Back to the future

[thehangingtree]

Tree recently completed a pair of threads, Joan Arbor’s vindictive boredom and A History lesson. In the first we saw Joan Arbor's gruesome pastime and in A History Lesson we learned that justice was solely how the people in power viewed it. In this story we flash ahead to Joan Arbor's descendant and will look at what happens to Joan Tree "Back to the future"...

Back to the future…

…and not the movie of that name…

Joan Tree had been a ‘waitress’ at a truck stop situated by the main highway that passed through town. Having a largely male client meant waiting on tables was not the only services Joan performed and her best tips came from activities that included other services besides what was on the menu or drinks for truckers spending their rest stops in one of the rooms.



She did quite well on those ‘tips’, too. One day she played the lottery and her bet came in. She was suddenly rich and did not need her job waiting tables (and other things). She bought a luxurious house and occupied her time with distractions best left unmentioned.



Over time, Joan found ways to enhance her pastimes. She dabbled in new pleasures with her friends.



Some would be frowned upon by the general society, but Joan was rich and didn’t can what ‘they’ would think. She was only concerned with her pleasures and how she fulfilled them was not the concern of the public.



Joan had a darker side to her. She often worked hard to gain undying trust in her friends. She satisfied them as they never had been before.



Then she would ask her if she wanted to try something different. The friends never refused Joan’s offer.



That would be a mistake…

 

[thehangingtree]

Rita Miller had become a close friend of Joan Tree. She would say it was the satisfying encounters they shared.



Joan found that acquiring friends was much easier after she won the lottery. People seemed attracted to her more once she was more than wealthy. While Joan enjoyed the encounters, she found most were as expendable as she had been to the truckers she bedded when she was an easy lay instead of just waitress.

In fact, she would find that ‘expendable friends’ could be expendable in more permanent ways. One day she had Rita Miller over for an afternoon pool party. Joan proceeded to get Rita quite drunk.



Rita would pass out long before the sun set. She would wake up hours later but found she was quite naked and her hands were cuffed behind her back. She looked up and saw Joan seated with a few women she did not recognize. Rita tried to cover herself only to find it impossible with the handcuffs. She asked “What the hell is going on? Where are my clothes and who are these people?”

“Rita, these are women I worked with and we are going to do something different with you” Joan replied.

“Something different with me? I… I don’t do group sex” Rita exclaims.

“No, dear, its nothing like that” Joan says. “We are going to hang you.



“What?” Rita asks.

“We’re going to hang you… by your neck… from the joists in the basement” Joan explains.

Rita says “Are you crazy? I don’t do shit like that!”



“Oh but you will today” Joan replies with a smile etched on her face.

 

[thehangingtree]

“We’re going to hang you… by your neck… from the joists in the basement” Joan explains.

Rita looks up not believing what Joan just said. She and Joan had become passionate lovers. The thought crosses her mind this was some new kinky thing Joan wanted to try. Rita asks “This is just for taking pictures, right?”



Joan’s friend Carol laughs “Of course it is just for pictures. We just want to see what you’d look like hanging by your neck.”



“Now get up. We have to take you downstairs. The scene has to be right.”

Rita struggled to her feet and was led to the stairs leading to the basement. Rita asks “Will it hurt?”

Joan opens the door as Suzy leads Rita to the steps. She says “I’m sure it will hurt some. I mean they do kill people by hanging them. But don’t worry. I don’t want to have to dispose of your body.”



Rita is taken down the steps leading to the dark, damp basement. Carol points to a room to Rita’s right and says “Over there, Rita. That’s where the noose is.”



Rita is reluctant to proceed but Suzy had an iron grip on her arm. Rita is led into the room. There is a noose hanging from the joists with a stool placed beneath it. As Rita gets closer she says “Do I have to get up there? I really don’t want to be hanged.”



Joan says “It would look fake if we can’t show you feet off the floor. Now get up there so I can put the noose around your neck.”

In a tremendous display of trust Rita climbs on the stool and Joan pulls the rope over her head and tightens the noose. Joan says “See, it only itches a bit.”



With Carol steadying Rita Joan secures the noose around Rita’s throat. Rita moans “It’s too tight.”

Joan says “Not as tight as it will be in a moment.”



To Rita’s surprise, the stool is kicked from beneath her feet. For a moment she hangs still by her neck until the noose starts to choke her. Rita’s feet wave through the air searching for ground they do not find.



