Chapter 44
Eddie
‘Dr. Morrow, what makes you believe the victim died of head trauma?’ asked Riley.
‘How do you know the decapitation occurred after she’d already died?’ asked Riley.
‘Is it possible the victim was merely unconscious when this mutilation occurred?’
‘I suppose it is possible, but unlikely in my opinion. The vast majority of major limb amputations that I have seen have all evidently been carried out postmortem. After death, I mean.’
Riley paused to let the jury take in this point before expanding it.
‘Dr. Morrow, why then do you conclude that the cause of death was trauma to the head?’
‘Really it was a logical course of eliminating other potential fatal injuries. Having examined every inch of the victim’s body, there was no evidence of any natural cause of death.
Heart, liver, kidneys, all major organs were in excellent health, there were no signs of disease and more importantly no signs of any other kind of trauma to any other part of the body which could possibly have been fatal.
There was a cut on the sole of the foot, but that would not have been a potentially mortal wound.
That led me to conclude that any fatal injury must have occurred to the skull and brain, which were of course missing. ’
‘Dr. Morrow, you have had cause to examine a jewelry box, is that right?’
‘Yes.’
‘Does this box have the necessary weight and—’
‘Objection, Your Honor,’ I said. ‘The witness is now speculating.’
Tanner gave me a side eye, then smiled at Riley and made sure I saw it.
‘Your Honor,’ he began, ‘this witness has cause to examine what we believe to be the murder weapon and posit his expert opinion on whether or not it could have been used to cause the type of injuries which in his opinion caused the victim’s death.’
Very few judges would have let Riley proceed. This was way beyond the medical examiner’s expertise, considering there was no evidence of any head trauma that the DA had to offer.
‘I’ll allow the question,’ said Tanner.
Before Riley could restate and finish his question, Dr. Morrow shot out his answer.
‘The box weighs almost three pounds, it’s solid and has sharp corners. There is no question in my mind that this could have caused a skull fracture and fatal brain injury if it had been used as a weapon.’
‘Thank you, Dr. Morrow,’ said Riley, who sat down like he’d gotten away with murder. He was getting an easy ride from the judge, and I was getting fines.
I stood up and moved around the defense table, closing the distance between me and the witness stand.
I felt Riley tense, almost up on his toes already.
I could sense it. The judge too was watching me with hawk eyes.
Dr. Morrow sensed it also. I could see his eyeline flicking between the judge and Riley.
His protectors. At any moment, either one of them was ready to jump on me and rip me apart.
I didn’t want to keep them waiting.
‘Dr. Morrow, you’re altering your testimony to suit the prosecution’s case against my client. Isn’t that right?’
‘Obje—’
Helpfully, Riley didn’t even have to finish this word.
Judge Tanner said, ‘Mr. Flynn, you have been warned about this line of questioning repeatedly. That question will cost you another thousand dollars.’
‘I’ll rephrase, Your Honor,’ I said. ‘Dr. Morrow, you filed two autopsy reports on this victim. Correct?’
This question was short, sharp, to the point. Factually accurate and no way for Riley or Tanner to argue about it.
‘That is correct.’
‘The jury have only seen your second report, correct?’
‘I believe so, but—’
‘They only saw your second report – yes or no, Doctor?’ I had to risk cutting him off. I didn’t want to give him time to explain himself.
‘Yes,’ he said.
The next question had to be carefully worded.
If I straight up asked him why the jury had only seen his second report, you can be sure he would give a perfectly convincing explanation.
The risky thing about asking questions in a murder trial is that sometimes witnesses answer you.
I didn’t want an answer. I wanted to carefully control every word out of his mouth so I could build a narrative for the jury.
‘Your first report, which has been hidden from this jury, has a different conclusion on the victim’s cause of death – yes or no?’
‘The reason there’s a difference—’
‘I didn’t ask you for a reason. I didn’t ask you to give this jury poor excuses. I asked you a simple question with a simple yes or no answer.’
Riley was on his feet again – rookie mistake. ‘Your Honor, Dr. Morrow can answer Mr. Flynn’s question in any manner he chooses, as long as he answers it.’
Before Tanner could speak, I shot back at Riley, not for the judge, but for the jury to hear.
‘Your Honor, I’m exploring why Dr. Morrow and the district attorney’s office decided to hide relevant evidence from this jury. Obviously, Mr. Riley doesn’t want the jury to know the truth, but I’m determined that they hear it.’
I saw Riley’s expression change, a wince, like he’d just walked into a wall accidentally. He had only one option now. If he was smart, he would take it.
‘Your Honor, actually, having considered it, I withdraw my objection. Let Mr. Flynn waste his time. I don’t mind.’
I could take the barb on the end of that statement. I’d shut him up, and he would think twice about interrupting me again now that he knew I wasn’t giving him any free rides.
Before Tanner decided she would fine me again, I moved things on quickly.
‘Dr. Morrow, your original report stated that the cause of Molly Green’s death was inconclusive, but may have been caused by decapitation. Again, that’s a yes or no answer.’
He hesitated, looked to Riley for assistance. Given how the last exchange went, Riley was warming the bench for a while and the judge didn’t have any wiggle room to hit me, not yet.
