“I think Mark’s ten year high school reunion is this weekend,” Cam said.
“Yeah, it is,” Braden agreed. “He’s been talking about it for a while. No way will he miss that to go to a UFO gathering.”
“Well that leaves Adam. Like Cam said, maybe he needs a little vacation.”
“I was thinking more like a trip to the Caribbean, not to a haunted lodge in the middle of the woods,” Cam noted.
“Everybody goes to the Caribbean. It’ll give him something different to do.”
“There’s a reason everybody goes to the Caribbean, baby,” Braden said. “The Caribbean is fun. Rural Bucks County? Not so much.”
“And speaking of doing something different,” I went on, ignoring them, “Jess you’ve been saying that Lily should get out more often. Maybe we should invite her too.”
“I meant go out on a date or something. Not go hunt UFOs,” she said.
“Maybe it will give her some ideas for a thriller. I would ask Beth too, but I know she’s going out of town this weekend,” I said distractedly.
“If Lily goes does that mean that Adam won’t?” Jess asked.
“We won’t tell him.” Braden laughed.
“He’s getting sneaky,” Jess teased. “Gabrielle’s definitely rubbing off on him.”
I checked out the accommodations at Overbrook and found out that while the Lodge itself was full there was still one last four bedroom “luxury cabin” available.
“Um, I don’t know,” Cam responded when I shared that news. “I’m not sure that the words ‘luxury’ and ‘cabin’ actually belong together.”
“Yeah, I agree, Gabrielle,” Braden chimed in. “It’s kind of like saying ‘luxury tent’ or ‘luxury cot’.”
“The cabins have private hot tubs!” I said, ignoring them.
“On the other hand …” Braden said.
“And a fireplace, and big screen TV, and a bar …”
“Okay, maybe that’s luxurious enough.” Cam came around too.
I reserved the last luxury cabin for Friday and Saturday night. We decided that if everyone agreed we would drive up after work. Jess had been searching for something on her own computer while I was checking out the digs and booking our accommodations.
“Ah ha! I found something we can watch tonight to get in the mood for our romantic weekend getaway.”
She went over to the TV and set up the computer stream. I came back over curiously and resumed my snuggle position. I saw the logo for the History Channel and then the name of the show – The UFO Conspiracy. Great.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Friday
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF PHILADELPHIA COUNTY, PENNYSLVANIA
Commonwealth v. Jennings
“Mr. Mickley, would you please tell the court what happened outside the Bucket O’ Chicken restaurant that you manage on September third?” Braden asked.
“Yes sir,” Mr. Mickley, who bore a striking resemblance to Orville Redenbacher, answered politely. “I hired the defendant, Mr. Jennings, to hand out flyers on the sidewalk outside the restaurant. One of my employees let me know there was a disturbance and I went out to see what going on. I saw Mr. Jennings arguing with another man and it became physical.”
“What do you mean by that?” Braden asked. I knew that this was another one of “those” cases and I had prepared myself mentally as best I could.
“I saw Mr. Jennings start pecking the other man.” Yes, he did really just say “pecking”.
“Would you explain what you mean by pecking?” Braden asked.
“He was wearing a chicken suit and it had a plastic beak attached to the headpiece. Mr. Jennings began vigorously nodding at the other man in a manner that looked like a chicken pecking.”
“What did the other man do?”
“He turned and started to run and Mr. Jennings pursued him.”
“What happened then?”
“The man attempted to cross the street and Mr. Jennings followed, which caused several cars to slam on their brakes. Then one of the drivers got out and yelled something and Mr. Jennings attempted to peck him too but several bystanders intervened.”
“No further questions,” Braden said and glanced at me. I stood up and walked over to question Orville.
“You didn’t hear the exchange between Mr. Jennings and the man on the sidewalk. Correct?”
“That’s correct, ma’am.”
“It is possible that Mr. Jennings was actually nodding, as in agreeing?”
“Well, technically, yes …”
“And the other man did shove Mr. Jennings after the nodding?”
“He did, but it looked like he was trying to keep Mr. Jennings back.”
“But you don’t know that was his intention, correct?”
“Well, no.”
“You also didn’t overhear the conversation between Mr. Jennings and the driver of the car that stopped. Right?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“So, again, he could have been agreeing with something the driver said, correct?”
“I suppose it’s possible, but it looked like …”
“Thank you. No further questions.”
“Redirect?”
“No, Your Honor. The Commonwealth rests but Mr. Robbins, the man from the sidewalk and Mr. Thomas, the driver would both be available to testify at trial.”
“Okay, Ms. Ginsburg, I assume you don’t have any evidence to present.”
“Wait a minute!” my client stood up and announced in a very loud voice. Oh Jesus Christ no! We had discussed this. I had explained the difference between a preliminary hearing like this one and a trial. I had also explained what a bad choice it would be to testify. I tried to talk to him but he wasn’t listening. “I have a right to be heard!” he boomed in an exceedingly dramatic manner. Shit.
“Ms. Ginsburg,” Judge Channing said with a warning tone. What did he want me to do, wrestle Tweety Bird to the ground? I tried threatening and pleading with my client to no avail. Why did nobody ever listen to me?
“I wish to testify!” he cried as if he were making a declaration of war.
“I’m sure that Ms. Ginsburg informed you that it would not be in your interest to testify, Mr. Jennings,” the judge announced in a scathing tone, “However, if you insist then take the stand. Swear him in, Wayne.”
I had a feeling that Braden was going to see me drunk for a second time soon. I got up to do my duty.