A Reasonable Doubt by Susan Sloan (free novels .txt) 📕

Well, no, it isn’t,” Bellerman conceded with a shrug.  “My job is to determine the cause of death and the manner of death.  But I was asked by the prosecutor to speculate on what the context of the death might be, and so I did.”

“I see,” Lily said.  “So, according to you, we can rule out an accidental shooting.”

“Yes, I would say so.”

“How?”

“Mostly because of the wound itself,” he replied. “It appeared to have been aimed.”

“Okay, so, let’s say we rule out an accidental shooting.  I take it there was no evidence suggesting that Dale Scott shot himself, was there?”

“No, there wasn’t,” the medical examiner confirmed.  “First, there was no gunshot residue on his hands, second, he was right-handed and the bullet was fired into the left side of his head, and third, the gun wasn’t found anywhere near the body.  All of which led to my conclusion that the manner of death in this case was incompatible with suicide.”

“All right, so if we rule out an accidental shooting, and we rule out suicide,” Lily said thoughtfully, “what’s left?”

Bellerman looked perplexed.  “I beg your pardon?”

“Well, you seem to be suggesting that the only other option is intentional murder, isn’t that true?”

“Well, yes, I suppose what I said did imply intentional murder, and it could have been that.”

“Only could have been?  But if not intentional, what else?”

Bellerman frowned.  “I’m not sure I understand your question.”

“Well, you said that the victim had sustained injuries to his face and torso, didn’t you?  Doesn’t that suggest there had likely been a physical confrontation of some kind that occurred prior to his death?”

“I can’t say for sure what it was,” the medical examiner replied.  “There was certainly evidence of some sort of physical encounter, because the victim had sustained multiple bruises and abrasions, but there was no way for me to determine if the two events were actually related.”

“But you did confirm that this physical encounter took place at around the same time as death occurred, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did say that,” Bellerman conceded, “and I believe that the two encounters did occur at around the same time, but there was no way for me to determine, at least, not with any medical assurance that I would feel comfortable testifying to, whether they were separate or connected events.”

“Fair enough,” Lily said. “Then, just for the sake of argument, let’s say -- hypothetically, of course -- that Detective Scott pulled his gun on his assailant for reasons we may or may not know at this point.  Let’s further say there was some sort of a struggle, and in the course of that struggle, the assailant got hold of the gun.  Was there anything in your autopsy that would eliminate the possibility that the shot that killed Dale Scott was fired in self-defense?”

The medical examiner looked a bit startled.  “Self-defense?” he echoed, and then he shook his head.  “No, there was nothing in my findings that would eliminate that as a possibility.”

“Thank you, Dr. Bellerman,” Lily said.  “I have nothing further.”

. . .

“Where the hell did that self-defense crap come from?”  John Henry demanded, when he and Tom Lickliter caught up with Lily in the corridor after court had recessed for the day.  “You never said anything about self-defense.  Besides, resisting arrest doesn’t get you to self-defense, in case you’ve forgotten.  Anyway, I thought you were going to claim he was drunk.  I thought you were going to argue diminished capacity?”

“Did I say that?” Lily said.

“Yes, you did,” he reminded her.  “You said he was drunk.  You said he was so drunk he didn’t know what he was doing.  You said you could argue diminished capacity.”

“And I suppose I could,” she conceded.  “But then again, I just might have a better option.”

“What do you think you have?”

“Did I say I had anything?”

“This is all just a load of crap you’re trying to fill the jury’s head with, and you know it,” he exclaimed.

John Henry was a by-the-book, follow-the-rules, put-one-step-in-front-of-the-other kind of prosecutor, and more than anything else, he hated being thrown a curve.

“Maybe so,” she agreed, “but I’ll tell you what let’s do -- let’s let you try your case, and let’s let me try mine.”

John Henry sputtered.  Lily shrugged.  There was a faint smile on Tom Lickliter’s face as he took it all in.

. . .

Ben Dawson was the first witness to take the stand on Thursday.  The Port Hancock Police Department’s senior crime scene investigator testified in general about his experience, and then what his specific responsibilities were in connection with the Scott crime scene, and he confirmed that he and his partner had arrived in the alley just after seven o’clock on the morning of the murder.

“The M.E. wasn’t on scene yet, so we didn’t touch the body except to confirm that he was dead,” the witness said.  “As soon as we determined that, we began to collect evidence.  We wanted to get as much stuff identified and photographed as we could before Doc Bellerman showed up and started rearranging things.  The shot that killed Detective Scott was a through-and-through, and we found the bullet about ten feet from the body, up against the stone wall that runs down the alley, in pretty good condition, all things considered.”

“Through-and-through?” the prosecutor repeated for the jury.

“Yes,” Dawson confirmed.  “Through-and-through means the bullet went into his head, but it didn’t stay there.  Instead, it went through his brain, and then exited out the other side of his skull.”

“All right, what else?” John Henry asked, noting jurors taking notes.

“We took samples of the blood in the area.  We took Detective Scott’s gun into custody.  We took trace evidence from the victim and we took the defendant’s fingerprints and DNA, and tested him for GSR.  Because of the weather, we weren’t able to get much good quality trace or DNA from the actual place of death, but we did the best we could.  And, of course, we took a lot of photographs.”

“And when you were