was naked, with her hands and feet spread-eagled and tied to the opposite ends of the bedstead. She was moaning continuously, and, as we listened, we gradually began to make out her words over the music playing throughout the house. "Oh, yes, yes," she kept repeating, "right there. Yes, keep doing that, don't stop, don't stop."

Sprawled between her widespread legs was a large man with shaven head. He too was completely naked, and he was performing oral sex on Jeanine with great diligence. Her thighs were quivering around his head; I doubted if he could hear anything at that point.

Cindy, who had been taking pictures ever since the door swung open, turned to us and whispered, "That's the same man I saw before, the one who told me to go away."

David's face was taut in anger, and I had to grip his arm tightly to keep him from entering the room or making any noise. I knew he wouldn't be able to restrain himself much longer.

I whispered to him, "I know you want to confront her, David, and I think now is the time to do that." I gripped his arm again before he could move. "But promise me you won't touch her," I added urgently. He nodded and unclenched his fists.

With grim determination, he stepped into the room as Cindy and I stood behind him in the doorway. The pair on the bed was so lost in their carnal play that he was able to walk up beside the bed and stand next to them without their even noticing. Suddenly, he leaned over and yanked the cloth off his wife's eyes. As she blinked, trying to clear her vision, he yelled in a loud voice, "So this is what you do when I'm at work!"

She screamed in fear and surprise and began to struggle against the ropes that held her, but to no avail. Meanwhile, her burly lover had leapt away from the bed in shock at seeing a man standing over him. He struggled to pull on his underwear -- I think most men feel pretty vulnerable with their privates uncovered. Once he had pulled his briefs on he seemed to regain a measure of confidence. He stood up straight and began to yell angrily, "Who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing here?"

Jeanine continued to struggle unsuccessfully with her bondage, but she paused to cry out, "He's my husband." Then she turned her head to David, who was standing there with his arms crossed and a furious expression on his face, and told him, "I can explain all this, David. It's not what you think."

At that point, she caught a glimpse of Cindy and me standing by the doorway. She started to speak, and then did a double-take as she recognized me. "Miz Sara! My God, what are you doing here?" With that she turned to David and began to beg him to cover her body, which was still exposed to all of us. David made no move to do so.

The bald-headed fellow began to curse us. "Get the fuck out of here! If you don't get out right now, I'll throw you out."

Looking at his biceps, I had no doubt that he was fully capable of doing just that. But before he could act on his threat, there was a commotion from below, followed by footsteps running up the stairs. A uniformed policeman pushed past Cindy and me and strode into the room. Pointing at the big man and Jeanine, he said, "The two of you are under arrest for operating a house of prostitution."

David gasped when he heard this, and Jeanine, bound to the bed, began to rant and weep. But her heavy-set lover was not to be cowed. "You have no right to bust in here like this. This is a private residence. You can't come into this woman's home without a search warrant."

The officer looked at him with contempt. "We don't need a search warrant," he said coolly. "The owner of the house invited us in."

Without further ado, the officer began to cuff the big man. Meanwhile, I took pity on Jeanine and motioned Cindy to help untie her while I covered her with a robe that had been lying at the foot of the bed. When Jeanine was free, Cindy helped her slip on the robe; then David's wife was also handcuffed and led down the stairs. All this time, David had not moved a muscle to help her. I couldn't blame him.

We all walked downstairs just in time to see the four participants in the orgy downstairs being led away to a waiting police car. Jeanine and her bouncer friend followed. The police officer we'd seen earlier was waiting for us. "This was quite a little operation she had going on here, Miz Sara" he said. "Apparently, she and her boyfriend were offering businessmen the opportunity for a little noontime recreation."

He waved a bound notebook in front of us. "It's all in here," he said, "names, dates and payments. More than enough to get a conviction." He grinned, "It kinda gives a whole new meaning to the 'business man's lunch.'"

After the police left, we helped David lock up his house. "I know the name of a good cleaning service," I told him. "They can have everything disinfected and cleaned for you."

We returned to the car and began the drive back to my office. David maintained a stony silence, but Cindy was bubbling over with questions. "How did you know what was going on here, Miz Sara?"

