Naive by Charles Royce (world best books to read .txt) 📕

pectoral muscles and below, one scraping across the sternum downwards to the other lung but did not collapse it. Stab number twenty-three is through the side of the throat at a forty-degree angle, this time with the right hand. And, as you can see from this illustration, wounds twenty-four to thirty-three are in various places along the body, including wrists, arms and legs, some deep and some not. Wounds of note include these two along the Achilles tendon, which caused a muscular tear from here to here on the right leg, and one other wound from here to down here on the right foot, along the superior extensor retinaculum, partially severing the victim’s right foot. And this one on the right wrist, which has all the indications of being a defense wound.”

Micah watches in a fog-like state as Astrid and Shawn discuss the forensics with Dr. Frischell. He does not remember the doctor leaving the stand. He watches as the medical examiner takes his place. The scenes go by as if in a movie, with words reverberating like muted echoes in the background of his consciousness.

“We have concluded that the victim was still alive when the defendant came home.”

“That this was a particularly savage crime, and the victim was lucky to still be alive at that point.”

“With thirty-three stab wounds of a hunting knife, he would have been dead within the hour, especially with the precision of the cuts being mere millimeters from vital organs. However, in my expert opinion, the murder weapon is a simple kitchen knife, or what some would call a steak knife, one from the same maker as the knife set we found in the defendant’s apartment.”

“In my expert opinion, yes, if Lennox were found earlier he most certainly would have survived. Paralyzed from the neck down, but alive.”

“The victim was mutilated and tortured in a crime of passion and left on the floor, clinging to life for over three hours.”

Micah finally comes to and realizes the past two hours have been a blur.

“What are you doing,” he whispers to Shawn. “You’re not saying anything.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve been objecting to a ton of things. But most are indisputable facts in evidence. Remember, you didn’t do any of this. Not relevant to our defense.”

“And would you state for the record your name and title again, please?” Astrid addresses her next witness.

“Sure, I’m Dr. David Lynna, Director of the Crime Analysis Division at NYAFS, the New York Academy of Forensic Sciences.”

“Dr. Lynna, how long have you been in your position?”

“I co-founded the crime analysis division about five-and-a-half years ago and have served as its director for the same amount of time.”

“Were you personally involved in the analysis of the crime scene in this case?”

“Yes, I was.”

“Now, from your analysis of the crime scene, what significant findings can you share with us today?” Astrid has been careful to not over-complicate things for the jury and does not want to start now.

“Well, since the victim was stabbed earlier in the evening yet remained alive, the blood found at the crime scene occurred in several stages. Based on the coagulation cascade, we determined initial blood splatter to be about three hours old by the time it was analyzed, placing the initial stabbing at around 7, 7:15pm. Since the victim was still alive and his heart was still pumping, several other blood samples show various times of coagulation throughout the evening, up until time of death, which is roughly 10:15pm.”

“Is this coagulation cascade the same for the blood on both the victim and the defendant?”

“No, coagulation is relevant mostly to the victim, as the blood on the defendant was mostly from around 10pm until the time of the victim’s death.”

“I noticed you said ‘mostly.’”

“Yes,” Dr. Lynna uses a laser pointer to call attention to the closeup of Micah’s face that Astrid has placed on the easel in front of the jury box. “We did find two spots of the victim’s blood on the defendant, one on the face right here, just below the mandible to the right, and one here in the middle of his neck above his larynx.”

Micah scratches his neck.

“I’m sorry, doctor. Are you saying that the victim’s blood found on the defendant’s neck was from earlier in the evening? How can you be sure?”

“It’s two spots, which is not significant in comparison to how much blood there was on both the victim and the defendant, the whole living room really. But what is significant is the way it spattered. As you can tell from the photo of the defendant taken at the police station that night, attached here, the blood is a drop or a spatter. Had it been a smear or an irregular shape, one might argue that it was from the victim, or contact blood, due to the trauma of the defendant trying CPR on him and pounding his chest.”

“Are you saying that based on your findings, you believe the defendant was spattered with the victim’s blood earlier that evening?”

“That’s the only explanation we have, yes.”

Shawn looks in the direction of the jury. They are all looking at his client. For the first time, he senses he is in trouble. He has prepared for his cross-examination but feels unprepared for the reactions he is experiencing.

“And the DNA.” Astrid walks in front of the jury. “The DNA and fingerprint analysis of the crime scene. Results came back threefold, the victim, the defendant, and the housekeeper. Is that correct?”

“That is correct.”

“And the housekeeper was ruled out as a suspect because she was out of the country at the time.”

“I have no idea.”

“But to your knowledge, doctor, there was no one else there who left their DNA behind.”

“To my knowledge, the crime scene contained only the DNA of the victim and the defendant.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

“Your witness, Mr. Connelly,” the judge says. He looks at his watch. “This will be the final witness, the final redirect of the day.”

“Thank you, your Honor. I’ll try to make this quick.”