A Subpoena History.
Although we live in a quiet little town with very little crime, it seems that our position here on the edge of town on a major curve in the highway is a major draw to people in need of gas, confessionals, and a yard to drive their car onto. We've had every sort of crazy from arsonists to murderers show up here over the years. This usually results in a subpoena being served to one of us to be a witness. We've learned that trials are a major inconvenience to the witness as the trial date gets moved time after time. The most recent subpoena was served to John just yesterday. To illustrate that we are subpoena magnets, I give you:
Exhibit A: A drunk man's car meanders to a stop in our yard with the driver passed out inside. When the troopers arrive and ask him to recite his alphabet, he is stumped after the letter A. I am a witness. The trial date is moved three times, coming to a rest in the middle of a vacation that I have planned. My tickets are in hand. I cancel my trip to be available for the trial only to find out that at the last minute that the man has pled guilty and I am not needed.
Exhibit B: A woman roars into our driveway and wants to use the phone in our gift shop. She has an unlit cigarette hanging from her mouth. She calls the police and confesses to setting her boyfriend's house on fire. I see billows of smoke over the trees nearby. After spelling her name for the police she leans over and asks me for a match to light her cigarette. No testifying needed - full confession.
Exhibit C: John picks up a man standing by a wrecked car along the highway in the winter. The drunk man gets into the car and quickly passes out. John has to call the police to remove him. The wrecked car, it turns out, was stolen. After the trial date is moved back several times, causing John to lose out on many days of work, he finally testifies.
Exhibit D: Current subpoena. A man pulls into our drive and asks for some gas. He offers to pay a lot of money for it. He also rambles about how he might have killed his girlfriend. John isn't sure what to do; keep a possible murderer on our property by denying him gas or send him on his way and then call the police? It turns out that the dead girlfriend was in the car wrapped in plastic. After leaving here he dumped her body in the ocean where it quickly washed back up on shore again. Then the man's car got stuck in the sand. He was caught after he was seen soaking wet lurking around someone's property. We are sure this one will be a big deal and cost John lots of money in lost wages. Also, the trial is in Anchorage, where the alleged murder happened, which is a four-hour drive from here. An October trial date is set.
Oh, the picture is of a mouse that our cat killed last night in the living room. I found it moments after the trooper delivered the subpoena. It seemed a fitting picture.
Although we live in a quiet little town with very little crime, it seems that our position here on the edge of town on a major curve in the highway is a major draw to people in need of gas, confessionals, and a yard to drive their car onto. We've had every sort of crazy from arsonists to murderers show up here over the years. This usually results in a subpoena being served to one of us to be a witness. We've learned that trials are a major inconvenience to the witness as the trial date gets moved time after time. The most recent subpoena was served to John just yesterday. To illustrate that we are subpoena magnets, I give you:
Exhibit A: A drunk man's car meanders to a stop in our yard with the driver passed out inside. When the troopers arrive and ask him to recite his alphabet, he is stumped after the letter A. I am a witness. The trial date is moved three times, coming to a rest in the middle of a vacation that I have planned. My tickets are in hand. I cancel my trip to be available for the trial only to find out that at the last minute that the man has pled guilty and I am not needed.
Exhibit B: A woman roars into our driveway and wants to use the phone in our gift shop. She has an unlit cigarette hanging from her mouth. She calls the police and confesses to setting her boyfriend's house on fire. I see billows of smoke over the trees nearby. After spelling her name for the police she leans over and asks me for a match to light her cigarette. No testifying needed - full confession.
Exhibit C: John picks up a man standing by a wrecked car along the highway in the winter. The drunk man gets into the car and quickly passes out. John has to call the police to remove him. The wrecked car, it turns out, was stolen. After the trial date is moved back several times, causing John to lose out on many days of work, he finally testifies.
Exhibit D: Current subpoena. A man pulls into our drive and asks for some gas. He offers to pay a lot of money for it. He also rambles about how he might have killed his girlfriend. John isn't sure what to do; keep a possible murderer on our property by denying him gas or send him on his way and then call the police? It turns out that the dead girlfriend was in the car wrapped in plastic. After leaving here he dumped her body in the ocean where it quickly washed back up on shore again. Then the man's car got stuck in the sand. He was caught after he was seen soaking wet lurking around someone's property. We are sure this one will be a big deal and cost John lots of money in lost wages. Also, the trial is in Anchorage, where the alleged murder happened, which is a four-hour drive from here. An October trial date is set.
Oh, the picture is of a mouse that our cat killed last night in the living room. I found it moments after the trooper delivered the subpoena. It seemed a fitting picture.
posted by Denise at 9:39 PM
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