Doubt (Caroline Auden #1) - C. E. Tobisman Page 0,115
gallery, where Annie Wong sat stock-still, an expression of terror etched on her face.
“Please take the witness stand, Dr. Wong,” Caroline said.
Annie rose and walked slowly toward the jury box like a soldier facing a firing squad.
When she reached the chair, she sat down in the witness box. Her eyes widened at the dozens of lawyers assembled in the courtroom, staring back at her, waiting to hear what she would say.
Caroline stepped around the podium.
“Permission to approach the witness?” she asked Judge Jacobsen.
“Granted,” said the judge.
Caroline approached Annie until she was close enough to smile encouragingly at the terrified scientist.
Annie attempted to smile back, but it came out like a grimace.
“Shall we begin?” Caroline asked the scientist softly.
“Okay,” Annie said, her voice quavering.
Once Annie had been sworn in, Caroline met the scientist’s eyes. Her own held a question.
After several heartbeats, Annie nodded her readiness.
“Were you the author of this study that was previously authenticated by the editor of the Fielding Journal of Molecular Cell Biology?” Caroline asked.
“I was the coauthor along with Dr. Franklin Heller,” Annie replied, the microphone in the witness box amplifying her tiny voice.
“And Dr. Heller died prior to the publication of this article.”
Annie paused, her mouth pursed.
“He did,” she answered quietly.
“This article was not submitted for publication prior to or after his death, correct?” Caroline asked.
Annie nodded and looked down.
“Please answer for the court reporter,” Caroline instructed. She needed to tread lightly. The hard part was still coming up.
“No, it wasn’t submitted,” Annie answered, still looking down.
“And why wasn’t it submitted for peer review and publication at any point?”
When Annie looked up, she had tears in her eyes.
“Because I didn’t submit it. I was supposed to, but I . . . didn’t.”
“Why not? Did you have doubts about the veracity of the results or whether the experimental data or other science was sound?” Caroline asked.
“No. It is solid. Totally solid.” Annie’s voice increased in strength as she evaluated the strength of her scientific data.
“Then why didn’t you submit it?” Caroline asked again.
“Because my life was threatened.”
A murmur traveled through the courtroom like electricity.
“Who threatened you?” Caroline asked.
“I don’t know the identities of the people who made the threats. The threats were made on the phone. At night. In the line at the grocery store. Everywhere. Different people, but always the same threat. I’d be hurt. My son would be hurt. I assume these people were connected to Med-Gen, but I don’t really know. They made sure of that.”
“Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“These people, they said if I talked to the police, they’d know. They said they’d find out and they’d . . .”
“Did they pay you to leave town?” Caroline asked.
“They offered to, but I didn’t want their blood money.” Annie spat the words out like broken teeth.
“But you ran anyway.”
Annie looked down again, as if finding the tip of her shoe fascinating.
“I did,” she said. “I was scared.”
When she looked back up again, her eyes held determination.
“But I’m here now,” Annie said.
Caroline mentally exhaled. Annie had made it through the mea culpa part of her examination with her credibility intact.
“Let’s talk a moment about your research,” Caroline said, pivoting to the substantive part of the examination. “The bottom line appears to be that in a certain subset of patients, SuperSoy causes kidney failure. Is that a fair description of your conclusion?”
“Yes. Unequivocally yes. I don’t say that lightly. I’m a scientist. We’re taught to constantly question our results. But the size of the sample, the types of experiments, and the consistency of our results were all remarkable. SuperSoy can and does cause kidneys to shut down with disturbing frequency. Everyone deserved to know it. We should have shouted it from the rooftops when we found out. We tried to do that . . .” Annie drifted off, her eyes suddenly haunted.
“How can you be so sure your results were sound?” Caroline asked, steering Annie away from her recent horrors.
“We ran studies on hundreds of patients, including those who had suffered no prior incidence of kidney problems,” Annie said, her voice growing stronger as she testified about the science. “Children. Athletes. Everything we did confirmed our initial results. SuperSoy compromises kidney cells.”
“How can one little genetic modification to a soy plant do so much damage?” Caroline asked. She knew she needed to ask every question in the judge’s mind. Running away from doubts would not win this motion. Only by addressing the judge’s doubts head-on would they carry the day.