Page 170 of Wicked Little Secret

The judge thinks on it a second. “I’ll allow it.”

Theron turns back to the potbellied officer. “Please answer the question, Officer Brewster.”

“We will never have a credibility problem… no matter what you say, Adler!”

“But would you say that with resurrecting this case a second time, there was a pressure to finally solve it?”

He grits his teeth. “I seek to solve all crime, Adler. Don’t be so smart.”

“Of course you do. Except… this case is quite high profile. You said so yourself. I would go down for it no matter what.”

“Well… all I meant was… I’d work as hard as I needed to….”

“Would you say you have a bias against certain individuals in this town, officer? Individuals you perceive as part of the upper class?”

“What? I don’t…”

“I would like to present some video recordings of the witness if I may, your honor. This footage has been obtained by request from the city police department themselves.”

“Proceed.”

Theron walks over to the defense table where he picks up a remote and presses play on the TV that’s been wheeled into the courtroom.

The footage begins right away with Theron in handcuffs and Officer Brewster looking feverish.

“You know exactly what it’s got to do with tonight, Adler! You’re going down!” he grunts, grinning. “You and your family think you’re above the law. You and all your rich as dirt friends think you can do no wrong! But I’ve got you dead to rights this time. You’re going down no matter what. Everything Valentine’s ever done. I’ll make sure of it.”

“From the body cam footage recorded by Castlebury PD yourselves, do you think it’s fair to say you have an inherent bias, officer?”

“You son of a bitch!” Officer Brewster barks, going red in the face. He rises from his seat. “You really think you’re going to weasel your way out of this? I told you I wouldn’t let it happen!”

“Order, order in the court!” booms Judge Quarles, banging her gavel.

The prosecution’s risen to try to control their witness, but Officer Brewster’s temper can’t be tamed. He proceeds to cuss Theron out ’til he’s so bright red, he looks on the verge of passing out from his anger.

The bailiff eventually escorts him out.

Theron calmly watches him disappear through the double doors.

“As you can see, the Castlebury PD was very passionate about catching the Valentine Killer. Perhaps a little too passionate. I rest my case.”

On day nine of the trial, Theron manages to trip up the medical examiner who did autopsies on Samson Wicker, among some of the other bodies found buried in the forest.

Theron exudes the same calm yet authoritative energy as he has every other day of the trial. He starts off simple, asking the medical examiner about his autopsy reports and what he believes each victim’s cause of death was.

Theron rubs his jaw, walking back and forth at a casual pace. “Would you say the wound you noted on Samson Wicker’s skull played a role in his demise?”

“Mr. Wicker suffered a severe concussion brought on by a heavy object I believe to be the boulder the police found in the bushes. The same boulder with your fingerprints on it.”

“Right,” he says, stopping in front of the witness stand. “But I’m afraid that doesn’t answer my question. I asked you if the concussion Samson Wicker suffered played a role in his demise.”

He purses his lips and narrows his eyes. “Samson Wicker’s cause of death was a deep stab wound to his jugular. The concussion was several weeks prior and unlikely to have played a factor.”

“Interesting. So the one piece of physical evidence with my DNA happens to not be the murder weapon. Would you say that assessment is true, ME?”

“It’s not the murder weapon. However, Wicker’s blood was on the boulder and so were your fingerprints.”

“Circumstantial at best.”

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