Chapter 24 #2
“I don’t have the file in front of me, but I remember blood inside the vehicle being noted.”
“Oh, excuse me.” The prosecutor picks up extra files and asks for permission to approach the bench. When granted, he hands a copy of the file to both the judge and the chief. He walks back to his desk, seeking me out and offering me a reassuring look.
“Hang in there, Sorrow. I know this is hard, baby, but you can do this. You’re so fucking strong,” Banner whispers, kissing the top of my head.
“I don’t feel very strong. I feel like I might puke.”
“No, shame in that either. Just aim for my parents.” Banner winks, making my lips twitch. Smartass. But then I realize he’s distracted me enough that my stomach settles a little.
“The documents say a large amount of blood was found inside the vehicle, correct?” Mr. Knowles repeats.
“That’s what the report says, yes.” The chief squirms, and this time, he actively looks away from me.
“Was the blood tested?”
The chief looks down and scans the document, looking for an answer before he shakes his head. “It doesn’t say in the report if it was or wasn’t.”
“Well, it’s safe to assume it wasn’t then. Otherwise, it would have been mentioned. Is there a reason the blood was not tested?”
“We rarely test blood in vehicular accidents unless a homicide is being investigated.”
Mr. Knowles taps his chin. “The report states Mr. Bannerman was thrown from the passenger seat on impact.”
“Yes.”
“It also says that almost all the blood was found on the driver’s side of the vehicle, particularly the driver’s seat. Again, the blood wasn’t tested. But given what we know, it’s safe to assume the blood was, in fact, Miss Wells’s. For it to be Mr. Bannerman’s, he would have to have been driving.”
The chief reaches for a glass of water and sips it before answering, the glass shaking in his hand. “Yes. That would be my assumption, too.”
“One last thing. Was Miss Wells breathalyzed at the scene?”
“No, I believe she was unconscious and remained that way until she arrived at the hospital.”
Mr. Knowles nods before returning to his seat. “Nothing further, your honor.”
I frown, wondering why he stopped there. The defense has no questions, and I release a shaky breath as the judge tells Stephenson to step down. I let my eyes slip closed as I try to find a moment of peace. It’s only going to get worse from here on out.
The day drags on, and I feel myself folding in on myself more and more as the hours pass and my story is splayed out in all its brutal glory for the court to see.
“State your relationship to Mr. and Mrs. Bannerman, please, Dr. Gray,” Mr. Knowles tells the next witness.
“We went to high school together. I dated Leanne before she married John, and I married my wife, Lydia.”
“You remained friends?”
“Yes. In a small town like Tempest, if everyone hated their exes, nobody would have anyone left to talk to.”
Someone snickers. I ignore them, watching the man I’ve only got vague memories of from that night. I never realized he was friends with Banner’s parents, let alone that he’d dated Banner’s mother.
“You were the attending physician the night Sorrow Wells and Alec Bannerman were brought into the ER?”
“That’s correct, though I only worked on Miss Wells.”
“Can you tell us a little about the injuries Miss Wells presented with when she arrived in your care?”
The doctor casts a look my way, his eyes filled with sympathy. I feel my pulse quicken and my hands get sweaty.
“Miss Wells had a variety of bruises and contusions, prominently on her face, neck, chest, and stomach. She was also miscarrying.”
My nails dig into Banner’s hand, and for a moment, I stop breathing. I feel Katy wrap her arm around me, as Banner’s grip on me tightens.
“In your expert opinion, would a miscarriage explain the amount of blood in the driver’s seat?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
“So the crash resulted in Miss Wells’s injuries, including the miscarriage?”
“While a crash could have caused a miscarriage, when Miss Wells regained consciousness, she told me and the nurse attending that she started miscarrying before she got in the vehicle. She was on her way to the hospital because of this.”
“Okay, miscarriage aside, her bruises and contusions were a result of the crash, though, right?”
“Some, perhaps. But Miss Wells had many injuries that were not consistent with a car crash.”
“Objection, the witness is making assumptions.”
“With all due respect, your honor, Dr. Gray is an expert in his field. His opinion very much matters.”
“Agreed. Dr. Gray, you may continue,” the judge states. I risk a glance at Banner’s parents and see them furiously whispering to their lawyer.
“In answer to your question, no, the injuries Miss Wells sustained were not from the car accident, beyond some slight bruising on her chest from the seatbelt and the contusion on her head from where it collided with the driver’s side window.
I believe this is what rendered Miss Wells unconscious at the scene.
The rest of the marks on her face were consistent with being hit by a fist, the marks around her neck were caused by manual strangulation, and the bruising on her stomach was caused by a foot. ”
Moisture pools in my mouth as my brain flashes back to the moment I knew my baby was gone.
“How can you be sure it was a foot?” the prosecutor questions, as a whimper slips free.
“Because we could see the tread of the boot the assailant was wearing.”