Her hands try to reach for the rope she hangs from with the handcuffs keeping them secure behind her back.

Spit and drool froth from her mouth as Rita hangs. She wants to cry out she is choking but saliva is all that comes from her mouth.



The last thing she hears is Joan’s voice saying “The guy from Al’s Waste Company will get rid of her body.”



Joan and her friends really hanged Rita to death…

 

[Barbaria1]

This Rita is really quite naive. She probably deserves what she got. No sympathy from me.

 

[thehangingtree]

This Rita is really quite naive. She probably deserves what she got. No sympathy from me.

Tough audience here. Tree wonders what she'll say as Joan's escapades carry on!

 

[kendelo]

Tough audience here. Tree wonders what she'll say as Joan's escapades carry on!

Offer the next one Riesling. Someone will be naked, handcuffed, noosed, and standing on a chair in no time.

 

[thehangingtree]

As Joan said ‘the guy from Al’s Waste Company’ did get rid of Rita’s body. Joan had long ago learned to keep friends who could ‘clean up’ her garbage. Joan laid low for a while but eventually became intimate with Theresa Morehead, the wealthy daughter of the owner of a very successful tech company. They had an active sex life but Theresa had learned Joan a newly wealthy woman, not of the fortune Theresa had been born into (even if her family’s wealth only came about a generation before hers).

Theresa had a nasty habit of enjoying fine French wine, at times too much of it at one session. During those sessions Theresa liked to remind Joan of her new found wealth, as is Theresa’a wealth was any of her doing. Still, Theresa could be an ugly drunk and would rub it (and other things) in Joan’s face.



Eventually, Joan had enough of Theresa’s abuse. Joan convinced Theresa to vacation with her at an ocean-side cottage she rented. Theresa loved the ocean and agreed to come along. One afternoon, Joan brought several bottles of wine back from her shopping trip and got Theresa very drunk. Theresa passed out mid afternoon. It was close to sunset when Theresa woke up. She was quite confused as she was naked, tied up, and sitting in a sandy pit with ocean water oozing into the hole. She looked up and saw Joan standing over her. Still quite hung over she asked Joan “What the hell are you doing?”



Joan started shoveling sand back into the hole and said “I know how you love the ocean so I thought you’d like the high tide.”



Joan had rented a large estate and was unconcerned about anyone hearing Theresa’s objections. Joan buried Theresa up to her neck. As the sand packed around Theresa’s body her protests became weeping sobs as her lungs had trouble drawing in a full breath. Theresa wept “What are you doing to me?”



Joan knelt next to Theresa and said “Well, I got you drunk, stripped you naked and tied you up, and buried you in sand.”

Joan grabbed a vial of water and poured it over Theresa.



“And now I ‘m going to open a bottle of wine and watch the tide come in and drown your haughty ass.”

Theresa begged Joan to let her go. Joan squatted down and rubbed Theresa’s head and said “Don’t embarrass yourself begging to be spared. It is beneath your status.”



Joan stripped off her dirty clothes and walked over to some beach furniture near where Theresa was buried.



She called to Theresa “Go ahead and beg for salvation. The only one who will hear you is me and I am not saving your butt.



Joan watched the water rise and she would watch Theresa drown in the high tide. But drowning Theresa brought its own set of problems…

 

[thehangingtree]

Theresa Morehead’s death certificate stated she drowned swimming in the ocean. Her father did not question the coroner’s finding publicly. He arrived in his hometown late one Friday afternoon and went to see his grade school friend. He walked into his old friend’s office who was surprised to see him. They exchanged pleasantries before the conversation took a solemn turn. Fred Smith brought up Theresa’s death and extended his condolences. Mr. Morehead graciously accepted Fred’s kind words then said “That is why I am here. You see I don’t believe Theresa accidental drowned. I believe she was murdered and I know who did it.”

“But Irvin, there was the report that said she drowned swimming in the ocean and you accepted that. Why didn’t you challenge the coroner’s findings” Fred asked.

“There are inconveniences with being wealthy. Some of them involves doing business with people that are less than stellar with their reputations. I cannot afford to have mine soiled.”

“Irvin, your daughter died in another state. I don’t have any power over what happens there” Fred explained.

“I said I know who killed Theresa. I could easily have taken care of the person but I need to have it handled openly and keep my name out of it” Morehead said. “I know she was having an affair and I know that’s who killed her.”

“I still don’t see how I can help, Irvin” Fred said.