‘Yes,’ said Dr. Morrow, finally.
‘Let’s be clear for the jury, when you wrote your second report, your final report, you had not re-examined Molly Green’s body, correct?’
‘Correct.’
‘I just wanted to rule out any possibility that there was some other injury you might have found on a second examination, maybe something that you neglected or missed the first time?’
You can always tell when a professional witness feels insulted.
They sit up straighter, or lean forward, or their expression hardens and their gaze focuses on you instead of the jury, who they’re trained to look at when they deliver their answers.
Dr. Morrow chewed his lip, then leaned forward and looked at me when he said, ‘I don’t miss important details when carrying out postmortem examinations.
I never have, and I never . . . I mean . . .’
He paused while giving his answer, but he wasn’t stumbling over his words – he was reading me.
I’d raised an eyebrow, like I didn’t believe he could possibly carry out a competent examination.
His neck flushed red, stark against the white collar of his shirt and the rest of his alabaster complexion. He was really pissed now.
‘I mean . . . I don’t make mistakes, Mr. Flynn.’
‘Really? Not once?’ I asked.
‘Not. Once,’ spat Dr. Morrow.
‘Your opinion on the victim’s cause of death changed. That’s because the district attorney gave you a jewelry box to examine, which supposedly had the victim’s blood on it, and told you it was the murder weapon. Isn’t that right?’
‘I am entitled to alter a preliminary opinion when I have taken all the relevant facts into consideration,’ he said, rather too grandly.
‘It is not a fact that the jewelry box is the murder weapon, though, is it?’
‘I was informed by the district attorney’s office that this was the murder weapon.’
I had a comeback for this, a real doozy, but it would take me off point and likely cost me a thousand dollars. I decided I would try and work this answer back into my last question.
‘Dr. Morrow, there is no point of fatal impact on the body you examined which would be consistent with a blow from this jewelry box, is there?’
He hesitated, said, ‘It’s obvious the victim’s head was removed to hide any such point of impact.’
‘So you’re a detective now as well? Are you psychic too?’
‘Objection,’ said Riley.
‘Sustained. Be careful, Mr. Flynn,’ said Judge Tanner.
‘You did not examine the victim’s skull, Dr. Morrow, did you?’
‘No, for obvious reasons.’
‘So you don’t know if the victim sustained thirty blows to the head with a long, pointed object, do you?’
The medical examiner opened his mouth, paused, then said, ‘No, but I can take other evidence into account.’
‘There was bruising on the victim’s neck. You don’t know if the victim was strangled, do you?’
‘That bruising is likely to have been caused during the amputation at the throat.’
‘But you don’t know that for sure, do you?’
‘No.’
‘The victim could have been shot in the head, stabbed in the head, or possibly even smothered to death. Isn’t that right?’
‘It’s possible, but like I said I am entitled to take into account extraneous evidence when forming my opinion.’
‘You’re referring to the jewelry box, so you think, in your professional opinion, that if the district attorney tells you they found the murder weapon you are entitled to change your entire opinion on cause of death?’
‘I am entitled to take that into account, yes.’
I was finishing up, just one more question to set up the final blow.
‘It is the district attorney’s case that Molly Green was murdered with that jewelry box, correct?’
‘Correct.’
‘The first question I asked you was if you’ve changed your opinion to suit the prosecution’s case, and you’ve just proven that this is exactly what you’ve done.’
Riley tensed, put his hands on the prosecution table, bent his elbows, ready to spring to his feet to object. The judge watched him. Waiting for him to give her a chance to knock me down again.
His lips tightened, his jaw flexed, and then he relaxed back into his chair, leaned back and covered his mouth with his hand. He didn’t know if I’d set him a trap, and the question was legit. Too risky.
Dr. Morrow looked at the judge, who stared back at him. No help there.
I didn’t mind the awkward pause. In fact, I stayed quiet. I didn’t push him. It was good to let the jury see him squirm.
‘Yes,’ he said, with some difficulty, ‘I changed my opinion.’
I looked at him for a few seconds, enjoying this moment. The jury met my eyes, and they were fully switched on now. This wasn’t an open-and-shut case.
‘Your Honor,’ I said, ‘I have no further questions at this time, but the defense may need to recall Dr. Morrow.’
She nodded curtly, and I muttered in her direction, under my breath, ‘And you owe me a grand.’
‘What was that, Mr. Flynn?’ she asked with a lot of heat in her tone. She’d probably heard me just fine.
‘Apologies, Your Honor, I was just muttering to myself. I said the prosecution’s case isn’t going to plan.’
Riley rubbed his forehead, sighed and Judge Tanner looked so embarrassed she actually hung her head, looking for the ground to swallow her up. She’d asked the question, after all, and I’d just answered it. Someone on the jury chuckled.
As I made my way back to the defense table, I had a feeling that I was making up some ground. But I knew all that work could fall apart at any moment. A successful defense is a long tightrope walk. A sudden gust of wind could be catastrophic.
That’s trial law.
Riley was about to hit back.
The wind was going to start blowing.
I just didn’t know how hard.