Still in the clink

Joseph is still in custody. He should have been back by now, so his solicitor said, providing the magistrate sets bail at a reasonable amount. But then I heard two things. One, the magistrate had been taken sick whilst running a practice marathon. This delayed his hearing by a couple of days. Then, I heard that he was VOLUNTEERING to stay locked up in fear of his own safety. If you read back a few weeks, you will read that someone unknown to us issued a death threat. That was shaky enough, but what Joseph didn't tell me (or yourselves, apparently) is that he has since recieved two other threats. The suspect is a disaffected student from the university where Joseph was marking papers and where the head of department is now on the run (something else no-one told me). For all I know, the head of department could be issuing the threats himself. Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

The solicitor told me that my husband is in good spirits considering his position, and has been giving impromptu 'seminars' on parasitology to the local police. He knows most of them anyway, and I think they see him as the local eccentric rather than a serial criminal. I don't really see the difference, as he is still locked up and I'm having to run the show pretty much by myself.

Ravel came back from A&E without any obvious injuries. He took a blow on the head from a truncheon when he pushed one of the policemen away but seems OK. They said he suffered a mild concussion, and should take it easy for a few days. So I've given him some light duties, mainly in the kitchen where I fear to tread. Denise has been demoted back to receptionist after she served me chips with gravy three nights running.

The solictor also told me that since Joseph has no previous convictions and is considered to be of good character, he should be treated leniently. I couldn’t help letting out an ironic snort when he told me . ‘So why’s he in jail on assault charges then?’ I asked.

The solictor gave me a letter that Joseph had deposited with him just a few days earlier. Typically for Jospeh, he included instructions with the letter on how it should be ‘deployed’. He has instructed me to use the letter as the ending of the book. The assumption in this statement is that someone is going to finish the book whilst he languishes at Her Majesty's Pleasure. He apparently wrote the letter some time ago, expecting the worst. A permanent sense of his own predicament is one his enduring characteristics.

Oh, I nearly forgot - he asked me through the solictor to say thanks for all the messages of support. He maintains his innocence and looks forward to blogging with you all again soon.

Nice to know he's got priorities.

Anyway, that's all for now

yours

Dolores