“What if I told you her murderer is a wealthy woman who has killed before and will again” Mr. Morehead asks.

“Well, hell, you didn’t say it involved a lesbo! I could set her up and get her hanged” Fred exclaims beaming with delight.



Morehead smiles warmly and said “I knew I could count on you. And, Fred, a couple things here… You don’t know me and I go by ‘I. M. Morehead’.”



“And Sheriff Smith, you pull this off and there will be a generous reward once the woman is dead…”

 

[thehangingtree]

Sheriff Smith had a woman on his force named Alice Jones. She was a detective and was quite good at her undercover work. She had a body that looked like a teen’s and a sexual appetite that made her very adept to infiltrating the dark world of adult traffickers. The sheriff called her to his office and said he wanted her to do some undercover work.

Alice was not pleased with the sheriff’s request. She moans “Last case you sent me on I nearly got fucked to death.’



“Yeah, but how many men did you put away for a real long time” the sheriff reminds her.

Alice was still not convinced. She sighs “I am tired of being your sex toy and getting screwed by every bad guy you are after.”



Sheriff Smith cheerily says “Unless this one is into strap-ons, I don’t think you have to worry about that. This time we’re going after a lady. Her name is Joan Tree.”

Alice’s face lights up. She exclaims “A woman! Why didn’t you say so sooner!”

Alice does go undercover. She goes a French woman named ‘Précieuse Plus de Sexe’. It was obviously a fake name but Alice could do a fair French accent and tracing a foriegn woman would be hard to do if Joan was so inclined.

Alice… um… Précieuse became aquainted Joan Tree. It turned out Joan found ‘Précieuse’ attractive both as a friend and a lover.



It did not hurt that Joan was laying low after her ‘dispoasal’ of Theresa Morehead but there was still a real attraction to Alice. They made love like two passionate lovers.



As much as Joan was attracted to Alice she did find something funny about Alice’s accent. Besides it had been a while since she had killed a woman. One afternoon they were making love together when Joan said “Précieuse, this has been quite fun, but I think I want to do something different."



Breathless from her orgasm just moments ago, Alice wonders what Joan could have in mind but went along with what she wanted. Joan had Alice stand before her facing away. Joan started to tied Alice’s hand behind her back. Alice asked “What are you doing?”

“It is just something I like to do” Joan said.

Alice asked with a worried voice “You aren’t going to stick anything in me, are you?”

“Précieuse, you ask a lot of questions. No, I am not going to stick anything in you. It’s just you accent doesn’t sound all that French to me”



“It sounds more like from around here trying to sound French” Joan says. “And I have a fun game to find the truth!”

 

[bobinder]

Alice does go undercover. She goes a French woman named ‘Précieuse Plus de Sexe’. It was obviously a fake name but Alice could do a fair French accent

Ooh la la! - Yes I think even I would be fooled by this undercover disguise.

Alice… um… Précieuse became aquainted Joan Tree. It turned out Joan found ‘Précieuse’ attractive both as a friend and a lover.

Indeed, she has a certain charm...

As much as Joan was attracted to Alice she did find something funny about Alice’s accent.

I told her to disguise the Russian accent...

“It is just something I like to do” Joan said.

Like killing people...?

Alice asked with a worried voice “You aren’t going to stick anything in me, are you?”

This shows she was paying attention to the Sheriff's briefing - and especially the part about strap-ons...

“It sounds more like from around here trying to sound French” Joan says. “And I have a fun game to find the truth!”

The tension is building up now, but I wonder where this will lead - to the beach, or the basement...?
Nice writing, Tree.

 

[thehangingtree]

The tension is building up now, but I wonder where this will lead - to the beach, or the basement...?
Nice writing, Tree.

Thank you. We will soon see what new perversions games Joan has in store for Alice!!! (Hope she survives them!)

 

[kendelo]

Thank you. We will soon see what new perversions games Joan has in store for Alice!!! (Hope she survives them!)

The survival rate isn't very high in your stories...not looking good for Alice.

 

[thehangingtree]

Alice soon finds herself locked in a very revealing cage. Her head protrudes from its top but her hands are bound behind her back leaving her breasts exposed and her pussy displayed between her legs folded before her body. Joan loads Alice on a rack of her ATV and drives her captive through the woods. Alice looks out the back of the ATV and watches Joan’s house disappear behind her. The rails that form the cage’s ‘floor’ dig painfully into her rump with every bounce the bike takes.

