On the second day of the trial, there was no evidence that public interest had subsided at all. The morning news shows had been full of coverage, reporting and predicting and commenting. Ben still had to pass through a gauntlet just to get into the courtroom. And the gallery was still full.
DA Guillerman seemed considerably less cheery than he had been the day before. This warmed Ben’s heart. Perhaps he and Christina had done more damage to his case than they realized.
Ben had an easy morning. Guillerman started with a few softball witnesses. Apparently the DA subscribed to the common belief that jurors mostly saw jury duty as a sort of holiday, free time off work, so they tended to sleep in and get to the courthouse as late as possible. Consequently, there was no point in putting important witnesses on early, because most of the jurors weren’t really awake yet.
He started with forensics witnesses. The first confirmed that the handgun found in the hotel room had in fact fired the bullet that killed Christopher Sentz. He also mentioned that the police had run a search and found that it had been sold and registered to one Dennis Thomas several years before.
The next two witnesses were considerably more problematic. The fingerprint analysts established that there were more than sufficient correspondences between the prints on the gun and the prints Dennis gave when he was arrested to show that he had fired the gun. On cross, Ben made the point that the prints at best showed that Dennis had held the gun-hardly unusual, since he owned it. It was a thin point-especially since no one else’s prints had been found-but Ben made the most of it. The truth was, in the post-DNA universe, fingerprint analysis was not nearly as important as it once had been. But juries were comfortable with it and they expected it, and the DA wanted to keep them happy.
Guillerman’s next forensic witness testified that they’d found GSR (gunshot residue) on Dennis’s clothing. Ben argued on cross that since Dennis was found lying on the gun, that was hardly surprising. He also established that they did not find residue on Dennis’s hands, but the expert asserted that since the test had not been taken until after Dennis had been in the hospital for several hours, he might well have washed his hands, several times over, with hospital-strength cleansers. Basically, the testimony was a wash. It didn’t help Dennis, but Ben didn’t think it hurt him much, either.
The final forensic witness was the DNA expert. Traces of dead skin on the gun demonstrated that Dennis had held it. Some of those flecks were found on the trigger. It didn’t take a science degree to understand what that implied. But it still was far short of conclusive proof.
The primary witness for the afternoon was Lieutenant Jimmy Babbitt. Ben knew he’d been the first responder, the first man at the crime scene, not counting the undercover agents who were already on the premises. He’d been responding to two calls, one from another resident at the hotel who’d heard the gunshot, and one from one of the undercover agents who’d become concerned when Sentz didn’t call in at the appointed time. Babbitt found the hotel room door locked. He broke in and found two figures lying on the floor. Detective Sentz was dead. He had a bullet hole in his forehead. Dennis was not wounded, but he was lying on the floor only two feet away, on top of what had been established as the murder weapon. His gun.
Ben took the cross-examination. “Let’s make a few things clear. You didn’t see who pulled the trigger, right?”
“True.” He paused. “But there were only two people in the room. And the door was locked.”
“From the inside. It locks automatically, does it not? So anyone could’ve exited the room and left the door locked behind them.”
Babbitt was a natty dresser, especially for a police witness. He was actually wearing a suit, rather than the usual sports coat and slacks. He wore a bright tie that appeared to be silk and even sported French cuffs. “I suppose. But the other officers didn’t see anyone.”
“The other officers themselves could’ve gotten in and out of the room, right?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you. So the truth is, we have many potential suspects. In fact, we have no reason to exclude anyone, since the door was not monitored and anyone could’ve left without being observed, right?”
“If you say so.”
“Did you see any signs of a struggle?”
“Not really. One chair was overturned.”
“Would you expect more mess from a murderous man on a rampage?”
“Or a crazy man.”
Touché. This witness was stylish and smart. Ben would have to be more careful.
“Have you ever participated in an undercover operation?”
“Yes.”
“Is it typical to allow civilians into the stakeout room?”
“Well… no.”
“So how did Dennis get in?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t there.”
“Do you think Dennis overcame Detective Sentz with brute strength?”
“He didn’t have to. He had a gun.”
“Detective Sentz also had a gun, did he not?”
“True enough.”
“Why would Detective Sentz let him in? This man had allegedly assaulted him only a few days before.”
“I don’t know. It’s possible he let himself in.”
“There doesn’t seem to be very tight security on this stakeout.”
“Objection, your honor,” Guillerman said wearily. “Is this relevant to anything? It sure doesn’t seem so. We’re trying a murder, not questioning departmental stakeout procedures.”
Judge McPartland nodded. “I would appreciate it if you could move things along, Mr. Kincaid. This trial will likely be long enough just sticking to the issues that actually matter.”
Ben took the hint. “I don’t believe you mentioned the state you found Dennis in when you entered the room, Officer.”
“I said he was lying on the ground.”
“Was he conscious?”
“I’m not a doctor.”
“Did he appear to be conscious?”
“His eyes were closed and he did not respond when I spoke to him. But that doesn’t mean anything.”
“Did he show any signs of consciousness?”
“Well…”
“Did he blink?”
“His eyes were closed.”
“Did he move?”
“No.”
“Did he do anything that would suggest to you that he was conscious?”
Babbitt shrugged. “I’ve seen fakers before.”
“I didn’t ask you about your past experience, Officer. I asked you about Dennis Thomas. Did he do anything that suggested to you that he was conscious?”
“I guess not.”
“In your experience, do murderers normally remain at the scene of the crime?”
“No.”
That was as far as Ben could take it. If he asked if there was any reason for Dennis to remain, Babbitt would suggest he was faking to set up an insanity defense. He’d established the fact of unconsciousness. He’d let the psychiatric witness connect the dots.
“Did you remain with Dennis when he was taken to the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“Were the medical experts able to get a reaction out of him?”
“Not for about two hours. Then he came around.”
“Did you question him?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“Not much. He claimed he couldn’t remember what happened after he got to the hotel.”
“Thank you, Officer. No more questions.”
After court recessed for the day, Ben huddled with Christina.
“How did you think that went?” he asked.
“About as well as possible.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’ve got an impossible case. You can’t expect to be winning, especially not while the prosecution is still putting on their evidence.”
“You think we’re losing?”
She dodged the question. “I’m hoping your expert is really good.”
“He’s written a book.”
“Well, that makes him an expert. I wonder if that’s why Dennis chose to see him in the first place.”
“Christina…”
“Dennis is going to have to be good, too.”
Ben glanced back at his client. He had been well behaved during these first two days of trial. No overt reactions. No overt scheming. No meddling in the case. But he was still a cause for concern. “You think we should put Dennis on the stand?”
“Only if you have to. But…”
“You think we’ll have to.”
She gave his shoulder a squeeze. “We’ll make that decision when the time comes. After this next witness.”
“You think this witness will be important.”
She nodded. “I think if this goes badly for us, we’ll need a lot more than Dennis Thomas on the stand to make it right again.”