KATE
Detective Tyler took his seat in the witness stand, and this time Kate was prepared. She stood, with a legal pad on the desk in front of her. Scanning her notes one last time, Kate looked up and made eye contact with Tyler. He had the same cocky look on his face that he'd worn yesterday. It was Kate's job to change that look.
'Detective Tyler, the victim's home was searched following the murder?' 'I believe so.'
'And to your knowledge, no Haloperidol was found on the property?' 'Correct.'
'NYPD also searched my client's apartment and no Haloperidol was found there either, correct?'
'That's correct.'
'So there is no evidence linking my client to that drug?'
Tyler sniffed, blinked, and said, 'We believe—'
Kate cut him off, 'You're not sitting as an expert witness here, detective. Your
belief doesn't matter. Please answer the question – there is no physical evidence linking my client to the drug found in the victim's body, is there?'
'There's no physical evidence. However, your client had the opportunity to place that substance in the victim's food.'
'And did you find food laced with Haloperidol in the victim's home?' asked Kate, struggling to keep control of her voice. She didn't know the answer to this question for sure, but she guessed that if the DA had found poisoned food, it would have appeared in a report before now and been served on her.
'Not to my knowledge.'
'So, again, there is no evidence linking my client to this drug?'
'There's no physical evidence, other than the symptoms Frank's medical
records discuss, and the drugs found in his system at the time of death,' said Tyler.
'And no forensic link between the drugs and my client?'
'No,' he said, reluctantly.
Kate nodded. She'd done her best. Kept Tyler on a short leash. She was
tempted to keep going. One more question. She decided against it. One loose
question now and she could undo all her hard work. Instead, Kate thanked the witness and sat down.
Alexandra whispered, 'Thank you.' Kate nodded. She didn't know how to feel about Alexandra anymore. Was she thanking her because she was innocent? Or because Kate was doing a good job of helping her to get away with murder?
Kate shivered, and picked up her pen. She didn't think Eddie would ask any questions, and indeed he didn't. It was time to move on to the next witness.
Dreyer stood up and said, 'The People call Professor Barry Shandler.'
Kate could breathe easily. Shandler was the hair-fiber expert, and he didn't link anything to Alexandra. She'd read Shandler's report, and was curious to see how Eddie would handle it. The doubts creeping into Kate's mind seemed to fade away as she recalled the details of Shandler's report. If Shandler was right, then Sofia was most likely guilty. And she couldn't see how on earth anyone could challenge Shandler's testimony, but this evidence was already out in the open. This wasn't the get-out-of-jail-free card she'd discussed with Eddie that morning.
A hand brushed against her arm. Alexandra, staring at Shandler as he made his way to the witness stand. Kate smiled at her client, patted her hand.
She felt better about this case. She felt, for sure, she was on the right side. Alexandra was innocent. She had to be.