Joan stops the bike at the bottom of a hill and unloads the cage with Alice locked in it. Alice sits helplessly in the cage as she sees Joan grab a shovel and starts digging a hole next to the cage. She asks Joan what she is doing.



“Quit your bitching, ‘Precious’ or whatever your name is. I’m digging a hole to bury you in but if you argue with me once it is done I’ll break this shovel off and stick it up you ass before I bury you!”

Being buried does not appeal to Alice and having a two inch round piece of broken shovel handle shoved in her ass while she is dies so even less. Alice looked at the small hole Joan had dug and the police woman in her made her comment “It’s not very big. I don’t think the cage will fit in.”



“It will fit” Joan reassured her, grunting as she dragged the cage with Alice towards the hole. “You’re a small woman so I made a small cage.”

Joan dropped the cage into the hole and proudly said “See? You fit perfectly!”



Alice looks about and observes her head is still above ground level. She says “My head is about the ground. Aren’t you going to bury me alive?”



Joan stands over Alice and the cage.



With an annoyed voice Joan says “You are a little woman but you still take up a bit of room. There’s plenty of dirt to bury your head but I am not a barbarian! No, I am only going to bury you up to your neck.”

Joan picks up the shovel and buries Alice’s body patting the dirt around Alice’s shoulders. Satisfied, Joan says “There! You’re nice and tight, yes?”



Alice tries to move and admits to herself she is indeed trapped buried in the dirt. She watches Joan set up a video camera next to her. Curiously she asks “What is that for?”



Joan calmly explains “It is going to take a while for you to die and I really don’t want to watch your head bobbing around while you croak. It’s suppose to rain tonight so I figure you’ll drown when this pit fills.”

Alice’s eyes widen as Joan flips the camera on.



With a frightened voice Alice asks “You going to drown me?”

Joan squats over Alice and pulls her dress up. She begins to pee on Alice.



“That’s just a preview of tonight, Precious” Joan says before she walks away. Alice prays Sheriff Smith keeps his word and sends a deputy to check in on her.



She can’t stand the feel of the soil moistened by Joan’s urine sitting against her neck.

 

[thehangingtree]

Joan had left Alice buried up to her neck in the woods behind her house. Alice was having a difficult time beathing with the dirt packed around her body and the rain Joan had spoke about hadn’t started to fall yet. Alice looks about praying Sheriff Smith would check on her.



The sky started to darken and it was nowhere near sunset yet. Alice’s eyes opened wide when she heard a bolt of thunder. ‘My god, I’m going to drown here’ raced through her mind.



It did start to rain. Alice prayed it would be short-lived.



But soon the ground was saturated with water. The slimy muck rose around her head but there was nothing she could do about it. Her hands were tied behind her back and even if they weren’t she was still locked in the steel cage. Alice was sure it was only minutes till she drowned in the mud.



But Sheriff Smith did remember to check on Alice and finding her not at home or answering her cellphone dispatched his crack SWAT team to Joan Tree’s house. The team arrived with weapons drawn and showed no concerns they were on private property.



They burst in the front door of Joan’s house and found her quite naked watching her TV. They demanded to know where Alice was and though Joan claimed not to know any ‘Alice’, the image of Alice about to drown in a pool of mud beamed from Joan’s TV screen. They arrested Joan locking her in handcuffs.



Joan was hauled down to the police station and already she thought she better get a lawyer.



The SWAT team combed the grounds looking for Alice. The good thing was the rain deluge had ended as quickly as she had prayed it would. She looked up from the muddy soil as the team approached her. Almost cheerfully she said “Hi, guys! Get me out of this crap!”



The SWAT team did not dig Alice out right away. They waited for the police photographer to show up to take pictures of buried in mud. Despite her misery, Alice remained buried while the pictures were taken.



There was no explanation why the police stood around her holding shovels for the last pictures.

Meanwhile, Joan was marched into the police station with her hands cuffed behind her naked body.



She kept swearing all the cops better have lawyers because she was going to sue them all. They didn’t seem too worried about that…

 

[thehangingtree]

Joan Tree had been arrested at her home for allegedly trying to murder Detective Alice Jones in a most sadistic way. She was caught naked and, after being cuffed, was taken to the police station that way.



The arresting officers wanted to be certain no one could accuse them of planting evidence on Joan. She was discretely brought into the station with hardly anyone seeing her.



She was taken to the jail’s basement where she would be held until her trial.



