“How many officers do you have in the Oakville Police Department, Officer Brown?”
“I don’t know for sure—fifty, fifty-five.”
“So if an order went out, say, directing officers to look for Thomas Felton in a certain location—like the woods behind Danni Jansen’s house—you would know about it, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you or anyone in the department ever receive such an order?”
“No, sir.”
“Thank you, Officer Brown. No further questions, Your Honor.”
Merton called the coroner, Marie Vicente, next. Merton knew he needed to keep the jury focused since it was late in the day, so he introduced the coroner’s report into evidence, and got to the important stuff right away, starting from when the coroner arrived on the scene and finishing with the autopsy itself, although he skipped most of the details of the autopsy.
“Your report is in evidence, Doctor, so we don’t need to discuss all the details. Did you determine a cause of death?”
“Yes, I did.”
“And what was that?”
“Mr. Felton died from a gunshot wound to the chest.”
“And how did you determine that the gunshot wound was the cause of death?”
“Not to get too technical, the bullet, fragments of which we found in the body, nicked the aorta, causing severe internal bleeding.”
Merton had her identify the bullet fragments, introduced them into evidence, and wrapped it up.
“Thank you, Doctor, I have no further questions.”
“Your witness, Mr. Wylie,” the judge said.
Tom stood and walked toward the witness stand. “Thank you, Your Honor.” He didn’t speak to Doctor Vicente until he was standing directly in front of her.
“Doctor Vicente, you said the bullet nicked the aorta, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“What does that mean in layman’s terms?”
“It means there was a slight tear of the aorta caused by the bullet.”
“And what is the difference between a slight tear and, say, a full-blown rupture of the aorta?”
“As far as cause of death, there is no difference.”
“How about timing of death? Is it accurate that the smaller the rupture, the longer it takes to die?”
Marie Vicente hesitated for a second and looked at Robert Merton. Jack caught it right away. He didn’t think the jury could see it, although he was sure Tom had.
“Not necessarily,” she answered.
Tom didn’t let it go. “What does that mean? Let me ask it another way: Is the blood flow greater when the aorta fully ruptures?”
“Yes.”
“So a person dies faster when there is a complete rupture, correct?”
“Not necessarily. And let me explain. We can surmise that the bullet nicked the aorta from the trajectory of the bullet, which we traced from the entry wound and the path of destruction in the body cavity. Once the aorta is breached and blood begins to flow, a complete rupture can be instantaneous.”
The doctor’s answer had taken most of the wind out of Tom’s sails but he had some left, so he kept on.
“You said ‘can be’ instantaneous, is that correct?”
“Yes, we’re never sure.”
“Okay, let’s assume there is a complete rupture—how long does it take to die?”
“Approximately ten minutes maximum. It could happen in five or even less.”
“And a partial rupture that does not become a complete rupture?”
“I’d say twenty minutes at the most.”
“Can you tell whether Mr. Felton died ten or twenty minutes after the fatal bullet struck?”
“No.”
Tom walked back to his table and retrieved the copy of the coroner’s report that Robert Merton had just given him minutes before. He’d already reviewed his own copy in great detail over the past three weeks.
“Your autopsy report also references severe injury to the lower base of the skull, does it not?”
“Yes, it does.”
“How did that happen?”
“I can only surmise based on the facts and the physical evidence.”
“And what did you surmise?”
“That Mr. Felton, when he was shot, fell backward. His head hit a large rock very hard and that rock smashed the base of his skull.”
“But that was not the cause of death?”
“It was not.”
“Could it have hastened death?”
“Yes.”
Tom looked at the judge. “Your Honor, I’m almost done. May I have a moment to talk to my client before releasing this witness?”
“You may.”
Tom walked over and sat next to Jack.
“You know what I want to ask her, don’t you?”
“I do. You want to ask her if it’s possible that somebody could have come upon Felton still alive, put a rock under his head, and smashed it until he was dead—is that right?”
“That’s right.”
“Don’t do it.”
“Jack, listen to me for a second. We’ve already got the cops at your door telling you to leave town because they’re worried Jeffries might be after you. Now if we can at least