No, I love my wife and Caleb. I have a new stepdaughter, Anna. We’re giving her a big party Saturday night, it’s a whole thing—
But No-ha, I know how to make you feel good—
I can’t. Noah edged back and reached for the doorknob. I shouldn’t have let you think this was going to happen.
But you can’t walk out on me—
I can’t stay.Noah had slipped out the door, but Jordan had grabbed it and held it open.
Noah, you’ll regret this!Jordan had shouted, but he hadn’t looked back.
“Dr. Kapoor,” Linda was saying, snapping Noah into the present. “How long would it take to strangle a young woman like Anna Desroches?”
“It takes approximately two to five minutes to strangle a person by hand, unless that person had drugs or alcohol in their system, or was unconscious.”
“Were alcohol or drugs found in Anna’s system?”
“No.”
“What did you conclude about whether Anna was conscious or not, when she was strangled?”
“I concluded she was conscious.”
The jury fell silent. Noah could see them, curling their upper lips in disgust, imagining the scene.
“Dr. Kapoor, what findings do you expect if a person is conscious when they are strangled?”
“There will be a struggle, and I would expect to find fingernail marks from the victim on their own neck, from where they were trying to pry off the hands of their killer.”
“Did you find such fingernail marks in this case, on Anna’s neck?”
“No, because the victim’s fingernails were so short, bitten to the quick on some fingers. In addition, typically in a strangulation case, I would be able to take scrapings from under the fingernails of the victim and I would expect to find DNA of the perpetrator underneath the fingernails, in the form of skin cells. Because of the shortness of the victim’s fingernails in this case, I was not able to obtain any such scrapings.”
“What, if anything, do you typically find on the hands of the perpetrator in a strangling case?”
“Typically, I would expect to find fingernail marks from the victim on the perpetrator’s hands, unless the perpetrator was wearing gloves.”
“Do you know if any such fingernail marks were found on the defendant?”
Thomas half-rose. “Objection, Your Honor. This witness did not examine Dr. Alderman.”
Linda frowned. “Your Honor, I said, ‘if she knows.’”
Judge Gardner nodded. “Overruled.” He turned to Dr. Kapoor. “You may answer, if you know.”
“I do not believe fingernail marks were found on the defendant.”
“Dr. Kapoor, did you draw any conclusions from that fact?”
“I concluded that either the victim’s fingernails were too short to scrape him or he was wearing gloves.”
Thomas jumped up. “Your Honor. Objection, speculation.”
Linda scoffed. “That’s within her expertise, Your Honor.”
Judge Gardner shook his head. “Overruled.”
Thomas sat down with a heavy sigh, and Noah kept his game face on.