Of course, entering a jail as a prime suspect she had to be searched.


As Joan was already naked it was determined a thorough cavity search should be done.



It was determined Joan was not carrying any weapons or contraband into the jail, neither in her rectum or her mouth.



Although the search was quite invasive, Joan embarrassingly had multiple orgasms. When the guards said they had completed their search, Joan leaned against the wall and said “Are you sure? I don’t think you checked my ass deep enough.”



Joan was handcuffed and taken to a holding cell where she would await her trial. As the guard removed the handcuffs, Joan was feeling… um… warm(?) from the thorough search she had received. She asks the guard if he could take care of the ‘condition’ she was in.



To her dismay the guard said “No ma’am. We’re not allowed to fuck prisoners who haven’t been convicted yet.”

Later that day, Joan was allowed to shower. She asked the matron watching her what was the deal the guards could put their hands and whatever else wherever they wanted but she couldn’t get laid when she wanted it.



The matron explained “They were just doing their job when they searched you. Until… I mean if you are convicted you are just being held here to prevent you missing your trial. Once you are found… I mean if you are found guilty they can pretty much do whatever they want. By the way, they can get blowjobs before your trial. I recommend you consider giving them some. They might take it easy on you once… I mean if… you are found guilty…”

 

[thehangingtree]

Joan’s bitching about not getting laid while awaiting her trial even though they hadn’t given her a rag of prison uniform to wear tires on the guards. It must be noted they do not get bored looking at Joan but it is much the same as looking at a naked woman’s picture. After a while it gets old and until she is convicted, there is nothing the guards can do about it.

They do get Joan a prison jumpsuit because they have to get her mugshots. Joan is less than cooperative as they take the photos of her. She has to hold up a sign that has her description on it.



She argues she is not that heavy and is taller than the sign says. She gets no sympathy from the guards.

She is brought back to her cell and the guard takes the uniform before she locks her in. Joan protests the lack of clothing as the guard pushes her in cage. She says “I haven’t been convicted of anything! You can’t keep me here!”



The guard says “You are the prime suspect of trying to kill a cop. We can keep you here right up till your trial. You better enjoy it. It is far better than the state pen you’ll be doing time in once you are found guilty!”

Joan’s problems are compounding. In the governor’s mansion the director of the state’s prison sentence is meeting with the governor. ‘Spike’ Sharp lights up a cigarette and notes “Throwing that Tree dame should help your re-election campaign next year.”

The governor seems perturbed. He says “This has nothing to do with my reelection. I want to make sure that Miss Tree gets a fair trial with the best representation. And one other thing…”



“…I want that bitch convicted and spend her last days on death row!”

“I’ve got my best team interrogating her as we speak” Spike assures the governor.



And in fact Joan was being led to the interrogation room as the men spoke. She was neatly dressed, not for her modesty but to make it appear she was being treated well in the county jail. Joan was pleased at the attention she was getting from the press while annoyed she was being treated as a prisoner of the state.



In the interrogation room, Joan was surrounded by cops that to her barely had mastered their language. They asked seemingly convoluted questions that made like sense to Joan. Soon she forgot she was handcuffed and wearing shackles around her ankles.



She even forgot there was a microphone recording everything she said.

There were numerous sessions which became more detailed in the questions asked. Joan answered questions that had she had a lawyer present he would have never allowed her to answer. The questioning got more intense and the men used means hardly legal to get answers from her.



Still, in Joan’s mind once she had a lawyer he would certain get her off the hook once she went to court. After her last questioning, Joan asked the matron how she did. The matron looked up from locking the shackles around Joan’s ankles and said “You did good.”



She didn’t tell Joan she had practically condemned herself to be convicted.

The head of the interrogation unit rode the elevator with the governor’s chief of staff. He was asked “What do you think? Did we get enough to convict her?”



The head of interrogation lit a cigarette and replied “Don’t buy sheets for her bed in prison. She won’t be on death row long enough to get them dirty.”



“The governor will be pleased to hear that” the aide replies…

 

[thehangingtree]

The wheels of justice can turn very slowly. Both the prosecution and the defense team will often drag out every trick in the book to give them time to present their perfect case. Add in the bureaucracy that courts are run by the government, a suspect’s trial could take months or even years to happen. But Joan’s trial is of interest to the governor. Not only is she accused of trying to murder one of the governor’s policewoman, the governor is up for reelection the next year. What better way to show he is tough on crime than sending a rich pretty white woman up to the big house with a tough sentence?

