After opening statements, judge Pickens gave the jury a fifteen-minute recess to stretch their legs and powder their noses. Ben was grateful to have time to gear up for the prosecution’s first witness.
“Nice job on opening,” Christina whispered in his ear as he reviewed his notes. “I think you made your points very effectively.”
“But do they like me?” Ben asked.
“It’s early yet. At any rate, you played it straight with them, and I think they’ll remember that.”
After the break, the bailiff reassembled the jury, and Judge Pickens gave them a few more instructions. We are now entering the evidentiary phase of the trial, he told them, so pay close attention to everything you see and hear. You can’t take notes. You can’t ask questions. Just listen up. And so forth.
“The State calls Deputy Kyle Wagner to the stand,” Granny announced.
From the back of the courtroom, an extremely young-looking peace officer made his way to the front. He did not appear particularly anxious to testify, not that anyone ever did. Wagner seemed especially pale and sickly, though. Ben wondered if the bailiff should distribute barf bags at the same time as he administered the oath.
Wagner was, predictably, wearing his uniform, sporting a fresh short haircut, and clean-shaven. Ben had the impression the man couldn’t lie if his mother’s life depended on it.
Granny introduced the young officer to the jury and led him through a few preliminary questions. “What do you do for a living?”
“I work for the sheriff.”
“Would that be Sheriff Allen, here in Magic Valley?”
“Right.” His voice was thin and wavering. If he was this distraught during the softball questions, Ben could only imagine what he might be like when they got to the crime scene. “I’m a deputy.”
“I see.” She asked a few more preliminary background questions, then moved to the night of the murder. “Would you tell the jury what you were doing on the night of July thirteenth?”
Like a well-trained dog, Wagner turned toward the jury box. “I was working the night shift.”
“Were you the only one in the office?”
“Yes. Sheriff Allen and the other deputies were off duty.”
“And could you tell us what night duty entails?”
“Usually, just sitting around staring at the phone. Sometimes I work the crossword.” His lips turned up, making a goofy, lopsided grin. “Not much happens around here most nights.”
“But this night was different, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” he said, licking his lips, “it certainly was.”
“What happened?”
Wagner straightened a bit. “Got a phone call. Told me there’d been some trouble out at a clearing on the south side of Mount Crescent. An explosion.”
“An explosion? What did that make you think?”
“Objection,” Ben said, rising to his feet. “What the officer thought is not relevant.”
Judge Pickens sighed. “All right, Gra-er, Madame Prosecutor. Rephrase.”
She nodded. “What did you do when you heard there had been an explosion?”
“I grabbed my hat and went out to investigate.”
“Did you call for backup?”
“Not at that time, no.”
“Why not?”
“Well, frankly, I didn’t expect it to be any great big deal.”
“An explosion?”
“Explosions have become all too common since those”-he stopped, glanced toward Zak-”since Green Rage came to Magic Valley.”
“There had been prior incidents?”
“Like about two dozen,” Wagner said. “More since. But before, they’d only blown up machinery and stuff. So I didn’t have any reason to believe this would be any different.”
“But it was different, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah.” Wagner’s eyes seemed wide and hollow.
“How long did it take you to get to the clearing?”
“Not long. Maybe twenty, thirty minutes. I knew where it was, and I knew”-another glance at Zak-”well, I knew the logging operation had moved in there. So I thought there might be trouble.”
“Deputy Wagner, I know this won’t be easy for you, but I have to ask anyway. Would you please tell the jury what you saw when you arrived at the clearing?”
Wagner nodded, although it was clear he was not anxious to do so. “Well, the first thing I saw of course was the tree cutter. Or what was left of it.”
“Describe what a tree cutter is, please.”
“It’s a big piece of machinery. Like a tractor, with two big steel claws in front. They use it to-well, to cut trees, obviously.”
“And what condition was this particular tree cutter in?”
“It had been blown to smithereens.”
“Could you perhaps give us a more … detailed description?”
“The debris was everywhere. Big chunks of charred, blackened metal. Still hot to the touch. Some of the smaller pieces glowed red-they were that hot. I could tell it had once been a tree cutter, but to most folks, I think it would’ve just looked like a big hunk of junk.”
“Was it salvageable?”
“Oh, no way. It was obvious that thing would never cut again.”
“Did you notice anything else?”
Wagner’s chin sank. “Yeah. I did.”
“Please tell the jury what you saw.”
Wagner swallowed. “Well … of course the whole area had been destroyed. Burnt grass. Couple of trees had caught fire-we’re lucky we didn’t have a full-out forest fire.”
“Yes, yes,” Granny said. “Tell them about the body.”
“Objection,” Ben said. “Leading.”
Judge Pickens ran his tongue across the front of his teeth. “ ’Fraid he’s right, Madame Prosecutor. I think Mr. Kincaid is determined to make sure we play by the rules.” His voice dropped, though not so much that the jury couldn’t hear him. “Even if it does make everything take five times as long.”
Granny returned her attention to the witness. “Deputy Wagner, please tell us what else you saw.”
Now, having been properly cued, he went straight to what she wanted. “Well, I–I didn’t see it at first.” Ben noticed the trembling in his hands was becoming more pronounced. “Sad fact is, I almost tripped over the thing. Before I–I …” His voice drifted. “ ’Fore I realized what it was.”
“And what was it?”
“It was a person. Least it used to be.” He swallowed. “I found the corpse. Burned to a crisp.”
Granny paused a moment, allowing the jury to drink in that charming mental image. “Can you describe the state of the remains?”
“I’ll try. I can’t tell you what it was like seeing that-that nightmare right before my eyes, all alone, in the middle of the night.” He clamped his hands down on the edge of the witness box. “It was all black, head to toe. There was barely any skin left, and what was left was black. I could see the skull, the exposed eye sockets. Some of his internal organs were visible, and they looked like-”
“Your honor, I object,” Ben said. “This is not necessary.”
“Overruled,” Pickens said without even looking at him. “Please proceed, Deputy.”
“The organs looked … charred. Cooked.” Wagner had a pained expression on his face; Ben was afraid he might cry. “Some of the fingers and toes had been broken off. A spot on his chest looked as if it had been ripped open. There were even … animals. …” He lowered his head. “Insects and birds and things. Eating what there was to eat. The whole body looked like someone’d stuck him on a rotisserie spit and turned up the heat. It was awful.”
Well, Ben thought, Granny had promised the jury something gruesome-and shed delivered on her promise. Emphasizing the horror of the crime would only make it all the more likely the jury would convict.
“You mentioned a … rip in the man’s chest. Could you tell what caused it?”
“Looked like a gunshot wound to me.”
Ben had to object. “Your honor, this witness has not been qualified as a gunshot wound expert or a coroner. Absent any evidence-”
“I could see the bullet inside the man’s chest,” Wagner said firmly. “How’s that for evidence?”
Ben pressed his lips together. Not too shabby, as evidence goes. He sat down.
“Could you tell us where the gunshot wound was located, please?” Granny asked.
“Right here.” He touched a spot on the right side of his chest, just below the collarbone.
“What did you do after you saw the corpse?”
“Well, ’course that changed everything. I got on my radio and called for assistance.”
“And did they come?”
“Oh yeah. Sheriff Allen came personally, with several other deputies and crime scene specialists. They took control of the crime scene and relieved me.”
“And what did you do then?”
Wagner looked up. His eyes were watery and he still looked shaken. “Well, by then it was almost five in the morning. I went home. Tried to get some sleep.”
“And did you?”
Wagner shook his head. “No, ma’am. Not a wink.” He looked down at the floor. “I never even closed my eyes.”