"I didn't, honey," I told her, "but everything you and David told me made me very suspicious. The day before we had our little council of war, I decided to call on an old friend on the Atlanta police force and have a chat with him. He told me the police had had several reports from the local Neighborhood Watch in the area about unfamiliar cars on the street and strangers coming and going at the house during the day. They had begun to suspect the possibility of drug trade, but didn't have enough grounds for a search warrant."

"When I told him what Cindy had observed earlier, that raised his suspicions about the house being used for prostitution. Then I let him know that we were planning to pay a visit. If we found anything that would confirm his suspicions, I promised that I would call him. I also assured him there would be no need for a warrant because the owner of the house would invite them to come in and see for themselves. After David saw what was going on in the den, I let my friend know what was going on and told him his officers were welcome to come in and see for themselves."

"But who was that big guy -- you know, the bouncer?" Cindy wanted to know.

"I couldn't tell you, honey, but I suspect he was Jeanine's partner in the whole business -- in addition to being her lover," I said. David glowered at that. I knew he was still hurt and angry.

Amazingly, considering all we'd been through, it was only mid-afternoon when we got back to the office. We were all still keyed up from everything that had happened, so I thought I'd try my luck with one more score I had to settle. I asked Cindy to print me copies of the shots of Jeanine and her boyfriend, as well as those of her being led off in handcuffs by the police. While she was doing that, I went to my computer and printed out a petition with the appropriate names. Then I called Rosa Brindisi's office and asked if there was any possibility I could come by her office to see her about Chesterfield vs. Chesterfield.

Rosa's secretary put me on hold and went to check. She quickly returned to say that Ms. Brindisi would be delighted to see me last thing in the day. "I bet she can't wait to lord it over me about serving David in my own office," I thought to myself, with a grim smile.

I told Cindy and David what I was planning to do, and both of them wanted to stick around to hear the outcome. I got back in my car and headed for Rosa's office. I hate driving in Atlanta, especially during rush hour, but today I was willing to make an exception.

When I got to Rosa's Buckhead office, I didn't have to wait to see the great attorney this time. Her secretary ushered me in and sat me in the chair at the foot of Rosa's imposing desk. "She probably thinks of it as her throne," I thought.

Bedecked in a pomodoro red blouse and a black skirt, Rosa was almost chortling in her pleasure at having me appear before her. She looked at me like I was a plate of veal marsala waiting to be eaten. "Well, Miz Sara, it looks like we got to cross swords again sooner than you expected. Do you have some more tricks in your bag for me this time?" she chuckled.

I smiled at her and replied, "No tricks this time, Miz Rosa, just a question."

She sat there smugly, waiting for me to proceed, so I asked, "I know you practice family law, but have you recently started to handle criminal defense as well?"

Rosa frowned impatiently, "No, of course not. Why would you ask that?"

"Have you spoken with your client, Mrs. Chesterfield, today, by any chance?" I went on.

"No, not since yesterday. What's all this about, Miz Sara? Why all these silly questions?"

"Well," I said, "if you need to reach her for anything, you'll have to contact her at the Atlanta City Detention Center, where she's being held on prostitution charges." With that, I dropped some of Cindy's photos on her desk. They clearly showed Jeanine wrapped in her robe with her hands cuffed behind her back, being led out the door by a policeman.

Rosa gasped in shock; for once the woman was speechless.

"But don't worry, Rosa, even though you don't do criminal defense, Mrs. Chesterfield will still need your services. My client, Mr. David Chesterfield, is counter-suing his wife for divorce. But his suit is not based on irreconcilable differences." Then I dropped the petition I'd just prepared onto Rosa's big desk. Clipped to the front was a photograph of Jeanine bound to the bed, caught in the act of committing adultery with her lover.

I turned and headed for the door of her office. As I was leaving, I turned back and waved to her and said, "Ciao, Miz Rosa."

She was still sitting there, her mouth agape at the photos in front of her.

When I returned to my office, David and Cindy were still there. They couldn't wait to hear what had happened, and took great delight when I described my encounter with Rosa. I think Cindy had picked up on my feelings about the "Atomic Italian," and I know that David still resented being served with Jeanine's divorce petition.

Their laughter at Rosa Brindisi's befuddlement helped to raise everyone's spirits after such a harrowing day, but I could tell that David would need a long time to heal. "Are you going to be all right?" I asked him. But before he could respond, Cindy grabbed his arm and held him close to her as she walked him toward the door. "Don't worry about David, Miz Sara, I think I can get his spirits up."

I could only imagine.