Joan’s trial comes up in weeks instead of waiting a long time. It would have happened sooner except the prosecutor had frozen Joan’s finances to prevent her from fleeing her trial. It took a while to find a lawyer to defend Joan that was suitably incompetent and cheap enough to hire but they found one.

Though having never won a criminal case, Joan’s lawyer made a credible opening statement. He stated that Joan had no criminal record, was a pillar of her community, and was independently wealthy and was a member of the Church of the Gooey Death and Discount House of Worship. He made a sweeping gesture towards Joan and said “Does that look like a woman that would plot to kill a policewoman of this fine state?”



It did not help his case as Joan was bra-less in a bare shouldered dress. The prosecutor’s assistant leaned over and whispered “This shouldn’t last more than a couple days before you send her up the river.”



The state’s case opened with a dull presentation of what the police had found. It was somewhat boring but necessary for the next day’s prime witness. That morning a demurely dressed woman took the witness stand. She was introduced as Detective Alice Jones. The prosecutor asked what she had to do with the case. Alice replied “I am the woman she tried to kill!”

“You are? And who is this ‘she’ you refer to” the prosecutor asked.

Alice stood up and said “Joan Tree… That is the woman who tried to kill me!”



A loud gasp comes from the court room. The prosecutor says “Are you sure it was Miss Tree that tried to kill you?”

“When you are tied up and locked in a cage being buried up to your neck you get time to memorize the face of the woman shoveling the dirt on you.”


“Besides, I’m a trained police officer. We notice that kind of stuff.”

“And you are certain Miss Tree was trying to kill you by burying you alive” the prosecutor asks.

“No, sir. Miss Jones was not trying to bury me alive” Alice says firmly.

“So you are saying she did not try to kill you?”

“No, sir. I am saying she was not trying to kill me by burying me alive. You see, it was going to rain that night and her method of killing me was to bury me neck deep in a ditch. When it rained the water would rise and I would be drowned. Of course, I knew that I would be missed and be looked after. I remained calm and patient waiting for my team to rescue me” Alice explains,



Left out of Alice’s testimony was why she was at Joan’s house or why the police would search for a detective who was not on duty. It was even left out that Alice was found buried neck deep screaming her head off in panic fearing for her life.



Joan whispers to her attorney “That didn’t go well.”



He decided not to mention Alice Jones’ testimony was mere icing on the state’s evidence on her case.

The next morning Joan Tree tries to argue that her attorney was barely competent enough to find the courthouse.



The judge leaned over her bench and said “You will treat all officers of the court with the respect they are due or I will add ‘contempt of court’ to your sentence!”

Joan is taken back to the defense desk and the judge announces “Joan Tree, you have been found guilty of all charges filed against you. Due to the fact Detective Jones was spared being murdered by you, I must weigh what your sentence will be. I will sentence you this Monday and you must pray I am merciful on you!”

Joan is handcuffed and led from the courtroom. She glares at her attorney and says “If you weren’t my brother, I’d never talk to you again!”



T. H. Tree pulls a flask from his pocket and takes a drink. He wipes his mouth and says “Whatever…”

Special thanks to Bobinder for help with the 'Alice in court' pictures!

 

[bobinder]

Left out of Alice’s testimony was why she was at Joan’s house or why the police would search for a detective who was not on duty. It was even left out that Alice was found buried neck deep screaming her head off in panic fearing for her life.

Special thanks to Bobinder for help with the 'Alice in court' pictures!

Another exciting instalment from the master of courtroom drama! Thanks for the credit on the figure of Alice - I like how you have introduced her as a witness who evidently takes the prosecution by surprise! These cases are never straightforward, and are indeed more interesting in their complexity. Highly entertaining as ever, Tree!

This link takes us to a scene earlier in the morning, when Alice is preparing for her appearance in this episode -
https://www.cruxforums.com/xf/threads/cruxton-abbey.3796/post-763269

 

[Wragg]

her attorney was barely competent enough to find the courthouse.

You know, I was only just thinking how, in all these zillions of court cases, he's found the courthouse with unerring accuracy every time.

Not that I'd have any problem finding a courthouse if Alice was in it...

 

[Wragg]

I like how you have introduced her as a witness who evidently takes the prosecution by surprise!

Most things take Attorney Tree by surprise...

But Alice was looking very smart and professional, she's scrubbed up nicely since her encounter with the mud!